“You shameless, disloyal scoundrels!” Lu Yuanpeng pointed his horsewhip at the group of greedy, ungrateful wretches kneeling outside the Duke’s mansion, filled with righteous indignation. “The Duke Zhenguo’s mansion, the Bai family, has defended with their blood and lives the peace and prosperity you enjoy in this flourishing imperial capital. Instead of being grateful, you throw mud on these loyal martyrs for that gold and silver! Are you even human?!”

“And you!” Lu Yuanpeng’s horsewhip pointed toward those two so-called jianghu men. “Without the Bai family defending the borders against bandits, what jianghu would you be talking about?! Jianghu righteousness?! Where do you get the face? The Bai family men died fighting on the battlefield for our Great Jin, and you for mere silver… are you trying to force even the widows of the Bai family to death?!”

The public anger that had already been stirred up and was mutually infectious was whipped into grief and indignation by Lu Yuanpeng’s few words from this dandy, rolling up their sleeves to fight…

“These sons of bitches! Beat these disloyal scoundrels to death!”

The area in front of the Duke’s mansion erupted into chaos, with even Lu Yuanpeng wielding his horsewhip to join the group beating.

Only Xiao Rongyan stood alone like a sage outside the world, solitary and upright. After a long while, he turned to his guards and said, “Go protect those two people, don’t let them die.”

The soldiers’ family members who had come to cause trouble at the Duke’s mansion, along with those two so-called “jianghu men,” were beaten and dragged by the people to the Jingzhao Magistrate’s office.

The Jingzhao Magistrate, already foreseeing a difficult New Year due to the disastrous defeat in Nanjiang and the complete annihilation of the Duke’s mansion’s men, never expected that on the afternoon of New Year’s Day, the Right Chancellor’s most beloved legitimate grandson Lu Yuanpeng would collaborate with the people of the capital to deliver such a grand New Year’s gift.

·

To avoid disturbing the Grand Princess and the elders who had just rested, Bai Jintong brought Bai Jinzhi to Bai Qingyan’s Qinghui Courtyard.

Bai Jinzhi knelt on the azure stone bricks of Qinghui Courtyard, her neck stiff with defiance. She wasn’t afraid of family punishment, but she was unconvinced.

Lu Ping held the family disciplinary rod, standing to one side, feeling particularly reluctant. After all, today others had come to cause trouble at the Duke’s mansion first, and Fourth Miss had fought with people to protect the Duke’s mansion’s reputation.

Third Miss Bai Jintong, standing beside Bai Qingyan with her hands behind her back, glanced at the tearful Bai Jinzhi and lowered her voice to plead: “Elder sister, it’s enough that Xiao Si knows she was wrong. Today, ultimately, it was others who provoked first.”

Seeing Bai Qingyan’s lips pressed tightly together, her piercing gaze fixed on Bai Jinzhi, Bai Jintong hurriedly said: “Xiao Si! Apologize to your elder sister!”

Bai Jinxiu, whose forehead had been freshly bandaged, was supported by Qing Shu as she hurriedly entered the main gate of Qinghui Courtyard. She glanced at Bai Jinzhi kneeling in the courtyard, walked to Bai Qingyan’s side, bowed respectfully, and pleaded for Bai Jinzhi: “Elder sister, Xiao Si was wrong, but there was a reason. Xiao Si was also protecting our family’s reputation.”

“If my elder sister wants to beat me, Xiao Si accepts it! But Xiao Si is not convinced!” Bai Jinzhi gritted her teeth, tearfully staring directly at Bai Qingyan standing on the veranda. “Xiao Si protected our Duke’s mansion’s reputation! Nothing wrong!”

Bai Jinzhi glared at Bai Jinxiu: “On the contrary, second sister… when those greedy, ungrateful wretches slandered our Duke’s mansion, second sister just watched helplessly and did nothing! The second sister is weak and cowardly! Xiao Si despises this!”

Looking at Bai Jinzhi’s stubborn expression, her heart ached with pain and disappointment as she said, “Uncle Ping, you all wait outside the courtyard first.”

In the vast Qinghui Courtyard, only the four sisters remained.

“Your second sister is a coward? If your second sister were cowardly, could she have nearly had her arm severed while saving your third brother, yet still cut down the enemy’s vanguard?! From childhood to now, your second sister has taken the blame for you countless times, enduring at least no fewer than two hundred military rod beatings. Was she cowardly?! Just now at the Duke’s mansion’s main gate, if your second sister hadn’t timed her tears perfectly to stir the people’s emotions and make them forget your whip-wielding and support our Bai family, what do you think would have happened? Even at Marquis Zhongyong’s mansion, the Qin family – your second sister doesn’t act lightly, but when she does… she forces Qin Lang into a desperate situation where he has to burn his bridges and move out of Marquis Zhongyong’s mansion! Your second sister is cowardly, and you acting violently and showing off your fierceness makes you a hero?!”

Bai Jinzhi turned her head away, still unconvinced.

“When your second sister stopped you, did she tell you that those people surrounding our Duke’s mansion to cause trouble might have ulterior motives, and you shouldn’t act impulsively?!” she sternly questioned. “Wielding a whip in front of the Duke’s mansion, shouting about killing people! How imposing indeed! If Lu Yuanpeng hadn’t captured those two thieves today and revealed their plot at our Duke’s mansion gate, have you considered the consequences?!”

Bai Jinzhi recalled Lu Yuanpeng saying that those two people wanted to silence those soldiers’ family members and then frame it on the Duke Zhenguo’s mansion. Her heart grew uneasy, but she stubbornly refused to admit her mistake.

Bai Qingyan pointed toward the Duke’s mansion’s main gate: “If those people had all been silenced after returning, the Jingzhao Magistrate’s office would probably come to our Duke’s mansion to arrest you first!”

Thinking that this matter would destroy the Bai family’s previous excellent reputation and popular support, she felt chilled to the bone. The current situation and popular sentiment were the only weapons she could rely on to save the Bai family.

“I have a clear conscience and don’t fear false accusations! Let them arrest me! I’m not afraid! At worst, I’ll spend time in prison. The Jingzhao Magistrate will investigate and clear my name eventually!” Bai Jinzhi maintained her defiant, ready-to-die attitude.

Her eyes blazed like torches as she looked at this self-righteous and competitive sister before her, anger flaring: “Naive! This matter is someone’s carefully laid trap, and you think you’ll get justice after entering the Jingzhao Magistrate’s office?! They can only destroy our Bai family’s popular support by making the charges stick and sealing your fate! And you… You ignored your second sister’s warnings and insisted on walking into the trap, even fighting with your second sister!”

“Today’s events… if Lu Yuanpeng hadn’t captured the thieves and brought them to our door, and those soldiers’ families had been killed, just the crime of slaughtering soldiers’ families to vent anger would be enough to destroy the Bai family’s centuries of achievements in one stroke! You can do a hundred good deeds, but they don’t compare to one evil act – did you learn that principle for nothing?! Once you’re imprisoned, those plotting behind the scenes will certainly fan the flames, create rumors, and use the momentum to frame the Bai family with a crime worthy of clan extermination. With all the Bai family men dead in battle, we already have no one in court and face difficulties at every step. If we lose popular support as well, it would be eternal damnation! This… is exactly the outcome those manipulating this affair want to see for our Bai family!”

Bai Jinzhi gripped the fabric at her sides tightly, breaking into a cold sweat, biting her teeth without making a sound, lowering her eyes, and no longer daring to meet Bai Qingyan’s clear gaze directly.

She was frustrated by Bai Jinzhi’s stubborn refusal to learn, her voice involuntarily rising: “Whether in life or affairs! You can be sharp and show your edge, but the premise is that you must have the ability and shrewdness to keep the situation under your control! But look at you… competing in viciousness with shrews! Arguing pointlessly with profit-seeking people! Disregarding the bigger picture, acting rashly for personal vengeance, enjoying momentary satisfaction by wielding your whip, confused and reckless without any follow-up plan!”

Seeing Bai Jinzhi, who had been so severely scolded by Bai Qingyan, crying continuously, Bai Jinxiu felt heartbroken watching and softly persuaded: “Elder sister… Xiao Si is still young and straightforward by nature. This time, she was also acting impulsively to protect the Duke’s mansion’s reputation. As long as Xiao Si knows her mistake, a lesson learned is enough!”