I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 180 Moving to a Small Courtyard
"Don't be afraid, Rouyin, your father will definitely stand up for you!"

Bai Wei, holding back his anger, vowed, "Let's get a divorce then. The Yang family is unfaithful and unworthy to be related to my Bai family by marriage. When Father achieves further military merits, I will request His Majesty to select a better husband for my son."

Lady Zhao was both grief-stricken and indignant. "My lord has already requested to leave the Northwest Army. How can he go back to the battlefield?"

Bai Wei was taken aback.

“Mother, Gu Ci has agreed to speak to Prince Xuan and allow Father to return to the army,” Bai Rouyin said, biting her lower lip. “It’s just that Father will have to temporarily serve as a captain.”

Zhao stopped crying. "Why would Gu Ci help me?"

Bai Rouyin lowered her head and remained silent.

"Speak!" Zhao Shi was reluctant to force her daughter, and glared at Lian Qiao, who was kneeling to the side.

"Reporting to Master and Madam, since the eldest young lady learned of the news that the General of the Cavalry had returned to the Northwest, she has sent people to guard the only road leading into the city day and night. Today, the eldest young lady received a message from a servant and personally guarded outside the Protector General's Mansion."

Lian Qiao knew that the Earl of Zhongyong and his wife loved their daughter deeply. No matter how unconventional Bai Rouyin's actions were, as long as she had a filial and kind heart, she would be forgiven by the Earl of Zhongyong and his wife, and the servants would suffer less as a result.

Therefore, Lian Qiao racked her brains to beautify Bai Rouyin's brainless behavior, saying, "In order to help the Earl return to the army, the young lady not only knelt down and begged the General of the Cavalry in front of Princess Zhaoshan, but also vowed to live in the temple to chant sutras and recite Buddhist prayers for the soldiers who died in battle."

Lian Qiao kowtowed to the ground in a final act of self-consolation, saying, "The eldest young lady's filial piety towards the lord and her compassion for the fallen soldiers are witnessed by heaven and earth!"

Zhao hugged Bai Rouyin, who was kneeling on the ground, and cried out, "My poor child!"

How proud her daughter was! For her husband and the Bai family, she was willing to go to such lengths. It was no wonder that her parents had loved her for twenty years!

Bai Wei was deeply moved. "My child, once your father has recovered from his injuries, he will go to see Prince Xuan himself. Why should a sheltered young lady like you bother with worldly affairs?"

Bai Rouyin reached out and gently hugged Zhao Shi, then looked up at Bai Wei, "Daughter just wants to do something for Father."

"Alright! Captain it is then. For my son's sake, I can endure any hardship," Bai Wei said, gently stroking Bai Rouyin's hair. "Rourin, don't worry, I will do everything in my power to become a general and a marquis again!"

"Yes!" Bai Rouyin nodded obediently, "Daughter trusts Father."

"What about the Yang family?"

Bai Wei sneered, "Since the Yang family is no longer related to my Bai family by marriage, there's no need to give them any face!"

"My concubine understands."

Zhao first helped her husband to rest, then comforted her daughter for a long time before leading dozens of guards and old women to storm the Yang family.

"Mother-in-law, mother-in-law! What are you doing?" Madam Zhang questioned the guards of the Earl's mansion who were beating people indiscriminately like bandits.

"What am I doing? I'm disciplining the servants, of course!" Madam Zhao raised her hand and slapped a thirteen or fourteen-year-old maid. "Shouldn't you punish her for watching your mistress being bullied by such a petty person?"

“If your mother-in-law wants to discipline a servant, she should do so at the Earl’s residence,” Zhang retorted. “Why come to my Yang family?”

"The Yang family?" Madam Zhao spat fiercely. "This house is part of my Bai family's dowry, and the servants in this courtyard are my Bai family's maids. What does it have to do with your Yang family?"

"Oh, could it be that Madam Yang has long admired the Duchess of Wei and is also following the Duchess of Wei's example by withholding her daughter-in-law's dowry?"

Zhang was so angry she almost fainted. Zhao actually compared her to the infamous An.

Zhao sneered, "Too bad, as long as the Earl and I live, your plans will fall through!"

"Where is Master Yang? Call him out," Zhao said, too lazy to argue with Zhang, a down-on-her-luck woman. "I want to ask him what my daughter did wrong that he, as her father-in-law, has to personally discipline her!"

"If you don't give me a proper explanation about the manager's background today, my Bai family will never let your Yang family off the hook!" Master Yang, hiding in the backyard, paced back and forth in fear, weighing his options carefully, but finally decided not to step forward.

However, Zhao barged into the backyard and slapped Master Yang hard across the face without saying a word.

"Vicious woman!"

Seeing that Master Yang was arrogant in words but slumped on the ground like a rag doll, Madam Zhao lost all interest in asking questions. She immediately ordered her men to throw Master Yang, his wife, and all the Yang family's belongings and servants out of the mansion and slammed a large copper lock on their door in front of the Yang family.

"This is a divorce agreement. If you know what's good for you, have your son sign it and return the dowry to the Bai family," Zhao said, throwing the divorce agreement at Master Yang's face. "If you don't know what's good for you, then we'll see you at the Lanzhou government office!"

Master Yang glared angrily in the direction where the Zhongyong Earl's carriage had left for a long time before his vision went black and he fainted.

Overnight, the news of the Yang family's falling out with the Bai family and their ignominious return to Lanzhou spread throughout Wuwei.

Tang Zhao had just escaped from his tedious affairs when he heard such explosive news.

Qiu Yu, always eager for gossip, asked, "Girl, do you think the Yang family will sign the divorce papers?"

"That depends on whether Marquis Zhongyong can return to the army," Tang Zhao said, holding a teacup and looking at the snow scene in the courtyard through the French windows. "Send a message to Gu Ci, before pleading for Marquis Zhongyong, find a secluded courtyard for Bai Rouyin to live in."

"Isn't that too easy on Bai Rouyin?" Qiu Yu pouted. That woman is in the eye of the storm right now. They should be thinking of a way to push her into the water, not helping her escape danger instead.

"Think long-term," Tang Zhao said calmly. "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing the yard."

"Oh!"

After receiving the letter, Gu Ci pondered for a while and remembered that there was a small courtyard in the Wuwei Mountains, far away from human habitation and very quiet. So he sent people to repair and clean it, and sent people to pick up Bai Rouyin.

The Earl of Zhongyong and his wife initially thought Gu Ci was just joking, but they were surprised when he actually meant it and became unhappy. In the end, it was Bai Rouyin who persuaded them to stay calm.

The Earl of Zhongyong and his wife packed five large carts full of their daily necessities and sent their most trusted servants. If it weren't for Chaoyi's strong opposition, they would have loved to travel with Bai Rouyin.

The mountain road was bumpy and difficult to travel. After Bai Rouyin hit her head for the eighteenth time, the carriage finally arrived.

"Where is General Gu?" Bai Rouyin looked around but couldn't find Gu Ci.

Chao Yi, as if he hadn't heard, said in a businesslike manner, "Miss Bai, please."

Bai Rouyin rubbed the handkerchief in her hand and followed Chaoyi into the small courtyard.

"From now on, Miss Bai will reside here. Supplies will be delivered once a month," Chao Yi reminded. "There are guards around, so Miss Bai and the others are not allowed to leave without permission, nor are they allowed to communicate with the outside world without authorization."

After giving his instructions, Chao Yi left the courtyard with his men.

Bai Rouyin had so much to say, but it got stuck in her throat.

"Miss, let me tidy up your room. Please rest."

Lian Qiao was very satisfied with this secluded little courtyard, finally no longer worried about the young lady causing trouble.

Bai Rouyin was disgusted, but having already made the promise, she had no choice but to reluctantly stay.

"Clean it several more times and replace all the things I brought from the Earl's mansion."

Lianqiao readily agreed.

(End of this chapter)