The battle in Nan Jiang had cost the Jin kingdom hundreds of thousands of troops. His Jin kingdom would have no strength to fight Xiliang again for at least five years, and would inevitably have to cede territory to seek peace.
The Emperor was so furious his hair stood on end and his hands were shaking. He had just been angry about the Bai family’s coercion, but now what he resented most was his legitimate son, Prince Xin!
That arrogant wretch had no ability, yet forced the commander-in-chief to go to war. He regretted why he had given Prince Xin the golden token and the commanding arrow in the first place. His offspring… didn’t he know what kind of person he was?!
Yes, when he sent Prince Xin to Duke Zhenguo, he had indeed intended for Prince Xin to suppress Duke Zhenguo. He had only wanted the Duke’s household to be found guilty! He had only wanted to diminish the reputation of this so-called invincible military family myth.
But he was the Emperor of the Great Jin kingdom – he had never wanted Great Jin to suffer such a catastrophic defeat!
The Bai family’s deaths were not worth regretting, but those hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers were all his officers and men. How could his heart not ache?!
And that Liu Huanzhang!
He dared betray the Kingdom!
He dared lead Great Jin’s army to turn weapons against their own!
Traitor! Exterminate nine generations! He must exterminate nine generations!
The Emperor’s hands holding the bamboo slips kept shaking uncontrollably. Thinking of the Bai family daughters in mourning clothes and the capital’s people kneeling outside Wude Gate, trying to force him to kill his legitimate son! He burned with even greater fury.
He only had that one legitimate son!
The Emperor’s head ached terribly, his heart so resentful he wanted to immediately issue an edict to exterminate the entire Bai family.
At this time, the Empress paced anxiously outside the great hall, not knowing what to do. Now the Bai family had come with the people in fierce momentum, kneeling outside the palace gates, demanding justice and wanting the Emperor to kill Prince Xin to calm the people’s hearts.
The Empress had been married to the Emperor for many years and understood too well his personality of seeking fame and reputation. What if he really killed Prince Xin to protect his reputation…
The Empress dared not think about it. The Emperor had many sons, but she only had that one son!
In the hall, the Emperor looked at the Grand Princess’s somber expression and closed his eyes: “Aunt, we are family, so naturally we speak as family behind closed doors! Why has Aunt made such a big commotion? What are you seeking?”
The Emperor’s sinister eyes filled with killing intent, looked toward the Grand Princess: “Do you really… want to force me to kill Prince Xin?!”
“Since we’re speaking as family behind closed doors, then I’ll say a few heartfelt words to the Emperor!” The Grand Princess gripped her tiger-head walking stick tightly, her expression calm. “Before I married Bai Weiting, who was then still heir to Duke Zhenguo, Father Emperor once told me… that the Bai family of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion was the nation’s pillar and Great Jin’s backbone. The imperial family needed to rely on the Bai family, but also had to guard against them! When Father Emperor was advanced in years with little time left, he hoped I would help him guard the Lin family’s imperial power and guard against the Bai family’s rebellious intentions! That day… I swore an oath with my imperial blood.”
As if afraid these words didn’t carry enough weight, the Grand Princess gripped her tiger-head walking stick tightly and said quietly: “That year, Father Emperor gave me an imperial secret guard unit. All these years I’ve kept them at a manor. Even when the Duke and my several sons went to battle, I never used them. Your Majesty, do you know… what I was guarding against?”
The Emperor’s gaze toward the Grand Princess became serious. He had never expected that when the Grand Princess married down, there were such inside circumstances.
Not using them even when her sons went to battle meant… she was guarding against the Bai family’s rebellious intentions.
“I must help our Lin family guard the inviolable imperial authority, so today… I advise Your Majesty that Prince Xin should be killed!” The Grand Princess gripped the sandalwood prayer beads in her sleeve tightly and sighed deeply. “Setting aside the Bai family’s private revenge, consider only the people’s hearts under heaven! The military records were delivered to the Bai family memorial hall before everyone’s eyes. Prince Xin’s actions are now known to all! The Bai family and people hate him to the point of gnashing their teeth! Your Majesty should know… water can carry a boat but also overturn it. Only when popular sentiment supports it can imperial power last long! If Your Majesty kills Prince Xin, this time… the people outside Wude Gate will all become popular support Your Majesty has gained! If you cannot bear to kill Prince Xin, or even cannot bear to punish him… what Your Majesty loses will not just be the popular support of those people outside Wude Gate.”
The Grand Princess spoke these words as if entirely for the imperial family, but she also had private motives. She indeed wanted the Emperor to kill Prince Xin, to avenge her husband, her sons, and grandsons!
Her youngest grandson had been so lively and adorable – he was only ten years old!
If not for Prince Xin’s reckless ambition for glory, forcing Bai Weiting into battle, how would the Bai family have ended up with all their men extinct?!
Prince Xin… deserved to die!
But she could not adopt the weeping, wailing attitude of ordinary women, using blood kinship to beg the Emperor to kill Prince Xin.
The Grand Princess had known since childhood how women differed from men. When confronting a man, she could not consider herself a woman. Men’s perspective was the world under heaven, while women’s hearts were mostly too soft… seeking blood kinship and the small plot of the inner courtyard. This was what she had once taught her eldest granddaughter, Bai Qingyan.
The Grand Princess’s words made the Emperor’s heart pound. He gripped the bamboo slips in his hand and tapped them on the desk, casually tossing them aside. Leaning against the soft pillow embroidered with golden dragons and flying patterns, he closed his eyes and pondered repeatedly.
Between securing imperial power through popular support and reluctance over family affection, the Emperor’s chest soon gathered a mass of turbid energy.
He asked with closed eyes: “When Aunt tells me these things, is there truly no intention… of killing Prince Xin to avenge your children and grandchildren?”
Having occupied the supreme position for so long, the Emperor’s imposing authority as a ruler was very intimidating.
The Grand Princess steadied her mind and spoke slowly: “I am indeed the Duke’s wife of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion, but I am first and foremost the imperial family’s Grand Princess!”
The Emperor opened his eyes, his sinister gaze looking toward the Grand Princess, full of scrutiny.
The Grand Princess met the Emperor’s eyes directly, her voice steady: “For the current plan… Liu Huanzhang’s nine generations absolutely cannot be spared! While the people are all gathered at Wude Gate, Your Majesty must at least make a show of it. Have the Imperial Guards surround the Liu mansion and confiscate their property! Prince Xin should be severely punished precisely because he is the legitimate son. Even if not killed, he will have no connection to the supreme position in this life! As for the Bai family… only some orphaned daughters and widows remain who cannot stir up any waves.”
When the previous emperor was still alive, he had told the current emperor that the Grand Princess, this legitimate imperial daughter, was a capable and proud person. For these years, the old lady had eaten vegetarian food and recited Buddhist scriptures, cultivating a compassionate Buddhist nature in her expression. But when truly facing matters, the decisive killing spirit deep in her bones had not changed.
“Aunt’s eldest granddaughter is quite formidable indeed!” The Emperor’s eyes narrowed, and mentioning Bai Qingyan, killing intent inadvertently leaked out, his voice cold as ice.
The Grand Princess’s hand holding the sandalwood prayer beads trembled, and she gently fingered the beads, her voice growing from weak to strong: “I have already calculated what comes after. The Bai family’s great mourning will be handled simply to let this matter’s turmoil pass quickly! Afterward… I will come to the palace to request the removal of the Duke Zhenguo title, then go to a temple to pray for the Kingdom, and live there permanently! I ask Your Majesty, considering the Bai family’s generations of loyalty, to let the Bai family widows… return to their ancestral home in Shouyang.”