Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 8: The passage of time

"Lili, as the eldest daughter of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, you will not be unable to tolerate your husband's savior becoming a concubine in name only." Mrs. Bai's rhetoric skills were really good, and in the end she even put the blame on her, Qiao Lili.

"Your life-saving grace should indeed be repaid with my life." Qiao Lili waited for Bai to finish her speech before she calmly took over the conversation.

"That's right." Mrs. Bai let out a long sigh. That's right. As long as she explained, Qiao Lili, this silly girl, would definitely buy it. Her expression relaxed a little. She had been talking for so long about wanting to drink some tea, but there was still nothing on the small table. This, this hospitality of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion was too bad.

"However," before Bai's heart was completely settled, Qiao Lili suddenly changed the subject. She turned her head to look at the old Duke's wife, "Grandmother, in our Great Yan, concubines are equivalent to slaves. They can be transferred and sold, right? Letting your benefactor become a concubine is a bit of repaying kindness with enmity. Am I right, grandmother?"

In this dynasty, there is no distinction between noble concubines and inferior concubines. Concubines are no different from slaves. They can be transferred, sold, expelled from the house, or even executed at will.

"Since you are willing to repay your life-saving grace with your body, you should give her a formal status. Grandmother, please help the young general and give the position of principal wife to his life-saving benefactor, so that his behavior will not be criticized by others."

The old Duke's wife nodded and said, "Let's forget about the marriage between our two families. Return the engagement letter and let your Bai Mansion give her a legal wife position. It will be worth it for her to risk her own life to save someone."

When Mrs. Bai heard the old Duke's wife say this, cold sweat broke out on her back. This was not right, very wrong. Why were they talking about canceling the engagement? They must marry Qiao Lili home, otherwise, how would they live in the Bai family? Otherwise, how would they carry out those plans? Cancelling the engagement was absolutely not an option.

"You can't cancel the engagement." She said this anxiously, her throat cracking a little, completely subverting her usual gentle and lovely image. "This is the engagement that Lili's mother made with me before she died. We in the Bai family cannot break our promise."

You said it so high-soundingly, your Bai family is treacherous, huh, do you have the confidence and ability to betray? Qiao Lili watched coldly as the Bai family's face turned from red to white, and from white to green.

"It's not that your Bai family is treacherous. We, the Duke Dingguo Mansion, announced this to the world because we want to fulfill your gratitude. We took the initiative to cancel the engagement. I believe that if Lili's mother knew about this, she would do the same. After all, saving her life is more important than anything else."

Speaking of her daughter-in-law, the old lady of the Duke's wife felt sad again. There are not many girls as lovely as her, who are beautiful, capable, and have a generous personality. She is such a good girl that you can't find even with a lantern. But she got the good fortune for her stupid son. It can only be said that fools have good luck.

It was a pity that the beauty died young, leaving three poor children to an old woman like her, and passed away at such a young age. As for this marriage, they did not blame Lili's mother, after all, they also approved of it. It can only be said that everyone makes mistakes sometimes, or people's hearts are fickle, and even deep love cannot withstand the passage of time.

Qiao Lili's mood also became gloomy. It would be great if she could be reborn earlier, and be reborn to a time when her mother was still alive.

"No, the Bai family won't cancel the engagement no matter what." This was different from what she had expected. The Bai family didn't know what to say to impress the two of them, so she quickly decided to run away. She pulled up Bai Rou'er who was still mumbling indignantly, "It's obviously a gift, how can you ask for money? It's hot now, shouldn't the clothes for this season be prepared long ago?"

Bai glared at Bai Rouer in reproach. It was already this late and she was still worrying about trivial matters like clothes and jewelry.

Soon, she will realize that clothes and jewelry are no small matter.

The mother and daughter said goodbye and left dejectedly.

Qiao Lili and the old Duke's wife also knew that this marriage could not be easily cancelled. The old Duke's wife was thinking, how could the Bai family not be greedy for Lili? After all, there was no lady in the capital who was prettier and more dignified than her granddaughter.

However, Qiao Lili knew that they had a big plan against her, and even Lou Xinyue's arrival was related to that plan. How could they ask her to cancel the engagement? They were probably thinking about how to get married as quickly as possible.

*

Bai Shi pulled Bai Rouer and staggered to the gate of the Duke's Mansion, wanting to climb into her own carriage and return home.

Qiao Lili had bought the carriage for them. It had three fat and strong horses, and the harnesses were inlaid with shiny brass. The carriage was made of rosewood, with carved windows, Xiangfei bamboo curtains, and golden bells hanging on the four corners. The carriage was very spacious, with a small rosewood table with a grid, snacks and tea, and fixed candlesticks. There were soft cushions on the seats, and a wool carpet on the floor of the carriage. Every detail was thoughtful and exquisite.

No one escorted the mother and daughter out of the mansion, not even a maid to lead the way. Fortunately, they often came and went in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and were familiar with the route. As soon as they stepped out of the threshold, the door closed behind them, and the carriage that had been parked at the door to bring them in also started moving.

"Stop, where are you going? Stop immediately and let us get in." Bai shouted to the driver urgently.

The coachman was also transferred by Qiao Lili from the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and the monthly salary was paid by Qiao Lili.

"The eldest lady told me to go back to the mansion and arranged new work for me." After the driver said this to Bai, he raised his whip and drove the carriage away. The carriage without the master took the back door back to the mansion and went directly to the stable.

It had just rained, and when the carriage passed through the puddles on the road, the splashing mud and water soaked the two people's dresses. The originally bright and beautiful mother and daughter instantly looked like pheasants that had just rolled in the mud.

No matter how they shouted and the driver promised to give them money if he could send them back, he ignored them and walked away without looking back.

Xia He, who had just come to deliver a message to the coachman, saw all this through the crack in the door, and smiled secretly with her hands covering her mouth. She would definitely describe it in detail to the young lady when she got back to make her happy.

If they couldn't call the driver, it was not impossible to ask for the carriage of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion to send them there. Otherwise, the original carriage would not have been called back. The gate was tightly closed. If they dared to knock on the door, the gatekeeper might say something unpleasant.

They had no choice but to walk, hoping to stop a carriage from an acquaintance on the road, or ask a runner to go to a coachman's shop to hire a carriage.

The mansion of Duke Dingguo was too big. To go out of the mansion was a big challenge for the mother and daughter who were wearing soft-soled embroidered shoes.

In front of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, there is a gravel road that is wide enough for four carriages to pass. After a while, the various angular stones rubbed the soles of the mother and daughter's shoes, and then their feet were also rubbed. When the mother and daughter went out today, they planned to go to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion to humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. They were afraid of losing face in front of the servants, so they didn't even bring a personal maid.

Half an hour had passed when the mother and daughter, supporting each other, walked to the main road, leaving bloody footprints step by step. This was thanks to Bai picking up a stick from the roadside to support them.

Half an hour later, the two men sat on a stone pier beside the road in a dishevel. They called a little beggar who was squatting on the street to beg, gave him ten copper coins, and asked him to run errands for the car dealership. Running errands for passers-by is also a stable source of daily income for the little beggars. They will usually complete the task with credit, because after returning from completing the task, they will receive a reward.

But today, the mother and daughter encountered something unusual. After two incense sticks of time, the little beggar did not come back. He took the money and never came back.

With no other choice, the mother and daughter spent another ten copper coins and called another little beggar to go. Then, this little beggar also left and never came back.

When the third little beggar failed to call a carriage, the mother and daughter finally realized what was going on. Even if they sent all the little beggars in the area away, there would be no carriage.

Of course all this was arranged by Qiao Lili. How could she let them return to the Bai Mansion happily? Wouldn't it be better to wait until the drama over there reached its climax before going back?