Chapter 286.1: Paying Respects to Mother

“Then what about Baili Yiling?” Tang Doudou suddenly recalled that Baili Yu still had a younger sister. Could it be that she was Lan Jia’s daughter as well?
Baili Yu chuckled. “Yiling is my younger sister, but she’s not Lan Jia’s daughter.”
Huh…
“When I was in the inn, Lan Jia told me that your parents were the Saint Maiden of the Saint Tribe and Xiqiu Qing of the previous dynasty? Were those also lies?”
“Yiling’s father is Uncle Xiqiu.” A complicated expression appeared in Baili Yu’s eyes.
Tang Doudou finally understood. So it turns out that he was half siblings with that Baili Yiling, but both of them took their mother’s surname. She couldn’t help but become curious about Baili Yu’s mother.
What kind of woman was she?
However, Baili Yu didn’t continue talking about this. Those memories were probably very painful for him.
“Oh, that’s right, I encountered Yan Nansheng earlier.” When Baili Yiling was brought up, she recalled Yan Nansheng and told Baili Yu about everything that had occured in the cabin, but his expression didn’t change at all.
Based on his tone, he seemed to like Baili Yiling quite a lot, so why was he so unperturbed when hearing what happened to Yan Nansheng?
“Yan Nansheng is Lan Jia’s daughter, she’s not Yiling.” Baili Yu sighed. “It’s very complicated. I’ll slowly explain it to you once we get back.”
Tang Doudou agreed with the course of action, because things didn’t sound just complicated, it sounded like a complete mess. There was no way she would be able to understand things in a short amount of time with her IQ.
He wasn’t the only one that had a complicated past though, her own identity seemed also extremely complicated. It was a good thing she wasn’t the real Li Xueyi, otherwise she probably would’ve been driven mad from all the secrets.
Baili Yu seemed very familiar with this place. He deftly led Tang Doudou through the winding corridors to a large desolate palace. The moment he pushed open the doors, they were greeted by a moldy smell.
Tang Doudou hastily covered her nose as she fanned away that smell. “What is this place?”
“It’s Mother’s Tranquil Note Palace.”
“Why would the Saint Maiden of the Saint Tribes marry into the Imperial City?” After the door was opened for a while, the strong smell of mold finally weakened. She followed Baili Yu into the palace and discovered that everything inside was very organized and neat. However, it was obvious from the layers of accumulated dust that it had been a long time since anyone had come.
“Before Mother had returned to Cerulean Mountain, she was the daughter of a duke and had been engaged to Uncle Xiqiu. It’s unclear what happened after she returned to Cerulean Mountain, not even Madam Qin knows. All she knows is that when Mother returned she got married with Uncle Xiqiu, and soon afterwards, I was born.”
“You found Madam Qin.”
“If I hadn’t found her, how would I know so much? Let’s go, let’s allow Mother to have a look at her daughter-in-law first.”
His words shocked Tang Doudou. Could it be that Baili Shuyin was still alive?
The moment this thought arose, she squashed it. What was she thinking!
Baili Yu was only around twenty, so his mother was probably only around forty. How could she have passed away so young?
However, if she still lived here, why would this place be so desolate?
Baili Yu seemed to know what she was thinking as he pinched her nose with a smile. “Of course we’re here to offer incense. If Mother who had gone past the Yellow Springs knew that I married such a wonderful wife, she’d definitely be happy.”
“Big evil spirit…”
“Let’s go.”
Baili Shuyin’s memorial tablet was right behind the main hall. Whilst the front hall was covered with dust, there was not a trace of dust where the memorial tablet was displayed. It was extremely clean, showing that someone had been cleaning it for a long time.
“After Mother died, for the first few years, Lan Jia would still come to give her offerings, but afterwards, Madam Qin was the only one that did so.” Baili Yu took out three sticks of incense from the table nearby and handed them to Tang Doudou after lighting them. Then he turned around and got three for himself.
(offerings for the dead)
Following that, he walked to the memorial tablet and called ‘mother’ before kneeling down.
Tang Doudou glanced at the words on the tablet, then respectfully greeted ‘mother’ as well, before kneeling down next to Baili Yu.
“Mother, Yu er has brought Doudou here to visit you.” Baili Yu respectfully kowtowed a few times before standing up to insert the incense sticks into the incense burner. Tang Doudou copied his movements, but as she was kowtowing, she saw something strange beneath the table where the memorial tablet was displayed.
However, she respectfully went through the ritual before telling Baili Yu. “Big evil spirit, I think I saw something in there.”
Baili Yu looked in the direction she pointed. When he saw that she was pointing below his mother’s tablet, he furrowed his brows and walked over.
Tang Doudou followed.
He lifted the dusty tablecloth, then his expression turned surprised. There was actually a secret passage below the table!
“What? Why would there be a secret passage here?” Tang Doudou was also dumbfounded.
Baili Yu shook his head. It was clear that he didn’t know why there would be a secret passage below his mother’s memorial tablet, but he soon came to a decision. “Let’s take a look.”
He held Tang Doudou’s hand and slowly walked into the passageway. With a flick of his hand, the gray cloth below them covered the entrance again, causing the passage to fall dark.
“Be careful,” said Baili Yu softly as he continued walking while holding her hand.
At the start, the passageway was quite wide, but it slowly started to narrow. In the end, it was only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. Baili Yu said, “You stay behind me. If anything happens, immediately call for me, got it?”
“En, you be careful too.”
“En, en, this husband will follow Wife’s orders carefully.”
As they walked forward, it became apparent that this passage wasn’t made for humans because it was way too narrow. Tang Doudou was doing alright and could still walk quite normally, but Baili Yu had to squat down a little to walk.
The place was even filled with a strange odor; one that simultaneously stank and smelt nice. Tang Doudou’s head felt very heavy and dizzy from this smell.
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