Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

The battle in the southern borders had cost the Jin Kingdom hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The Jin Kingdom would not have the strength to battle Xiliang again for at least five years and would undoubtedly have to cede land for peace.

The Emperor, with a head full of anger, was trembling. He had been enraged by the Bai family’s coercion, but at this moment, his greatest anger was directed at his legitimate son, King Xin!

That arrogant fool had no ability yet forced the commander into battle. He regretted ever giving King Xin the gold medal and arrow. His own child… Could he not see what kind of person he was?!

Yes, when he sent King Xin to the Duke of Zhen’s estate, it was with the intention of having King Xin overpower the Duke. He only wanted to bring guilt upon the Duke of Zhen’s entire household. He merely intended to curb the so-called undefeated legend of this military family.

But as the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom, he had never intended for the Jin Kingdom to be defeated so miserably!

The Bai family members’ deaths were of no consequence, but those countless soldiers who had died were his troops. How could he not feel heartbroken?!

And then there was Liu Huanzhang!

Daring to betray the nation!

Daring to lead the Jin Kingdom’s army against its own people!

A traitor! To execute the Nine Clans of his family! They must be executed!

The Emperor’s hand, holding the bamboo slip, kept shaking. As he thought of the Bai daughters dressed in mourning clothes kneeling at the Wude Gate and the citizens of Dadu City, pressuring him to kill his legitimate son, his anger flared even more.

He only had that one legitimate son!

The Emperor was deeply troubled and felt an overwhelming desire to immediately order the extermination of the entire Bai family.

At this moment, the Empress was pacing outside the grand hall, uncertain of what to do. Now, the Bai family and the people, surging with anger, were kneeling at the palace gates, demanding justice and insisting the Emperor kill King Xin to appease the public.

The Empress, having been married to the Emperor for many years, understood well his tendency to court fame and avoid infamy. If, in pursuit of his reputation, he truly killed King Xin…

The Empress dared not even think about it. The Emperor had many sons, but she had only that one!

Inside the hall, the Emperor, looking at the solemn Eldest Princess, closed his eyes. “Aunt, we are family; behind closed doors, we speak family business. What are you hoping to gain by causing such a commotion?”

The Emperor’s dark eyes filled with murderous intent turned towards the Eldest Princess. “Do you truly… want to force me to kill King Xin?!”

“If we are speaking as family behind closed doors, then I shall speak frankly to the Emperor!” The Eldest Princess tightly gripped the tiger head cane in her hand, her expression calm. “Before I married Bai Weiting, who was then the Princely Heir of the Duke of Zhen, my father told me that the Bai family of the Duke of Zhen’s mansion were the pillars and backbone of the Jin Kingdom. The Imperial Family needed to rely on the Bai family, but also guard against them! He, being old and with little time left, asked me to protect the Lin family’s royal authority and guard against the Bai family’s rebellious intent. On that day, I swore an oath with my royal blood.”

As though fearing the weight of these words was not enough, the Eldest Princess gripped the tiger head cane even more tightly and said faintly, “Many years ago, my father gave me an Imperial secret guard team, which I’ve kept on a farm all these years. Even when my husband and sons went to war, I never used them. Does His Majesty know what I was guarding against?”

The Emperor’s gaze upon the Eldest Princess grew more serious. He had never guessed that there was such a story behind her marriage.

Even when her sons went to war, she had not used them. It was… to guard against the Bai family’s rebellion.

“I must protect the intact and inviolable royal authority of our Lin family. Therefore, today… I advise His Majesty that King Xin should be killed!” The Eldest Princess tightly clutched the agarwood Buddha beads hidden inside her sleeve and sighed deeply. “Let’s not speak of the Bai family’s personal vengeance but rather the public sentiment. The war records sent to the Bai family’s mourning hall are known to all. King Xin’s actions have become widely known! The Bai family and the people are filled with hatred! His Majesty should understand that ‘water can carry a boat or capsize it.’ The will of the people is essential for royal authority to endure! If His Majesty kills King Xin, the people outside the Wude Gate will be appeased. If you cannot bear to kill King Xin, or even to penalize him, His Majesty will lose more than just the people outside the Wude Gate’s support.”@@novelbin@@

The Eldest Princess spoke as though she had the royal family’s interest at heart, but she also had personal motives. She did indeed want the Emperor to kill King Xin to avenge her husband… her sons, and her grandsons!

Her youngest grandson, so lively and adorable, was only ten years old!

If not for King Xin’s greed and rashness, forcing Bai Weiting into battle, how could the male members of the Bai family have perished?!

King Xin… deserved to die!

But she couldn’t adopt the weeping demeanor of a woman, begging the Emperor to kill King Xin based on familial ties.

The Eldest Princess had understood from a young age the difference between women and men. When confronting a man, one must first not consider oneself as a woman. Men’s ambitions lay in the world, while women’s hearts were often too soft, focused on familial ties and domestic matters. This was what she had once taught her eldest granddaughter, Bai Qingyan.

The Eldest Princess’s words made the Emperor’s heart pound. He tightly clenched the bamboo slip in his hand, tapping it against the table before throwing it aside. Leaning on the cushion embroidered with the golden dragon soaring in the sky, he closed his eyes and pondered repeatedly.

Balancing the consolidation of royal authority and the will of the people against familial ties and his reluctance, the Emperor soon gathered a cloud of obscurity in his heart.

With his eyes closed, he asked, “Aunt, are you truly speaking with no intent of avenging your descendants by killing King Xin?”

Indeed, having sat on the throne for so long, the Emperor’s intimidating power was overwhelming.

The Eldest Princess steadied herself and slowly spoke, “It is true I am the Duchess of the Duke of Zhen. But my foremost role is as the Eldest Princess of the Imperial Family!”

The Emperor opened his eyes and looked at the Eldest Princess with probing, sinister eyes.

The Eldest Princess stared directly into the Emperor’s eyes, her voice steady. “Under these circumstances… Liu Huanzhang’s Nine Clans must not be spared! While the people are gathered at Wude Gate, His Majesty must at least make a show of it. Have the Imperial Army surround the Liu Mansion and confiscate their property! King Xin, because he is the legitimate son, must be severely punished. Even if not killed, he can no longer have any prospects of reaching the supreme position! As for the Bai family… only a few widows and orphans are left. They can hardly stir up any trouble.”

When the previous Emperor was still alive, he had said that the Eldest Princess was a formidable and proud woman. Despite years of living a life of meditation and eating vegetarian, and having a benevolent and compassionate demeanor, she hadn’t lost the ruthlessness and decisiveness deep in her bones when faced with significant matters.

“That legitimate granddaughter of yours, Bai Qingyan, is indeed formidable!” The Emperor squinted his eyes, and speaking of Bai Qingyan, a hint of murderous intent inadvertently leaked, his voice cold as ice.

The Eldest Princess’s hand, holding the agarwood Buddha beads, trembled. She lightly flicked the beads, her voice growing stronger, “I’ve already planned the aftermath. Let the Bai family’s great mourning be handled simply, so this matter can pass quickly! Then… I will come to the palace to request the forfeiture of the Duke of Zhen’s title and go to the temple to pray for the country, living there permanently. I ask His Majesty, in consideration of the Bai family’s generations of loyalty, to allow the Bai family’s widows to return to their ancestral home in Shuoyang.”