Chapter 2798: Chapter 2799: Get Out of the Jiuli Clan
"In marriage, it’s important to understand each other. You’re both still young and have your temper. But when you reach the age of your father and me, you won’t have such a big temper." Lin Ping’er gently advised.
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but mutter, "Hmph, I haven’t seen you less angry at Dad."
"That’s called marital fun; I wasn’t truly upset. Your father has a gentle nature and doesn’t get angry with me," Lin Ping’er said with some pride.
Bai Ruozhu felt a bit sour in her heart. "Achun isn’t as good-tempered as Dad. Good men like Dad are hard to find even with a lantern."
"Alright, your father’s temper is too good, and he even gets bullied. Have you forgotten the hard times we had in the Mountain Village?" Lin Ping’er lightly patted her daughter and said softly, "Yichun isn’t angry with you. He probably thinks you see him as petty and don’t trust him."
"I..." Bai Ruozhu felt a bit helpless. She was really helpless.
After chatting for a while, the mother and daughter took the children downstairs for a meal. Gao Zhou and Chushuang loved their little grandson dearly, each holding one and refusing to let go.
Little Dengdeng noticed his father’s displeasure and stayed obediently beside him.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at Jiang Yichun, who sat with the sensible Little Dengdeng on one side and the kind-faced Bai Yihong on the other. Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat upset; she should have found a man with a good temper like her father. Look at this, unhappy and face-dropping, cold enough to freeze.
"Sister Ruozhu, eat this. Lanlan and I picked it from the mountain." Lanlan gave some mushrooms to Bai Ruozhu, very fresh, and they were delicious when stir-fried.
"Good, it looks very fragrant." She smiled at Lanlan.
Jiang Yichun glanced at her quickly, seeing her smile stiffen. He softened a bit.
She was indeed tired along the way, and these issues had weighed down on her so much that she couldn’t straighten her back.
He picked up some Green Veggies with his chopsticks, "You like this. Eat more."
His tone was a bit hard, and the others instantly fell silent; the atmosphere went cold.
"Okay." Bai Ruozhu felt warm inside and looked up to give him a smile, but tears welled up in her eyes unbidden.
Jiang Yichun almost rushed over to hug her, but with family and elders around, he forced himself to calm down.
After dinner, he wanted to take Bai Ruozhu back to the room to talk things over; he had been too angry yesterday to listen to her explanation, which he now realized was excessive.
She must have slept poorly that night and had to care for the children without letting the family notice, surely feeling very uncomfortable inside.
Footsteps sounded from downstairs, followed by Ling Chen’s anxious voice: "Ruozhu, hurry and have a look, Lan Ying’s family is about to start a fight!"
"What?" Bai Ruozhu quickly went downstairs, vaguely guessing the reason.
Fo Lanying’s Grandpa, the Second Elder, killed so many tribesmen during his power grab and colluded with monsters, causing the deaths of many clan members. Although Fo Lanying later renounced familial ties for justice, this did not dispel the hatred of those Jiuli who lost family.
And Yuan Licheng was a Quanrong tribesman, once obeying the Quanrong Clan Leader and setting up the Fire-Thunder Formation outside the Jiuli Clan’s secret realm entrance; people would remember him.
These two together, returning to the Jiuli Clan, were bound to be suspected and excluded.
She grabbed Ling Chen and asked, "What’s going on exactly?"
"Someone recognized Xiaoyuan as a Quanrong tribesman, claiming Fo Lanying colluded with the Quanrong, saying they are spies," Ling Chen said, avoiding Bai Ruozhu’s gaze, afraid his unique abilities might affect her.
"As expected. Let’s go, let’s have a look." Diao Shengyan pulled her and quickly headed to the Fo Family, with Jiang Yichun and others following along.
The Fo Family was surrounded by people, with several elders of the clan confronting Fo Lanying in the yard.
"If you claim you’re not a spy, then take him away immediately!" An elder said.
"Why should I? This is my home. I can live here as long as I want, unless the clan leader drives me away." Fo Lanying, with a bad temper, had long been intolerant of these people.
Yuan Licheng also said darkly, "You think we relish staying here? If it weren’t for Lan Ying missing home, wanting to spend time with her father, we wouldn’t care to return."
"You Quanrong dog, get out! Foreigners, out!" Someone yelled.
Ling Chen looked at the person, who immediately screamed in pain, clutching his head and fainting on the ground.
She was also a foreigner, discovering Jiuli people weren’t hospitable at all.
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly pulled Ling Chen, "Don’t be impulsive. It’s just a misunderstanding."
She strode forward and loudly said, "Everyone, quiet down. I know past events have caused you to lose loved ones. I understand your pain, but Lan Ying is a child of the Jiuli Clan. When you criticize her, have you thought about what it would feel like if your child faced the same situation one day?"
"You claim you haven’t committed such treachery as the Second Elder, but what has Lan Ying done? She was even manipulated by her grandfather, leaving her with long-lasting illness. Every time it flares up, she suffers from splitting headaches, crying through the night. Don’t forget, when it mattered most, she stood with the Jiuli people, renouncing familial ties for justice. You drive her away today—can your conscience bear it?"
Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath. She’d watched firsthand how Fo Lanying had come to this point, and they’d turned from enemies to friends. She knew how difficult it had been for Fo Lanying.
"As for Xiaoyuan, he left the Quanrong Clan long ago, repeatedly helped us overcome challenges, and during the most dangerous ocean journeys, when facing terrifying Sea Demons, he risked his life to set up formations to protect us. If you’re chasing him away for his former identity, we’ll leave with him," she continued.
Ling Chen also loudly said, "Yes, I’m from the Merfolk Clan. I thought Jiuli were hospitable, but clearly, you don’t welcome outsiders. We’ll just go then."
"Wait!" A voice called from afar. The clan leader arrived, accompanied by a slightly taller teenage Fen Jizhi.
He grinned at Bai Ruozhu, who smiled back, noticing he seemed thinner.
"Our Jiuli Clan no longer isolates itself; why are your minds still so closed, unwilling to change?" The clan leader queried.
Everyone fell silent, Bai Ruozhu’s words had already affected them.
"I trust Ruozhu’s judgment and her friends. Lan Ying is a child you watched grow; don’t you trust your own eyes?" the clan leader asked again.
Finally, a woman couldn’t bear it and spoke, "Yes, maybe we were too nervous."
Once one person spoke, others followed suit.
"It’s our paranoia, we shouldn’t hurt the children."
"Yes, this is Lan Ying’s home; she can return when she wants!"
"..."
Just moments earlier, Fo Lanying had looked furious, but suddenly she burst into tears, crying like a child, moving some of the more soft-hearted into wiping their eyes.
