Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 348 - 345: Holding the Chess Pieces and Arranging the Layout_1

Chapter 348: Chapter 345: Holding the Chess Pieces and Arranging the Layout_1

"Fourth Sister..." Nanny Jiang was taken aback and asked Bai Qingyan, "Eldest Sister, what is Fourth Sister doing?"

"Grandmother worked hard to put on a show. Naturally, its effect should be maximized," Bai Qingyan said.

Nanny Jiang nodded, feeling her teeth itch with hatred towards the overly oppressive clan.

"The Eldest Princess requests Eldest Sister to enter and speak..." Nanny Jiang quickly held the curtain open for Bai Qingyan.

After entering and bypassing the screen, Bai Qingyan respectfully saluted and sat down at the lower seat of the Eldest Princess. The Eldest Princess then said, "The matter of apologizing to the ancestors and expelling the clan should not be done now. Grandmother knows you don’t care about your reputation, but grandmother does, and so does your mother!"

Bai Qingyan looked at the Eldest Princess, her spine slightly hunched, and her neatly combed silver hair at her temples. She nodded, "Grandmother, when do you think it would be appropriate?"

"Grandmother is already aware of what you did upon returning to Shuoyang, but remember, common people often sympathize with the weak. This time the clan used the power of the Bai family in Dadu to force the local officials in Shuoyang to release the prisoners. They bullied the Eldest Princess into coughing up blood. If this news spreads, the Bai family in Dadu will further condemn the clan for disrespecting the ancestors and expelling them. The world will see the Bai Clan in Shuoyang as reckless, forcing the Bai family in Dadu to act accordingly."

The Eldest Princess patiently instructed, "But, for the Bai family, expelling the clan is not the only path. When you return to Shuoyang, as the Commandery Princess, you can open the ancestral hall and expel the guilty individuals from the clan! Choose a clan leader who understands the propriety and is in awe of you. This way, the clan can be used for your benefit. Even scoundrels have their uses when used appropriately to benefit the Bai family."

The Eldest Princess did not hold on to the so-called clan. Since the Bai family was down to just these widows and orphans returning to Shuoyang, it was always better to have more helpers than more enemies.

"What grandmother said is exactly what I thought." Bai Qingyan nodded in agreement, "There are many scoundrels in the clan, and these people like to scheme behind the scenes, using sinister methods to harm others. Unless they are completely eradicated, there is no guarantee they will not cause trouble in the future! The Bai family in Dadu has shallow roots in Shuoyang. If we can expel the pests in the clan and intimidate the remaining useful clan members, we can then free our hands to do other things."

The Eldest Princess’s hand, which was playing with the Buddha beads, paused. Her slightly cloudy eyes looked at Bai Qingyan, "Other things?"

Her fingers inside her sleeve tightened slightly, and she nodded, "Today, Mr. Xiao came to the mansion and said a batch of white tea transported from Shuoyang to Daliang had been hijacked. He sought help from the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince said that with the famine in Yanwo and the troops of Daliang and our frontier being on the brink of war, they were probably too busy to deal with mountain bandits! When I returned from Shuoyang, the local County Governor wanted to send people to escort me back to Dadu, saying there were bandits in the area and many people had already been robbed, including the son of the clan leader of the Bai Clan in Shuoyang."

"I worry that if this continues, the bandit problem will harm the people. To prevent future disasters, it would be better to train the people as soldiers in advance. If the Imperial Court suppresses the bandits in the future, it will be good as it can strengthen the people’s physique. But if the Imperial Court delays, then I cannot just watch the mountain bandits wreak havoc on the people." Bai Qingyan’s tone was solemn.

The Eldest Princess looked at Bai Qingyan deeply and nodded, her eyes moistening slightly. Her granddaughter was very much like her husband, Bai Weiting, taking the welfare of the common people as her own duty.

Bai Qingyan knew her grandmother still had some reservations about her. Rather than arousing more suspicion when she trained soldiers in the future, it was better to be honest with her now. Those in high positions, accustomed to being the chess players, often became arrogant.

Only by telling her grandmother now and letting the high-and-mighty Eldest Princess believe that everything was under her control, could she rely on her grandmother’s trust in the future to avoid more constraints and defenses.

But if one day, her grandmother discovered she was secretly hiding soldiers and training them not for Jin, their relationship as grandmother and granddaughter would inevitably turn ugly.

Though both of them wanted to preserve the Bai family, her grandmother hoped it would be under the rule of the Lin family.

"Jinse, that child, is very much like you..."

The Eldest Princess recalled Bai Jinse kneeling before her, requesting to stay and learn medicine from Miss Lu. Seeing Bai Jinse like that, the Eldest Princess couldn’t help but think of Bai Qingyan when she was young, intelligent, and courageous.

"The Bai family’s descendants, whether sons or daughters, are all very similar." Bai Qingyan said to the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess nodded with a smile, inadvertently revealing her aged and melancholic side, "Yes, the Bai family’s children... all very similar! Whether it’s your grandfather, father, uncle, Su Qiu, or you all now..."

After marrying into the Bai family, she ultimately couldn’t protect any of her children.

The Eldest Princess did not hide her old age in front of Bai Qingyan. Even with her hair tightly bound by her headband, making her look dignified and formidable, she still showed signs of fatigue and exhaustion when the clan members were gone.

"The Imperial Physicians are coming soon, Kid... help grandmother to the inner chamber!" The Eldest Princess extended her hand to Bai Qingyan.

She got up and respectfully assisted the Eldest Princess into the inner chamber, helping her remove her headband and laying her down.

Outside the door, Bai Jinzhi caused a commotion, cursing the Bai Clan in Shuoyang for being heartless and daring to force grandmother and eldest sister, as the Eldest Princess and the Commandery Princess, to pressure the local officials in Shuoyang to release murderers and shameless clan members who seized ancestral properties and forcibly took local women! When grandmother and eldest sister refused, they forced the dignified Eldest Princess to cough up blood and faint.

Bai Jinzhi’s commotion caused an uproar among the common people on the streets.

Yesterday, the clan caused trouble at the door of the Princess of Zhen, accusing her of ignoring the clan and not fulfilling her duties.

Today, someone saw with their own eyes that the nanny beside the Eldest Princess respectfully invited the elders of the Bai Clan in Shuoyang inside. How did they then anger the Eldest Princess to the point of spitting blood?!

This... this was too outrageous!

"Everyone knows that soon we, the widows and orphans of the Bai family, will return to Shuoyang. Our ancestral home has just been renovated, and you forcefully occupied it, didn’t you?! My eldest sister didn’t want to make things too ugly with the clan and was worried sick about where this whole family would stay when they return to Shuoyang. But you chased us to our doorstep and forced my eldest sister, as the Commandery Princess, to pressure the County Magistrate of Shuoyang for you!"

"We, the Bai family in Dadu, regard the people as our flesh and blood. Anyone who disrespects the people is punished! Even I once received military punishment for brandishing a whip at common people in front of this mansion! Let alone the Bai Clan’s descendants in Shuoyang who have committed murder; they must not be forgiven! A life for a life, a debt paid in full, it’s only right and proper! These years, we, the Bai family in Dadu, have done our utmost for the clan, with a clear conscience to Heaven and Earth! But how has the clan treated the widows and orphans of our Bai family?"