Chapter 935 - 937 Temporarily Not Recognizing_1
The Bai family members were all stunned, especially Bai Ruozhu and Bai Yihong, whose expressions were the most shocked. The father and daughter even glanced at each other. Could it be that Niu Cuicui had come?
But how could she have come?
Before Bai Ruozhu and her father had any time to react, footsteps were heard from outside, followed by the voice of government soldiers, "Who’s there? Do you have identification papers? If not, come with us to the Government Office and stay there!"
The City had been in chaos lately, with searches everywhere for spies and the claws of Prince Duan.
Niu Cuicui’s voice sounded somewhat panicked, "Officer, I’m from the countryside and came to the City to find relatives. I don’t have any identification papers."
"If you don’t have them, go to the Government Office for questioning. If there’s nothing wrong with your identity, just get the papers there, and you won’t have to sneak around anymore," the officer said.
Bai Ruozhu remembered, realizing why the knocking at the door had been so urgent, as if hiding from someone.
Niu Cuicui, hearing this, became anxious and shouted toward the inside, "Bai Erge, open the door! Give me proof, I’m Bai Zeqing’s birth mother!"
Lin Ping’er shuddered, disbelieving as she looked towards Bai Ruozhu and asked, "What did she say? She’s Xiaosi’s birth mother?"
Bai Yihong was a bit anxious and worried, looking at Bai Ruozhu and asking, "Girl, should we open the door for her?"
Privately, Bai Ruozhu didn’t want Niu Cuicui to take Xiaosi away, although now she couldn’t. But if Niu Cuicui was to recognize Xiaosi, Xiaosi would have to face the fact that he was a child born from a peasant woman who was raped by bandits, a reality too cruel for Xiaosi.
However, Niu Cuicui had a life full of hardships, and Bai Ruozhu didn’t have the heart to deny her the chance to recognize her son. But hadn’t she forgotten everything? Why had she suddenly come to acknowledge kinship?
With her mind spinning, Bai Ruozhu eventually shook her head slightly and said, "Given the unclear current situation, we can’t let unfamiliar people in. The officer is also following the rules. If she is not suspected, they won’t make things difficult for her."
Lin Ping’er’s mouth gaped open, looking at the head of the household, then at the daughter, clearly realizing they knew something.
Outside, the officer took Niu Cuicui away, saying, "Alright, even if you managed to call them out, no one could protect you. You would still have to undergo an examination. That’s just how things are now, so you’d better come with us quietly."
Unwilling to give in, Niu Cuicui shouted towards the Main Gate of the Bai family, "Zeqing, Zeqing, I’m your birth mother! Open the door! It was they who took you away from me. I didn’t know anything, it wasn’t intentional that I abandoned you!"
She was pulled away by the officer, her shouts growing fainter, but still entering Bai Ruozhu’s ears without missing a word. Ruefully shaking her head, Bai Ruozhu said to the others in the house, "It seems we can’t hide this matter anymore. Everyone, let’s go inside and talk slowly."
The family members all went inside, while others discreetly excused themselves. This kind of domestic matter was better not overheard.
Bai Ruozhu had the maid close the door and dismissed them. Lin Ping’er’s expression became even more solemn.
"Ruozhu, how come both you and your father know, but didn’t give me a heads-up?" Lin Ping’er asked displeasedly. "Who is that woman outside, does Xiaosi come from unsavory origins?"
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly pulled her mother to sit down, soothingly patted her back, and said, "Mother, don’t worry. Dad and I learned about this matter by chance when we went to Linjiang Village, it wasn’t our intention to hide it from you. We were just afraid that Xiaosi would be heartbroken if he knew, so we thought it would be better to wait until he was a bit older before telling him."
"Heartbroken?" Lin Ping’er became anxious. "Quickly, tell me what exactly happened."
"That woman is the daughter of Niu Pazi, before she was even married, the Village was robbed by mountain bandits, and they ravaged a perfectly honorable Miss," Bai Ruozhu said with a sigh. "Later, she gave birth to Xiaosi but because of the shock, her mind became somewhat unhinged, and she forgot both Xiaosi and the incident."
"You know what happened later. Niu Pazi gave the child to our Aunt. Niu Cuicui also married someone from Linjiang Village and had a son and a daughter. Her days, actually, have been rather good. Dad and I accidentally found out that day, and Niu Pazi even begged us not to disturb Niu Cuicui’s life at that time."
With teary eyes, Lin Ping’er wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye and said, "Why is Xiaosi’s life so miserable? He was beaten so often at the old mansion, and his background is actually like this."
Even being an illegitimate child or a child from a mistress is better than a child born of a woman violated by bandits, how could the child accept this?
At this time, Bai Ruozhu’s face grew somber as she looked around at the family members and spoke gravely, "We must keep Xiaosi’s background a secret. The Imperial Court is exterminating the bandits of Batianzhai, who have not only been plundering and killing for years but are also colluding with the Turkic Country. If Xiaosi’s background were to be exposed, I’m afraid..."
It’s not just that Xiaosi would be hunted down and killed, at the very least, his future would be ruined. Even if he had no dealings with the bandits of Batianzhai, in ancient times, lineage was highly valued, and this was something he could not escape from.
Everybody fell silent; the news was too shocking, and everyone needed time to digest it.
Wan Caiyue, who should not have come in her condition, was unable to put her mind at ease, and now, hearing all this made her even more anxious. She looked at Bai Ruozhu and asked, "But didn’t Niu Cuicui forget she had given birth to Xiaosi? How could she just suddenly show up claiming to be his relative? And making such a ruckus - isn’t she afraid of her past being revealed?"
"Yeah, why would she come running at this time, if not arranged by someone with ulterior motives?" Bai Yihong asked worriedly.
"I’ll have someone investigate secretly later to see with whom she has been in contact, and how she suddenly turned up," Bai Ruozhu said through gritted teeth, "For now, we won’t acknowledge the matter. If she makes a scene again, we’ll pretend to be ignorant and say we can’t just take her word for it, we need to send someone to investigate."
The entire family nodded their agreement; acknowledging Niu Cuicui at this time was too risky. Let them appear as the bad people who did not want to return someone’s child, after all, they genuinely didn’t want to give up Xiaosi.
"It’s not like we adopted Xiaosi, nor did we ever say we would return him. If we don’t acknowledge her, then we don’t. If it comes to it, let her go and sue us!" Lin Ping’er said defiantly, somewhat aggressively in her anger.
On hearing this, Bai Ruozhu gave a wry smile. Her mother also cared too deeply for Xiaosi and did not want to acknowledge Niu Cuicui.
Bai Zepei, who had been silent, took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Ordinarily, we should sympathize with that woman’s life story, but her timing is off. If she truly cared about Xiaosi, for his own good she wouldn’t be making such a fuss. Anyone with a bit of sense would know how tumultuous the City is right now."
Bai Ruozhu’s face turned stern. Her second brother was right; she also felt that Niu Cuicui didn’t truly care for Xiaosi. Having been able to forget about Xiaosi’s existence back then, wasn’t it because she looked down on the child? Now creating such a scene without regard for repercussions, does she really have Xiaosi at heart?
"Whatever her motive, I will have it thoroughly investigated." Bai Ruozhu said coldly.
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A new month has begun, can Mouka weakly ask for some monthly votes? At least a ranking would give Mouka a sense of presence.