Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 981

Chapter 981: Chapter 977: Come Back

"Mother, you’re showing your emotions too clearly," Bai Qingyan said softly.

Seeing that the palace maids and eunuchs had already left the hall, Mrs. Dong put down her chopsticks, dabbed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes red, and denied, "It’s just that Ah Jue, and the younger ones are about to go to the southern borders. I’m just reluctant to let them go, what emotions?"

"In that case, Kid brought you such a beautiful parrot, at least take a look..." Bai Qingyan glanced at the parrot hanging under the corridor. The parrot flapped its wings, its vibrant feathers shining in the sunlight, drawing the attention of the little palace maids and eunuchs.

Bai Qingyan looked outside again, ensuring no one was around, then gently reminded Mrs. Dong, "Mother, although we can see him, you mustn’t reveal too much emotion. The palace maids and eunuchs here are very astute. For A Yu’s safety, you must restrain yourself. Just seeing A Yu and knowing he’s well is enough. Even Nanny Qin mustn’t know A Yu’s identity!"

Mrs. Dong immediately gathered her spirits. With her son’s safety at stake, she had to control her emotions, just like during the palace banquet.

"Seeing A Yu will already make me very satisfied!" Mrs. Dong held back tears and said to Bai Qingyan with a smile, "I will restrain my emotions; even Nanny Qin won’t be able to detect anything."

Bai Qingyan held Mrs. Dong’s hand, "Kid believes in you! You should eat something first. I’ve been to court early this morning and I’m already very hungry. If you don’t start, I certainly won’t dare to eat."

Mrs. Dong chuckled at Bai Qingyan’s words, poked her lightly on the forehead, and personally filled a bowl of porridge for her, "Nanny Qin made this early this morning, saying that since you worked hard at court, she added some powdered gastrodia. Have some more."

"Alright..." She smiled and nodded, accepting the bowl of porridge from her mother’s hands.

The porridge was not yet finished when someone outside reported that the Ghost Mask Prince had arrived.

Bai Qingyan glanced at the porridge bowl in her hand and said to Wei Zhong, "We haven’t finished our breakfast here, why don’t you ask the Rong’s Ghost Mask Prince if he would like to join us?"

Wei Zhong was quite surprised, looked at Mrs. Dong, and seeing her smiling without objection, immediately stepped out to invite the Ghost Mask Prince in.

Bai Qingyu tightly gripped the hem of his robe, turned to instruct Apulu to wait outside the hall, then stepped over the threshold of Shouhe Palace.

"This way, please..." Wei Zhong gestured for Bai Qingyu to enter the hall.

"Foreign minister greets the Empress Dowager of Zhou and the Emperor!" Bai Qingyu’s hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out, startling the vibrant blue parrot under the porch into a loud squawk.

"Nanny Qin, take this creature away..." Mrs. Dong, unable to contain herself, lashed out to mask her heartache. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Nanny Qin quickly complied, instructing two young eunuchs to move away the parrot given by Li Zhijie.

Mrs. Dong clenched her garment tightly, looking at Bai Qingyu, trying hard to control her emotions.

"Please sit, Prince!" Bai Qingyan gestured to Bai Qingyu to take a seat.

Bai Qingyu lowered his eyes, not daring to look at his mother, and sat beside the round table.

Under the table, Bai Qingyan held Mrs. Dong’s trembling hand, speaking to Bai Qingyu, "I wonder if the Prince has had breakfast? If not, would you care to join us?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but I have eaten," Bai Qingyu replied, not daring to remove his mask in front of his mother and elder sister, lest they see his face.

Mrs. Dong assumed Bai Qingyu was hiding his identity and nodded, "Since the Prince has eaten, we won’t insist."

Bai Qingyu of the Bai family, safely returned...

These words were what Bai Qingyan wished to say, what the whole Bai family longed to hear.

But at this moment...

Bai Qingyu could not speak them out loud.

He could only bow thrice to his mother and sister.

Mrs. Dong could not hold back any longer, rushing to Bai Qingyu as tears streaming down her face, biting her lip to stop herself from sobbing. She reached out with trembling hands, yearning to touch her son’s face but dared not remove his mask, fearful someone might see. Instead, she held him tightly in her arms, clutching him as if afraid he might disappear again, terrified it was all just a dream from which she’d wake to find herself alone.

Bai Qingyu gritted his teeth, embracing his mother...

When he left home, his mother wanted to hug him, but he felt he had grown up and was impatient with her embrace.

Yet later, among the Rongs, every time he drifted into dreams, he found himself in his mother’s embrace, his sister’s smile.

Today, he had finally returned, but it was not yet time to declare peace.

He would present the alliance with Rong and Xiliang as a gift for his sister’s ascension. On the day the world was united, he would return openly and kneel before his mother, sister, and the Bai family, declaring... safely returned.