Chapter 2809: Chapter 3810: Splitting into Three Groups
Bai Ruozhu patted his shoulder, "Senior Fox, you’re doing great already."
Xu Huilin smiled, "Yeah, otherwise how could I be Achun’s senior brother?"
It was already dark outside. Bai Ruozhu bid farewell and returned to the Bai Residence. In the evening, when Jiang Yichun came back, she recounted the events of the day.
"She can’t let go of King Rui?" Jiang Yichun frowned, "If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of this, it won’t be good for her or the Meng Family."
"That’s why the old lady had it silenced and said that Jinse was mentally unstable after being hit on the head when she tried to assassinate King Rui," Bai Ruozhu said.
Jiang Yichun nodded, "That’s better."
Bai Ruozhu sighed, "Alas, their relationship is too complicated. If King Rui wasn’t King Rui, if he hadn’t done those things to Jinse, if it wasn’t Jinse who killed him in the end, and if he wasn’t willing to die for Jinse, she wouldn’t be in so much pain."
"There aren’t that many ’ifs’ in the world; maybe this is what they call a doomed couple. Fortunately, we don’t love and kill each other." Jiang Yichun laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder.
Bai Ruozhu gave him a slap, "What are you up to? Do you believe I’ll love and kill you right now?"
"Weren’t we going to have a daughter? You need to have determination and persistence like me." Jiang Yichun mischievously held her hand.
She raised her foot to kick him, "It’s been so long without any news; you should rest well and then revive yourself!"
Jiang Yichun grabbed her foot, mischievously rubbing his thumb on her sole, "Being suspected by your own woman of not being able to perform is a great insult to a man. I must prove to you that I don’t need any enhancement!"
Saying that he pushed down on her.
A night of entanglement left Bai Ruozhu so tired that she could hardly get out of bed. She could only coax, "They say being too frequent isn’t good for conceiving, really."
"Every other day then." Jiang Yichun said with a smile.
"Too frequent." Bai Ruozhu sighed.
"Every other day."
"Every two days!" Bai Ruozhu stubbornly resisted, but in the end, she was too exhausted and drifted off to sleep dazedly.
The next day, she went to the Commerce Association to send messages to several great elders stationed in the Northwest.
On the third day, her master Lin Zhenghui arrived in Beiyu City.
"Girl, you’re doing well, having already had three kids. That’s quite fast." Lin Zhenghui said.
"I haven’t attended much to the Commerce Association’s matters, and I haven’t brought much honor to Master." Bai Ruozhu apologized.
Lin Zhenghui laughed heartily, "You organized the trade with Fusang and the Commerce Association. That’s a great achievement. Now everyone says I have a good disciple. I can trust the Commerce Association’s people to you in the future."
Fusang and Danliang Country established diplomatic relations, opening maritime trade. A large part of the trade content was handled by the Commerce Association, which benefited greatly from Bai Ruozhu’s and Jiang Yichun’s connections.
"I..." The more she held, the greater the responsibility; Bai Ruozhu was somewhat reluctant to take it on.
But she had promised Lin Zhenghui in the past, and having used the Commerce Association’s great resources, it wouldn’t be right to shirk her duty.
"This time, I just wanted to discuss the matter of resisting the Turkic people with Master." She shared her suspicions with Lin Zhenghui, not mentioning these words to the other Commerce Association members in detail, but Lin Zhenghui was different; he was someone she could trust.
Lin Zhenghui slammed his hand on the table in anger, even tipping over the teacup. The tea spilled over the table, trickling down to the ground.
"This is simply heinous!" His beard trembled with rage, "The Imperial Court actually let such a person be appointed as the Great General of the South; it’s simply..."
Incompetent and outrageous!
He didn’t dare to utter the last four words, nor could he, especially since the Great General of the South was appointed by the Former Emperor, who had long since passed.
"Ma Tongfang was doing it secretly in the past and often chose places far from the Capital. If it weren’t for me entering the Luo Family’s dreamland last time and seeing so many wandering souls, I wouldn’t have thought Ma Tongfang was that kind of person." Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "Now we have no evidence; we can only disrupt his plans and secretly gather evidence."
Lin Zhenghui gritted his teeth, "Deploy the most skilled dark guards from the Commerce Association to assassinate him."
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "Ma Tongfang has been safe all these years, he must have his skills. He holds military power and has many capable people around him. A single mistake could plunge the Commerce Association into a state of no return. Moreover, the world is unaware of his crimes; just killing him would be too easy on him!"
Lin Zhenghui let out a sigh, finally calming down.
"What’s your plan? How can I assist you?"
Bai Ruozhu explained the plan she and Jiang Yichun had discussed, then added, "The Commerce Association will openly rally heroes of the Jianghu, to intercept the Turkic people, never giving Ma Xingguo a chance to earn military merits. Meanwhile, Achun and I will covertly attack Ma Xingguo, orchestrating his demise during a failed suppression of bandits."
"That’s too easy on him!" Lin Zhenghui’s teeth ground with a grating sound, "If he dies suppressing bandits, he’d be martyred and might even be posthumously honored."
Bai Ruozhu sneered, a slight smile on her lips, "What if due to his arrogance and conceit, a wrong judgment led to the failure of the bandit suppression?"
"Alright, let’s do it that way, I’ll send you some manpower." Lin Zhenghui enthusiastically slapped his thigh.
"No, Master, you should keep more people by your side. You take charge of the public resistance against the Turkic issue, ensure the Turkic people know that even if someone opens the Main Gate for them, we Danliang people are not lambs to be slaughtered!" Bai Ruozhu passionately declared. If not for other plans, she’d be battling on the battlefield.
The group divided into three routes. Lin Zhenghui went to the Commerce Association to discuss the resistance against the Turkic people but didn’t mention Ma Tongfang’s plans, only saying it was the Commerce Association’s duty for the people. Unsurprisingly, most of the passionate members agreed, with only a few dissenting, questioning if their actions would disrupt the Imperial Court’s plans?
Lin Zhenghui quietly noted those few, sending people to investigate, suspecting they might be spies infiltrated into the Commerce Association.
Jiang Yichun was also busy these days, hardly seen, sometimes returning just before dawn, causing Lin Ping’er to worry.
"His father, do you think our son-in-law is on vacation now, why is he always so busy? Could he possibly have someone outside?" she asked Bai Yihong quietly.
"How could that be! Yichun isn’t that kind of person." Bai Yihong immediately replied.
Lin Ping’er rolled her eyes dramatically, "You speak as if he’s your own son; his parents have even come back. When men have money and power, who knows if they’ll go astray, with all the temptations outside."
"Come on, have you forgotten our Noble Lady’s skills? I reckon Yichun can’t escape from her grasp." Bai Yihong laughed heartily and continued working on his woodworking project. He loved making these little things, and after staying with the Jiuli Clan for a year, he learned some mechanical techniques, combining them with his woodworking to create more interesting pieces.
