Chapter 984 - 986 Guizhi’s Determination_1
Guizhi knew that publicly revealing this matter wouldn’t necessarily put an end to her mother’s delusions, but it would put herself in an awkward situation, and she could even fall from her position as a young lady to the bottom of the valley, becoming a servant looked down upon by others.
The class distinctions of this era were very obvious; it was still okay to be a commoner, but if one was a servant who had sold themselves into servitude, those ladies of the great families wouldn’t even bother to speak a word more to you.
Besides, Guizhi wasn’t a servant—it had merely been a temporary measure at the time, but her own mother had forced her to trample her dignity underfoot.
Even an ordinary girl from a village family wouldn’t want to become a sold servant, let alone Guizhi, who had grown much over the years and was now so different from before. Yet she had to throw herself back into the mud—what would her feelings be?
When Guizhi saw Bai Ruozhu, her tears flowed even more fiercely. She fought back her tears and said, "Miss, you’ve arrived at just the right time. Can you tell my mother whether I am a servant of the Xie Family or not?"
Bai Ruozhu felt a deep pain in her heart. She didn’t answer Guizhi’s question, instead giving the guard a fierce stare and said, "Didn’t I ask you to watch over the manor and prevent outsiders from causing trouble? Where were you looking? Do you not want your monthly pay? Hurry up and throw this person out!"
The guards were startled; the young lady usually had a good temper and rarely became this angry. They hurriedly grabbed Guizhi’s mother, intending to throw her out.
As Guizhi’s mother struggled, she shouted loudly, "Bai Ruozhu, don’t go too far! I am still your elder from the village. By what right do you treat me this way? Believe it or not, I will go to the Government Office and sue you for bullying!"
"Hurry up and go. I can also accuse you of disrupting my business. If you can’t afford to pay silver, get ready to be beaten," Bai Ruozhu said through clenched teeth.
The guards didn’t dare to delay any longer and threw the woman far away. Jiang Yichun gave a look to Chixin, who immediately went over and sealed Guizhi’s mother’s mute acupoint, allowing her to be thrown out quietly.
Bai Ruozhu went over to help Guizhi and then apologized to the guests, saying, "I apologize for ruining everyone’s fun today. To express the Bai Family’s regret, all expenses for today will be halved."
The ladies had to give face to Bai Ruozhu and said with a smile, "Not at all, not at all, Boss Bai, you don’t have to be so polite."
Someone joked, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have settled the bill."
Bai Ruozhu also said with a smile, "Please don’t be polite with me. Those who have paid will receive half their silver back, and there will be gifts later."
"What gifts? Boss Bai is too generous," the guests said, laughing as they surrounded Bai Ruozhu and re-entered the manor.
Bai Ruozhu gestured Chixin with her eyes to take Guizhi to the backyard to rest first. Before Guizhi left, Bai Ruozhu patted her shoulder, signaling her not to take it too hard.
Then, Bai Ruozhu had Chengyu bring out some Lotus Moisturizing Dew and gave each person a small bottle.
"You can use this Moisturizing Dew after washing your face in the morning and evening, and it can also be used as a face mask. It’s made from the first harvest of lotus flowers this summer and is especially good for facial hydration and moisture," Bai Ruozhu explained with a smile.
One of the ladies said with a hint of regret, "It would have been even better if it were the Purified White Jade Cream."
A lady next to her patted her and said with a smile, "The Purified White Jade Cream can only be used here; you have to understand the difficulties Boss Bai faces."
Another lady joined the conversation, "Exactly, I wonder if Boss Bai has heard? Someone stole a bit of your Purified White Jade Cream to analyze its formula."
"Oh?" Bai Ruozhu raised an eyebrow and asked.
"I also heard about it from outsiders. That person claimed it was just ordinary mud and went to dig some up from a pond, but the smell was so foul it couldn’t compare to your family’s Purified White Jade Cream at all. Later, I heard that it was tested on someone, and well..." The lady covered her mouth and giggled, "The person who tried it ended up with a face full of rashes."
Everyone laughed, all saying that the person who had done the deed got what they deserved.
It seemed as though everyone had put Guizhi’s matter out of their mind.
Having soothed the guests, Bai Ruozhu went to the backyard to find Fang Guizhi. She had already dried her tears, and her expression was no longer as pained as before. She had put on some light makeup, which made her look much more spirited.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t expect Guizhi to stabilize her emotions so quickly, and to be even stronger than she had imagined; she then realized that Guizhi had grown up.
But this growth was accompanied by blood and tears.
"Silly girl, you don’t have to be so hard on yourself, you didn’t need to say that in public," Bai Ruozhu said as she went over and took her arm.
"It’s okay, I’ve come to terms with it. Why should I care about the opinions of others? Even if I hadn’t spoken like that, I couldn’t have made her give up. I don’t want to have anything to do with my family in this lifetime. Otherwise, my mother will suck me dry like a bloodsucking worm and then come for you all." Fang Guizhi forced a smile. "Anyway, I’m leaving Beiyu City in a couple of days. Who cares what others think of me?"
Patting her head, Bai Ruozhu said, "Let’s go home. You understand your own feelings, and not being soft-hearted towards your mother is for the best. Otherwise, I’m afraid you will suffer even more in the future."
"I won’t go soft. I can give up my reputation, so how could I go soft?" Fang Guizhi said with a wistful smile.
On the way back, Bai Ruozhu brought Guizhi with her and told her to rest at home for a few days, to pack her belongings, and not go to the Hot Spring Mansion.
She had come riding a horse with Jiang Yichun, but to accompany Guizhi, she gave her horse to Jianqi and others and sat with Guizhi in her carriage.
Jiang Yichun naturally couldn’t ride in the carriage but secretly made a meaningful glance at her behind the scenes.
The two of them were in perfect unison, and Bai Ruozhu immediately understood that Jiang Yichun must have already dealt with Guizhi’s mother.
After they got home, Bai Ruozhu sent Guizhi to her room to rest, then hurried to find Jiang Yichun to ask what he had done. In fact, she was somewhat worried that Jiang Yichun might have gone too far.
Although she also disliked Guizhi’s mother, after all, she was just an ordinary civilian who couldn’t be directly killed like a mountain bandit.
"Don’t worry, I didn’t kill her. I just had someone send her to jail. The charge was sabotaging the Bai Family’s business and instigating others to embezzle the master’s money," Jiang Yichun said.
The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. "Isn’t this going to make Guizhi very embarrassed?"
"Now that she has made up her mind, if we don’t do something drastic, what if her mother keeps pestering her? I imagine she’ll spend about ten days or half a month in jail, and by then, we’ll have already left Beiyu City far behind. Even if she still has the guts to make a fuss, she won’t be able to catch up to us," Jiang Yichun said with a sly smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Why do you smile so wickedly? What else did you do?" Bai Ruozhu confirmed once again that this man was deviously cunning.
"Nothing else, I just thought about her time in jail, and it doesn’t seem so bad," Jiang Yichun said candidly with a laugh.
"Really nothing else?" Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows, her gaze scrutinizing.
"Really nothing else," Jiang Yichun smiled inwardly, thinking how once she’s in jail, she’ll have all her money taken from her, and then he’ll see if she can still be as arrogant as usual.
Although Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat distrustful, if Jiang Yichun said there was nothing more, it meant he truly hadn’t done anything else. However, she hadn’t anticipated that some things did not require Jiang Yichun’s orders; there would always be someone willing to take action.