The sound of horse hooves in the early morning grew closer and closer. Hot tears welled up in Dong Shi’s eyes, blurring her daughter’s heroic figure.

“It’s good you’re back! It’s good you’re back!” Third Madam Li Shi looked at her daughter following behind Bai Qingyan, crying and laughing at the same time. She pressed her handkerchief to her chest and turned to her sisters-in-law, saying, “Finally back! My heart… can finally be at ease!”

The Bai family’s Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Misses had already rushed down from the steps, tearfully waving at Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi in the distance, shouting “Elder Sister” and “Fourth Sister” without any regard for proper ladylike decorum.

The closer she got to the Bai Mansion, the more intense and bittersweet the emotions churning in Bai Qingyan’s heart became.

She had never felt such an urgent desire to return home.

Seeing the three sisters continuously waving, seeing Lu Ping’s face full of smiles, Bai Qingyan yanked hard on the reins to stop her horse abruptly and dismounted.

Bai Jinzhi also dismounted, looking at their mother, who was covering her mouth with a handkerchief while crying, yet seemed to have laughter in her eyes. She choked out: “Mother…”

Lu Ping hurried forward to hold Bai Qingyan’s horse, his eyes red as he spoke: “First Miss! It’s good you’re back safe! It’s good you’re back safe!”

Bai Qingyan nodded, handed her red-tasseled spear to Lu Ping, and led Bai Jinzhi forward to stand at the gate. Looking up at her mother, Dong Shi, and the various female elders of the Bai family, she solemnly knelt and kowtowed deeply.

She raised her head with reddened eyes: “Mother, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, Fourth Aunt, Fifth Aunt! Bai Qingyan has not dishonored the Bai family’s reputation. The southern border campaign was victorious, and I brought Fourth Sister home safely!”

Dong Shi looked at her daughter bathed in morning light, her entire being radiant and glowing, and tears burst forth: “Good! Good!”

She wondered if her husband, Bai Qishan, could see that today… their daughter had returned victorious just as he once had!

She wondered if her husband could see that their daughter had protected the border people he had sacrificed his life to defend!

She wondered if her husband was… proud of their daughter!

Kneeling before the main gate of the Bai Mansion, Bai Qingyan looked at Dong Shi and spoke with a choked voice: “Mother, A’Bao has brought Father back, but because the great war’s end was uncertain, I buried Father at Tianmen Pass, in the place Father guarded his entire life!”

Dong Shi could no longer hold back her tears. She bit her teeth and cried out loud, nodding vigorously.

The southern border was indeed the place Bai Qishan had guarded his entire life…

The capital already had Bai Qishan’s cenotaph. She believed… compared to bringing her husband back for burial, before the Bai family’s generations-long grand wish for national unification was completed, her husband would rather stay at Tianmen Pass, guarding the border people.

“Who says the Bai family has no foothold left in the capital! Though the Bai family’s sons have died, the daughters remain!” Fifth Madam Qi Shi looked at Bai Qingyan with tears in her smile, gripping her handkerchief tightly, her voice rising: “Our Bai family… still stands firm and unshaken!”

Bai Jinxiu, who had been staying beside Liu Shi, could no longer restrain herself. She ran down from the high steps and knelt to embrace Bai Qingyan: “Elder Sister!”

Qin Lang looked at Bai Qingyan in military attire and couldn’t help but recall the scene when he had seen her off to war. The daughters of the Bai family… each one stood tall and proud.

Though the Bai family’s sons were all gone now, Bai Qingyan remained… she could still uphold the Bai family’s honor.

A woman like Bai Qingyan with such an open heart and proud character was admirable, but for him, she would not be a suitable match.

Qin Lang’s gaze fell on Bai Jinxiu. How fortunate he was to marry a woman like Bai Jinxiu as his wife—he should cherish her well.

During this time, with Bai Qingyan on the southern border, Bai Jinxiu had worried constantly. Now seeing her elder sister return safely, Bai Jinxiu could no longer restrain herself, tears falling like broken beads: “Elder Sister, were you injured?!”

“No… no injuries. Little Four was always by my side, protecting me!” Bai Qingyan raised her hand to wipe away the tears on Bai Jinxiu’s face.

Bai Jinxiu then embraced Bai Jinzhi: “It’s good you’re back! It’s good you’re back!”

“Elder Sister!”

“Elder Sister!”

“Elder Sister!”

The Bai family’s Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Misses all ran over.

The sisters knelt in a group, the younger ones crying inconsolably.

Clearly… they were very happy, yet none could stop their sobs and tears.

“Enough, enough! What’s this crying in a huddle at the gate? Quick, quick, quick… get up first, let your elder sister and Little Four go in to wash and change clothes! Then we can sit down properly and talk!” Second Madam Liu Shi wiped her tears with her handkerchief, walked down from the high steps, and personally helped Bai Jinxiu and Bai Qingyan to their feet.

The loyal servants, maids, and women of the Bai Mansion all crowded inside the gate, each overjoyed to see First Miss and Fourth Miss return.

Bai Qingyan looked up toward Fourth Aunt’s direction and saw that Fourth Aunt Wang Shi seemed to have aged more than ten years in just two months. Her eyes lacked their former spirit, her back was slightly hunched, her hands wound with prayer beads, her eyes holding the detached indifference of one who had seen through worldly matters, her entire being as calm as a stagnant pool.

Having suddenly lost her husband and son, Fourth Aunt Wang Shi, already fragile by nature, would probably have followed her husband and son long ago if not for a pair of daughters who had not yet grown up. This time… Bai Qingyan brought Fourth Aunt the news that Bai Qingjue was not dead, hoping Fourth Aunt could pull herself together.

“Quick! Let’s go back inside first!” Dong Shi walked down the steps and took her daughter’s hand, gripping it tightly. Feeling the calluses in her daughter’s palm, her eyes grew even redder. “Come home!”

“Yes!” Bai Qingyan nodded.

Yinshuang, who had come with Bai Jinxiu, saw First Miss’s gaze turn toward her and grinned at Bai Qingyan, pulling out candy she had saved for a long time from her pocket and offering it to Bai Qingyan: “First Miss, eat candy!”

“This silly girl!” Nanny Luo couldn’t help but smile and tap Yinshuang’s head.

In Qinghui Courtyard.

Nanny Tong was supervising the maids and servants as they cleaned the courtyard again.

“Move more quickly! First Miss will be back soon! We must let First Miss see a spotlessly clean Qinghui Courtyard!”

Chun Tao was in the small kitchen, personally stewing bird’s nest for Bai Qingyan. She fanned the fire with her fan and, hearing sounds, came out of the small kitchen. Seeing it wasn’t Bai Qingyan entering the courtyard gate, she returned to the small kitchen, her heart anxious, wondering if First Miss had been injured.

In those years when First Miss went to war, every time she returned, she was covered in wounds.

Especially that one year, though she had also returned victorious, First Miss was carried back to Qinghui Courtyard unconscious, frightening Chun Tao out of her wits.

“Heaven protect us, let First Miss return safe and unharmed! If this wish is granted, Chun Tao is willing to lose ten years of life and eat vegetarian for life…”

From when Bai Qingyan left for war until now, Chun Tao had repeated these words countless times.

“Nanny Tong! First Miss is back! First Miss is back! She’s already passed through the drooping flower gate! She’ll reach Qinghui Courtyard soon!”

The little maid whom Nanny Tong had sent to the front courtyard to wait for news came running into the courtyard with joy, shouting.

Qinghui Courtyard was like water meeting hot oil—it immediately began to boil.

“What’s all this commotion?!” Nanny Tong restrained her joy and deliberately put on a stern face to scold.