Chapter 327 - 327 324 Abandoning the Clan_1

Chapter 327: 324 Chapter: Abandoning the Clan_1 Chapter 327: 324 Chapter: Abandoning the Clan_1 “Could it be that in the past… the Bai family in Dadu City, really didn’t know about the deeds of the Bai Clan in Shuoyang?”

In the past, the citizens of Shuoyang always heard from outsiders how the Duke of Zhen, Bai Weiting, stood tall and righteous, how he was upright and loyal, and how he embodied a sense of justice and integrity. Most of the citizens of Shuoyang would just sneer.

Later, when Bai Qingyan punished a concubine-born son in the streets of Dadu City and listed the Bai family’s merits at the palace banquet, only a small part of Shuoyang praised the Bai family’s generations of dedication to the love of the people. But those who had been bullied by the Bai Clan… most of them deeply hated the Bai Clan and the Bai family, believing it was all just an act by the Bai family!

When the news of the death of all the men in the Duke of Zhen’s Mansion came, some people even secretly praised it.

But now, looking at the Princess of Zhen with her straightforward and upright demeanor, they could imagine the integrity of the Duke of Zhen, Bai Weiting. Perhaps the Bai family in Dadu City really didn’t know about the actions of the Bai Clan in Shuoyang.

“Whether the Bai family in Dadu City was deceived or not, depends on whether that dog official named Zhou would handle things impartially or whether the Princess of Zhen would make the Bai Clan return what they had taken from others!”

After Bai Qingyan left, the situation in Shuoyang City changed drastically. Magistrate Zhou seemed like a different person. Not only did he arrest all the playboys of the Bai Clan who caused trouble at Tianxiang Tower today, but he also sent officers to the Bai family to arrest a few… playboys and stewards who had killed people and kidnapped women.

The Bai Clan in Shuoyang was in chaos. Several women, crying, sought out the clan leader with their husbands.

“Clan Leader! Clan Leader, something terrible has happened! People from the County Magistrate’s Government Office have taken my son Ajin!”

“The officers barged into our house, said nothing, and took our Arong! Clan Leader… you must help us get our child back!”

At this moment, the clan leader was also overwhelmed. Bai Qiyun personally brought lavish gifts to Magistrate Zhou, begging him to release Bai Qingjie and the others. But he did not even get to see Magistrate Zhou.

Magistrate Zhou sent a message to Bai Qiyun. He said Bai Qiyun had deceived him for many years. It was time to settle the score.

Initially, Bai Qiyun was baffled. But when he came back and told the clan leader, the clan leader collapsed into his chair, suddenly recalling what Bai Jinzhi had said before she left: to hold himself properly and better not ask Bai Qingyan for help.

Bai Qingyan really stirred things up!

But no matter how you write it, the Bai Clan in Shuoyang and the Bai family in Dadu City were of the same blood; their fortunes were intertwined. How could Bai Qingyan dare?!

Even Bai Qingyan’s grandfather, Bai Weiting, would not dare do such a shameful thing to the clan. And yet, she, a mere woman… dared to be so bold.

Did she not consider her future? Did she not think that besides the clan… who would take care of her in her old age? After her death, would she not want the clan’s offerings?

But… the clan only had those two things to use against Bai Qingyan. The clan still had to rely on the authority of the Princess of Zhen to act domineeringly in Shuoyang City.

“Brother! Brother!”

The clan leader’s younger brother, Bai Wulaoye, rushed in with his crying wife from outside. “Brother! Chuan’er has been taken by the officials!”

When Wulaoye saw Bai Qiyun, he anxiously said, “It was Magistrate Zhou, who is close to Qiyun, who sent people to capture Chuan’er! Qiyun ah… did you offend Magistrate Zhou? Is that why he took Chuan’er as retribution?”

The clan leader felt a burst of anger when he saw his younger brother, Wulaoye. “How dare you speak! If it wasn’t for you, this scoundrel, occupying the direct line’s ancestral home, would things have gotten to this point? How dare you ask if Qiyun offended Magistrate Zhou! You offended Bai Qingyan, and the other descendants of the Bai family were implicated because of you, you scoundrel!”

Wulaoye’s face alternated between green and white. “But Brother, me occupying the ancestral home… was something you approved of!”

The clan leader glared in the direction of Wulaoye. Wulaoye avoided the clan leader’s gaze, sat down on the chair, and slammed the table in anger. “That Bai Qingyan is so ungrateful!”

Wulaoye angrily said, “Last time Qiyun was robbed by bandits, they did nothing! This time, they even caused our younger generation to be captured! The Bai family in Dadu already has no male heirs. By law, all the family property should be incorporated into the clan. I even left them half of it for them to live in, and yet, they repay kindness with enmity!”

“Fifth Uncle, if you thought the ancestral home should be included in the clan, why didn’t you say so earlier? You waited until they repaired the ancestral home and then moved in quietly. Nobody in the clan knew about it? So ‘incorporating into the clan’ just meant letting your family benefit? Now everything’s gone wrong… your family benefited, and our family’s children bear the guilt! Why?” a fierce woman shouted at Wulaoye.

The clan leader’s head buzzed at the woman’s high-pitched voice. He clutched his cane and banged it on the floor.

“Quiet! Now is not the time to debate who’s right and who’s wrong. We need to think of a way to get the children out quickly!”

“Yes! The clan leader is right. We should think of a way to get the children out quickly!” The clan leader’s daughter-in-law cried out, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. “When have the Bai children’s suffered like this before! What kind of misfortune is this!”

“Exactly! Clan leader, we must get an explanation from the Bai family in Dadu City and get our people released! Also, our children suffered in jail. She must compensate us. Otherwise… don’t blame us for being impolite to them!” Wulaoye gritted his teeth.

Standing at the door, Bai Qingping clenched his teeth, feeling utterly disappointed with his grandfather and family members.

He lifted the curtain, supporting himself on the doorframe, and entered. “The children of the Bai family in Dadu City go to the battlefield for training at the age of ten. The cousins spend all day indulging in pleasures and oppressing the village. Now they are merely in jail to atone for their mistakes. Why can’t they handle it?! Instead of introspecting, the elders are here, planning on threatening the Princess of Zhen to save them… and seeking compensation?!”

Bai Qingping’s chest heaved with emotion. When had his clansmen become so greedy, selfish, arrogant, and foolish to the point of being exasperatingly ridiculous?

Bai Qingping’s gaze swept across the elders who were stunned by his outburst. “Grandfather and the clan elders, can’t you see where the clan went wrong?!”

“The dominance of the Bai Clan in Shuoyang is entirely because the Bai family in Dadu rose to power! This incident is a warning! The Princess of Zhen asked grandfather for the property deeds that rightfully belonged to the Bai family in Dadu, but grandfather refused. So… the Princess of Zhen refused to let the Bai Clan in Shuoyang borrow the power of the Bai family in Dadu! This is a warning to the clan from the Princess of Zhen. If the clan members continue to overstep their bounds, the Princess of Zhen will completely abandon the clan. At that point… let’s see what becomes of our clan!”