News of the Duke’s mansion, Fourth Miss wielding her whip against the greedy, ungrateful troublemakers outside the Duke’s mansion and receiving fifty military rod strikes as family punishment, spread throughout the marketplace.

Some praised the Duke’s mansion for their righteousness – better to let all the world wrong me than for me to wrong the world!

Others felt the Duke’s mansion was too weak – when outsiders bullied them at their doorstep and their own daughter fought back, she still had to receive family punishment.

But when people mentioned this incident, they inevitably recalled First Miss of the Bai family’s thunderous questions of rebuke at the Duke’s mansion gate. For a time, the claims that Duke Zhenguo’s stubborn military command led to the Nanjiang disaster became despised by people.

Some citizens, thinking of Prince Xin who had returned alive, began to speculate – someone first guessed that this claim about the Duke’s stubborn military command was probably Prince Xin protecting himself by pushing the blame for military defeat onto the deceased heroes.

Others suspected that the person behind bribing those soldiers’ families to cause trouble at the Duke’s mansion gate today was Prince Xin.

The rumors grew more intense. Three people make a tiger – the people firmly believed this was the truth.

In just half a day, throughout the various households in the capital, citizens could constantly be heard cursing Prince Xin in lowered voices with extremely harsh words.

There were even bold men who specifically ran to Prince Xin’s mansion gate to spit before angrily rolling up their sleeves and leaving.

The advisors remaining at Prince Xin’s mansion were like ants on a hot pan, gathering in the council hall for half a day without coming up with any strategy.

“Fortunately, we’ve tested and found that the Bai family currently doesn’t have the military campaign records either! At present… we must properly find those military records!” An advisor at Prince Xin’s mansion stood under the bright lamp, frowning.

“We can only proceed this way for now! Continue having people closely watch the Duke’s mansion. If any suspiciously acting people enter or exit, report immediately!”

The elderly man in azure robes standing under the lamp shook his head: “In this report of military intelligence, Prince Xin was hasty to cover up his mistakes and used those four words ‘stubborn military command.’ His intention to shift blame was too obvious – a strategic error! Such a strategic error!”

·

On the fifth day of the new year, Prince Xin would escort the coffins back. The Duke Zhenguo’s mansion had suddenly encountered great mourning. Fortunately, Dong Shi usually managed the household strictly, and the Bai family was united from top to bottom. Although it was the New Year season, from receiving the news on New Year’s Eve until now, only three days, the Duke’s mansion had prepared everything that needed preparing.

Only regarding the matter of breaking the funeral pot before the coffin, the Grand Princess, mother, and all the aunts still couldn’t decide.

Now with all the Bai family men dead, only one bastard son from the second branch who hadn’t yet been entered into the family genealogy remained, and whether the child in Fifth Madam’s belly was male or female was still unknown.

Once this bastard son, Bai Qingxuan, broke the pot, it would mean the Bai family acknowledged Bai Qingxuan’s status, and even… entrusted all the Bai family’s glory to Bai Qingxuan. If the Duke Zhenguo position could be preserved, it would certainly be inherited by this son.

But this son drew blood at first strike, had a violent nature, and completely lacked benevolent righteousness. Whether the Grand Princess, Dong Shi, or the other madams, none felt comfortable placing the Bai family in Bai Qingxuan’s hands.

The several madams discussed in the Grand Princess’s Changshou Courtyard for an entire afternoon without reaching any conclusion. But the sharp-minded servants below noticed the subtle signs and eagerly ran to Qingming Courtyard to curry favor.

Even Bai Qingxuan’s mother began putting on airs as the future Duke Zhenguo’s birth mother. At this critical moment when the Duke’s mansion was in mourning, she ignored the prohibition against eating meat issued by the heir’s wife, Dong Shi, for the entire Duke’s mansion. One moment she wanted the kitchen to send bird’s nest soup for her son, the next she wanted honey-glazed steamed ham, then rouge crystal pork knuckle, then complained the sugar-steamed cloud cake was too greasy, then complained the serving maids weren’t beautiful enough and their ugliness polluted her son’s precious eyes.

There were indeed servants with intentions to curry favor with this mother and son, secretly sending delicacies to Qingming Courtyard in various creative ways.

Some maids heard that Bai Qingxuan was lustful and developed improper thoughts, relying on their beauty to approach Qingming Courtyard.

Bai Qingyan stood before the copper-screened fire brazier, listening as the steward nanny she had placed in Qingming Courtyard stood properly before her, reporting on the events in Qingming Courtyard these past few days.

“That concubine from the second branch has been declaring in Qingming Courtyard… that whoever hurts her son, in the future she will get back every single rod strike.” The steward nanny understood clearly that these words referred to First Miss, and she had to report this.

“Nanny, you’ve worked hard. Qingming Courtyard still needs a nanny to watch over it carefully. We can’t have any disturbances at this critical moment,” she looked up at the experienced steward nanny and instructed.

“First Miss, rest assured! If anything happens, this old servant will immediately send someone to report to First Miss,” the steward nanny said.

Chun Tao escorted the steward nanny to the door. Just as she was about to lift the curtain and enter to serve Bai Qingyan, she saw Nanny Tong hurriedly entering the main gate of Qinghui Courtyard with a bundle in her arms.

Chun Tao’s eyes grew warm. She quickly stepped forward to greet her, curtsying and choking up with reddened eyes: “Nanny Tong, you’ve finally returned!”

Although Nanny Tong was usually stern and strict in Qinghui Courtyard with many rules, managing all the servants tightly, Nanny Tong was ultimately like old ginger – the more trouble arose, the more steady she became.

Now that such a catastrophic event had occurred at the Duke’s mansion, with Nanny Tong’s return, these servants had their backbone again.

Nanny Tong immediately helped Chun Tao up, her eyes reddening. Her already stern features became even more solemn: “How is First Miss?! Can her body still hold up?!”

“Nanny, rest assured! First Miss is perfectly fine! She can hold up!” Chun Tao’s tears fell pitter-patter.

During the time Nanny Tong was away, events followed one after another. Chun Tao appeared to hold up just like First Miss, but once Nanny Tong returned, she couldn’t hold up anymore. Thinking again of that worthless creature Chun Yan with her light bones and base nature, thinking of the fate of all the Duke’s mansion men, Chun Tao couldn’t help crying.

Before Nanny Tong returned, she had already heard many rumors about First Miss outside, but her heart was still unsettled, and she couldn’t help worrying. Now, hearing Chun Tao say this, she finally felt relieved.

“Let me tidy up first, then go see Miss!” After Nanny Tong finished speaking, she entered the side room to arrange her clothing, stood before the fire basin to dispel the cold from her body, and only then entered to pay respects to Bai Qingyan.

Upon suddenly hearing of the great disaster at the Duke’s mansion, Nanny Tong had returned travel-worn. Seeing Bai Qingyan, her eyes immediately reddened. She carefully looked Bai Qingyan over thoroughly and, seeing that Bai Qingyan seemed even stronger than when she had left, finally felt at ease.

She had Chun Tao help Nanny Tong sit on an embroidered stool and asked: “Nanny returned so hurriedly, is everything at home properly settled?”

Nanny Tong’s son had been seriously ill, which was why she had returned to care for him. Originally, she had already sent word for Nanny Tong to return to the mansion after New Year’s, but presumably hearing about the complete loss of the Bai family men, she had immediately hurried back. Her loyalty was evident.

“Everything is properly settled. First Miss needn’t worry. This time, when this old servant returned, I was also entrusted by First Miss’s wet nurse, Nanny Jin, to bring your two milk brothers back from the estate! Nanny Jin said that with the Bai family’s great affairs at hand, it’s precisely when people are needed. She had your two milk brothers return to the mansion to serve the heir’s wife and First Miss.. Nanny Jin told me to tell First Miss… First Miss needn’t be afraid. All the Bai family’s loyal servants are here, ready to be deployed by the heir’s wife and First Miss.”