Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1516: Chapter 1516: The Eyes of King Rui_1

Waah... Waah...

The cries of the baby broke the oppressive silence and tension in Cining Palace, as the palace maids cheered, ”It’s born! Concubine Yue gave birth!”

The Empress Dowager had been rushed to the courtyard earlier, as Bai Ruozhu wouldn’t allow her to see the bloody scene beside her, fearing she might faint and thus require someone to take care of her.

Tears streamed down the Empress Dowager’s face in excitement, ”It’s born, it’s born!”

Bai Ruozhu’s voice came from inside the room, even louder than the baby’s cries, ”Congratulations to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, Concubine Yue has birthed a chubby little prince!”

The Empress Dowager could not hold back anymore, she burst into the delivery room— that was her grandson, she finally got to hold her grandson!

Ever since the Former Emperor passed away, she felt increasingly exhausted day by day, not knowing when she would follow suit, her only hope lying in Wenwen and Yinyin’s child, and now she was truly holding him.

However, as the Empress Dowager reached out her hands, she quickly retracted them, nervously stating, ”No, no, I haven’t held such a small child for many years, let’s not hurt him.”

Bai Ruozhu smilingly handed the child to Concubine Yue’s nanny, saying, ”Let the nanny wash the child first before you hold him.”

Outside, Tang Yin had long been impatient, shouting into the room with a stern voice, ”What are you all doing? Hurry up and bring the child out for me to see!”

Though his voice was harsh, upon close listening one could detect a tremor, betraying the excitement in his heart at that moment.

Concubine Yue, who had just given birth on the bed, couldn’t help but smile, whispering, ”Look how anxious the Emperor is.”

Both the Empress Dowager and Bai Ruozhu started laughing as well.

With both the child and Concubine Yue safe and well, Bai Ruozhu stayed by Concubine Yue’s side for another day to observe her condition. The following day Jiang Yichun came to escort her out of the palace, and once home, she slept deeply until the lamps were lit.

Assisting with a birth was truly exhausting work!

”The Emperor said you’ve made a great contribution this time, awarding you all of the Yang Family’s medicine fields that were confiscated. In the end, those fields are still yours,” Jiang Yichun said with a smile.

Waking up to good news, Bai Ruozhu was in high spirits, ”Has the Yang Family case been settled? Have all their assets been confiscated?”

”With so many eyewitness and physical evidences, Yang Tianhua couldn’t escape, but considering the Yang Family’s many years of operation in Danliang Country, in the end only Yang Tianhua’s branch was sentenced to confiscation, whereas the other branches were left intact with small penalties such as demotion. All of Yang Tianhua’s assets have been seized by the state, and the Emperor has rewarded me with some secret assets privately,” explained Jiang Yichun as he brought out some house deeds and land deeds, all of which he handed over to Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu was very satisfied as she put away the house deeds and land deeds, very pleased with her man’s initiative.

”Has that Ling Shang recovered?” Bai Ruozhu inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Jiang Yichun revealed an awkward expression, ”It should be fine now. The Emperor said she was too seriously injured to continue as a Shadow Guard, and it just so happened that Consort Le needed more hands, so she was transferred to serve as a palace maid for Consort Le.”

”Hmph, it looks like we’ll be bumping into each other often,” Bai Ruozhu glanced at Jiang Yichun, ”You’d better keep a close eye on your subordinates, and avoid any situations where love turns into hate.”

Jiang Yichun’s face was the picture of gloom, ”I will arrange for someone to keep watch over her.”

In the following two days, the public announcement of the Yang Family’s house being raided was officially issued, all the male members were beheaded, while the women were either exiled or entered into official service. Bai Ruozhu even went to the Vegetable Market to watch Yang Hongwen’s execution ceremony. The scene was rather bloody, but the onlookers cheered, knowing that on that day, many more commoners were beheaded than the male members of the Yang Family.

It was during this time that news came from Chengshui Country—the old Emperor of Chengshui wished to hold a grand ceremony to establish his heir and also to select a consort for the sixth prince, now the crown prince, Zhou Jue.

Chengshui Country sent an invitation, asking Tang Yin to attend the ceremony. Of course, this was merely a formality; Tang Yin himself would not go. Thus, Tang Yin issued a Holy Edict, appointing his brother, King Rui, to attend in his stead.

Once this news was out, there was an uproar in the court and the government, but no one dared to voice their thoughts openly. Bai Ruozhu only found out through private inquiries that King Rui had gone blind. How could he attend the ceremony?

Of course, attending the ceremony was just a formality, but whoever represented Tang Yin on the diplomatic mission to Chengshui had to be of high status. The Virtuous King was too old and unsuited for long-distance travel, so the task fell upon King Rui, who had kept a low profile and was uninvolved in world affairs.

Previously, when Bai Ruozhu encountered the mysterious man in the Palace, she was very suspicious of the King Rui who had once fought with Tang Yin for the throne under the control of Consort Yang. However, King Rui rarely left the Palace, and many people had never even seen his face. Now that he was going on this diplomatic mission, she would finally get a chance to see his true self.

Because time was of the essence, King Rui set out on the third day after receiving the Holy Edict, taking with him a large procession of horse carriages, gifts, and an escorting army, departing from the South Gate of the City. That day, many commoners came to watch, probably all eager to see how a blind king managed.

Bai Ruozhu was also among the crowd, but she kept a low profile, just like an ordinary person there for the spectacle.

It wasn’t long before the procession came into view, with King Rui in the leading carriage. The curtains around the carriage were all rolled up, and King Rui’s face bore a faint smile. He waved his hands at the people on both sides, but his eyes lacked focus, and they were even gray!

Because of the distance, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t be certain how King Rui’s eyes became like that, whether it was due to illness, poisoning, or an external injury. However, she was certain of one thing: King Rui had nothing to do with the masked man she had seen in the Palace. That man’s face might have been covered, but his eyes shone black and bright.

As the procession moved farther away, Bai Ruozhu breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she had been overthinking things.

Days flew by quickly, and soon it was time for the new session of the Commerce Association. Bai Ruozhu accompanied her master Lin Zhenghui to the meeting and once again encountered his arch-rival, Wang Chengen.

”Elder Lin, long time no see,” Wang Chengen said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, ”I was wondering why you took on such a disciple, and went to great lengths to promote her. It turns out you have your eye on her husband’s position with the Emperor. Elder Lin, I didn’t realize you were so adept at currying favor.”

Lin Zhenghui shot him a disdainful look, ”As expected, a dog can’t spit out ivory. You lack personal integrity and can’t recruit good disciples, so you resort to envying others. At your age, you still love making snide comments, not afraid of losing your teeth to ridicule.”

”Look at you, such narrow-minded thoughts. Who says I haven’t taken on any disciples? Do you think all the talent in the world can only be known by you, Lin Zhenghui? Since we’re here today, let me introduce my disciple to you.” He called out to someone in the distance, ”Disciple, come over here.”

A man in a blue shirt turned around and walked over unhurriedly, his robe fluttering slightly, carrying an air of scholarship and not resembling a merchant at all, rather like a Scholar who had passed the imperial examination. But when Bai Ruozhu saw his face clearly, she was stunned...

The man looked directly at Bai Ruozhu, a warm smile on his face, and said with an elegant demeanor, ”Ruozhu, we meet again!”