Chapter 357 - 357 354 Endangering Lives_1

Chapter 357: Chapter 354: Endangering Lives_1 Chapter 357: Chapter 354: Endangering Lives_1 April 22nd, Lu Ping returned from Shuoyang.

Ji Tingyu had already informed Lu Ping of all the needed items. To avoid drawing attention while purchasing in Dadu City, Lu Ping dispatched people to different locations to acquire the goods in batches.

The two agreed to meet on April 26th at Niujiao Mountain when the Bai family sent the second batch of furniture. Ji Tingyu would then stage a robbery.

This way, Ji Tingyu could get the urgently needed items and escalate the bandit problem, giving Bai Qingyan a legitimate excuse for military training.

While Lu Ping was reporting the events of this Shuoyang trip to Bai Qingyan, Bai Jinzhi hurriedly arrived. Hearing that the clan leader, in desperation, had sought Lu Ping’s help and even offered treasures, Bai Jinzhi felt immensely gratified.

“Now they’re willing to yield, but it’s too late!” Bai Jinzhi sneered coldly.

“I accepted all the treasures the clan leader sent. They will be used as funds for this purchase,” Lu Ping looked up at Bai Qingyan’s calm face, clenched his fists, and said, “There’s one more thing to report, Eldest Young Lady. After you and Fourth Young Lady left that day, Lord Zhou arrested the clan’s troublemaking descendants! That evening, when the clan leader and others set off for Dadu City… a few of the clan’s young members, drunk, demanded Lord Zhou release the prisoners. When Lord Zhou refused, they smashed things in the street, shouting that if Lord Zhou had the guts, he should arrest them all. The fifth lord’s grandson pushed a little flower-selling girl off the bridge, and the girl’s mother jumped into the river to save her. The result…”

“The result?” Bai Qingyan’s eyes glinted coldly.

Lu Ping said in a low voice, “The mother saved the girl onto the boat but…”

Bai Qingyan’s palm tightened. She remembered the flower-selling girl named Yaniang she met in Shuoyang City, who had bright, clean eyes, was very sensible, never took small advantages, and had a deep bond with her mother.

“Was that girl… named Yaniang?” Bai Qingyan asked.

Lu Ping nodded.

Bai Qingyan felt rage boiling inside her, filled with murderous intent. “What did Magistrate Zhou do then?”

“Clan leader’s grandson Bai Qingping reported to Magistrate Zhou, demanding the arrest of those responsible. Magistrate Zhou had them all detained. Originally, Bai Qingping intended to bring Yaniang to the Bai family for care, but the girl resisted. So Bai Qingping placed her with a neighboring family, giving them money for her care.”

Lu Ping’s voice was heavy. He didn’t mention that before returning, he had given a bag of silver to the kind neighboring old lady. After all, it was the Bai Clan’s wrongdoing, and he felt a twinge of guilt.

Bai Qingyan tightly gripped the teacup in her hand, the white porcelain emitting a faint cracking sound.

She pressed the teacup down, her knuckles white with fury.

How could the Bai Clan produce such scum worse than pigs and dogs!

She closed her eyes, realizing the clan leader’s wrong choice would bring disaster to the entire clan.

“Yaniang? Was she… the little flower-selling girl?” Bai Jinzhi hadn’t forgotten the girl who refused to take Xiao Rongyan’s silver.

Seeing Bai Qingyan nod, Bai Jinzhi erupted in anger. “The clan members are not only reckless but also outrageously stupid! Eldest sister already warned them in Shuoyang, yet they still dare act so recklessly and harm lives!”

“A single scoundrel in the clan is their own fault. Two scoundrels can be dismissed as incompetence. But if there are many scoundrels… it’s the clan leader’s fault!” Bai Qingyan’s eyes were dark and ruthless. “This clan leader must be replaced.”

“Grandfather shouldn’t have considered the clan leader’s face back then. He should have let the second uncle, my father, or the fourth or fifth uncle return to Shuoyang to assume the position. Maybe they could have kept the Bai family line and prevented the clan from rotting to the core! What kind of swine-like creatures has the clan produced!”

Bai Jinzhi’s chest heaved with angry breaths. If she weren’t in Dadu, she’d whip those scoundrels in the clan until their mothers wouldn’t recognize them.

“Apart from respecting the clan leader, Grandfather valued his promise to the Emperor too much. For the Emperor’s hollow dream of ‘unifying the world,’ he left no way out for the Bai family, taking all the children to the southern frontier for training as future formidable generals for the Emperor.”

Bai Qingyan looked up at Lu Ping, suppressing her anger. “Uncle Ping, immediately send someone to Shuoyang and inform Magistrate Zhou not to show leniency to the Bai Clan. If he dares to be partial, he will be opposing me, Bai Qingyan. I will not let him or his family enter officialdom. Bury Yaniang’s mother with honors, ensure Yaniang is taken care of, and bring her to the ancestral home after returning to Shuoyang.”

“Yes!” Lu Ping bowed in acknowledgment.

“Eldest sister, asking Uncle Ping to tell Magistrate Zhou this, are you preparing to clean up the clan in advance?” Bai Jinzhi frowned and asked. “But if Li Mao makes a move when you’re not in Shuoyang, what then?”

Bai Qingyan tapped the table with her fingers. “With your second sister and grandmother in Dadu, nothing major will happen. Originally, I planned to wait until mother and the aunts returned to Shuoyang before cleaning up the clan, but it seems we can’t wait.”

Having grown up by her grandmother, the Eldest Princess’s side, Bai Qingyan was more aware than anyone of her grandmother’s capabilities.

Li Mao’s actions would merely be probing, something her grandmother could handle.

Bai Jinzhi was still worried. Her second sister, Bai Jinxiu, was now pregnant, and Bai Jinzhi had some doubts about her grandmother.

Clenching her fists, she said, “Eldest sister, let me return to Shuoyang? At least with my title as County Lord, it’s justified! Otherwise, I can’t be at ease in Dadu.”

Bai Qingyan clenched her teeth and shook her head. “The Bai Clan’s matters in Shuoyang are more urgent. If the clan continues unchecked, who knows how many more innocent lives will be harmed! Besides… Li Mao wants to test me. If I’m not there, he might not act. Prepare yourself, Jinzhi, and return to the clan on April 24th.”

“Eldest sister, why not wait until the 26th and leave with the team escorting the furniture?” Bai Jinzhi asked.

“On the 26th, apart from escorting the furniture, Uncle Ping has other important tasks to handle. We would only be a hindrance. We should leave early, take the household guards, and after dealing with the clan, return to Dadu with Uncle Ping and the household guards to fetch mother and the aunts.”

Bai Qingyan had made up her mind. She stood up and said, “I’ll inform grandmother and mother. You go and prepare.”

In Changshou Courtyard, the Eldest Princess was already seething with anger after Bai Qingyan recounted the Shuoyang Clan incident. She fingered her Buddha Beads, saying, “Take advantage of this major disturbance with the Shuoyang Bai Clan and go back to handle it swiftly!”