Chapter 18: Reminding Father Not to Forget the Past
787 Words
Bai Xingyan was feeling irritable. The return of this daughter made him uneasy and constantly reminded him uncontrollably of Chunyu Lan, who had dashed her head to death in front of him.
He waved his hand like shooing away flies and said, "Enough. Go back to your own courtyard and stay there. Don't come out to embarrass yourself if there's nothing wrong. I'm going to the palace immediately to see the Emperor. This matter must be explained to the Emperor after all." He glared at Bai Heran, not bothering to hide the disgust in his eyes. "If the Emperor blames you for disobeying the imperial edict, the Bai family won't be able to protect you. Humph!"
The head of the family flung his sleeves and left. Bai Heran finally released Madam Ye's hands, and Madam Ye let out a long sigh of relief. If her hands had been held for a while longer, they would have been crippled.
Her face was livid as she tried her best to calm herself down. After pondering for a moment, she put on the appearance of a kind mother again.
"The Second Miss has just returned to the mansion. It won't do without someone by her side. Although the servants from before are still here, they haven't served the master for a long time and might have become slack." As she spoke, she pulled the maid Hanxiang behind her forward. "This is the most capable maid by my side. I'll assign her to serve the Second Miss!"
Bai Heran raised an eyebrow. Was this the beginning of planting spies in her courtyard?
Women living in large mansions all understand these twists and turns. Seeing this, the Old Madam didn't stop it but just followed, "It's right to assign some capable people to serve our Bai family's legitimate daughter." After saying that, she turned her head to the twenty-two-year-old senior maid Yingchun behind her and said, "Yingchun, you go with the Second Miss. You're older and more reliable in doing things. I'm quite at ease with you."
Yingchun immediately stepped forward, curtsied, and said, "This servant obeys the order."
Madam Ye's face darkened again. That old thing, always opposing her. One day, she would get rid of that old hag. Then there would be no one in the backyard of Duke Wen's Mansion who could overpower her.
The Duke Wen's Mansion, which had been in chaos all morning, finally quieted down. Bai Heran followed the two maids to her own courtyard. The journey was indeed a bit long, but she didn't feel too tired walking. It was said that the original owner had been ill for many years, but she knew that it wasn't an illness at all but poisoning.
Now that she had come, the poison had naturally been dispelled, and her body had greatly recovered. It was just that the clothes were still covered with ice shavings, which were really prickly.
The new courtyard wasn't large but could be called exquisite. Bai Heran understood that since Madam Ye was determined to play the role of a virtuous wife and kind mother, she wouldn't deliberately make things difficult in this superficial aspect and give people something to talk about.
Hanxiang said ingratiatingly, "This courtyard hasn't been named yet. The Second Lady said that the name would be chosen by the Second Miss herself. You can name it whatever you like."
Yingchun, sent by the Old Madam, frowned upon hearing this. The Second Miss had been sick since childhood and hadn't studied for a day. With such an arrangement by the Second Lady, wasn't she deliberately trying to make the Miss look foolish?
"Why not ask the Old Madam to give a name?" Yingchun offered her advice.
But Bai Heran shook her head. "No need. I've already thought of a name." Without stopping her steps, she said as she walked, "It will be called Nianxi. Nian means to remember fondly, and xi means the past. This is to remind my father not to forget the past and to think more about the vastness of life and death many years ago."
Hanxiang's heart tightened, and she lowered her head and said nothing more.
Yingchun, however, was surprised by the astonishing changes in the Second Miss in front of her. Besides the recovered body and the sharp aura, it seemed that she was also unrivaled in knowledge. This seemed... different from the impression she had!
The three of them entered the main house. Yingchun temporarily put aside her doubts and quickly walked towards the clothes chest. "Miss, you'd better change your clothes quickly to avoid catching a cold."
As she said this, she opened the clothes chest. The next moment, her expression changed drastically...
- Writer
