These words came from her heart—unless necessary, she would not rebel. The Bai family’s loyalty and valor… was never for the imperial family, but only for the tens of thousands of people of the Great Jin!

The Grand Princess’s blazing eyes stared fixedly at Bai Qingyan, her suspicions unresolved, fearing that her beloved granddaughter was deceiving her.

She grasped the Grand Princess’s hand and spoke slowly: “When your granddaughter was five years old, I heard Grandfather and Father discussing how the two great scholars Old Master Cui Shiyan and Old Master Guan Yongchong debated in the Hall of Literary Virtue whether the First Emperor was an enlightened ruler or a tyrant. Your granddaughter said that if the First Emperor could enable the people to eat their fill and dress warmly, then he would be an enlightened ruler, a sage ruler.”

“When your granddaughter was eight years old, Grandfather exhausted all his efforts to overturn the old case of Grand Censor Jian Congwen. Consort Tong and her maternal clan were imprisoned for framing loyal ministers, and Censor Jian Congwen was cleared of all charges, but his nine generations of relatives had already been exterminated. Back then, even Censor Jian’s four-year-old grandson went to the execution block, the innocent child thinking he was just playing games with the whole family. Before being beheaded, he still acted coquettishly with his mother, saying he wanted to eat sugar pastries when they returned home.”

Her voice choked: “On the day Grand Censor Jian Congwen was cleared, Grandfather again asked your granddaughter, ‘A’Bao, what do you think makes an enlightened ruler?’ Your granddaughter answered: ‘Governing with benevolence and kindness, not allowing the people to suffer injustice—that is an enlightened ruler!'”

“When your granddaughter was thirteen years old, returning from the battlefield with Grandfather, Grandfather again asked what makes an enlightened ruler! Your granddaughter had seen bones piled like mountains, blood flowing like rivers, witnessed barely one in ten people surviving, wives separated from husbands, and children from parents! Knowing how precious and priceless worldly peace is, your granddaughter said… a monarch who restores peace to the world is an enlightened ruler.”

“Now, the people of Great Jin have more than enough food and clothing. Except for the border people who still suffer from years of warfare, the Great Jin’s interior remains stable and peaceful. If your granddaughter rebelled out of private vengeance… where would that leave the people? Where would that leave the Bai family’s generations of loyal martyrs? Where would that leave our Bai family’s ancestral teachings? What your granddaughter wants is not rebellion, but justice for our Bai family! What I want… is to prevent those treacherous villains from splashing dirty water like ‘obstinate military leadership’ on the loyal bones and heroic spirits of the Bai family! What I want is for the suspicious and jealous current Emperor to remember our Bai family’s merits and spare the Bai family widows a way to live, not to drive us to complete extinction. Is your granddaughter wrong?”

Unable to suppress her grief-stricken emotions, her voice could not help but rise higher. By the time she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face. The Grand Princess’s heart ached unbearably as she forcefully embraced her eldest granddaughter, choking with emotion and crying aloud.

She was unwilling to tell lies to Grandmother, but she did not necessarily need to reveal all truths completely.

Yes, at this moment, she did not plan to rebel, but she was already paving the way for it!

She, Bai Qingyan, might not rebel, but the Bai family could not lack the overwhelming power that could topple dynasties with a single raised arm… to intimidate the imperial family.

What Grandfather wanted—clear rivers, peaceful seas, and worldly tranquility—she wanted too!

What Grandfather dared not want—the power to intimidate the sovereign—she wanted that too!

Her Bai family could bow and submit to this Lin imperial power, assisting and supporting it, but she also wanted the imperial family to understand that where the Bai family’s popular support lay… the Bai family’s profound virtue and flowing brilliance could also replace the Lin imperial power!

Wasn’t the Emperor afraid that the Bai family’s great achievements would overshadow the master, that they would become arrogant from their merits and control the court?! Then she would control it for the Emperor to see! Make the Emperor fear, make the Emperor afraid!

She wanted imperial succession… to be decided by her Bai family! To be decided by the people of the world!

“A’Bao is not wrong! It’s Grandmother who was wrong! Grandmother should not have suspected you! Grandmother was wrong…”

Outside the door, Nanny Jiang heard the grandmother and granddaughter bare their hearts and embrace while crying, having completely resolved their previous grievances. She felt both sad and happy, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

The Grand Princess was advanced in age. After crying and being overly emotional, her physical strength was already depleted. Bai Qingyan and Nanny Jiang attended to her as she rested.

When Bai Qingyan emerged from the Grand Princess’s Changshou Courtyard, Steward Hao in plain white mourning clothes hurried forward: “Eldest Miss, a group of troublemakers suddenly appeared at our mansion’s entrance, claiming to be the mothers and fathers of Bai family army soldiers. They’re surrounding our mansion gate, crying and cursing, claiming that the Duke’s obstinate military leadership caused tens of thousands of Bai family army soldiers to perish and caused them to lose their sons, demanding that our Bai family give them justice!”

Her steps paused. Although many common people had gathered in front of Duke’s Mansion last night to wait with the Bai family for news from Nan Jiang, if there weren’t manipulators behind the scenes, how would these soldiers’ family members dare to confirm that their sons had died on the battlefield? How would they dare to band together today after receiving news last night to cause a disturbance at Duke’s Mansion?

“How to handle those soldiers’ parents—this old servant dares not decide arbitrarily. The heir’s wife just rested, and Nanny Qin couldn’t bear to disturb her, so this old servant could only come to the Eldest Miss for guidance.” Steward Hao’s brow furrowed tightly.

Bai Qingyan had always believed that while public opinion could be fearsome, if properly utilized and guided, it could become a force she could rely on, a sword she could wield!

Now, someone also wanted to use the people’s tongues as blades to harm her Bai family—excellent!

Unfortunately, she already held the military records firmly in her hands.

Her eyes darkened as she caught the spider’s thread in a flash of insight, suddenly understanding…

When Wu Zhe risked his life to bring back the military records, he had said someone was pursuing Tiger Camp Commander Fang Yan who was escorting the bamboo slips. By coincidence, Fang Yan was rescued by Shen Qingzhu’s group and they obtained the bamboo slips.

Prince Xin’s lackeys probably failed to obtain those five volumes of military records and were inwardly panicked, so they thought of this method to test the Bai family, even forcing the Bai family to produce the military records today to prove their innocence.

The masterminds behind this probably already had means—as long as the Bai family dared claim they had the military records, the current Emperor would immediately force the Bai family to hand over the military records, not allowing this record to have a chance to be made public.

She closed her eyes. If she were Prince Xin’s advisor, what would she do?

She would gather people to cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion, testing whether the Bai family had obtained the military records while tarnishing the Bai family’s century-old glorious reputation.

If her heart were even more ruthless, after gathering crowds to cause trouble, she would secretly kill one or two troublemakers, spread rumors, and fan the flames, claiming that Duke’s Mansion murdered martyrs’ families! She would spread the narrative that Duke’s Mansion only allowed others to speak of achievements, but not of mistakes, setting Duke’s Mansion on fire. This would ensure that even if the Bai family had obtained the military records, Prince Xin would not be affected by popular anger and resentment when he escorted the coffins back to the city!

Seeing Bai Qingyan close her eyes for a long while without opening them, as if her soul had departed, Steward Hao softly called: “Eldest Miss…”

“Send people to watch the onlookers nearby. If there are any suspicious individuals, arrest them directly for interrogation!”

Steward Hao immediately understood that the Eldest Miss meant someone was instigating and encouraging the soldiers’ families to come cause trouble, harboring plots against Duke’s Mansion.

Steward Hao’s expression became guarded: “Eldest Miss, rest assured!”

“Let’s go take a look.”

“Eldest Miss, please wait. I’ll call Lu Ping, the guard, to accompany us, just in case.” Steward Hao said cautiously.

She nodded.

When Bai Qingyan arrived at the main front courtyard accompanied by Steward Hao and Lu Ping, she heard Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi’s furiously hysterical voice coming from outside the gate.

“Even the late Emperor said that our Bai family never produced waste—everyone was a military talent! My grandfather’s lifelong military conduct most avoided rash advances and greedy achievements! All this talk of obstinate military leadership is complete nonsense! You ignorant scoundrels, if you continue spewing filth at our Duke’s Mansion gate, I’ll send you to the western paradise with one lash of my whip!”