Chapter 860 - 862: Leaving You by Ten Thousand Eight Thousand Li_1
Jiang Yichun’s gaze flickered slightly, and Lin Hanlan clapped her hands in joy, "Now do you remember? Haha, the fortune-teller said when I was little that I had to be raised as a boy to be free from illness and disaster, so you guys must have thought I was a stinky little brat, right?"
Jiang Yichun indeed remembered and it was exactly as Lin Hanlan had said—he recalled the "Xiaohan" from his memories to be a little rascal, a pesky little brother who was quite the handful.
"It’s also my fault for forgetting to mention it in my excitement. I didn’t explain it clearly to you," said Lin Hanlan with a chuckle.
Since the other party was a girl, Jiang Yichun didn’t feel it was appropriate to talk too much, and his eyes surreptitiously glanced towards Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu was somewhat unhappy and paid no attention to the two, continuing to eat her breakfast. She was exhausted from the previous night, hadn’t eaten any midnight snacks, and had risen late in the morning; she was truly starving.
Seeing Jiang Yichun’s distracted demeanor and his sneaky glances at Bai Ruozhu, Lin Hanlan hurriedly got up and said, "Brother Yichun and sister-in-law, you go ahead with your work. I just came to say hello; I won’t disturb you any longer."
Bai Ruozhu quickly got up, exchanged a few courteous words, and saw her off.
Lin Hanlan, seeing that Jiang Yichun hadn’t walked her out, didn’t seem to mind and left with a smile.
Once Bai Ruozhu sat back down to continue her porridge, Jiang Yichun said with a wooden expression, "This time it’s not any childhood sweetheart business, so don’t get any weird ideas."
Bai Ruozhu gave him a big rolling of her eyes, "Stop flattering yourself. I don’t have the time to bother with your messy affairs."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yichun, displeased, hugged Dengdeng and scooted over to Bai Ruozhu’s side, staring at her fiercely and demanding, "If you’re not worrying about my business, whose are you worrying about?"
"So, I can’t get jealous, and I can’t not get jealous either, are you just bored and itching for something to do?" countered Bai Ruozhu with a fierce look in her eyes.
Itching for something to do... Jiang Yichun’s face turned green. What kind of language was this woman using? It was too much!
He almost ground his teeth as he said, "Whether I’m itching for something to do or not, I’ll let you know tonight!"
Bai Ruozhu got frightened by his fierce demeanor and drew in a cold breath. She didn’t want to die from exhaustion, and thinking about his stamina—as a martial artist—she couldn’t help but wail, "No, my muscles are sore..."
Jiang Yichun’s face turned even greener. Sore muscles... This woman was begging for a spanking.
Thus, Bai Ruozhu’s breakfast was only half-finished when her good husband carried her back to the room, and then, in front of their son, he spanked her and taught her not to talk about things like itching for something to do or sore muscles in front of others.
Bai Ruozhu was on the verge of tears. It was just a figure of speech, after all. The ancients were too serious; no wonder they were called old-fashioned!
After being disciplined by her husband, Bai Ruozhu, with a sullen face, went to check her second brother’s pulse to find that his health had improved a bit. She then instructed her subordinates to continue monitoring her second brother’s medicine, not to neglect it.
...
The Beiyu Academy delegation had been arranged to stay in a yard where there were maids and servants at their disposal. Bai Ruozhu inquired with one of the maids and learned that this place was originally a mansion of the Huainan King, and it was now vacated to accommodate academies participating in the competition. Three academy teams were arranged to stay in this mansion.
Besides Beiyu Academy, which included Bai Ruozhu’s group, delegations from Chang’an Academy and Tianfu Academy were also housed here, while other academies were staying in a different yard.
Therefore, Bai Ruozhu went to the kitchen to instruct on the preparation of medicine, and when she was returning, she saw a group of spirited young gentlemen. Judging by their attire and demeanor, she guessed they were from the Chang’an Academy.
The youths of Chang’an were extremely proud. Some of them saw Bai Ruozhu emerge from the kitchen and mistook her for the mansion’s kitchen maid. One of them pointed at her with his folding fan and said, "Hey, little kitchen maid, make us some beef and mutton for lunch, and skip those dimsums and sweets; what’s the fun in eating what women like? Also, bring us some good wine."
Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat displeased. The man’s attitude was very arrogant, and his gesture of pointing at her with the fan was also very impolite. She lowered her head to check her clothes, which were indeed more casual, but was it really that bad? Did that person need to speak to her with such disdain?
Jianqi, hidden in the shadows, was already preparing to come out and scold him. However, among the group, a young master showed a look of surprise, tugging at the speaking youth and saying, "Wang Tianyou, you’ve mistaken the person. This lady is Madam Jiang; she even received praise from the Empress Dowager during the Birthday Banquet, and she is also a lady with an imperial command."
The disrespectful young master was named Wang Tianyou. He showed a skeptical look and said, "Ding Guangji, are you sure you remember correctly? What Madam Jiang? I’ve never heard of her."
Another young master of shorter stature showed a sudden realization, "I remember now, she’s the owner of the Hua Xiangrong Weaving Pavilion, named Bai Ruozhu."
Bai Ruozhu nodded slightly to them, "Are you gentlemen from the delegation of the Chang’an Academy? I’ve accompanied my husband to escort the delegation from the Beiyu Academy to compete. Tomorrow, we will formally meet."
She subtly introduced her identity, making it clear she was at least a family member of the delegation’s escort team leader. However, Wang Tianyou still showed a look of contempt, "So you are that Bai Ruozhu."
His tone grow even more impolite, and Bai Ruozhu glanced at him. Suddenly, she recalled Wang Miaoshuang and couldn’t help but snicker inwardly. It seemed like the Wang Family wielded quite some influence in the Capital for the younger generation to be so arrogant.
She ignored Wang Tianyou, simply nodding politely at Ding Guangji, then continued on her way.
"Typical of rural riff-raff, not even knowing how to take leave; such a woman could be married as the principal wife, truly fitting for a nefarious offspring who was kicked out of the family!" Wang Tianyou felt he had lost face and spoke indiscreetly.
"Wang Tianyou!" Ding Guangji called his name, "We are all scholars who study the teachings of the sages, and having attained the status of Scholar, shouldn’t you pay more attention to your words lest you bring shame upon yourself?"
Wang Tianyou glanced disdainfully at Ding Guangji and said, "Is she one of your Ding Family? Do you need to meddle in others’ business like a dog catching mice?"
"Although scholars are not knights-errant, they can still stand up for justice in the world. Your offensive words disgrace the Academy; please reflect on yourself," Ding Guangji said sternly.
"Do I need to reflect on myself? I am neither a rural commoner nor a despised, unwanted child thrown out of the household. What you say is truly laughable." After saying that, he burst into laughter, a look of great self-satisfaction on his face; some of the other young masters laughed along, while others sighed in resignation, yet no one dared to join the conversation casually.
Bai Ruozhu had been holding back the entire time, but that didn’t mean she was afraid of the other party, nor did it mean she was willing to be insulted over and over.
She strode toward Wang Tianyou and asked loudly, "Young Master Wang is but a Scholar, without any official position in the Imperial Court, right? It seems you have no rank at all?"
Wang Tianyou was taken aback, then sneered, "So what? My status is a thousand times more noble than yours."
Bai Ruozhu stepped closer and closer to Wang Tianyou, and before the crowd could react, her figure moved, followed by a crisp smack. She had slapped Wang Tianyou across the face.
"My rank far exceeds yours by tens of thousands of miles. What punishment is due for insulting an Imperial Court officer and a lady with an imperial command?"