After returning from the Bai family, Bai Qihe shut himself in his study and wouldn’t come out, no matter who called him. He didn’t appear for the Little New Year’s Eve family banquet and didn’t send anyone to give notice, completely disregarding that the whole family was waiting for him.
Bai Qihe’s father, Bai Weimei, sat at the dining table with an iron-blue face. The delicacies in the dozen or so gold-decorated plates on the Eight Immortals table had lost their warmth, and no one sitting around the black lacquer round table dared to speak.
Bai Qingping lowered his eyes and also remained silent.
Seeing the situation, Fang Shi reached out to tug at Bai Qingping’s sleeve, but he merely looked indifferent as he pulled his sleeve back, his thin lips tightly pressed together.
“What, even your grandfather can’t command you anymore?” Bai Weimei gritted his teeth as he looked at Bai Qingping.
“Grandson wouldn’t dare. It’s just that grandfather instigated the clan members to make things difficult for Princess Zhenguo, intending to ruin our Bai clan! My father, as the Bai clan leader… caught between his birth father and the Bai clan, must think through his pain before making a decision.”
“Decision?!” Bai Weimei suddenly stood up. “What decision is there to make?”
Pu Liu, standing behind Fang Shi, quickly stepped forward and bowed: “Young Master must be tired. This servant is willing to make the trip to invite the clan leader to come.”
Fang Shi turned back to look at Pu Liu gratefully, then looked again at Bai Weimei, who had stood up trembling with anger, and said: “Husband must be delayed because he was too exhausted from today’s ancestral worship. Pu Liu, quickly go invite your husband to come. Tell him that father knows he worked hard today and especially had the whole family wait here to dine with him!”
“Yes!” After bowing, Pu Liu exchanged a glance with Bai Qingping, signaling him not to further anger Bai Weimei, then took small steps out the door, holding an umbrella to call for Bai Qihe.
Bai Weimei looked at his stubborn grandson, his anger still not subsided. Thinking again of his son, who was no longer of one heart with him, he pointed at Bai Qingping and cursed: “Just like your father! Heartless thing! Your eldest uncle is gone… instead of thinking about avenging your eldest uncle, knowing the enemy is right there in the Bai Manor, but none of you think about avenging your eldest uncle. Instead, you make this old man who won’t die figure out ways!”
Bai Qingping endured until his whole body trembled, but finally couldn’t help but stand up. He raised his eyes, his resolute gaze looking toward Bai Weimei: “Eldest Uncle’s death was caused by his greed. If Eldest Uncle hadn’t been insatiably greedy and hadn’t tried to frame the Bai Manor, he would certainly be living well right now! Heaven’s crimes can still be opposed, but self-inflicted crimes cannot be survived! This is all Eldest Uncle’s own doing—what position does my father have to seek revenge!”
“You’re being insolent!” Bai Weimei burned with fury and swept his hand across the table, sending all the delicious food crashing down. The plates and dishes clattered as they hit Fang Shi and fell to the floor, frightening her into crying out as she pulled her son to dodge.
After Bai Weimei’s old wife recovered from her shock, she beat her chest and wailed, crying about what sins she had committed… a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person, and her second son and grandson were so unfilial they couldn’t even sit together for a Little New Year’s Eve meal.
Bai Qingping’s eyes filled with tears as he turned and walked out. Fang Shi, covered in stains, didn’t know what to do. She glanced at her furious father-in-law and her weeping, wailing mother-in-law, then lifted her dirty skirts and turned to chase after her son: “Ah Ping! Ah Ping!”
·
In Bai Qihe’s study, Pu Liu stood on the fine velvet Five Blessings carpet in the center of the room, listening as Bai Qihe recounted what had just happened at the dinner table with Bai Weimei scolding Bai Qingping. Bai Qihe’s face turned iron-blue as he listened.
Originally, Bai Qihe was still hesitating, but after hearing Pu Liu relay what had happened in his father’s courtyard, Bai Qihe had nothing left to hesitate about.
He wasn’t stupid—he understood the meaning behind the words Bai Qingyan had Nanny Tong convey. Even if he didn’t act, Bai Qingyan would act. It all depended on how he handled this matter and whether he could establish his authority before the clan members.
This time, his father had gone too far. Knowing that the only thing the Bai clan could rely on now was the Bai family where Princess Zhenguo belonged, yet for the sake of his brother, who was greedy by nature and had tried to frame the capital Bai family, he instigated the clan elders to pressure the capital Bai family.
For the past few decades, the capital Bai family had intentionally elevated the Bai clan, flattering the clan members until they didn’t know their place. Did the clan elders think the clan could stand as equals with the capital Bai family?
How long had it been since Princess Zhenguo dealt with the clan at the ancestral hall that the clan members had awakened? Why had they so quickly become drunk with power again, not knowing their place?
If not for his good father… borrowing his authority as clan leader and stirring up trouble behind the scenes, could the clan members have been so unrestrained?
Bai Qihe didn’t avoid Pu Liu and ordered someone to notify all the Bai clan members one by one: “Tell the clan members that tomorrow at the third quarter of the Chen hour, they should all wait at the Bai clan ancestral hall. Whoever dares not to come… shouldn’t blame me, Bai Qihe, for not showing mercy as clan leader. Whoever doesn’t come… from then on will no longer be a Bai clan descendant! Send out all the household servants—they must all be notified within half an hour!”
Bai Qihe’s head attendant was stunned for a moment, then took the order and went out to deliver it.
Pu Liu looked at Bai Qihe, whose features were alternately bright and dark in the flickering candlelight as he sat under the lamp. She lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and finally spoke: “Master, the reason the clan members dare to cause trouble is simply because… they have the Old Master as their backing. All these years, the Old Master has been accustomed to being clan leader and always having his word be final… Master, you have always been filial to the Old Master, but in others’ eyes, they might think Master fears the Old Master. They would think that no matter how big the trouble, the Old Master would support them…”
Pu Liu raised her eyes to look at Bai Qihe. Seeing him looking at her seriously, she completed the last five words: “And act with impunity!”
Yes, it was precisely because his father, the former clan leader, was there that others would act with impunity.
Early the next morning at the Chen hour, Bai Weimei and his old wife were having their morning meal when servants came to report that Bai Qihe was coming toward his courtyard.
Bai Weimei’s old wife quickly raised her hand to gently shake Bai Weimei’s arm: “Look, Qihe still has you as his father in his heart. Isn’t he coming to apologize to you? Don’t glare at the child later. Qihe has been obedient and well-behaved since childhood—he must have been too busy yesterday! You’ve been clan leader before, too, so you should know how difficult it is!”
Bai Weimei kept a straight face as he took a handkerchief from a servant girl to wipe his mouth: “If he wanted to apologize, he would have come last night! Your good son called all the household stewards to his courtyard before dawn today. He’s not coming to apologize now—he’s coming to interrogate!”
Bai Weimei’s old wife frowned: “Qihe wouldn’t do that!”
Even if Bai Qihe came to interrogate him, Bai Weimei wasn’t afraid. No matter what, he was still Bai Qihe’s father—what could he do to him?
He knew his son well. In a while, Bai Qihe would at most threaten him with words about not wanting to be clan leader anymore, trying to force him to back down and stop opposing Bai Qingyan.