"Ruozhu, you should stay away for a while. Ruolan is easily emotional, it wouldn't be good if she bumped into you," Bai Zehao said worriedly.

Bai Ruozhu acknowledged and left, but she couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling. The image of Bai Ruolan throwing herself into her brother's arms kept lingering in her mind.

Even though they're cousins, they shouldn't be this close. After all, there's a difference between male and female, and besides, her family and Bai Ruolan's are not actually related by blood.

She felt she shouldn't doubt a relative who had lost their mind, but her intuition told her that Ruolan was very strange. Yet, after having people watch her for so long, nothing had been discovered.

With this thought, she quickened her pace and returned to her yard, calling Jianqi over.

"Call the person who was assigned to watch Ruolan. I have some questions," she instructed.

"Yes."

Jianqi quickly brought the person over. The dark guard bowed respectfully, waiting for Bai Ruozhu's questions.

"How did Ruolan become so familiar with my elder brother?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

"A few days ago, before you returned, Lady Ruolan ran out of her yard one day and hid in the garden. The maids couldn't find her and informed the residence. I couldn't reveal my presence, so I kept watching from the shadows. Later, it was the Young Master who found her first."

The dark guard continued, "She hid in a hole behind the artificial hill and refused to come out. The Young Master patiently comforted her bit by bit, and finally managed to get her out. After that, she would often go find the Young Master to play with."

Bai Ruozhu opened her mouth, wanting to ask if the dark guard had noticed anything unusual about Bai Ruolan. But feeling that it wasn't appropriate, she changed her question to: "Have you noticed anything unusual lately?"

The dark guard shook his head, then suddenly seemed to remember something, looking hesitant to speak.

"Speak freely, there's no need to hold back," Bai Ruozhu said, her face serious.

"There was one time I accidentally saw inside Lady Ruolan's collar, I was up in a tree." The dark guard's face flushed, speaking in a slightly smaller voice, "I discovered some red rashes, but the maids hadn't noticed them. In the evening, I worried she might be ill and took a closer look, but found nothing."

"What kind of rashes? Were they serious?" Bai Ruozhu pondered, thinking that even an allergy could cause temporary rashes that might fade after a while.

"They were quite serious, not just small red spots, but with pus blisters. So I suspected she might have contracted a strange illness, hence my continued observation," the dark guard replied.

Such rashes were not merely small red spots that would quickly fade away. Since they contained pus, it was unlikely they would disappear immediately.

"Anything else?" Bai Ruozhu asked again.

This time, the dark guard didn't hesitate much and said quietly, "Lady Ruolan is overly close to the Young Master. If word gets out, it might not be good. Once, she hugged the Young Master's neck right in front of the Young Mistress, whose expression didn't look too well."

Bai Ruozhu rubbed her temples in frustration. She would be unhappy too. Her sister-in-law was already quite patient.

"I understand. I'll handle it. Continue keeping an eye on things, but make sure not to expose yourself," Bai Ruozhu instructed.

The dark guard bowed and withdrew.

Bai Ruozhu stood up, wanting to find her elder brother to talk, but was also troubled by Gao Zhou's situation, so she decided to put it aside for a while.

Fortunately, the next morning, Gao Zhou actually showed up himself!

"Godfather, where have you been? Do you know how worried we were? Look at me, a pregnant woman almost due, running out of the city to look for you. How come you didn't at least inform us?" Bai Ruozhu shouted as soon as she saw him.

Gao Zhou shrank back, somewhat embarrassed, "Girl, that's just pre-birth anxiety. What could possibly happen to someone as big as me? And since when is it okay to scold your elders like this?"

Jiang Yichun also said with a cold face, "You were wrong. You made us worry, so yes, we have the right to scold you."

Gao Zhou was momentarily speechless, "I had some urgent business to attend to, it won't happen again."

Bai Ruozhu stared straight at him, feeling that although Gao Zhou had a tendency to come and go mysteriously, he wouldn't just leave for a few days without a word. Surely he knew it would make them worry?

Gao Zhou instinctively averted his gaze, turning his face to the side. With a keen eye, Bai Ruozhu noticed the red mark below his neck!

A strawberry mark—that's a love bite! Bai Ruozhu felt her mind scramble. Her father-in-law had disappeared for a few days and returned with a love bite, what did this imply?

At the same time, she felt a surge of excitement—this was big gossip!

Noticing her gaze, Gao Zhou swiftly retreated and said, "I still have to go back to the guest palace to report to His Majesty. I won't bother you anymore."

With that, he turned and left, almost as if fleeing for his life.

Before he could get far, Bai Ruozhu intentionally said aloud, "Wow, do you think my godfather went to find a woman? After all, he could use some company. Shouldn't we be concerned for him?"

Jiang Yichun's face turned cold, softly reprimanding, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes at him and said, "What's nonsense about it? I just saw that he had a love bite on his neck. With my eyesight, could I be mistaken?"

Gao Zhou stumbled in the distance, nearly tripping, not daring to look back as he hurried away.

"What? You weren't mistaken?" Jiang Yichun asked in surprise.

Bai Ruozhu grinned mischievously, "Of course not. Your dad's been single for so long, isn't it normal for him to find a woman?"

Jiang Yichun gritted his teeth, his face darkening as he said, "Does that mean if you're pregnant and I can't touch you, I should also find another woman?"

Bai Ruozhu instantly became unhappy, "What do you mean by that? Are you looking for a fight? Are these two things even comparable?"

Seeing her about to blow up, Jiang Yichun took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. In the past, he'd never provoke his heavily pregnant wife, but now he found it hard to control his emotions, though he wasn't angry at her.

"Don't be upset. I lost control just now. A few days ago, he told me how great my mother was, saying she was the best woman, the best mother, that he'd never forget her in his lifetime. And yet, he turns around to find another woman? Don't you find that ironic?" Jiang Yichun said through gritted teeth.

Bai Ruozhu was taken aback, but understanding Jiang Yichun's anger made sense.

He had just praised his mother profusely, leaving him deeply moved, only to disappear for a few days and return with love bites. Could it have been from a man?

"I'll go settle this with him. You just stay home and rest, I really wasn't mad at you just now. Don't let it upset you, okay?" he said, taking Bai Ruozhu's hand and kissing it. "I shouldn't have said such things earlier, I'll try to control my emotions in the future. Can you forgive me this once?"

Bai Ruozhu pouted, "You shouldn't have mentioned finding another woman, but I shouldn't have said your dad found another woman without knowing the situation. Go ask him properly, maybe it's not what we think."

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Let me tell you a story of a useless person. She wrote five chapters yesterday, and it rendered her useless today... Will strive for another four chapters today~

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