Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 382 - 379: Hard to Escape Blame_1

Chapter 382: Chapter 379: Hard to Escape Blame_1

Chun Tao stepped forward and took the bamboo slip from Mr. Gu’s hands, handing it to Bai Qingyan.

Mr. Gu raised his head, his gaze torch-like as he looked towards the Clan Leader. His voice boomed like a bell: "All these years, the Bai family in Dadu has sent treasures back to the clan. The Clan Leader, claiming to be prudent, always took them with his eldest son, Bai Qiyun. Whenever I mentioned reconciling accounts with the clan steward, the Clan Leader would question my trust in him in front of the King of Zhen. Thus, the matter always ended unresolved. Who could have imagined such filth behind it all?"

Before Mr. Gu finished his words, the King of Zhen realized that the Clan Leader was greedy. But he dismissed it, thinking that one must sometimes turn a blind eye for family harmony. He never expected it to result in this.

Bai Qingping looked utterly shocked. He didn’t know that his grandfather had embezzled the Silver sent back by the Bai family in Dadu.

After all, Bai Qingping didn’t manage the household and was never fully aware of its finances. He only received his monthly allowance.

After roughly looking over the bamboo slip, Bai Qingyan handed it to the guard beside her, her expression indifferent as she spoke: "Take it and let the elders look at it."

The guard obeyed and brought the account book in front of the few remaining elders, who eagerly grabbed the bamboo slip and began to flip through it...

One bamboo slip detailed the total Silver Coin sent back each year by the Bai family in Dadu. Comparing it to what was recorded received by the clan was shocking. The Clan Leader’s greed grew more and more... and, in the end, he embezzled more than half of it.

Another bamboo slip detailed the imperial gifts sent to the clan. Each item handed over by the Clan Leader was noticeably fewer.

The more the elders read, the angrier they became. Those items originally belonged to the clan, yet the Clan Leader, leveraging his position, had pilfered them!

"I see why just now Bai Qiyun’s wife held Bai Qingjie... saying she’d find a way to ask Lord Zhou for their release! The Clan Leader is indeed rich! The entire Bai family in Dadu risked their lives to bring honor to the Bai Clan, but you took the Silver meant for the clan and lined your own pockets. You let your descendants bring harm to the people, tarnishing the Bai Clan’s reputation. Using the Silver bought with their lives to save your own descendants! Very calculating! Truly calculating!"

"Years of deceit... you’ve embezzled more than anyone else, yet you pretended to be selfless, exhausting yourself for the clan. What a good Clan Leader! No wonder your descendants are like this. It turns out, the rotten roof corrupts the columns as well!"

The oldest elder, remembering the Clan Leader’s background, sneered sarcastically: "A concubine’s son is always a concubine’s son! No matter how much you try to legitimize him, you can’t change his essence. The previous Clan Leader, though greedy, knew restraint. But this Clan Leader, he’s just like his lowborn mother, grabbing everything good and fragrant for himself, and shamelessly denying he took anything!"

Bai Qingyan saw Shen Qingzhu standing outside the door through the corner of her eye and nodded slightly.

Shen Qingzhu clasped his hands in salute and swiftly left.

The Clan Leader tried to remain calm, but his hand holding Bai Qingping’s shook constantly: "This has nothing to do with me! I know nothing of this matter! Cousin, I respect your seniority, and you may scold me! I will not complain! But my father is dead. Regardless, he was your elder. Cousin, mind your manners."

All these years, the Clan Leader kept his distance from the Silver Tael exchanges between the clan and the Bai family. It was always Bai Qiyun handling them. Bai Qiyun was already expelled from the clan, and becoming the next Clan Leader wasn’t possible. Thus, he couldn’t lose his position. As long as he remained Clan Leader, he could use his authority to protect his son! If he lost his position, he’d no longer be able to shield his son and grandson.

Steadying himself, the Clan Leader gritted his teeth and said: "All these years, it was Qiyun handling these exchanges. I originally assigned him these tasks hoping he’d gain experience as the future Clan Leader! Commandery Princess... Lord Zhou, perhaps call Qiyun back and hear his explanation? Qiyun is my son... I believe, no matter how unruly, he wouldn’t embezzle the Silver Coin and imperial gifts meant for the clan."

The Clan Leader knew if he directly blamed his son, it would be seen as trying to evade responsibility. Therefore, he pretended to initiate an investigation.

Just as he finished speaking, his old wife, leaning on a cane, entered crying: "My husband... the guard by Bai Qingyan, along with the Crown Prince’s guards, barged into our home, smashed open our storerooms, and took everything like bandits. What is happening here?"

The Clan Leader almost lost his breath.

Soon, Shen Qingzhu led the Crown Prince’s household guards, under the watchful eyes of the commoners, carrying jewels, jade, and various tributes granted by the Emperor in previous years, into the courtyard at a leisurely pace.

Though it was already night, the flickering torches made the vicinity of the Bai ancestral hall as bright as day.

Commoners, seeing the boxes of dazzling jewels and corals being openly carried in, felt their eyes burn with anger, cursing the Clan Leader for his greed.

The remaining clan members were seething with rage, nearly hyperventilating, wishing they could skin the Clan Leader alive.

The eldest elder sneered: "This is your ignorance? These items were in your storeroom yet you claim ignorance? Are you blind?"

The Clan Leader’s old wife, perplexed, looked up at her husband.

His face turned ashen. Looking towards Bai Qingyan, he finally understood... Bai Qingyan had come prepared. She intended not just to expel those children and Bai Qiyun but to cleanse the clan entirely, including him!

Shen Qingzhu entered, holding the bamboo slip, clasping his hands in salute towards Bai Qingyan: "Commandery Princess, according to the list verified by Mr. Gu and the clan steward, we found items sent by the Bai family to the clan in the Clan Leader’s storeroom that were never recorded in the clan’s accounts. Many were tributes, easily traceable! I have marked the missing items in red. Please review it."

Saying this, Shen Qingzhu placed the bamboo slip on the small side table beside Bai Qingyan used for the tea cup, then looked at the nervous old wife of the Clan Leader standing in the courtyard: "When my men were moving the items, the wife of the Clan Leader obstructed us, claiming these were their private possessions and forbade anyone from touching them. I had no choice but to restrain her. I hope for your forgiveness, Commandery Princess."

Bai Qingyan did not look at the bamboo slip, her finger tapping rhythmically on the small table: "Clan Leader... you have truly squandered my grandfather’s trust!"

The Clan Leader stood in place, unable to speak for a long time. The items had been found in his storeroom. Anything he said now would be mere sophistry. After a long silence, he said: "I truly did not expect Qiyun to do something so disgraceful to the clan. As Qiyun’s father... I cannot escape responsibility. I dare not hold the position of Clan Leader any longer."

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