Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Very soon, a few sturdy women entered from outside.

Mrs. Fang asked, "Quick! Before that nanny and the maid return, take the person to the carriage!"

"Yes!"

The women responded and stepped forward.

Mrs. Fang's heart was racing with tension, thinking of her brother, and quickly asked, "Has Uncle gone over yet?"

"Rest assured, madam, Uncle has already gone over!"

Mrs. Wang, being slender, was wrapped in a burlap sack by several women, carried on a shoulder, pretending to move heavy objects as they exited the tent. As soon as they came out with Mrs. Wang, they saw a line of imperial guards with swords outside the large tent, making them too frightened to move…

The eunuch Wei Zhong, by Bai Qingyan's side, was holding a dust whisk, smiling as he stood in the middle.

The women, unsure of the situation, dared not move forward, looking at each other…

As Mrs. Fang was coming out after handling matters inside, she noticed that the women were still blocking the doorway and hadn't moved, frowning tightly and sharply whispering as she walked out, "What are you standing there for? Hurry and carry the person away!"

As soon as she spoke, Mrs. Fang saw the imperial guards and Wei Zhong outside, her heart leaping into her throat, gripping her clothes tightly.

Mrs. Fang was already riding a tiger and unable to dismount; if Wei Zhong discovered the sack contained the Fourth Madam, no number of words could explain it.

Forcing herself to smile, she stepped forward and bowed to Wei Zhong, "Eunuch Wei… the Fourth Madam is still changing clothes inside, was it His Majesty who sent you here out of concern?"

Before Wei Zhong could answer, Mrs. Fang continued with a smile, "Everything is fine here, Nanny Guan went to fetch clothes, and the Fourth Madam just spilled tea. These nannies brought a carpet to change, it's no big deal. Eunuch Wei, please report to His Majesty not to worry, I will definitely take good care of the Fourth Madam; please assure His Majesty."

Wei Zhong, brushing off nonexistent dust with a smile, said calmly, "Go… send a maid in to take a look, and open the sack on these women's shoulders for this old servant to see."

Mrs. Fang clutched her garments tightly, her expression changing drastically, quickly speaking to stop him, "Eunuch Wei, the Fourth Madam's clothes are all dirty and she's waiting inside, whatever you have to say, you can ask this humble woman to convey it. After all... I am the wife of the Bai Clan Leader, surely I can take care of the Fourth Madam, can't I?"

Wei Zhong nodded at Mrs. Fang with a smile, saying, "The Clan Leader's wife's words… are indeed correct; His Majesty truly is not at ease with Madam looking after the Fourth Madam!"

Mrs. Fang was stunned; she never expected that a eunuch like Wei Zhong would dare to speak to her this way, feeling frustrated, she gritted her teeth, unsure of what to do.

·

The second daughter of the Qin family was dressed very plainly today, sitting quietly under the cool shade, so unobtrusive she seemed almost invisible. Her elder sister wanted to mingle with the other noble young ladies, but they just nodded at her out of courtesy to Bai Jinxiu, engaging in conversation and laughter without including the Qin family's eldest daughter.

The Qin family's eldest daughter, being oblivious, insisted on standing there, and when she heard the noble girls' laughter, she hid her mouth behind her fan and laughed too.

A sharp-tongued noble girl glanced at the Qin family's eldest daughter who laughed along, and sarcastically remarked, "What's there to laugh about, Qin family's eldest daughter? We were talking about the Lu family's elder sister's birthday party, which you didn't attend, so what are you laughing at with us?"

Lu Baohua frowned and lightly tapped the noble girl who spoke with her fan, signaling her not to be so harsh.

The Qin family's eldest daughter felt humiliated, showing an embarrassed expression. Perhaps seeing Lu Baohua was defending her, she looked at Lu Baohua with teary eyes and said, "If the Lu family's elder sister had invited me to join in the fun, I wouldn't be so clueless."

Lu Baohua was taken aback by the aggrieved words from the Qin family's eldest daughter.

The young granddaughter of Doctor Huang, Arong, who was good friends with Bai Jinzhi and known for speaking her mind, rolled her eyes at the aggrieved Qin family's eldest daughter, "Are you seriously blaming Lu family's elder sister for not inviting you? How shameless! You've never interacted with Lu family's elder sister, but you expect to be invited to her birthday! Who do you think you are… why should Lu family's elder sister think of you!"

The Qin family's eldest daughter straightened up hearing this, "My brother is currently favored by His Majesty, and my sister-in-law is the Auxiliary General!"

"Oh, the Qin family's eldest daughter must have forgotten that soon after the Auxiliary General married your brother, she nearly died at the hands of you sisters, even before the return visit! Your biological mother… used all sorts of despicable means to suppress and manipulate the rightful son, and even meddled in her daughter-in-law's dowry! They say dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes…"

Before the noble girl could finish, she saw Bai Jinzhi, dressed in a tunic, striding towards their pavilion.

"Lord of Gaoyi!"

"Commandery Princess Gaoyi!"

The noble girls quickly stood up and greeted Bai Jinzhi, some calling her the Lord of Gaoyi, others the Commandery Princess Gaoyi, all offering birthday congratulations.

The Qin family's eldest daughter also stood up, continuously dabbing her tears with a handkerchief.

Bai Jinzhi pretended not to see, waved her hand, "Please, be seated, I'm not here to disturb you, Arong..."

Arong from the Huang family, upon hearing Bai Jinzhi call her, showed a radiant smile like a sunflower, responded, picked up her skirt, grabbed the fan from the table, and walked towards Bai Jinzhi.

"You all play on!" Bai Jinzhi grabbed Huang family Arong's hand, pulling her away while quietly asking, "What happened, I saw you fuming from a distance!"

"You didn't see the Qin family's eldest daughter's attitude, it was infuriating!" Huang family Arong recounted the events in the pavilion to Bai Jinzhi, just as they saw the Qin family's second daughter walking towards Bai Qingyan's pavilion, she quickly tugged Bai Jinzhi's sleeve, "Look! See! One is over there complaining about not being invited to Lu family's elder sister's birthday, using being Jinxiu's younger sister-in-law as an excuse! That one is probably also trying to get close to His Majesty through Jinxiu! Just watch!"

Huang family Arong couldn't stand the conduct of the Qin sisters.

Bai Jinzhi paused in her steps, squinting under the blazing sun, seeing the Qin family's second daughter walking across the kite flying field, kneeling and bowing outside her eldest sister's pavilion.

"Dang—"

A gong sounded, signifying the start of the kite flying competition.

The young eunuchs received the kite strings from the daughters of various families and invited widows who came to compete, and the daughters and widows hurried to stand beneath Bai Qingyan's pavilion.

The commoners stopped at the edge by the imperial guards also paused their activities, looking up to the sky upon hearing the gong.