Bai Qingjue’s eyes swelled with pain as he slowly dismounted from his horse. His throat felt blocked as if something were stuck there, unable to make a sound. He only stared fixedly at Bai Jinzhao running toward him, hastily raising his arms to embrace her.

“Seventh Brother! Seventh Brother, you’ve finally returned! Mother and all of us thought the Seventh Brother was gone! Little Seventeen is gone… that military record said Seventh Brother was also gone. Mother lost all will to live, spending her days fasting and chanting Buddhist prayers…”

Hearing his sister crying in his arms, he gripped the reins tightly with one hand while gently stroking his sister’s head with the other, softly apologizing: “It’s Seventh Brother’s fault. Seventh Brother returned too late! I made you all worry!”

·

Madam Fang was sitting in the mansion drinking tea when she suddenly heard news of Bai Qingjue’s miraculous return from the dead. She was so shocked she stood up: “What did you say?! The seventh son of the Bai family?! The seventh son of the Bai family… is that the legitimate son of Fourth Master Bai Qichuan, Bai Qingjue?!”

Puliu, who had come with a beaming smile to report the news, was startled by Madam Fang’s reaction and nodded: “Exactly! Master ordered Madam to open the storehouse and select gifts to prepare congratulatory presents. This afternoon, he will personally deliver them to the Bai mansion…”

Upon hearing this, Madam Fang plopped back down onto the soft couch: “The seventh son of the Bai family has returned…”

“Madam?” Seeing Madam Fang’s face turn deathly pale, Puliu thought she was feeling unwell and quickly stepped forward: “Madam, what’s wrong with you?”

“This… now that the seventh son of the Bai family has returned, then… in the future that imperial throne will have nothing to do with my A’Ping!” Madam Fang’s eyes suddenly reddened, tears about to fall. A’Ping had such a close relationship with Bai Qingyan – even if she didn’t make A’Ping heir in the future, once A’Ping married and had children, Bai Qingyan could adopt them to become emperor!

Ever since receiving news that Bai Qingyan would ascend as emperor, Madam Fang had been calculating within the clan, feeling that in the future… if Bai Qingyan passed on the throne, she would either pass it to Bai Qingping, or if she didn’t want to pass it to Bai Qingping and wanted to select a child from the clan to adopt, she should choose the child of someone close to her. Counting it out, it should still be Bai Qingping.

So a few days ago, Madam Fang had already sent someone back to tell her elder brother about this matter, wanting him to marry his legitimate daughter to Bai Qingping, to quickly marry and have children. As long as they had a son… in the future, the emperor of the Great Zhou dynasty would be her grandson.

But now, with Bai Qingjue’s return, considering blood relations and emotions… the bond between this seventh son of the Bai family’s legitimate branch and Bai Qingyan would certainly surpass the bond between Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingping. Even if adoption were considered… Bai Qingyan would adopt Bai Qingjue’s children. What could be done about this?

If this were the case, the imperial throne that was within reach… wouldn’t it be lost!

After hearing Madam Fang’s words, Puliu stared at her incredulously with wide eyes: “Madam, even if the seventh son of the Bai family didn’t return, the imperial throne would have nothing to do with Young Master!”

Where did such wishful thinking come from?

“What do you understand! Among all the clan members, who was Bai Qingyan closest to… it was only my A’Ping! At that time, when she was helpless and had no one to rely on, she could only depend on my A’Ping. But now that this Bai Qingjue has returned, won’t my A’Ping be cast aside by her!”

“Madam!” Puliu exclaimed, “That is His Majesty – how can you address him by name!”

Feeling distressed, Madam Fang waved her handkerchief and sobbed: “What’s wrong with saying it in my own home!”

Seeing Madam Fang still looking aggrieved and tearful, Puliu stopped trying to persuade her and quietly retreated to stand aside in silence.

At the Bai Mansion.

Fourth Madam Wang Shi, upon receiving news that Bai Qingjue had returned, rushed to the front courtyard in shock and joy. Seeing that First Madam Dong Shi, Third Madam Li Shi, and Fifth Madam Qi Shi had all arrived, she quickly wiped her tears with her handkerchief and bowed to Dong Shi: “I heard A’Jue has returned, I… I…”

“Enough!” Dong Shi gently patted Wang Shi’s hand and helped her up: “Let’s go to the entrance to welcome the child!”

Wang Shi nodded, tears flowing like broken strings, and walked with the other madams to outside the Bai mansion’s entrance to wait for the Bai family son who had not returned for three years… who had returned from the dead, Bai Qingjue.

News of the seventh son of the Bai family, Bai Qingjue’s return, quickly spread throughout Shouyang City. Upon hearing the news, the people of Shouyang crowded in front of the Bai mansion, waiting together with the Bai family madams, wanting to see what kind of bearing this seventh son of the Bai family possessed.

Fourth Madam Wang Shi kept craning her neck to look into the distance when she suddenly heard people shouting “They’re coming! They’re coming!” Wang Shi quickly lifted the hem of her moonlight-colored dress and stepped down from the steps in front of the Bai mansion entrance. She indeed saw at the end of the long street brightened by the blazing sun, three people riding fine horses approaching.

One was Bai Jinzhao, one was Shen Kunyang… and the other was her son, Bai Qingjue.

The moment Wang Shi saw her son’s silhouette, tears immediately became uncontrollable. This was a joyful occasion, yet her heart… why did it feel so painful? She tightly gripped the clothing at her chest, tears streaming down her face.

Seeing his mother, seeing the Bai family members standing at the mansion entrance, Bai Qingjue’s eyes grew sore and his vision blurred. He couldn’t help but quicken his pace, galloping toward his mother… toward home.

Reaching the Bai mansion entrance first, Bai Qingjue reined in his horse and looked toward his mother and the various aunts and elder aunts. His throat tight with emotion, he dropped the reins and leaped down from his horse. Taking several steps forward, he knelt before the Bai mansion entrance, placed his helmet to one side, and bowed solemnly. Fighting back tears, he choked out in a loud voice: “Wandering Dragon Cavalry Battalion, seventh son of the Bai family… Bai Qingjue has returned home safely.”

Fourth Madam Wang Shi, hearing her son’s words of safe return, quickly ran down from the high steps.

Bai Qingjue kept his back straight, meeting his mother’s gaze. Finally unable to hold back his tears, he choked out: “Mother…”

Wang Shi wanted to respond to her son but somehow her heart felt as if it were being cut by knives, so painful that she could only let out heart-rending sobs. She embraced her son and cried loudly, kneeling together with him.

Her sweaty hands cupped her son’s face, carefully gazing at his handsome features that increasingly resembled his father’s, stroking them over and over… as if afraid this was all a dream.

She thought she would never again hear her son call her mother. She thought her husband had failed to protect their children, leaving all the children on the southern frontier…

“Mother…” Bai Qingjue raised his hand to wipe away his mother’s tears: “Your son… has returned! Your son returned too late…”

They say men do not shed tears lightly, but having experienced life and death and seeing family again, Bai Qingjue still couldn’t help it. His nostrils flared, and his tears could not be contained.

Wang Shi’s heart was breaking as she held her son tightly in her arms, tilting her head back and crying in anguish.

However much she had once hated Heaven, she now felt that much gratitude to Heaven. She thanked Heaven for returning A’Jue to her!

Dong Shi, Third Madam Li Shi, and Fifth Madam Qi Shi all stood at the entrance wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs. It was Dong Shi who spoke first: “Enough! What sense is there in crying outside like this? The child has finally returned – let’s go home first! We can talk inside the house!”