Chapter 262 - 262 260 Very Crafty_1

Chapter 262: Chapter 260: Very Crafty_1 Chapter 262: Chapter 260: Very Crafty_1 “Although Elder Sister achieved a great victory in the Southern Frontier this time, Left Prime Minister Li Mao and his minions submitted a memorial accusing Wengshan of burning and killing surrendered enemies, hoping the Emperor would severely punish Elder Sister. The memorial has been kept by the Emperor without any response. No one knows what his intentions are.” Bai Jinxiu frowned.

“King Yan Li Zhijie and the Princess of Xiliang both came to Dadu City. The Emperor certainly wouldn’t embarrass me in front of foreigners. Otherwise, he would openly show Xiliang that he is dissatisfied with the victorious generals of the Southern Frontier.” Bai Qingyan rested her elbow on the table, holding a teacup and blowing gently into it. “Although the Emperor is suspicious and narrow-minded, he cares a lot about face. How could he let other nations know about our court’s internal conflicts?”

Bai Jinxiu also picked up her teacup, pondering the recent court movements: “The Emperor’s attitude is ambiguous. He hasn’t reprimanded Left Prime Minister Li Mao’s faction, nor has he acted on the memorial. It’s really… puzzling.”

“It’s probably because the Crown Prince hasn’t returned. The Emperor doesn’t know the situation in the Southern Frontier. More importantly, he doesn’t know if the Crown Prince has subdued me. The Emperor didn’t summon the victorious generals to the palace this time, only called the Crown Prince. I think… the rewards will definitely be given at tomorrow’s banquet at the latest!”

“It depends on what rewards the Emperor gives to Elder Sister and Little Fourth.” Bai Jinxiu tightened her grip on the teacup, looking at Bai Qingyan. “If it’s a title like Commandery Princess, then he doesn’t intend to use the Bai family anymore. If it’s a General… then it means our court is going to appoint women as generals.”

“Therefore…” She raised her eyes to Bai Jinxiu, a faint smile at the corner of her eyes. “The Emperor absolutely won’t appoint a female general. The current Emperor… doesn’t have the courage of the Empress of Yan! Appointing women as generals would definitely lead to widespread criticism in the court. The Emperor wouldn’t put himself in the fire for a Bai Qingyan, even if now is the best time to appoint women to official positions.”

Her gaze fell on the steaming water cup in her hand. “But the Emperor has to reward the Crown Prince, reward Zhang Duanrui, Shi Panshan, General Zhen Zeping for their great victory, and reward the generals of the Bai family army. The more unfair the Emperor is to me and Little Fourth, the more united the Bai family army will be with us.”

Bai Jinxiu nodded. Yes… Elder Sister was the Young General Bai of the Bai family army and the greatest contributor to the victory over Xiliang. If the Emperor treated her poorly, how would the Bai family army, who looked up to the Bai family, feel? They would undoubtedly feel resentful and become even more aligned with the Bai family and Elder Sister.

“There’s one more thing.” Bai Jinxiu set down her teacup, looking up solemnly. “Half a month ago, King Liang was released from prison. Gao Sheng will soon be executed. Tian Weijun and Tongji died under severe torture. Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin got nothing from Tongji, and the information from Tian Weijun was useless. King Liang insisted that he acted to save King Xin, so the Emperor confined him to his mansion.”

This was expected. Tongji was loyal, and King Liang was cautious, never allowing Tian Weijun access to anything that could endanger his life. Those sinister orders must have come from Gao Sheng!

Gao Sheng naturally shouldered everything, claiming all actions were his own arrangement for avenging his brother, unrelated to King Liang. King Liang thus appeared as a prince who made a great mistake out of brotherly love.

“On the fifteenth of this month, King Liang claimed he was a criminal and unfit to attend the palace banquet or present a congratulatory gift to the Emperor. He had an early gift sent instead. It was said to be a painting by King Liang himself. But strangely, the day after the painting was delivered… the Emperor conferred a favor upon Lady Qiu, who became highly favored. According to Princess Fuling, Lady Qiu was the one who delivered the painting for King Liang. Due to the involvement of palace matters, it’s hard to inquire in detail, but I’ve sent people to investigate. There should be results soon.”

Bai Qingyan raised her eyebrows. “King Liang sent a painting openly, but he actually sent a person. The Crown Prince will definitely be more anxious than us. Who in the court isn’t afraid of pillow talk?”

“You didn’t mention in your last letter, did Qin Lang participate in the spring imperial examination this time?” She turned to Bai Jinxiu, smiling.

Mentioning Qin Lang, a smile appeared in Bai Jinxiu’s eyes. “Qin Lang performed well in this year’s spring imperial examination. Originally, the provincial examination should have been on the fifteenth, but it coincided with the great victory in the Southern Frontier and the Emperor’s birthday. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau selected an auspicious date and requested the Emperor to move the provincial examination to the first day of April. According to Princess Fuling, someone mentioned to the Emperor that I am an honored lady of the first rank, but Qin Lang still has no official position. If he ranks well in the provincial examination, even if he doesn’t regain his title, his official position won’t be low.”

She nodded and asked, “Has anyone from the Qin Mansion, those two young ladies, or Qin Lang’s brother, troubled you again?”

Bai Jinxiu shook her head. “Now that the two young ladies of the Qin family have ruined their reputations, those three avoid me; how dare they cause trouble?”

Without a mother-in-law over her, Bai Jinxiu lived among the newlywed wives of Dadu City with great comfort, envied by many.

Yet, the Qin Mansion wasn’t without its troubles. Bai Jinxiu didn’t want to worry her elder sister, so she changed the subject. “Elder Sister, there’s a nanny at the Qin Mansion, who was a former servant of Qin Lang’s birth mother. She’s skilled in medicinal cuisine. After Qin Lang’s mother passed away, she was sent to the manor. I brought her today. I want her to stay by your side, to take care of your health; please don’t refuse!”

Bai Qingyan’s health had always been the Bai family’s greatest concern.

“Alright…” she smiled and nodded.

·

At this moment, the Crown Prince was properly accompanying the Emperor by the Imperial Lake, fishing. The admiration in his eyes for the Emperor earlier had turned into a regrettable sadness.

Today, for the first time in his life, the Crown Prince heard his father praise him for his ability to recognize and manage talents. For the first time, he heard his father say he was better than the Emperor in his youth. This made his eyes hot and head dizzy. He answered all the Emperor’s questions truthfully, including the origins of the sacred deer.

Originally, the Crown Prince planned to hide the fact that the sacred deer was arranged by Bai Qingyan. Only by hiding the origins of the sacred deer could he claim to be truly destined. But he…

The Crown Prince sighed inwardly. Today, he acted impulsively, wasting Bai Qingyan’s efforts.

“It seems… Bai Qingyan has truly been subdued by my son!” The Emperor stroked the fishing rod with his fingers, smiling at the Crown Prince. “But Bai Qingyan feared you would tell your father, so he hid it from you. You told your father everything. You let Bai Qingyan down. Originally… if you didn’t mention it, you would have been destined. But since you spoke of it, it became a man-made affair, and it seems less grand.”