“Fourth Sister…” Nanny Jiang was stunned and asked Bai Qingyan, “First Miss, what is Fourth Sister going to do?”

“Since grandmother has worked hard to perform this scene, naturally, we must maximize its effect,” Bai Qingyan said.

Nanny Jiang nodded. She, too, was furious with the clan for going too far.

“The Grand Princess requests First Miss to come in and speak…” Nanny Jiang quickly lifted the curtain for Bai Qingyan.

She entered, walked around the screen, and bowed before sitting below the Grand Princess. She heard the Grand Princess say, “Don’t apologize to the ancestors and leave the clan now. Grandmother knows you don’t care about your reputation, but grandmother cares, and your mother cares!”

Bai Qingyan looked at the Grand Princess, slightly hunched with her neatly combed silver hair at her temples, and nodded: “When does grandmother think would be appropriate?”

“Grandmother already knows what you did when you returned to Shouyang, but remember—most people in the world like to sympathize with the weak. This time, the clan tried to force the capital Bai family to use their power and influence to pressure Shouyang’s local officials into releasing people. Using their weakness to bully the strong, they forced the Grand Princess to vomit blood. When this news spreads, if the capital Bai family then apologizes to the ancestors and leaves the clan, the world will surely think the Shouyang Bai clan was arrogant, forcing the capital Bai family to take such action.”

The Grand Princess patiently instructed: “However, for our Bai family, leaving the clan isn’t the only path. After you return to Shouyang, you can use your status as Princess to open the ancestral shrine and expel the guilty from the clan! Choose a clan leader who knows when to advance and retreat, understands principles, and holds you in reverent fear. This way, the clan… can be used by you. Petty people have their uses too—as long as they’re used properly, they can benefit the Bai family.”

It wasn’t that the Grand Princess was reluctant to part with this so-called clan, but since the remaining orphans and widows of the Bai family would return to Shouyang, having one more ally was better than having one more enemy.

“What grandmother says is exactly what granddaughter was thinking,” Bai Qingyan nodded approvingly. “Most in the clan are petty people, and petty people like to scheme behind others’ backs, using underhanded methods to harm people. Unless we kill them all cleanly, keeping them around risks future troubles from behind! The capital Bai family’s foundation in Shouyang is still shallow. If we can drive away the clan’s parasites and intimidate the remaining useful clan members, then let them oppose each other, we can free our hands to do other things.”

The Grand Princess paused in fingering her prayer beads, her slightly clouded eyes looking toward Bai Qingyan: “Other things?”

Her fingers in her sleeves tightened slightly as she nodded: “Today, when Mr. Xiao came to the mansion, he said a batch of white tea being transported from Shouyang to Great Liang was robbed. He sought help from the Crown Prince, but His Highness said that with the current Yanwo famine and Great Liang stationing troops at the border with war imminent, he probably has no time to deal with bandit matters! When the granddaughter returned from Shouyang, the local prefect wanted to send people to escort the granddaughter back to the capital, saying there were bandit troubles locally, with quite a few people already robbed intermittently! Including the clan leader’s son from the Shouyang Bai clan.”

“Granddaughter worries that continued indulgence will lead to bandit troubles harming the people. To prevent problems before they occur, why not use the people as soldiers and prepare first? If the court later suppresses the bandits, that would naturally be good—consider it physical training for the people. If the court can’t spare the manpower for a long time, the granddaughter absolutely cannot watch bandits grow powerful and harm the people.” Bai Qingyan spoke seriously.

The Grand Princess looked deeply at Bai Qingyan and nodded, her eyes slightly moist. This granddaughter was too much like her husband, Bai Weiting, taking the welfare of the world’s common people as her responsibility.

Bai Qingyan knew her grandmother still maintained some wariness toward her, so rather than have her grandmother fear her when she trained troops in the future, it was better to be honest with her grandmother now. Those accustomed to high positions and controlling chess pieces often became arrogant.

Only by telling grandmother about this matter now, letting this high and mighty Grand Princess believe everything was still under her control, could she rely on grandmother’s trust to avoid excessive constraints and precautions in the future.

But if one day grandmother discovered she was openly training troops while secretly hiding soldiers, not for this Great Jin, their grandmother-granddaughter relationship would inevitably reach an ugly point.

Although both wanted to preserve the Bai family, the grandmother hoped the Bai family could be preserved by submitting to the Lin family’s imperial power.

“That child Jinse is very much like you…”

The Grand Princess thought of Bai Jinse kneeling before her, requesting to stay and learn medical arts with Miss Lu. Seeing Bai Jinse like that reminded the Grand Princess of Bai Qingyan’s childhood, perceptive with her ideas, initially showing wisdom and courage.

“Bai family descendants, whether sons or daughters, are all very similar,” Bai Qingyan said to the Grand Princess.

The Grand Princess smiled and nodded, unconsciously revealing her aged weariness, her eyes sorrowful: “Yes, all Bai family children… are very similar! Whether your grandfather, father, uncle, Suqiu, or you now…”

Having married into the Bai family, she ultimately couldn’t protect even one of the children she bore.

The Grand Princess showed no attempt to hide her aging before Bai Qingyan. Even though her hair was tightly bound by a forehead band, making her appear solemn, dignified, and imposing, after the clan left and she relaxed, she still revealed fatigue and haggardness.

“The Imperial Physicians will arrive soon. A’Bao… help grandmother to the inner room!” The Grand Princess extended her hand to Bai Qingyan.

She rose and respectfully supported the Grand Princess into the inner room, helping her remove the forehead band and attending to her as she lay down.

Outside the door, Bai Jinzhi began making a scene, cursing the Shouyang Bai clan for being heartless wolves who forced grandmother and eldest sister, with their dignity as Grand Princess and Princess, to pressure Shouyang’s local officials into releasing the shameless clan members who had killed people, forcibly seized others’ ancestral property, and kidnapped civilian women in Shouyang! When grandmother and eldest sister refused, they forced the dignified Grand Princess to vomit blood and faint.

With Bai Jinzhi’s commotion, the people throughout the street were in uproar.

Yesterday, the clan had made a big scene at Princess Zhenguo’s gate… saying Princess Zhenguo didn’t care for the clan and failed in her duties as a clan member.

Today, people personally saw the Grand Princess’s nanny respectfully invite the Shouyang Bai clan elders inside, but somehow they still made the Grand Princess so angry she vomited blood?!

This… this was too arrogant!

“Everyone knows our Bai family’s orphans and widows will return to Shouyang soon. The Shouyang ancestral home was just renovated, and you forcibly seized it—isn’t that right?! My eldest sister didn’t want to make things too ugly with the clan and was troubled about where this large family would live when returning to Shouyang. But you dared to chase us here demanding my eldest sister use her Princess status to pressure Shouyang’s county magistrate into releasing people!”

“Our capital Bai family, has always treated the people like flesh and blood relatives. Anyone who disrespects the people is punished! Even I… once received military punishment for whipping people at this mansion’s gate! How much more so for Shouyang Bai clan descendants who kill and harm lives—they absolutely cannot be forgiven! A life for a life, debts must be repaid—this is natural justice! Over the years, our capital Bai family has been benevolent and righteous to the clan to the utmost, with no shame before heaven and earth! But how has the clan treated our Bai family’s orphans and widows?”