Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1166: Chapter 1168: Roadblock_1

Not far outside the city, Bai Ruozhu quietly left the Merchant Team. She returned to the manor to change into her usual attire and settled Guoguo there before heading back to the Capital City by horse carriage, as if she were returning from a manor outside the city.

Just as they reached the City Gate, the horse carriage was stopped. Jianqi snorted coldly, ”The Capital has tightened its inspections recently, huh? Stopped in broad daylight just for entering the city?”

Lü’s expression turned sour. He was in a hurry to enter the Palace to present himself before the Emperor, wondering who was so short-sighted to do this. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needed to keep his identity hidden, he would have given someone a resounding slap and sent them flying.

The soldier guarding the gate came over to inspect the carriage. Jianqi said with displeasure, ”On such a cold day, what if my master catches a chill? Since when is this the rule?”

The soldier showed a look of difficulty, as it was indeed rare for Danliang Country to search carriages, except during extraordinary times or when the Capital was under martial law. Furthermore, this carriage bore a family crest; in the Capital, only Families of at least fifth-rank were allowed to use black in their crests—a mere soldier couldn’t afford to offend such people.

As Jianqi stared at him coldly, the soldier started to panic and couldn’t help but glance at someone beside him.

Then he saw a middle-aged man standing there, fuming and cursing, ”Useless fool!”

The middle-aged man walked over, haughtily looking at Bai Ruozhu’s carriage, and asked, ”Is this the Bai Family’s carriage? May I know if Bai Ruozhu is inside? The Virtuous King has heard that she has come down with smallpox, how can we let her into the city without a proper check?”

Bai Ruozhu lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out, indeed it was the Virtuous King whom she had met once before. But wasn’t his presence a little too coincidental?

In fact, the Virtuous King was not intentionally causing trouble. He had been seeing off a friend leaving the Capital for an official post and just happened to be at the City Gate. His friend had just left, and he was feeling sentimental when he saw the Bai Family’s carriage approach. He had chased after Bai Ruozhu’s carriage before, wanting to pick a quarrel but failed to catch up—how could he forget that? How could he let this chance slip away now?

Seeing that it was the Virtuous King causing the trouble, Jianqi knew better than to say anything. After all, a prince stood below, and a woman of fifth-rank status could not afford not to give face to a prince.

However, inside the carriage, Bai Ruozhu was pondering a different issue—why was the Virtuous King claiming that she had contracted smallpox? Although the Virtuous King was looking for trouble, he had an upright and stubborn temperament, so it seemed unlikely for him to fabricate such an illness for her.

Could it be that the Emperor, in order to conceal her movements, had covered her with a diagnosis of ”smallpox”?

She fumed at the thought, as smallpox was a very serious illness in Ancient Times. What if people thought her Family members could be infected and ostracized them? Especially, what if her second brother were ostracized at the Imperial Academy?

”Bai Ruozhu, why don’t you dare to show yourself? If you’ve contracted smallpox, just stay outside the City honestly and don’t come back to harm others!” The Virtuous King spoke with a tone tinged with schadenfreude, as if Bai Ruozhu was about to die on the spot.

Bai Ruozhu had no choice but to lift the curtain and step down from the carriage, saying to the Virtuous King, ”Do I look like someone who has contracted smallpox?”

As the Virtuous King saw her face and hands, smooth and without even a spot of red dots, he was taken aback, ”Weren’t you said to have contracted smallpox?”

”Who is so shameless as to spread such rumors? I merely exhausted myself tending to the needs of Concubine Le, then caught a bit of a cold. I went outside the City to recuperate. How did that turn into smallpox?” said Bai Ruozhu calmly.

The Virtuous King’s face stiffened upon hearing her words, ”Since you don’t have smallpox, why wouldn’t you care for Elder Jiang Ge when he’s ill? He’s your elder; don’t you know how to honor and respect your elders? Where is your virtue as a wife?”

Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes in irritation and said, ”So I should respect him by getting a cold and passing on my illness to him? Is that what you call filial piety? Furthermore, it’s not my place to care for him, is it? He has never acknowledged my husband as a member of the Jiang Family. How can I, an outsider, show respect as a daughter-in-law?”

”You’re talking nonsense to win the argument!” the Virtuous King pointed at Bai Ruozhu and exclaimed.

Bai Ruozhu waved her sleeve dismissively, ”Is the Virtuous King certain I’m not afflicted with smallpox? I must enter the Palace to treat Consort Le. Please allow me to proceed, Your Highness.”

The Virtuous King was unaware of Consort Le’s coma; such an incident in the Palace, especially one involving the heir to the throne, was kept under wraps by the Emperor’s orders. Thus, when he heard this, he did not take it to heart. Instead, he blocked the way and said, ”First, you must come with me to attend to Elder Jiang Ge. His wise guidance has enlightened me in my studies, and I cannot watch you humiliate him like this. See to him first, and then you may enter the Palace. It won’t take much time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he ordered his men. Two guards rushed forward, intending to bundle Bai Ruozhu into the horse carriage, and another guard went so far as to drive away Bai Ruozhu’s coachman, clearly intending to coerce her.

Jianqi stepped forward, glaring at the guards, ”My master is a lady of rank. What do you think you’re doing?”

The Virtuous King, however, was relentless, ”A woman of rank or not, she is not beyond the principle of ’filial piety.’ Take her away for me!”

Lu Zhi felt a headache coming on. The Emperor had already urgently dispatched a second secret order, and he was afraid of being punished for any delay. Yet here they were, back in the Capital City, and someone was blocking their path.

After a moment’s thought, he clenched his teeth and stepped forward, whispering, ”Your Highness, I am a guard serving directly under the Emperor with orders to immediately escort Madame Bai to the Palace. I beseech Your Highness for understanding.”

The Virtuous King scanned Lu Zhi and said carelessly, ”I’ve never seen someone like you before. Besides, I’ve already discussed this with the Emperor. I said that as soon as Madame Bai recovers, she should visit Elder Jiang Ge. Now that she’s well, she should first go confess to Elder Jiang Ge.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhu grew angry, ”What crime have I committed? It was he who cast out my innocent young husband from the Family. How does it turn into us not fulfilling our filial duties now? And time after time, for his personal reputation, he has caused us trouble. When have we ever troubled him? Didn’t we visit when he was ill last time? Didn’t we prescribe ’Formulas,’ and didn’t we send gifts and silver coins to the Jiang Family?”

The Virtuous King was stumped by the question, pausing for a moment before confidently responding, ”What of it? As the younger generation, regardless of what the Elder does, you should fulfill your filial duties. Even if the Elder tells you to die, you should obey.”

Bai Ruozhu laughed angrily, ”What astounding logic, Virtuous King. I have only heard that when a ruler orders his subject to die, the subject must die. I have never heard of a grandpa who demands the death of his grandson and dares to declare it so self-righteously.”

”Enough talk. Today you will go, whether you want to or not, else my Residence guards will take you,” the Virtuous King signaled his subordinates, and a troop of soldiers surrounded Bai Ruozhu, Jianqi, and Lu Zhi.

Angered and frustrated, Lu Zhi cursed silently to himself. He couldn’t let the Shadow Guard intervene from the shadows, and he certainly couldn’t openly challenge the Virtuous King. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the Virtuous King forced Bai Ruozhu to proceed to the Jiang Residence.

When they arrived at the entrance of the Jiang Residence, the Virtuous King gleefully called at the gate, loudly declaring, ”Notify Elder Jiang Ge that I have captured Bai Ruozhu for him to receive her confession!”

The corners of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. This Virtuous King truly considered himself infallible.