Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1141: Chapter 1143: The Support for Elder Jiang Ge Has Arrived_1

After Dengdeng fell asleep, Bai Ruozhu left the room and went to the hall to drink tea. Jianqi couldn’t help but come over to salute and said, ”My lord, we can’t just let this matter go. That boss even cheated a child...”

Jianqi was usually composed; it was rare to see him this agitated, but he was indeed infuriated by the boss’s behavior.

Bai Ruozhu smiled and took out a small porcelain bottle to hand to Jianqi, ”Go pour this on him tonight.”

Jianqi was not doing this for the first time for Bai Ruozhu, and he seldom asked questions, but this time he couldn’t help but ask, ”What will happen after I pour it?”

”Five days later, his body and mouth will start to emit a stench, making it hard for others to come close,” Bai Ruozhu said, beginning to smile.

Jianqi, with a stern face, said somewhat displeased, ”That’s letting him off too easy.”

Bai Ruozhu kept smiling without speaking. That man was indeed despicable, but his actions didn’t warrant death. A simple retaliation was enough, and the stench would last only a month or two at most.

...

Inside the Imperial Study Room, the Virtuous King bowed to the emperor and said, ”Your Majesty, I’ve heard that Elder Jiang Ge is ill.”

The emperor, although smiling, felt displeased in his heart, ”Uncle Emperor is a sentimental man. Elder Jiang Ge once taught you for a while. It’s hard for you to still care about him after all this time.” The emperor’s displeasure was not directed at the Virtuous King but at Elder Jiang Ge for being out of touch with the times.

No, it wasn’t just being out of touch; lately, Elder Jiang Ge had been particularly annoying. In dealing with Jiang Yichun’s affairs, he insisted on interfering unjustifiably or finding fault.

”Elder Jiang Ge is a pillar of the state. Many talented individuals regard him as a teacher. Now in his old age, with no official duties, it wouldn’t be right for a younger generation to bully him, otherwise, it would dishearten those old officers,” the Virtuous King continued.

”Oh? Who has been gossiping with you, Uncle Emperor? Who dares to bully Elder Jiang Ge in this court? He doesn’t even sell face to me; who could bully him?” The emperor raised his voice suddenly.

Unfortunately, the Virtuous King was steadfast by nature. Hearing of Elder Jiang Ge’s illness and after paying a visit, he became so angry that he couldn’t care less whether the emperor was displeased.

”How could there not be? Let’s not even talk about Jiang Yichun. What is the Bai Family? They dared to shout at a veteran elder. How could a woman of good household behave so indecorously? If the empress dowager does not want to speak up, she should call her into the Palace to admonish her, teaching her some manners to prevent rural shrews from causing chaos,” the Virtuous King said with a look of disgust as he mentioned Bai Ruozhu, though he had never actually met her.

The emperor frowned, ”Who told you this, Uncle Emperor? That Bai woman is highly skilled in medicine. She has saved Consort Le several times, preserving the Dragon Heir. Even last time when Elder Jiang Ge fell ill, it was she who treated him. How can this be called creating chaos?” He rubbed his temples wearily, ”It’s hard for an upright official to settle domestic disputes, Uncle Emperor, better not to meddle in these matters. In the end, Elder Jiang Ge just looks down on Bai’s background. But hasn’t Jiang Yichun been disowned by him? He worries too much and keeps getting ill. If it really can’t be helped, he should just resign his position and recover his health.”

The Virtuous King felt extremely frustrated but did not dare to say more. However, he made a mental note of Bai Ruozhu, not believing that a young woman could have much medical skill. He thought she must have tricked the emperor and the empress dowager with her sweet-talking. He had heard that the empress dowager liked Bai Ruozhu, and must have spoken on her behalf for the emperor to protect her so.

In fact, the emperor had never really liked Bai Ruozhu. Likewise, it was because he felt Bai Ruozhu was not a good match for Jiang Yichun. But as Bai Ruozhu had saved Consort Le and their child twice, he was forced to reevaluate his opinion of her.

Watching the Virtuous King leave in a huff, the emperor instructed his attendant, Wang Shun, to send a message to the empress dowager. The next day, the empress dowager summoned Bai Ruozhu to the palace and reminded her of a few things.

Bai Ruozhu was somewhat surprised, ”I don’t have any conflict with the Virtuous King, so how can he convict me just based on a few words from Elder Jiang?”

The Empress Dowager sighed helplessly, ”The Virtuous King is too straightforward in character and not very personable, but he is extremely loyal to His Majesty and greatly respected by some of the court elders. Elder Jiang is considered his teacher, and he has always respected Elder Jiang, so...”

So she’s the villain now? Bai Ruozhu felt utterly speechless. Elder Jiang was quite old and inevitably biased— how could whatever he says be taken as truth?

”Be more careful in the Capital City, and try your best to avoid the Virtuous King. He might openly give you trouble,” the Empress Dowager advised.

Bai Ruozhu nodded. The Empress Dowager’s words had already revealed quite a lot. Overly straightforward, influential, and one of the Emperor’s elders—what could the Emperor do to him?

”Rest assured, Your Highness, I will go out less frequently these days,” Bai Ruozhu said.

The Empress Dowager then took Bai Ruozhu to Princess Diao Bin’s Liuhui Palace and asked her to spend some time with Princess Diao Bin, who had been looking upset for days after learning about the departure of Diao Yao and her siblings. Holding onto Bai Ruozhu, she asked, ”Ruozhu, do you think they will return to the Western Regions? Will they never come to the Capital City again?”

Bai Ruozhu really couldn’t say for sure. Now that Chu Hai’s poison was cured, if he truly had no ulterior motive, he would probably return to the Bihai Sect.

”Your Highness, if it’s destined, we will meet again,” Bai Ruozhu reassured her.

Upon hearing this, Princess Diao Bin sighed, ”Yes, we will meet again only if we are destined. I wonder if there will still be destiny between us.”

The Empress Dowager guessed her thoughts and said with compassion, ”You don’t wish to marry into the Turkic tribe, I’ll have your royal brother arrange someone else for you, or we could call off this marriage alliance.”

Princess Diao Bin shook her head hastily, ”I was born into the Royal Family, having enjoyed luxury all these years; it is only right that I contribute to the Royal Family.” Besides, I have no one that I love.

When Bai Ruozhu left the Palace, she quickly returned to the Bai Residence. Unaware that someone was following her, but because her horse carriage was moving fast, she narrowly entered the residence in time, and the person in the carriage behind her, frustrated, ordered the coachman to turn around and leave.

Jianqi noticed the situation and swiftly reported it to Bai Ruozhu. She smiled and said, ”It seems the Virtuous King wants to find trouble with me. It looks like I’ll need to run faster when going out in the future.”

Muyu cried out in response, ”How can he, a Virtuous King, have the face to chase after a woman to pick on her?”

Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. She could imagine the Virtuous King trying to find fault with her on the way, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t catch up, and once she was safe within her residence, he would have to suppress his anger. After all, a king running to a subject’s house to trouble a married woman would be laughable if word got out.

After meeting with her parents, she ordered someone to fetch her medical box and strolled towards the yard at the Northwest corner.

The Ghost-faced, Lin Lian and Xuan Jizi, were now living there. Bai Ruozhu had said she would help cure Lin Lian’s poison, but she hadn’t officially started yet since Lin Lian had suffered a serious internal injury and needed to be nurtured back to health before attempting to cure a poison that had been in his system for many years.

When she neared the Northwest yard, she saw a fragile figure hiding outside the yard gate, craning their neck to peek inside. The figure seemed incredibly desolate and alone...