Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 480 - 477: A Serious Problem Inside - Part 1

Chapter 480: Chapter 477: A Serious Problem Inside - Part 1

Bai Jinxiu’s letter detailed that she had discovered the connection between King Liang’s residence and the Wang family of Jiuqu Alley. They were engaging in child trafficking. Bai Jinxiu had continually had people monitoring both the Wang family of Jiuqu Alley and the steward of King Liang’s residence.

The Hidden Guard sent by Bai Jinxiu had witnessed the two parties meeting secretly. King Liang’s steward said they needed boys and girls under ten years old and would need ten boys and ten girls next time. Then, the Wang family brought five boys and five girls into King Liang’s residence quietly.

Bai Qingyan burned the letter. Once it was almost completely burned, she put it into the inkstone.

What did King Liang’s residence want with the children?

The Emperor had already sent Hidden Guards to watch over King Liang’s residence. The Emperor must have known about King Liang bringing in the ten children.

Could it be... related to alchemy?

Bai Qingyan clenched her hands tightly, sitting silently on the chair for a long time.

Ever since Ji Langhua’s resurrection elixir incident in Dadu City, the Emperor seemed to have taken a keen interest in it. King Liang exploited this situation by using elixirs to curry favor with the Emperor.

A wave of blood rushed to Bai Qingyan’s head, making her brain buzz.

If her suspicions were correct, and King Liang was indeed using children in alchemy to please the Emperor, such an inhumane act...

If the Emperor knew and still dared to consume it, or worse, if the Emperor ordered it...

Then the reign of the Lin family in Jin Kingdom would truly come to an end.

"Is Uncle Liu at the residence?" Bai Qingyan turned and asked Nanny Tong.

"He should be!" Nanny Tong responded.

"Nanny, have someone call Uncle Liu and Steward Hao to wait for me in the front hall!" Bai Qingyan said as she started writing a reply to Bai Jinxiu.

Bai Qingyan instructed Bai Jinxiu to continue monitoring the Wang family but not to alert them. She asked her to carefully send someone to investigate King Liang’s residence and to protect the safety of the ten children as much as possible.

Some matters were no longer suitable for the pregnant Bai Jinxiu to handle; the Crown Prince was better suited for this task.

After finishing and sealing the letter to Bai Jinzhi, she began writing a letter to the Crown Prince.

Bai Qingyan informed the Crown Prince that King Liang might secretly be making elixirs without the Emperor’s knowledge. He was using children for alchemy, disregarding human life. If the Crown Prince could expose this, he could remove a major threat, King Liang.

Now that King Liang was about to marry Liu Ruofu, who had the backing of King Xian, the Crown Prince was more anxious than anyone.

If the Crown Prince learned about King Liang’s secret alchemy, he would surely use it as leverage against him.

Even if the Crown Prince’s advisors guessed that the alchemy was for the Emperor, the Crown Prince would prioritize stopping King Xian’s daughter Liu Ruofu from marrying King Liang over offending the Emperor.

Although the Crown Prince believed he had control over the Bai family’s army, the army was far away in Nanjin. The Crown Prince must still have some apprehensions.

And by blocking King Liang’s path to power, the Emperor would only have the Crown Prince left, apart from a few young ones, to consider for any significant responsibilities. No one else would compete with the Crown Prince.

The strategist beside the Crown Prince, Old Fang, would never disappoint in weighing the pros and cons.

Bai Qingyan sealed the two letters and took them to the front hall.

Steward Liu and Steward Hao were already waiting for Bai Qingyan. Seeing Bai Qingyan entering and dismissing everyone else, they realized the seriousness of the matter.

"Uncle Liu, send two reliable people to deliver these two letters to Dadu City as quickly as possible. This one is for Jinxiu!" Bai Qingyan handed over another letter addressed to the Crown Prince, "And this one to the Crown Prince’s residence!"

"Understood!" Steward Liu replied as he left.

"Steward Hao, please personally visit the Governor’s mansion and tell Shen Yanzong... that I will inspect the training ground tomorrow morning! Also, find out how many families have reported missing children due to bandit attacks!" Bai Qingyan instructed.

Although Steward Hao did not understand Bai Qingyan’s intentions, he trusted her judgment. He nodded in agreement, "Don’t worry, Miss."

On her way back, Bai Qingyan had heard many accounts of missing children. Coincidentally, King Liang’s residence had taken ten children from the Wang family of Jiuqu Alley. It was hard not to link the two events.

Everyone in Shuoyang knew that Steward Hao represented the Bai family. If the Governor wanted to curry favor with Bai Qingyan, he would naturally share everything he knew with Steward Hao.

When Steward Liu and Steward Hao left, Chun Tao entered the main hall.

The curtains and veils hung on the intricately carved and gold-plated ebony pillars were drawn together by silver hooks. The sixteen-branch bronze lamp’s flames flickered unevenly, casting a golden light on the pensive Bai Qingyan, creating a picture perfect for a portrait.

Chun Tao, heartbroken that Bai Qingyan had not rested since her return, took small steps forward and softly asked, "Miss, after you finish, please rest early! I heard that Fourth Miss took a nap right after returning. When Shaohua Hall ended, Fourth Miss was so tired she couldn’t keep her eyes open and had to be carried back by a nanny."

Only their young mistress had barely closed her eyes since coming in, except when she bathed, and had not stopped working.

Hearing this, Bai Qingyan nodded to Chun Tao. She stood up and walked with Chun Tao along the covered corridor toward Boyun Courtyard, her mind still on the kidnapped children.

Even though Lu Ping hadn’t returned from Ji Tingyu’s place, Bai Qingyan had a feeling that the bandits targeting children might well have chosen Shuoyang because of its rampant banditry. If they dared to rob both the Crown Prince and the Princess of Zhen, they would certainly risk operating near Shuoyang.

Whether these "bandits" were from the Wang family or King Liang, now that they had come, they wouldn’t leave unscathed.

Bai Qingyan’s efforts to train soldiers to combat bandits were well known from the Emperor to the common people. This was an excellent opportunity to prove their worth and give the Emperor an answer.

Tomorrow, she planned to inspect the training ground. If the soldiers were trained adequately, she would take them out for a test run. Those who merely wished to mooch off the food and silver would realize that these benefits weren’t freely given. Future recruits would need to measure up to the standard.

Back in the Boyun Courtyard, Bai Qingyan didn’t rest. Instead, she asked Chun Tao to help her strap on weighted iron sandbags to practice with her silver spear. Chun Tao and Nanny Tong were very worried, but their young mistress was determined and unstoppable.

It wasn’t until Steward Hao returned from the Governor’s mansion that Bai Qingyan placed the silver spear back on the rack, wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, and asked Nanny Tong to invite Steward Hao to speak in the courtyard.

"The Governor said that including the seven reported today, a total of twenty-one children were missing in his jurisdiction. Of those, sixteen were abducted by bandits," Steward Hao reported, bowing.

Bai Qingyan nodded, "I understand. Thank you, Steward Hao. You may go rest now."