“Your Highness, Eunuch, Magistrate Zhou!” After the clan leader greeted them with a smile, he quickly called for servants to bring chairs and serve tea for Quan Yu, Magistrate Zhou, and Bai Jinzhi.
Upon seeing their ancestors, all those clan descendants immediately cried out, pleading for their grandfathers to save them, begging the clan leader to save them, complaining bitterly about how they had suffered in prison and how the prison food was unfit for human consumption.
On the contrary, Bai Qingjie, who usually couldn’t bear the slightest grievance, knelt there under escort without saying a word.
Bai Qiyun worried about his son and wanted to step forward to check on him, but seeing his father’s stern expression, he forced down his concern and stood behind the clan leader, gripping his robe tightly.
Bai Jinzhi swept her cold, mocking, contemptuous gaze over those clan members who looked worried, wanting to step forward but not daring to, only able to stand behind the clan leader with reddened eyes. She turned to Magistrate Zhou and said, “My elder sister should arrive soon. I trouble Magistrate Zhou to wait a moment.”
“Your Highness is too polite! Too polite!” Magistrate Zhou repeatedly bowed to Bai Jinzhi.
The brothel madam quickly got down from her carriage with the mute girl and stood at the entrance of the Bai ancestral hall, calling out loudly: “Magistrate Zhou! Magistrate Zhou… I heard Your Highness is looking for someone called the mute girl. This girl is one I just bought yesterday—she’s mute and can’t speak. Please see if this is the one!”
“How dare a prostitute stand before our Bai ancestral hall!” Bai Qiyun couldn’t help but feel anger rising within him.
Magistrate Zhou quickly waved for bailiffs to pull the brothel madam away. After all, this was still Zhenguo Princess’s ancestral hall.
Bai Jinzhi didn’t mind at all and stepped outside, with Quan Yu hurrying to follow. Magistrate Zhou, who had just sat down in his chair, quickly rose and followed when he saw Quan Yu leave.
Bai Jinzhi had seen the mute girl before and was very concerned about her safety.
She stepped forward and looked at the little girl standing beside the brothel madam, shrinking back with eyes full of fear. The little girl had been washed clean, but was dressed in ill-fitting clothes that someone had hastily put on her.
“Fourth Miss, is this her?” Shen Qingzhu asked Bai Jinzhi.
Bai Jinzhi shook her head: “This is not the mute girl.”
The brothel madam felt both disappointed and relieved. This girl had just been brought in and was disobedient, having been beaten twice with injuries all over her body. If this had been the girl Your Highness was looking for, seeing the injuries on her body would surely mean settling accounts later.
Soon, outside the ancestral hall gate, someone called out loudly: “Four-horse carriage—Zhenguo Princess has arrived!”
Bai Jinzhi turned her head toward the direction of the approaching carriage.
The carriage quickly stopped outside the crowd. Chun Tao helped Bai Qingyan down from the carriage, and the surroundings immediately fell silent. The common people gazed at this legendary Zhenguo Princess with awe, fear, or curiosity.
“Elder sister…” Bai Jinzhi stepped forward and said to Bai Qingyan, “Only one person brought a girl who can’t speak, but it’s not the mute girl!”
Bai Qingyan pointed toward the brothel madam, her gaze falling on the girl trembling all over, then looking at the fawning brothel madam: “Have someone ask that madam how much silver she wants. Keep that child at the ancestral residence.”
“Yes!” Shen Qingzhu nodded.
“Mute girl!” Bai Jinzhi looked in shock at the mute girl who was bending down to exit the carriage, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens! So elder sister had already found the mute girl!”
“Your Highness…” Quan Yu smiled and bowed.
“Your Highness!” Magistrate Zhou followed closely behind Quan Yu, bowing and scraping to Bai Qingyan.
Bai Qingyan said to Quan Yu, “Thank you for troubling Eunuch Quan Yu to send people out to search for the mute girl. Now that she has been found, please have Eunuch Quan Yu recall everyone!”
“Yes!” Quan Yu responded.
“Let’s go!” Bai Qingyan took the mute girl’s hand and stepped toward the ancestral hall.
The clan leader led the various clan elders to greet them at the entrance, following behind Bai Qingyan.
As soon as the Bai clan members entered, the clan leader ordered the six courtyard gates of the ancestral hall to be closed, but Bai Qingyan said, “No need to close the doors. Leave them open… We’ll sit here in the ancestral hall courtyard to discuss matters. It doesn’t matter—let the ancestors and all those surnamed Bai witness this!”
Bai Qingyan sat in the chair that Quan Yu had brought over, her gaze sweeping over the clan leader and various clan elders still standing in the courtyard, as well as the clan descendants under escort by bailiffs. She spoke slowly: “Then let’s begin. Starting with the clan leader’s grandson, Bai Qingjie—what wrongs he committed, how to compensate the victims. We’ll go through them one by one… After compensating the victims, we’ll discuss how to punish them.”
After dealing with these clan descendants, next would be the other clan members, and finally… this clan leader.
Originally, Bai Qingyan had planned to clean out those rotten clan members first, then use the authority of the Crown Prince and herself as princess to force the clan leader to step down. But now, with Old Gu’s account books in hand, she didn’t need to use authority to force him—the clan members probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate him as clan leader anymore.
The clan descendant who had drunkenly pushed the mute girl into the river saw the mute girl standing right beside Bai Qingyan and was so frightened he shuddered all over, looking up to his grandfather, Fifth Master, for help.
Bai Qingping, supported by a servant, looked at Bai Qingyan’s cold and indifferent expression and unfathomably deep eyes. He clenched his fists, as if seeing Zhenguo Prince and Duke Zhenguo Bai Qishan, whom he had once revered.
People of the capital’s Bai family were all naturally proud like this, even the women of the Bai family were the same.
Magistrate Zhou took out Bai Qingjie’s criminal record from the top of the pile and began reading…
Forced buying and selling, seizing others’ ancestral property, bullying men and women—not counting those on the surface, Bai Qingjie had two lives on his hands: one he had trampled to death while riding his horse, and another he had pushed from an upstairs window to their death while fighting over a woman in a brothel!
These were all things Bai Qingjie had done, with solid evidence.
“Are the victims present?” Bai Qingyan asked.
According to the documents, there should be seven victim families, but only five had come. The other two families either had no one left after being bullied, or didn’t believe Bai Qingyan would handle things fairly.
The clan leader had long known that today they would have to compensate the victims, and had already prepared the clan members. He turned and signaled to Bai Qiyun.
Bai Qiyun was furious but had no choice but to step forward and return what should be returned and compensate what could be compensated.
Such a large sum of silver made Bai Qiyun’s heart bleed.
The gray-haired victim took back his family’s ancestral residence deed and land contract, crying with excitement. He kowtowed repeatedly toward Bai Qingyan: “Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness! I never thought I could get them back today. I thought… I thought Your Highness was just putting on a show. My son didn’t even want to come. I never expected to get them back! Really… got them back! Thank you, Your Highness! This old man will remember Your Highness’s great kindness for a lifetime.”
Bai Qingyan stood and stepped aside to avoid the old man’s courtesy, saying, “Bai Qingjie was wrong in the first place. As a daughter of the Bai family, I, Bai Qingyan, am deeply ashamed and dare not accept your thanks.”
“Magistrate Zhou, the next one…” Bai Qingyan spoke.
Magistrate Zhou read one clan descendant’s crimes, and the victims who had come stepped forward to either receive compensation or have their property returned.