Now that the Bai family faced great calamity with all their men dead, if word spread that the Grand Princess was gravely ill, the Bai household’s morale would surely scatter. Nanny Jiang had already instructed Bai Jinzhi to keep this matter quiet, and Bai Jinzhi, understanding the gravity of the situation, naturally dared not spread the news.

The scene from her previous life suddenly appeared before her eyes—when her grandmother learned the news, she vomited blood and passed away. Her entire body went numb as if a hand had gripped her rapidly beating heart, causing her chest to ache as if being torn apart.

“Elder Sister?!” Seeing all the color drain from Bai Qingyan’s face, Bai Jinzhi hurriedly called out.

She regained her composure and turned to bow to Dong Changyuan: “There are many matters in the mansion. Cousin Changyuan, we are family brothers—please forgive the poor hospitality.”

“Cousin Sister, please attend to your affairs!” Dong Changyuan quickly replied.

She nodded, grasped Bai Jinzhi’s hand, and hurried toward the inner quarters.

As they walked, Bai Jinzhi spoke to Bai Qingyan: “Fortunately, Physician Hong and Imperial Physician Huang were both watching over Fifth Aunt last night. Nanny Jiang has already sent someone to fetch Physician Hong and Imperial Physician Huang! She sent me to inform Elder Sister!”

“What happened with the blood vomiting?!” Bai Qingyan asked through gritted teeth.

“It’s all because of that treacherous mother and son from Qingming Courtyard!” Bai Jinzhi gnashed her teeth, her reddened eyes filled with hatred, wishing she could give that shrew a few more lashes. “That shrew heard that Imperial Physician Huang from the Imperial Medical Academy was at Fifth Aunt’s place and made a scene demanding that Imperial Physician Huang go treat her bastard son’s injuries, saying… saying that only her son remained as the sole male heir of the Bai family, that her son would be the future Duke! Grandmother was already overcome with grief, and Nanny Jiang had instructed not to mention this matter, yet the mother and son went around shouting about it everywhere! When Grandmother heard these words, she became so enraged that her face turned purple and she vomited blood!”

Bai Qingyan’s fury blazed as she gripped the hand warmer tightly, wanting nothing more than to flay that mother and son alive immediately! They were indeed a curse—it seemed they could not be allowed to remain.

The two hurried into Changshou Courtyard. The servants and maids, seeing the eldest miss and fourth miss walking with such urgency, quickly lifted the thick felt curtains.

Inside the inner chamber, the Grand Princess, her face deathly pale, was leaning against a large welcoming pillow embroidered with golden thread peonies by the window, with a fine cashmere felt blanket draped over her legs. She took the medicinal pill and water that Nanny Jiang handed her, tilted her head back, and swallowed them.

Old Imperial Physician Huang placed the pulse pillow into his medicine box. Looking up to see the breathless Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi entering, he quickly bowed and said: “Eldest Miss, Fourth Miss, please do not worry. The Grand Princess is no longer in danger! The attack of rage helped the Grand Princess expel the stagnant blood from her chest, which is also a good thing. Otherwise, this tainted blood would be difficult to detect, and long-term accumulation could damage the heart and lungs—even if Bian Que were alive, he would be powerless to help. However… the Grand Princess’s health indeed needs proper adjustment and must have complete rest.”

The Grand Princess set down her water cup. Seeing her eldest granddaughter, usually so mature, steady, and stable as a mountain, with her face pale with worry, her heart suddenly softened and tears fell directly. Even though she and her granddaughter had some disagreements, this flesh and blood kinship could not be faked—hearing that she had vomited blood, she still rushed over in such haste.

With reddened eyes, she beckoned to Bai Qingyan: “A’Bao, come here!”

Hearing Imperial Physician Huang say that the grandmother was not in danger, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, untied her cloak, handed the hand warmer to a maid, and walked to the Grand Princess’s side.

“Grand Princess, Eldest Miss, Fourth Miss, this old one will now take his leave!” Imperial Physician Huang shouldered his medicine box and bowed to the Grand Princess.

“This old servant will escort Imperial Physician Huang!” Nanny Jiang quickly smiled and led the way for Imperial Physician Huang, lifting the curtains.

Bai Jinzhi, seeing that the Grand Princess had something to say to her elder sister, quietly withdrew from the inner chamber.

The Grand Princess grasped Bai Qingyan’s jade-like translucent hand, noticing the fine layer of sweat on her palm, and her eyes grew even redder: “Rest assured, Grandmother will be fine. Grandmother still needs to protect your children!”

Her concern for the Grand Princess was genuine. Apart from the fact that Duke’s Mansion currently needed the Grand Princess’s protection, it was even more so because Bai Qingyan could not bear to lose any more family members!

“Just now, while resting on the couch for that brief moment, Grandmother dreamed of many people, dreamed of your grandfather… dreamed of my Imperial Father!” The Grand Princess choked up with reddened eyes, raised her hand to embrace Bai Qingyan, and spoke slowly and wistfully of the past. “Grandmother married into the Bai family at sixteen. Besides willingly bearing children to continue your grandfather’s lineage, I also had the inescapable responsibility as a Great Jin princess! The night before, Imperial Father arranged the marriage… Imperial Father and Mother Empress held me in their arms just like this, telling me that Duke’s Mansion, the Bai family… was the pillar of the nation, the backbone of Great Jin. The imperial family relied on the Bai family, but also had to guard against the Bai family. Imperial Father was already advanced in years with limited time remaining, hoping I would help him guard the Lin family’s imperial power and prevent the Bai family from harboring rebellious intentions. If I did not swear an oath, I could not marry your grandfather.”

These matters had been pressed in the Grand Princess’s heart for many years. Now, speaking them slowly to her granddaughter slowly, that feeling of being caught between two sides remained painfully unbearable.

So after she decided to marry Duke’s heir Bai Weiting, she moved out of the Princess’s mansion with guilty unease, like an ordinary daughter entering Duke’s Mansion to serve her parents-in-law, attempting to make some small compensation to ease her conscience.

She knew Grandmother’s difficulties…

She knew even more that for Grandmother, such a lofty, noble, and resilient Grand Princess to speak these words to her today was, in a humble posture, hoping she could understand her as a grandmother and not harbor rebellious thoughts against her grandmother.

But when the things she had tried to conceal in her heart, unwilling to think about or believe, were spoken so frankly by Grandmother, she instead became calm.

“A’Bao, your grandfather is gone, your father, uncles, and brothers are all gone! We family members cannot be disloyal to each other!” The Grand Princess’s tears fell like silk threads.

How could the Grand Princess’s words not make her sorrowful? Being on different paths from one’s closest relatives was truly bitter as coptis, like a dull knife cutting flesh, making one unable to eat or sleep peacefully.

“Grandmother, your granddaughter knows Grandmother’s difficulties! Grandmother is our grandmother and also Great Jin’s Grand Princess. The Bai family is our home, and the imperial family is also Grandmother’s home!” She looked up at the Grand Princess with bloodshot eyes, speaking word by word: “Your granddaughter dares not deceive Grandmother. Upon learning of the death of our Bai family men, your granddaughter wanted nothing more than to rebel immediately, to wash Great Jin’s court with blood! To devour alive those demons and monsters who harmed our Bai family men!”

The Grand Princess tensed her entire body, her eyes blazing with fury, her bony and withered hands using all their strength to press down on Bai Qingyan’s shoulders: “You…”

“But I cannot! First… because I have no power or influence, my martial arts are completely ruined, I am merely a small woman of the inner quarters.” She did not resist, allowing the Grand Princess to hold her down. “Second, this Great Jin’s peaceful realm was exchanged by generations of my Bai family dying in battle on the frontiers! It is soaked with the blood of Bai family ancestors, Grandfather, Father, Uncles, and brothers! My Bai family guards Great Jin’s clear rivers and peaceful seas, the people’s prosperous and peaceful times! How could I, for the sake of venting personal hatred, let the people fall into deep suffering again? How could I let the elderly lose their sons, young children lose their mothers and fathers? How could I let innocent common people bear the pain of losing flesh and blood relatives? How could I let tens of thousands of soldiers’ bones be exposed in the wilderness?! What wrong have the people committed? What wrong have the soldiers committed? Why should they be buried because of my Bai family’s private vengeance?!”