“Jinzhi!” Bai Jintong pulled her into their act.
Bai Jinzhi shook off Bai Jintong’s hand and angrily demanded: “Why did great aunt agree to these scoundrels’ extortion?! How can our Duke Mansion raise four hundred fifty thousand taels without bankrupting ourselves? How could great aunt agree?! If we truly go bankrupt… what will become of our Duke Mansion’s widows?!”
“Xiao Si!” Bai Jinxiu choked out, trying to stop her.
But Bai Jinzhi’s emotions grew increasingly agitated: “Moreover, if this matter were true, why did grandfather never mention it?! When this clan uncle came to our door, he didn’t first pay respects or offer condolences, but instead spoke of Duke Mansion widows needing clan protection, demanding we pay silver to buy safety, acting like bandits! Great aunt is such a strong person, why would she yield?! On what grounds should our Duke Mansion yield? Has the clan taken little silver from our Duke Mansion over the years? Our grandfather, uncle, father, uncle, and brothers’ bones are barely cold, yet the clan forces us orphans and widows to pay silver for safety! How is this different from village bullies?!”
Bai Jinzhi naturally had a loud voice, and being martial arts trained, this shout drew all the guests in the courtyard and common people outside to come watch the commotion.
With all the family’s men having perished in Nan Jiang this morning, the military records had gradually been delivered back by loyal servants who sacrificed their lives, and the common people had caused a scene with them at the palace’s Wude Gate!
At this time, the capital’s citizens were all concerned about the Duke Mansion and unwilling to see any more troubles befall them.
When these clan members arrived earlier, not kowtowing or offering incense but rushing straight toward the inner courtyard, the people and guests had all seen it.
After all this fuss, they had come in such haste to force the Bai family widows to pay silver for safety!
Bai Qiyun’s eyes widened: “What nonsense are you spouting, child?! Who’s making your Duke Mansion pay silver for safety?! This was something your grandfather, Duke Zhenguo, and the heir had already arranged with the clan. It was originally scheduled to be arranged when sending New Year gifts this year. The Duke always said… as the most distinguished family in the clan, it’s proper and fitting for the Duke Mansion to contribute to the clan. Over the years, the Duke took on all clan affairs entirely. No matter how the clan leader advised the Duke to let other clan members contribute, the Duke would only say that with clan glory, our Bai family could prosper even more! The clan leader feared that during the Duke Mansion’s mourning, you would still worry about clan matters without having your hands free to handle them, so he sent me to the door! Not only are you, young lady, confusing right and wrong, but how do you speak to your elders?!”
Though Bai Qiyun loved putting on airs, he wasn’t completely foolish. With so many outsiders present, how could he display the coercive attitude he had shown Dong Shi in the hall earlier and give people something to criticize?!
Of course, he praised the Duke highly, and naturally, the clan leader had sent him out of consideration for the Duke’s heart devoted to clan glory and prospects.
“Xiao Si! Step back! What propriety is this, creating such a disturbance before the Duke Mansion’s twenty-plus heroic spirits?!” Bai Jintong pulled Bai Jinzhi back and handed the incense in her hands to Bai Qiyun with both hands: “Please, uncle, offer incense for our grandfather, uncle, father, uncle, and brothers!”
Bai Qiyun glanced at Bai Jinzhi, who had been restrained by Bai Jintong, and muttered: “Lacking proper upbringing!”
“You…”
Bai Jinzhi was about to step forward to argue again, but Bai Jintong held her wrist firmly.
Bai Qiyun raised the incense and bowed three times. Just as he was about to offer the incense, the three sticks in his hand all broke cleanly in half.
“They broke…”
“How did the incense break?!”
“This is… the Duke refusing to accept his incense!”
The people discussed among themselves, unable to resist stepping forward to watch the excitement.
Bai Qiyun’s face turned ugly. He looked up at Duke Zhenguo’s black lacquered memorial tablet, his heart suddenly filled with unease, instinctively stepping back two paces.
Though the saying goes that gentlemen don’t speak of supernatural matters, he had come to the door while the Duke’s bones were barely cold, attempting to extort the Duke Mansion’s widows with a guilty conscience. Now with the incense breaking in half, how could he not panic?
Bai Jinxiu noticed the trick when Bai Jintong handed over the incense, lowering her eyes without speaking.
“The incense must have gotten damp. Uncle, please light new incense!” Bai Jintong lowered her eyes to hide the smile in them, lighting three new sticks and handing them to the uncle: “Please offer incense, uncle!”
Bai Qiyun suppressed his inner apprehension, bowing even more respectfully three times. When he stepped forward to offer incense again, the three sticks in his hand broke off cleanly and fell to the ground, frightening Bai Qiyun into retreating repeatedly.
“I said my grandfather never instructed us to give all the Duke Mansion’s family property to the clan!” Bai Jinzhi immediately knelt before the mourning hall and began crying and shouting: “Grandfather! Grandfather, you’ve returned, haven’t you! You also see the clan members bullying orphans and widows. Grandfather, you’re crying out for our injustice, so you won’t accept his incense offerings, right?!”
The candles before the mourning hall suddenly flickered violently, the shadows of the memorial tablets swaying wildly on the wall. With no wind coming through the doorway, everyone’s hearts were raised.
“The Duke has manifested his spirit!”
“The Duke has manifested his spirit!”
“Duke!”
The common people outside suddenly cried out and knelt, while the household servants all knelt with tears in their eyes, calling out to the Duke.
Bai Qiyun’s face turned deathly pale. Holding the broken ends of the three incense sticks, he stepped back two more paces.
Bai Jinzhi knelt before the mourning hall and kowtowed heavily: “Grandfather! First, there were Prince Xin’s false accusations; now, the clan’s coercion. The Duke Mansion’s widows face difficulties at every step. We beg our grandfather to show us the younger generations where to go from here!”
“The clan is too shameless!” came the thunderous voice of an elderly man, startling Bai Qiyun into turning around.
He saw Old Master Gu being supported by a servant, walking out trembling, his eyes red with fury.
Old Master Gu had hurried over and, seeing the Duke’s spirit unsettled, his heart was wrenched with grief. He angrily pointed at Bai Qiyun’s nose and scolded: “Does the clan have no shame? Ah?!”
“Old… Old Master?!” Bai Qiyun called out softly.
Old Master Gu’s walking stick struck the azure stone floor with resounding thuds: “I’ve managed the Duke Mansion’s accounts these years and know best how much the Duke Mansion has helped the clan! Every year, the Duke Mansion’s income, including His Majesty’s rewards, at which time did the Duke not think of the clan? Which time did he not send half the amount back to the clan?”
Old Master Gu knelt directly before the mourning hall, beating his chest and crying: “This old servant should have advised the Duke and heir long ago! ‘A bushel of rice brings gratitude, a measure brings resentment’ – the clan’s appetite has indeed grown, demanding four hundred fifty thousand taels from the Duke Mansion! With the Duke Mansion sending half its annual income to the clan year after year, how can we produce four hundred fifty thousand taels?! When the Duke Mansion can’t produce the silver, they force the heir’s wife to sell all the Duke Mansion’s shops, farms, and estates! If everything is sold, in the future… how will the Duke Mansion’s hundred-plus people survive?! It’s all this old servant’s fault… for not being loyal and forthright! This old servant… this old servant has failed the Duke’s trust, failed everyone in the Duke Mansion. This old servant might as well die!”