Chapter 923 - 925: The Last Move of King Duan_1
"Xuerui has been bright since he was young, and everyone in the Capital’s aristocrat circles knows it. He isn’t just smart; he’s also of good nature. Yet, nobody understands why, once he got married, aside from performing his duties, he would spend his other time wandering around, seeming uninterested in more serious pursuits," the elder lady said with a sigh. "But I’ve lived long enough and seen many people. These old eyes don’t make mistakes, he would never do such a thing, unless he was framed."
"What kind of dirty deeds don’t those big families in the Capital have? Despite how strictly Old Man Jiang manages his household, can there really be no flaws?" the elder lady continued.
Bai Ruozhu smiled gratefully at the elder lady and said, "I also feel that father-in-law isn’t that kind of person. Achun said that when he was young, father-in-law treated him extremely well, frequently taking him out to wander. How could a father like that commit such acts? If father-in-law were prone to lust, how could he have gone so many years without taking a concubine?"
The elder lady nodded her head in satisfaction, "It’s good that you think this way. The matters of the previous generation should be left in the past, but I also didn’t want you to be burdened by them. It seems I was worried over nothing."
After chatting for a while longer, Bai Ruozhu took her leave and returned to the Bai Family, only to be confronted by everyone at home.
"Younger sister, your nerve has grown quite a bit, not discussing anything with us," Bai Zehao complained unhappily.
Bai Zepei also gave her a glare, looking equally displeased.
"Yes, Ruozhu, why didn’t you tell the family about such an important matter?" Lin Ping’er asked with a frown.
Bai Ruozhu explained directly, "The incident happened so suddenly; I didn’t know when the Duke would act. I could only address the matter as swiftly as possible. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell everyone, but this matter couldn’t afford to leak even a whisper. The servants in our house are not entirely trustworthy; by the time I would have explained everything to you, the Duke might have already reported me."
She didn’t mention one detail: the issue originated from the Toothpaste Workshop, and her family was completely unaware. If a real emergency had arisen, she could have thought of ways to keep her family out of it, but if today, her second brother and others had accompanied her to the Public Hall, they would not have been able to clear their names.
Everyone fell silent after hearing Bai Ruozhu’s explanation; after all, treason was a grave crime that permitted no errors.
Lin Ping’er clasped her hands together and prayed, "Thank Buddha for his protection. I’ll go offer incense to the Buddha." Then she dashed off.
In the afternoon, just after Bai Ruozhu had woken up from a nap with her son, a visitor arrived, surprisingly Senior Fox whom she had not seen for days!
Bai Ruozhu became excited and asked Senior Fox, "Did Achun send you to deliver a message to me?"
Feeling awkward, Xu Huilin touched his nose and coughed twice, saying, "I’ve already been transferred out of the Office of Scrutiny. I don’t know about their specific actions."
Bai Ruozhu’s excitement quickly turned to disappointment. She had thought Xu Huilin was one of the Office of Scrutiny’s men, and that Jiang Yichun and the Office were collaborating on an assignment, with Xu Huilin coming to report.
"Then why are you here?" Her tone cooled several degrees due to her disappointment.
With a resigned shake of his head, Xu Huilin said, "Meng Liangshen sent me to see you, to help escort the shipment of toothpaste into the Capital these past few days."
"You’ve returned to the Meng Family?" Bai Ruozhu quickly adjusted her emotions and felt somewhat surprised but was mostly happy for Xu Huilin.
Facing this question, Xu Huilin looked away uncomfortably from Bai Ruozhu’s gaze and said softly, "That matter was settled a while ago, but I’m just an aide. I don’t want to acknowledge the kinship. "
No wonder he had directly called out Meng Liangshen’s name; perhaps Meng Liangshen himself felt quite helpless regarding this son he owed so much to.
Suddenly, Bai Ruozhu’s eyes blinked, one of Meng Family’s sons returned to the Capital to observe mourning, while another took on the task of escorting her toothpaste to the Capital. Did it not indicate something?
"He is truly concerned about your safety," Bai Ruozhu muttered softly.
Xu Huilin, being a martial artist, surely could not have failed to hear her words, his expression changed slightly, yet he did not respond to her.
In fact, he had come to accept Bai Ruozhu’s statement, but emotionally, he still found it hard to accept Meng Liangshen.
"If he had recognized you early on, you probably wouldn’t have survived until now," Bai Ruozhu reminded him in a low voice.
Xu Huilin’s body shuddered, he had also come to understand a lot recently but was still struggling to accept it.
Bai Ruozhu sighed silently, Meng Liangshen’s wrongful debt from those years was indeed helpless, perhaps time would be the best decisive spiritual medicine.
Latter on, the two of them visited the Flower Hall to discuss the departure time, roughly how much merchandise, and how many horse carriages would be transporting it. Xu Huilin took out paper and pen to jot everything down, looking very serious.
This batch of toothpaste must be delivered into the Palace without any further mishaps.
For the following three days, Bai Ruozhu visited the Toothpaste Workshop daily to keep an eye on things, partly because the previous incident required a good tidying up of the ointment workshop to establish authority, and partly to watch over the workers’ production, not wishing to compromise the quality of the toothpaste in the rush. This batch of goods was for the Palace, and absolutely no one could tamper with it.
Not only did Bai Ruozhu supervise the workshop by day, but she also had dark guards secretly watching every movement within the workshop, and sure enough, on the third day, there was an impatient move.
In the dead of night, a worker sneaked into the workshop and opened a large barrel of finished toothpaste with the intention to pour something inside.
A dark guard, Yan Ming, reacted quickly to stop him and struck his acupuncture points.
The incident was reported to Bai Ruozhu overnight, and she instructed Nanny Zhang to take good care of Dengdeng, then quietly left the house and went to the workshop for inspection late at night.
The drug powder had not been scattered into the large barrel of toothpaste, and the powder was not a severe poison. It would react with a certain medicinal material in the toothpaste, causing the gums to bleed incessantly. If used long term, it could lead to gum atrophy and widening of the gaps between teeth.
If such toothpaste were sent to the Palace, she could forget about her head sitting steadily on her neck, for no one could guarantee who would use that toothpaste. It might be awarded to lowly palace maids or eunuchs but could also end up in the hands of princes or concubines. The consequences were something she dared not contemplate.
Fortunately, she had made preparations, and her recent hard work had not been in vain.
She walked step by step towards the worker who had attempted poisoning, and asked, "Have I not treated you well? Although I cannot offer you wealth, high ranks, and noble titles, haven’t I provided you with a comfortable life? What’s the point of taking such risks?"
Jianqi released the man’s mute points, and the worker began to plead, "Master, please spare me, I didn’t want to do this, but the Prince had my wife and child captured. If I didn’t do this, they would die."
Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, "Your wife and children were captured, and yet you did not speak to me. Do you think so little of me as your master? That I can’t be trusted or help you save them? Sneaking poison, have you considered that it could kill more than just one or two people? Everyone in this workshop would have to be executed, and my entire family would be implicated because of you. How am I to sympathize with you?"