Chapter 883 - 885: With Such Integrity, How Could He Not Be Innocent?_1
"Although I am a female student from the Beiyu Study Palace delegation, I am already married. Some people have been spreading rumors and slandering my reputation, how can I establish myself in my husband’s family? I hope all you gentlemen will stand up for me and clear my name today!" Bai Ruozhu said as she knelt on the ground. It is uncommon for the women of Danliang Country to perform such grand gestures; she was imploring the judges to deal with the matter seriously, with no intention of backing down.
Bai Zepei also stepped forward, flicking his robe as he knelt down, "I cannot let my sister be defamed like this. I beseech the judges to uphold justice!"
The other three participants from the Beiyu Study Palace who came for the Calligraphy Competition also knelt down, saying in unison, "We ask the judges to uphold justice for Bai Ruozhu!"
Not far away, members of the Beiyu Study Palace delegation stood up, with the Academy’s Dean leading them into the arena. He made a respectful bow to the judges and said, "Dean Wen asks the organizing committee to vindicate our student Bai Ruozhu!"
The others also bowed in unison, "We ask the organizing committee to uphold justice for Bai Ruozhu!"
Well, the judges were at a loss, looking at me, I looking at you. While one could understand the academy’s dean defending his own, looking at the other members of the Beiyu Study Palace, each one with indignation and concern written all over their faces, it was clear they genuinely cared about Bai Ruozhu.
The judges, shrewd as they were, could see how well-liked Bai Ruozhu was. Could such a popular woman, who also understood medicine and displayed such composure, truly be the promiscuous person just described by the rumors?
At that moment, Lin Xufei also stepped forward, bowed to the judges, and said, "I am Lin Xufei, a student who was also present at the time. The door was half-open; Miss Bai could not have possibly done anything improper!"
The judges were taken aback. Lin Xufei was a prince of the Huainan King and one of the four great talents of Jiangnan. Being present at the scene, his statement implied that everything was indeed just a rumor.
Then, one of the judges suddenly noticed the last piece submitted for the Calligraphy Competition; it was written by Bai Ruozhu, who was the last person to submit her work. Naturally, her masterpiece was placed on the very top.
"Huh?" The judge couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise, drawing the attention of the other judges.
"Kou Qiwei, what is it?" The elderly judge with white hair asked in confusion.
Kou Qiwei, however, did not respond to the inquiry from Old Wei, which made the other judges even more puzzled. Wasn’t Kou Qiwei usually very respectful to Old Wei?
Kou Qiwei’s eyes shone as he stared at Bai Ruozhu’s work; he spontaneously stood up straighter, leaned forward, and recited, "After thousands of hammerings and chisellings, they emerge from the deep mountains; the fierce fire burns as if commonplace. I’m not afraid of being ground to dust and bones; all I want is to keep my purity in the world."
Having finished, he laughed out loud, "Superb poem! Superb writing! A determination to preserve one’s purity in the world!"
All the judges followed his gaze and saw the art piece, the writing exuded the indignation of the writer, and the unwillingness that leapt off the page. Indeed, even if she were to be crushed to pieces, she would prove her innocence.
Bai Ruozhu saw that someone had read her "Lime Poem" and couldn’t help but smile wryly. In her previous life, she had read this poem, simply admiring the author’s spirit without much personal resonance. It wasn’t until the moment she wrote it that she truly understood the poem’s meaning, feeling quite moved.
"Superb poem! Superb writing!" Old Wei couldn’t help but exclaim, and the crowd nodded along, heaping praise.
Old Wei even walked down from the judges’ seats and picked up Bai Ruozhu’s work, saying excitedly, "Anyone who can write such a great poem and such great writing, I believe she is pure and innocent!"
The audience was in an uproar; after all, many had just been cursing Bai Ruozhu. What was happening now? A big turnaround?
The woman apprehended by the guards was named Wang Nianqing. Her family background was ordinary, and it was an honor for her to follow Xu Panrui and Sun Lin on a regular basis. She thought she had a chance to ingratiate herself with Sun Lin today, but now she found herself in this predicament.
No, she didn’t want to be taken away, it was clearly Bai Ruozhu who was wrong!
"If you are innocent, why did you treat a man’s injuries in private, preventing others from watching? Why didn’t you let Doctor Li and Young Master Lin into the room?" Wang Nianqing shouted at Bai Ruozhu resentfully.
Bai Ruozhu turned her head to look at her and said, "I used a unique needlework technique passed down by my master, which must not be divulged. As a disciple, how could I casually allow others to watch? The Tu siblings were aware of this, which is why Miss Tu stopped people from entering."
"It’s not that I didn’t trust Young Master Lin’s character, but since Doctor Li insisted on going in, Miss Tu had no choice but to block everyone. Little did I expect that this would provide an opportunity for malicious individuals to make unfounded accusations against me."
Only then did Old Wei realize what was happening and hurried forward to feignedly support Bai Ruozhu, saying, "Girl, get up quickly. I don’t like to meddle, but I will handle this matter today and restore your innocence!"
Bai Ruozhu got up and bowed to Old Wei, "Elder, thank you."
After saying this, she helped her second brother and the others up, then bowed to the head of the Study Palace and said, "Thank you all for speaking out on my behalf."
The head of the Study Palace hurriedly returned the bow, saying, "We know your character; how could we let others harm you?"
Professor Zhang also said excitedly, "My very life was saved by Bai Ruozhu. If anyone tries to frame her, I will fight them to the death!" Having said this, Professor Zhang rolled up his sleeves. Seeing a scholar ready to fight for Bai Ruozhu showed he was truly willing to defend her at any cost.
Bai Ruozhu smiled gratefully at everyone. She would remember the favor they had done for her today.
Of course, she would also remember today’s enmity!
Old Wei looked at Wang Nianqing and said, "Bai Ruozhu is right. Unique medical skills should not be viewed by others. The issue seems to be that Doctor Li was a bit impulsive."
Li Jingwei’s face had already turned red. He hastened forward to bow and said, "Today it was my rashness that caused Miss Bai to be slandered. I cannot shirk the blame. I hereby resign from the competition’s duties and hope Miss Bai can forgive me."
Bai Ruozhu coldly glanced at him and said, "When Tu Ying stopped you at that time, you made remarks that could damage my reputation. It appears that others heard and then exaggerated the story further. If it had been another woman today, she might have been driven to despair, even to prove her innocence with her life. Then I must ask, Doctor Li, are you saving lives, or are you harming them?"
"I..." Li Jingwei was so mortified he could not lift his head and did not know how to explain himself.
"You are a doctor, so you need not follow the code of the literati. But as a doctor with a conscience, should you not be careful with your words? To speak of ruining a woman’s innocence without evidence, are you not being cautious enough, or are you unaware of such standards? Don’t you realize that you could cause someone’s death?" Bai Ruozhu stared at Li Jingwei and demanded.
"I, I..." Li Jingwei felt extremely distressed. Having a natural talent, he had been accepted as a disciple by a famous doctor early on and had always had a smooth sailing career with no setbacks, which led to him being careless with his speech. He had never expected to cause such a great calamity today...
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