Bai Qingqing didn’t want to waste even a moment. As soon as she returned home, she went straight to Bai Jinghuai and stated her intentions plainly—she was going to the southwest.
Bai Jinghuai’s mouth fell open in shock. When he recovered, he shook his head violently, not even considering the possibility. “No, no, no! Absolutely not!”
“Why not?” she challenged. “Am I not part of the Bai family? Can’t I do something for us?”
He shook his head again, though his voice softened as he tried to coax her. “That’s not what I meant. I just… I worry about you. You’ve never been far from home. You don’t know how dangerous the world can be—especially for a woman. Travel… is hard. Very hard…”
He didn’t know how to explain it to make her truly understand. The world was harsh toward women. Qingqing had grown up in Xuancheng, right under the imperial city’s shadow, protected by him and Siwen all her life. She’d never seen the ugliness out there.
But just because she hadn’t seen it didn’t mean it didn’t exist. “It’s far too dangerous for a girl to travel alone. Being robbed is common. And if you fall into the hands of someone truly wicked… a life could be snuffed out in an instant. I’m not trying to scare you—I’ve seen it with my own eyes, back in the day.”
Afraid his words might be too frightening, he tempered his tone again. “Don’t worry. Our family isn’t desperate yet. There’s no need for you to take such a risk.”
“I know what you’re saying is true. That’s why I came to you—for guidance.”
There was no wavering in Bai Qingqing’s eyes. “I’m going to the southwest no matter what. You don’t need to persuade me otherwise. The Bai family’s troubles aren’t so simple—if they were, you and Big Brother wouldn’t be losing sleep night after night. You once told me yourself that in times of trouble, the worst thing one can do is sit and wait for doom to arrive.”
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“You and Big Brother can’t leave the house, so let me go. I’ve been loved and protected by the Bai family all these years—am I supposed to keep hiding under your wings now, like some delicate flower?”
Bai Jinghuai was stunned by the look in his daughter’s eyes—part anxious, part quietly proud.
But how could he bear to let her take such a risk? He tried everything he could to dissuade her. Yet Bai Qingqing didn’t quarrel. She spoke calmly, laying out the current situation for him, analyzing how much worse things could become, and what kind of disaster would befall the Bai family if they remained in the dark.
“When the nest falls, how can any egg remain whole? If we don’t uncover the truth, the danger we’ll face later will be far worse than anything in the southwest. I may be weak, but I want to protect you too.”
Bai Jinghuai closed his eyes heavily. His daughter had truly grown up—and grown so well. It was he, as her father, who had failed to shield her.
“Luo Chen, deputy to Ling Binyu, wasn’t implicated back then. The court even promoted him to keep the public calm. He was the one Ling Binyu trusted most, yet later joined the others in condemning him. If anyone knows what really happened back then, it’s likely him.”
Bai Jinghuai told her everything he knew. If she insisted on going to the southwest, she could seek out one of his old confidants—Shao Chenlei.
“He and I have shared life-and-death. He’ll help you investigate discreetly. But what he can find… I can’t say. You might come back empty-handed.”
“But even a sliver of hope is still hope, isn’t it?”
Bai Qingqing wasn’t as pessimistic as her father. No matter how bad the outcome, could it truly be worse than her previous life?
When the rest of the Bai family learned of her decision to go southwest, not a single one agreed. Madam Qiao was the first to oppose it, clutching her as if holding her own flesh and blood, pleading with her tearfully, “How could we let you go? If someone must, it should be me. I won’t allow you to go.” ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noveⅼfire.net