The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 728: Justifiable
Chapter 728 Justified
Bai Qingyan curled his lips, thinking of the last time Li Mingrui said he wanted to surrender and took Liu Ruofu as a gift…
“Li Mingrui openly said that he surrendered to our Bai family…but secretly he wanted to overthrow me without showing any signs! He intended to make me lose the trust of the prince…”
Bai Jinxiu was confused: “What do you mean, elder sister?”
Bai Qingyan had roughly figured out the whole story in his mind, and he said to Bai Jinxiu slowly, “Li Mingrui ordered Wang Qiulu to lead Fu Ruoxi to watch him enter the Liang Palace. On the one hand, he wanted to test whether Fu Ruoxi was one of ours, and on the other hand, he wanted to find a witness… to prove that Wang Qiulu had indeed gone to the Liang Palace. Then he sent someone to tell me… that Wang Qiulu, whom I ordered him to rescue, might have betrayed his master and had contact with the Liang Prince, so that I should be on guard against Wang Qiulu and the Liang Prince…”
Bai Jinxiu still didn’t quite understand, so Bai Qingyan continued, “Today, people from the Prince’s Mansion went to Du’s house in Jiuchuan Hutong. The old man… wore thick-soled deerskin boots. The Prince’s Mansion must be of high status. What a coincidence… I met Mr. Fang today, and he was wearing a pair of thick-soled deerskin boots! Li Mingrui probably handed Wang Qiulu over to Mr. Fang from the Prince’s Mansion! Mr. Fang hates me to the bone… Even if it’s a frame-up, the responsibility of saving Wang Qiulu will fall on me!”
Bai Jinxiu’s heart suddenly tightened and she clenched her handkerchief tightly.
“When the incident happened, Li Mingrui had already warned me. He told me to be careful of Wang Qiulu. I lost the trust of the crown prince… If the court still wants to use his Li family, I naturally cannot betray Li Mingrui! I can’t let the crown prince know that I have the evidence against the left prime minister behind his back… Otherwise, if our Bai family holds the evidence against the left prime minister in the court and doesn’t report it… the crown prince will only be more suspicious of the Bai family!”
Bai Qingyan tapped the table with his finger, smiling: “If I really fall into the maze that Li Mingrui has set for me, I will definitely blame Wang Qiulu’s appearance in the Prince’s Mansion on King Liang!”
“Will Wang Qiulu betray my elder sister?” Bai Jinxiu frowned with a grim expression.
“Betrayal?!” Bai Qingyan laughed softly, “How can this be considered betrayal? I have never used Wang Qiulu. As for Li Mingrui…what evidence does he have to prove that I asked him to save Wang Qiulu? Just based on Wang Qiulu’s testimony?”
“I’m worried that Wang Qiulu will pin the rebellion of Prince Liang and Prince Xian on my elder sister!”
Now, it is unclear whether Wang Qiulu is an enemy or not, how can Bai Jinxiu not be worried?
Whether it is Wang Qiulu or Li Mingrui, they both surrendered halfway through, so Bai Qingyan naturally cannot use them boldly. The reason why he left these two people alone for so long was to see if they would be ready to make any moves.
I didn’t expect Li Mingrui to be unable to hold back so quickly, or rather… Li Mingrui’s initial surrender was just to find an opportunity to find something to hold against the Bai family and Bai Qingyan.
Li Mingrui jumping out now is a good thing for Bai Qingyan…
It’s better than if something goes wrong when you are using it later. It would be much more difficult to remedy the situation then than it is today…
“I was just thinking, not only are there the emperor’s secret guards guarding outside the Prince Liang’s Mansion, but there are also secret guards from the Prince’s Mansion on guard. How could these two groups of people… turn a blind eye to Wang Qiulu and let her enter the Prince Liang’s Mansion?” Bai Qingyan frowned and pondered. She really couldn’t understand this point.
“Oh right…” Bai Jinxiu suddenly remembered something and moved closer to Bai Qingyan. “Since you said that, I remembered something! Half a month after the Wude Gate Rebellion, the left prime minister Li Mao was summoned to the palace by the emperor, and Li Mingrui followed him. After they came out of the palace, the Li family secretly sent servants to the Liang Wang Mansion. When the Li family sent servants to the Liang Wang Mansion… I just thought that the emperor showed Liang Wang’s concern in front of Li Mao, and Li Mao was trying to please the emperor, so I never mentioned this matter to my elder sister in the letter.”
Bai Jinxiu pondered carefully and sat up straight: “Now that I think about it… this matter itself is strange. Wang Qiulu was rescued by Li Mingrui at the request of my eldest sister. Could it be that Wang Qiulu thought that Li Mingrui was his benefactor and that he had already joined the Li family and was going to help them with their work?”
Bai Qingyan’s brows gradually relaxed.
“We have already taken precautions. What are we afraid of…” Bai Qing spoke in a steady voice, and his calmness revealed a sense of confidence that made Bai Jinxiu feel at ease. “Li Mingrui wanted to put me in a dilemma and force me to rely on the Li family if I want to intervene in the court. He was reluctant to let the position of left prime minister change hands. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the ability to do what he wants.”
If it is really irreversible, raising troops now may be hasty… but it is not completely hopeless.
Bai Qingyan has been trying his best to endure the stench of the Lin family’s imperial power.
Not to mention, it hasn’t reached that stage yet.
“Since Li Mingrui is so kind, then… I can only drag Li Mingrui into the water!” Bai Qingyan smiled and looked at Bai Jinxiu, “I don’t believe Li Mingrui dares to tell the prince directly. I have in my hand the letter that the left prime minister once colluded with the second prince to rebel. After all… the two calligraphy masters, Mr. Tan and Mr. Shoushan, are not so easy to be bribed by the Li family! Although Li Mingrui is cruel, he doesn’t have the courage to perish with me!”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes were deep and solemn: “After all…if I lose, I will only lose the trust of the prince! But if the Li family loses, they will lose…the heads of the entire Li family!”
Bai Qingyan turned his head and looked at Bai Jinxiu, a faint smile on his lips: “Where did you put the letter I gave you that was written by Li Mao, the left prime minister, to the second prince?”
“Just put it in Qingzhu Pavilion.” Bai Jinxiu thought for a moment and said, “Eldest sister… do you think Li Mingrui is too long-handed and want to get rid of him?”
Bai Qingyan shook his head: “There is no suitable person to take the position of Left Prime Minister, but we can cause some trouble for the Li Mansion… Pick a few more important letters and send them to the Crown Prince. I will say that I came to the capital this time to dissuade His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from leaving the plague patients in the two cities, and also to let the old Imperial Master Tan and Lord Shoushan see whether these letters are true or not. If they are true, they will give the letters to the Crown Prince and collect other letters. Li Mingrui probably knew about this, so he wanted to frame me first, make me an untrustworthy person in front of the Crown Prince, and clear the Li family.”
“Okay!” Bai Jinxiu responded.
“I also want to see what Li Mingrui can do and see if he has the ability to turn the tide. If he can, there are only two ways…either take him for your own use, or don’t keep him.” Bai Qingyan said.
Bai Jinxiu nodded. If Li Mingrui could not turn the tide, naturally… the Li family would not survive.
Killing is the easiest thing to do, but Bai Qingyan is unwilling to do so unless it is absolutely necessary, so as not to leave any evidence, and he is also worried that it will destroy the stability of the capital city.
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