Bai Qingping lowered his gaze, still maintaining his proper and respectful posture as he sat in the chair, but his fists quietly clenched. He replied calmly, “I didn’t accompany them during the bandit suppression, so I don’t know the specific details.”

“You don’t know, but that prefect’s son Shen Yancong, who’s always hanging around with you, surely knows!” Bai Qiyun was quite critical of Bai Qingping’s attitude of claiming ignorance about everything. “You didn’t even think to ask! That was over four hundred thousand taels of silver!”

“If those four hundred thousand taels in banknotes were found, the Princess Zhenguo would either use the money for military training and bandit suppression, or as previously stated, use it for repairing the clan ancestral hall, purchasing clan farmland… and other such matters! Now that Elder Uncle has been expelled from the clan, I don’t understand what you mean by asking about this money.”

Bai Qingping felt disgusted to the extreme by Bai Qiyun’s behavior, but couldn’t show it. His words couldn’t help but carry some sharpness.

Bai Qiyun was momentarily speechless: “How dare you speak to your elder uncle like this?”

Bai Qingping’s grandfather quickly waved his hand to signal Bai Qiyun to calm down, saying to Bai Qingping, “This money was originally for the clan. The money was robbed while in your elder uncle’s possession. Your elder uncle has been constantly worried about this matter, feeling he’s failed the clan… so what’s wrong with asking about it? Is it worth speaking to your elder uncle like this?”

“I think he’s just been following behind Bai Qingyan’s backside, handling a few matters for Bai Qingyan… and now thinks he’s capable!” Bai Qiyun glared at Bai Qingping.

Bai Qingping wasn’t angered. He rose and performed a deep bow to his grandfather: “Cousin Sister earned her position as Princess Zhenguo by risking her life on the battlefield. She is magnanimous and doesn’t hold grudges about how the clan previously pressured the orphans and widows of the capital Bai family. She allows your grandson to work for her, protecting and promoting the Bai clan members. Grandfather should be content and have a sense of shame, not continue coveting things that never belonged to us!”

“Insolent!” Bai Qingping’s grandfather’s face immediately turned iron-blue with anger. “Those without shame are not human—are you saying your grandfather isn’t human?!”

“Grandson wouldn’t dare! Grandson just feels that Grandfather is already old… Now that Elder Uncle has been expelled from the clan, my father is still the clan leader! I hope Grandfather can preserve some dignity for Father, and not let others think that our Bai clan’s Shuoyang branch leader’s family is all people who forget righteousness for profit!”

After speaking, Bai Qingping bowed to his grandfather, turned, and walked toward the door.

Bai Qiyun was so angry that his chest heaved violently: “Father! Look at Bai Qingping’s attitude! He doesn’t even respect you anymore…”

Just as Bai Qingping stepped over the threshold and lifted the curtain to leave, he paused and turned his head to say to Bai Qiyun inside the room: “I advise Elder Uncle not to harbor inappropriate greed. Otherwise, while the Princess Zhenguo can currently show consideration for my father being clan leader and spare Elder Uncle, if Elder Uncle goes too far, the Princess Zhenguo is not someone who shows mercy.”

After speaking, Bai Qingping strode toward the courtyard exit.

“Father! Look what Bai Qingping has become!” Bai Qiyun jumped up from his chair, pointing in Bai Qingping’s direction and shouting at his father.

Bai Qingping’s grandfather remained silent, gripping his walking stick tightly. This grandson of his had always been the most clear-headed in the Bai clan, even more so than himself, the former clan leader.

Bai Qiyun had been coveting those four hundred thousand taels, thinking that since the money originally belonged to the Bai clan, and his younger brother Bai Qihe was now the clan leader, if it were recovered, it would naturally go to the clan leader. Then he could ask Bai Qihe to give him some, which would make his efforts to retrieve it from the capital Bai family worthwhile.

But seeing Bai Qingping’s attitude now, even if the money were recovered… it would probably be eagerly delivered personally to Bai Qingyan for her military training.

“Enough! Let’s go back…” Bai Qingping’s grandfather used his walking stick to support himself as he stood, saying to Bai Qiyun, “Don’t covet that money anymore.”

“Father! Are you going to abandon your son, too?” Bai Qiyun felt a moment of panic.

Ever since his younger brother Bai Qihe became clan leader, Bai Qiyun had worried that his father would abandon him. After all… Bai Qihe was also his father’s son.

Not receiving an answer from his father, Bai Qiyun stared at his father’s retreating figure with a pale face, his heart filled with anxiety.

On the evening of the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month, the side gate of Left Chancellor Li’s mansion was knocked upon. When the gatekeeper opened the door, she saw seven heads arranged neatly on the stone steps and screamed before fainting.

Another old woman in the gatehouse heard the commotion and rushed out, only to be so frightened she fell to the ground. Using her hands and feet, she crawled backward before getting up and rushing toward the inner courtyard.

Left Chancellor Li Mao was practicing calligraphy in his study when his blue-robed strategist and white-robed strategist hurried over, requesting an audience outside his study door.

Li Mao finished his last stroke, set down his purple brush, and used a damp cloth to wipe the ink stains from his hands while admiring his calligraphy: “Please invite the two gentlemen in!”

As soon as they entered, the blue-robed strategist said, “Left Chancellor, there’s trouble! The heads of our people sent to Shuoyang have been returned!”

Li Mao was startled, looking up at his two strategists with a dramatically changed expression, suddenly remembering when his son’s legs were broken.

“It must be that Bai Qingyan discovered them.” Li Mao gritted his back teeth, threw the cloth on the table, and furrowed his brow. “I repeatedly warned them to be careful, be careful! How were they still discovered? What were they doing?”

Fortunately, Bai Qingyan only sent the heads back as a warning, rather than directly sending evidence to the Crown Prince’s mansion…

Thinking of this, Li Mao’s throat moved as he quickly said, “Quick! Send people to watch the Crown Prince’s mansion gate and see if there’s anything unusual!”

What if this time he angered Bai Qingyan, and she didn’t want to be caught with evidence, so she simply decided to eliminate him directly?!

This time Li Mao had been rash. He wasn’t someone accustomed to letting others hold leverage over him. He was used to being in control, and anything beyond his control made him feel like he had thorns in his back, restless and sleepless.

That’s why he sent people to Shuoyang, having his people contact the local clan members, trying to find… or even create leverage against Bai Qingyan.

“Could it be that the expelled Bai clan members told the Princess Zhenguo?” the white-robed strategist mused thoughtfully.

“If the Bai family’s loyalty were truly so unified, how could the incident of forcibly occupying the ancestral home have happened?” The blue-robed strategist shook his head.

“Send someone to Shuoyang to bow and admit fault to the Princess Zhenguo!” The white-robed strategist made a decisive decision, thinking of how Bai Qingyan had previously broken Left Chancellor’s youngest son Li Mingtang’s legs, and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

The white-robed strategist had a strong intuition that Bai Qingyan was not a benevolent person. If she were truly provoked, even if Bai Qingyan didn’t take the Left Chancellor’s life this time, she would still make him shed a layer of skin.

If Bai Qingyan learned about the despicable schemes their people and the Shuoyang clan had planned, she might directly take the Left Chancellor’s life.