Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 445 - 442 - : Clean Sweep_1

Chapter 445: 442 Chapter: Clean Sweep_1

"Emperor started taking the elixir. He began to favor King Liang more and more..." Bai Jinxiu linked the two events together and suddenly realized, "Could it be that King Liang presented it?"

At this moment, Wei Zhong spoke timely, "Before King Liang went to Yanwo for disaster relief, he dismissed a large number of servants in the mansion, leaving only a few people for cleaning and some personal attendants. Everyone else was sent away! Now, the King Liang’s mansion is guarded by hidden guards personally sent by the Emperor, making it as secure as an iron barrel. It’s indeed hard to gather any news."

Bai Qingyan paused her hand holding the teacup, the Emperor sent hidden guards to protect King Liang’s mansion?

Was it merely because King Liang presented the elixir that the Emperor valued him so much? Or rather... valued King Liang’s mansion!

If it was for protecting King Liang, it would have been enough to send hidden guards to his side. Why protect King Liang’s mansion?

Could it be, the Emperor didn’t dare to openly violate the ancestral prohibition on imperial descendants involving in alchemy, so he ordered King Liang to refine elixirs in his mansion?

"Has anyone checked the purchasing records of King Liang’s mansion during this time?" Bai Qingyan asked.

Wei Zhong and Bai Jinxiu hadn’t thought of this. Wei Zhong immediately apologized, "It’s my neglect!"

"Focus on checking if King Liang’s mansion purchased things like powdered gold, saltpeter, pine resin, and so on." Bai Qingyan instructed.

Bai Jinxiu nodded, "Leave this to me. I should be able to find out soon."

"If the Emperor truly took the elixir..." the Eldest Princess shook her head, "I’m afraid his life won’t be long. Indeed, the Emperor did this very secretly. Anyone who tries to persuade the Emperor may be suspected of planting spies around him."

As the Eldest Princess, she was even less likely to persuade. She was the Eldest Princess of the Jin Kingdom, the Emperor’s aunt, but in the Emperor’s eyes, she was still a member of the Bai family!

Although the Bai family’s military power that kept the Emperor restless had been completely relinquished, the Emperor still did not trust the Bai family... He guarded Bai Qingyan against her in every possible way. At this time, if her granddaughter’s grandmother went to persuade, the Emperor, even if he didn’t dare to do anything to the Eldest Princess, would certainly develop a deep hatred toward Bai Qingyan and even the remaining orphans of the Bai family.

Given this, it would be better to let the Emperor continue his ways! Let the Crown Prince ascend the throne quickly. At least, the Crown Prince... trusted Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan was not concerned about who should persuade the Emperor but was worried that the Emperor might die too early, thus adding unnecessary complications.

"The reason I called you here before you enter the palace, apart from telling you this matter, is to warn you to be cautious of King Liang!" The Eldest Princess finished speaking and ordered Wei Zhong, "Bring the person here!"

Wei Zhong nodded, turned, and left the courtyard.

Bai Jinxiu looked toward the Eldest Princess, puzzled, "Grandmother?"

"Ever since King Liang admitted to having the maid beside Kid put that forged letter in your grandfather’s study to save King Xin, I have been contemplating King Liang! I always felt King Liang was not stupid enough to be unaware of the crime of treason. His actions were intended to bring ruin to the Bai family!" The Eldest Princess spoke with a hint of apprehension, unconsciously fiddling with the Buddha Beads in her hand, "So, I instructed Wei Zhong to investigate why King Liang held such animosity toward the Bai family and finally discovered some clues."

As soon as the Eldest Princess finished speaking, Wei Zhong returned, dragging a young man with shaking legs.

The young man had no beard, fair skin, and was missing an arm.

Upon entering, he saw Bai Qingyan in silver armor exuding a murderous aura and the majestic Eldest Princess; he weakly fell to his knees, trembling before being dragged by the collar by Wei Zhong and brought in front of the Eldest Princess, Bai Qingyan, and Bai Jinxiu.

The young man hastily knelt properly and heavily kowtowed toward the Eldest Princess, not daring to lift his head.

"Who are you?" Bai Jinxiu asked, staring at the kneeling man.

"I... I am a servant from King Liang’s mansion serving tea to King Liang. Previously, I served under Eunuch Tongji, but after his death, King Liang dismissed the house servants, and I began to serve King Liang, replacing Eunuch Tongji!"

The eunuch timidly looked up but, upon seeing Bai Qingyan’s silver armor, hurriedly buried his head again and honestly confessed, "One day... I wanted King Liang to know that I had a good relationship with Eunuch Tongji, so I secretly burned paper money for him, hoping to catch King Liang’s attention and respect."

"Who knew... I accidentally overheard King Liang talking to a man in black, about his deep hatred for the Bai family. He said that years ago, the King of Zhen’s intention to reverse the wrongful conviction for Imperial Censor Jian Congwen forced Consort Tong to suicidal despair, thus compelling the Second Prince to rebel! If it weren’t for the King of Zhen’s meddling, the current Crown Prince should have been the Second Prince. There was no need for the Second Prince to rebel! The man in black said... all the men of the Bai family were dead, yet King Liang still wanted the Bai family dead. King Liang replied because... because the Princess of Zhen was not dead, and the honor of the Bai family still lived! He wanted the Bai family destroyed, and its honor ruined to quench his hatred, so sincerely collaborated!"

As he spoke, the eunuch was full of fear and trembling uncontrollably, showing deep apprehension.

"I knew I overheard a great secret of King Liang and tried to escape, but King Liang noticed! I was unable to escape and had to pretend that I was secretly burning paper money for Eunuch Tongji! King Liang said that since I was so close to Eunuch Tongji, I should accompany him underground, relieving his loneliness!"

"Then, King Liang’s guards knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was on a carriage. They took me to Eunuch Tongji’s tomb, planning to bury me alive beside him. I tried to run... The guard drew his knife to kill me, and I had no choice but to jump into the river to save my life, and I lost my arm. Thanks to Master Wei who saved me from the river and arranged a dead body to replace me, otherwise... I would not be alive!"

The eunuch said, tearfully glancing at Bai Qingyan, catching her scrutinizing gaze, and quickly lowered his head again.

"Did you see who that man in black was?" Bai Qingyan asked.

"No..." The eunuch quickly added, "But I heard King Liang address him as Prince! He said... Your Highness, rest assured, this prince is sincerely cooperating with you!"

Prince?

Bai Qingyan lowered her head, rubbing the teacup in her hand, deep in thought.

The Prince cooperating with King Liang; Bai Qingyan ruled out several princes within the Capital. Those in the Capital who had aspirations and abilities within the Royal bloodline had long been eradicated by the Emperor shortly after his ascension!