Chapter 915 - 917 Can Xiaomao Defuse the Life-Ending Poisonous Insect?_1
Bai Zepei’s face turned slightly red as she spoke, and even his usually stern face now bore a smile, "Don’t listen to Ruozhu praising me, she’s the real hero of this academic achievement. She even took first place."
Wu Ying also took first in the mounted archery. Why don’t you mention that, second brother?" Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows. Was her second brother avoiding anything related to Wu Ying?
Bai Zepei gave her a look and pretended not to hear her, then vividly described her impressive performance in the Mathematical Techniques Competition. The whole family was enraptured by the story, even the eldest brother Bai Zehao couldn’t help but say, "It seems I really should learn bookkeeping from my little sister. It truly is very useful."
Bai Zepei smiled but did not mention the incident in the Calligraphy Competition where Bai Ruozhu had ink splashed on her and was insulted by the entire crowd; he knew Bai Ruozhu probably didn’t want to tell the family about it.
The siblings took turns telling stories about the competition, even discussing what they’d seen and heard on their journey through Jiangnan. Lin Ping’er listened with a smile on her face the whole time and couldn’t help exclaiming, "Going out really has its benefits; the children have all grown up, even our little Dengdeng has grown a lot."
Little Dengdeng could now slowly shuffle around by holding onto things; it wasn’t quite walking yet, but it was enough to astonish the whole family.
Laughter and joy enveloped the Bai Family Yard until it was time to light the lamps. Lin Ping’er realized that the two of them were exhausted and hurriedly sent them off to their rooms to rest, saying they could continue their talk the next day.
After Bai Zepei had returned to his room, Lin Ping’er pulled Bai Ruozhu aside and asked softly, "Your second brother brought Qin Kaichang into his room as soon as he returned. What’s going on? I feel something is off with Qin Kaichang, but I didn’t have the chance to ask earlier."
Bai Ruozhu quickly explained Qin Kaichang’s experiences, saying that she was still treating him and that he would probably be staying with the Bai Family for a while.
"Poor child, we should help if we can. It’s the right thing to do," Lin Ping’er said, wiping away a tear with a hint of emotion.
After they chatted some more, Lin Ping’er clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Oh, it’s too funny, I forgot to send someone to tell Guizhi to come back. Have someone call for her to return tomorrow morning."
"Mother..." Bai Ruozhu wanted to stop her mother but couldn’t think of any reason to do so and ended up not saying anything further.
Guizhi’s return would inevitably lead to her seeing Qin Kaichang’s current condition, which would no doubt cause another heartache. The family didn’t know about her relationship with Qin Kaichang, and Guizhi had not talked to them about it, so naturally, Bai Ruozhu didn’t feel it was her place to speak. It had to be Guizhi’s own decision to tell.
Bai Ruozhu took Dengdeng back to their room to sleep. Dengdeng quickly fell asleep, and it wasn’t long before she herself was so tired that she closed her eyes.
Just as dawn was breaking, she jolted awake, her eyes filled with terror. She took deep breaths, as her heart palpitated from fright, making her feel almost suffocated.
In her dream, she had seen Jiang Yichun, who was severely injured by Wu Yunfeng. There were also many bugs crawling towards him, dense and chilling. She yelled his name and rushed over, only to wake up suddenly.
It must have been too much worry for Achun that caused such a nightmare, Bai Ruozhu consoled herself.
During the day, Bai Ruozhu kept smiling and laughing with her family, but her heart grew more and more chaotic. Later, when her parents spoke to her, she was somewhat distracted.
After lunch, Bai Ruozhu wanted to take Dengdeng for a nap. Bai Zepei followed her out and said softly, "Jiang Yichun will be alright, don’t worry too much."
Bai Ruozhu nodded. She said that, but how could she stop worrying? Bai Zehao and the others had no idea about Jiang Yichun being under the influence of Wu Wanqing’s life-controlling Poisonous Insect poison.
With that thought, Bai Ruozhu greeted her second brother and sent Little Dengdeng to take a midday nap with her mother, saying she needed to visit her master at the Commerce Association.
These days, Lin Zhenghui had already returned to Beiyu City, but he did not stay in the city often because he was always searching for Elder Shougu’s whereabouts for Jiang Yichun.
Sitting in the horse carriage, Bai Ruozhu stealthily called out Furball, murmuring in disappointment, "If only you could help Achun."
Furball rolled into her palm, clearly trying to charm her. Bai Ruozhu watched in fascination; the little creature had developed a certain intelligence. She had once been very worried about Furball, concerned that without consuming other insects, it might starve because she had never seen it eat anything else. Moreover, on the journey to Jiangnan, there were no insects for it to consume, but throughout the trip, Furball remained spirited as if it had no problems at all.
Bai Ruozhu’s hand was quite small, and Furball accidentally rolled out and fell onto the carriage floor with a plop. It then rolled around, huddling up as if crying out, "Ouch! That hurts!"
Unable to resist, Bai Ruozhu chuckled at its cute, silly manner and whispered as she pinched it, "You need to stay hidden and not be seen by others easily, understand?"
Upon hearing this, Furball zipped back onto Bai Ruozhu and instantly vanished without a trace, as if to say it hid well and would definitely not be seen by anyone.
Smiling and shaking her head, Bai Ruozhu thought the little one was truly amusing. If they could not find Elder Shougu, should she try to find a way to let Furball consume other Poisonous Insects and advance? Perhaps after advancing, it might be able to cure Jiang Yichun from the life-controlling Poisonous Insect poison?
Caught up in her wild musings, Bai Ruozhu soon arrived at the Commerce Association. She sent a message to Jiang Yichun there, so that as long as Jiang Yichun inquired at the Commerce Associations in the Northwestern Region, he would know that she and the child had arrived home safely.
Afterward, she sent a message to her master, Lin Zhenghui, hoping to see him as soon as possible.
After managing all this, she went to check on the newly opened Shop, which specialized in selling toothpaste and mouthwash. Du Family’s original toothpaste was currently languishing from their practices, still compromised and with much less efficacy. She couldn’t just let Du Family ruin the Traditional Chinese Medicine Toothpaste by not selling it herself.
The toothpaste Shop’s business was fair, though not as booming as when Du Family first started selling toothpaste. Partly because such products were no longer novel, and partly because many customers still favored the Traditional Chinese Medicine Toothpaste from the old and reputable Du Family Pharmacy.
However, Bai Ruozhu was in no rush, as she didn’t intend to achieve success overnight.
"Master, you’ve arrived. Would you like to sit in the backyard?" Shopkeeper Zuo Hongyun greeted her respectfully. He had been sent by Lin Zhenghui to Bai Ruozhu as a steward, currently in charge of the toothpaste Shop’s business. He was exceedingly happy about his lucrative position and held even greater admiration for Bai Ruozhu.
"No need, I’ve just come to take a look at the Shop and will leave soon. Bring me the account books," Bai Ruozhu said.
Zuo Hongyun, somewhat trembling, presented the account books. He had not embezzled any of the recorded silver; instead, he was worried he might have recorded something incorrectly. By now, the Commerce Association knew that Bai Ruozhu had come first in the Mathematical Techniques Competition at the Eight Academy Competition, and that she was an absolute genius in accounting.
Bai Ruozhu simply flipped through the account books. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Zuo Hongyun, rather she wanted to see if his bookkeeping methods were correct and that the accounts were clearly written to avoid a headache when reviewing them later.
True to someone sent by her master, the accounts were well-organized. Bai Ruozhu nodded in satisfaction and directly rewarded Zuo Hongyun with twenty silver pieces to enjoy a cup of tea.