After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 247 Going to Jiangnan

Wu Huan pursed his lips but didn't say anything, though he was screaming inwardly.

Why even try? It would be a miracle if someone could actually climb such a high mountain!

Wushuang knew what Wuhuan was thinking, and just smiled faintly. He threw the bundle on his back to Wuhuan, who hurriedly caught it. "Wuhuan, I believe him."

Wu Huan could only roll her eyes without leaving a trace. "Fine, fine! You believe him."

"We'll start climbing this mountain tomorrow. Even if it costs me my life, I'll go with you."

After saying that, they both smiled slightly. For them, sometimes living didn't seem to be that important.

Wushuang and Wuhuan found an inn at the foot of the mountain to stay in, while Bai Wanqing was in the kitchen brewing medicine for Furong.

“Young Miss, let me handle the medicine brewing,” Bao Yue said, standing to the side.

Since the incident with Bai Qinglian, Bai Furong has been staying at the Bai family home, and Bai Wanqing can't get rid of her no matter what she tries.

Bai Wanqing knew what Furong was thinking. She was afraid that if she left, her father and mother would still make things difficult for her. But Furong refused to leave, and even Madam Du and Du Huan shamelessly came to stay at the Lin family's house, making the Lin family's place lively for a while.

Bai Chenming and Chen received news of Bai Qinglian's death two days ago. Bai Chenming almost fainted on the spot, and Chen cried every day.

After finally managing to handle Bai Qinglian's funeral, Madam Chen couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart. Several times she tried to provoke Bai Wanqing, but Furong defused the situation each time.

Having already lost one daughter, Chen naturally didn't want to lose another, and gradually she let go of her resentment.

Right now, she was in Furong's room playing with her little grandson. Only this little grandson could make Chen forget the pain of losing her daughter.

"Furong, you! I don't know why you're so biased towards your older sister."

"If we're talking about who's closer to whom, your third sister is your real sister."

When Furong thought of her third sister, she felt very sad, but she knew that her third sister had done something wrong, so she was only a little sad.

"Mother, my eldest sister is willing to risk her life to save me."

"If it weren't for my eldest sister, it would probably be Furong who died this time."

"Mother, if Furong died, would you feel the same heartache as you do now?"

Faced with Furong's questioning, Chen was speechless. She had never placed the two sisters in the same position in her heart. In her eyes, Qinglian would always be that clever and beautiful girl.

As for Furong, she would be grateful to have an ordinary life, but now it seems...
She herself was preoccupied with one thing and neglected another; how could she have done right by Furong?

"Furong, stop talking, Mother understands." For the first time, Madam Chen realized that Furong wasn't stupid; it was Furong who was stupid.

Neither of them brought up the topic again, and after a while, Bai Wanqing brought in the cooked herbal soup.

Chen still couldn't pretend nothing had happened, but she wasn't as resentful as before.

"Big sister, why did you personally brew the medicine?" Furong said with a sweet smile.

Baoyue hurriedly ran to her young mistress to apologize, "Miss, I told the eldest young lady, but she still insisted on cooking it for you herself. It's not that I'm being lazy."

Everyone was amused by Baoyue's appearance.

Bai Wanqing handed the medicine to Furong and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes! It's not that Baoyue is being lazy, it's just that this medicine requires extremely precise control of the heat, so I wanted to supervise it myself."

Chen had never seen Bai Wanqing so gentle. So this is how Furong saw her older sister?

Furong felt sorry for Bai Wanqing's hard work in brewing medicine for her, so she didn't mind the bitterness and drank the whole bowl of medicine. However, the medicine was still very bitter, and her face scrunched up after drinking it.

Bai Wanqing quickly put the prepared candied fruit into Furong's mouth.

"Big sister, this candied fruit is so sweet!" Furong's eyes lit up; she had never tasted such delicious candied fruit before.

"Do you like it? This is a new fruit made by Wei Jiaxin from the wonton stall. If you like it, I'll buy some more from them."

Furong nodded with satisfaction.

At this moment, Madam Chen finally understood why Furong had stood by Bai Wanqing's side without hesitation. If her Lian'er could do the same, wouldn't Wanqing do the same?
Chen dared not think about it anymore; just thinking about Bai Qinglian still caused her excruciating pain, like her heart was being ripped out.

The three of them teased Xuan Ge harmoniously for a while longer. At this time, the nanny next to Madam Du lingered at the door for a while and was spotted by Rui Xin.

"Granny Wang!" Ruixin stepped forward and said to Granny Wang, who seemed a little anxious.

Granny Wang looked troubled, but then breathed a sigh of relief, "Miss Ruixin."

"Is there something you want to say? Why are you standing outside the door? Why don't you come in and call for Madam?"

Granny Wang coughed lightly twice. "It's something urgent."

"But Madam Bai is also here, so I really don't dare to disturb her peace and quiet."

Ruixin immediately understood what Wang Mama meant. She immediately said to Wang Mama, "Wang Mama, please wait here for a moment. I will go and pass on a message to the Madam."

Granny Wang looked at Ruixin with gratitude and nodded emphatically.

Ruixin walked into the inner room and quietly approached Bai Wanqing's side. "Madam."

"Fengniang has prepared some new dishes and would like you to come and take a look. What do you think?"

Bai Wanqing was making Xuan Ge happy when she looked up at Rui Xin. This was a little secret between her and Rui Xin; they used this excuse whenever there was something they couldn't say.

"Alright! I'll go take a look." Bai Wanqing and Madam Chen exchanged a simple bow and then withdrew.

They hadn't walked two steps when they ran into Granny Wang, who was waiting in the corner.

Granny Wang bowed and greeted Bai Wanqing first, then followed closely beside her with a nervous expression.

“Madam, I’m sorry to ask you to come so urgently, but my lady has no other choice,” Wang Mama explained as she walked. Bai Wanqing nodded slightly, “Wang Mama, you’re too kind. Let’s go see Madam Du now.”

Granny Wang nodded repeatedly. She originally thought that this matter was clearly a matter for the Du family, and even if Bai Wanqing didn't want to get involved, it was still understandable.

But now that it was just an old woman from the Du family who had come looking for her, Bai Wanqing didn't refuse at all, which made Wang Mama look at Bai Wanqing with new respect.

Just as the lady had predicted, Bai Wanqing was wholeheartedly devoted to her second younger sister, without harboring any selfish motives.

Granny Wang and Bai Wanqing arrived at Madam Du's residence together.

This place was specially cleared out for Madam Du by Bai Wanqing's order to Ruixin; it was originally a place for storing books in the backyard.

Madam Du was pacing anxiously back and forth when she saw Granny Wang arrive with Bai Wanqing, and immediately came out to greet them.

"Wanqing, you've finally arrived."

Madam Du then explained, "The person in charge just came, and I felt the matter was important, so I sent Granny Wang to find you."

"Aunt Du, it's alright. I know you're just worried that Furong will be anxious."

"Wang Mama told me through Ruixin; Furong doesn't know yet."

Madam Du breathed a sigh of relief. She was indeed worried about Furong. In the past two days, Furong's physical condition had not been very good due to the severe emotional fluctuations after giving birth.

She couldn't bear to make her worry about anything else, and her Huan'er would be even less willing to do so.

"Wanqing, it's good that you understand me," Madam Du said.

Madam Du then took out the letter that the steward had just delivered and handed it to Bai Wanqing to read.

"Wanqing, look, something's happened to the shop in Jiangnan."

Bai Wanqing took the letter and read it carefully. She knew that the cloth merchants in Jiangnan and the capital would not give up easily once they lost their business.

Now, what was bound to happen has finally happened.

"Aunt Du, what are you planning to do about this?" Bai Wanqing asked, putting down the letter.

Having been in business for so many years, Madam Du naturally knew that someone was sabotaging her behind the scenes.

"I think I should go and have a look around Jiangnan."

“Our shops in Jiangnan are losing more and more money, and the manager said that even our business in the capital is being shaken.”

We need to find out the reason.

Bai Wanqing nodded slightly, then asked, "What did the shopkeeper from Jiangnan say?"

"The manager from Jiangnan makes it sound so easy. He only said that although their cloth is cheaper, other cloth merchants are even cheaper, so it's normal that they're not selling well."

"So they kept lowering the price, which led to the price of the cloth getting lower and lower, and now they've even reached the point of losing money just to make a name for themselves."

Bai Wanqing frowned slightly, and Madam Du immediately understood. "Wanqing, do you think our manager in Jiangnan is lying?"

Bai Wanqing nodded, "That's what I think."

Madam Du naturally thought so too, but when she received the account books sent from Jiangnan, she understood them even less.

"Then take a look at these ledgers?"

Bai Wanqing picked up the ledger and began to flip through it bit by bit.

As the manager of Jiangnan said, the price of fabrics from Jiangnan has indeed been decreasing these days.

What puzzled Bai Wanqing was that the quantity they sold did not fluctuate much.

Bai Wanqing closed the ledger and tapped the tabletop lightly with her finger.

“Aunt Du, why don’t I make a trip to Jiangnan?” Bai Wanqing said firmly.

Madam Du immediately shook her head, "Wanqing, how can I let you make this trip?"

"Furong relies on you the most right now. How can you leave now!" Madam Du expressed her disagreement. The most important reason was that this business belonged to the Du family, and it was already very troublesome for Wanqing to help with ideas on a regular basis.

If anything happens now, let Wanqing handle it.
Mrs. Du suddenly felt her face getting hot.

Bai Wanqing smiled lightly and said, "Aunt Du, please don't treat me like an outsider. Not to mention that my second sister has a share in this business."

"As you know, Aunt Du, I'm currently in a difficult situation at home."

"Because of my third sister's situation, my father and mother still harbor resentment towards me whenever they see me."

"Now there's something that can get me out of this mess, which is a real bargain for me."

Madam Du knew that Bai Wanqing was trying to comfort her, but upon closer reflection, there were very few people in the Du family who could handle this matter.

Unless she goes in person.

But Furong... Ever since they all left last time, leaving Furong alone to guard the house, she has been filled with lingering fear.

Huan'er is currently very busy with her studies, and to be honest, I'm really worried about her leaving at this time.

She had promised Huan'er that she would stay by Furong and the child's side until he returned.

"Are you really going to Jiangnan?" Madam Du asked to confirm.

Bai Wanqing nodded with a smile, and Madam Du stopped trying to persuade her. "If that's the case, then that's perfect."

(End of this chapter)