As long as Father is happy, let him enjoy that superficial family affection. She would take care of the sordid mess behind the scenes.
At first, though, all the things sent by the Bai Mansion were simply thrown out of the General's Mansion.
It wasn't until Bai Nianyin returned that the attitude of the General's Mansion began to change.
Not only did they restore relations with the Su Mansion, but they also accepted the wedding invitation and gifts sent by Bai Yinan.
The worry on Bai Yinan's face vanished. Seeing the red silk, big red wedding characters, and red lanterns being put up in the mansion as Bai Zheng's wedding day approached, his face beamed with joy.
These days, everyone in the Bai Mansion was extremely busy. Servants and maids rushed in and out, cleaning the entire mansion spotlessly.
Bai Yinan was preparing the gift list and all the arrangements for the wedding banquet.
Bai Zheng, on the other hand, was constantly dragged around by Mrs. Lin. She either had to try out the makeup for the wedding day or the wedding clothes sent from the tailor shop.
Her two younger brothers even found every opportunity to run to Bai Zheng's room. Not to mention the younger brother Bai Nianming, who always loved to act coquettishly. Even Bai Nianjin, who was usually silent and rarely smiled, was unusually lively. He brought Bai Zheng interesting things every day.
One day, Bai Nianming ran excitedly to Bai Zheng with his hands behind his back. "Sister, sister! Look what Brother and I made for you!"
"What strange thing is it this time?" Bai Zheng said with a smile as she glanced behind Bai Nianming. Not seeing Bai Nianjin, she couldn't help but ask, "Where's Nianjin?"
Bai Nianming pouted. "Brother was called away by them."
"Them? Who are they?" Bai Zheng frowned.
"People from Uncle's place! They said Uncle is not well now. When an elder is sick, it's only proper for the younger generation to attend to them. Even if it's just for show, it's better than being gossiped about, as if our Bai Mansion has no rules."
Bai Zheng narrowed her eyes. "Attend to the sick? There are so many young masters and young ladies in the General's Mansion. Why should someone from our Bai Mansion be sent?"
Bai Nianming also pouted and complained like a little adult. "Exactly! But they said that even the two aunts' families each sent a daughter to the General's Mansion. As Uncle's own brothers, how could the Bai Mansion not send anyone? You're getting married soon, Sister. They knew you've been busy preparing for the wedding these days and had no time to take care of Uncle, so they asked Brother to go."
"Who suggested sending Nianjin?" Bai Zheng suddenly placed a hand on Bai Nianming's small shoulder and asked anxiously, "Father or the General's Mansion?"
Bai Nianming was startled by Bai Zheng's serious attitude. He tried hard to recall the conversation he'd secretly overheard at the door when he went to find his brother just now. After some hesitation, he replied, "It seems to be... the General's Mansion. Oh! It seems that the eldest brother came to pick him up in person."
"Bai Nianyin? No good!" Hearing this, Bai Zheng's face turned pale. She sprang up and rushed out like a gust of wind.
Bai Nianming stared blankly at Bai Zheng's departing back. He took out his hands from behind his back and held up the small wooden figurine. His little mouth pouted high.
But in the end, he slowly lowered his hand, placed the wooden figurine on Bai Zheng's dressing table, and left, looking back every few steps.
"Giddyup!"
Two chestnut horses galloped one after the other on the streets of Yongding City. Passers - by on both sides quickly dodged. Those with a fiery temper even cursed.
"What's going on today? Carriages are running fast, and now these horses are also going crazy!"
The riders on the horses were both covered by black cloaks. From their backs, it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
Naturally, no one knew that the one galloping on the horse was Bai Zheng, the third young lady of the Bai Mansion who was about to get married.
Hearing what the passers - by said, Bai Zheng became even more anxious. She whipped the horse more vigorously.
Qing Shao was so nervous that her heart skipped a beat. She steered her horse closer to Bai Zheng and pleaded softly, "Miss, be careful. I'll go after Young Master Nianjin. If you fall and get hurt, how can I explain it to the Marquis?"
"If anything happens to Nianjin, how will Feng Linyuan explain it to me?" Bai Zheng said angrily.
The secret guards left by Feng Linyuan could only guard against hidden arrows but not the open attacks from the General's Mansion. When the people from the General's Mansion came to ask for someone with a legitimate reason, the secret guards became useless.
Today's situation was so similar to when she was kidnapped by Chu Feng last time!
But back then, she had the ability to save herself. Did Bai Nianjin?
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng became even more anxious. She whipped the horse faster and chased after the carriage that was faintly visible in the distance.
"Whoa!"
When she got closer, Bai Zheng suddenly tightened the reins and stopped in front of the General's Mansion's carriage.
The horse reared up, neighing loudly.
"Who dares to block the carriage of the General's Mansion?!"
The coachman quickly pulled the carriage to a stop and shouted loudly.
"Bai Zheng of the Bai Mansion."
A gust of wind blew, making Bai Zheng's cloak flutter. Her hat suddenly fell off, revealing a delicate face.
The coachman looked into her clear black - and - white eyes that shone with a sharp cold light in the sunlight. He couldn't help but lower his head and say, "So it's the third young lady. What's the hurry?"
The corner of Bai Zheng's lips curled slightly. She shouted towards the carriage, "Eldest brother, Nianjin?"
The curtain of the carriage was almost immediately lifted, revealing Bai Nianjin's confused eyebrows. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Bai Zheng. "Sister, why are you here? You... you're even riding a horse?"
He looked at Bai Zheng sitting on the horse with a heroic air, completely stunned.
Equally shocked was Bai Nianyin, who poked his head out after Bai Nianjin. "When did Zheng'er learn to ride a horse?"
"Eldest brother." Seeing that Bai Nianjin was safe, Bai Zheng secretly let out a sigh of relief. Her attitude towards Bai Nianyin improved a lot. She replied, "I just learned. Eldest brother is always concerned about the Great Zhou and has been on the battlefield all year round. How could you notice such a trivial matter?"
Bai Nianyin nodded and said meaningfully, "Yes, there are many things about Zheng'er that I don't know."
Bai Zheng was too lazy to play word games with him. She might as well get straight to the point. "Why did you suddenly take Nianjin away today, Eldest brother?"
Bai Nianyin knew her intention, so he smiled and said, "Everyone in Yongding knows that your uncle is not in good health. The current emperor values filial piety the most. To avoid the younger generation being criticized for not attending to the sick, I talked to Uncle about this, and he asked me to take Nianjin to attend to Uncle for a few days.
Don't worry. It's just for show, for the outsiders and the emperor to see. We won't really let Nianjin do those dirty and tiring jobs.
Before your wedding, I'll send Nianjin back to the Bai Mansion so that he can see you off on your wedding day. How about that?"
Bai Nianyin had said all the nice things. If it were someone else, they might not be able to say no for a moment.
But Bai Zheng was obviously not just anyone.
She looked at Bai Nianyin with a curved smile, looking exactly like the innocent girl she used to be. Her cherry lips parted slightly as she uttered two words, "No way."