Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Breach of Trust_1
After listening to the Eldest Princess, Wei Zhong slightly raised his eyes. His gaze fell on Bai Qingyan’s embroidered shoes before turning towards her direction and solemnly bowing, “Wei Zhong greets the master!”
When Wei Zhong entered just now, Bai Qingyan observed his breath and steps closely. He must be quite a formidable practitioner.
Wei Zhong was already over forty years old, with a finger missing on his right hand. Yet, he looked very spirited and robust. His voice was finer compared to ordinary n, and he did not have a beard.
She roughly guessed in her heart that Wei Zhong was likely a eunuch who followed her grandmother into the Bai family years ago. Therefore, he was not the leader of the secret guard, only responsible for communication.
“On the fifteenth of January, Grandmother is going to the Imperial Qing Temple. Please arrange for the leader of the secret guard to et ,” Bai Qingyan said.
Since Wei Zhong had already acknowledged his master, he naturally listened only to Bai Qingyan’s orders. After kowtowing, he said, “I dare not let the master be troubled. Rest assured, master, Wei Zhong will make proper arrangents without letting anyone notice.”
After Wei Zhong left, the Eldest Princess looked at Bai Qingyan, who remained where she was and did not co to her side. Her eyes were red, “Be careful in everything when you go to the southern borders!”
Bai Qingyan stood up and saluted, “Grandmother, rest assured. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now.”
The Eldest Princess pressed her lips together, her expression sorrowful. She nodded after a long while, “The most hard-working these days has been Kid. Kid, please go and rest!”
Seeing Bai Qingyan properly saluting and exiting the main room, the Eldest Princess’s lips trembled before tears finally slipped from the corners of her eyes.
“Eldest Princess…” Nanny Jiang, holding a bowl of lamb milk with red date tea, took small steps around the screen. She lifted the beaded curtain and entered. Seeing the Eldest Princess’s tears, she stepped forward and gently persuaded, “Since the second girl’s marriage, the eldest girl has been tirelessly busy every day. The major event has concluded today. The eldest girl must be exhausted.”
Without hearing a response from the Eldest Princess, Nanny Jiang’s eyes reddened further. She tried to cheer up and smiled, “Eldest Princess, if you don’t wish for dinner, I noticed the red dates sent by the eldest girl last ti. Should I cook a bowl of lamb milk and red date tea for you? Today’s stead cakes are also good. Shall I bring you a plate?”
After a long ti, the Eldest Princess shook her head, “Give it to Kid.”
Bai Qingyan had just left Ji Tingyu and was walking towards Qinghui Courtyard, accompanied by Xiao Ruohai, whose wound had already been bandaged.
“Xiao Ruojiang has already taken people ahead to set off for the southern borders. On the way, they will send fast-riding ssengers to report the news to the eldest girl, striving to grasp the situation in the southern borders entirely before her arrival,” Xiao Ruohai, maintaining a respectful posture half a step behind Bai Qingyan, said. “Additionally, the matters entrusted by the eldest girl have been clarified. The advisor nad Du Zhiwei from King Liang’s residence who blocked the knife for King Liang on the day of the second girl’s marriage succumbed to his injuries.”
She halted in her steps, died?!
The white silk fabric in the corridor swayed before her eyes, reminding her of King Liang’s handwritten letter.
Finally, she understood why King Liang had made such a mistake.
King Liang was soone who played his roles to perfection and had deep calculations. But he was not as capable as Du Zhiwei, who could control everything and sche ticulously.
She indeed felt a deep sense of regret over Du Zhiwei’s death. It seed that King Liang’s life was truly destined to be spared. In her previous life, her second sister Bai Jinxiu had blocked the knife. In this life, it was Du Zhiwei who sacrificed his life. The one who always survived was King Liang.
Without Du Zhiwei at King Liang’s side, she did not have to worry about him as much.
She turned to look at Xiao Ruohai, who had changed into clean clothes, “Thank you both.”
“It’s our duty to serve the eldest girl!” Xiao Ruohai hesitated for a mont before lifting his robe and kneeling to kowtow, “Today, when fighting with King Liang’s guard Gao Sheng, I intended to recruit him for the eldest girl. I showed rcy but did not expect to implicate three brothers who died in vain. I beg for the eldest girl’s forgiveness.”
Bai Qingyan had never blad Xiao Ruohai.
She helped Xiao Ruohai up, saying, “You had already guessed that the Emperor might want my life during the southern border trip. So you wanted more capable people by my side to protect . You were eager to recruit talent to ensure my safe return, not to disappoint Father. I understand.”
Xiao Ruohai remained bent over in a respectful manner. Hearing Bai Qingyan ntion her father, he bowed even lower, his eyes reddening, but he did not make a sound.
“Go rest, Brother. After sending Grandmother to the Imperial Qing Temple on the fifteenth, we will start preparing for the journey to the southern borders,” she said softly.
“I will leave after escorting the eldest girl back to Qinghui Courtyard,” Xiao Ruohai insisted.
She did not stop him, nodding her head.
Xiao Ruohai stood not far from Qinghui Courtyard, watching Bai Qingyan enter before he turned and left.
Bai Qingyan entered, and Chun Tao helped her remove her cloak, whispering, “The Eldest Princess just sent Nanny Jiang, saying that the Eldest Princess was worried that the eldest girl did not eat well in the evening. She sent lamb milk, red date tea, and snacks for her.”
She stood by the fire, stretching out her hands to warm them, her gaze sweeping over the lamb’s milk and red date tea along with the fragrant plum blossom stead cakes on the small table. After a mont of silence, she instructed them to be removed.
The Wei Zhong she had just t was her grandmother’s man. Bai Qingyan did not intend to use him.
Lu Ping was a highly revered mber of the Bai family’s guard and had to stay with her mother.
As for the secret guard…
Her third sister Bai Jintong would be traveling soon. Although she had been assigned people, the more skilled martial artists by her side when she was traveling, the safer she would be.
Chun Xing lifted the thick felt curtain and entered, bowing before asking, “Would the eldest girl like to prepare a bath?”
After all the busy days, with the Bai family mbers buried and King Liang now imprisoned… As her tension eased, Bai Qingyan felt overwhelmingly exhausted.
“Prepare the bath.”
After receiving the instruction, Chun Xing stepped out to arrange for the maids and won to prepare the bathwater.
That night, Bai Qingyan slept very restlessly…
She dread of the battlefield in the southern borders, her grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers.
She dread of rivers of blood, severed limbs everywhere, and the sounds of intense combat and clashes filling the air. The sparks from weapon collisions almost touched her eyes, but she dared not blink.
She stared unblinkingly at the black mass in the distant sky. Tens of thousands of arrows were coming like locusts with the sound of wind. She stepped on the bloody muddy ground, charging toward the figures cutting down enemies atop the corpse-ridden mountain, shouting, “Father! Father, run!”
Just as she climbed beside her father and before she could touch his armor, she heard the “whoosh whoosh” sound of arrows passing by her ears. Her father suddenly turned to shield her with his body, pressing her down. She heard the sound of arrows piercing through armor and into flesh.
Terrified, she opened her eyes wide, watching her father’s face turn pale as he clenched his teeth. She grasped tightly at the protective gear on his chest, tears flowing like a spring, “Father! Father!”
“Kid, your Father used to… wish for peace under heaven, to take you, your mother, and A Yu to travel and write poems, to live an ordinary life. But Father will break his promise to your mother and can no longer protect you.”
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