Chapter 907 - 909 Wooden Person, Her Guilt_1
Gu Xue’an and Bai Qizhi both showed surprised expressions when looking at Bai Ruozhu, seemingly finding it hard to believe.
Bai Ruozhu smiled and continued, "I think, even though Lin Xufei has abandoned the literary path for martial arts now, his father is still the Huainan King after all, and he probably has some pride in his heart. As his fiancée, you are always bullied and humiliated outside, forced to keep a low profile; that might actually displease him more, right?"
She couldn’t bring herself to tell Gu Xue’an that Lin Xufei accused her of being discouraging. To say such a thing outright would only make Gu Xue’an feel embarrassed and unable to get off the stage.
"Xue’an, I think what Sister Bai has said makes sense. It’s quite possible that you’ve been misunderstanding Lin Xufei all this time," Bai Qizhi said, pulling on Gu Xue’an’s sleeve.
Gu Xue’an’s eyes reddened, "I, I always thought he would feel that I lack grace, and I’ve been enduring and bottling up my feelings. Could it really be a misunderstanding?" Then, would all her suffering have been for nothing?
"It’s not too late to realize now; it’s better than continuing the misunderstanding. Plus, you won’t have to force yourself to go through so much hardship anymore," Bai Qizhi said happily.
"But I’ll be returning to the Capital soon and won’t have any chance at all." Gu Xue’an’s complexion grew even worse as she spoke. Knowing where the problem lies but feeling like it’s too late to solve it.
Bai Ruozhu thought to just follow through with being the good person and suggested, "It’s simple, just find Lin Xufei and talk it out clearly. He cares so much about you, would he not listen to your explanation?"
Gu Xue’an’s face turned red again, "We do have a marriage arrangement, and meeting privately is somewhat improper; it will lead to gossip."
"Who cares about them? You’re going back to the Capital anyway. Are you really going to leave without seeing him first?" Bai Qizhi said.
"Yes, it would be good to bid him farewell before you leave. Of course, you don’t want to act like you’re the one in the wrong; it’s also his fault for not being clear, which led to this misunderstanding. Just tell him directly that his attitude has kept you in silence for a long time and that you don’t want to endure it any longer," Bai Ruozhu worried that Gu Xue’an would meet with Lin Xufei and be too shy to speak, provoking his displeasure again.
After some thought, Gu Xue’an nodded earnestly, "Ruozhu, you’re right. I wasn’t like this before. It’s only since my engagement with Lin Xufei that I’ve been afraid of doing things wrong and almost lost myself. Whether it’s for him or not, I can’t continue like this."
Bai Ruozhu saw Gu Xue’an as the person who dared to retort Xu Panrui and defended these unrelated people from the Northland; this Gu Xue’an was indeed more dazzling. A woman should not lose herself for the sake of a man, as acting subservient doesn’t necessarily earn a man’s respect.
In reality, Gu Xue’an herself was not willing to be so aggrieved; otherwise, Bai Ruozhu’s few words couldn’t have persuaded her. After a thorough discussion among the three, they decided to have Bai Ruozhu and her brother host a gathering, using the pretext that she and the Study Palace of Beiyu were leaving Xuanlang City and wanted to thank Lin Xufei for his help in the past.
Leaving the Gu Family residence, Bai Ruozhu rushed back to her place to discuss the matter with her older brother. It would be more appropriate for her brother to send the invitation to Lin Xufei, while she could handle the invites for Gu Xue’an and Bai Qizhi. As for the dining location, they chose the Welcoming Guests restaurant.
There were branches of the Welcoming Guests in Jiangnan as well, but they had not developed as well as those in the North.
After talking to her older brother about it, he immediately agreed and added, "I was also thinking of inviting Tang Feng, would that be okay?"
Bai Ruozhu considered this and replied, "As long as Tang Feng doesn’t mind the noise from two ladies being present, it should be fine."
"That won’t be an issue," Bai Zepei said, his tone suggesting he was quite familiar with Tang Feng.
Bai Ruozhu listened and felt she couldn’t stop him, but she always had the feeling that Tang Feng was no ordinary person.
"By the way, Diao Yao and Chu Hai came to see you today. The dean remembered that they helped fend off enemies on the road and cleared a room for them, and he also agreed to have them follow along for the rest of the journey," Bai Zepei said.
Bai Ruozhu had almost forgotten about Chu Hai’s matter. It wasn’t that she didn’t take Chu Hai’s life seriously; it was mainly that she subconsciously felt that Chu Hai wouldn’t die, at least not anytime soon, so she couldn’t take it seriously. But back when Diao Yao took that pill in exchange for Tu Bai’s life, she did promise Diao Yao’s request.
"Alright, I’ll think of a way to detoxify Chu Hai on the way," Bai Ruozhu said after speaking. She then took her second brother’s pulse again and found that his health had improved a lot, so she bid farewell and returned to her own yard.
Thinking of the worry in her second brother’s eyes, Bai Ruozhu’s heart felt stifled. Her second brother was worried about Qin Kaichang.
She had the Commerce Association inquire, and Jiang Yichun also informed the local Government Office to look for people. The faction under his command was also making inquiries, but there had been no news. Could a person just vanish into thin air?
In fact, she understood that her second brother felt that it was when the killer had come to steal his clothes that Qin Kaichang had seen them and thus Qin Kaichang was kidnapped. He felt it was his own fault that Qin Kaichang was captured.
Bai Ruozhu was also troubled. What about Guizhi? She had been determined to wait for Qin Kaichang, and finally found her own destined partner, only for things to turn out this way...
At dinner, Bai Ruozhu met with Diao Yao and Chu Hai. Diao Yao, excited, pulled her aside and said, "Sister Bai, I watched your previous competition, and you were really amazing!"
Faced with such an innocent and lively Diao Yao, Bai Ruozhu felt she couldn’t delay fulfilling her promise any longer, and she said, "I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’ll take your brother’s pulse later tonight and figure out a way to detoxify him as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, everyone glanced at Chu Hai and saw that he was completely silent, eating very slowly, as if he were a wood-carved figure. They all wondered if Chu Hai had become foolish, not realizing that his muscles had stiffened because not long ago, Chu Hai had still been helping to fight against assassins, and his Martial Arts were quite impressive.
Seeing him like this, Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat guilty. She ate her meal quickly and then publicly took his pulse.
To her shock, Bai Ruozhu found that Chu Hai’s condition had deteriorated significantly compared to before. She had not expected Chu Hai’s condition to be so serious, to the point that any movement now caused him intense pain, and yet he acted as if nothing was wrong, appearing merely to move slowly.
"How could it have worsened so much? What has he done? He hasn’t been trying medicines on himself again, has he?" Bai Ruozhu asked through clenched teeth, clearly annoyed at his recklessness.
Anxiously, Diao Yao said, "No, no, it’s not that. Brother hasn’t had the time to test medicines. It’s because he couldn’t use his inner strength after being poisoned, and that day he encountered an assassin..."
As Diao Yao spoke, she seemed hesitant to continue, cautiously glancing at Chu Hai, indicating that Chu Hai had forbidden her from speaking.
Bai Ruozhu immediately understood. It must have been the day they faced danger, and both Chu Hai and Diao Yao had taken action to help. Because Chu Hai had used his inner strength, the poison had acted faster.
With that thought, she quickly focused her mind and took out from her space the best Detoxification Medicine pill she had concocted. Due to the scarcity of medicinal materials, she had only made three. Even this pill, given to Chu Hai, wouldn’t be enough to detoxify him but would only slow the spread of the poison in his body, making him more comfortable for the time being.
After Chu Hai took the pill, Bai Ruozhu felt a little better in her heart.