Bai Qingqing gently poked Bai Rui's waist from behind, "Don't make a scene, it's not something to be proud of."

  "Sis, people like him deserve to lose face. Don't worry, just hide behind me."

  Bai Qingqing helplessly stepped further behind Bai Rui, so that Fu Yi couldn't even see the hem of her clothes.

  Fu Yi, not wanting to say more to Bai Rui, introduced himself and explained that he meant no harm, feeling guilty for having frightened Bai Qingqing. He promised to come by another day to apologize in person.

  "No need for apologies. Just don't let me see you disturbing my sister again."

  Bai Rui waited until Fu Yi had walked far enough before turning to face his sister. "Sis, it's fine now. In the future, take more people with you when you go out."

  Bai Qingqing smiled and nodded, suddenly asking him, "Didn't you say you had an appointment today? How come you're here?"

  "Don't even mention it. The manor I was supposed to visit got taken over by the Jin Yi Wei at the last minute. They showed no regard for personal ties. You have no idea how intimidating they are, huh!"

  Bai Rui vividly described the situation, but then noticed Bai Qingqing shuddering. He immediately fell silent, "It's my bad for saying that. Did I scare you? It's not as bad as it sounds. As long as you don't get in trouble and fall into their hands, they’re just paper tigers."

  "I... I’m a bit tired. I’ll head back to the manor first. You shouldn’t stay out too late either, don’t make Father angry."

  Bai Qingqing quickly got into the carriage, and Bai Rui, feeling somewhat regretful, thought that his elder sister was timid and he shouldn’t have told her those things. Maybe he should buy her something to make up for it.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Inside the carriage, Bai Qingqing closed her eyes and leaned against the side, her face pale, clearly still shaken.

  Those people weren’t paper tigers at all. They were the Emperor’s fiercest tigers, ready to tear a family apart with a single flash of their fangs!

  Heaven had given her a second chance, not to live carefree, and she had no intention of seeking revenge on the Fu family. She just didn’t want to see the Bai family fall into ruin again, nor did she want her father to be wrongfully accused again!

  But in her past life, she hadn’t understood the full story. All she knew was that the Bai family had been charged with treason, and everyone in the family had been arrested. She had fainted at the news.

  She had begged Fu Yi to help the Bai family, but all he said was to be cautious and that he would look into the matter. Bai Qingqing had trusted him, but the next day she learned that Fu Yi had gone on a long trip, personally going to fetch Lu Qingyun to the Wang residence.

  How laughable! Her legally married husband, when her family was in crisis, thought only of his childhood sweetheart...

  Bai Qingqing took a deep breath and calculated the time. It would be a few more years before the Bai family’s downfall. Although she didn’t know all the details, she couldn’t just sit back and wait. She had to find a way to help the Bai family avoid this disaster.

  When they were nearly home, the carriage suddenly stopped. Zidai went out to check and quickly returned. "Miss, there’s a carriage blocking the road up ahead. Our carriage can’t get through."

  Bai Qingqing lifted the curtain and saw a carriage parked under a tree by the side of the road, but there was no one inside.

  "It’s fine. Let’s walk past it."

  They got off the carriage, and Zidai, muttering to herself, complained, "I don’t know whose carriage this is, but it’s so rude, causing the miss to get off and walk in this cold weather..."

  Bai Qingqing, who was very close to Zidai, couldn’t help but tease her when she heard the complaint, "Zidai, have you ever heard a rumor?"

  "What rumor?"

  "There’s a rumor that someone once saw a strange carriage, one that appeared and disappeared without a trace, with no one driving it. Some curious people decided to peek inside to see who was in it. So they mustered up the courage to lift the curtain, and guess what they saw?"