Chapter 691: Chapter 688: Living to a Ripe Old Age_1

It wasn’t just a matter of listening to one person’s opinion and hastily writing a book. This was precisely why Mr. Min was so highly respected by scholars and the public alike.

“Let’s go back!”

Bai Jinzhi secretly encouraged herself. She couldn’t keep avoiding her mother forever. After all, facing the consequences sooner or later was inevitable. She decided to go back home.

“Qingping still needs to visit the camp, so I won’t escort you, Commandery Princess.” Bai Qingping bowed deeply to bid farewell to Bai Jinzhi.

Bai Jinzhi nodded, leapt onto her horse, took a deep breath, and with a resolute expression, returned home with the Bai family’s guards.

Everything unfolded as Bai Jinzhi had expected. The moment she walked through the door, she saw her mother, Mrs. Li, holding a ruler and tapping it against her palm, smiling warmly at her.

Bai Jinzhi’s palms inexplicably hurt as she gripped the horsewhip. She smiled awkwardly at her mother: “Mother… didn’t you go to see Eldest Young Lady?”

“I just came from your eldest sister’s place. Don’t worry… your eldest sister has your aunt taking care of her. Nothing will go wrong… come! Come here and talk with your mother!” Mrs. Li called out to Bai Jinzhi with a forced smile. “Come on… don’t be afraid!”

Without any dignity, Bai Jinzhi knelt at the doorway, respectfully raising her hands with palms facing up: “As long as mother is not angry, you can punish me however you want. But… mother, can you be gentle? Eldest Young Lady is injured, and I still need to help her. It would be inconvenient if my hands were hurt, making it difficult to ride a horse.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li’s tears immediately welled up.

The nanny beside Mrs. Li took the opportunity to gently take the ruler from her hands, smiling: “Madam, you see, our Fourth Miss knows her mistake! Please don’t be angry anymore. Fourth Miss was anxious about the Eldest Young Lady, which is why she hastily left a note and ran away. Considering that Fourth Miss is genuinely concerned about the Eldest Young Lady, who is injured and relying on Fourth Miss for help, please forgive her!”

The nanny winked at Bai Jinzhi as she spoke. Bai Jinzhi hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran to kneel at Mrs. Li’s feet, hugging her waist and looking up at her: “Mother, please don’t be angry. Your daughter will never dare to do this again!”

Tears streamed down Mrs. Li’s face as she glared at Bai Jinzhi, forcefully poking her forehead. She swallowed her reprimands, bent down, and helped her daughter up, brushing the dust off her skirt.

Seeing the dried leaves tangled in Bai Jinzhi’s sachet tassels and the dirty soil on her new embroidered shoes, Mrs. Li couldn’t help but get angry again: “Look at yourself! How unbecoming of a noble lady. You should learn from your Dong family cousin. I could rest easy with my eyes closed if you were half as graceful as her!”

“Then I must be even naughtier so that you can live a long life!” Bai Jinzhi leaned against her mother’s shoulder, her brows and eyes brimming with affection and dependence.

Mrs. Li glared at Bai Jinzhi but couldn’t help but laugh herself. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief, pushed Bai Jinzhi away, and said sternly: “Alright, no more punishment! Copy ‘Lessons for Women’ one thousand times! No one else is allowed to do it for you! If you don’t finish it… you’ll be in trouble! Now go back to your courtyard, change your clothes, and drink the soup!”

After speaking, Mrs. Li poked Bai Jinzhi’s forehead again, swept her sleeves, and led the way to Bai Jinzhi’s courtyard.

“Fourth Miss, Madam personally made soup for Eldest Young Lady and you. Follow Madam back and have a taste!” The nanny reminded Bai Jinzhi with a smile. “Madam still loves you!”

“I know! I know!” Bai Jinzhi nodded cheerfully. “Nanny, please say good things about me to my mother!”

“Don’t worry, Fourth Miss!”

Bai Jinzhi patted her heart, feeling relieved. A thousand copies of “Lessons for Women” were nothing! As long as she copied a dozen and complained about her hands hurting, her mother would feel sorry for her and tell her to delay it, then probably forget…

Bai Jinzhi quickly caught up with her mother, holding her arm as they walked together towards her courtyard.

*

In Boyun Courtyard.

Mrs. Li, Mrs. Wang, and Mrs. Qi had just stayed here briefly before leaving with Fifth Miss, Sixth Miss, and Eighth Miss to give Mrs. Dong and Bai Qingyan some private time to talk.

Dong Tingzhen, who understood social cues, waited for a while after the others had left before smiling and saying she would make some snacks for Bai Qingyan. Then, she left Boyun Courtyard and headed straight to the small kitchen.

Once Nanny Tong and the others had left, they gathered around Bai Qingyan, carefully examining her injuries, crying uncontrollably, feeling so heartbroken they wished they could bear her suffering.

How could their Eldest Young Lady be so unfortunate? She had to injure herself just to return to Shuoyang.

After talking with Nanny Tong for a while, Bai Qingyan smiled and mentioned bringing Yingshuang back. She asked Nanny Tong to check on Yingshuang.

As soon as Nanny Tong left, Bai Qingyan dismissed everyone else. Nanny Qin and Chun Tao stood guard at the doorway. Bai Qingyan took out the sheepskin map hidden on her and spread it out on the small lacquered table. With red eyes, she looked up at Mrs. Dong: “Mother… look!”

Mrs. Dong gave her daughter a puzzled look, her eyes falling on the sheepskin map. When she saw the writing on the map, her eyes widened. She grabbed the map, scrutinizing the writing with trembling hands, as a tearful mist clouded her vision. It seemed she wanted to see through the sheepskin map!

“This… Kid…” Mrs. Dong’s voice trembled as she turned to look at Bai Qingyan. Fearing she might miss something, her eyes returned to the sheepskin map.

“Mother…” Bai Qingyan reached out, grasping Mrs. Dong’s hand tightly, choking back tears, “A Yu is still alive! He’s in Nanrong… this is a message that A Yu had Lu Ping deliver to me! Mother, A Yu is alive!”

Mrs. Dong bit her lip hard, almost unable to hold back her sobs.

Ever since the Bai family incident in Nanjiang, no one knew how Mrs. Dong had endured countless days and nights.

Her husband… her son had not returned from Nanjiang. Without the Bai family needing her support, without Kid’s marriage woes, she would have longed to follow her husband and son in death.

She thought she would only see her husband and son again after death, but unexpectedly… Heaven had mercy, and her son was alive!

Overwhelmed with joy, Mrs. Dong, disregarding any decorum, blinked her eyes to release her tears, carefully examining the writing on the map. She repeatedly caressed it with her fingers, not daring to press too hard for fear of smudging the ink. Suppressing her sobs, she alternated between crying and laughing as she turned to Bai Qingyan: “Is this really A Yu’s handwriting?! Really?!”

Unable to speak due to her emotions, Bai Qingyan smiled and nodded: “Mother, A Yu is in Nanrong now, preparing for the future! The news of A Yu being alive… must not reach the Imperial Family! So for now… we can’t tell anyone else. As long as you know in your heart, mother.”