Chapter 970 - 972: None Want to Follow the Liu Family_1
The old lady didn’t pay any attention to Bai Lu and started wailing even louder, as if she had really been hit by Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu felt a wave of nausea inside, but with so many people watching, she did not want Liu Family to succeed.
"Grandma, how could I have pushed you when I’m this far away?" Bai Ruozhu purposely acted puzzled, then shook her head and said, "Don’t blame me for disciplining Sanlang. I am his older cousin, and there is a hierarchy of seniority. He was inattentive in his speech, even insulting his own nephew. If I don’t teach him a lesson now, who knows what he’ll become in the future? Our Bai Family’s descendants surely cannot pick up such despicable habits."
After saying this, she walked over to the old lady and reached out to help her up, "Grandma, the ground is cold; it’s not good for you to sit here. And look, what esteemed lady of a scholarly family would sit on the ground? It wouldn’t look good for the guests from the Capital City."
Liu suddenly thought of acknowledging the relationship with the Marquis’ Residence, where those wealthy families were very particular about manners. Like Bai Fu, always demanding this and that. She inwardly cursed her luck, hurriedly got up from the ground, and cautiously glanced at Bo Zheng.
Seeing how quickly Liu got up, everyone knew there was nothing wrong, and they remembered that Bai Ruozhu had indeed just grabbed Sanlang and taken him away before throwing him out when Liu started to wail and fall to the ground.
Sanlang was still grunting over there, and Bai Lu was feeling annoyed. He signaled Bai Zeji with his eyes; Bai Zeji immediately stepped forward, saying he was helping Sanlang, but actually carried him off toward the Entrance of the Village.
Bai Ruozhu watched with a cold laugh. Sanlang was just tough with his mouth; usually reluctant to work the land, how strong could he be? He could bully kids like Xiaosi, but not stand a chance against young folks like Bai Zeji who work in the fields every day.
She had not only thrown Sanlang out just now but also taught him a lesson. He would suffer for it in a few days.
As Liu thought about making connections through marriage, she stopped causing a commotion, suddenly sat up straight, and even copied the posture of ladies from prominent families. However, as she originally paid little attention to etiquette, she ended up looking absurd, and Bai Fu’s face turned red then white on the sidelines, barely able to restrain from calling her out multiple times.
The wine feast proceeded smoothly afterward, and elders at the main table greeted Bo Zheng, asking where he was from. Bo Zheng didn’t avoid the question, saying directly he was on a mission from his master to find relatives, but he didn’t elaborate that his master was from the Marquis’ Residence.
Seeing that Bai Lu and the others also didn’t mention it and didn’t flaunt the Marquis’ Residence influence, he grew even fonder of them. But as the feast was ending, he overheard Liu boasting to an elderly woman that Bai Fu had a cousin who was a Marquis, and they were about to soar to great heights.
Before leaving, the Old Master had instructed Bo Zheng that after finding Bo Jingru’s descendants, to invite them to the Capital to meet him. He wanted to see what his sister’s descendants were like. If it was inconvenient for them to come, to inquire if they needed help, and help them as much as possible.
But seeing Liu’s and Sanlang’s behavior, Bo Zheng truly didn’t want such people in the Capital; the social network in Capital City is complex, and they certainly didn’t need someone who loves causing trouble. Didn’t the General’s Residence suffer last year because a relative relied on their connection to hurt a commoner in the Capital, resulting in the General being impeached by the censors and the Emperor fining him and demoting his rank?
The Marquis Jingping Residence couldn’t be considered very powerful in the Capital, being only above average, and it couldn’t afford such a burden.
But there was not enough time to send a message back and forth to the Capital now, and the Marquis was worried that the Old Master wouldn’t last much longer. What should they do?
Dish after dish was served at the banquet, and Bai Lu’s family was frantic. Bai Ruozhu let her older brother take care of Dengdeng while she went to help Li Family and the others. With her cooking, the pressure in the kitchen was greatly reduced.
"Sister Ruozhu, your cooking skills are still amazing. I couldn’t stop eating the dish you made just now," Bai Lianhe playfully stuck her tongue out at Bai Ruozhu in the kitchen.
Bai Ruozhu was amused by her antics, thinking to herself that Bai Lianhe’s name wasn’t very fitting for her, but her personality wasn’t "Bai Lianhe" at all.
"You silly girl, you’re nearly betrothed and still lack manners. Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing Sister Ruozhu?" Jin Family playfully slapped her and said with a smile.
Remembering her mother’s mention of Bai Lianhe’s intended marriage to her cousin, Bai Ruozhu quickly asked, "Lianhe, is your engagement settled?"
Jin Family’s matriarch hurriedly said, "Not yet, the last time I read a letter from your mother, I had a feeling that this was the case, so I didn’t agree right away. Zeji also said there’s no hurry to engage Lianhua, stating that once he passes the imperial examination for young scholars next year, Lianhua could also consider a better match."
"Brother Zeji is right, he really is starting to act more and more like a responsible older brother," Bai Ruozhu praised sincerely.
Jin Family’s matriarch smiled, "If only he could be half as good as Zepei, I would be satisfied."
"Auntie, my second brother has his merits, and so does Brother Zeji. They both are excellent sons of the Bai Family," Bai Ruozhu said.
Everyone else in the kitchen also started praising, saying that Bai Zeji was not bad at all and that Jin Family’s matriarch should just wait for the day her son would bring her happiness. The matriarch quickly said that the children of the Li Family were also promising, leading to the three sisters-in-law to start complimenting one another.
Bai Ruozhu was envious of the harmonious atmosphere in the clan leader’s family. In the end, it was because the Family Head Grandpa ruled the family well, with fairness and discipline in proper measure. If everyone were like Bai Fu, biased and unreasonable, who could manage the household well?
In the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon, and the ongoing feast was finally arranged. Bai Ruozhu was exhausted. After leaving the kitchen and quickly washing up, she saw her eldest brother coming out of the room where she was temporarily staying. He spoke to her in a low voice, "Dengdeng is finally asleep; taking care of a child is not easy."
As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, clearly worn out by Dengdeng’s antics.
Bai Ruozhu laughed and glanced toward the Main Hall at Bo Zheng, whispering, "Did they come to a decision over there?"
"It seems they want to invite our Family Head Grandpa and our Grandpa to the Capital to meet the Old Master. Grandpa immediately agreed, but the Family Head Grandpa said he needs to think about it," Bai Zehao said.
Bai Ruozhu nodded to her brother, whispering, "Our family is also going to the Capital; we could look after the Family Head Grandpa on the way."
"Just be careful not to get entangled by Grandma and the third brother," Bai Zehao reminded her in a whisper.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "We’ll see when the time comes."
Liu Family had too many issues; she couldn’t keep being soft-hearted towards them. Even if harming her own grandmother could lead to divine retribution, she couldn’t let the Liu Family cause trouble any longer.
Bai Ruozhu proceeded to the Main Hall and saw both Bai Fu and the Liu Family matriarch had not left. Bai Fu was still in conversation with Bo Zheng, asking about their travel route and what to bring.
"Master Bai, my Old Master only wishes to see you and Bai Er Lord, because the horse carriages I prepared are limited and it’s not convenient to bring more people," Bo Zheng said, finding a way to exclude the Liu Family matriarch from the trip.
Bai Fu nodded upon hearing this, "My wife and grandson will stay then."
Upon hearing this, the Liu Family matriarch was displeased, "Why can’t I go? Doesn’t my husband need someone to take care of him on the road? He’s not in the best of health. If something were to happen, who would be responsible?"
----
I finished this by the fifth watch; everyone, please give me more monthly tickets. It seems a book can get a maximum of five tickets per month, and each person can give a maximum of two tickets per day, so for those who have voted before, you can check to vote again now~