Though he didn’t know whether the note came from Miss Bai’s hand, nor whether Miss Bai already knew his identity.

But now that the sender of the note remained inactive, making no demands for favors nor exposing his identity, he would respond to all changes with constancy and simply wait.

However, he guessed that the note incident was likely connected to this Miss Bai, whose methods and schemes ran quite deep.

“Sister Bai!” As Lu Yuanpeng galloped close to the crowd, he reined in his horse and jumped down, gripping his riding whip as he squeezed through the crowd and rushed up the high steps, respectfully bowing deeply to Bai Qingyan. Then he turned to look at those kneeling and causing trouble at Duke’s Mansion gate: “Early this morning, Brother Xiao and I received news that two men had bribed some soldiers’ families to come cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion gate. These must be those people…”

Hearing the words “Brother Xiao,” Bai Qingyan looked up.

Not far away, Xiao Rongyan, in a gray squirrel fur cloak, accompanied by more than ten guards, led his horse as he walked slowly forward with a graceful bearing and composed leisure.

The onlookers heard the guards’ calls and turned around.

They saw tall, imposing guards with expressionless faces and swords at their waists, dragging two blood-covered men toward Duke’s Mansion. The people quickly made way for a path.

“Sister Bai! Early this morning, I was extremely saddened to hear about the Bai family’s seventeen young men. On my way to Duke’s Mansion, I met Brother Xiao. It happened that Brother Xiao’s family steward was reporting to him that while delivering silver to several impoverished families for Brother Xiao this morning, he overheard someone distributing silver to soldiers’ families near a ruined temple outside the city, telling them to cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion. They were told to say that the Duke was obstinate in military leadership, seeking fame in history books, coveting achievements, and treating soldiers’ lives as worthless! They said that after causing trouble, each person would receive another fifty taels of silver!”

“Such vicious methods! This is meant to drive Duke’s Mansion widows to their deaths!” Bai Jintong clenched her fists tightly at her sides.

The group of soldiers’ families who had come to cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion trembled like leaves. Lu Yuanpeng had even mentioned the specific location so clearly—it seemed their scheme had been exposed. Some tried to flee but were blocked by people and guards. With a thud, they fell to their knees, kowtowing and begging as they revealed everything.

“Eldest Miss, spare our lives! It was these two men who gave us twenty taels of silver each to come cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion gate!”

“Eldest Miss! Eldest Miss, I don’t want the silver anymore! I’ll give it all to you! All of it! I know I was wrong! I’ll never dare again! Please spare our lives!”

“Sister Bai, guess what?” Lu Yuanpeng swept aside his cloak hem and pointed his riding whip at the blood-covered men on the ground. “These two men were waiting at the ruined temple for these fools to return, planning to kill all these greedy, ungrateful fools! Then they would frame Duke’s Mansion, using this to blacken the mansion’s reputation!”

The troublemaking soldiers’ families immediately turned pale with fright, terrified beyond measure. They crawled forward a few steps on their knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy: “Miss Bai! We were blinded by greed and took money to cause trouble at Duke’s Mansion gate, but… but this old man only has one son! If the child is truly dead, I also want to get more money for my old age!”

“Yes! We were also forced by circumstances! If our sons died, how would we old women and men survive?”

Bai Qingyan stood straight-backed on the high steps, looking at those who had originally come to cause trouble, speaking with such certainty that Grandfather had killed their sons, now tearfully kowtowing and begging for mercy. Her heart felt a little disturbance. Instead, she looked at the two criminals being held down by the guards and asked: “Who ordered you?”

The two men, unable to resist being pinned down, one of them said: “Taking people’s money to help them eliminate disasters—we people of the martial world have our righteousness and rules. We should already be dead. Our skills were inferior, and we were captured alive—we accept our fate! Miss Bai may kill or flay us as you please.”

“Helping those with wolfish ambitions to slander loyal heroes who died for the Kingdom, attempting to frame Duke’s Mansion widows as unrighteous—do you dare speak of righteousness?” Her voice was hoarse, as if already exhausted, her heart like winter. After closing her eyes briefly, she said: “Now the loyal bones of the Bai family are not yet cold, yet there are already those who would use underhanded arrows to drive my Bai family to death! Enough! The Bai family’s loyal bones are witnessed by both people and gods! Grandfather is already dead, all Bai family men are lost—my Bai family can be considered worthy of these two characters ‘Duke!”

That neither sad nor joyful indifference and coldness, full of exhaustion, was completely different from the spirited woman who had just been filled with righteous anger, arguing forcefully with these greedy troublemakers besieging Duke’s Mansion. Yet it carried endless desolation, like the gray despair of a heart that had died.

She bowed and saluted Lu Yuanpeng: “The Bai mansion has many urgent matters, and our stewards and servants cannot be spared. Could Young Master Lu trouble himself to deliver these two men to the Magistrate of Jingzhao? The Bai mansion deeply believes the magistrate can return justice to the Bai family.”

Lu Yuanpeng didn’t immediately understand and dazedly responded: “Of course, no problem!”

Her gaze turned to Xiao Rongyan, who stood composed and unhurried outside the crowd. Behind him were more than ten sword-bearing guards, wearing a cloak and azure-white robe with dark embroidered cloud patterns and straight trim, with an emerald jade and gold silk-edged belt, extremely elegant.

His features were naturally sculpted with extremely deep and stunning contours, yet his entire being exuded the refined bearing of a scholar. The corners of his mouth always held a faint smile, his gaze steady and restrained, with scholarly elegance rarely matched even by the great scholars of the time.

She wasn’t foolish—quite the opposite, she was sharp and clear-minded. Today, these two men were delivered to Duke’s Mansion gate by Xiao Rongyan through Lu Yuanpeng’s hands.

Bai Qingyan nodded to Xiao Rongyan in acknowledgment. This favor… she, Bai Qingyan, accepted it.

“Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi raised her whip against the people. Uncle Ping, confiscate Fourth Miss’s whip, escort her back to the mansion, and invoke family discipline.”

After speaking, she turned around, tearfully supporting the blood-faced Bai Jinxiu, silently smiling at her.

“Elder Sister…” Bai Jinxiu choked up, tears falling like rain.

“Don’t cry anymore, let’s go!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was like a sigh as she tightly protected her sister in her arms, lifting her feet to walk into the Bai mansion.

Bai Jintong saluted Lu Yuanpeng and personally escorted the reluctant and still angry Bai Jinzhi back to the mansion.

Lu Yuanpeng watched Bai Qingyan’s dispirited retreating figure, gripping his riding whip tightly. He hadn’t expected that bringing these two men to the Bai mansion to claim credit with Bai Qingyan would cause that woman with the bearing of frost-defying snow to lose all hope. He seemed infected by the white mourning cloth hanging over Duke’s Mansion gate, actually developing heartbreaking desolation and anger.

Previously at Manjiang Tower, this seemingly fragile, weak woman had shown a proud bearing, heartfelt words of loyalty and righteousness, and sincere love for the people—how ear-splitting! When dealing with that bastard son, her thunderous momentum showed what kind of spirit?!

That day in the great hall, her slender figure stood straight as pine and cypress, full of noble righteousness and loyal courage, as if no setback or impact could crush her proud spirit. Yet today she had been defeated by the very people her Bai family had protected with their lives for generations!