Chapter 916 - 918: Head Cracked and Bleeding_1
Bai Ruozhu had planned to leave, but Zuo Hongyun called out to her, as if he had something difficult to say.
"Master," Zuo Hongyun hesitated for a moment, clenched his teeth, and said, "I manage the Shop, and Kuai Wen is in charge of toothpaste production. I shouldn’t speak ill of him, but..."
Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows, "But speak freely, I will have someone verify it."
"It’s just that I have a relative who’s a merchant, and he told me a while ago that he saw merchants from the Turkic Country buying a batch of our toothpaste near Xuantian Mountain. He came to congratulate me on the recent big sales. But the Shop hasn’t sold that much lately. I’m not saying there’s a problem with Kuai Wen’s management, just that I’m worried someone might be counterfeiting our toothpaste," Zuo Hongyun said carefully.
Kuai Wen, another one of Bai Ruozhu’s managers provided by Lin Zhenghui, was responsible for the production of toothpaste and mouthwash, while Zuo Hongyun was in charge of sales. This division of labor was reasonable, and it avoided the situation where one person could have all the power.
"I wanted to send a letter to you about this a couple of days ago, Master, but I was afraid that if something went wrong and outsiders found out, it could falsely incriminate us for smuggling or collusion. So, I thought it safer to tell you in person," Zuo Hongyun said in a very low voice, cautiously glancing outside at the passersby.
Bai Ruozhu frowned and said, "You did well. I will look into it. Act as if you know nothing about this, and be sure to keep it a secret."
"Yes, yes. I will not talk about it recklessly with anyone. I even gave my relative some silver to keep the secret," Zuo Hongyun quickly said.
"Good, you’ve worked hard," Bai Ruozhu saw that Zuo Hongyun’s expression was sincere and praised him a few times before leaving.
She had previously checked the Shop’s accounts and considering there wasn’t much stock to begin with, there definitely hadn’t been any major sales recently.
If the toothpaste that the Turkic merchants bought were indeed Hua Xiangrong’s brand, then the situation would be far from simple.
Firstly, there was the issue of one of her managers misbehaving, an internal matter that she could handle herself by dealing with that person. However, there was another problem — the accusations of collusion or smuggling. If this turned out to be true, and if someone with an agenda got wind of it, she feared she would be in serious trouble.
With this in mind, she whispered to Jianqi, "Arrange for someone to investigate this as soon as possible, and have another person keep an eye on Kuai Wen. Report back to me the moment there’s any news."
Jianqi, understanding the gravity of the situation, immediately arranged for the investigation. With Muyu protecting Bai Ruozhu by her side, he wasn’t too worried, especially since they were still within Beiyu City.
Since she was preoccupied, Bai Ruozhu also temporarily canceled her plan to visit Yu Hongxiu. She took a horse carriage back home and sent a maid to deliver a note, explaining she would visit the Meng Residence early and also sent a note to Yu Hongxiu, stating she would visit her the next afternoon.
Bai Ruozhu returned home full of worries and hadn’t even entered the door when she heard a woman’s crying. Her heart leaped. How could she forget that Guizhi was coming back from the Hot Spring Mansion today?
She hurriedly got off the horse carriage and rushed into the Yard, only to see Guizhi standing at the door of Bai Zepei’s room, crying bitterly, leaning weakly against the doorframe as if she had no strength. Bai Yihong, in the back, was anxiously asking, "What’s happened to girl Guizhi? Go sit inside quickly, wait until Ruozhu comes back and she will have a look at you."
Lin Ping’er, annoyed, tugged at his sleeve and gave him a stern look, signaling him not to talk nonsense. She could see that Guizhi was crying over worrying about Qin Kaichang.
Bai Ruozhu knew Guizhi would be somewhat agitated to see Qin Kaichang, but she wouldn’t be this fragile. Could something have happened?
She strode into the Yard and asked, "What happened?"
Bai Zepei poked his head out from the room, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and said to Bai Ruozhu, "Sister, come quickly and take a look. Qin Kaichang just fell in the backyard, and there’s a lot of blood coming from his head."
Because of this sudden situation, Bai Ruozhu had no choice but to push the frowning expression of her second brother to the back of her mind. She quickly walked over, patted Guizhi on the shoulder, and whispered, "I know you’re afraid of blood, but it’s okay."
Probably comforted by Bai Ruozhu’s words, Guizhi slowly calmed down and stopped crying so heartbreakingly. She then realized that her behavior had frightened her godfather and godmother and squeezed out an apologetic smile towards the two of them, but the smile was clearly very stiff.
Lin Ping’er sighed softly. She had never noticed that Guizhi was close to Qin Kaichang. It should have been a good thing, but now with Qin Kaichang’s condition...
Bai Ruozhu quickly entered the room and saw Bai Zepei wrapping a large cloth around Qin Kaichang’s head, but his face was still smeared with blood and some dirt from the backyard, making him look extremely disheveled.
Qin Kaichang himself showed no expression, but the flow of blood was significant, clearly indicating that the injury was not minor.
She hurried over and said, "Second Brother, you remove the cloth, and I will look at the wound."
Upon closer inspection, she discovered a large gash on the upper right side of Qin Kaichang’s head, with the skin and flesh turned inside out.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have time to ask any more questions. She immediately ordered the maids outside to fetch clean water, then took out needles for acupuncture to stop the bleeding for Qin Kaichang. By the time she finished applying the needles, the water had already been brought in.
"Let me do it," Bai Zepei snatched the cloth and didn’t let Bai Ruozhu intervene.
Standing at the door, Guizhi was very conflicted. She wasn’t sure if she should go in or stay out, wanting to help, but seeing Qin Kaichang looking as if he didn’t recognize her, she felt even worse.
Bai Ruozhu then had someone prepare a medicine soup to wash Qin Kaichang’s wound, and for the internal medicine, she asked Guizhi to prepare the decoction, to save her from feeling helpless and upset.
Because she had used suturing techniques last time, which had been very risky for Bai Ruozhu, she didn’t rush to use them on Qin Kaichang this time, especially since she remembered what Jianqi had said. She decided to wait and see first.
After Qin Kaichang was taken care of, he quickly fell asleep. Bai Ruozhu called her second brother outside and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened? How did he get injured?"
"Guizhi came back, and I went over to greet her. I don’t know how he ended up in the backyard. By the time I got there after hearing shouts, his head was already bleeding." Bai Zepei sighed, "I asked the guards nearby, and they said nobody had touched him. He tripped over by himself, and somehow hit his head on a hoe."
No wonder the cut was so long. Thankfully it was at the back of his head where the hair could cover the scar.
"Second Brother, don’t worry. He’s stabilized now. I will heal Qin Kaichang as quickly as possible," Bai Ruozhu said.
"You shouldn’t tire yourself out either. You still have to detoxify Chu Hai. Don’t push yourself too hard," Bai Zepei then lowered his voice and asked, "Does Guizhi like Qin Kaichang?"
Bai Ruozhu looked at her second brother with some surprise. Would her second brother concern himself with Guizhi’s matters? She remembered the frown on his face.
"Qin Kaichang hasn’t mentioned it to you? He used to make deliveries to the Hot Spring Mansion from his previous part-time work. He often went to talk to Guizhi, and that’s how they became familiar," Bai Ruozhu tried to explain, lest it seemed like Guizhi was pursuing Qin Kaichang.
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