Chapter 263 - 263 261 Pressure_1

Chapter 263: Chapter 261: Pressure_1 Chapter 263: Chapter 261: Pressure_1 The Crown Prince hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the Emperor, “Father, you are the heavens to me. Even if I were to die a thousand times, I would never dare to deceive you! Moreover, my title as Crown Prince and my position were all bestowed upon me by you. Even if you wish to take it all back, as your son, I wouldn’t dare harbor any resentment. How could I use false words to deceive you?”

The Emperor was very pleased to see the Crown Prince kneeling on the ground. He smiled and nodded, “Stand up! Your father knows you are a good child!”

The Crown Prince’s eyes became even more teary. He looked up at the Emperor and choked out, “Father.”

“Last time, you secretively requested a decree to confer a princess title upon Bai Qingyan. It’s not impossible. But now that Bai Qingyan has already been subdued by you, haven’t you thought about keeping her in the court for your use?” The Emperor asked, gazing at the water surface.

“Our court has never had a precedent of appointing women as officials. Although I also value Bai Qingyan’s talents, if I gave her a general’s position, it might cause great controversy among the ministers and place you, Father, in a difficult position. So I dismissed the idea.”

The Emperor nodded, gratified that this son did not only recruit talent for himself, forgetting about his father.

“Tomorrow, the Emperor of Yan and the Princes will come to Dadu City. After that, they will send envoys to Jin. As the Crown Prince, you will personally welcome the Emperor of Yan into the palace. All arrangements will be entrusted to you!” The Emperor said. Then, as if he remembered something, he turned to the Crown Prince. “You just returned from the southern border. Are you feeling exhausted?”

The Crown Prince kowtowed heavily to show his loyalty, “It is my duty to serve the country! I will definitely give it my all!”

“Your Majesty!”

A clear, joyful young girl’s voice came from behind the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince looked up to see the Emperor’s gaze directed behind him. His eyes lit up, and he put down the fishing rod, standing up with considerable excitement.

The Crown Prince quickly got up and withdrew to the Emperor’s side. He discreetly followed the Emperor’s gaze and saw a young girl, wearing white riding attire, with her long hair tied up high behind her head with a white ribbon. She held a black-gold riding whip and ran lightly and cheerfully towards the lakeside.

The Crown Prince’s pupils contracted for a moment. He had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the girl’s attire, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Before the Crown Prince could recall, the girl, carrying a fragrant breeze, had already thrown herself into the Emperor’s arms. The Crown Prince and the eunuchs and maids nearby quickly lowered their heads and stepped back a few steps, not daring to look.

“Eunuch Gao said this riding attire was personally ordered by Your Majesty for me. I put it on immediately to show Your Majesty! Since Your Majesty made this riding attire and gave me the riding whip, you’re going to take me riding, right?” The girl’s cheerful voice carried a hint of pride. “I’ve been practicing horsemanship since I was young. Your Majesty, are you capable of competing with me?”

The Emperor’s eyes were filled with love and affection. “Gao Demao, go and have preparations made. I am taking Lady Qiu to a horse race!”

Gao Demao, panting after chasing Lady Qiu, nodded smilingly, “The old servant will immediately give the orders.”

“Your Majesty, you are the best! I adore you the most!” Lady Qiu’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “But even so, I won’t go easy on you later!”

The Emperor raised his hand to tuck the stray strands of hair behind Lady Qiu’s ear and smiled. “It has been hard on you. You can ride a horse here in the palace for now. After the court affairs are over, I will take you to the imperial ranch for a proper ride.”

“I’m not an unreasonable child! If Your Majesty can accompany me riding here in the palace, I am already very happy!” Lady Qiu said. Then noticing someone else present, she stepped out of the Emperor’s arms with a playful tone, “Your Majesty, why didn’t you tell me there was someone?”

“This is the Crown Prince…” The Emperor’s voice was not as joyful as before.

“Your Highness!” Lady Qiu greeted with a curtsy.

Even if he were dim-witted, the Crown Prince could see that this Lady Qiu was currently favored. He respectfully returned the greeting.

“The Crown Prince has returned from the southern border and must be tired. Go back and rest!” The Emperor said, then left with Lady Qiu’s hand, smiling.

On the way back to the Crown Prince’s mansion, the Crown Prince sat in the carriage, repeatedly thinking about Lady Qiu and her riding attire. He really had seen it somewhere before!

Suddenly, the Crown Prince remembered the painting that his father often took out to look at when he was a child. He opened his eyes wide, “Bai Suqiu!”

That young girl’s white riding attire was exactly the same as in the painting of Bai Suqiu.

·

Bai Mansion, Fanhua Pavilion.

Fanhua Pavilion was the best place in the Bai Mansion for sightseeing, very spacious and bright.

Bai Jinzhi woke up from a nap feeling refreshed. She and Mrs. Li went to Fanhua Pavilion earlier and excitedly talked about their experiences going to the southern border, detailing how the Eldest Young Lady Bai Qingyan achieved a great victory over Yun Poxing.

The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Young Ladies listened with wide-eyed excitement, repeatedly turning to ask Bai Jinxiu, “Second Sister, is it true? Was the battlefield really that dangerous?”

“Just look at the wounds on Fourth Sister.” Bai Jinxiu smiled.

Then Bai Jinzhi spoke of their expedition to the southern border, the civilians kneeling and begging the Young General Bai to reclaim their homeland, and the people of Feng County protecting Bai Qingyan. The women of the Bai family in Fanhua Pavilion all had tears in their eyes.

Mrs. Dong could imagine the scene. It was understandable that her daughter’s heart was under great pressure when she went to the southern border!

The pregnant Fifth Lady Mrs. Qi dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, “The people still remember our Bai family’s deeds.”

Hearing the maid outside repeatedly calling for the Eldest Young Lady, Bai Jinxiu and her younger sisters put down their fruits and teacups, stood up, and went out to greet her.

Bai Qingyan entered and paid her respects. Not seeing Mrs. Wang, she asked, “Where is Fourth Aunt?”

The Fifth Young Lady Bai Jinzhao apologized, “Mother has gone to pray. She said… she won’t be coming. However, Mother had someone fetch an official today. She finally agreed to take her medicine.”

Since Bai Qingyan left, the Fourth Lady Mrs. Wang had become more withdrawn, staying in the Buddha Hall all day.

Next to Bai Jinzhi, her fists clenched tightly. Before returning, the Eldest Young Lady had instructed that the matter concerning Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother should remain unknown to as few people as possible, and only Fourth Aunt should know that Seventh Brother was still alive. So, Bai Jinzhi did not even tell her mother, Mrs. Li.

Bai Qingyan nodded. She guessed that Fourth Aunt was trying to maintain her previous behavior to avoid arousing suspicion, as she had even invited an official today. If she changed too much due to Bai Qingyan’s return, it might raise suspicions. If the Emperor found out, Bai Qingjue’s situation would be dangerous.

That is how mothers are, afraid that even the slightest mistake would affect their children’s lives and future.

In fact, even if the Emperor was extremely suspicious, how could he have people monitoring the movements of women in the back residence?

Never mind, as long as Fourth Aunt could pull herself together for Ah Jue, everything else was a trivial matter.

“Eldest Sister, Fourth Sister said… Eldest Sister, you shot Yun Poxing’s eagle with a single shot while riding a horse with a bow! Eldest Sister, have you taken up the bow again?” Bai Jinhua asked Bai Qingyan, looking up.