Chapter 610 - 526: Attitude
Chapter 610: Chapter 526: Attitude
Bai Lihua returned to Beijing, having missed seeing his eldest nephew off. He expressed his regrets to Mr. Bai and Bai Qingyue, but inwardly, he didn’t care at all.
He came back for two reasons. First, for his Cultivation. The Spiritual Energy outside was too thin, making Cultivation difficult. But the family home had a Spiritual Energy Acupoint, which made his progress much smoother. That’s why, no matter how he had to squeeze his schedule, he tried to return home two or three times a month.
Second, he needed to check on his two sick children. The thought made him frown. Six children—two boys and four girls—were a real handful to look after. When Luo Chunxiang was around, he never had to worry. Luo Chunxiang was honest and treated all the children equally, whether they were hers by birth or not, making sure they were always comfortable. But since she left the Bai Family, he’d heard the new nanny couldn’t even iron clothes properly. His two eldest daughters had already called to complain several times, and his sons weren’t happy either, saying the nanny moved their things around and misplaced them, which they absolutely hated!
Bai Lihua felt a surge of displeasure. ’My children are all exceptional. My eldest daughter, Tingting, is already seventeen, and my second daughter, Miao Miao, is fifteen. They have high standards for their clothes and food, and that’s how it should be. What young lady, in the prime of her youth, doesn’t want to be dressed stylishly and present herself with grace and flair? What the hell is Bai Qingyue doing? She can’t even take care of the children. It was her fault for meddling and having a fit, forcing Luo Chunxiang to leave in the first place!’
The fact that he’d been forced into the divorce infuriated Bai Lihua. Although Mr. Bai had also given the order, saying he was tired of listening to the country woman’s incessant chatter, they should have at least given him some time to handle it himself. He was confident he could have persuaded Luo Chunxiang and coaxed her into coming back. It wasn’t that he was attached to the woman; it was just that it wasn’t a good time for him to be unmarried. Having a proper wife to manage the home front would at least keep those other women from getting too ostentatious and interfering with his life and work.
This time, the sick ones were his nine-year-old fourth daughter, Lili, and his seven-year-old youngest son, Junlin. One had a severe cold, and the other had the mumps. They said these were common childhood illnesses in spring and summer. But when Luo Chunxiang was looking after the children, they only ever caught a minor cold now and then; he’d never seen a case of the mumps. In the end, it was clear the family wasn’t taking good care of the children.
Bai Lihua went to see the sick children, and when he came out, his expression was grim. The family had a primary care physician and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who made house calls, so their medication should have been fine. But the two sick children had been put in the same room and isolated from the others. Mr. Bai, of course, wouldn’t visit them, and Bai Qingyue didn’t check on them either. Only Shun Ma was responsible for their meals and watching over them. It was obvious they were being quarantined as if they had a contagious disease.
’Is this really necessary? These are Bai Family children, my own flesh and blood! Does Bai Qingyue think they’re little beggars she picked up off the street? What kind of attitude is that!’
’If it were the three siblings of the main branch—Bai Junfan, Bai Yifen, and their brother—she would probably be falling all over herself to help in a heartbeat, and she’d rally the whole family to show their love and concern, too!’
Bai Lihua snorted, his expression growing even darker.
’It wasn’t just Bai Qingyue who treated him as a mere stepping stone for Bai Junfan’s ascension. Even Mr. Bai saw him as nothing more than a "backup" in case of an emergency. On the surface, he was aware of some of the Bai Family’s external connections, but in reality, Mr. Bai never told him about the most practical and effective ones. Instead, he would discuss them in secret with Bai Junfan. And when it came to Cultivation, the auxiliary pills refined by the Gongsun Family were all given to Bai Junfan, sent over box by box. But for him and Junjie, they were doled out one pill at a time. The stinginess was unbearable to watch. It was as if the future of the Bai Family rested solely on Bai Junfan, while he, the "illegitimate" second son of the Bai Family, was useless and disposable!’
’Is that really how it is? Well then, let’s just hope his abilities are as great as they think!’
Bai Lihua stood before Mr. Bai’s study for a moment, his thoughts turning to a recipe Shun Ma had secretly mentioned to him. It was for men, tasted like ordinary green vegetable leaves, and could be mixed into food. After just ten consecutive doses, a man would be rendered sterile for life.
’I wonder if Shun Ma has made her move yet? The Bai Family’s eldest grandson is only home for a few days, so there probably isn’t enough time. Shun Ma is old, her memory is failing, and she’s not as nimble as she used to be. I’ll just let her take her time. He isn’t even married yet. He’s courting a lady from a prominent family, but there’s a long road ahead before anything comes of it. Could he really manage to produce an illegitimate child in the meantime?’
A faint smile touched Bai Lihua’s lips, and the expression on his handsome face returned to one of gentle calm. Only then did he knock softly on the study door three times. Upon receiving permission, he respectfully stepped inside.
The conversation between father and son was not pleasant. Mr. Bai reprimanded Bai Lihua, who listened with his head bowed, offering no rebuttal. But this didn’t mean he had submitted. ’Even if it’s a marriage alliance for profit, he shouldn’t be shoving the old, crippled, sick, and widowed my way. There’s even a fifty-year-old one! Could anyone even stand to look at her? I’m not Emperor Zetian! And my house isn’t a shelter that takes in any old trash.’
Even without a Mind Reading Technique, Mr. Bai could see the resistance in his son’s expression. Glaring at him with disappointment, he growled, "I’m giving you one week. You must choose one of the four." Then he waved his hand, dismissing him.
As Bai Lihua walked out of the room, he saw Bai Qingyue approaching gracefully from a side corridor out of the corner of his eye. He pretended not to see her, striding directly down the steps into the courtyard. He called out for Shun Ma, instructing, "Lili and Junlin are quite ill. They just told me that Luo Chunxiang bought a house and is living well, and they want to go stay with her. If Luo Chunxiang calls, let her take the two children. They can come back after they’ve recovered. And tell Doctor Jiang that the courtyard should be disinfected so the germs don’t spread to everyone else!"
Bai Qingyue stopped in her tracks. She narrowed her eyes as she watched Shun Ma scurry into the courtyard with quick, small steps. Bai Lihua’s figure had already disappeared from the inner courtyard. Bai Qingyue bit her lip, then turned with a wronged expression on her face and walked back to knock on Mr. Bai’s study door.
Bai Lihua was heading to a dinner party. As he drove out onto the main street, his gaze swept casually over the crowd at a bus stop. He spotted a familiar face: Xuanxuan. ’She seems to go by Wu Qin now,’ he thought. She was standing at the very front, craning her neck to look in the direction the bus would be coming from.
’Wu Xiaowen’s adopted daughter. No longer connected to the Tang family, but the Bai Family still needs her. It just goes to show that everyone has their purpose. It all just depends on how useful they are.’
Bai Lihua felt he should also show some goodwill toward Wu Qin. ’After all,’ he thought, ’when the girl was first with Xiao Wen, she was closer to me than anyone. I was the one who arranged her school and bought her so many things. Now she’s obtained herbs for the Bai Family, but to hear Bai Qingyue tell it, all the credit belongs to her and Bai Junfan!’
Bai Lihua pulled the car over to the side of the road, rolled down the window, and called out to her twice. Wu Qin ran toward him, exclaiming in pleasant surprise, "Uncle Bai!"
"Where are you headed? Uncle Bai will give you a ride." Bai Lihua smiled and gestured for Wu Qin to get in the car. When she told him she was going to a bookstore and a stationery shop, he nodded in understanding. He cheerfully offered to take her, promising that after buying her stationery and workbooks, he’d treat her to a nice meal and then take her to a department store to buy a couple of new outfits. That way, she could walk into her exams wearing new clothes and new shoes, which would surely bring her success!
Wu Qin was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. The gloom and sadness she felt over Bai Junfan’s departure from Beijing vanished without a trace.