This meal was a great inconvenience for Bai Ruozhu, as if she shouldn't have come, and she even felt a bit intrusive.
But she was already there, so leaving wouldn't be right either. She could only force herself to finish the meal, saying she had matters to attend to at the Female Physicians Institution, and made her departure early.
The Empress Dowager didn't try to keep her, instead giving her a meaningful smile with a hint of apology within it.
Bai Ruozhu returned to the Female Physicians Institution and pondered for a long time without reaching a conclusion, until in the afternoon, when Jiang Yichun came to take her home, mentioning the matter in the horse carriage.
Jiang Yichun held her hand, fiddling with her fingers, and said with a smile, "You'll get used to it. The Empress Dowager has no choice. This matter used to be handled by the Empress, but now that the Empress has passed away, and the Concubine Virtuous isn't the actual Empress, the Empress Dowager must step in."
