Chapter 919 - 921 Treason and Selling the Country_1
Meng Hanhong opened his mouth, clearly thinking that three days later was too late, but seeing the Old Lady’s firm attitude, he eventually closed his mouth.
Seeing the Meng siblings so heartbroken, Bai Ruozhu felt quite uncomfortable and decided to take her leave.
Afterward, she went to visit Yu Hongxiu and brought her quite a few things, and the two of them chatted merrily, sharing a lot about what they had seen and heard in Jiangnan.
Yu Hongxiu, upon hearing about the Jiangnan aristocrats’ prejudice against people from the northern regions, nodded and said, "That’s true, but my father is not a high-ranking officer, so our family does not have such strong prejudices against the Northland. Nevertheless, my parents were very opposed to my marriage to Xie Dun back then."
Bai Ruozhu nodded her head, realizing that this was the attitude of the aristocrats in Jiangnan.
"I already know about the child being poisoned in the womb, Ruozhu, thank you," Yu Hongxiu suddenly grabbed Bai Ruozhu’s hand, eyes welling with tears as she spoke.
Bai Ruozhu smiled, "Aren’t I the godmother of your son? It’s my duty to do these things."
Yu Hongxiu smiled, "Yes, you are their godmother. Once they can talk, I’ll have them chase after you calling ’godmother’!"
Listening to this, Bai Ruozhu laughed heartily, "That will be my Dengdeng who calls out first. By then, he’ll be the older brother, and your two little ones will probably be following behind his backside, playing."
Yu Hongxiu knew she was joking to lighten the mood, but still gave her a playful glare, thinking it was indeed better to have children early; otherwise, her son would have been the older brother.
The two talked and laughed cheerfully, and the worries that had been swirling in Bai Ruozhu’s mind also dissipated somewhat.
...
In the Capital, inside the Marquis Jingping’s Residence, the Old Master was shakily holding onto a yellowed, ancient book, his eyes, as faded as the pages, blurred by tears.
"This, this is indeed my sister’s handwriting, where did you get this?" The Old Master grabbed his son, Marquis Jingping’s hand and asked excitedly.
"Father, please calm down, take care of your health," Marquis Jingping said as he patted the Old Master’s back and soothed his qi, his own hair had turned nearly half white, now at fifty years old, while his father was at the ripe age of seventy-four, hardly able to withstand such shocks.
Seeing his father like this, Marquis Jingping regretted showing him the book. If it were not for his father’s continuous yearning to find out the whereabouts of his lost sister, saying that if he could not find her before he died, he would surely die with his eyes open, Marquis Jingping would have never used the book to stimulate his father.
But was his second aunt really still alive? She was probably long gone by now.
"Father, haven’t you always wanted to know about your second aunt’s whereabouts? I sent out quite a lot of people but heard no news. It was only recently that I accidentally acquired this book, which also gave us a vague lead," Marquis Jingping said cautiously, "but this book likely belongs to the descendants of my second aunt, and I’m afraid that she might..."
The Old Master let out a long sigh, "Yes, your second aunt was six years older than me. I’m hardly able to hold on much longer; she might have already..." As he spoke, he sighed again, "Over the years, I’ve often thought about it, but to see her descendants, to see if they are living well—if not, we could lend a hand. That would not let down your second aunt’s risking her life to save me back then."
"Father, rest assured, I will have someone investigate as soon as possible, only there have been rumors of unrest recently, which may cause some delay," Marquis Jingping said.
The Old Master’s expression changed, "Are you talking about disturbances in the Northwest?"
Marquis Jingping’s gaze grew heavy, "It seems likely not far off."
After Marquis Jingping left, the Old Master leaned back in his armchair, his thoughts flying back to the year he was twelve.
Back then, he was a naive youth, the youngest in a family with older brothers and sisters ahead of him; he was considered the most fortunate child in the house. His eldest sister had married off early, his eldest brother had secured a job, and his second and third brothers were still attending school, so it was his second sister who most often played with him.
His second sister was intelligent and studious; the family tutor said that if she were a boy, she would surely be able to enter the imperial court as an officer. He didn’t care much about how learned his second sister was; he only cared about when she would take him to climb trees and collect bird eggs.
Of course, in front of other family members, his second sister was chaste and virtuous, and only when she went wild with him would her true nature reveal itself.
All had been well, but suddenly, a succession crisis struck like a storm. The Bo Family was framed for treason, and overnight, they were executed, and the women were exiled. As the youngest child, he was also doomed to die, but at the crucial moment, his second sister found a way to let him escape. He begged his sister to come with him, but she said she had no strength and couldn’t run, urging him to go quickly and not look back, to live on so that he might save her in the future.
He knew that his second sister was going back to divert the pursuers, giving him a chance at life.
With his sister’s words in mind, he left in tears, always remembering to survive, for only if he lived could he return to save his second sister and mother.
Regrettably, he was never able to clear the Bo Family’s name, nor find his second sister. He spent his life asking around, only to learn that his mother had died of illness on the road of exile, and his second sister had miraculously escaped, but no one knew where she had gone.
Afterward, his children grew up day by day. His eldest son, Bo Qun, learned of his ancestors’ story early on and joined the barracks at sixteen. After several near-death experiences over the years, he had earned great military merit.
Bo Qun was also a filial son; he asked the Former Emperor in the Main Hall for nothing but the exoneration of the Bo Family. The emperor sent people to investigate, and soon enough, the Bo Family was reinstated, and Bo Qun was conferred the title of Marquis Jingping.
Bo Gaozhuo always remembered the promise of that year, urging his son to find his second sister, but there was never any news. Just when he thought he might be close to joining his deceased kin in the afterlife, news of his second sister finally arrived—it must have been destiny.
...
"Master, we have found out that a batch of goods is missing from the factory. The workers had rushed out a batch recently, which Kuai Wen took away, but it turns out it wasn’t delivered to any toothpaste shops," Jianqi reported to Bai Ruozhu.
"Do you know when Kuai Wen started colluding with the Turkic Country?" Bai Ruozhu bit her lip; she didn’t expect to have nurtured a white-eyed wolf in her own midst. Although the person was sent to her by her master, she had given him her full trust; otherwise, she wouldn’t have put him in charge of producing toothpaste.
Jianqi handed her a suspicious letter to read. Bai Ruozhu’s face darkened as she read—it wasn’t that the Duke had been oblivious to her but rather that he felt there was no need to act until he wanted to kill her.
Colluding with the enemy and betraying one’s country was a crime punishable by the execution of the entire extended family; the Duke was too ruthless!
But human calculations are no match for fate; it just so happened that a relative of Zuo Hongyun, who had a balancing relationship with Kuai Wen, saw it. Otherwise, if it had been someone else, perhaps they wouldn’t have wanted to get involved and would have pretended not to know.
A cold sneer crossed Bai Ruozhu’s lips. It seemed even the heavens were not on the Duke’s side; his dream of becoming the Emperor would not be easy to achieve.
"Arrest Kuai Wen and all his associates; I want to cleanse my house," Bai Ruozhu said coldly.
----
Today I got held up by something for a day; I’m trying hard to catch up. My child is about to enter kindergarten and there’s a lot going on these days. I, Mouka, will try to prepare some backlog of work.