Origin of the Bai Family
In her previous life, Feng Yu Heng knew of an illness that was extremely complicated named “progeria.” This sort of disease had its origin in a mutation of the LMNA gene. Under normal circumstances, the gene could produce nuclear lamins, but once the gene was in short supply in the body, the body would begin to age prematurely.
Aging prematurely was very frightening. This sort of aging was not just reflected in terms of appearance. It also affected the internal organs and skeletal structure, and it weakened the heart. With the weakening of the heart, the skeletal structure and joints along with bone density would all weaken. The bones would also change, becoming similar to those of an elderly person. With just a single fall, fractures could occur very easily.
There was already no way of determining the origin of this disease. It was possible in the modern world, but there was no hope in the ancient world. But if Bai Fu Rong had suffered this illness naturally, she would only feel that it was a bit of a pity, and she would not feel so sorrowful and confused; however, a perfectly healthy person had been given some sort of drug that caused these symptoms to suddenly appear. From there, the symptoms of progeria appeared.
Feng Yu Heng was truly amazed by the amount of research put into medicine by the people of the ancient world. She was also astonished over which side Bai Fu Rong belonged to and why she would end up in this situation.
But it was very clear that now was not the time to discuss this. She made a prompt decision to have Bai Ze carry her over to the bed before pulling out a needle and an infusion kit. First, she gave Bai Fu Rong the most basic medicine to maintain Bai Fu Rong’s condition. Only then did she find some time to listen to what Xuan Tian Ming and Bai Ze speak about what Bai Fu Rong had done along the way.
Bai Ze was rather emotional. Xuan Tian Ming had a bit of an understanding of this, but Feng Yu Heng was quite shocked. It could be seen that people are not emotionless. Even if it was a retainer like Bai Ze or a hidden guard like Ban Zou, being expressionless simply meant that they had not met anyone that was capable of arousing any emotions.
Bai Ze said: “This subordinate has followed her for many months and personally heard her lie to the enemy, saying that princess was still in the capital, causing the enemy to go back. Later on, the enemy tried to coerce her a few more times, but she always told them that she did not know where the imperial daughter had gone. Based on our understanding, there is someone in the capital with control of craftsman Bai. Because of this, the Bai family’s young miss was threatened. She had no choice but to make use of the third young miss’ injured leg to enter the military camp; however, she indeed never did anything that would let down princess or Da Shun.”
When Bai Ze spoke, he was feeling a little guilty, looking at Xuan Tian Ming from time to time. In regards to his actions toward Bai Fu Rong, he did not know what sort of definition could be applied. To them, Bai Fu Rong was a spy sent by the enemy to observe the military. But in reality, Bai Fu Rong did not do anything that a spy should do. Instead, she helped them hide Feng Yu Heng’s actions.
Bai Ze did not know when he started having these unusual feelings toward that girl. Either way, his master told him to pay more attention to her, thus he paid more attention to her, but as he paid attention, something happened. Once that girl’s candid and curious personality made its way into his heart, it was very difficult to get it out again. But as Xuan Tian Ming’s retainer, should he have these sorts of feelings?
Xuan Tian Ming stared at Bai Ze but did not say anything. After all, he had also seen everything that Bai Fu Rong had done along the way. She was guilty, but this guilt was not punishable. Bai Ze had been at his side since he was young. As for the brat’s feelings, long before he himself had even noticed, Xuan Tian Ming was already clear.
Bai Fu Rong’s infusion was nearing its conclusion roughly one hour later; however, Feng Yu Heng helplessly told Bai Ze: “I fear that this is not an illness that I can treat.”
“This…” Bai Ze was startled. It was obvious that he did not think Feng Yu Heng would say this. In his eyes, Feng Yu Heng was a divine doctor, and every illness could be treated. With Bai Fu Rong becoming like this, even if he was feeling anxious, he was not feeling too much despair because Feng Yu Heng was present. But now that she told him that this illness could not be treated, Bai Ze found it a little hard to accept, “Princess, how could that be?”
Feng Yu Heng repeated it once more, “I can’t treat it.” While saying this, she went to pull the needle out of Bai Fu Rong. In truth, it was nothing more than a saline solution with some basic antibiotics. It would be able to provide some momentary comfort but could not save her. “Bai Ze, Fu Rong is my good friend. Not to mention that she did not betray me, but even if she did, I would need to hear her speak to me after she woke up. If a person could be saved, I would definitely save them, but this sudden aging disease is something I am truly stuck on.”
Bai Ze wanted to say a little more; however, Xuan Tian Ming suddenly said from the side: “She moved.”
The group moved to look toward Bai Fu Rong and only saw that the elderly person on the bed slightly opened her eyes. With an exhausted look, there was a look of confusion in her face.
Xuan Tian Ming turned around and said to Feng Yu heng: “She must have something that she wants to tell you. Be careful. I will wait for you in the wing room.” After saying this, he dragged Bai Ze, who was unwilling to leave, out of the room.
In the time that Xuan Tian Ming spoke, Bai Fu Rong’s eyes regained clarity. Although she was still exhausted, she finally regained consciousness.
seeing Xuan Tian Ming and Bai Ze leave, she could not help but reveal a grateful expression. She wanted to reach out to hold Feng Yu Heng’s hand; however, when she raised her hand, guilt caused her to only grab her sleeve.
Feng Yu Heng faintly sighed, putting the infusion set on a nearby table. She then walked over and sat at Bai Fu Rong’s bedside, taking hold of her hand and saying: “We were originally close friends that had no secrets. When did we become so distant?”
The words close friends caused Bai Fu Rong’s mind to wander back to the capital two years earlier. On that day, it was Xuan Tian Ge that had introduced them to each other. She, Fung Tian Yu and Ren Xi Feng felt that they would definitely get along well the moment they saw Feng Yu Heng. At that time, everything was so good, but now…
“A-Heng.” The old and withered voice spoke up, “It’s me that has let you down.” With a bottle of antibiotics, Bai Fu Rong felt much better and had a bit more strength. She controlled herself to hold back her tears, fearing that her already blurry vision would get even worse.
Feng Yu Heng felt extremely uncomfortable at heart when hearing this sound. At first, she wanted to talk about some intimate things between close friends, but there were too many questions in her mind, leading to her blurting out: “Tell me, are the people behind you Qian Zhou or the North?”
In regards to this direct question, Bai Fu Rong was not surprised in the slightest. Feng Yu Heng was a very rational person. This was something that the group of close friends knew. She was even thankful that Feng Yu Heng was being so direct. The things that she had been holding in finally had a chance to be voiced.
Supporting herself, she sat up, and Feng Yu Heng placed a cushion for her to lean on. Bai Fu Rong was a little anxious. Before she even stabilized herself, she began to speak: “The ones behind me come from Qian Zhou. They said that I am the daughter of eldest princess Kang Yi, but I did not believe them. Later on, there was a person named Xiao Jing that found me and gave me half of a jade pendant. that half a piece of jade matched up with the one that I’ve had since I was young. The two fit together, forming a whole.”
She spoke a little urgently, resulting in her coughing for a while. Feng Yu Heng poured her some water and gently said: “We have time. Don’t rush. Take your time.”
Bai Fu Rong, however, shook her head, not accepting the water and only saying: “I don’t. A-Heng, I don’t have much time left. They wanted me to kill you, saying that you would not have your guard up against me. They also said that if I killed you, they would let my dad go.” When she spoke to this point, she seemed to have recalled something, urgently adding: “There are people from Qian Zhou in the capital. I don’t know who it is, but their background is powerful. Ever since that Xiao Jing found me, I was wondering the entire time and could not figure it out. A-Heng, tell his Highness the ninth prince. Tell him to be careful at all times.”
Bai Fu Rong’s emotions were not stable, and her medical condition was truly terrible, which caused her train of thought to not be very clear. Many of the things that she said were just said because she had thought of them. They were incoherent, and she spoke for half the night, but Feng Yu Heng finally managed to piece together the cause and effect of the entire matter.
It turned out that craftsman Bai had traveled the world when he was young, and he had been within Qian Zhou’s border. At that time, he was young, vigorous and filled with pride. He was unhappy with the craftsmanship of an imperial craftsman from Qian Zhou, which led to a competition in skill. In the end, not only did he win, he also captured the heart of a beautiful woman. That beautiful woman was none other than the then princess, Kang Yi.
At that time, craftsman Bai did not know Kang Yi’s true identity, and Kang Yi had only lived in seclusion with him in a small mountain village away from the capital. After the two gave birth to Bai Fu Rong, Qian Zhou’s imperial family had begun its internal strife in earnest. For the sake of helping her younger brother obtain victory over his enemies, she had to leave craftsman Bai before getting married to a new husband many years later.
Craftsman Bai concealed his identity and waited for her for many years until the day that she got married. He then carried Bai Fu Rong and quietly left Qian Zhou for Da Shun. After that, he arrived in the capital of Da Shun and established his foundation, never setting foot in Qian Zhou again.
In regards to all of this, Bai Fu Rong did not know any of this because craftsman Bai had done his best to hide it. Only after Xiao Jing had found her did he tell her a bit of the past, yet she still did not believe it. Later on, Xiao Jing gave her half of the jade pendant, which finally caused her to go back and ask craftsman Bai about his thoughts; however, who knew that craftsman Bai would actually admit it.
No matter what, Bai Fu Rong could not accept that part of the blood flowing in her was from Qian Zhou; moreover, she could not accept that Qian Zhou’s ruler was her uncle. Of course, this was not the worst outcome. What caused Bai Fu Rong to feel afraid the most was that the enemy had taken control of craftsman Bai, using his life to threaten Bai Fu Rong to do Qian Zhou’s bidding. Using her friendship with Feng Yu Heng, she was to provide Qian Zhou with information regarding Feng Yu Heng’s movements.
But she did not want to betray Feng Yu Heng or Da Shun. She only acknowledged one country and one family. After lying and deceiving Qian Zhou a few times, she was finally fed the rapid-aging poison by the enemy and ended up looking like this.
Bai Fu Rong could not understand, asking Feng Yu Heng: “Are Qian Zhou’s people all so heartless? If I really was Kang Yi’s daughter, the ruler of Qian Zhou would be my uncle. How could they be so cruel to me?” But as she spoke, she began to smile bitterly, “It was me that was too naive. The imperial family is heartless. Brothers are even able to kill each other, much less a niece like me.” Bai Fu Rong spoke for half the night. She was already exhausted to her limits, as she slowly closed her eyes. The hand that had been tightly clasping Feng Yu Heng’s reluctantly let go, as she fell into a deep sleep.
At this time, Bai Ze carried breakfast into the room. Pushing the door open, he happened to see Bai Fu Rong’s hand fall. His body trembled, and his nose suddenly began to burn.