Bai Qingyan’s methods were ruthless, and her actions decisive. If he couldn’t handle this matter properly, Bai Qingyan would truly send those letters to His Majesty.

After all, presenting those letters would be a great merit for the Bai family, but for the Li family, it would mean disaster extending to nine generations.

The Left Chancellor’s two advisors were also greatly surprised, not expecting Duke Zhenguo to strike so ruthlessly, leaving no room for mercy.

But upon careful consideration, it was within reason. Duke Zhenguo held the Left Chancellor’s weakness and was someone who could burn ten thousand surrendered prisoners without blinking—how could she swallow her anger and negotiate with the Left Chancellor?

It seemed that originally, Duke Zhenguo simply didn’t want the Left Chancellor to assist those who had once attempted to frame Duke Zhenguo. But they had used County Princess Gaoyi’s lifelong happiness as a test, touching Duke Zhenguo’s reverse scale.

If this had happened to them, having just given a warning and then having someone target their sister the next moment, they too would be furious.

In Duke Zhenguo’s view, she probably thought the Left Chancellor was deliberately provoking her, so naturally she showed no mercy.

Their mistake was treating Duke Zhenguo like an ordinary young lady from the capital’s noble families, when Duke Zhenguo was someone who commanded thousands on the battlefield with absolute authority.

The blue-robed advisor rubbed his hands repeatedly, his expression slightly anxious: “Duke Zhenguo demands an explanation before sunset, but how do we explain Duke Zhenguo breaking the Sixth Young Master’s legs? And doing it so ostentatiously, blocking the Left Chancellor’s path from court, throwing the blood-covered Sixth Young Master in front of the Left Chancellor’s carriage—no matter how you look at it, it’s too arrogant!”

The white-robed advisor frowned deeply, pondered for a long while, then looked up: “For now, we can only wrong the Sixth Young Master!”

“How wrong him?” Li Mao asked.

For Li Mao, his son’s grievance and even his son’s life… were nothing compared to the entire family’s lives, nothing compared to nine generations’ lives.

“Chancellor, why not publicly announce what the Sixth Young Master did last month?” the white-robed advisor said seriously. “The Bai family has always been known for loving the people like their own children. The Sixth Young Master committed a crime, the Left Chancellor’s wife helped cover it up, and Duke Zhenguo righteously exposed it. Of course, this will inevitably result in a memorial of impeachment from the Censorate, but this is far better than having those letters sent before His Majesty.”

Li Mao’s face was ashen as he pondered with a stern expression.

Seeing Li Mao hadn’t refused, the white-robed advisor continued: “If the Chancellor has made up his mind, then enter the palace to face His Majesty. Claim you failed to teach your son properly, and after the incident, your wife even concealed it from you, taking matters into her own hands to cover everything up. If not for the victim having nowhere to appeal and coincidentally encountering Duke Zhenguo, who investigated and discovered the truth, today’s events wouldn’t have happened…”

“That’s also improper!” the blue-robed advisor said earnestly. “Duke Zhenguo requires that the Bai family not be harmed, but if we say this… the people will discuss why Duke Zhenguo didn’t turn over the evidence she found to the authorities. Then Duke Zhenguo will be angry… once those letters enter the palace, the Chancellor’s mansion faces utter disaster!”

The blue-robed advisor turned to look at Li Mao: “Chancellor… if you want the Chancellor’s mansion to be safe, the safest plan is to enter the palace and confess. Tell His Majesty truthfully… that you covered up for the Sixth Young Master, and afterward you’ve been so guilt-ridden you couldn’t sleep at night! Today, Duke Zhenguo broke the Sixth Young Master’s legs and delivered him to you because she feared that handing him to the authorities, the authorities would fear your power… and the Sixth Young Master would still escape unharmed! She also wanted to make you understand that law and justice are clear!”

Seeing Li Mao still hesitating, the blue-robed advisor said loudly: “Chancellor, you must know that only by facing death can one find life! If this matter doesn’t harm the Sixth Young Master or you, it cannot satisfy Duke Zhenguo’s requirements! The Chancellor’s mansion is in danger! Moreover, Duke Zhenguo’s time limit is urgent and doesn’t allow us to deliberate carefully.”

Li Mao clenched his fingers into fists and struck the desk before him forcefully.

Frustrating—there truly was no Left Chancellor more frustrated than him!

Bai Qingyan had broken his son’s legs, yet he still had to protect Bai Qingyan’s reputation!

Moreover, after Bai Qingyan’s series of actions today, instead of retaliating, he had to yield, which would surely make people guess that Bai Qingyan might hold some leverage over him, like Chancellor Lu!

Chancellor Lu had appeared to be indifferent to worldly affairs for many years, but he often opposed him secretly. If Chancellor Lu secretly sought cooperation with Bai Qingyan and offered conditions that moved her, how could he be sure Bai Qingyan wouldn’t cooperate with Chancellor Lu? Then what would he do?

But Li Mao couldn’t worry about so much now. Bai Qingyan’s time limit was urgent—he must resolve the immediate crisis first.

Li Mao gritted his teeth and made his decision: “Give Bai Qingyan enough sincerity. Say she found solid evidence and sent someone to deliver it to the prefectural office, but after nearly half a month had passed, with no news. Upon inquiry, she learned that the evidence her people sent had been destroyed, which led to today’s breaking of Mingtang’s legs.”

“This Chancellor will enter the palace. Leave other matters to you two! But while this matter may be resolved according to Bai Qingyan’s wishes, it will leave future troubles! This Chancellor yielding instead of retaliating in the face of such great humiliation! There are too many clever people in the capital—someone will surely guess that this Chancellor has leverage in Duke Zhenguo’s hands. If one day this Chancellor’s enemies cooperate with Duke Zhenguo, this Chancellor will have no place to be buried!”

Li Mao bowed to his two advisors: “So I trouble you two to think carefully for this Chancellor about how to act after today…”

Bai Qingyan had just returned to Qinghui Courtyard when she ordered Lu Ping to send someone back to Shouyang to notify County Magistrate Zhou that she would arrive in Shouyang around the twenty-fifth of this month to handle Bai clan affairs.

Lu Ping had been gone for only half a cup of tea when Bai Jinzhi came running over.

“Elder Sister, such a satisfying and exciting event—why didn’t you call me to go together? I should have used my whip to tear Li Mingtang apart!”

Chun Tao served tea to Bai Jinzhi, then stood aside with some worry: “First Miss, breaking the Left Chancellor’s mansion’s young master’s legs like this and throwing him in front of the Left Chancellor’s carriage—won’t the people think our Duke Zhenguo’s mansion is too arrogant? Will they have negative opinions of our Duke Zhenguo’s mansion…”

Hearing Chun Tao say this, Bai Jinzhi also felt that today’s high-profile and arrogant behavior seemed inconsistent with her elder sister’s usual character: “Elder Sister, nothing will go wrong, will it?”

“Only when you have something to rely on… can you be fearless.” She looked at Bai Jinzhi. “Conversely, being fearless… is because you have something to rely on. The more arrogant the actions, the more Li Mao will fear.”

She picked up her teacup and said quietly: “As for public opinion, that’s something the Left Chancellor should find ways to guide. With the Left Chancellor’s abilities, he will surely arrange things properly. We’ll just sit and watch!”

As Bai Qingyan said, just after the hour of the Monkey, news spread that Left Chancellor Li Mao had entered the palace to confess his crimes.

It turned out that the Left Chancellor had perverted justice for personal gain, covering up his son’s crimes of forcing women and causing deaths, leaving the victims with nowhere to appeal. Some people still remembered the victim crying bitterly before the prefectural office.

Later, Duke Zhenguo happened to hear about this matter and sent people to investigate. After obtaining evidence, she submitted it to the authorities, but the authorities, fearing the Left Chancellor’s power, secretly destroyed the evidence.

Such disgraceful events had occurred in the imperial capital.