"Mother, rest assured, on this journey... I might actually be the safest." Bai Qingyan analyzed with Mrs. Dong, "The Monarchs of Zhou, Yan, and Xiliang are all present. Should the Tianfeng Kingdom act during the alliance meeting, not to mention Xiliang, it would certainly incite public anger in Zhou and Yan. By then... soldiers from both countries will fight to the death, and the Tianfeng Kingdom relying only on the Elephant Army, with two fists hard to beat four legs... may not be able to withstand them. No matter how rampant, the Tianfeng Kingdom wouldn’t dare act rashly without understanding the strengths of Zhou and Yan!"
Mrs. Dong nodded. She didn’t understand matters on the battlefield but trusted Bai Qingyan: "No matter what, always remember you are expecting; you must be extremely careful!"
"Mother, rest assured!" Bai Qingyan clasped her mother’s hand and said with a smile, "How are the wedding preparations going for Chen Qingsheng and Chun Tao?"
"Nanny Qin and Nanny Tong have gone to help. Rest assured... Chun Tao’s dowry is all ready, and in two days, we’ll definitely give Chun Tao a grand and magnificent wedding." Mrs. Dong gently patted Bai Qingyan’s hand. Chun Tao’s marriage was also a settled matter for which Mrs. Dong had to account to the wet nurse.
"Speaking of which, once Chun Tao and Chen Qingsheng are married, you should give them more time together. Don’t send Chen Qingsheng far away right after they get married." Mrs. Dong advised.
"Mother, rest assured! This time I’ll definitely let Chen Qingsheng spend quality time with Chun Tao, without separating the couple." Bai Qingyan said with a smile.
On November 23rd, an auspicious day for marriages, is the day Chun Tao is getting married.
Mrs. Dong’s wet nurse had passed away, and Chun Tao grew up in the Bai family. To Chun Tao, the eldest daughter and the other madams of the Bai family are her family.
Bai Qingyan asked Chun Tao where she wanted to depart from for her marriage, and Chun Tao said she wanted to get married from the Bai Mansion.
Firstly, to prevent causing trouble for Bai Qingyan from marrying from the palace, and secondly, because of her affection for the Bai Mansion where she grew up. Thus, Bai Qingyan granted Chun Tao’s request.
Bai Qingyan couldn’t easily leave the palace, but the day before the marriage, she specifically called Chen Qingsheng to the palace to remind him to treat Chun Tao well.
After the morning court session, without Chun Tao by her side, she inevitably felt a bit empty.
The old servant of the Bai family... even Shen Qingzhu returned to the Bai Mansion to send off Chun Tao.
Standing under the veranda, she squinted at the dazzling autumn sun, calculated that there was still time, and thus, disregarding Wei Zhong’s dissuasion, changed into ordinary clothes and secretly rode a carriage back to the Bai Mansion to send off Chun Tao.
That day, the Bai Mansion was bustling. Even though Chun Tao was just a maid, she was the daughter of the Empress Dowager’s wet nurse, and she grew up together with the current Empress. Although the Empress Dowager and the Her Majesty couldn’t leave the palace, they repeatedly instructed to organize Chun Tao’s wedding well. How could the Bai Mansion not make an effort?
Several madams sent their experienced and steady nannies over; Nanny Qin, from the Empress Dowager’s side, and Nanny Tong, from the Empress’s side, were there too, bringing added gifts from the Empress Dowager and Empress for Chun Tao and making her up.
In private, Nanny Tong also handed Chun Tao the fields, shops, house deeds, land deeds, and silver notes that Bai Qingyan secretly gave her. Chun Tao hurriedly declined, saying that all her dowry was arranged by Madam with Nanny Qin’s help, and Bai Qingyan had also contributed.
Nanny Tong patted Chun Tao’s hand and said, "Good child, the visible gifts are on the surface; this is what the eldest daughter prepared for your security! Eldest daughter said you don’t need to hurry back to the palace to serve her right after getting married, you should rest for a few months properly."
Holding in her hands the mahogany box decorated with patterns of a hundred offspring, which Bai Qingyan had Nanny Tong bring—containing fields and properties, shops, and silver notes—Chun Tao burst into tears, clutching the box to her chest.
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