The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 321: caught off guard
Chapter 321 Caught Unprepared
County Magistrate Zhou turned pale. A family scandal? Something that alarmed them?
The implication is…the Princess Zhenguo wants to break off relations with her clan?
But didn’t Bai Qiyun say that both the former King Zhenguo and the current Princess Zhenguo respected his father, the clan leader, very much and almost obeyed his every word?
Seeing that his subordinates had already brought the horses over, Bai Qingyan said, “I still have to go back to the clan, so I won’t delay the two adults from doing their work. Goodbye…”
The prefect quickly stepped aside to make way for him. Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi mounted their horses, whipped them, and galloped away.
“Sir, is it possible that the clan and the princess…fell out?” County Magistrate Zhou looked very unhappy. “Didn’t the son of the Bai family leader say that the princess who guards the country is just a little girl and she has the final say over the clan leader? But it sounds to me like… the princess has fallen out with the clan.”
The prefect stood with his hands behind his back, squinted his eyes, and thought of the rumors he heard yesterday.
I heard that the clan leader’s younger brother occupied the Bai family’s ancestral home in Dadu City, which had just been renovated.
The governor sneered and said, “No matter how much the Bai family talks, the Princess Zhenguo has come back without hiding her intention to break off relations with the family, and Princess Gaoyi has spoken so bluntly… County Magistrate Zhou should watch the wind direction to avoid capsizing!”
County Magistrate Zhou has always been on good terms with the Bai clan, and he has covered up many despicable deeds for the Bai clan over the years. If the Princess Zhenguo wants to deal with the Bai clan this time, those things will inevitably be exposed. By then, he, who helped cover up the matter, will not only get no benefits from the Princess Zhenguo, but will really… be in trouble!
County Magistrate Zhou’s expression became increasingly grim. He turned around and saluted the governor respectfully: “Thank you for your guidance, sir.”
·
The head of the Bai family was having breakfast. When he heard that Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi had returned, he was startled. Then he thought of how his younger brother, Lao Wu, had occupied the Bai family’s ancestral home and the uproar in the family. He immediately realized that Bai Qingyan had probably returned because of this matter.
The patriarch put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked someone to change his clothes.
In the patriarch’s yard, there was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen kneeling. He seemed to have been kneeling all night, and dew had fallen on his inky hair. He was shivering with cold, and his body was shaking and he could hardly hold on.
Seeing the clan leader coming out, the young man hurriedly knelt forward a few steps and said, “Grandfather, if my brothers continue to act lawless like this, sooner or later our Bai family will be destroyed! I also ask grandfather to step in and stop my brothers from seizing other people’s shops and hand them over to the government for punishment. Otherwise…if someone really goes to Dadu to report to the emperor and digs up what happened over the years, even the princess can’t protect our Bai family!”
The clan leader glared at his anxious grandson, and could not help but get angry. He said in a stern voice: “Severe punishment? How to punish severely?! After kneeling for a whole night, don’t you understand?! They are your brothers! Even if they have committed a huge mistake… they are your brothers who are related to you by blood. How can you help outsiders deal with your brothers, and secretly send them to the governor? If I was a step later… your brothers would have to go to jail. What kind of crime is hiring a killer?! Ah Ping… Grandfather is not dead yet! Are you going to put your brothers to death?!”
Bai Qingping clenched his teeth, his eyes reddened, and he choked up and said, “The emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Even the emperor’s legitimate son, Prince Xin, was demoted to a commoner and exiled to Yongzhou! Grandfather, you are the patriarch… Shouldn’t you not show partiality for the sake of your family’s reputation?”
“You are so impartial!” The clan leader’s eyes were red with anger. “Grandfather is not even dead yet, and you want to fight against your own family? I asked you to study… You really read a lot of good books!”
Bai Qingping clenched his fists tightly, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.
“If you can’t figure it out, just kneel down! Never get up!” After saying this, the patriarch walked out with his crutches.
Bai Qingping had a stubborn look on his face. After a while, he heard his grandfather’s footsteps fade away, then he knelt down on the ground dejectedly. He had always admired the character of the Bai family in the Duke of Chenguo Mansion in Dadu City, and he was once proud of being a descendant of the Bai family.
But later, he discovered that the people of the Bai family of the Shuoyang clan were not the same as the people of the Bai family in the capital city that he had heard of.
Especially since he was a child, he has seen their clan leader’s branch… bullying the side branches, relying on the power of the Bai family in the capital city to be rampant in Shuoyang. There has been no control in recent years, and the government of Shuoyang has become more and more unscrupulous because the Bai family in the capital city has shown goodwill to their clan.
He felt extremely ashamed again. Compared with the Bai family in the capital city, they didn’t even look like a family.
Now the Shuoyang Bai family and his brothers of the same generation have reached the point of disregarding human life. If we don’t care anymore… the Bai family will be finished!
Bai Qingping didn’t understand, why couldn’t his grandfather understand what he could think of? !
The servant beside Bai Qingping was looking around outside the courtyard. Seeing that no one was in the courtyard, he hurried over to Bai Qingping, put a cloak on him, and said in a low voice, “Sixth Master, the Princess Zhenguo and the Princess Gaoyi are back.”
Bai Qingping raised his head, opened his eyes wide, and his heart was suddenly filled with emotions.
Ever since Bai Qingyan and Bai Weiting went to war, they have not returned to the clan. First, it was because they were busy fighting everywhere and they were too busy to return. Later, they were injured and were recuperating in the capital city.
While Bai Qingping was excited, he also felt ashamed that his grandfather’s younger brother had occupied the ancestral home.
Bai Qingping wanted to find a hole to crawl into. His clan was using the banner of the Bai family in Dadu City to bully others in Shuoyang City, and at the same time, they bullied the orphans and widows of the Bai family in Dadu City. First, they forced the Bai family in Dadu City to spend all their wealth to build this and that for the clan in the name of condolences! Then they occupied the newly renovated house. How could he, a man who had read the books of sages, save his dignity?
·
The news of Bai Qingyan’s return was like a thunderclap, shocking the Bai family of Shuoyang three times.
The most uneasy person was the fifth master who occupied the Bai family’s ancestral home. He was so anxious that he was running around in the house, but he didn’t dare to go to the clan leader to ask Bai Qingyan in person. After all, Bai Qingyan was the one who burned and killed 100,000 surrendered prisoners from Xiliang!
Who knows if Bai Qingyan will become violent if he gets mad.
Bai Qingyan was a princess of noble status. Seeing the clan leader approaching, she smiled but did not stand up to greet him. The clan leader, who was also an elder, saw that Bai Qingyan did not greet him, so he walked straight to the seat of honor and said with a smile: “Qingyan and Jinzhi are back, why didn’t you say hello in advance? Your great-uncle should have prepared a welcoming banquet for you.”
Hearing that the clan leader was trying to use his status as an elder to pressure her, she casually put the teacup on the small table beside her: “I came back this time to get back the title deed of the ancestral home…”
The clan leader did not expect Bai Qingyan to be so straightforward and was caught off guard.
“The deeds to the ancestral home have always been kept by the clan leader. I wonder what happened that made you rush back to get it?”
The second and third updates will be a little later. Recently, something happened at home, so I have to make up for the lost time. I won’t give you guys a sympathetic ear! Anyway, I will try my best to adjust and update you guys at midnight. If I am late, please forgive me! Pen refills… I love you guys!