Bai Qingyan finished drinking a bowl of bitter medicine and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, leaning back against the headboard as she stared in a daze at the white jade porcelain vase containing red plum blossoms.

She had died already, so how was it that upon opening her eyes, she had returned to the fourteenth day of the twelfth month in the fifteenth year of Xuanjia?

She remembered that on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, her second sister, Bai Jinxiu, would leave for her wedding, and the heir of Marquis Zhongyong’s mansion had come to fetch the bride half an hour early. The seventeen sons of the Duke’s mansion had all gone to the Nanjiang battlefield, and the elders had arranged for male relatives to block the door, but these good-for-nothing cousins had gathered in a secluded corner of the back courtyard to fight crickets and gamble, leaving no one to block the door. This caused Bai Jinxiu to leave an hour early.

It was precisely this one hour early that the wedding procession encountered the people who were attempting to assassinate Prince Liang. Bai Jinxiu, upon hearing that Prince Liang was under attack, acted to protect him but lost her own life to the blade.

Thinking of Prince Liang…

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes and gripped the bedsheets beneath her tightly, her breathing becoming unsteady.

Her mind was filled with Prince Liang’s cold, mocking gaze before her death, his features sharp enough to frighten the heart.

He had crouched before her as she lay covered in blood, so weak she couldn’t even lift her head, and told her many things.

He told her how he had conspired with her grandfather’s deputy general Liu Huanzhang to kill all the Bai family men, how he had used her grandfather’s handwriting from the military treatise she had given him to forge letters that proved the Bai family’s treason and collaboration with the enemy, and how he had driven the surviving orphans of the Bai family to their deaths…

In her previous life, she had been foolish enough to believe that Prince Liang’s feelings for her were unparalleled, to believe that his reason for ascending to a high position was to clear the Bai family’s name. She had willingly served him like an ox or horse, following him to war and earning unmatched military achievements for him, establishing his reputation as a war god, and helping him ascend to the position of Crown Prince.

But not only had he killed her grandfather, father, and brothers, he hadn’t even spared her sisters. Thinking of how her seven sisters had all met unfortunate ends at Prince Liang’s hands, Bai Qingyan felt blood surge to her heart, her stomach churning with pain like overturning seas. She wished she could tear apart that heartless beast, Prince Liang, with her bare hands.

“Miss…” the head maid Chun Tao gently called to Bai Qingyan, holding a small food box and saying softly, “The medicine prescribed by Physician Hong is good, but it’s just too bitter! Miss, please have a candied fruit to change the taste in your mouth.”

Bai Qingyan picked up a piece of ginger-flavored preserved plum and placed it in her bitter mouth, gazing steadily at Chun Tao who was adding a soft pillow behind her back. Chun Tao was the daughter of her mother Dong Shi’s wet nurse, and had served by her side since childhood with unwavering loyalty.

“Second Miss, with such heavy snow and slippery roads, how did you come over?”

The careful and ingratiating voice of a cleaning woman came from the courtyard.

In the warm pavilion, Chun Yan, who was about to bend down to tend the charcoal fire, set down the fire tongs in her hands, lifted the curtain, and went out to bow, her tone unfriendly: “Second Miss.”

The Bai family’s second daughter, Bai Jinxiu, stepped up the stairs, untied her cloak, and asked Chun Yan, who was bowing to her, in a gentle voice: “How is elder sister feeling?”

“Thanks to Second Miss’s concern, our Miss is doing well! Second Miss is getting married to Marquis Zhongyong’s mansion tomorrow, with a sea of matters waiting for Second Miss to attend to. Instead of hurrying to prepare, why trouble yourself to come to our Qinghui Courtyard on such a snowy day?”

Chun Yan was displeased in her heart, and her words carried barbs.

Originally, it was their Miss who had been betrothed to the heir of Marquis Zhongyong, but because their Miss had followed the Duke to battle at sixteen and was injured, leaving her with health problems that made bearing children difficult, the betrothal to the heir of Marquis Zhongyong had been transferred to Second Miss. How could Chun Yan be content with this?

Chun Tao heard the voices and glanced toward the partition, tucked the brocade quilt around Bai Qingyan, and asked: “Miss, Second Miss has come to see you. Will you receive her?”

Bai Qingyan suddenly clenched her fist, remembering what Prince Liang had said in her previous life – that the reason he had spared Bai Qingyan’s life was because Bai Jinxiu had blocked a blade for Prince Liang on her wedding day, and before dying, she had begged Prince Liang to protect Bai Qingyan well in this life and not to betray her.

Bai Qingyan’s heart grew sour, and she instructed in a hoarse voice: “Go and welcome Second Miss.”

Chun Tao responded and came out from the main room, placing her hands together and bowing properly before addressing Second Miss, then said: “Miss has just taken her medicine and her complexion is much better. She specifically asked me to welcome Second Miss. Please come in, Second Miss!”

Chun Tao personally held up the curtain for Second Miss Bai Jinxiu.

As Bai Jinxiu entered the room, warm air rushed toward her face. Afraid of bringing cold air to Bai Qingyan, she stood by the brazier at the entrance to warm herself before walking around the screen toward the inner room: “Elder sister…”

Seeing Bai Jinxiu’s clean and beautiful face again, emotions of shame and guilt surged turbulently in Bai Qingyan’s heart. It was her indecisiveness regarding Prince Liang that had made Bai Jinxiu believe she was in love with Prince Liang, causing her to risk her life to protect that evil beast who had driven the entire Bai family to death. She had failed Bai Jinxiu and the Bai family.

Chun Tao had a maid bring a stool for Bai Jinxiu and place it beside the bed. Before Bai Jinxiu could sit down, Bai Qingyan, with a bitter taste in her mouth and red eyes, beckoned to Bai Jinxiu: “Jinxiu… come here!”

Bai Jinxiu lifted the hem of her padded dress and sat on the edge of Bai Qingyan’s bed. She felt that Bai Qingyan seemed as dejected as an elderly person, and with worry filling her eyes, she grasped Bai Qingyan’s hand: “Elder sister, is it because of tomorrow…”

Before Bai Jinxiu could finish speaking, Bai Qingyan shook her head and said with a choked voice: “Jinxiu, elder sister hopes you can promise me that no matter what situation you encounter in the future, you must protect yourself well. Do you understand?”

“Elder sister?” Bai Jinxiu was puzzled.

“Promise, elder sister!” Bai Qingyan gripped Bai Jinxiu’s hand tightly.

Seeing Bai Qingyan’s unsteady breathing, Bai Jinxiu quickly nodded: “Jinxiu understands, elder sister!”

With many trivial matters to attend to for tomorrow’s wedding, Bai Jinxiu only sat briefly at Bai Qingyan’s place before getting up to leave.

After seeing off Bai Jinxiu, Bai Qingyan dismissed all the maids and lay on the bed, thinking through everything about Prince Liang and the Bai family from beginning to end, feeling as if it were all a great dream that chilled her to the bone.

Starting with the death of the second sister, Bai Jinxiu, the Bai family had gradually been pushed into the abyss.

Heaven had eyes to let her return to the day before her second sister’s wedding. No matter what, she could not let Bai Jinxiu and the Bai family suffer the same fate as in her previous life.

Tomorrow, when Bai Jinxiu left for her wedding, she needed to be fully prepared. Even if those good-for-nothing male cousins went to fight crickets, there had to be someone who could take their place.

There was also the matter of Prince Liang’s assassination on Chang’an Street. In her previous life, when the case was closed, they said it was the work of Nanyan spies.

But thinking carefully now, Prince Liang was a prince with a reputation for being weak and incompetent – what would make Nanyan spies, who had gone through great hardships to infiltrate the capital, want to assassinate him?

Furthermore, she needed to send trustworthy people to Nanjiang. If there was a chance to save her grandfather and father, that would be best, but if not, she also needed to gather evidence first, not allowing Prince Liang to frame the Bai clan.

Also, regarding the matter of all the Bai family sons perishing in Nanjiang, Bai Qingyan could not hide this from her grandmother. She needed to prepare her grandmother’s heart in advance with a gentle approach.

This way… when the battle reports from the front reached the capital, her grandmother would not be unable to withstand the shock and pass away.

As long as the Bai family still had their grandmother, who was His Majesty’s aunt, they would not be as passive as in her previous life.

Bai Qingyan’s body was still weak, and she had been thinking too much. A wave of drowsiness came over her, and she half-dreamed, half-awake, dreamily seeing her grandfather, father, and her seventeen brothers.

She dreamed of her grandmother’s final moments, pulling her and her mother’s hands with tears streaming down her face, saying she was useless… that she couldn’t hold on during the Bai family’s most difficult time and had to go find grandfather first! She entrusted the responsibility of protecting the Bai family widows to her mother, Dong Shi, and Bai Qingyan, hoping they would not fail her trust.

“Grandmother!” Bai Qingyan cried out and suddenly sat up, her chest heaving violently.

Seeing that she was still on the bed in Qinghui Courtyard, Bai Qingyan’s heart, which had nearly burst from her chest, gradually calmed down.

Her snow-white undergarment was soaked with cold sweat, and tears had also dampened her embroidered pillow.

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes, thinking of the scene from her dream just now. She dared not delay any longer… what needed to be arranged must be arranged as quickly as possible.

She forced herself to gather her spirits, threw off the brocade quilt, and called out in a hoarse voice: “Chun Tao…”