In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

Chapter 949 Zhao Bingyu: Bai Yansong, you owe me

"What are you thinking? Are you trying to bribe me?"

Bai Yansong interrupted her, his voice suddenly rising, as the resentment that had been building up for more than a decade suddenly erupted.

"You want me to look like a clown, taking your money and haggling with my daughter?"

"Go and force her to give up what she deserves, so that you and your worthless bastard child can be together?"

"He's not a bastard!"

Zhao Bingyu was stung by this harsh remark and immediately retorted in a shrill voice.

"He is my son too!"

"Your son?"

Bai Yansong suddenly stood up, looking down at her intently, his eyes bloodshot.

"What about Bai Lu? What about Bai Chuyao, Bai Liezhao, and Bai Qingze? Aren't they your own flesh and blood?"

"You abandoned your husband and daughter and disappeared for more than ten years. Did you ever send them even a single word of greeting?"

"Now, for the sake of another son, you have the nerve to come back and make me... your enemy, make things difficult for your neglected daughter!"

"Zhao Bingyu, what is your heart made of?!"

Zhao Bingyu's face turned pale and then flushed.

She couldn't understand how the man, who had been so tender and affectionate just moments before, could suddenly become so repulsive.

"Bai Yansong, are you crazy! When have I ever ignored them?"

Zhao Bingyu also stood up and retorted without backing down.

"Have I earned enough money over the years? Their luxurious lives, aren't they all thanks to my earnings?"

"If it weren't for me, would the Bai family have achieved its current glory?"

"What can you do besides recite a few lines from the classics, you incompetent man?"

"If it weren't for me, your political enemies would have devoured you until there wasn't even a bone left!"

"Excellent, what a life of luxury!"

He was so angry that he was trembling all over, pointing at Zhao Bingyu, his fingers shaking.

"Do you think giving them some money makes you a mother? When have you ever held them? When have you ever taught them to write... Never mind, I'm irresponsible too. Let's not judge each other. The elder brother doesn't laugh at the younger brother!"

"All you care about is your business, your trade routes, and your Western Regions!"

In your heart, all of us are nothing more than a burden on your business book that you can discard at any time!

"That's nice to say!"

Zhao Bingyu sneered, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Bai Yansong, it seems you do have some self-awareness... Don't act so high and mighty!"

"When you were enjoying the wealth and luxury I brought you, why didn't you feel that I was a burden?"

"Now that I'm down on my luck, I'm asking you for a small favor, and this is the kind of attitude you put on!"

"You just hate me, hate that I'm stronger than you, hate that I didn't let you, a grown man, act like a tyrant!"

"I hate you?"

Bai Yansong gave a bitter laugh, a laugh filled with sorrow.

"Yes, I hate you!"

"You came to see me today not out of any old feelings, but because you see me as your last card to play!"

"Once you've used it all, will you just leave like you did more than a decade ago?"

The atmosphere between the two was tense.

Looking at the man in front of her, whose eyes were bloodshot and who seemed to be insane, Zhao Bingyu felt nothing but disgust.

She finally understood that she couldn't count on this man at all.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and resumed her aloof businesswoman demeanor.

"Bai Yansong, that's all I have to say. I've taken your words to heart."

She straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and said coldly.

"Whether you help or not, it's up to you."

"If you don't help, I'll leave immediately, and from now on, we'll be completely cut off from all ties and have nothing to do with each other again."

"Severing all ties?"

Bai Yansong murmured these four words repeatedly, then suddenly burst into laughter.

As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Fine! What a fine way to sever all ties! Zhao Bingyu, you've finally said those words!"

He abruptly stopped laughing, stared intently at her, and said, word by word:

"Listen to me carefully. I won't help you with this."

"Even if I, Bai Yansong, am destitute and die far from home, I will never do anything for you again!"

Whether you and your precious son live or die is none of my business!

Zhao Bingyu's face darkened completely.

"You wronged me back then! If you hadn't taken a concubine, I wouldn't have almost died in childbirth, Bailu wouldn't have been living on the streets, and we wouldn't be like this now!"

"How dare you say you're not going to care about me now?!"

"Let me tell you, Bai Yansong, you'll owe me a debt you'll never forget!!"

Zhao Bingyu's words, "You owe me for the rest of your life," struck Bai Yansong like a thunderbolt.

All his anger got stuck in his throat at that moment.

The face, flushed with excitement, quickly lost its color and turned deathly pale.

Yes, he owes her.

How could he forget that he had made a mistake back then and taken that concubine into the family?

This incident triggered Zhao Bingyu's impending delivery, causing her to have a premature birth and postpartum hemorrhage, narrowly escaping death.

It was that chaos that caused Bailu, their poor daughter who had just been born, to be left to wander outside and suffer for more than a decade.

That was a stain he could never wash away in his entire life.

It was his deepest nightmare when he woke up in the middle of the night.

Zhao Bingyu's resolute departure, the resentment and estrangement of her children... the subsequent disintegration of the Bai family ultimately stemmed from his own actions.

He thought time could heal all wounds, and that he had already paid the price for the years he had been demoted.

But when Zhao Bingyu stared at him with those icy eyes and said those words, he realized that some debts can never be repaid in a lifetime.

The air in the lobby seemed to freeze.

Bai Yansong slumped back into his chair, covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders trembled violently.

Suppressed, painful sobs escaped from between his fingers.

Zhao Bingyu watched his breakdown with a cold gaze, feeling immense pleasure in her heart.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Yansong's sobs gradually subsided.

He slowly lowered his hand.

"it is good......"

He uttered only one word.

Zhao Bingyu raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

Bai Yansong stood up, bowed deeply to Zhao Bingyu, his waist almost parallel to the ground.

"What happened back then was something I did wrong to you, and even more so to Bailu."

"You're right, I owe you. I'll repay that debt."

He slowly straightened up, but avoided Zhao Bingyu's gaze.

“I can… go with you to pray for the White Dew.”

"but,"

Bai Yansong then changed the subject.

"I must make the unpleasant things clear upfront."

He turned around and finally dared to look Zhao Bingyu in the eye.

In those cloudy eyes, only endless sorrow remained.

"Don't expect me to have any influence as a father anymore. As for Bailu, that child... she hasn't acknowledged me for a long time."

"...She has never set foot in my house. In her heart, the bond between us father and daughter has long been severed."

"I'm going there to pay off the debts I owe... Whether she listens or not, whether she's willing or not, is not something I can control."

Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on fate.

"If you're still willing to let me go, I'll swallow my pride and go with you."

After he finished speaking, he stood there in silence.

Zhao Bingyu sighed as she looked at his utterly dejected expression.

The original purpose was to have him persuade Bai Lu, but we didn't have high hopes for how well he could persuade her.

Now that he has agreed, he has achieved half of his goal.

"it is good."

Zhao Bingyu nodded.

She didn't say thank you because she felt he deserved it.

Bai Yansong gave a bitter smile, a smile that was even more unsightly than a cry.

"Let's go."

As night deepened, the streets of the capital city became increasingly deserted.

Under the cover of night, a simple and unassuming carriage slowly drove towards the south of the city.

Bai Yansong and Zhao Bingyu sat at opposite ends of the carriage, and the two remained silent ever since they boarded.

Bai Yansong leaned against the car wall with his eyes closed, his face ashen.

Zhao Bingyu sat upright, her gaze fixed on the rapidly receding street scene through the car window.

The carriage eventually stopped in front of a vermilion gate.

Two simple lanterns hung beside the door, their light hazy.

The driver jumped off the carriage and was about to knock on the door when Bai Yansong's hoarse voice came from inside: "Wait."

He was the first to get off the carriage, stood in front of the gate, and looked up at the familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard.

He knew this was his daughter's home, but he had never been able to step inside.

Standing here now, he felt even more pathetic than a stranger.

Zhao Bingyu also got out of the car and stood beside him.

"how?"

She asked, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.

"I'll go in first."

Bai Yansong didn't look at her; his voice was low and hollow.

"You... wait outside."

"If she is willing to see me, I will send someone out to call you."

"If she won't even see me..."

Zhao Bingyu's heart tightened.

She looked at the man's hunched back and nodded, tacitly agreeing.

Bai Yansong walked to the door, and without having a servant announce his arrival, he personally raised his slightly trembling hand, grasped the cold brass ring, and knocked on the door.

"Boom, boom, boom."

After the three calls, he stood quietly to the side with his hands at his sides, waiting patiently.

Footsteps soon came from inside the door, and the door creaked open a crack.

A young maid opened the door. Seeing a haggard-looking, unfamiliar middle-aged man standing outside, she looked at him with suspicion: "Who are you looking for?"

"I......"

Bai Yansong's throat bobbed as he struggled to utter a few words.

"I'm looking for Bai Lu."

“I am...her father.”

The maid was stunned and looked him up and down.

She hadn't been in the household for long and had never heard the Marquis mention his father.

But judging from this person's clothes and demeanor, he was not an ordinary person.

She dared not make the decision on her own, and could only say, "Please wait a moment, I will go and inform the Marquis."

The door was closed again, shutting Bai Yansong out.

Inside the mansion, in the study.

Bai Lu is looking at the account book under the lamp.

The young maidservant hurried in and cautiously reported, "My lord, there is a gentleman outside requesting an audience. He says... he says he is your father."

Bai Lu's fingers, which were turning the pages of the ledger, suddenly stopped.

She slowly raised her head.

Father?

This word felt as distant to her as something from a past life.

Why has he come tonight?

"Let him in."

Bai Lu's voice was devoid of emotion, unusually calm.

She put down the ledger, stood up, walked to the window, and pushed open the carved wooden window.

A cool evening breeze blew in, ruffling her hair.

A moment later, footsteps approached and stopped at the door of the study.

"My lord, the person has been brought."

"You go down."

Bai Lu did not turn back.

After the maid left, the study fell into a deathly silence.

Bai Yansong stood at the door, looking at the slender figure standing by the window. It was his daughter, yet he felt a terrifying sense of unfamiliarity with her.

He had a thousand words stuck in his throat, but he couldn't utter a single one.

That deep sense of guilt was like a boulder, pressing down on him and making it hard for him to breathe.

In the end, it was Bailu who spoke first.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

There were no titles, no greetings, just a businesslike question.

Bai Yansong was deeply hurt by those words.

He forced a bitter smile, stepped into the study, and said in a hoarse, strained voice, "Bai Lu, I..."

Just then, a burst of clear and lively laughter came from outside.

"Sister January is probably still looking at the accounts. Let's sneak in and give her a fright!"

"No, no, if you scare Sister Yiyue, then there won't be any snacks for dinner!"

"Sister March is right, let's obediently go in and pay our respects..."

Seven beautiful girls, hand in hand, skipped and hopped into the courtyard.

The sudden commotion stunned the three people inside and outside the study.

Zhao Bingyu, who had been anxiously waiting outside the door, saw the seven girls first.

When Zhao Bingyu saw the untroubled, well-protected smiles on their faces, her heart was suddenly pierced with pain.

Her daughter had never smiled at her like that before.

A thought flashed through her mind: it might be difficult to get help from Bai Lu herself, but starting with her daughters might offer a better chance!

July, with her sharp eyes, was the first to spot Zhao Bingyu standing in the shadow of the eaves. She immediately stopped and cautiously pulled her sisters aside: "Look, there's someone over there."

Six pairs of eyes turned to look at it simultaneously.

Zhao Bingyu took a deep breath and completely dropped her airs of a noble lady.

She forced out what she considered to be the gentlest and kindest smile and took a few steps forward.

"Girls, don't be afraid, I mean no harm."

The girls exchanged glances, their faces full of wariness.

"I...I am your maternal grandmother..."

Don't you recognize me?

The seven girls shook their heads in unison, "We don't know you! We've never seen you before!"

"???"

"But we've met before!"

We have absolutely no recollection of the seven little moons. "Maybe we've just seen them too infrequently. Maybe one or two? We can't remember!"

After saying that, the girls were about to leave.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Zhao Bingyu became anxious and didn't care about anything else.

She lowered her stance and said in an almost pleading tone, "I am... I am your Marquis's mother!"

"I know she doesn't want to see me right now. Could you please help me send a message saying that I have something extremely urgent and I need her to come out and see me?"

"I really am your maternal grandmother, and your mother's mother!"

"If you don't believe me, just let her come out and see me!"