Chapter 957 - 959: Corrupted his son_1
"I’ve said it was limited for the second time," Bai Ruozhu spoke with a sincere expression, making everyone reconsider their initial skepticism when they thought about how the Red Trout wasn’t fishy at all and was even delicious raw.
Tu Lie’s eyes lit up and he said loudly, "I’ll reserve a dish for tomorrow first!"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, "Tu Lie, I’ve invited people for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so we won’t officially start business until after. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit longer."
Tu Lie opened his mouth, wanting to say he also planned to come for a meal tomorrow, but then his wife tugged at his sleeve, reminding him of his slight impropriety. With an embarrassed smile, he said, "It’s a pity to not be able to eat such a delicacy every day."
"It’s precisely because it’s delicious that it’s all the more precious. If Tu Lie ate it every day, you would quickly grow tired of it," Jiang Yichun joined in with a joke from the side.
Laughing heartily, Tu Lie said, "Alright then, I’ll book a table for the day after tomorrow and bring some friends over for fun."
"Good, I’ll have someone make a note of it for you," Bai Ruozhu said with a smile and immediately instructed the steward to record it.
Others were also tempted, but considering that Meng Liangshen and Kuai Minglang were there, in the end, Meng Liangshen also booked a table, saying that he planned to invite his younger brother and his family to come over the day after tomorrow and bring the old madam as well.
Today the old madam hadn’t rested well, fearing that going out of the city would be too tiring for the elderly, she had not been allowed to come.
In the end, all six dishes of Red Trout booked for the day after tomorrow were reserved, and the steward next to them said with a smile, "Master, if the people after them don’t get the Red Trout, they might complain about you."
With a grand gesture, Tu Lie said very dominantly, "Tell them to get in line!"
Everyone couldn’t hold back their laughter.
In the afternoon, the male guests continued with fishing and playing chess. Bai Ruozhu had arranged some modern card and board games, specially trained smart boys to explain the rules at the side, and soon the guests were drawn to the new games and found additional enjoyment.
The ladies sat in a pavilion by the pond, drinking fruit juice and eating fruit salad, mainly with fruits they had just picked themselves, which was quite a different flavor.
There were also maids with dexterous hands who came over and helped them with nail care and applying polish.
Of course, there were also women who liked to play cards, with card tables set up beside them, and a few gathered around while maids explained the new way to play.
Such a leisurely time passed quickly and soon it was afternoon. The various guests could only say goodbye to Bai Ruozhu and return home.
After everyone left, Bai Ruozhu arranged some matters before she bid farewell to Zhou Deshun and his family and left the manor.
On the way, Jiang Yichun showed appreciation for Bai Ruozhu, saying, "You really are more suited to business than I am; Master Lin didn’t choose the wrong person."
"Don’t start with that; if you hadn’t adamantly refused him, I’m sure he would’ve only picked you and not given me a second glance," Bai Ruozhu said with some sourness. It was obvious that her master preferred Achun a bit more, but it was only because Achun was unwilling to deal with the Commerce Association.
Jiang Yichun laughed heartily, "Can’t help it, who made me know the old man for a longer time?"
Bai Ruozhu glared at him but didn’t hold it against him any longer.
The two of them chatted all the way, and soon the conversation turned to Qin Kaichang. Jiang Yichun still had no news about Qin Kaichang. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "His face-changing technique is so ingenious, I’m afraid it’s not going to be easy to catch him again. When we caught him and interrogated him severely, we actually failed to see through his disguise. We were really too careless."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pinched her cheek, expressing his dissatisfaction, "Next time, you can’t hide it from me. If you had spoken up earlier, we wouldn’t have let the tiger return to the mountain."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him and retorted, "Don’t lecture me about that. Didn’t you fail to tell me when you went to pretend to suppress bandits? You guys deliberately gave up the Northwest Main Camp to make Prince Duan think he could successfully rebel, and then you trapped him in one fell swoop while also gaining the moral high ground. Why didn’t you tell me about that in advance?"
Jiang Yichun quickly made a shushing gesture, "Keep your voice down. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you; these are secret orders I received on my way back. I heard that Prince Duan has experts who intercept secret messages by his side, so how could I dare to send you a message? If the news leaks, it would be dreadful. I’m just afraid he would deal with you harshly."
Bai Ruozhu reasoned and admitted he had a point. She wasn’t the sort to make unreasonable trouble, so she dropped the matter.
Now that the major threat in the Northwest was eliminated, and although Prince Duan’s forces could potentially make a comeback, he had become a traitorous subject, and his strength was greatly weakened. It wouldn’t be possible for him to rebel again in the near future.
When the two arrived home, they found that the whole family was gathered in the Main Hall, chatting and laughing, which was unusual as they didn’t come out to welcome them as they normally would, puzzling indeed.
Bai Ruozhu briskly walked over and, upon reaching the doorway, saw that everyone was laughing around Little Dengdeng. It turned out the little guy had managed to stand on his own without holding onto anything and could even stagger forward a couple of steps. This was indeed a big milestone!
Still, Bai Ruozhu was somewhat worried. Was Little Dengdeng walking too soon? In her previous life, her college classmate’s child could walk at one year old, which was considered early. Also, children who learned to walk too early often don’t develop strong leg bones, but looking at Little Dengdeng’s sturdy build, it seemed a bit different.
"Mom, how can Little Dengdeng already walk by holding onto things?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
Lin Ping’er replied with a smile, "Just before you entered the house, he was playing by himself and suddenly stood up without holding onto anything, then he fell and landed on his bottom. But this little guy isn’t sensitive, he got up and stood again, and this time he stood even longer. I was afraid he would fall and went to hold him, but then he just wobbled forward on his own, which surprised all of us."
Jiang Yichun saw Bai Ruozhu’s concern and whispered, "Don’t worry, our son has strong roots, he’s good martial arts material."
Bai Ruozhu considered that no one had ever specifically taught Little Dengdeng to stand or walk; he had reached out on his own when the time came. It wasn’t a case of forcing the issue; it was the child’s natural choice in his development. As long as it wasn’t dangerous, she shouldn’t stop him.
When Dengdeng saw his mother, he wobbled over to her, but after only five or six steps, he grew unsteady and suddenly flung himself into her arms, then burst into giggles.
Bai Ruozhu picked up her heavy son, tapped his forehead with a smile, and said, "Mom knows you’re impressive, but since you’ve just started walking, you can’t walk too much, we’ll play again tomorrow."
Dengdeng responded by planting a kiss right on his mother’s mouth. Bai Ruozhu was caught completely off-guard by her son’s "strong kiss." Was this his way of suggesting she was nagging, trying to seal her mouth closed?
Suddenly, she was reminded of a time Jiang Yichun had abruptly kissed her to stop her from speaking, and it was particularly passionate. And Little Dengdeng had been watching...
Her face flushed red in an instant. Was her son applying what he had learned on the spot?
With that thought, she cast a covert glare at Jiang Yichun, blaming the man who completely disregarded the presence of their child, surely leading their son astray!
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Today, Mouka is striving to make a strong effort and aims for five updates, so may I humbly ask for some monthly votes? Speaking of which, we’ve dropped over eighty spots on the monthly ranking list~