Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Compensation_1

Nanny Jiang had been waiting early at the gate of the Duke’s Mansion for Bai Qingyan. The matter of testing Bai Qingxuan’s character had been approved by the Eldest Princess. After all, if all the men of the Duke of Zhen Mansion truly died in the southern border and there was only this one son left, with the Eldest Princess present, the possibility of this son inheriting the title of Duke of Zhen was quite high.

People’s hearts were unpredictable. Since he did not grow up in the Duke’s Mansion, even the Eldest Princess could not be at ease without testing him.

The Eldest Princess, sitting on the soft couch, trembled uncontrollably as she twirled the Buddha Beads after listening to Bai Qingxuan’s actions. If Bai Qingyan hadn’t been present today, not only would the Duke of Zhen Mansion’s century-old reputation have been ruined, but the claim that even the Emperor did not dare provoke the Duke of Zhen and wanted to exterminate the Nine Clans would have reached the Emperor’s ears, making him suspicious of the Bai family.

The Eldest Princess closed her eyes. “Kid did very well! This child is so violent in nature. It will take some effort to educate him. For now, have someone watch him and keep him confined to the mansion to avoid any trouble.”

Grandmother was, after all, old. Even knowing that Bai Qingxuan was a miscreant, she could not harden her heart to send him back to the manor.

She felt discontent, but still nodded in agreement, clearly unwilling to say more.

Leaving the Changshou Courtyard, Bai Qingyan noticed two half-human-high snowmen piled up under the lantern by the courtyard gate. The snowmen’s mouths were made in a peanut arc of a smile.

Recalling the peanut that had struck Bai Qingxuan’s knee, forcing him to kneel in front of Manjiang Tower today, Bai Qingyan clutched the hand warmer tightly, lowering her eyes in unease.

Xiao Rongyan’s skills were indeed formidable, but why did he help her?!

She remembered that in the previous life, during the expedition with King Liang, the Jin and Yan armies faced off. Bai Qingyan planned to capture Xiao Rongyan alive, but only managed to capture his vanguard General Yue Quanyong. @@novelbin@@

Yue Quanyong had said that if not for Xiao Rongyan being seriously injured in his heart and lungs, with Xiao Rongyan’s martial skills, they would never have fallen into Bai Qingyan’s trap and failed to escape. It seemed his words were not false.

Nanny Jiang, seeing Bai Qingyan staring at the snowmen in a daze, said smilingly, “These were made by Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister for the Eldest Princess today!”

Bai Qingyan nodded. “Nanny, go back to attend to Grandmother. No need to see me off.”

Nanny Jiang lifted the curtain to enter and found the Eldest Princess somewhat lost in thought. Walking lightly to the Eldest Princess’s side, she gently massaged her shoulders.

The Eldest Princess, staring at the direction of the partition screen, asked Nanny Jiang in a low voice, “Nanny, do you think Kid blames me for questioning her loyalty that day? Nowadays, she isn’t as close to me as before.”

“Eldest Princess, be at ease! Big Miss was raised by you personally. Don’t you know her filial heart?” Nanny Jiang said with a smile, speaking for Bai Qingyan. “So many things have happened in our mansion lately. Big Miss is still just a child; it’s inevitable she’ll feel overwhelmed. Eldest Princess, you should be more considerate of Big Miss. How could you expect a child to come and comfort you?”

Hearing Nanny Jiang’s words, the Eldest Princess closed her eyes tiredly and sighed long. She let out a faint laugh. “You’re right; it’s my fault. Later, fetch the imperial jade chess set from my storeroom and send it to Kid tomorrow morning. She loves to play with those.”

“I’ll serve the Eldest Princess to bed first, then go to the storeroom to find it. Tomorrow morning, just as Tianxiu Workshop is coming to deliver new clothes and jewelry for the ladies of the house for the New Year’s Eve banquet at the palace, I’ll send the chess set to Big Miss.” Nanny Jiang said.

The Eldest Princess nodded and resumed twirling the Buddha Beads. “What did Wei Zhong say after visiting the secret guard team today?”

“Wei Zhong said that although the secret guard team has been kept at the Eldest Princess’s manor and was not used, Captain Wan Ruozhong still followed the rules and took one apprentice per person, training them in character and conduct before imparting their lifetime skills. Wan Ruozhong asked Wei Zhong to relay that the newly formed secret guard team is ready and awaits the Eldest Princess’s command.” Nanny Jiang said.

The Eldest Princess closed her eyes and thought briefly before saying, “After the Lantern Festival, have the team return to the city and send two of them to protect Kid. But don’t let Kid know.”

Nanny Jiang was slightly surprised but did not ask further, only nodded in agreement.

Having the secret guard protect Bai Qingyan in secret was both protection and surveillance. The Eldest Princess still feared Bai Qingyan might develop treasonous intentions.

The Eldest Princess’s eyes moistened slightly. She recalled her father’s earnest instructions to watch over the Duke of Zhen Mansion for the Jin royal family and the rebellious look in the granddaughter she had raised by herself. She felt like she was burning in oil.

No one knew that the bitterness in the Eldest Princess’s heart was like that of bitter gourd. She had to guard the Bai family’s kin with her life while also protecting the Lin family’s royal lineage. She truly found it difficult to navigate.

In recent days, she constantly pondered which was more important, family kin or the Lin family’s throne, but still had no answer today.

Bai Qingyan returning from the Eldest Princess’s place had Chun Tao help her change into training clothes, tying sandbags around her arms and legs.

While practicing, she meticulously reviewed Xiao Rongyan’s life in the previous life.

It seemed that just this year, during the New Year’s Eve banquet held at the Imperial Palace for officials and their families, Xiao Rongyan attended as an honored guest of the King of Qi’s Mansion. However, he was caught secretly meeting with the King of Qi’s side consort’s maid during the banquet. The maid confessed to being a Wei spy on the spot, and Xiao Rongyan was also arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for interrogation.

In the previous life, the Bai family was in trouble. Bai Qingyan did not know when Xiao Rongyan was released from prison, nor whether he was injured this time in prison or in subsequent near-death experiences, causing him to lose his martial arts skills just like her.

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes, her whole body steaming in the cold wind. Perhaps because both lost their martial arts skills in the previous life and shared a common misfortune, she felt a sense of sympathy for Xiao Rongyan.

Recalling how Xiao Rongyan had helped her many times after she saw through King Liang’s façade in the previous life, she couldn’t help but feel compassion.

A string of maids came out of the small kitchen, carrying buckets of boiling water, following Chun Yan into the main house to pour hot water into the bath barrel.

“Big Miss, the time has come!” Chun Tao quickly stepped forward to support Bai Qingyan. “The water is ready, Big Miss, please bathe!”

Bai Qingyan used Chun Tao’s strength to stand. Her legs were not as limp as when she first started practicing.

After bathing, Bai Qingyan spread out a piece of Chengxin Hall Tribute paper, dipped the brush in ink, and hesitated for a moment before putting the brush down.

Bai Qingyan used all the tribute paper and ink sent by the Eldest Princess from Chengxin Hall, easily letting Xiao Rongyan identify the message source.

She instructed Chun Tao to fetch ordinary hemp paper and common account ink, and, using her left hand to hold the brush, began to write…

After finishing, Bai Qingyan dried the ink, folded the letter, and handed it to Chun Tao. “Take this early tomorrow morning and give it to your cousin. Have him find a way to deliver the letter to the steward of the Xiao Mansion in the southern city the day after tomorrow, before the New Year’s Eve. Remind him to be careful not to reveal his identity.”

Xiao Rongyan had helped her many times before, and she had never repaid him. Now, she would help if she could.