Chapter 56 Chapter 56 25

"What?" Bai Yunmeng was in disbelief. Then, a surge of rage ensued. They were both his daughters, so why did his father treat her like this? The person he wanted to pick up hadn't been picked up yet? And the only one missing was Bai Ruoruo.

But she quickly calmed down and stood aside, silent. Go ahead, take it. Her cowardly sister wouldn't be able to handle it, no matter how much she tried to please her. She'd probably just be terrified, and probably disappoint her father.

After seeing this scene, Nan Xu waved to the young eunuch following behind him.

After a while, Ruoruo came over, still wearing her veil, following the young eunuch.

"Daddy~" Ruo Ruo walked in, her eyebrows curved, her figure graceful. After getting rid of her fear, she looked more like a goddess from heaven, and even with a veil on, it was hard to take your eyes off her.

The moment he saw Ruoruo, Bai Jing felt incredibly distressed. His daughter had grown up, but in such a cruel way. But now, all he could do was nod in satisfaction.

The one who reacted more strongly than Bai Jing was Bai Yunmeng.

Because the moment she saw Ruoruo appear, her eyes widened in disbelief. The calmness she had suppressed was gone.

"Why are you here? Are you Bai Ruoruo? You bitch!" She remembered the nightmare which was still the worst for her until now.

The choice she faced that day, her humble plea for survival, was witnessed by someone besides Nan Xu. She had initially assumed that person was Nan Xu's subordinate, but unexpectedly, it was her "good sister"? Bai Ruoruo had watched her face such a humiliating choice that day and remained silent?

When the name Bai Ruoruo was linked to the woman who looked at her coldly that day, Bai Yunmeng could no longer bear it.

She came up and slapped Ruoruo in the face, but Bai Jing stopped her and even shook her off, causing Bai Yunmeng to almost fall down.

"Father?!" Bai Yunmeng couldn't believe it.

Bai Jing didn't expect that his eldest daughter would suddenly explode, but now no matter what position he stands on, he should have a consistent answer on which daughter he should be good to.

"Stop bullying your sister!"

Nan Xu stood aside and watched, a cold expression appearing on her originally beautiful face as she stared at Bai Yunmeng.

If Bai Jing hadn't been able to stop him just now, he would have slapped Bai Yunmeng in the heart.

She is lucky.

"You have no idea what this little bitch has done! You have no idea at all!" Bai Yunmeng roared with red eyes. If she had looked down on her sister and bullied her before, now she wanted to pull out her tendons and skin Ruoruo.

It turned out that the person she despised the most witnessed her most unbearable moment. How dare Bai Ruoruo do that!

Even though she didn't know this was the choice Ruoruo had given her, she still hated her. Of course, this eunuch Nan and those three ugly and lowly merchants should all disappear.

Only then can she start over.

Bai Jing didn't understand why his eldest daughter hated the youngest so intensely, but for him, no matter what the reason, there was no point in trying to find out and correct it. Because he understood his eldest daughter's psychology, he had no ability to correct her thoughts and personality. He hadn't been able to do that before, and it would be impossible in the future.

He had made mistakes, but having come to this point, he couldn't continue making the same mistakes. He couldn't continue to force the two sisters to maintain a superficial peace and ask Ruoruo not to mind. That would be too unfair to Ruoruo.

He had always been aware of his failure as a father, but today he found that he had underestimated his own shortcomings.

After agreeing to the new emperor's conditions, his sense of responsibility as a husband and father became suffocating, but the more this happened, the more his guilt towards his youngest daughter grew.

His heart was filled with a whirlwind of complex emotions, as if they were about to consume him in the next second. However, he clearly knew what choice he should make.

"General Bai, you must take good care of the people you need to take care of. You need to think carefully about some things." Before leaving, Nan Xu couldn't help but whisper to Bai Jing.

Bai Jing did not ignore Nan Xu's words because of his identity. Instead, he nodded to him solemnly.

He knew better than anyone why the Bai family still existed. Since he had agreed to everything in front of the new emperor, he would not go back on his word.

"Don't worry, Eunuch Nan. I've been thankful for your care these days."

…

After all the female relatives were settled, someone came to report to Bai Jing tremblingly, "General, the lady is still in front of the prison gate. You need to go and pick her up in person."

It was also the housekeeper who was too nosy. After Bai Jing went to the Music Bureau, he asked about the whereabouts of the lady, and then he took the initiative to arrange a carriage to pick up the lady.

Not only did he not get anything good in the end, the groom who went to pick up the person was also scolded and pointed at his nose. Not only that, he now had to report his wife's words to the general in fear.

.

Originally, Mrs. Bai hadn't intended to voice this request. After all, while she wasn't particularly bright, she wasn't so spoiled. Thinking about it was one thing, but bringing it up was another.

But after knowing that Bai Jing went to the Jiaofangsi in person and went to pick up Ruoruo specially, she made up her mind that Bai Jing must also go to the prison to pick her up in person. Otherwise, wouldn't it mean that her status is not as good as Bai Ruoruo?

She hated Ruo Ruo not just because she had suffered so much during her birth. Every time a woman gave birth, she went through a near-death experience. The fact that she had been injured and could no longer bear a son was certainly difficult for her to accept, but it wasn't so severe that she had to look at her own daughter as if she were an enemy.

Part of the problem actually lies in Ruoruo’s date of birth.

This story began more than 20 years ago.

Back when she was young, she had a crush on someone. This person wasn't the rough-and-tumble warrior Bai Jing, but rather the opposite type, a gentle and refined gentleman named Sun Jingyun. But that person had a crush on her best friend, Liu Ruyu.

It was obvious that Liu Ruyu was no match for her in appearance, family background, or skills in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but he just treated Liu Ruyu differently.

This difference became particularly obvious under her careful attention, making it impossible for her to ignore it. There were even rumors that the two families had begun privately contacting and discussing the marriage because of Sun Jingyun's insistence.

So one day when they were out for a walk, she took advantage of everyone's unpreparedness and attacked Liu Ruyu herself, pushing her into the lake.

Originally, she planned to let her second brother rescue Liu Ruyu, but who knew that plans could not keep up with changes. When her second brother saw how scary the lake was and Liu Ruyu was struggling so hard in the water, he fled and dared not move forward.

Liu Ruyu was unlucky, and she died young. Sun Jingyun was also deeply traumatized by this incident. After his investigation proved fruitless, his health gradually deteriorated.

Fearing she had done something wrong, she agreed to the marriage her family had chosen for her, burying her past thoughts in her heart, not daring to speak of them again. Because she realized that the man she liked seemed to be the youthful Sun Jingyun, not the sickly man who was half dead for a woman.

Of course, the most important reason was her fear of being discovered. She hadn't been discovered because her friendship with Liu Ruyu was well known, and she had been equally grief-stricken by her death. But if she showed any special feelings for Sun Jingyun after Liu Ruyu's death, she would probably be the first person to be suspected.

Two years later, Sun Jingyun also fell ill and passed away on the same day Liu Ruyu died.

After she got the news, she practiced vegetarianism and chanted Buddhist scriptures for a while, and then she deliberately never thought about the doomed couple again. --Until Bai Ruoruo was born.

Clearly, a doctor had taken her pulse before she was born and said it was most likely a boy, but she turned out to be a girl. This not only caused her to suffer a lot, but also made her infertile. If it were just that, it would be fine, but the day Bai Ruoruo was born happened to be the anniversary of Liu Ruyu and Sun Jingyun's death.

How could she not mind this? It was as if this daughter was born to collect debts.

The more she cared about it, the more she wanted to find the possibility that it was just a coincidence, but the more she searched, the more bizarre it became, and the more scared she became. After all, she deliberately went to read this kind of books and ask mysterious masters, but it was impossible for her to end up with a statement that there were no ghosts or gods in the world.

Finally, she half-heartedly consulted a "master" whom she thought was a great expert.

After hearing this, the man came up with a plan for her: to suppress the reincarnation of the evil spirit, so that it would not pose any threat to her. However, she must not kill anyone again, otherwise the evil spirit would turn into a fierce ghost.

After the master gave her some instructions, he took the silver she had forced upon him and left to travel around the world.

Since then, she has never considered Ruo Ruo as her own daughter again, but instead treated her like a demon, wishing that she would always be weak, always be bullied, and never be able to see anyone.

Bai Jing's long absence from home also greatly facilitated her little tricks. As for Bai Ruoruo being her biological daughter, mother and daughter were related by blood? She already had an older daughter, so it was not impossible for the younger one to be abandoned.

Moreover, it wasn't her younger daughter who was abandoned first. Rather, it was her younger daughter who was born to be her unlucky. If anything went wrong, it was always her younger daughter's fault.

She gave her life, so she should be grateful.

Obviously, nothing went wrong over the years. Even if Bai Jing stayed in the capital later, he could do nothing about Bai Ruoruo's character. Everything that had been developed over the years could not be changed.

As she watched Bai Jing become more and more disappointed with Bai Ruoruo, she naturally began to look down on her daughter less and less. She felt at ease and was just waiting to find a useless man to marry her off.

But who knew that something would go wrong now? Bai Jing was obsessed with her for some reason. He had just been released from prison, but he was already so concerned about Bai Ruoruo. She was really haunting him.

In her heart, no matter how big a mistake her eldest daughter made, she would always be better than Bai Ruoruo. Only Bai Jing still had a little hope for the shameful youngest daughter.

She didn't know when Bai Jing would come to pick her up. When he arrived, she would definitely have a good talk with him, so he wouldn't be so biased. Meng'er had been foolishly tricked by the Fourth Prince into stealing the tiger talisman, but wasn't her original intention to further the Bai family's development? It was just a pity that she was just a bit unlucky in the end.

Mrs. Bai thought and thought, and waited and waited, until it began to darken before she realized something was wrong.

At this point, finding someone to take her back to the Bai Mansion was a real hassle. After all, she had just been released from prison, and even renting a carriage was impossible because she was penniless. Even the nearby shops that offered credit wouldn't lend money to someone in her filthy prison uniform.

When she finally had no choice but to endure the pain all over her body and walked back to the Bai family, she found that everyone in the family had already eaten and was preparing to rest. Only Bai Jing was still in the study discussing matters with a few of the Bai family's most capable people. He was not surprised to see her come back angrily and rush into the study. He calmly asked those people to leave first before calmly closing the door.

"Bai Ying, you're back." Bai Jing seemed to have anticipated this scene. Madam Bai's maiden name was Luo, and her full name was Luo Baiying, but no one had called her by that name for a long time. Bai Jing had always called her Madam in the past, but now he had changed his name.

Mrs. Bai had a bad feeling in her heart.

Because Liu Ruyu liked to call herself by this name, either Bai Ying or Ying'er, she loved to call it that, so ever since she married into the Bai family, she strongly requested Bai Jing to call her "Madam", showing her strong concern for the little thoughts of a girl in the address.

This wasn't a big deal. Bai Jing had always addressed her according to her request. Why did he suddenly...

Before she had time to think about it, she saw Bai Jing pick up a piece of letter from the table and hand it to her, his face still expressionless.

Mrs. Bai's heart skipped a beat, and she felt that what was written on the letter was not a good thing.

But Bai Jing's hand was so close to her that she couldn't take it even if she didn't want to.

She took it with trembling hands, unfolded it, and found it was a farewell letter. The letter was sincere and heartfelt, a resolute farewell to the troubles of the world, and every sentence revealed a sense of disillusionment with the world.

If the final signature was not "Luo Baiying", perhaps she would think that becoming a monk might not be a bad thing for this person. After all, this person looks like he has truly seen through the world.

But the problem is this signature... She would not deceive herself into thinking that this was only written by someone with the same name as her. If that were the case, Bai Jing would not have put it in front of her so formally.

"No! This is not written by me!" She almost made a hole in the paper.

"Yes, this is not written by you. I am just teaching you how to write. If you feel tired, I can also find someone who is good at imitating handwriting to write for you. I let you write it yourself just because of our past relationship as husband and wife." Of course, there is also a reason that even if someone is good at imitating handwriting, it will take some time to imitate, and it is not as smooth as she writes it herself.

Bai Jing showed no sign of remorse or guilt. He knew her temper. If he showed any hesitation, she would definitely make a scene.

If you hesitate when you should make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Once you have made a decision, he should execute it cleanly and efficiently.

"Why?" Luo Baiying didn't understand. She had been the general's wife for so many years, gave birth to two daughters for him, took care of the internal affairs of the mansion, and guarded the capital alone. Even if she had no merits, she had worked hard. How could he treat her like this?

Even if she had been confused for a moment and helped Meng'er steal the tiger talisman, wasn't that in the past? The new emperor had ascended the throne and had already made a new decision. Couldn't the three of them live happily ever after?

"Because the Bai family needs to find a suitable mistress." Bai Jing did not tell anyone about his deal with the new emperor, otherwise this woman might cause some trouble.

If he really said that, even if she didn't dare to resent the new emperor, she would hate Ruoruo. Given her dislike for her youngest daughter, she would probably do it.

After reading the scroll thrown by the new emperor that day, he actually realized that Luo Baiying and Bai Yunmeng's bullying of his little daughter was far more serious than he had originally thought.

So even if there was no agreement with the new emperor, he might still choose to part ways with Luo Baiying, but the means would be much gentler. After all, over the past so many years, he not only owed a lot to his youngest daughter, but also to Luo Baiying and his eldest daughter.

Especially Luo Baiying, who married him in her prime years, but he could only stay at home for a few days in all these years. Isn't she a widow in a sense?

But now that things have come to this point, he can't show his guilt even if he feels it.

There are too many things in this world that are unclear and unexplained.

Luo Baiying naturally didn't want to become a nun. Who, these days, would want to be a nun if they had enough to eat? Whether she was a man or not was secondary; the poverty and dullness of the life were unbearable for most people. Furthermore, she wasn't a celibate; on the contrary, she loved gold, silver, jewelry, silks, and delicacies. Forcing her to become a nun? It would be easier to kill her.

But if she really had to die, she still wouldn't dare to die.

So in the end, he still copied a copy under Bai Jing's threat.

Because Bai Jing asked her to choose between becoming a nun and dying.

Even her choices of setting up a small shrine at home to practice Buddhism with her hair uncut, or asking to be divorced as a concubine, were rejected. Divorce was not allowed either. Of course, Luo Baiying didn't want to divorce either. After all, she had not been close to the Luo family since her parents passed away. When her second brother was transferred away from Kyoto, he asked her to come back through the Bai family's route, but she refused out of selfishness.

"Do you really not care about the relationship between husband and wife?" Luo Baiying had tears in her eyes and she couldn't believe it until the dust settled.

Bai Jing did not answer her question, but instead asked her if she wanted to go and say goodbye to her two daughters.

Luo Baiying nodded in agreement, but walked straight to Bai Yunmeng's yard. She didn't even raise her eyes when passing by Ruoruo's former residence.

By the time they emerged from Bai Yunmeng's courtyard, it was already late, dark. Mother and daughter had just embraced each other and cried bitterly, recounting the injustices they had suffered recently and Bai Jing's attitude towards Ruo Ruo. They were furious and had endless topics to talk about. Luo Baiying moved her lips several times, but in the end, she couldn't bear to tell her precious daughter what had just happened in the study. She waited until Bai Yunmeng fell asleep before reluctantly leaving.

Bai Jing stood behind her at some point, "Aren't you going to go see Ruoruo?"

"No need, I'm too tired."

Bai Jing sighed and didn't mention Ruoruo anymore. He just asked someone to take her to the newly cleaned courtyard to spend her last night.

"Do you have to be so hasty? Husband..."

"yes."