Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

”What else?” Bai Ruozhu sensed there definitely was some major gossip here.

Tu Ying, somewhat embarrassed, said, ”He has a cousin from Beiyu City, a talented lady named Jiao Wushuang, who is now in her twenty-eighth year. Dang Youshen, on the other hand, is already twenty-five but has never married. He only keeps several concubines, and it is said that he’s been waiting to marry this cousin of his. But it turns out his cousin greatly admires your second brother, lavishing praise on his poetry during a Poetry Conference.”

”So she admires my second brother, just gave him a few compliments?” Bai Ruozhu asked in surprise. If she was an admirer of her second brother, how come she hadn’t heard even the slightest rumor about it?

”That seems to be the case, never saw her seeking out your second brother privately.” Tu Ying’s tone was somewhat sour, and speaking of it as a complete impossibility.

Now Bai Ruozhu understood, that Dang Youshen was thoroughly jealous of her second brother. As for his years of waiting for his cousin, she didn’t think him to be a man of deep passion—otherwise, why would he take concubines, and more than one at that?

It was very possible that he coveted Jiao Wushuang’s family background, which was why he was willing to wait for her in this way.

Dang Youshen said his piece, but no one dared to pick up on his remarks, leading him to lose interest and fall silent as well.

More than an hour later, the convoy reached the next town, where Jiang Yichun ordered the troops to rest. No one was to leave the group, and any needs should be reported to the front officer. As for using the toilet, it was just to the side.

Bai Ruozhu also got off with Dengdeng to get some fresh air; she moved her legs around a bit—sitting continuously like that made her legs uncomfortable.

Upon dismounting, Tu Ying felt as if she’d been liberated, almost joyous enough to perform a set of boxing moves. She grabbed Dengdeng’s little fists, teaching him boxing positions and making him giggle incessantly, attracting quite a bit of attention from the soldiers.

Such a radiant woman as Tu Ying might not necessarily attract scholars, but she certainly caught the eye of the military men, with many staring at her intently.

Tu Bai, watching from not too far away, was grinding his teeth, when he suddenly pointed at a soldier who was practically drooling and said, ”You there, let’s spar a bit.”

With that, he walked over to the soldier, who didn’t want to appear cowardly in front of the young nobleman and, wiping the drool from his chin, prepared to spar with Tu Bai.

Wen Shu, somewhat worried, looked to Jiang Yichun and asked, ”Sir, should we stop them?”

Although Jiang Yichun didn’t move, his attention was always on Bai Ruozhu’s side, and naturally, he noticed Tu Ying being ogled and knew why Tu Bai was angry.

”No need, they will stop at an appropriate point,” Jiang Yichun replied indifferently.

”Yes, sir, you are wise,” the officer quietly stepped aside.

Tu Bai and the soldier began to fight. The soldier was a veteran, one of the elite from the Northwest Main Camp; after all, Jiang Yichun would not have chosen him to accompany the trip otherwise. This time, the two hundred men were not many, so all were carefully selected.

But Tu Bai was the legitimate son of a martial family, having started practicing martial arts at the age of three. He was practically raised on roughhousing, so he was not much worse off than the soldier. During the exchange, he quickly gained the upper hand and eventually knocked the soldier to the ground.

He did stop at an appropriate point, just as Jiang Yichun had said, although he snorted coldly, turned around, and loudly said to Tu Ying, ”Little sister, take good care of yourself on the road.”

With his loud voice, everyone knew that Tu Ying was his sister, and they also understood why he had sparred with that soldier. Many retracted their gazes, feeling it improper to keep staring.

At that moment, a veteran in the ranks muttered softly, ”Ah, I see that the young master is from the Martial Commandant’s family. You people dare to stare at the Martial Commandant’s daughter; you must be really itching for trouble!”

How could those soldiers not know of the Martial Commandant? It was just that they usually stayed in the Northwest Main Camp and hadn’t seen much of Tu Ying or Tu Bai, which was why they had caused this scene.

Bai Ruozhu watched with great interest from the side, grinning mischievously, ”Your elder brother really knows how to act the part. This is what they call ’rage born of a crown knocked askew on behalf of one’s sister.’ If the journey is this exciting from the start, it’s bound to be even more interesting later.”

Tu Ying waved her fists and said, ”Who asked him to meddle? Can’t I deal with those ruffian soldiers myself? I’d knock their eyeballs out.” Saying so, she looked displeased as she glared at the soldiers.

Bai Ruozhu quickly grabbed her fist, smiling as she said, ”Alright, a fair lady, a gentleman’s good match. They admired you, that’s why they couldn’t help but look more. I actually think they have good taste.”

Tu Ying didn’t respond but her eyes darted in Bai Zepei’s direction. She saw Bai Zepei talking with Qin Kaichang, not looking over here at all, as if he didn’t care about what had happened here, or about the soldiers staring at her.

She felt a bit sour inside and quickly averted her gaze. Wasn’t it agreed not to make the same mistakes again?

Bai Ruozhu followed Tu Ying’s gaze and immediately guessed what she was thinking. As she looked over, she inadvertently locked eyes with a man. He looked arrogantly at her, as if he snorted and then turned his head away.

She tugged at Tu Ying’s sleeve, quietly asking if that man was Dang Youshen. Tu Ying glanced over and nodded, ”That’s the guy. Just look at that sanctimonious expression.”

Dang Youshen sat to one side, drinking water, and talked with a few scholars nearby. Bai Ruozhu pricked her ears up and caught the gist of the conversation.

”If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have to rush on the road, and everyone wouldn’t have to suffer so much. The trip to the Jiangnan Competition was supposed to be a good thing, but we had to start off eating dried food. Who knows what lies ahead? If it rains, it’ll delay us even more. Are they trying to work us to death?” Dang Youshen continued with his complaints.

Someone quietly advised, ”Let it go, Brother Dang. Even if we had a few extra days, would the journey be any more comfortable? Let’s just bear with it.”

Dang Youshen immediately looked displeased and said, ”What do you know! The officer leading the delegation is Bai Zepei’s brother-in-law. He got into the delegation through his brother-in-law’s connections. Let that pass, but just because he got a little sick, everyone had to wait for him to leave a few days late. Is that fair? If it delays the Competition, I definitely won’t let it go. I’ll make sure my uncle petitions the higher-ups.”

Others agreed, saying, ”It’s unfair. The Competition represents the honor of the Academy. How can it be taken so lightly? Bai Zepei has really gone too far.”

Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth as she listened. She felt that most of the members didn’t harbor ill will toward her second brother and weren’t actually bad people. But it was Dang Youshen who kept spreading negative information, mixing half-truths to cast her second brother in an unfavorable light.

For instance, her second brother was indeed ill and nearly lost his life, but in Dang Youshen’s words, it was just a minor illness. The Academy had indeed delayed their departure for her second brother, but that was because the Academy valued its talent and didn’t want him to miss the grand event at the Study Palace. Yet, according to Dang Youshen, it turned into her second brother using Jiang Yichun’s connections, suggesting Jiang Yichun had abused his power for personal gain.

It was impossible for others to know the full story, and thus they were easily misled by Dang Youshen’s distortions.