The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 57

Chuntao covered her mouth tightly as sobs escaped.

She clenched Wu Zhe’s shoulders, a surge of blood rising to her chest. Her heart ached as if it was being ripped apart and she was consumed by the desire to slaughter those responsible for the harm done to her Bai family.

She shut her eyes, yet the tears still forced their way out, burning so fiercely she could barely open her eyes. She wanted to scream but could not find her voice. Her fury was so intense it felt like it would explode into the heavens, while it drove her to the brink of despair.

A long while later, Chuntao, her eyes swollen and red, clung tightly to the bamboo slips Wu Zhe had died protecting as she followed behind Bai Qingyan, who stumbled forward dazedly as they returned to the estate.

The red glow of lanterns reflected off the green-tiled roofs of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence, contrasting with the white snow. Despite the brilliant lights, the silence of the night left an overwhelming sense of coldness and desolation.

Chuntao watched Bai Qingyan walk unsteadily under the corridor’s red lanterns… She wanted to reach out and support her but could not free her hands for fear of dropping the bamboo slips. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, “Eldest Miss…”

Bai Qingyan returned to the Qinghui Courtyard, her white cloak streaked with jarring splashes of red. Hoarsely, she ordered Chuntao to place the bamboo slips on the desk.

Chuntao looked at Bai Qingyan, whose body was stiff with cold and her face a ghastly shade of blue and purple. “Eldest Miss, allow me to help you change out of these bloodstained clothes. You should warm up first!”

She gritted her teeth and waved Chuntao away, her eyes fixed on the bamboo slips illuminated by the flickering candlelight. She instructed Chuntao to wait outside and not to come in.

In the warmth of the room, where delicate carvings adorned the ceiling and the copper furnace crackled with faint sparks from the silver frost charcoal, she finally came back to her senses. Yet, she felt as though she was still trapped in an ice chamber, her entire body numb with cold.

She sat down at the desk, her heart burning with grief and rage. Her bloodshot eyes locked on the bamboo slips. Her throat was too raw to speak, and the metallic taste of blood lingered in her mouth, refusing to fade.

The bamboo slips before her recorded the battle in Nanjiang and the final moments of the men of the Bai family. In her previous life, she had longed to get hold of them to seek justice for the Bai family. Yet now that they were before her, she found herself hesitant to look.

For some things, there was still hope in not knowing the full truth but once she read them, that hope would vanish… Bai Qingyan closed her eyes.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath and unrolled the bamboo slips…

The five volumes of bloodstained slips inscribed with words leapt into her vision one by one.

Chuntao stood outside the door, her eyes red with tears. She watched as the sky slowly brightened in the falling snow. She could hear Bai Qingyan’s heart-wrenching sobs, stifled as though she were using every ounce of her strength to suppress them. Her heart ached as though a knife was cutting through it.

Bai Qingyan clutched the bamboo slips tightly, her throat constricting so much she could hardly breathe.

Her tears flowed endlessly as she shut her eyes, filled with grief and rage that threatened to consume her. She caught sight of the little clay figure of a warrior on horseback and wielding a sword, which Chuntao had placed prominently on her desk. In a fit of madness, she swept the desk clean, sending ink, brushes, and papers crashing to the floor.

After returning with her severe injury, if only she had trained as diligently as before, how great would it have been if she could have gone to the battlefield with her grandfather this time! Why had she allowed herself to believe others when they said she was too frail? Why had she treated herself as an invalid, content to rest and coddle herself in weakness all day long?!

What use was she here, staying in the Zhenguo Duke’s residence?! What use was she at all?!

She gripped her chest tightly, biting down so hard that her gums bled. Even with all her strength, she could not stop the tears that flowed for the fallen heroic souls of her Bai family…

Prince Xin!!!

In her past life, she had thought Prince Xin was mediocre and timid, but at least he had some sense of propriety. Even though Prince Xin had followed her grandfather to the battlefield, the Bai family’s men were all decimated, but Prince Xin had barely escaped with his life. She had never imagined it was he who had foolishly trusted Liu Huanzhang, using the imperial command token to force her grandfather into a reckless advance.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to wield a sword and slice Prince Xin into pieces! She wanted to tear open the chests of those who had betrayed the hundreds of thousands of heroes in her Bai family’s army! She wanted to see if their hearts were truly black!

The five volumes of bamboo slips, though brief in words, shattered her soul and set her insides ablaze!

She gritted her teeth hard, enduring the pain that felt like knives twisting inside her. She held onto the bamboo slips desperately. Her mind was consumed with images of her grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers, dying in agony on the battlefield.

The bamboo slips only contained a few words, yet they recorded the unimaginable horrors the men of the Bai family had faced!

Her father, trapped in Fengcheng with no food left, had tried to stall the enemy while protecting the people of Fengcheng. To the remaining one thousand soldiers left defending Fengcheng, he had said: “If you are an only son with elderly parents at home, step back. If you have not yet married and have no heirs, step back. The rest of you… if you are willing to die for the people of Great Jin, follow me into battle!”

Bai Qingdong, the 17th son of the Bai family and only ten years old, had stepped forward with his sword raised, declaring that he would follow his uncle into battle and die fighting for the people of Great Jin, refusing to live in disgrace! Moved by the courage of a mere ten-year-old boy, the Bai family soldiers had all drawn their swords, vowing to die in battle rather than live in shame.

Her brother, Bai Qingyu, only 17 years old, had been stationed at the military camp with 5,000 soldiers. When Prince Xin saw 50,000 enemy soldiers advancing, he had fled with his tail between his legs. Determined to hold the line, Bai Qingyu had shared a farewell drink with his soldiers, saying: “My fellow soldiers, we were not born at the same time, but today, as we fight for the people of Great Jin, we are bound as kin by blood. Let us drink together. Everyone… May we meet again in the next life!”

Her cousin, Bai Qingqi, had steadfastly held the strategic pass of Ling Valley until death, commanding a force of 10,000 against the combined army of 80,000 soldiers from Western Liang and Nanyan. Before his desperate final battle, he had declared, “There are millions of people behind us, can the Bai family army retreat?! Dare we retreat?!” The Bai family army, loyal and brave, had shouted three times in unison, “We will not retreat!”

Her third uncle, Bai Qiyu, had been forced to retreat to Tianmen Pass after the death of all the men of the Bai family. In his last stand, with his back to the river, he had roared, “All the generals and marshals of our army have died in battle. We are the last line of defence for the people of Pingcheng of our Great Jin! I, a humble general, will lead the charge and slay the invaders who insult our Great Jin! Those who are willing to die, follow me!”

Even in their final moments, the hearts of the Bai family men had been filled with concern for the people of Great Jin…

The Bai family’s loyalty was unquestionable. Yet, why had the heavens forced the Bai family men into such tragic ends?! Why had the heavens made them suffer?!

Consumed by the blood feud, she forced herself not to cry. Her eyes filled with the fiery hatred of a vengeful ghost. She vowed to kill all the treacherous ministers and villains of the world! Yet, when she thought of the words written on the bamboo slips, the pain pierced her heart and spine as if knives were being driven into her bones, and she wept in agony. Her mind was chaotic, her crying alternating with moments of silence as if she was going mad.

Even though she had long known the fates of the Bai family men, if she had not seen what was written on these bamboo slips with her own eyes, it would have been impossible for her to comprehend the full extent of their tragedy.

Holding the bamboo slips close to her chest, her dishevelled hair hanging loose, she stared with bloodshot eyes at the now bright sky outside the window. It felt as though she had been flayed apart, lost in a haze of grief, wishing she could cut out her heart to stop the pain.

If she had not sent Shen Qingzhu to Nanjiang, where she had encountered Fang Yan of the Tiger Battalion being hunted down, these five volumes of bamboo slips might have been lost to history, just as they had in her previous life.

Her Bai family had clearly been loyal and brave, just as they had been in the past life, yet they were branded as traitors and nailed to the shameful cross of treason.

The overwhelming hatred and excruciating pain gnawed at her, like a swarm of ants eating away at her bones and flesh. It made her feel as if living were worse than death, as though she were being roasted alive in endless despair.

The pain reached such an extreme that her whole body went numb. Holding the bamboo slips, she laughed and cried alternatingly…

The courageous ones whose achievements surpass the ruler are doomed to execution!

Heroes in this world often die in vain, while treacherous ministers and villains throw the world into chaos!

What had her Bai family men done to deserve such a fate?! An entire family full of loyalty and courage, a family whose blood had run passionate and true… All of them had been buried like this in Nanjiang.