Chapter 72 - 71: Follow Your Heart_1

Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Follow Your Heart_1

“You despicable and shameless scoundrels!” Lu Yuanpeng pointed his riding whip at the group of kneeling, greedy ingrates outside the Duke of Zhen’s residence, filled with righteous anger. “The Bai family of the Duke of Zhen used their blood and lives to protect the peace of this glorious capital. You are ungrateful, throwing mud at the loyal and brave for the sake of gold and silver! Are you even human?!”

“And you two!” Lu Yuanpeng pointed his whip at the so-called men of the martial world. “Without the Bai family defending the borders against the invaders, where would be your ‘martial world’? Brotherhood of the martial world?! What face do you have! The men of the Bai family died on the battlefield for Jin, and you dare to push their widows to death for silver?!”

The already escalating and mutually infectious public anger was further inflamed by Lu Yuanpeng’s few words, and the crowd, rolling up their sleeves, began to fight…

“These sons of bitches! Beat these traitorous scoundrels to death!”

Chaos ensued in front of the Duke’s residence. Even Lu Yuanpeng joined the melee, swinging his whip.

Only Xiao Rongyan stood alone like a sage beyond the secular world. After a while, he turned and said to the guard, “Protect those two people. Don’t let them die.”

...

The soldiers’ families who caused trouble at the Duke’s residence, along with the two so-called “martial men,” were beaten and escorted all the way to the Jing Zhaoyin’s office.

The Jing Zhaoyin had anticipated not having a good year because of the tragic loss of the men of the Duke’s residence in the southern border. Unexpectedly, on the morning of the first day of the new year, the Right Prime Minister’s most beloved grandson, Lu Yuanpeng, had brought him such a grand gift in collaboration with the people of Dadu City.

·

To avoid disturbing the Eldest Princess and the resting elders, Bai Jintong pressed Bai Jinzhi into Bai Qingyan’s Qinghui Courtyard.

Bai Jinzhi knelt on the bluestone bricks of the Qinghui Courtyard, her neck stiff. She was not afraid of family punishment but she was not convinced.

Lu Ping, holding the punishment cane, stood aside, feeling reluctant. After all, today others had come to the Duke’s residence to make trouble first, and the Fourth Lady had only fought to protect the reputation of the Duke’s residence.

Standing beside Bai Qingyan, the Third Lady Bai Jintong, with her hands behind her back, glanced at the tearful Bai Jinzhi and lowered her voice to plead, “Eldest Young Lady, Xiao Si knows her mistake. Today, it was indeed others who provoked first.”

Seeing Bai Qingyan tightly pursing her lips and gazing at Bai Jinzhi with piercing eyes, Bai Jintong quickly said, “Xiao Si! Apologize to Eldest Young Lady!”

The Second Lady Bai Jinxiu, with her forehead bandaged, supported by Qingshu, hurriedly entered the gate of Qinghui Courtyard. She glanced at Bai Jinzhi kneeling in the yard, walked to Bai Qingyan’s side, bowed, and pleaded for Bai Jinzhi, “Eldest Young Lady, Xiao Si is at fault, but there is a reason. Xiao Si was also protecting the family’s reputation.”

“Eldest Young Lady, if you want to hit me, I accept! But I won’t admit I’m wrong!” Bai Jinzhi clenched her teeth, tearfully staring directly at Bai Qingyan standing under the corridor, “I was protecting the honor of the Duke’s residence! I was right!”

Bai Jinzhi glared at Bai Jinxiu, “On the other hand, Second Sister… those greedy and treacherous people slandered our Duke’s residence. Second Sister just stood there and did nothing! Second Sister is a coward! I despise Second Sister!”

Looking at the stubborn expression on Bai Jinzhi’s face, Bai Qingyan felt an aching disappointment in her heart, “Uncle Ping, you all wait outside the courtyard.”

In the vast Qinghui Courtyard, only the four sisters remained.

“Your Second Sister is a coward? If she were a coward, could she have risked having her arm nearly cut off to save your Third Brother and still managed to kill the enemy’s vanguard?! From childhood to now, your Second Sister has taken the blame for you, suffering at least no less than two hundred cane strokes. Is she a coward?!” Just now, at the front gate of the Duke’s residence, if it weren’t for your Second Sister’s timely weeping, do you think the people would overlook your whipping and support our Bai family? Even in the Qin family’s Marquis of Loyalty and Courage residence, your Second Sister struck only when necessary, forcing Qin Lang to the point of no return and making him move out of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage residence! Your Second Sister is a coward, and you think you are a hero because you hurt people and showed off your strength?!”

Bai Jinzhi turned her head, still unconvinced.

“When your Second Sister tried to stop you, did she not tell you that those people gathered in front of the Duke’s residence might have ulterior motives and that you should not act impulsively?!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was stern. “Swinging your whip in front of the Duke’s residence, shouting about killing! Truly impressive! If Lu Yuanpeng hadn’t captured those two scoundrels today and revealed their plot, have you thought about the consequences?!”

Bai Jinzhi recalled Lu Yuanpeng saying that those two wanted to silence the soldiers’ families and then frame the Duke’s residence. She felt uneasy but stubbornly refused to admit her mistake.

Bai Qingyan pointed in the direction of the Duke’s residence’s main gate, “If those people were silenced after returning, the Jing Zhaoyin’s office would be the first to come to the Duke’s residence to arrest you!”

Thinking about how this matter could destroy the Bai family’s reputation and public support, Bai Qingyan felt a chill. The current situation and public support were the only tools she relied on to save the Bai family.

“I have nothing to hide! Let them arrest me! I am not afraid! At worst, I will go to jail, and the Jing Zhaoyin will eventually clear my name!” Bai Jinzhi, with a fearless expression, stood steadfast.

Her eyes piercing, Bai Qingyan looked at her proud and competitive sister, her anger boiling over. “Naive! This matter is a carefully arranged trap. Do you think you will be exonerated once you enter the Jing Zhaoyin’s office?! They will only make the charges stick to destroy the public’s support for our Bai family! Destroying the situation in our favor! You think you’re impressive… ignoring your Second Sister’s advice, you had to charge forward and even fought your Second Sister!”

“Without Lu Yuanpeng capturing the trespassers today, those soldiers’ families would have been executed. Solely for the crime of killing soldiers’ families out of anger… it would have been enough to destroy the Bai family’s centuries-old achievements in an instant! Doing a hundred good deeds can’t make up for one mistake, have you learned nothing?! If you go to jail, those behind this plot will incite rumors and pin the blame on our Bai family, fabricating a charge of extermination! With no men left in our family, maneuvering in the royal court is already difficult. Without public support, it would lead to total destruction! This… is the outcome those manipulating this affair want for our Bai family!”

Bai Jinzhi, clutching her clothes tightly, sweating coldly, bit her lip in silence, not daring to meet Bai Qingyan’s clear eyes.

Her disappointment mounting, Bai Qingyan’s voice rose, “Whether a person or an action, one can be sharp but only if they have the ability and the wisdom to control the situation! But look at you… confronting scoundrels with brutality! Competing for trivialities with people who forget loyalty for gain! Ignoring the greater picture, letting petty anger cloud your judgment, flaunting your whip thoughtlessly with no contingency plan!”

Seeing Bai Jinzhi’s tears falling from Bai Qingyan’s severe scolding, Bai Jinxiu felt distressed and softly advised, “Eldest Young Lady… Xiao Si is still young and straightforward. This time she acted rashly but for the reputation of the Duke’s residence. As long as she knows her mistake, let the lesson end here.”