Bai Ruozhu sneered, "You don't mean to say that it was Bai Yuanqing who delivered the message, do you?"

Bai Guanghe sighed, "The affairs of those years were my fault for being too self-righteous, and for being too indecisive. I just wanted to first comfort my mother, hoping her health would improve. I thought that once Yunyun gave birth, my mother wouldn't give her a hard time for the child's sake, but I didn't expect..."

Bai Ruozhu found it amusing. Were they really supposed to regard Bai Yuanqing as an enemy just because of a few words from Bai Guanghe?

Back then, Bai Yuanqing protected Jiao Yunyun when she left the Bai Residence, later falling seriously ill himself, eventually having to entrust the child to someone else. According to Bai Guanghe's reasoning, Bai Yuanqing became the villain?

Bai Yuanxiu, standing behind Bai Guanghe, was a bit angry. He glared at Bai Ruozhu and said, "You can go check. Back then, my uncle was four years older than my father but didn't even pass the provincial exams. Coming from a scholarly family, the family naturally had higher expectations for him. He often clashed with his parents but got along well with my father, frequently staying at our house."

Bai Ruozhu sneered, "As if you know, you weren't even born yet, right?"

Bai Yuanxiu's face turned red with anger, "I wasn't born then, but everyone in the family knows. He always envied my father. It's not surprising he'd do such a thing."

"Yuanxiu, that's enough!" Bai Guanghe interrupted Bai Yuanxiu, sternly saying, "Don't speak of your uncle like that."

Bai Yuanxiu was not swayed and continued, "You all thought he died of illness. We only recently found out he's living well, married into a wealthy merchant family in Jiangnan, and is now an Old Master."

"What family in Jiangnan? In which city and what's their surname?" Bai Ruozhu pursued further. Whether Bai Yuanxiu was telling the truth or not, she could have the Commerce Association investigate.

"The He family in Suzhou. He's become He Yuan. If you don't believe it, send someone to check!" Bai Yuanxiu spoke with a firm chest. "My father's generation in the family tree has the character 'Guang', but a fortune teller once said his fate was unique and that the 'Yuan' character couldn't be omitted from his name. Later, they suggested Bai Yuanqing, and he didn't dare to leave out the 'Yuan' character when he changed his name."

Bai Ruozhu remained silent for a while. Although she didn't like Bai Yuanxiu, he didn't seem to be lying at this moment. Even if they went to great lengths to fabricate a false Bai Yuanqing in Suzhou to take the blame, the Commerce Association's capabilities would uncover the truth upon investigation.

"Alright, let's not dwell on past events. Ultimately, I should bear full responsibility. It's no fault of his." Bai Guanghe sighed, appearing as though he'd aged several years.

Bai Ruozhu glanced at her second brother, who gave no reaction, indicating that he too was uncertain about the truth of their words.

"I will arrange for someone to find out. You might not want to think about the past, but my father needs to know." Bai Ruozhu said, "It's just that our family is busy today, so we won't keep the three of you any longer."

"You..." Bai Yuanxiu glared angrily, only to be held back by Bai Yuanshan, "Brother, don't upset father."

Bai Guanghe got up, performed an official salute to Bai Ruozhu and Bai Zepei, and then took his leave.

Normally, elders don't need to salute the younger generation. Was this his way of showing he wouldn't impose his elder status on them?

At this moment, Bai Zehao, who had gone to see the guests off, returned, asking, "Where's father? What did he say to Bai Guanghe?"

Bai Ruozhu's mind was a bit muddled, reluctant to speak. Bai Zepei briefly explained, and Bai Zehao was momentarily taken aback before saying, "We should send someone to investigate right away."

Jiang Yichun pulled Bai Ruozhu's arm and whispered, "I'll have someone look into it too. Don't worry, we won't be fooled."

Bai Ruozhu nodded, but she already had a faint answer in her heart.

Bai Yuanqing is still alive. He knows where Bai Fu resides, and he has had many opportunities to find Bai Yihong or to write to Bai Guanghe, revealing the whereabouts of Bai Guanghe's eldest son.

Yet, he did none of that.

With this thought in mind, Bai Ruozhu immediately instructed Jianqi to send a message to the Commerce Association, urging the Suzhou branch to quickly investigate the background of He Yuan from the He family.

Several people were also worried about Lin Ping'er, and went to check on her again. Fortunately, Lin Ping'er's condition had improved considerably, and after hearing Bai Yihong's explanation, she was no longer as upset as before.

"Ruozhu, he doesn't know about your aunt's existence, nor that my mother is still alive. Without your aunt's word, I haven't told him anything." Bai Yihong, seeing his daughter, was a bit nervous and scratched his head as he spoke.

Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes at her father, "At least you haven't been completely incompetent yet, Dad."

Bai Yihong chuckled foolishly upon seeing his daughter not truly angry, and did not mind her sarcastic comments.

Seeing that Lin Ping'er was alright, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun went to check on Fen Jiu. Jiao Ling, seeing them arrive, only asked about Lin Ping'er's condition and did not inquire about Bai Guanghe, indicating she wasn't in the mood to think about anything else at the moment.

...

Amidst a fog, Fen Jiu heard an ancient voice echo: "The ninth trial begins."

He couldn't help but curse, damn these trials, with so many stages. His little Lingdang must be so worried. Moreover, he vaguely heard Jiao Ling's sobbing and guessed that his physical condition was probably dire, scaring Jiao Ling. He wished he could withdraw from the trial and wake up immediately.

However, he couldn't find a way to withdraw, and he dared not fail easily because failure might mean never returning.

He couldn't bear to leave his little Lingdang.

He thought about how each time Jiao Ling heard him jokingly call her "little Lingdang" as he used to in childhood, she'd glare angrily at him, which made him laugh. That version of Jiao Ling was even more vivid, just as genuine and lovely as she was in their youth.

The trial had already begun, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. Step by step, he advanced through the challenges until he finally passed the trial.

This time, there was no endless darkness, nor a dense fog that obscured his surroundings, but instead, a gradual brightening.

Fen Jiu finally opened his eyes, seeing Jiao Ling sitting beside him, holding his hand, her eyes red from crying.

"Little Ling..." Before he could finish, he spat out a mouthful of blood, failing to hold it back, splattering her dress with crimson spots.

His heart ached, and he struggled to rise to wipe it for her, but Jiao Ling held him tightly, crying, "Fen Jiu, you've finally woken up. What's wrong with you? Why are you bleeding or coughing up blood?"

Fen Jiu's heart nearly stopped beating. This was the first time his woman hugged him in front of others. He saw Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun standing nearby, feeling so happy he almost burst out laughing.

But before he could laugh, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

"I'm alright, it's just that after completing the trial, I've gained too much internal strength at once, and my meridians can't withstand the pressure..."

Before he could finish, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.