The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 107

The Emperor had also heard what he wished to hear, using the pretext of the Zhenguo Duke’s clan forcing their hand.

Everyone had a heart, and even the coldest of hearts… would have a thread of warmth that can be stirred.

That day in the hall, when she had fabricated her grandfather’s words about the Emperor’s lofty ambitions, it had already left the Emperor feeling a twinge of guilt.

She firmly believed that if the Emperor saw the Zhenguo Duke’s residence’s spirit of “rather let the world wrong me than I wrong the world,” he would surely make his decision.

“Letting the clan’s oppression lead to the sale of our Duke’s assets, assisting me to achieve my goals and hastening the Emperor’s resolve, and also paving the way for the Duke’s residence’s return to Shuoyang free from the clan’s control,” Xiao Rongyan said as he turned the jade cicada in his hand. His heart was filled with deep admiration. Then, in a low voice, he asked, “Was the matter of the clan’s coercion… also instigated by Eldest Miss Bai herself?”

This Eldest Miss Bai always carried out astonishing moves, each drawing attention, yet she always had a follow-up plan, every step tightly interlinked, breathtakingly precise.

“My clan members are filled with greed. I merely took advantage of the situation and made a brief plan to survive.”

Before a man of such insight as Xiao Rongyan, denying it would only lead him to press the issue until she admitted. Better to acknowledge it outright.

“No matter what, I will remember Eldest Miss Bai’s assistance this time for life.”

“It’s only that each of us has our own aims and needs, hardly a matter of who’s helping whom. You could call it mutual fulfilment. Moreover, in Zheliu Pavilion today, I’ve already said… that if Mr Xiao should one day encounter difficulties, the Bai family will lend aid to the extent of our ability.”

As they spoke, she had already escorted Xiao Rongyan to the side gate. She drew her fox fur cloak closer around her and turned slightly to look at the man standing beneath the lamp by the Bai family’s side door. “If Mr Xiao still feels uneasy, then consider this as the Bai family’s repayment for your twice-rendered aid.”

The servants of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence had brought Xiao Rongyan’s horse to the gate. Seeing Xiao Rongyan, the horse snorted a puff of white mist from its nose, stamping its hooves impatiently.

“Mr Xiao, please…”

“Farewell.” Xiao Rongyan bowed respectfully to Bai Qingyan before stepping out of the Duke’s residence. With one swift and graceful motion, he mounted the horse.

He held the reins in one hand, the other accepting the ebony whip from the servant. He sat high upon the saddle, gazing towards Bai Qingyan inside the doorway.

Under the swaying white silk lanterns, the woman in mourning robes gave a gentle curtsy. Her complexion was pale with a touch of frailty, yet even through the drifting snow, her radiant beauty and dignified grace could not be hidden.

Elegant and serene, calm and composed, yet beneath it lay a will of steel and a cunning mind fathomless in its depth.

Xiao Rongyan truly admired such a person.

His eyes, dark as a deep well, lingered on her for a moment before he finally raised his whip and rode off.

“This day truly has felt endless!” Chuntao sighed softly as she supported Bai Qingyan’s arm. “Eldest Miss, you must be tired?”

Bai Qingyan nodded. “Let’s go back! I’ll first visit Grandmother, and then see Ji Tingyu.”

In the rear kitchen of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence, two maids ran in carrying baskets. They brushed the snowflakes off their clothes and looked out into the fog with a sigh, “What strange weather today! So much fog, and now such heavy snow!”

The other maid looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then whispered to her companion, “I heard that the Second Master’s unworthy bastard son and his mother just hired a carriage and slipped out the back gate with several big bundles! Heaven knows which deity the Zhenguo Duke’s residence offended. First the Shuoyang clan forces First Madam to sell off everything, and now that bastard runs off… There won’t even be anyone left to break the mourning bowls*!”

(*TLN: funeral ritual where a son smashes an earthen bowl to pieces before the beginning of his parent’s funeral procession)

“Seems like the servants’ work here is too easy,” came a cold voice. The housekeeper nanny in charge of the kitchens under the Princess Dowager’s command stood in the kitchen doorway, her hands folded before her stomach, a commanding authority radiating from her presence.

The two maids jumped in fright. They quickly bowed low and retreated to the side, not daring to lift their heads.

The imposing nanny, dressed in dark blue, shot them a glare and left the busy kitchen. Behind her, a line of maids carrying black lacquered, gold-trimmed food boxes followed in order, heading along the brightly lit corridor toward the Princess Dowager’s courtyard.

Inside the main room of the Princess Dowager’s Changshou Courtyard, the fire burned brightly. The attending maids served with quiet precision, while a matron tending the fire added a few more silver charcoal pieces with copper tongs and covered the brazier with its copper dome.

Aunty Jiang stood with Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinxiu under the eaves. After listening to the housekeeper nanny deliver the report that Bai Qingxuan and his mother had fled, she gave the nanny the signal to leave with her hand.

The housekeeper nanny bowed respectfully and withdrew.

“I already know of this,” Bai Qingyan said frankly. “The nanny in Qingming Courtyard had told me long ago that the bastard intended to leave, and I didn’t let anyone stop him.”

“So what if they leave!” Bai Jinxiu frowned, her face filled with disdain. “That woman… that bastard… I seriously don’t know how Father could…”

Children should not speak ill of their fathers, so even though her heart was full of rage, Bai Jinxiu closed her eyes and said no more.

Bai Qingyan lowered her gaze, watching the snowflakes falling under the eaves. Her tone was calm and as indifferent as the wind, “What does Grandmother intend? Do you wish to… keep him here?”

“The Princess Dowager does not yet know, Eldest Miss. But with all the men of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence gone, that boy, no matter his temperament, is still our family’s bloodline. His faults stem from poor upbringing. The Princess Dowager said that once His Majesty’s decree arrives on how to deal with Prince Xin, Liu Huanzhang, and the Zhongyong Marquis Qin Dezhao, and after the mourning period ends, she will personally relinquish the title, leaving the mother behind and keeping only the son. She plans to take the boy under her care and discipline him herself.” Seeing Bai Qingyan’s silent, downcast eyes, Aunty Jiang took a step forward and grasped her hand, “Eldest Miss, the Princess Dowager is old… She has lost her husband, her sons, and her grandsons. Her heart is filled with unbearable sorrow! She needs something to hold on to, something to busy herself with. Only then can she endure these bitter days!”

“I understand everything Aunty says,” Bai Qingyan said softly, her gentle tone masking her murderous emotions, “It was indeed I who allowed them to leave, because I know full well the nature of that boy is self-serving and fearful of harm. The moment the imperial decree punishing Prince Xin arrives, he will surely return on his own. Please trust me, Aunty Jiang.”

“I believe! Of course I believe Eldest Miss! It was I who overthought things… Eldest Miss, please do not take it to heart,” Aunty Jiang bowed to her.

“Aunty,” Bai Qingyan sighed, helping her up, “Aunty is really embarrassing me. Aunty has served Grandmother her whole life, you’re considered at least half an elder to Jinxiu and I. Aunty has been with Grandmother longer than we have. With you caring for her, we are truly blessed.”

Aunty Jiang’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she dabbed at them with her handkerchief. “Eldest Miss, Second Miss, you don’t know… Ever since tragedy befell the Zhenguo Duke’s residence, the Princess Dowager’s heart has been bitter. But she forces herself to stand strong, trapped between the imperial family and Zhenguo Duke’s family, living each day as if her heart were boiling in oil, never knowing a moment’s peace.”