Fortunately, General Chisong soon withdrew his gaze, but Jiang Yichun’s heart sank.
He didn’t care how others saw it, but in his heart, his wife was certainly the best woman, and he didn’t want anyone to covet her.
If they were in Danliang Country, even if the emperor dared to have ill intentions towards his woman, he would definitely turn his back and leave. But now in Fusang, they lacked military force and background, so they had to be cautious everywhere.
Bai Ruozhu also sensed sothing off about General Chisong, but as a woman, she was more sensitive to this than Jiang Yichun.
She didn’t feel that Chisong’s gaze was particularly intense or greedy, instead, it carried a trace of suspicion.
Perhaps Chisong never believed them, after all, they were outsiders. But for his attitude to change so much, could it be because of the fire?
Bai Ruozhu was smart and quickly grasped the key to the matter.
After Chisong and his people left, Bai Ruozhu directly asked Sa Tian, "Did soone stir up trouble with the General, saying the fire was related to us coming to Zhaoti Temple?"
Sa Tian was shocked, "How, how did you know?"
His reaction clearly confird it.
The others showed displeasure.
"Is this how Fusang people treat guests? We wholeheartedly helped to rescue people, yet there isn’t a word of gratitude, instead, we are being suspected." Gao Zhou flicked his sleeve, clearly angry.
Tang Feng’s face was cold as well, "It’s those doctors who couldn’t save anyone and ostracized us, isn’t it?"
Sa Tian was sowhat troubled, not wanting the situation to escalate, "This is all a misunderstanding, due to so cultural differences. When the Master wakes up, he can clarify everything."
Bai Ruozhu looked at Sa Tian and spoke slowly, "I saw doubt in the General’s eyes today. Why should he suspect us out of the blue?"
Sa Tian pursed his lips; those words clearly influenced General Chisong’s attitude.
"The fire was indeed strange, and it is inevitable that so people speculate wildly," Sa Tian explained awkwardly.
Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Just because we ca to Zhaoti Temple, it becos related to us? She Zongyi also brought people here, why is no one suspecting them? Just because we’re outsiders, we are groundlessly suspected?"
Jiang Yichun also got angry, "When we were rescuing people, She Zongyi didn’t even show up, right? Did we do wrong in helping out?"
Sa Tian looked even more embarrassed, "I know it’s not related to you; I explained on your behalf."
Bai Ruozhu tugged at Jiang Yichun’s sleeve; Sa Tian was quite reasonable, and saying more would only trouble him.
Jiang Yichun also knew it wasn’t Sa Tian’s fault, so he sat down without saying more.
"When I was putting out the fire, I saw a young monk sneakily pouring a bucket of water on it, but the fire actually intensified and burned his sleeve. He then threw the wooden bucket into the fire, seemingly trying to destroy evidence. I wanted to call you to catch him, but the Scripture Pavilion suddenly collapsed, and in the ensuing chaos, the monk couldn’t be found," Bai Ruozhu recounted the situation at that ti.
"He definitely didn’t pour water!" Mo Beishan exclaid, "Why didn’t you let us catch him sooner?"
Bai Ruozhu glared at him, "At the ti, we were too busy saving people; besides, if I went to recognize people, who would safeguard Master Puru’s life?"
Mo Beishan scratched his head, "Rescuing people must co first."
"I will report this to Lord Xinye. The General ordered him to investigate the cause of the fire, and this is a clue," Sa Tian said.
Bai Ruozhu rembered eting Lord Xinye not long ago and frowned. Sa Tian sensed her worry and quickly said, "No need to worry, Lord Xinye, although cold and arrogant, is upright and won’t retaliate for personal reasons."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "With your reassurance, I’m not worried anymore. Tell what those doctors said about us earlier. We were wronged for no reason; we need to be more vigilant to avoid being misunderstood."
Sa Tian thought for a while and decided to tell it all.
Bai Ruozhu and the others exchanged a helpless glance; they wondered why they needed to burn Buddhist Scriptures. These people were indeed narrow-minded.
As night fell, Bai Ruozhu and her group stayed at the temple. Sa Tian helped arrange rooms, but due to the chaotic situation at the temple, accommodation was tight, and they finally got only two rooms.
Bai Ruozhu let all the n stay in one room, while the three young ladies who ca to help, Teng Ya, Yizi, and Wa Wei, stayed in the other.
"Miss, Lingzi also wanted to co help, but you didn’t instruct us, and we were worried her identity might be exposed," Yizi ntioned Lingzi as soon as she saw Bai Ruozhu.
"Her good intention is enough; if she ca, things might beco more complicated," Bai Ruozhu briefly explained, warning them to be cautious since so people have been looking for trouble recently, and any unintentional move by them could be exploited.
Teng Ya and Wa Wei looked scared, not accustod to such intrigues, but fortunately, Yizi had been with Bai Ruozhu long enough and promised to explain more to them.
"Wa Wei, can you confidently leave Duannian alone at the posthouse?" Bai Ruozhu initially didn’t ntion Wa Wei’s na, fearing no one would take care of Duannian.
Wa Wei smiled, "He has gone back to the sea to practice and told to help, he’ll return in a few days."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, unsure when Duannian would be able to walk normally; it’s much harder than Jiang Yichun swimming with a fish tail.
After settling the three young ladies, Bai Ruozhu went to Master Puru’s room to keep watch.
Sa Tian knelt under the eaves, his eyes red, likely from just having cried.
"Go rest; the Master’s mishap isn’t your fault," Bai Ruozhu said.
Sa Tian looked up, "If I had co to put out the fire sooner, maybe I could have saved him sooner."
"No ’ifs’. Who would have thought the Scripture Pavilion would suddenly collapse? Everyone was busy fighting the fire..." Bai Ruozhu paused, realizing she had overlooked one peculiar detail: the sudden collapse of the Scripture Pavilion was strange too.
"Thank you; please save the Abbot!" Sa Tian knelt on the ground, solemnly giving Bai Ruozhu a grand gesture.
Bai Ruozhu stepped back, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely save him."
Sa Tian left after another salute, to rest, while Bai Ruozhu entered the room, checked Master Puru’s external injuries, then took the dicine soup and secretly added a lot of space spring water, carefully cleaning the wounds.
A slight sound ca from the doorway; Bai Ruozhu looked up to see Lord Xinye holding his samurai sword. She ignored him and continued her work.
"You are indeed putting in effort," Xinye said in a harsh tone, unsure whether due to unfamiliarity with Chinese or expressing his suspicion.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at him indifferently and said, "Saving the Abbot will clear our suspicion, I’m not a great philanthropist, and won’t let him die now."
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