Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1382: Chapter 1384: Digging up Past Events_1

The situation was tumultuous, and the next day the Holy Hall made another move. This time, instead of confronting Bai Ruozhu and her company directly, Honglian chose to give blessings to the commoners outside the doors of the Holy Hall. Then she spoke to the grateful, teary-eyed commoners who had received the blessings.

”You are all children of the divine. Last night the spirits gave me a dream, saying those from the foreign clan are envoys sent by the Demon, veiling your eyes, fabricating false divine decrees to deceive the world. The spirits will punish them, and none of you should blindly believe in them, lest you lose your devout hearts towards the divine.”

Although her words did not name Mr. Bai and his wife explicitly, the intent was clear as it targeted Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun.

However, the commoners were not as fervent as before, showing skepticism towards her words. Of course, there were still those who believed her unconditionally, but others found several contradictions.

For instance, if the spirits truly wanted to punish Bai Ruozhu, wouldn’t a direct divine warning suffice? Why only give a dream to Honglian? Clearly, at the moment, it seemed that Mrs. Bai was the one favored by the spirits. Who could prove Honglian’s claims weren’t just concocted by herself?

In the past, no one would doubt her when she was held in high esteem, but how many would believe her unconditionally now?

Of course, Ao Qi deserved some credit for this as well. These past few days, he had arranged for his confidants to mingle in the markets, conveying some unorthodox ideas to the people. For example, they claimed Honglian was the great elder’s illegitimate daughter and that all her actions were biased to protect the great elder, which is why she refused to acknowledge the divine retributions. Furthermore, following yesterday’s events, Ao Qi had people spread the word that Honglian’s prayers were now ineffective, unable to cure even a simple stomach ache, which clearly indicated she had lost the trust of the spirits.

Meanwhile, the great elder had also arranged for many people to go out. Soon, some gathered at the entrance of the Holy Hall, loudly claiming, ”I dreamed of the spirits last night too. They warned me to be wary of the foreign clan, not to be fooled by their Demonic Methods.”

Following this, others spoke up in similar veins. Suddenly, seven or eight people had all had the same dream, so it wasn’t just Honglian’s lone assertion anymore, and most of the commoners believed it.

”Eh, aren’t you a Holy Guard of the Holy Hall? Why are you dressed in coarse clothes, disguised as a porter? Could it be that you were kicked out of the Holy Hall?” All of a sudden, a voice rang out, pointing at someone who had just claimed to have been visited by the spirit in a dream.

”You’ve mistaken me for someone else; how could I be a Holy Guard? A rough person like me couldn’t possibly have such an honor.” The guard cursed his bad luck internally, firmly denying the accusation.

However, the person who pointed him out continued, ”There’s no way I’m mistaken; just yesterday, I saw you following behind the Holy Maiden, blessing everyone on the street. I was the closest to you at the time.”

Watching the scene unfold from a distance, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, lightly pounding on Jiang Yichun’s shoulder as she did, ”That person is quite the speaker, on par with Muyu. If it weren’t for Muyu’s appearance, clearly not of the Western Regions, he would be the best at this job.”

Jiang Yichun captured her fist-sized hand into his palm and began to gently knead it, smiling as he said, ”Muyu was crying the other day, asking me if he had somehow offended my wife. He had no idea what my wife meant by calling him a ’goofball.’”

Bai Ruozhu glared at him, ”It was your fault for making him cry, not mine. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you for being a jealous pot.”

He pinched her hand, put on a stern face, and said, ”You’re not allowed to pat other men in the future. Your husband isn’t just jealous, he’s also quite fierce. Don’t believe me? Try it out tonight!”

They were accompanied by several guards, yet he spoke as if no one else was present. Bai Ruozhu’s face turned red all the way to her neck out of embarrassment, and all she could do was pinch him secretly in retaliation, but he didn’t even flinch, instead grinning and teasing, ”My lady is getting rather handsy with her husband. Are you getting impatient already?”

Bai Ruozhu’s face burned even hotter, and she was so angry she wanted to strike him. She could never win against him in matters like this.

Humph, she would endure it. She must endure. Once they were alone, she would deal with him!

At the entrance of the Holy Hall, someone shouted, ”Where do you dreamers live? Who are your neighbors? Let’s see if anyone here recognizes you.”

This question posed some trouble. The great elder and his allies had arranged for people to pretend to be dreamers, but didn’t dare to easily bribe ordinary citizens for fear that someone loose-lipped might spill the beans. So they had their own loyal Holy Guards disguise as common folk, not expecting this to reveal a flaw in their plan.

Honglian, seeing that things were going south, spoke up, ”The gods are merciful and wanted to give them a chance to mend their ways, which is why they didn’t send down divine punishment. However, if anyone is stubborn and refuses to change, the gods won’t allow them to continue their wicked ways. Just like Princess Qingxuan of Qingyou Hall from before. She harbored an Evil Demon in her heart just like her brother Qun Lian did, showed disrespect towards the gods; in the end, the gods sent down Heavenly Thunder, causing her and the Evil Demon within her to vanish together.”

The Onlookers were in an uproar. The matter of Princess Qingxuan being struck to death by thunder had been covered up by the royal palace, and the Holy Hall hadn’t spoken of it either, so the outside world believed that Princess Qingxuan had died of illness.

Now that Honglian mentioned it, the attention of the public instantly shifted from the Holy Guards who were faking it to the old affairs of the past.

Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart, and said in a low voice to Jiang Yichun, ”Achun, you need to go to the palace and persuade the sovereign. He might act rashly upon hearing this and upset all our plans.”

Jiang Yichun was worried, took her hand, and said, ”Come back to the palace with me, it’s not safe outside.”

”It’s all right, I still need to meet with Xuan Jizi and the others, I’ll be back later, and isn’t Jianqi and the others with me?” Bai Ruozhu replied.

”Fine, but you must be careful,” said Jiang Yichun, his anxiety apparent as he gently touched her cheek.

Bai Ruozhu’s face flushed again as she hurried him, ”Go quickly, if you’re late the sovereign might leave the palace and confront the Holy Hall head-on.”

The crowd was somewhat skeptical, and couldn’t help but ask. Honglian answered all their questions, suggesting they find the people who served Qingxuan back then to verify the story.

Many citizens believed it and even felt fear. Being struck dead by Heavenly Thunder was indeed terrifying.

Bai Ruozhu clenched her teeth when the matter of Heavenly Thunder was mentioned. It reminded her of that guard who had also been struck by thunder. Although she had managed to save him, his skin had been severely damaged, and he had lost his former appearance.

If it wasn’t for the strong will of those dark guards, they may not have been able to endure it.

Thinking this, she said to Jianqi, ”Let’s go meet up with Master Xuan Jizi first, then leave the city to take care of Diao Mo.”

It was unknown why Diao Mo could trigger Heavenly Thunder. She had used it once before and it was uncertain when she could use it a second time. For safety’s sake, this person couldn’t be left unchecked.

She had held back from confronting Diao Mo previously because she feared to startle the snake, but now that both sides were openly in conflict, there were no more concerns!

Bai Ruozhu went to the agreed location and met with Xuan Jizi and Lin Lian. She promptly shared her plan, and everyone listening lit up with excitement—not knowing precisely how Bai Ruozhu would pull it off, but believing that as long as they followed her, there was no miracle they couldn’t witness.