Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 47

Chapter 47: A Daughter

She indeed has a younger sister. This means Bai Xun has three daughters.

Zhang Ze frowned: “Why did the people I sent to investigate give conflicting reports, some saying there was and some saying there wasn’t?”

The local officials in Shuofang were beaten half to death in prison, but they only cried out for injustice, saying they didn’t know Bai Xun had another daughter.

Bai Xun’s accomplices had already been investigated and punished, so it’s unlikely that everyone was covering for him.

It was only after inquiring with Bai Xun’s neighbors from when he was a military officer that someone mentioned a daughter, but when asked further, they claimed she had died or something.

Ultimately, whether she existed or not, whether she was alive or dead, the accounts were inconsistent.

Bai Ying turned her head slightly and said tearfully: “Don’t blame them for the conflicting stories. My mother died in childbirth while giving birth to her. Everyone in the family was deeply grieved, and this baby was neglected.”

There was no third-day bathing ceremony, no widespread announcement; the newborn, accompanied by death, was met with disgust and not spoken of.

Zhang Ze knew that Bai Xun’s wife had died young but didn’t know the reason. Now, learning it was due to childbirth, he was somewhat enlightened: “So she wasn’t registered in the family records? And he didn’t acknowledge this daughter?”

Bai Ying shook her head again.

“No, my father acknowledged her and even entered her into the family genealogy.” She said, “It’s just that, she, she, she’s a monster.”

A monster?

Zhang Ze frowned, and the Emperor couldn’t help but step forward and ask: “What kind of monster? Does she not look human?”

There were many such cases among the common people, where children were born different from ordinary people, either with disabilities, extra limbs, or even faces as ugly as ghosts.

Bai Ying shook her head again, her eyes glazed over under the lamplight.

“No, not her appearance, it’s that she can drive people mad.”

Drive people mad?

Zhang Ze frowned. A child who caused her mother’s death would be considered inauspicious, but what did it mean to drive people mad?

Bai Ying gripped the bars, the lamplight flickering on her face, revealing the terror in her eyes: “When she was still a baby, the wet nurses and maids who took care of her would always talk nonsense for no reason. We didn’t notice it then. After she learned to speak, anyone who talked to her would go mad, either lying down in a stupor or dancing and singing uncontrollably.”

What did this mean? Zhang Ze couldn’t help but look back at the Emperor, who also had a puzzled expression.

“Could it be that those people were sick?” The Emperor asked.

Seeing the approaching Emperor, Bai Ying turned around in panic, covering her head and face with her sleeves again.

“No, no, although she caused my mother’s death in childbirth, my father didn’t dislike her. He cherished and cared for her, selecting wet nurses and maids for her with great care. How could they possibly be insane?”

“Even my father once suddenly went mad, saying he saw my mother and kneeling down to cry bitterly. It was truly terrifying. My siblings and I would also often laugh and cry for no reason, until we covered her eyes or stopped talking to her. Only then would it get better.”

Her trembling voice came from under her sleeves, making the Emperor involuntarily tense.

“As she grew older, the more people she saw, the more strange things happened, and the more rumors spread. To avoid gossip, we rarely let her go out, and we stopped mentioning this younger sister to outsiders.”

This explained why the answers about whether Bai Xun had a third daughter were so inconsistent when they investigated. It turned out she was deliberately hidden by the Bai family. Zhang Ze nodded in understanding.

“What’s her name?” He asked.

Bai Ying’s voice came from under her sleeves: “Li. The name my mother gave her before she died.”

Zhang Ze repeated the name between his teeth: “Bai Li.”

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

Older sister.

The Virtuous Consort in the palace, Bai Ying.

Zhou Jingyun looked at the woman across from him.

“How old were you when your older sister married Prince Changyang?” He asked.

“She’s my second older sister. She was sixteen when she married Prince Changyang.” Zhuang Li said, “I was only five then.”

Zhou Jingyun asked again: “How old were you when you met Master and Madam?”

“Ten.” Zhuang Li said, then added proactively, “My older sister didn’t know I went with Master and Madam.”

She lowered her gaze.

“After she entered Prince Changyang’s Residence, she had almost no contact with our family. Father didn’t tell her about family matters. Moreover, I insisted on becoming a maid for Master and Madam back then, which angered Father so much that he refused to acknowledge me, even though I scratched my name from the family genealogy and changed my surname to Zhuang.”

Since he refused to acknowledge her, naturally he wouldn’t spread the word.

Although she was looking down, Zhou Jingyun still noticed the smile that appeared on the corner of her lips when she mentioned her father. However, the smile was very faint and quickly disappeared, leaving only a trace of melancholy.

Zhou Jingyun withdrew his gaze and said: “So, even if she is your older sister, she doesn’t know your whereabouts.”

Zhuang Li hummed in agreement, a hint of reminiscence in her eyes: “My eldest sister married far away. After I was born, I lost my mother. It was my second older sister who raised me, so she is like a mother to me.”

“Then she…” Zhou Jingyun was about to speak.

✿✿✿

Zhuang Li looked at him: “But she has hated me since we were young. Now, I’m afraid she wishes me dead even more.”

Zhou Jingyun swallowed the words “sisterly affection” that were about to leave his lips.

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

The night deepened, and the lights in front of the Cold Palace became brighter, illuminating the woman kneeling on the ground.

“So this Bai Li…” Zhang Ze muttered to himself, “Taking advantage of the fact that outsiders don’t know her, she scratched her name off, severed ties with the Bai family, and escaped in the chaos?”

He shook his head after saying that.

Impossible. There was no such thing as escaping in the chaos. Once targeted by Zhang Ze, let alone those from the Bai family, even those who passed by the Bai residence couldn’t escape.

Moreover, the raid was very sudden. Although Zhang Ze often cast a wide net, when he truly wanted to take action against someone, it would be swift and decisive, leaving no room for escape.

Unless she was hidden outside beforehand and wasn’t at the Bai residence at all.

“I don’t know where she could have gone.” Bai Ying smiled bitterly, “Extermination of three clans…”

And Zhang Ze must have investigated all nine clans.

“After I entered the Prince’s Residence, I rarely had contact with my family. I only focused on serving the Prince… and the Princess Consort.”

Hearing these words, the Emperor looked at the woman kneeling on the ground, dressed in white with her black hair spread out on the floor, his mind in a daze as he thought of the past.

It was about eleven or twelve years ago when Bai Ying entered the residence. She was sixteen then, and Bai Xun was just a minor military officer, no different from a commoner in the eyes of the royal family.

But at that time, he, a member of the royal family, lived worse than a commoner.

The Emperor became increasingly terrifying, even killing the Crown Prince. Empress Jiang also grew more powerful, blatantly appearing in the court.

They, the princes and princesses, lived in fear, worried that they might lose their heads at any moment.

He hadn’t even thought about taking a new consort. It was after the Emperor killed the Crown Prince and hundreds of people in the Eastern Palace that, to show he was a benevolent father and offer some comfort to his sons, and to bring some joy to the royal family to dispel the bad luck, he bestowed new consorts on several princes.

As a filial son, he was grateful and respectfully accepted the new consort and concubines bestowed by his father.

The ceremony was grander than his wedding to the Princess Consort.

But he didn’t have the slightest bit of romantic feeling, only fear. It wasn’t until the ceremony ended and he was sitting in the bridal chamber that he saw the new consort’s appearance clearly.

The youthful and beautiful girl looked at him shyly but with bright eyes, saying: “Your Highness, I finally married you.”

Finally…

This word made him pause.

“Your Highness, you forgot.” The girl looked up at him, her eyes filled with joy and admiration, “You saved me. Two years ago in Fengzhou City, my sister and I were on the street when we encountered a runaway horse and were about to be trampled to death. It was you who passed by with your guards and saved me. At that time, I swore to marry you.”

Saved her? Passing through Fengzhou with guards, it should have been the first time he was banished from the capital. So they had a predestined relationship. The Prince Changyang of that time was stunned.

A smile appeared on the Emperor’s lips.

Zhang Ze’s shout rang in his ears.

“Bai Ying, if you wanted to abandon and hide this daughter, it couldn’t have been a sudden whim. You better confess honestly, all the people and places your father mentioned, don’t hide anything.”

“Inspector, this concubine has not concealed anything. I truly don’t know where she went. She was only five years old when I left home. After entering the residence, I behaved properly and didn’t interact with officials outside. Moreover, after His Highness met with misfortune and we were demoted and confined, we had even less contact.”

Bai Ying’s voice choked with sobs.

The Emperor’s heart also became heavy. After they were demoted and confined, Empress Jiang deliberately made things difficult for him and dismissed all the palace maids and concubines. Bai Ying could have left, but she didn’t. She served him and the Princess Consort like a servant.

The Empress often said that she shared his hardships. Bai Ying did the same.

Moreover, Bai Ying worked hard with her own hands, unlike the Empress who only cried and complained every day, doing nothing.

“Enough!” The Emperor cut off Zhang Ze, “She left home early. As a woman of the Prince’s Residence, she avoided contact with her family. After so many years, she truly doesn’t know.”

Bai Ying looked at the Emperor and prostrated herself on the ground, crying, “Your Majesty—”

The chains rattled as Bai Ying, who was lying on the ground, got up again, gripping the iron bars and looking at Zhang Ze.

“Inspector, she’s a monster, an inauspicious creature. She killed my mother and now she’s killed our whole family.”

“How can she not die? How can she not die!”

“You must catch her, you must catch her!”