Chapter 706: 703: No Regrets_1

Chapter 706: Chapter 703: No Regrets_1

Mrs. Dong pressed her lips together and sat there for a long time without making a sound.

She already knew that her son was alive.

But her husband… she had heard that Kid had personally retrieved her husband’s head from the enemy camp, so there was no possibility of him surviving.

Birthdays… Kid definitely missed his grandfather and father.

At this moment, Bai Qingyan stood in the Bai Clan’s ancestral hall before numerous ancestral tablets. She covered her heart with one hand, holding incense in the other… lighting it with a flickering candle flame.

Outside the tightly closed gates of the ancestral hall, Steward Hao and Lu Ping, along with the Bai family’s guards, stood watch.

The solemnly majestic ancestral hall with its six yellow pearwood carved flower partitions was open. The curtains descending from the sandalwood beams were hooked by copper hooks onto the black ebony pillars adorned with lotus carvings. Hundreds of lotus oil lamps on high stands flickered, casting a warm glow throughout the solemn and serene hall.

The meticulously polished black tablets stood prominently on the front altar table, and a gilt Boshan incense burner emitted wisps of white smoke.

The flickering candlelight highlighted Bai Qingyan’s flawless, pale features, making her eyes appear even deeper and more determined.

She lit the incense, extinguished the flames with her hand, respectfully raised the incense above her head with both hands, and placed it into the incense burner. Kneeling on the prayer mat, she bowed three times, clutching her aching heart, and sat silently, gazing at her grandfather’s and father’s tablets, her eyes glistening with tears.

The fragmented memories seemed like dust, reminding her of her fifteenth coming-of-age ceremony. She had been on a campaign with her grandfather and father and had not held a proper ceremony…

On that day, like today, the sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly.

She had been in her grandfather’s command tent with her father, selecting a courtesy name for her.

The midday light shone into the tent. She and her father knelt before her grandfather’s table, looking at the names written on the paper. Her father’s brows were furrowed as he looked up at her grandfather: “Father, what kind of names are you giving Kid? Ming Shan sounds nothing like a girl’s name! And this… Ming Qi, Father, isn’t this nonsense? Our generation uses the character ‘Qi,’ so Kid’s name should avoid it!”

Her grandfather pointed at the paper with the character Ming Shan and said, “That’s why I changed it to Ming Shan!”

Her father, looking reluctant, had to ask, “A good girl’s name, Ming Shan… what’s the meaning of that? I think my choice is better; Chang’an is best! Chang’an, everlasting peace. Kid, what do you think!”

Before she could respond, her grandfather continued, “Zhou Zhi Xing, the phoenix sings on Qishan. This is the meaning behind the name I chose for Kid. Though she is a girl, she possesses the talent of a born general. She can endure hardships and is resolute. As long as Kid does not confine herself to the inner chambers, she can rise in this turbulent era and be as admirable as the generals of the Bai family, becoming the most remarkable woman in the Jin Kingdom!”

Bai Qingyan’s throat rolled as images of her grandfather’s loving, expectant look filled her mind.

In the end, her courtesy name was never finalized.

Her grandfather’s choice of “Ming Shan” was full of high hopes.

Her father’s choice of “Chang’an” reflected deep fatherly love.

She clenched her teeth, looked up at her grandfather’s tablet with tear-filled eyes.

Zhou Zhi Xing, the phoenix sings on Qishan.

The new dynasty would begin at Niujiao Mountain in Shuoyang.

Bai Qingyan straightened up and solemnly kowtowed to the Bai family’s ancestors, determined to rebel against the Lin family imperial power and formally inform her ancestors.

The Bai family had always protected the people. Such a corrupt and decaying Jin Kingdom Lin family imperial power did not deserve to rule!

She knew she did not have the great ability to correct the Imperial Family and wanted to take their place. If her actions defied the Bai family’s generations of loyalty to the Lin family imperial power, after her death… she would personally apologize.

Her gaze was steady as she heavily kowtowed…

Outside the six open doors of the ancestral hall, the wind swept through… rustling dry leaves with a soft, scraping sound.

The curtains hooked by gilt copper hooks on the black ebony pillars swayed, and the hundreds of lotus oil lamps inside the hall flickered. The smoke from the gilt Boshan incense burner was suddenly extinguished for a moment by the wind.

Kneeling on the prayer mat, Bai Qingyan’s palms tightened as she looked up, her piercing gaze focused on the tablets, finally resting on her grandfather’s and father’s tablets.

If before, Bai Qingyan had hesitated, concerned over her grandmother and the people suffering from war, unsure about rebelling against the Lin imperial power or supporting the Crown Prince for correction.

The Crown Prince’s decision to build a Nine-Layered Terrace for the Emperor had completely crushed Bai Qingyan’s hope of correcting him.

“The original intention of the Bai family army was for the people! Loyalty to the Lin family imperial power… was also for the people. Bai Qingyan dared not forget the Bai family’s longstanding aspirations and the merit of bringing peace and stability to the world.” Bai Qingyan spoke with determination, her eyes full of tears, her voice calm but powerful, “The Bai family army has always been the barrier of the Jin Kingdom, but now His Majesty sees us as rebels! Bai Qingyan is not a saint and does not wish to repay grudges with virtue. I am determined to rebel against the Lin imperial power. Though I cannot claim this is entirely for the people and partly for personal resentment… I am committed to restoring peace to this world! This resolve will not change! No regrets!”

Having said that, Bai Qingyan kowtowed.

The fierce wind that had just been howling suddenly vanished in the Bai family’s ancestral hall. The lotus oil lamps’ flames flickered gently, the gilt Boshan incense burner’s smoke still curling upward. If not for the dried leaves on Bai Qingyan’s skirt brought in by the wind from the courtyard, it would seem as though the wind had never appeared.

Bai Qingyan stood up, brushed off the dried leaves from her skirt with the hall’s carved flower partition, and stepped out of the ancestral hall…

Outside, the sun was still shining as it had been when Bai Qingyan entered, but suddenly a large raindrop fell at her feet, followed by a torrential downpour.

The heavy outer doors of the ancestral hall were pushed open. Lu Ping ran through the rain to the hall’s eaves, brushed off the rainwater from his shoulders, and smiled as he clasped his hands at Bai Qingyan: “Miss, this sunshower is a good omen. It usually passes quickly. Would you like to wait for the rain to stop before leaving, or would you prefer to go now?”

Bai Qingyan glanced back at the brightly lit and flickering ancestral hall and smiled. It was a good omen indeed.

“Let’s go!” Bai Qingyan said.

Lu Ping had Chun Tao bring an umbrella and escorted Bai Qingyan out of the hall under the umbrella.

Chun Tao got into the carriage first and was about to help Bai Qingyan board when someone called out to her.

“Princess of Zhen…”

Bai Qingyan paused, turned, and looked toward the end of the alley amidst the sunshower. She saw an elderly man in a white broad-sleeved robe, exuding an ethereal aura, smiling and saluting Bai Qingyan with a deep bow.

The elderly man had a head full of silver hair and wore a jade crown. Beside him were his two disciples, one holding an umbrella, a guard, and a young boy. His servant led a green cloth-covered carriage behind them.