Chapter 882 - 884: Confrontation in Person, Vindicating My Innocence_1
"What do you amount to? Violating Competition rules and spouting madness—is this how a serene and proper lady should act?" The normally calm Bai Zepei rushed forward to shield his sister, harshly rebuking the woman who had splashed the ink.
"You’re her brother, so of course you’d speak for her. You’re all cut from the same cloth. A family that raises such a daughter can’t be any good either!" The woman was pulled away, yet she continued to speak disrespectfully.
Standing behind Bai Zepei, Bai Ruozhu suddenly burst into laughter. Her voice was not soft, and it instantly silenced the onlookers, because her laughter was most eerie. At a time like this, wasn’t she supposed to be angry or crying in grievance? Why was she laughing, and why such a strange laugh?
Bai Zepei looked back at his sister with concern. Even if Ruozhu was intelligent, she was still a woman—how could she endure such humiliation?
Raising her head, Bai Ruozhu looked at the crowd with a mocking smile and said loudly, "It is said that the world is easily deceived, and it seems to be true. I just didn’t expect that here, among those steeped in poetry and literature, such ignorance could prevail. Those who have insulted me today—I, Bai Ruozhu, have taken note!"
Upon hearing her words, the crowd snapped back to reality and became angry.
"Who’s the ignorant one? You’re the one who’s shameless, having secret trysts with a man, and you still have the face to insult others?"
"You’ve made note of it, so what? You think we’re afraid of you? Someone like you should be drowned in a pig’s cage!"
...
Ignoring all other voices, Bai Ruozhu spoke out loudly, "The Competition isn’t over yet. Once I have completed my work, we will settle this matter thoroughly!"
People nearby continued their insults, but Bai Ruozhu had already thrown the soiled paper to the ground, spread out a new sheet, picked up a medium-large wolf hair brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write with bold strokes.
Feeling very angry at this moment, she guessed what was happening from the words of the ink-splashing person—it must be about when she treated Tu Bai’s injuries. Li Jingwei had said something back then, and she didn’t expect it to be blown out of proportion like this. Was it that seemingly careless Li Jingwei’s doing?
Bai Ruozhu felt it was unlikely. Li Jingwei was just a doctor, not a noble scion; how could he have such influence?
Without dwelling any further in her thoughts, she harnessed her rage into her wild cursive writing, penning a poem from her heart:
Hewn from deep mountains through a thousand blows, facing the fierce fire as if mere play.
Grinding bones and powdering body, fears none, to keep my purity in the mortal fray.
If only people of this era knew the exclamation mark, she truly wished to add a big one at the end!
She picked up the paper, dried it off, then turned to give her second brother a nod, signalling him not to worry, and handed her work to the judges.
Just then, the hourglass ran out, and the Calligraphy Competition’s time was up.
The judges on the stage were very displeased with the recent disruption, and of course, they intended to punish the sudden ink-splashing attendee. But they had also heard the crowd slandering Bai Ruozhu, saying that many voices can melt gold, so they too held some dissatisfaction towards her.
Bai Ruozhu, paying no mind to those still shouting for her to leave the Competition from the stands, strode towards the judges’ seats and spoke out clearly, "Respected judges, today’s Calligraphy Competition has concluded. I, Bai Ruozhu, humbly request a mere quarter hour to seek justice for myself!"
The judges looked at me and I looked at them, seemingly worried, but this incident would undoubtedly affect the reputation of The Eight Academies. Finally, an older judge nodded and said, "Alright, we’ll give you a quarter of an hour."
"Thank you." Bai Ruozhu bowed in thanks, then turned to the woman who had splashed ink on her and asked loudly, "You accused me of being indecent. Did you see me do anything indecent?"
"I didn’t see it, but others did!" the woman shouted back.
"If you didn’t witness it yourself, what right do you have to insult me? Just parroting others. If you’ve wronged a good person, would you kneel and admit your mistake?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
"Many people saw it, taking advantage of treating injuries to engage in illicit relations with a man in the Rest Room, and even having your guard and his sister keep watch outside," the woman said disdainfully.
With limited time, Bai Ruozhu did not wish to waste more time with her and addressed the audience directly, "Since everyone is accusing me, then speak clearly. Whoever just witnessed me doing something indecent, step forward and confront me!"
The audience was filled with aristocrats’ families, and they felt it beneath them to step forward and confront her, but someone shouted, "We all saw you accompany Tu Bai to treat his injuries and go to the back Rest Room."
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, asking, "You were seated in the VIP section, saw us leave to dress the wound, and with such distance, not to mention more than one wall in between, how could you have seen me engage in illicit relations with someone?"
The person who spoke up was immediately at a loss for words, and for a moment many people were speechless. They had not indeed witnessed anything.
Xu Panrui felt this wasn’t working, so she quietly nudged Sun Lin with her elbow. Sun Lin seemed reluctant but still stood up and said, "I saw it, and I was the one who told everyone. If you did it, don’t be afraid of people talking."
"Did anyone else see it?" Bai Ruozhu asked the audience, but no one else spoke up.
Looking at Sun Lin, Bai Ruozhu did not mention her previous mockery of people from the Northland but simply said, "You said just now that my subordinates and Tu Ying were guarding outside the room. How then did you see me do anything indecent inside the room?"
"A lone man and a woman alone in a room, and the door closed to keep people out, isn’t that indecent? If you did nothing shameful, why not let Doctor Li on duty come in and see?" Sun Lin lifted her chin, her expression cocky as a fighting rooster.
Then, someone else said, "That’s right, we went and asked Doctor Li just now, and he confirmed Sun Lin’s statement. Doctor Li saw you and Tu Bai sneak off together and wouldn’t let him in."
Li Jingwei was the doctor on duty and was standing at the edge of the area. Seeing that he was mentioned, he came out with an embarrassed smile and said, "You asked me whether Bai Ruozhu was delaying treating Tu Bai’s injuries, and I said yes. Then you asked if I was not allowed to help, and I said yes, but I didn’t say anything else."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him sharply. Whether he said it or not is unknown, but the trouble certainly stemmed from his loose lips.
"Doctor Li, why didn’t you tell everyone that the door wasn’t even closed, it was ajar, and you could see me from outside? Since everyone is saying I did something indecent, when you saw me, was I clothed?" Bai Ruozhu asked. The crowd burst into an uproar at the direct question.
Li Jingwei’s face turned red, "Of course you were. Otherwise, how could I have the nerve to look?"
With a smile, Bai Ruozhu turned and bowed respectfully to the judges on stage, saying, "Please, honorable judges, help me judge the situation. The door was ajar while I was treating someone; people outside could see in and I was properly clothed. Where is the indecency or illicit behavior?"
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