Chapter 963 - 965 - Throwing Three _1 on the Road
Because they were delayed in leaving, it wasn’t until past noon that they reached the place where they had planned to stop for lunch and rest. Jiang Yichun, being pressed for time, couldn’t stay to eat. He informed Bai Yihong and his group, hugged his son goodbye, and departed. On his way out, he glanced at Muyu and gestured for him to handle matters well.
Bai Ruozhu went to take over Dengdeng and told him to hurry up, so as not to delay his errands.
Jiang Yichun gave his wife and son one last look, mounted his horse, and sped away.
Everyone entered the inn to dine, and Bai Ruozhu instructed the shopkeeper to also prepare a table of food for Jianqi and the others. Tao Hua, seeing this, murmured to her mother in a low voice, "Bai Ruozhu really doesn’t pay attention to propriety. Having so many men around her, even if they are guards, shouldn’t there be a distinction between men and women?"
Bai Ruozhu, with her keen hearing, how could she not hear?
She glared over and said, "Tao Hua, why do you still love to stir up trouble? It’s not good for a young lady to behave this way as it’ll make it hard to find a good marriage."
Tao Hua herself was anxious about not being able to marry off, and had come to Beiyu City hoping that, since no one knew of her physical ailment, she could marry into a good family. Unfortunately, they could hardly settle down in Beiyu City. The somewhat better-off families were unwilling to marry someone of unknown background, and she looked down on the poorer ones.
In the end, it was discontentment. Why should Bai Ruozhu live like a wealthy lady now, and Fang Guizhi, that kitchen girl, like a daughter of a big household? Why was she, Zhou Taohua, worse than them? Why did she have to live a life inferior to theirs?
"Sister Ruozhu, I am just worried about your reputation. It’s not good to act so recklessly," Tao Hua, suppressing the anger in her heart, said with a forced smile.
Muyu glared back, tilting his head as if looking at Zhou Taohua through his nostrils, and said, "Does my mistress need you to point fingers and give directions? If you think having guards affects your reputation, then don’t follow our caravan. There are plenty of men in the caravan, even the coachman is a man. Be careful not to tarnish the reputation you need for marriage."
Bai Ruozhu pursed her lips, holding back laughter. You’d say Muyu looks a bit silly, but he is quite articulate, even if his actions are a bit funny. His style is completely different from his master’s, and even from the other three guards of wind, thunder, and lightning.
"We don’t know what dangers we might encounter on this journey. If we run into trouble, we guards might not be able to save you, lest we ruin your reputation," Muyu continued, "By the way, the innkeeper and waiter here are men too. You’d better leave quickly; if you stay too close, be careful you don’t get married off."
Bai Ruozhu was really about to burst out laughing. She looked over at her father and elder brothers at the table, each of them struggling to contain their laughter and nearly failing.
With a snort, someone finally laughed out loud; it was Zhou Chuang, the younger one, who after all had less control.
Tao Hua’s face turned red with anger, she retorted with dissatisfaction, "How can this be the same? These are all strangers, but she has men following her every day. What does this look like?"
This time Bai Yihong got angry. The smile on his face disappeared in an instant, and he slammed his palm on the table, saying loudly, "Just you behave properly. If you don’t like it, scram! Stop insulting my daughter here!"
Such remarks from Zhou Taohua were clearly to fan the flames and tarnish Bai Ruozhu’s reputation. How could her father not be angry?
Zhou Taohua was startled and suddenly burst into tears, crying and saying that the Bai Family was bullying people, acting as if wealth made them forget their neighbors, and being unkind and rich and all that.
"Right, I don’t recognize someone like you from the same hometown. It’s normal for a wealthy family to have a guard, but in your mouth, it turns into slander. Riding in my family’s carriage all the way without end and thinking you can bully me, Bai Ruozhu?" Bai Ruozhu’s face darkened, "If you think it’s inappropriate, then you can walk on your own. My family’s horse carriage won’t be used by you, and we won’t feed you either. I, Bai Ruozhu, am no saint, so say whatever you want."
After she spoke, she turned to look at Zhou Dehai, no longer showing the politeness of before, "Uncle Zhou, I’ve said what I had to say. You take Taohua and leave. We have done all the favors we owed."
Zhou Dehai was shaking with anger, took large strides over, and directly slapped Zhou Taohua, the sound crisp and clear. The slap left the continuously sobbing Zhou Taohua stunned; she even forgot to cry. After freezing for about two or three seconds, Zhou Taohua came back to her senses and cried even more heartbreakingly. How could her father hit her? And to slap her in the face in public.
Bai Ruozhu ignored how the Zhou Family disciplined their child and said to everyone, "Let’s hurry up and eat. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can continue on our journey. Don’t let this troublemaker delay everyone’s time."
Zhou Dehai, seeing that Bai Ruozhu was determined not to take them along, looked expectantly at his older brother, begging for mercy. Zhou Deshun’s wife pinched him hard under the table and then glared at him, signaling him not to interfere anymore, lest they hurt the Bai Family’s feelings.
Although the second brother was his real brother, who was the one who truly treated them like family?
Zhou Deshun opened his mouth but in the end, closed it again. Taohua and her mother were too annoying. They had previously called Bai Ruolan a "fool" and looked down upon her, and now they were slandering Bai Ruozhu. Taohua really was getting worse and worse, no wonder she still couldn’t get married.
Seeing that Bai Ruozhu was angry, everyone ate quickly. Even Dengdeng, who had soup mixed with rice and scrambled eggs, ate much faster than usual. After finishing their meal, Bai Ruozhu told everyone to get on the carriage. She patted Lamei on the shoulder and said, "It’s just as well, you’ll have a bit more space. Take care of Ruolan and let her rest for a while."
Lamei nodded and helped Bai Ruolan onto the horse carriage.
Zhou Dehai came forward, fawning and begging for mercy, but was stopped by Muyu. Before he could speak, Muyu patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, I may be an outsider, but I really can’t stand to watch this anymore. Tell me, as a full-grown man, how can you not control your wife and children? When they are acting so disgracefully, you do nothing. Do you want your family to fall into disrepute? Today, it’s just that my master isn’t here. If he heard someone talking about his wife like that, he would surely twist that person’s head off!"
"I..." Zhou Dehai tried to speak, but Muyu interrupted him again, earnestly advising him with a loud voice, drowning out his own. By the time he finally tried to plead his case, he saw that Bai Ruozhu’s horse carriage had already started moving forward.
He chased after it a few steps, only to be stopped again by Muyu, who cheerfully said, "The fault of the child is the fault of the father. You and your wife are both to blame for not teaching your daughter. You should just stay and reflect upon this."
After saying that, he leapt onto his horse and galloped away.
"But what about my son? Give me back my son!" Taohua’s mother called out, but unfortunately, Muyu didn’t pay her any attention. She tried to chase after the carriage but found it was getting farther and farther away.
Zhou Bin was still on Zhou Deshun’s carriage. Being young, he behaved quite well next to his grandmother, who didn’t have the heart to let him go and just hugged him, whispering, "Bin, my boy, you’re a man. Don’t follow in the petty ways of your mother and sister, ruining the family’s reputation."
Zhou Bin nodded and said, "Yes, I’ll listen to Grandma."