Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Military Exploits_1

Tears welled up in her eyes, and every word she spoke dripped with blood and flesh. She pointed her five fingers at the Left Prime Minister, Li Mao, and raised her voice. “If the Left Prime Minister has the integrity to protect our country and is willing to sacrifice generations to defend our Jin people and our territory! This military achievement, my Bai family will offer it to the Left Prime Minister! The Bai family army, too, can change their allegiance and follow the orders of the Left Prime Minister! Military achievements?! If the Left Prime Minister wants them, take them! What my Bai family seeks day and night is simply for the men of my Bai family to return whole; that’s all!”

Sitting below the steps with Mrs. Dong, who held official rank, were Bai Jintong, Bai Jinzhi, Bai Jinzhao, and Bai Jinhua. Their eyes reddened, and they looked up at Bai Qingyan standing tall like a pine tree on the high steps, their fists clenched tight.

Even the Eldest Princess’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she choked up, unable to speak.

Recalling the fate of the Bai family men, wrapped in horse leathers in their past lives, she trembled with pain.

After a long time, she swallowed her tears, turned around, and solemnly knelt before the Emperor. “It is the end of the year, and my family has not yet received news from the southern frontier. We are overly worried and have acted improperly in the hall. I beg your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

The Emperor squinted, his fingers caressing a wine cup, and after a long pause, he laughed slowly. “The Bai family truly is loyal to the bone! But, Miss Bai, your words suggest that your Bai family is loyal to the people of Jin. Does the Bai family have me, the Emperor, in their hearts? Are you loyal to me, the Emperor?”

The hall was so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

Bai Jintong, sitting below the steps, suddenly clenched her clothes tight. She remembered Bai Qingyan telling her in Qinghui Courtyard that the Emperor saw the Bai family as a fierce tiger lying beside him, eager to remove it. Hearing the Emperor’s words today, her whole body turned cold.

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes, feeling a heartbreaking cold. This was the Emperor her grandfather and father had sworn unwavering loyalty to!

With Xiliang and Nanyan watching like tigers from the sidelines and Daliang and the Rong harboring ill intentions, Jin had few capable generals. Any general in Jin who was granted a marquis would no longer wish for their descendants to suffer at the frontier, preferring them to abandon military paths for scholarly ones.

Her grandfather and father had brought all the men of the Bai family to the frontline without leaving any leeway, cultivating successors for Jin who could deter other nations. Such loyalty was invisible to the Emperor of Jin, who instead suspected and schemed against his officials.

She knelt again. “The Emperor’s authority comes from the people of Jin! Without the people, there is no Emperor. My Bai family guards the frontier and protects the people, never overstepping our boundaries. If this is not considered loyalty to your Majesty, then what is?”

A ruler holds the highest position yet lacks the vision of keeping the nation’s welfare and the people in mind. Warriors fight to the death on the battlefield against enemies coveting Jin, while their ruler, in the flourishing Dadu City, schemes against his loyal subjects. Is he fit to be a ruler?!

This court was no longer the just and bright court her grandfather had described to her. Generals fought and died in battle, but inside the court, the spirit of the upright officials had vanished.

The straight die on the roadside; the crooked gain titles. Look at the court full of sycophants, riding the current, pursuing false fame, honored with titles and high positions! The Bai family’s loyalty and integrity resulted in the extermination of their entire family! How ironic?

In their past life, Jin was indeed not wronged when crushed by the Yan they despised so much.

“Your Majesty…” The Eldest Princess, fearing that the Emperor would take his anger out on Bai Qingyan, quickly knelt down. “This child is spoiled by me. I ask for Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

The Emperor was taken aback by Bai Qingyan’s unmasked anger.

After a moment, the Emperor chuckled softly, brushed nonexistent dust off his sleeves, and abruptly changed the subject. “Yesterday, an Imperial Censor reported that the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage’s wife beat to death a maid accompanying the Bai family’s second young lady. These maids are common people. Qin Dezhao… How much do you know about this matter?”

The Marquis of Loyalty and Courage quickly stepped forward and knelt, sweating profusely, unable to guess the Emperor’s intention for bringing up this matter suddenly. “Replying to Your Majesty, I have already inquired with my wife. She said that because the property deed of the maid accompanying her daughter-in-law, Bai Jinxiu, was held in the Duke’s mansion, as the head of the mansion, she could not be at ease without managing it.”

Bai Qingyan sneered. The Marquis of Loyalty and Courage truly excelled at twisting the truth.

“Your Majesty, may I ask the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage a question?” She respectfully asked the Emperor.

Seeing the Emperor nod, she turned around, standing tall and straight, scanning the faces of the court officials. Many of them were waiting to see the Bai family’s downfall, hoping to witness the collapse of the centennial noble family, the Duke of Zhen.

She looked coldly at the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage and asked sharply. “May I ask the Marquis if your wife only learned of the maid’s property deed after inspecting my second sister’s dowry, or can she divine as the legendary Zhuge amongst women?”

Having experienced the prowess of Miss Bai, the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage, Qin Dezhao, had prepared his and his wife’s statements. “Your Majesty, it was revealed by Mingyu, the maid accompanying my daughter-in-law Bai Jinxiu, that news of the property deed was known. This is why my wife spared that maid’s life!”

Qin Dezhao speculated that since the issue with Mingyu caused such an uproar, this explanation was the only way to account for how Bai Jinxiu’s maid ended up at Mrs. Jiang’s villa.

Bai Jinzhi, the fourth young lady of the Bai family, clenched her teeth, ready to rise and curse him, but the third young lady, Bai Jintong, pressed her down firmly. @@novelbin@@

“Third sister! He’s lying!” Bai Jinzhi glared fiercely at Qin Dezhao.

“Don’t be impulsive. This is the main hall!” Bai Jintong lowered her voice and warned Bai Jinzhi.

“The property deed is no trivial matter. Does the Marquis think my second sister is a fool who would discuss it with a maid? The Marquis must know that Mingyu has already gone mad and is using her as an excuse, right?” Bai Qingyan’s tone was obviously mocking.

Qin Dezhao panicked for a moment but quickly steadied himself. “Miss Bai, why attribute such lowly thoughts to me? The maid Mingyu said she inadvertently discovered that her mistress had not brought their property deeds, fearing coercion through them, so she informed my wife!”

“Does the Marquis know the crime of deceiving the Emperor? In front of His Majesty, the Marquis claims that a maid who cannot even read her own name, bought by my second sister, would know what her own contract looks like?! Marquis, do you think we are so foolish to be easily deceived, or are you at your wit’s end and trying to cover it up?”

Infuriated, Qin Dezhao racked his brain for a response, his lips moving but finding no words.