Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 202 - 200 Concern Leads to Chaos_1

Chapter 202: Chapter 200: Concern Leads to Chaos_1

Chapter 202 -200: Concern Leads to Chaos_1

The young man nodded slightly, neither humble nor arrogant, giving an impression of profound steadiness. His voice was extremely gentle and courteous. “Please lead the way.”

Though at a young age, he possessed such demeanor. Wang Jiuzhou speculated that this young man must be a well-raised nobleman from an aristocratic family, thus treating him with even more humility and respect.

Leading the young man into Xiao Rongyan’s study, Wang Jiuzhou then retreated.

Xiao Rongyan was sitting by the stove, holding a chess piece in one hand and a book in the other, his eyes lowered to study the chessboard before him, without even glancing at the young man.

The young man remained patient, standing quietly at the door, openly scrutinizing Xiao Rongyan, with a somewhat proud posture characteristic of a noble youth.

This young man was none other than Bai Qingjue, the seventh son of the Duke’s Bai family and elder brother to the seventeenth, Xiao Shi.

The water in the teapot on the stove boiled over, dripping onto the charcoal, making a sputtering sound.

Only then did Xiao Rongyan close the book in his hand and place it on the small table beside him. He picked up the teapot with a cloth, poured two cups of tea, and asked, “Do you play chess?”

“A bit.” Bai Qingjue replied openly and generously.

The sons of the Bai family were all exceptional. Even in times of hardship, they could not conceal their inherent pride and distinction.

Xiao Rongyan looked up towards the young man, pointed to the opposite side of the chessboard, and smiled. “Sit.”

Bai Qingjue did not stand on ceremony, lifting his robe gracefully to kneel and sit across from Xiao Rongyan.

Xiao Rongyan poured a cup of tea for Bai Qingjue, who was looking down at the chessboard. Detecting a faint scent of blood from the young man, he guessed the boy might be injured, but he had not shown any sign of it earlier.

“Is the young lord from Jin?” Xiao Rongyan asked with a smile.

Bai Qingjue lifted his gaze from the chessboard to the graceful and elegant Xiao Rongyan, nodded, and responded truthfully. “Yes.”

“A noble son?” Xiao Rongyan asked again.

“Accompanying my father on a campaign. I did not expect the Jin Army to suffer a great defeat. Fortunately, a slave trader saved my life.” Bai Qingjue answered candidly but did not intend to reveal his name.

Xiao Rongyan nodded, placing the teapot back on the stove, and closely observed the young man’s expressions. “I am Xiao Rongyan, a merchant from Wei. Recently, I accompanied the Crown Prince of Jin leading fifty thousand reinforcements to the southern border and arrived at Wanping City.”

“The Crown Prince?” Bai Qingjue looked up, with some confusion in his eyes.

“He was formerly the King of Qi!” Xiao Rongyan patiently explained.

It seemed this young man, being saved after his injury, remained unaware of the news from Jin. It was understandable that he did not know the King of Qi was now the Crown Prince.

Xiao Rongyan looked into Bai Qingjue’s eyes, which were very similar to Bai Qingyan’s. He lowered his gaze and said, “The young lord might not know that the King Xin, who used the gold command arrow to coerce King Zhen into a campaign, has now been demoted to a commoner.”

Bai Qingjue’s eyes stayed calm as he gazed at Xiao Rongyan, radiating an elegant poise.

“The Duke of Zhen has been posthumously honored as the King of Zhen. Though King Xin falsely accused him of military negligence, who would have thought that a loyal Bai family servant would return with bamboo slips recording the campaign? Miss Bai, carrying these slips, struck the drum of justice, compelling the Emperor of Jin to redress the injustice against the Bai family with the support of popular sentiment.”

Upon hearing Xiao Rongyan mention his elder sister, Bai Qingjue’s gaze deepened. He struggled to suppress his surging emotions, striving to maintain a composed expression.

His elder sister, with such frail health, struck the drum of justice?

Yet, it was indeed within her nature to do such a thing. He just didn’t know how she was faring now.

Xiao Rongyan caressed the edge of his teacup, looking at the calm and composed Bai Qingjue with great interest. He admired that indeed, each descendant of the Bai family was exceptional. Despite being merely fifteen or sixteen, he maintained such steadiness and composure, befitting his family name.

“Speaking of Miss Bai, she is truly a remarkable woman, no less capable than men.” Xiao Rongyan spoke slowly. “This time, she followed the Crown Prince into the campaign, wearing iron sandbags while marching with the troops. She personally retrieved the bow of the Sun! In the battle of Wengshan, with only fifty thousand Jin soldiers, she annihilated over one hundred thousand Xiliang soldiers in Wengshan Canyon! Can the young lord see the flames from Wengshan? The burning there is the corpses of the Xiliang soldiers.”

Bai Qingjue unconsciously clenched his teeth, his spirit trembling. He felt the blood rushing to his head. How did his elder sister come to the southern border? And how did she march with the troops wearing iron sandbags?

He clenched his robe tightly. Did the Emperor force his elder sister?

No… With his elder sister’s intellect, she wouldn’t have yielded to the Emperor’s coercion if she hadn’t wanted to.

But with her health, how could she go to war? Could neither their grandmother nor their eldest aunt stop her?

Bai Qingjue’s mind was in turmoil. His slightly hurried breathing betrayed his emotions. He clenched and then slowly released his hand on his knee, stabilizing his emotions. The news might not be true after all; he was just disturbed by his concern.

Looking at the elegant and handsome Xiao Rongyan seated opposite, with a scholarly demeanor, it was hard for Bai Qingjue to believe such a refined gentleman was a businessman steeped in money. Therefore, Bai Qingjue did not fully believe Xiao Rongyan’s identity.

Xiao Rongyan put down the teacup. “I forgot to ask, young lord, you protected that girl today. Are you acquainted with her?”

“No, I wasn’t. Being both from Jin, I couldn’t stand by and watch her suffer disgrace.” Bai Qingjue looked deeply at Xiao Rongyan. “Why did Mr. Xiao buy me?”

“I am a businessman. In the future, I will naturally deal with the noble families of Jin. Seeing your extraordinary demeanor and exceptional skills, you must be from a noble family. I wished to form a good relationship, so I invited you here.” Xiao Rongyan used polite words, saying “invite” instead of “buy.” “May I ask which family the young lord is from? So I can arrange for someone to send you back to Jin. Of course, if it is inconvenient for you to disclose your family background, I will not press you. Should we meet again in the future, I hope you won’t hold my business background against me and will share a drink with me.”

Xiao Rongyan did not mention his family but specifically noted his grandfather, the Duke’s residence, and his elder sister. Bai Qingjue understood that Xiao Rongyan probably already knew he was a son of the Bai family.

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Bai Qingjue was wise and understood Xiao Rongyan’s implied meaning.

Bai Qingjue lifted his cup, toasting to Xiao Rongyan. “I am indebted to you. I will repay the debt myself and will not involve my family. I hope you understand.”

Since Xiao Rongyan did not explicitly state his identity, he did not intend to reveal it. However, the Bai family always repaid kindness. Therefore, after the slave trader saved him, he did not run away, letting himself be sold.

Originally, he planned to repay the kindness and leave, as long as the buyer did not make him do anything disgraceful.

Unexpectedly, he was saved by Xiao Rongyan, a wealthy merchant from Wei, whose name was well-known. Bai Qingjue had heard of him.