When Mingzhuo deciphered Yuan Qingwan's destiny chart, the other side must have already noticed something.

No, perhaps he had doubts about Mingzhuo's abilities even earlier, after he escaped by using the body of the Taoist priest in human skin.

That's why they had to be more vigilant, find a stronger backer, and use divine punishment to intimidate everyone and completely silence all those in the know.

The Bai family and Old Master Bai were the scapegoats he found.

The key point is that Bai Lao was willing and even enjoyed covering for him.

Mingzhuo thought coldly, "They're incredibly stupid. I don't want to admit I have such relatives."

It's possible that in Bai Tingtao's heart, a cousin he's never met is far less important than that person.

Gu Xu printed out the materials for the urgent investigation and handed them to Ming Zhuo, saying, "This is the information on Bai Li, the aunt of the previous generation of the Bai family."

Last time, he prepared information on all members of the Bai family, but not on Bai Li.

Because Bai Li is not from Bai Tingtao's lineage.

The Bai family originally had three sons. Bai Li's father was a genius and the most outstanding disciple of that generation in the Bai family and even the Xuanmen.

At that time, the world was in turmoil, demons and monsters were causing havoc everywhere, and evil cultivators colluded with spies to try to seize the treasures guarded by the Bai family.

He relinquished his position as head of the family and volunteered to guard the treasure, until he died in a siege.

Bai Li was the couple's youngest child and their only bloodline. He lost his father at a young age and had no one to rely on but to be raised by Bai Tingtao's parents.

There is not much information about Bai Li. All that is known is that she once left the Bai family with two adopted little girls and traveled around.

When he returned years later, he was all alone, and his two little girls were no longer by his side.

At that time, the Bai family was facing a calamity and had no time to ask her about her past. Afterwards, she guarded the family ancestral hall alone with her sword until she died from exhaustion.

In that great battle, the Bai family suffered countless casualties, and Bai Li's branch was completely wiped out, never to be mentioned again.

——

A summer evening rain finally came down completely, accompanied by bursts of thunder.

The rain brought away the summer heat and brought a touch of coolness.

Bai Tingtao suddenly woke up from his dream, only to realize that he had unknowingly overslept during his afternoon nap.

He got up and stared blankly at the torrential rain outside the window for a while.

The old butler shuffled in and saw Bai Tingtao standing by the window. He habitually went over to close the window, saying, "Young Master, be careful not to catch a cold."

Bai Tingtao hadn't heard the title "Young Master" for many years, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia.

"Uncle, I dreamt about Auntie."

The old butler looked at him in surprise.

Bai Tingtao: "I dreamt that my aunt was right in front of this window, teaching us to write, read, and practice. The adults in the family were always very busy and didn't have time to spend with us, but my aunt was always there."

He once thought that his aunt would always be there for them, until a big argument broke out in the family that time.

It stemmed from a very small matter, the specifics of which he couldn't remember, only that Yuan Qingwan and Bai Tingchao had a conflict.

That night, my mother threw a huge tantrum, saying that no cat or dog was worthy of being the eldest daughter of the Bai family, and that she would kick them all out if they didn't believe her.

Yuan Qingwan cried all night, afraid of being kicked out; while her aunt patiently comforted her.

He clearly remembered that his aunt's gaze as she looked out the window was very cold, and then a few days later, she said she was leaving to travel.

Her reasoning was sound: her spiritual practice had stagnated, and she needed to observe the world around her to perhaps achieve a breakthrough.

But Bai Tingtao knew she was lying. She had no bottlenecks in her cultivation and had always been incredibly powerful, far surpassing her parents.

At that time, he was still unable to speak, but his mother was overjoyed and made the decision. Then his aunt took Yuan Qingwan and Bai Wanzhen away.

He had always known that his aunt had suffered a lot of cold treatment while living under the roof of the Bai family. Although she was the eldest daughter of the Bai family, she had always been mistreated.

Her mother's words were a deliberate veiled insult, mocking Yuan Qingwan's arrogance while also putting down her aunt.

When his aunt left, Bai Tingtao was heartbroken for a very long time, and in an instant, he grew from a child into an adult.

When he saw his aunt again, the Bai family was besieged, and his aunt single-handedly fought her way in to save him...

In that great battle, he lost many relatives: his father, maternal grandfather, uncles... his aunt seemed to be less special.

The Bai family still needs him to support them, and wallowing in sorrow will not help, so he rarely looks back on the past.

Perhaps it's because people get old that they start to reminisce about the past and remember those who have passed away.

The old butler was moved to tears. He had always known that the young master had deep feelings for the young lady.

He wiped away his tears. "Now that you've found the young lady, you should take care of yourself. She's still young and needs you to take care of everything for her."

The news that Bai Lingzhi announced Chu Yuqi as the next head of the family has already reached the Bai family, and there will surely be some people who have objections.

Only Elder Bai can support Chu Yuqi.

Bai Tingtao was aware of all this, and he planned to retire peacefully and properly teach Chu Yuqi.

He was busy expanding the Bai family when Bai Lingzhi was born, and he was unable to properly teach her, which was somewhat regrettable.

Seeing that Bai Tingtao had cheered up, the old butler hesitated for a moment.

“I remember that before the young lady passed away, she seemed to say something,” he couldn’t help but say. “It seemed like she said that she still had children.”

"What?" Bai Tingtao stood up in shock.

The old butler was uneasy, but thinking about the potential mistakes, he felt he had to speak up.

"The madam was there at the time, and the eldest daughter left before she finished speaking. We dared not speculate wildly. The madam said, 'The eldest daughter is not yet married, how could she have a child?' She was probably referring to Miss Yuan. So later, when Miss Yuan came to our door, the madam took her in and married her off to the Xiang family as the adopted daughter of the Bai family."

Bai Tingtao knew about these subsequent events because, out of consideration for his aunt, he was the one who arranged the marriage for Yuan Qingwan with the Xiang family.

He always thought his aunt had no descendants, never expecting there would be a child among them.

"Uncle, are you sure you didn't hear wrong? Aunt really has a child still alive?" Bai Tingtao asked excitedly.

If it's his aunt's child, he'll definitely want to acknowledge her as his daughter and take good care of her.

He hadn't been this happy in a long time; at least his aunt's branch of the family still had descendants.

"Oh right, Yuan Qingwan! Yuan Qingwan is with my aunt. She came back alone. What about the child?" Bai Tingtao was suddenly startled.

He had already experienced Yuan Qingwan's ruthlessness firsthand, and the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. Had that child already met with such a terrible fate?

"I need to see Yuan Qingwan!" Bai Tingtao couldn't sit still any longer; he had to get Yuan Qingwan to talk no matter what.

The old butler opened his mouth, as if to say that he suspected Mingzhuo was a descendant of Bai Li, but after thinking about it, he gave up.

After all, this was just his suspicion, not a certainty, so why let Bai Tingtao get excited for nothing?

——

On the other hand, although Mingzhuo did not intend to acknowledge her relatives, she still told Ruan Mulan and Ruan Mingying about Bai Li.