The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 81

“Who from Shuoyang has come?” she asked.

Aunty Qin looked troubled and said, “They only sent… two illegitimate sons of the family, of the same generation as the First Master.”

The cold wind swept the snow, and a sheet of white that had accumulated on the eaves of the green-tiled roof slid down the slope. The white lanterns hanging along the corridor swayed back and forth in the wind.

She pressed her lips together and remained silent for a long while. Although the Bai family in Shuoyang and her generation in the Bai family in the Zhenguo Duke’s residence was five generations apart, the Bai family of Shuoyang had always relied on the protection of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence for their influence in Shuoyang. Every year when they sent New Year gifts, the legitimate direct descendants of the Bai family in Shuoyang would almost scramble to come themselves, eager to draw closer ties with the Zhenguo Duke’s residence.

Yet now, during the Bai family’s time of great mourning… they had only sent two illegitimate sons. Though it was not quite abandoning a sinking ship… It was still somewhat callous.

It is human instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm, she did not blame anyone.

Only, a faint chill still rose in her heart.

She said softly, “Grandmother has just taken her medicine and gone to rest, perhaps another day.”

Aunty Qin bowed and left in a hurry.

Bai Qingyan took her seventh younger sister, Bai Jinse, by the hand and came to the front courtyard, kneeling alongside her mother, aunts, and younger sisters before the coffins.

Fourth Aunt Wang-shi was like a lost soul. She was lying by Little Seventeenth’s coffin, refusing to leave no matter who tried to persuade her…

The first to come and pay respects were Grand Madam Dong from Dengzhou and the two maternal uncles, who had practically brought the entire family.

After Dong Changyuan finished paying respects, he looked at Bai Qingyan, who knelt to return the salute with tear-filled eyes. He felt a deep sorrow in his heart. He could guess that it was because the Bai family’s situation was now so precarious, that the Bai family from Shuoyang had only sent two collateral relatives to attend the funeral. Officials from the imperial court did not dare to come, and even the maternal families of Bai Qingyan’s aunts and cousins had not sent anyone to express condolences. Only the common folk of the capital gathered weeping outside the Zhenguo Duke’s residence’s gates.

The Bai family’s matters had laid bare the cold cruelty of officialdom and worldly affairs.

After offering her respects to the fallen heroes of the Bai family, Grand Madam Dong pulled Dong-shi aside to a secluded spot and asked in a low voice about her plans for the future.

“Yesterday, the Minister of Personnel, who has always been close to your elder brother, advised him to distance himself from the Bai family. He said that His Majesty is likely to seize this opportunity to completely eradicate the Bai family and urged your brother to protect himself! I’ve thought it over… How about, when I go back, I’ll claim to be ill. We can present a united front and say that Ah Bao and Changyuan have long been engaged. Though it would be marrying during a period of deep mourning… But if it’s said to be for the sake of bringing me, an old dying woman, some fortune, no one can say anything about it! You… must also ask the Princess Dowager for a divorce document! Let’s return to Dengzhou, we must save whoever we can!”

Grand Madam Dong spoke quickly and urgently, clearly having already made up her mind before coming.

Now that she knew the Bai family was doomed, even if it cost her life, she was determined to pull her daughter and granddaughter out of this mire.

Dong-shi’s heart pounded with panic as she heard these words, “Mother… are you sure? Was it truly the Minister of Personnel who said this?!”

The Minister of Personnel had always been the best at guessing the Emperor’s intentions.

“Would your mother deceive you?!” Grand Madam Dong gripped her daughter’s hand tightly, her voice thick with tears. “Mother knows you are loyal and devoted, but this is not the time for loyalty! We must take it step by step. First, we pull you and Ah Bao out of this quagmire! Then we can think about saving whoever we can from the Bai family! As for the Princess Dowager, there’s no need to worry, she’s the Emperor’s own aunt after all. The Emperor will not act against the Princess Dowager!”

Dong-shi lowered her gaze and calculated swiftly in her heart. Second Miss Bai Jinxiu was already married, Bai Jintong was of marriageable age, but Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi, as well as the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Misses were still young! Fifth Sister-in-law Qi-shi was also pregnant, still with several months to go before giving birth…

“Wanjun!” Grand Madam Dong tugged her daughter forcefully. “Are you listening to your mother?!”

After a long moment, Dong-shi looked up at Grand Madam Dong with red eyes. She smiled faintly and said, “Mother, when I married Qishan… I swore an oath to him. If I were to leave the Bai family at such a time, how could I face him in the afterlife? How could I bear to let the world see the loyal souls of the Bai family… end with a ruined and broken family?”

Grand Madam Dong could not help but slap Dong-shi’s arm forcefully, “Then you would have your old mother live to bury her child?! What wrong have you done?! What wrong has Ah Bao done?!”

“Mother! At first I thought… If Ah Bao was unwilling, then her marriage with Changyuan would be called off! But now that matters have reached this point, I will persuade Ah Bao that whether she wishes it or not, she must marry! If the Bai family can survive this calamity, all the better… But if not, in the future… Mother, I ask you and my sisters-in-law to take special care of Ah Bao!”

As she spoke, Dong-shi knelt before Grand Madam Dong and kowtowed deeply, her voice choked with emotion, “Let Ah Bao fulfil my filial duty to you in my stead!”

Grand Madam Dong turned her head away, pressing a handkerchief to her mouth as she wept uncontrollably, pounding her chest in anguish. She knew that her daughter had made up her mind to live and die alongside the Bai family. How could a mother’s heart not be torn apart by such a decision? This was the daughter she had cherished since childhood, the flesh and bl00d torn from her own body!

Seeing her daughter kneeling and refusing to rise, Grand Madam Dong could only pull her up. With her voice thick with sobs, she said, “You’ve always been strong-willed and full of justice and loyalty since you were young! Even before you were married, you dared to promise your sworn sister that Qin Lang would become your son-in-law! And now… now…”

Unable to continue, Grand Madam Dong wept bitterly, forcing herself to suppress her grief as she held Dong-shi close, “Now you insist on living and dying with the Bai family. Then, the Dong family will fight with all we have… and do our utmost to protect the Bai family! May the heavens take pity on your pure and loyal heart, and on the Bai family’s unwavering loyalty, and not treat them so harshly!”

“Mother! Mother…” Dong-shi clutched at Grand Madam Dong’s clothes, burying herself in her mother’s embrace. She wept so bitterly that she could only call out “Mother” again and again.

Dong-shi was an extraordinarily strong woman. After this bout of bitter weeping, she had already begun to carefully plan the way forward for the members of the Bai family.

Once the Bai family’s great funeral had concluded, she must find a way to send the young ones out of the capital. If disaster truly struck, they would have a chance to survive, and if the Bai family weathered the storm… Then it could simply be said they had gone travelling like young men and would return in due time.

The mother and son who were staying in Qingming Courtyard continuously sent servants to the front courtyard to gather news. They learned that apart from First Madam Dong-shi’s family, none of the other wives’ maternal families dared to come pay their respects due to fear of offending the imperial will… Their hearts sank heavily.

Under the flickering candlelight, Bai Qingxuan lay sprawled on a soft couch, feeling a deep sense of despair. He realised that his crying scene at the south city gate today had most likely buried him in trouble.

“Xuan’er, why don’t we quickly pack up our things and run away first?!” The woman said anxiously, “Seeing the Bai family’s situation now, it’s just as that Eldest Miss Bai said, the family’s about to fall! If they really pin some crime of treason on the Bai family, you and I will be dragged down with them! Son… As long as the green hills remain, we need not fear the lack of firewood! At worst, we can wait until the storm passes before returning! You’re the last male of the Bai family! When you return, you’ll be the most exalted of noblemen, the glory and riches of the Bai household will still be yours!”