Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2284: Chapter 2283: The Wronged Second Sister-in-Law

Jiang Yichun frowned and said, ”You are the one facing divine punishment, not her. Your master-servant contract didn’t get her consent, so do you expect her to sympathize with you now?”

Qiu Zhi’s face showed some embarrassment, ”I was just afraid you wouldn’t believe me, so I could only use this method.”

Bai Ruozhu looked at Qiu Zhi with a calm face. What was she supposed to do now? She really didn’t want to bring Qiu Zhi along, but she couldn’t just watch him die either.

Just as she was hesitating, Gao Zhou walked up and said, ”Forget it, let him follow us for now. Having an extra hand could be useful.”

Jiang Yichun’s face darkened even more, and he glared at his father fiercely. His father used to pit him as a child, and now he seemed to still be doing it.

Gao Zhou gave the two a look, and although Bai Ruozhu didn’t understand his intention, since he spoke up, she didn’t want him to lose face and could only let Qiu Zhi join them for the time being.

On the road later, others somewhat avoided Qiu Zhi because everyone knew Jiang Yichun didn’t like him, and no one wanted to anger Jiang Yichun. However, Yuan Licheng started chatting with Qiu Zhi.

”Brother, does your Dragon Tiger Gate really catch demons and ghosts? Do demons and ghosts really exist in this world?”

After asking, Yuan Licheng immediately said, ”No way, there must be no demons. You all treat everything as demons all day, aren’t you just dreaming?”

Qiu Zhi said with a stern face, ”Why not? When I was fifteen, there was a severe drought in Linchuan, you know what happened?”

”What happened?”

Qiu Zhi laughed and said, ”There was a snake that became a spirit and needed a lot of water for cultivation, so it absorbed all the water from over ten miles around. The people nearby had a terrible year, with no harvest, and many faced famine and fled to other places.”

”And then what happened?” Yuan Licheng grew curious, ”I seem to have heard about the drought a few years ago.”

Qiu Zhi’s smile suddenly disappeared, and his expression grew serious, ”My master-uncle, the previous leader of Mount Longhu, detected demon qi and went to subdue it, but the demon was about to become a dragon. With combined efforts from him and several elders, they sealed that snake, and the sect leader and others died in Linchuan.”

Yuan Licheng asked in shock, ”Then how did you make it back?”

Qiu Zhi shook his head, ”I was only fifteen then, not qualified to go. My master was assigned to manage affairs at the gate, so he escaped the disaster, but it has always been a knot in his heart.”

Bai Ruozhu, listening nearby, couldn’t help curling her lips, thinking why Qiu Zheng had so many knots in his heart. Wasn’t his biggest one not being able to reveal Master Pudeng’s demonic nature?

To cause the death of the Dragon Tiger Gate leader and several elders, the creature must be terrifying, whether demon or human.

”And what about ghosts? Do ghosts really exist?” Yuan Licheng asked like a curious baby.

”Of course,” Qiu Zhi said confidently. ”Mid-last month, in a village near the Dragon Tiger Gate, an old man went insane after getting drunk and urinating on a grave. He started talking nonsense in his sleep, acting strangely when awake. Fortunately, we were contacted in time, and I was the one who exorcized the ghost. Now the old man is fine.” Qiu Zhi’s face showed a confident smile as he spoke.

Only then did Bai Ruozhu notice that Qiu Zhi had a baby face, looking quite young, though actually older than her. Still, it seemed he rarely left the Dragon Tiger Gate and had a very simple mind.

She couldn’t help but recall her older brother Ning Yu; Qiu Zhi resembled Ning Yu. Thinking of Ning Yu, who had no news currently, her gaze softened as she looked at Qiu Zhi.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yichun and Gao Zhou went to hunt. Jiang Yichun, with a sullen face, said, ”I really don’t know why you let Qiu Zhi stay. It’s inconvenient to bring along useless people now.”

Gao Zhou shot him a glance, ”Since he isn’t pursuing your woman, why are you nervous? Even if he were pursuing your woman, do you think he can outmatch you? Do you lack so much confidence in yourself?”

Jiang Yichun was speechless, ”It has nothing to do with pursuing or not; I just can’t stand people from the Dragon Tiger Gate.”

”Because he’s from the Dragon Tiger Gate, that’s why I told you to let him stay. When we set out to sea, we may encounter various situations. Bringing along capable people is a good thing,” Gao Zhou said.

Jiang Yichun rolled his eyes at his father, ”Don’t you think he might mistake me for a demon?”

Gao Zhou burst into laughter, ”Even if he considers you a demon, so what? He wouldn’t dare oppose Ruozhu; what could he do to you?”

Jiang Yichun didn’t know what to say further, so he stopped mentioning the matter.

Thus, the group became eight people, traveling non-stop. After half a month, they finally arrived at the Capital City.

Bai Ruozhu returned to the Bai Residence first. The old servant opening the door was delighted to see her and immediately said he would announce her arrival. Bai Ruozhu hurriedly held his shoulder and said, ”I’ll go myself.”

She spoke briefly with Jiang Yichun, then went to see Si Yihuan. Her second brother was not at home, and she hadn’t seen her second sister-in-law for some time, missing her quite a bit.

Coincidentally, Jiang Yichun needed to go to the palace, so the two parted ways as the others rested.

Rushing to the backyard, before reaching Si Yihuan’s room, Bai Ruozhu heard low sobbing sounds.

She first thought Si Yihuan might have guests, as she didn’t consider Si Yihuan the type to secretly cry.

Surprised, Bai Ruozhu knocked and spoke at the doorway. Before long, Si Yihuan answered. The room was empty, and Si Yihuan’s eyes were slightly red, indicating crying, hastily wiped her tears away.

”Ruozhu, I’ve missed you so much!” Si Yihuan excitedly hugged Bai Ruozhu, as cheerful as ever.

”I missed you too. Where’s Second Brother? What time does he finish his duties today?” Bai Ruozhu asked with a smile, ”Has the emperor been giving you a hard time lately?”

Si Yihuan’s face stiffened briefly, but she quickly forced a smile, which Bai Ruozhu’s keen eyes could easily see through.

”I’ll have someone send a message to your second brother, asking him to come home early today,” Si Yihuan said, instructing a maid outside the room. After the maid left, she turned back to inquire about Bai Ruozhu’s parents.

Bai Ruozhu answered each question one by one. After finishing, she grabbed Si Yihuan’s hand, asking, ”Second sister-in-law, have you been wronged lately? Don’t hide it from me; even if it’s Second Brother causing you trouble, I’ll stand up for you.”

”I...” Si Yihuan said only one word before tears welled up in her eyes.

Bai Ruozhu didn’t press her, just waiting for her to speak on her own.

”Our return was slow, and it’s not long since. Someone in the palace commented on how I’ve been married to your second brother for so long without a child. Lately, the imperial concubine summoned my mother, suggesting giving me a ’sister’. Then they brought over a concubine from the Wen Shu family,” Si Yihuan said before bursting into tears again.

”My mother sent her, and I couldn’t make things difficult for her, so I let the person stay, arranging a room in the backyard. When your second brother came back and found out, he was angry with me, not speaking for days.”