Chapter 91 - 091 Anxiety, Checked at the Town Entrance
"Bai Ersao!" Someone from the crowd of villagers called out. Lin Ping’er looked over and saw Zhao Ludan from the old Zhao family. His family hauled donkey carts between the neighboring villages and the town. Old Zhao relied on the donkey cart for a living, even named his son "Ludan".
"I’ll take you to town, won’t pick up anyone on the way, promise it’ll be fast!" Zhao Ludan said loudly. He was supposed to have left with his cart earlier, but he got caught up in the spectacle. Now that he couldn’t bear to watch any longer, he offered his help.
Lin Ping’er gratefully sniffled, "Thank you so much, Big Brother Zhao."
"No need for that, get on quickly, let’s not waste time." Zhao Ludan had already hopped onto the driver’s seat. Lin Ping’er, not daring to delay, rushed over and clambered onto the donkey cart chaotically.
As the donkey cart sped off in a cloud of dust, many onlookers couldn’t help but praise Zhao Ludan’s warm-heartedness. Someone even said, "From now on, I’ll only use old Zhao’s cart when I go to town. They are decent people, never overcharge, truly good folks."
Others joined in, and someone murmured softly, "Look at the Bai family, proclaiming themselves as a family of scholars, but us villagers would never stoop to stealing."
Who knows if this conversation reached the old mansion of the Bai family, where it was silent. Perhaps the old master called everyone in to reprimand them, or maybe he was too embarrassed to make a sound himself.
Bai Yihong was pushing Bai Ruozhu home when he met Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei, who were on their way to see the situation. Seeing Bai Ruozhu lying in the cart and the blood on their father’s forehead, both brothers showed expressions of anger.
"Father, I’ve heard what happened, I’ll go settle the score with them!" Bai Zehao growled quietly, about to charge towards the old mansion when Bai Zepei stopped him.
"Big brother, don’t act rashly. Our younger sister is about to give birth and will have to rest afterward. We don’t have time to pick a fight with them. Whatever needs to be settled, we can do it slowly later." Bai Zepei was speaking much faster than usual, his tone colder, there was the occasional flash of cold light in his eyes. This was entirely different from his usual composed demeanor, he was clearly truly angry.
Bai Zehao was usually steady-tempered, but today he was truly aggravated. After a deep breath, he calmed his anger, "You’re right, second brother, ’the gentleman avenges ten years later.’"
He took over pushing the cart from Bai Yihong and headed towards home. Despite his quick pace, the cart remained stable thanks to his robust physical strength.
"Big brother, second brother, I’m okay. Mother has gone to call for Lady Li, the doctor. She’ll be back soon. You can just help me back to my room to lie down." Bai Ruozhu’s voice was weaker than usual. Beads of sweat emerged on her forehead. She had started having contractions.
She knew that it didn’t usually happen so quickly with the first child, so she wasn’t worried. On the contrary, the arrival of the contractions relieved her. She wasn’t afraid of the pain, she was afraid that her water would break and labor wouldn’t start, making the child unable to be born as soon as possible.
Perhaps it was because of the loss of amniotic fluid, or the child knew it was about to be born and was saving energy, it wasn’t as lively as usual. This made Bai Ruozhu very worried. However, judging from the pulse, the child was temporarily safe.
Bai Ruozhu was taken back to her own bed. Then Zhou Deshun received the news and came to check Bai Yihong. Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law was good friends with Lin Ping’er. She was now replacing Lin Ping’er, accompanying Bai Ruozhu and letting the men wait outside.
"Girl, don’t be afraid. When I gave birth, it was also painful. But don’t waste your energy screaming. Save it for the end." Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law was explaining her childbirth experience to Bai Ruozhu. She already knew all about this, but having someone to accompany her and chat with her made her feel much less nervous.
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On the other hand, Lin Ping’er had already reached the entrance to the town. Zhao Ludan drove the donkey cart at a blistering pace. Although Lin Ping’er was dizzy from the bumpy ride, she was still grateful to him. So, she hurriedly gave him extra fare, but Zhao Ludan only accepted the standard fare and gave back the extra money to Lin Ping’er.
"Bai Ersao, our family doesn’t overcharge for the cart services. I know you mean well, but let’s not break the rules," Zhao Ludan chuckled, revealing a set of neat teeth. His dark complexion, due to sunburn, made his teeth all the more conspicuous.
"Thank you so much, Big Brother. I’m in a rush, I’ll come to thank you properly another time." Lin Ping’er didn’t want to argue with Zhao Ludan any longer. She was about to enter the town, but she was startled by Zhao Ludan’s voice from behind: "Bai Ersao, I’ll wait here and give you a ride back. So you don’t have to worry about finding transport."
With tears of gratitude, Lin Ping’er thanked him again. She was short of bowing down to Zhao Ludan. The Zhao family was just too decent. How much business would this round trip cost them?
Before Lin Ping’er could wallow in her feelings, a clamor of footsteps interrupted her. A group of officers had blocked the town gate. One of them yelled out, "There are spies in town. Everyone entering and leaving needs to be checked. Queue up!"
Lin Ping’er turned deathly pale. After quickly joining the line, she found many people were already ahead of her. With a mournful face, she said to the people in front of her, "Could you let me cut in line? I need to get Doctor Liu because my daughter is about to give birth."
Some kind-hearted people allowed her to go ahead, but there were others who too were in a hurry to enter the town. Moreover, the officers were conducting thorough checks, taking a long time with each person. Lin Ping’er broke down in tears.
Seeing what was happening, Zhao Ludan quickly stepped in to comfort her. "Don’t panic yet. Let’s go talk to the officers and see if they can make an exception. Your Second Son is a pupil, he may have some influence."
Lin Ping’er’s eyes brightened. She remembered that Ergong was acquainted with the county chief and had even sworn brotherhood with him. Perhaps mentioning this might allow her to enter the town.
Accompanied by Zhao Ludan, she approached the lead officer. Humble and respectful, she said, "Sir, my son Bai Zepei knows Magistrate Li. We are certainly not spies but good citizens. My daughter is about to give birth, and I need to get a female doctor from town. Please, could you help us?"
Unfortunately, Lin Ping’er was wearing her everyday working clothes that day, which were fairly torn and patched up at the sleeves and knees. The officer gave her a quick glance, not at all believing that her son could know the county chief, and frowned. "This matter is of great importance. I have no authority to decide, and I can’t show favors."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping’er burst into tears. Why hadn’t she brought the card of introduction from her son? Without any evidence to back her claims, the officer refused to believe her.
Inside the town gate, a tall man stood there, watching the commoners being checked. He wore a strange wooden mask, masking his expression.
"My daughter is about to give birth..." The voice of a woman drifted into his ears, a voice that sounded somewhat familiar.
He quietly moved to the entrance of the town and peeked out, immediately spotting Lin Ping’er, who had swollen eyes from crying. He remembered her as the mother of the pregnant woman.
After hearing Lin Ping’er’s words, he waved his attendant over and whispered, "Let that woman into the town and she has to bring the female doctor out of the town later. Do not stop her!"
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Four Chapters today, more coming later~