When Lu Ping arrived, dragging Li Mingtang, Left Chancellor Li Mao’s carriage returning from court was already very close.
“First Miss, Uncle Ping is here!” After Shen Qingzhu finished speaking, she stepped aside.
Lu Ping nodded to Shen Qingzhu, walked to the carriage, and spoke in a low voice: “First Miss, I left Li Mingtang with one breath remaining, and quite a few people followed to watch the excitement.”
“Understood!” She responded coldly, “When Li Mao’s carriage stops, have someone throw Li Mingtang in front of the Left Chancellor’s carriage.”
“Yes!” Lu Ping clasped his fists in response, then stood beside the carriage with Shen Qingzhu, gripping their sabers and staring intently at Li Mao’s carriage.
Inside the Li family carriage, Li Mao closed his eyes, contemplating today’s court session when His Majesty mentioned the disaster in Yanwo. The Crown Prince’s words defending Prince Liang seemed somewhat ill-intentioned.
The Crown Prince had elevated Prince Liang too highly, saying Prince Liang was His Majesty’s son, accompanied by Left Chancellor Li Mao’s carefully instructed eldest son, and assisted by General Shi Panshan. No previous disaster relief had such grand arrangements. He told His Majesty not to underestimate Prince Liang just because he didn’t usually display his talents, and that as long as Prince Liang put his heart into it, he could certainly handle this disaster.
The Crown Prince’s appearance of being proud of his younger brother had satisfied His Majesty.
But the underlying meaning was that if the disaster wasn’t handled well, it would be Prince Liang’s fault.
Li Mao was pondering this when he heard his coachman say: “Chancellor, the road ahead is blocked. It looks like the carriage from Duke Zhenguo’s mansion.”
Li Mao’s palms tightened as he opened his eyes. Bai Qingyan had come after all!
So Bai Qingyan did have those letters in her possession!
No, he couldn’t be certain yet. Perhaps Bai Qingyan was bluffing to intimidate him. Today, he must make things clear with Bai Qingyan. If Bai Qingyan didn’t produce the letters, he wouldn’t believe she possessed them.
Li Mao slightly lifted his chin, straightened his collar, and sat upright, already assuming the bearing of the current Left Chancellor.
If Bai Qingyan was unwilling to produce them, then he would carefully instruct his wife that after entering the palace, no matter what, she must request the Empress to issue an imperial decree for County Princess Gaoyi to marry into their Li family!
This way, once those letters surfaced… even if it meant house confiscation and clan extermination, County Princess Gaoyi couldn’t escape!
If the letters weren’t in Bai Qingyan’s hands, then for her sister to survive, Bai Qingyan would have to help him search together!
If the letters were in Bai Qingyan’s hands, they would be like waste paper, unless she could abandon even her sister.
“Stop right in front of Duke Zhenguo’s carriage!” Li Mao said coldly.
“Yes!”
Seeing Li Mao’s carriage slowly come to a stop, Lu Ping raised his hand and gestured to the guard army behind him.
Two guards immediately dragged the blood-covered Li Mingtang forward quickly and threw him in front of the Left Chancellor’s carriage.
The coachman was startled to suddenly see a person covered in blood, and said to Li Mao inside the carriage: “Chan… Chancellor, Duke Zhenguo, had someone throw a blood-covered person in front of our carriage!”
Before Li Mao inside the carriage could react, Li Mingtang, barely alive and lying on the ground, tremblingly raised his hand, his voice faint as silk: “Father…”
The coachman was greatly alarmed: “Sixth Young Master?! Sixth Young Master?”
The coachman quickly jumped down from the carriage and rushed over to support Li Mingtang. Seeing it was indeed their Sixth Young Master, he hurriedly shouted: “Chancellor! It’s our Sixth Young Master! Our Sixth Young Master!”
Upon hearing it was his son, Li Mao, he suddenly stood up, nearly hitting his official hat on the carriage roof. Supporting his hat while bending to exit the carriage, he saw his son wearing only undergarments, beaten and bloody all over. He nearly blacked out and fell from the carriage.
The guards following Li Mao immediately stepped forward, pressing their hands on their saber hilts, glaring menacingly at Lu Ping’s group.
Shen Qingzhu stepped forward, dressed in black and carrying a sword. Her gaze swept over the Li mansion guards, her eyes cold and murderous, as if she didn’t regard these guards at all and could handle them all single-handedly.
“Tang’er! Tang’er!” Li Mao clutched his official robe as he jumped down from the carriage, staggering several steps. His official hat rolled to one side, and if the guards hadn’t supported the Left Chancellor, he would have certainly fallen.
“Father…” Li Mingtang saw his father and weakly called out once before his head dropped down.
“Tang’er!” Li Mao was greatly alarmed, kneeling beside his son. Seeing his son covered in blood, he reached out but didn’t dare touch him, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
He gritted his teeth and looked up at Bai Qingyan’s carriage, his gaze falling on Shen Qingzhu standing at the front, roaring angrily: “What is the meaning of this?! Bai Qingyan, why did you harm my son?”
Chun Tao emerged from the carriage and lifted the carriage curtain for Bai Qingyan. Only then did Shen Qingzhu step aside.
Bai Qingyan, wearing dark-patterned plain clothes, bent to exit the carriage and stood atop it, looking down coldly at Li Mao with extremely dark eyes, speaking slowly: “The Left Chancellor didn’t take my warning to heart.”
Sima Ping squeezed to the front from the crowd blocked by the Bai family guard army, only able to see Bai Qingyan’s figure standing on the carriage. He immediately widened his eyes in disbelief: “Sister Bai?!”
Bai Qingyan’s entire being emanated the terrifying killing intent of one who had returned from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Her tone was coolly penetrating: “Last time I informed the Left Chancellor that I wished for our two families to coexist peacefully. I thought the Left Chancellor understood… that he would never again assist Prince Liang in causing me trouble. Who knew you would dare to target my Fourth Sister!”
Li Mao’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared sinisterly at Bai Qingyan, as if he wanted to devour her alive. But when their eyes met, inexplicably, a frightening chill arose from the bottom of his heart.
Someone who had burned ten thousand surrendered prisoners alive—one could see how ruthless her heart was!
“I, Bai Qingyan, have always been unable to tolerate sand in my eyes. When others respect me a foot, I respect them a yard. When others bully me an inch, I also return a yard! Since you insist on causing me trouble, I’ll make you even more troubled!”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes were coldly sunken, her intimidating presence sharp and exposed: “Today’s events are the consequence of the Left Chancellor’s failure to recognize the times. How to explain to others… without harming my Bai family’s reputation, the Left Chancellor can figure out! If I don’t hear the Left Chancellor’s explanation before sunset today, then the Left Chancellor should take his entire family, wash their necks clean, and prepare to explain to His Majesty… and the King of Hell what those letters are about!”
After speaking, Bai Qingyan flicked her sleeves, bent to sit back in the carriage, and departed with great fanfare.
Li Mao bit his teeth hard, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, veins bulging on the backs of his hands and forehead, but he could only grit his teeth to prevent himself from roaring in anger.
Li Mao never imagined that Bai Qingyan would act so decisively. He closed his eyes and shouted: “What are you standing around for! Lift the young master into the carriage! Return to the mansion! Summon the Imperial Physician!”
This time, Li Mao was truly frightened. That chill climbed from the soles of his feet to his spine, making his entire body tremble.
If Bai Qingyan didn’t have those letters in her hands, how would she dare to be so arrogant before him?! How would she dare to beat his son beyond recognition?!