Subsequently, servants from Marquis Dingyong’s mansion escorted their butler through the crowd. The butler bowed and said: “Heir’s wife, eldest miss, this old servant is the butler of Marquis Dingyong’s mansion. My master had me load the coffins he prepared onto carriages and bring them over. The heir and all the generals have meritorious service, so using them wouldn’t violate regulations.”
“Please give my thanks to Marquis Dingyong!” Dong Shi bowed to Bai Qingyan.
“My master and the Duke have known each other since childhood – it’s only proper! Madam, eldest miss, please accept our condolences.” The butler bowed in return.
Seeing that their family coffins were within regulations and could be used by the Bai family, almost all the noble families sent their coffins over as well.
Dong Shi personally led people to select the usable ones to be carried into the Duke’s mansion, instructing Butler Hao to have the Bai mansion stewards visit each household to express thanks. Those that couldn’t be used were also politely returned with gratitude.
Dong Shi originally wanted to supervise the construction of the canopy and arrangement of the mourning hall in the courtyard, but was firmly persuaded by Bai Qingyan to rest. There were still many matters ahead waiting for Dong Shi – everyone in the Bai family could collapse except the Grand Princess and Dong Shi.
She stood in the courtyard watching the servants work together to erect the canopy, looking at those twenty-plus coffins with grief and hatred mixed in her heart, soreness and pain churning in her chest and eyes.
In her previous life, only the remains of her grandfather, Fifth Uncle, her cousin Bai Qingming, and little Seventeen had returned. The other Bai family men had all remained in Nan Jiang.
She wondered if this lifetime would have the same outcome.
Chen Qingsheng returned from outside the mansion and happened to see Bai Qingyan standing in the corridor, so he quickly walked over.
Chun Tao saw her cousin and whispered to Bai Qingyan: “Miss… my cousin is here!”
“Miss!” Chen Qingsheng bowed with a pale face.
Bai Qingyan turned around, saw Chen Qingsheng bowing, and said: “No need for formalities.”
“Miss, when this humble one returned to the mansion just now, I encountered a shop assistant left to mind Manjiang Tower. The assistant said… someone had been asking about this humble one’s identity. After thinking it over, I went to find the beggar who had previously delivered the message to the Xiao mansion. Sure enough, the beggar said someone found him, broke one of his thumbs while interrogating him about where the message came from, and he told the truth… that he saw the Manjiang Tower shopkeeper greeting this humble one that day!” Chen Qingsheng looked up at Bai Qingyan with sweat beading his forehead, then quickly lowered his head again. “This matter was this humble one’s oversight. Please punish me, miss!”
Bai Qingyan’s palms tightened. She had known Xiao Rongyan was formidable in her previous life. Chen Qingsheng was still young and lacked experience after all – that he could accomplish this much was already very good.
“Stand up!” Bai Qingyan pursed her lips. “It’s not certain they’ve traced it to you. If anyone asks, just say someone paid you to handle this matter, and because you were afraid of causing trouble for the Duke’s mansion, you asked the beggar to help. It’s not serious! You’re a person of the Duke’s mansion – presumably, those people wouldn’t dare use truly harsh methods to interrogate you.”
Chen Qingsheng let out a long breath: “This humble one understands! In the future, I’ll be more careful in handling matters and won’t cause trouble for the miss.”
Chen Qingsheng was clever and knew that Bai Qingyan had promoted him because she valued his capabilities. If he couldn’t handle even small matters well, then he wouldn’t deserve to stay by the miss’s side to receive orders.
She gripped her hand warmer tightly and called Chen Qingsheng’s name, walking a few steps toward a secluded area. Chen Qingsheng understood and hurriedly followed.
She heard Bai Qingyan slowly speak: “After the Duke’s mansion funeral arrangements are completed, grandmother will take Third Miss to live permanently at a temple to pray for blessings, using praying for Great Jin as the pretext. The praying… is just a cover. Third Miss will disguise herself as a man and leave under an assumed name to engage in commerce and display her talents. I plan to have you accompany Third Miss and gain experience for a few years.”
Chen Qingsheng was slightly shocked after hearing this. Such unconventional behavior as a woman disguising herself as a man to engage in commerce, if it had the Grand Princess’s support, must be a matter of great importance. Such affairs could only be spoken of frankly to trusted confidants!
The always perceptive Chen Qingsheng understood that the miss was opening her heart to him – he had already been considered one of her people. Otherwise, how could such secret information be easily told to him?
Chen Qingsheng’s chest filled with hot blood from excitement. He steadied his mind and knelt to pledge loyalty: “Since the miss trusts me, this humble one will naturally devote myself utterly.”
She turned to look at Chen Qingsheng and instructed: “Be more careful in handling matters from now on. I trust you!”
“This humble one understands! This humble one thanks the miss for the grace of promotion!” Chen Qingsheng kowtowed.
“Go back and prepare! You should know in your heart how to explain things to your parents!” she said.
“This humble one understands!”
Early in the morning, Dong Changyuan, who had tossed and turned all night without sleep, heard that his eldest uncle, Dong Qingping, and his father, Dong Qingyue, had returned to the mansion. He hurriedly went to inquire about the situation. Learning that all the men of the Duke’s mansion had died for the Kingdom, Dong Changyuan was filled with fear. Thinking again of that Bai family member, his cousin who treated people with gentle warmth like jade, he immediately couldn’t sit still.
Full of concerns, he wondered how frightened Bai Qingyan must be. Her constitution was already weak – with the Bai family meeting such great disaster, how tormented she must be. Was she terrified and uneasy, grief-stricken to the point of despair, washing her face with tears?!
The restless Dong Changyuan immediately rode over quickly. Before even stepping through the Bai mansion’s main gate, he saw Bai Qingyan in plain white mourning clothes standing under the corridor, talking with Chen Qingsheng. Dong Changyuan stood under the white silk lantern marked with the character “祭” (memorial), quietly waiting and watching.
Bai Qingyan didn’t have the tears streaming down her face that he had expected, nor was she so grief-stricken as to be bedridden. Though her face showed fatigue and her eyes were red, her expression was clear, and she was even giving clear, organized instructions to servants, showing the resilience of her will.
As dawn broke through the clouds, morning light gradually fell through the thin mist onto that woman with sharp, distinguished bearing. Though the Bai family had suddenly encountered devastating disaster, she grieved but was not despondent, keeping her pain hidden in her heart without any bewilderment. Though clearly a delicate woman, she was as resilient as silk, with inner strength – as if no form of adversity could crush or defeat her.
Before Dong Changyuan came, all the comforting words he had prepared completely dissipated in his chest.
He had foolishly forgotten that although his cousin appeared delicate on the outside, she had also been on battlefields and killed enemy soldiers! Her courage and iron backbone, the firmness of her will – these were things that men like them, raised in piles of silk and books, could hardly match.
Chun Yan caught sight of Dong Changyuan standing at the Bai family’s main entrance and hurried forward to whisper to Bai Qingyan: “Miss, young master cousin is here!”
She turned around and saw Dong Changyuan bowing deeply to her, so she curtsied slightly in return.
Dong Changyuan stood before Bai Qingyan, his lips moving soundlessly for a long moment before saying: “If… there’s anything Changyuan can do to help even slightly, please don’t stand on ceremony, cousin.”
She looked at the canopy that had been erected in the courtyard and said: “Cousin Changyuan, please keep mother and me company with grandmother! The elderly lady finally came to the capital for New Year, but mother and I cannot be by her side.”
Dong Changyuan nodded, then looked again at the quietly composed woman before him: “Cousin, please accept our condolences!”
“Elder sister!” Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi came running urgently, her feet flying. After hastily bowing to Dong Changyuan, she lowered her voice to whisper in Bai Qingyan’s ear: “Elder sister, grandmother is coughing up blood!”