Chapter 954 - 956: Second Brother, What Have You Decided?_1
Everyone burst into laughter, then joyfully returned home.
Jiang Yichun had snatched his son from Bai Ruozhu’s arms on the way and held him the whole time without letting go once they were home, much to Bai Ruozhu’s annoyance. Yet seeing the warmth between father and son, her heart felt exceptionally warm and she couldn’t stay upset.
At noon, the entire yard was gathered together for a meal to welcome Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun home. Fang Guizhi had also returned from the Hot Spring Mansion. Although she was smiling, Bai Ruozhu could still see a faint trace of worry in her eyes. Bai Ruozhu sighed softly to herself but didn’t ask any more.
During the meal, Bai Ruozhu noticed her second brother was eating very lightly and realized that his complexion was off. She grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse.
"Second Brother, what’s wrong with you?" Bai Ruozhu asked anxiously.
"It’s nothing, just some stomach discomfort. It’s pretty much better now," Bai Zepei replied with a faint smile.
Lin Ping’er didn’t feel reassured and told Bai Ruozhu about Bai Zepei falling ill on the day of the Rural Examination, urging her to examine him properly to avoid lingering illness.
Bai Ruozhu knitted her brows but soon relaxed them and said to her mother, "It’s okay, he is almost better. I’ll prescribe some restorative medicine for him later, and he should be fine after taking it a couple of times."
Lin Ping’er felt relieved hearing her daughter’s words.
The meal resumed amid lively conversation, and Bai Ruozhu discreetly observed her second brother’s demeanor. Although he seemed the same as usual, some trace of worry was hidden in his eyes.
During the meal, everyone asked about the bandit suppression. Jiang Yichun, unusually talkative, started to speak of Bai Ruozhu’s excellent performance. His retelling was very straightforward and dry, without much emotional fluctuation, but everyone listened intently, nearly venerating Bai Ruozhu as a heroine.
Bai Ruozhu felt embarrassed under everyone’s intense gazes and said with a smile, "Don’t listen to Achun glorifying me. The fighting was all thanks to them. I needed Jianqi and the others to protect me. I just helped out a little."
But Bai Yihong was very gratified and said, "Ruozhu has grown up and knows how to repay evil with kindness. Father is very proud."
He was referring to Bai Ruozhu saving Zhou Ying. Bai Ruozhu secretly stuck out her tongue. She wasn’t repaying evil with kindness; she wasn’t that noble. She just didn’t want old Feng and the others, who refused to seek justice for her, to be punished.
The meal lasted nearly two hours, and afterwards, everyone dispersed. Bai Ruozhu asked Jiang Yichun to take Dengdeng back to the room to rest because she wanted to have a talk with her second brother.
Jiang Yichun, thinking Bai Zepei hadn’t performed well, surprisingly didn’t feel jealous and encouraged Bai Ruozhu to comfort her second brother properly.
"Second Brother, did you guess?" Bai Ruozhu asked as soon as she entered the room.
Second Brother had asked mother for the medicine she had left behind; naturally, he knew about her special arrangements.
Bai Zepei paused, then slightly nodded. He then pulled out several pills from under the bed and handed them to Bai Ruozhu, saying, "Take a look at these pills, might there be a problem with them?"
Bai Ruozhu sniffed the pills and broke one open to examine it, saying, "No problem with these, but they’re also basically ineffective. Where did these come from?"
Bai Zepei gave a wry smile and handed over the medicine bottle Bai Ruozhu had left for him, then asked, "Then these pills are definitely alright?"
Bai Ruozhu went to look and said, "No problem, these are indeed the pills I made."
"It’s just that after taking the pills you left, there was no effect, so I specifically hid some and wanted to find you to take a look. I suspected then that someone had switched the pills," Bai Zepei said with a sigh, "Fortunately, I asked Mother for more medicine; otherwise, I might not have been able to last through the examination."
Bai Ruozhu also breathed a huge sigh of relief. Fortunately, before she left, she had taken precautions and privately left some medicine with her mother. She also secretly told her second brother, just mentioning that if there wasn’t enough medicine, go ask Mother for more. She thought her second brother was clever and would definitely think of it if anything happened.
"When did you start to notice?" Bai Zepei furrowed his brow.
"After we found him, Jianqi, who’s with me, is an expert in examining wounds. He discovered there was something wrong with Qin Kaichang’s injuries; even though many were from being trampled, scratched, or bitten by dogs, underneath, there were also signs of clamboard marks," Bai Ruozhu explained.
Bai Zepei suddenly looked up, "I’ve been thinking that maybe I was just being paranoid, that his injuries might have been from torture by Prince Duan’s men, and he didn’t mention it because he didn’t want us to worry."
"Second brother, you’re a smart man. You must have sensed it too, just didn’t dare to believe it," Bai Ruozhu said with a sigh, "Moreover, he had other injuries, such as using Disguise Paste on his collarbone."
"What?" Bai Zepei was somewhat startled.
"Second brother, do you remember that night in Zhou City, when someone used your clothes to lure Jianqi away, then sent a killer to attack us? In the end, I caught the killer with poison. Achun later interrogated him with severe torture; not only did he use clamboard, but also, fearing that the killer would escape using the Bone Shrinking Skill, he drove an iron hook through his collarbone."
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes slightly lowered, "It was that same night that Qin Kaichang disappeared."
Bai Zepei felt unsteady and collapsed into the chair, unable to regain his composure for a long time. He had considered many things, thought that maybe Qin Kaichang’s jealousy was the cause, but he hadn’t expected there was so much he didn’t know.
"Why didn’t you say something earlier..." Bai Zepei asked, seemingly lost in thought.
"At first, I could only be certain there was something off with the injury on his hand, just as you had previously considered, that it could have been Prince Duan’s men who tortured him, and since he didn’t remember what happened earlier, he didn’t tell us. It was only on the journey back that Jianqi remembered he had used Disguise Paste at his collarbone. His disguise was extremely masterful, so initially, we hadn’t noticed it," she said.
Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth, "If we had been certain of it earlier, I definitely wouldn’t have allowed him to stay by your side and harm you! Now these pills, along with your sudden stomach pains, have proved everything."
"Could it be that the one we rescued isn’t Qin Kaichang, but someone else in disguise?" Bai Zepei still found it hard to believe.
"Then we have to arrest him to get to the bottom of this." She looked up into her second brother’s eyes and asked, "Second brother, how do you decide?"
In fact, Bai Zepei already had the answer in his heart. Having spent these days together, he knew clearly whether the person they rescued was Qin Kaichang or not. If he was a fake Qin Kaichang, then even the friendship that started at the beginning, and the bond that formed between them, must have been fake. From beginning to end, the Qin Kaichang he considered a friend was this man!
Bai Zepei didn’t speak for a long time, and the room was so quiet it was somewhat frightening. Bai Ruozhu did not urge him, only waiting patiently.
After a while, Bai Zepei heaved a long sigh, "Arrest him. No matter who he is, we must handle this by the book." He paused for a few seconds and hurriedly added, "Let’s not let Guizhi know for now."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, feeling a headache starting to form. If Qin Kaichang had always been Prince Duan’s man, then his purpose in getting close to the Bai Family was clear, to befriend second brother, to approach Guizhi, all probably by Prince Duan’s command.
"No wonder he pursued Guizhi but never mentioned a word to me, his close friend," Bai Zepei muttered to himself in a low voice.