Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Cannot Be Distracted_1

The Bai family had now encountered a great misfortune, and all the men in the family had perished. If the news of the Eldest Princess’s severe illness spread, it was feared that the hearts of the Bai family would scatter. Nanny Jiang had already instructed Bai Jinzhi not to make a fuss, and Bai Jinzhi understood the seriousness and naturally did not dare to publicize it.

The scene of her grandmother spitting blood and passing away upon hearing the news suddenly appeared before her eyes. Her whole body went numb as if a hand had clenched her wildly beating heart, causing her chest to feel like it was being torn apart.

“Eldest Young Lady?!” Bai Jinzhi saw that Bai Qingyan’s face had lost all color and quickly called out.

She regained her composure, turned around, and bowed to Dong Changyuan, “There are many matters in the residence, Changyuan, as family, please forgive the lack of hospitality.”

“Please attend to your matters, Cousin!” Dong Changyuan responded quickly.

She nodded, took Bai Jinzhi’s hand, and hurried towards the inner quarters.

As they walked, Bai Jinzhi said to Bai Qingyan, “Fortunately, last night Doctor Hong and Doctor Huang were both attending to Fifth Aunt. Nanny Jiang has already sent someone to fetch Doctor Hong and Doctor Huang! I came to inform Eldest Young Lady at once!”

“What is with the spitting of blood?!” Bai Qingyan asked through gritted teeth. @@novelbin@@

“It’s nothing but that treacherous mother and her son in Qingming Courtyard!” Bai Jinzhi grinded her teeth. Her reddening eyes were filled with hatred, wishing she could give that shrew a few more whips, “That shrew heard Doctor Huang, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was with Fifth Aunt and demanded that Doctor Huang go to her son for his injury, saying… saying that the Bai family only had her son left, and that her son was the future Duke of Zhen! Grandmother was already overwhelmed with grief. Nanny Jiang had ordered not to mention this matter, but the mother and son shouted it all over! Grandmother, upon hearing this, was so furious her face turned purple and she spat blood!”

Bai Qingyan’s anger surged as she clenched the hand warmer tightly, wanting to immediately skin that mother and son alive! They were indeed troublemakers and could not be left alive.

The two hurried into the Changshou Courtyard. The maidservants opened the thick felt curtain as they saw the eldest and fourth young ladies approaching in haste.

Inside, the Eldest Princess, pale-faced, was leaning against the window on a large peony pillow embroidered with gold thread. A fine cashmere blanket covered her legs. She took the medicine and water handed by Nanny Jiang and swallowed them with her head tilted back.

Doctor Huang put the pulse pillow into the medicine chest. Seeing Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi enter with hurried breaths, he quickly bowed, “Eldest Young Lady, Fourth Young Lady, please don’t worry. The Eldest Princess is fine! The anger and rage actually caused the Eldest Princess to expel the congested blood from her chest, which is a positive sign. Otherwise, such congested blood would be hard to detect and could damage the heart and lungs over time. Even Bian Que could do nothing then. However… the Eldest Princess’s body truly needs proper care and rest.”

The Eldest Princess put down the water cup, seeing her usually calm and composed eldest granddaughter’s face now pale, her heart softened, and tears streamed down her face. Even though there had been some disagreements between them, the bond of flesh and blood could not be faked. Hearing about her spitting blood, she still rushed over anxiously.

She waved her hand with red eyes to Bai Qingyan, “Kid, come here!”

Hearing Doctor Huang say that her grandmother was no longer in danger, she breathed a sigh of relief, took off her cloak, handed the hand warmer to a maid, and walked towards the Eldest Princess.

“Eldest Princess, Eldest Young Lady, Fourth Young Lady, I shall take my leave now!” Doctor Huang, carrying the medicine chest, bowed to the Eldest Princess.

“I will see Doctor Huang out!” Nanny Jiang quickly smiled and led the way with a curtain for Doctor Huang.

Bai Jinzhi noticed that the Eldest Princess had something to say to the Eldest Young Lady, so she quietly exited the inner room.

The Eldest Princess held Bai Qingyan’s jade-like hand, noticed the fine sweat in her palm, and her eyes reddened further, “Rest assured, grandmother will be fine. I still need to protect you children!”

The Eldest Princess’s concern was genuine. Besides the Zhen Kingdom’s mansion needing her protection, Bai Qingyan was tied by bonds of family. She could no longer afford to lose any more relatives!

“Just now, while resting on the couch for a short moment, grandmother dreamed of many people, dreamed of your grandfather… dreamed of my father!” The Eldest Princess choked with reddened eyes, raised her hand, and embraced Bai Qingyan, slowly and wistfully recounting the past, “Grandmother married into the Bai family at sixteen, not only willing to bear children for your grandfather but also shouldering the inescapable responsibility as a Princess of Jin! The night before the emperor bestowed the marriage… father and mother held me in their arms and told me that the Bai family of the Duke of Zhen was the pillar and backbone of Jin, and the Imperial Family must rely on but also guard against the Bai family. With father aging and his days numbered, he wished for me to safeguard the Lin family’s royal authority and to guard against the Bai family’s rebellious intentions. If I didn’t swear, I couldn’t marry your grandfather.”

These matters, stored in the heart of the Eldest Princess for years, were now being slowly told to her granddaughter. The feeling of being pulled in different directions was still unbearably bitter.

Thus, after deciding to marry Bai Weiting, the heir of the Duke of Zhen, she moved out of the Princess’s mansion with a guilty conscience and into the Bai family’s mansion, serving her in-laws like an ordinary daughter-in-law, hoping to find a bit of peace for herself.

Grandmother’s difficulties, she knew…

She also knew that her grandmother, such a proud and steadfast Eldest Princess, speaking of this matter today, was an effort to lower herself in hopes that she would understand her grandmother, and to prevent any rebellious thoughts against her grandmother.

But when the thing she tried to conceal and not believe was candidly spoken by her grandmother, she instead felt a calmness.

“Kid, your grandfather is gone, your father, uncles, and brothers are all gone! Our family must not be divided!” The Eldest Princess’s tears flowed like threads.

How could the Eldest Princess’s words not make her heart ache? The divergence of paths with intimate family members was indeed the true bitterness, like a dull knife cutting flesh, making it hard to sleep and eat.

“Grandmother, granddaughter knows grandmother’s difficulty! Grandmother is both our grandmother and the Eldest Princess of Jin. The Bai family is our home, and the Imperial Family is also grandmother’s home!” She looked up, eyes bloodshot, at the Eldest Princess, speaking word by word, “Granddaughter dares not deceive grandmother. Upon hearing the news of the Bai family’s men’s death, granddaughter wanted to rebel immediately and bloodily cleanse the royal court of Jin! To tear apart those demons and monsters who harmed the Bai family’s men alive!”

The Eldest Princess’s whole body tensed, her eyes bulged, and her withered hand pressed Bai Qingyan’s shoulder with all her might, “You…”

“But I can’t! Firstly… because I have no power, no position, and my martial arts are wasted. I am merely a small woman in the back residence.” She did not resist, letting the Eldest Princess press her down, “Secondly, this stable and peaceful kingdom of Jin was fought for by the Bai family for generations, soaked with the blood of the Bai ancestors, grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers! The Bai family safeguards the tranquility and prosperity of this kingdom, and the peace of the people! How could I, for my venting of personal hatred, plunge the people into another abyss of fire and water? How could I let the elders lose their sons, the children lose their fathers and mothers? How could I let the innocent people bear the pain of losing their kin? How could I let tens of thousands of soldiers’ bones be exposed! What wrong have the people done? What wrong have the soldiers done? Why should they bury their bones for the Bai family’s private revenge?!”