Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1230: Chapter 1232 Crossing the Bar_1

On the way back in the horse carriage, Bai Ruozhu grabbed Jiang Yichun’s hand and asked, ”Has something happened?”

”The Emperor has taken Chu Hai to the Sky Prison and announced that a day will be chosen for his public execution. Your parents still think about the Chu siblings, so I did not dare to bring it up in front of them,” Jiang Yichun said gravely.

Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched, ”What is the Emperor trying to do? Chu Hai is the only one who knows about Fen Wan’s whereabouts. If he just kills Chu Hai like that, isn’t he afraid of not finding Fen Wan in time to save Diao Bin?”

”It seems that Chu Hai has angered the Emperor somehow; it involves a secret of the Royal Family, so it’s not appropriate for me to inquire too much,” Jiang Yichun explained.

Bai Ruozhu gripped his hand, ”So what should we do now? Is the Emperor just acting on a whim or is he serious? Should we take any action?”

She sounded somewhat anxious. The hand Jiang Yichun’s was holding tensed, and a hint of anger colored his face.

”It’s good that you didn’t agree to take him as your disciple back then,” Jiang Yichun said with a tinge of sourness.

Bai Ruozhu saw his face turn away, with a slightly stiff profile, and suddenly chuckled, ”Oh, are you jealous?”

Teased by his own wife, a suspicious blush crept onto Jiang Yichun’s cheeks, and he huffed, turning his face away unhappily.

His coy demeanor amused Bai Ruozhu, who saw him looking away and suddenly moved closer to peck his reddened cheek with a kiss.

Little Dengdeng suddenly started clapping his hands and giggling, ”I want a kiss too. Daddy won’t be jealous, sour sour!” After saying that, Little Dengdeng scrambled over to Jiang Yichun’s side and planted a kiss on his cheek as well.

Bai Ruozhu was laughing so hard she could barely sit straight; even her precious son knew about being jealously sour.

Jiang Yichun couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, a bit annoyed he wanted to spank his son’s little bottom, but facing his son’s innocent expression, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. In the end, he could only pinch his son’s cheek to vent his frustration before wrapping an arm around Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder. Ignoring her startled shriek, he placed a kiss on her face.

”Your mother has just come back; we should both kiss her,” Jiang Yichun said to his son with a smile.

Little Dengdeng cheered and hopped into Bai Ruozhu’s arms, ”Mom, kiss kiss!”

Now Bai Ruozhu had been kissed on each cheek, she wiped off the saliva from her face feeling both amused and exasperated. Her treasured son was going to be spoiled by her husband’s arrogance.

When they arrived at the Jiang Residence, Bai Ruozhu and her small family went to the Main Hall for dinner. Elder Jiang Ge, whether feeling under the weather or not wanting Bai Ruozhu to feel as if she was being formally received, simply did not show up for the evening meal. Bai Ruozhu found the quietness to her liking, relieved to avoid seeing the uptight old man and therefore being able to eat in peace.

Lady Jiang was pulling Bai Ruozhu here and there with questions, clearly thinking that Bai Ruozhu had made a considerable profit on her trip and wanting to share some benefits with the Jiang Family. While Bai Ruozhu responded with a smile, evading the inquiries, she took the opportunity to observe the reactions of the others, noticing that their eyes were quite eager, betraying their profound financial difficulties.

Thinking this, Bai Ruozhu slightly raised her eyebrows, and said to Jiang Chenshi with a smile, ”Dear aunt, I have had some income from my business lately. Let’s prepare a feast for everyone tomorrow and also get some new clothes for the younger brothers and sisters of the residence.”

At this statement, everyone was quite pleased, even the usually critical Madam Dou did not make a comment. Mainly because the Jiang Residence was indeed very poor, Bai Ruozhu had heard that last year, the Jiang Family had only bought new clothes for the children during the New Year, and not a single piece at any other time.

Given the weaving and dyeing techniques of the time did not compare to those of the modern era, clothes didn’t last multiple years; they often faded and wore out after just one year. And since the children of the Jiang Family were growing, their clothes, already too small, were pieced together with bits of bigger leftovers, making their attire look even more shabby.

Elder Jiang Ge may have liked the idea of incorruptible integrity, but that did not mean others shared his enthusiasm.

After dinner, Bai Ruozhu openly gave Jiang Chenshi fifty taels of silver in front of everyone to prepare the feast. Onlookers’ eyes gleamed with excitement; fifty taels of silver would indeed provide quite a few good meals.

”I have a ready-made clothes shop under my name. Tomorrow, I’ll have the tailor come over to measure the younger brothers and sisters so we can rush to get the new spring outfits made,” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

Dou Yun and Jiang Zhihe led in thanking Bai Ruozhu with a bow, creating a picture of harmony in the hall.

It wasn’t until they were back in their own courtyard that Jiang Yichun’s tightly pressed lips finally relaxed, ”You don’t need to take care of them; otherwise, your kindness might be taken for granted.”

Bai Ruozhu began to laugh, ”Who said I was being kind?”

Seeing her sly smile, his mood suddenly brightened; he was afraid she would try to please members of the Jiang Family and couldn’t bear to see her put in such a position.

”Making clothes for my younger brothers and sisters is indeed sincere. After all, we are the eldest brother and sister-in-law. If we are able, we should take care of them in some ways. The other day I saw that Zhihe’s sleeves were torn. She is discussing marriage prospects, and this simply won’t do,” Bai Ruozhu said, shaking her head somewhat helplessly. ”Extra meals and such aren’t about showing off our generosity. Once we leave, they will be brought back to reality, and they’ll naturally recognize our kindness then.”

”At least they should know that even if they don’t like us, they shouldn’t always trouble us,” she added.

He wrapped his arm around her slender waist, ”Alright, as long as you’re happy.”

The next morning, Jiang Yichun had to go to the morning court session. Bai Ruozhu, with sleepy eyes, rubbed her sore and tender back, giving him a reproachful look. To her surprise, he caught her glance and, with a mischievous smile, suddenly leaned over her.

”Stop fooling around, you’ll be late for court,” she gasped, the saying ’absence makes the heart grow fonder’ proved too much for her strength to handle.

He dipped his head down, his forehead resting against hers, his nose brushing hers, and whispered softly, ”You sleep a little longer, and I’ll come back to have lunch with you later.”

Bai Ruozhu felt ticklish all over, and her heart melted into a puddle, ”Mm, I’ll wait for you.”

He got up to put on his outer garment. Watching his upright figure, Bai Ruozhu’s thoughts inexplicably drifted to Chu Hai in the Sky Prison, and her brows furrowed slightly.

”Once the Emperor’s anger subsides, I’ll suggest that Chu Hai come with us to the Western Regions. It’s more secure to have him lead the way,” Jiang Yichun seemed to be the worm in her stomach, guessing at once why she was worried.

”Good,” Bai Ruozhu smiled, reassured, and went back to sleep.

When lunchtime came, Bai Ruozhu did not wait for Jiang Yichun to return; a message came like lightning, saying that Jiang Yichun was retained by the Emperor to dine in the palace.

Fine, the Emperor is the most petulant; she and her son had a good meal regardless.

After the meal, Bai Ruozhu checked through the items she had reclaimed from the hands at Lieyang Gate and then, while no one was around, stored them all in her space.

Having sorted everything, she changed into a new set of clothes and took Jianqi with her to meet Sui Ge.

”Master, you’re finally back; we really have trouble this time,” Sui Ge said anxiously the moment he saw Bai Ruozhu.

”What’s wrong?” Bai Ruozhu frowned.

Sui Ge’s face was filled with shame, ”The Yang Family somehow learned that I’ve been discussing a land purchase with Su Yongnian, and they want to interfere!”