Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: The Majesty of Imperial Power_1

Mrs. Dong solemnly saluted the Eldest Princess and then spoke, “I will go with Mother!”

Now that the major affairs of the Bai family were settled, Mrs. Dong no longer needed to hold the fort at home. If they were to seek justice for the Bai family, how could she be absent?!

“I will go with the Eldest Princess and Sister,” Dong Qingyue also said.

“I will go too!” Bai Jinzhi shouted loudly, “I will also go with Grandmother!”

Fifth Lady Mrs. Qi, protecting her belly, was helped up the high steps by the nanny beside her. With red eyes and a resolute voice, she said, “I will also go with Mother. The heroic souls of the Bai family have just been buried and are already being framed by malicious people. This cannot be tolerated! Even if we are the widows of the Bai family, we must not let the loyal souls be wronged, even in death!”

Fifth Lady, who was pregnant, choked with determination. Her resolve to seek justice for the Bai family heroes moved everyone, and the people echoed her sentiments.

“Yes! We must not let the loyal souls of the Bai family be wronged!” an upright man shouted.

“We cannot all go.” The Eldest Princess gently patted Mrs. Dong’s hand and spoke to stop them. “We are going to seek an audience with His Majesty, not to pressure him. You all should wait at home for my return!”

“Since Grandmother won’t let us go, then we will wait outside Wude Gate!” Bai Qingyan’s elegant and serene face was solemn, and her pair of black, shiny eyes were as captivating as ice crystals formed on a frigid winter night, daring to be stared at. “If His Majesty calls for confrontation, it’s also good to have you all as witnesses for the Bai family!”

The Eldest Princess tightened her grip on the tiger head cane, looking at her eldest granddaughter with steady and profound eyes. Kid didn’t trust her. They, grandmother and granddaughter, were indeed distant in heart.

Her granddaughter had probably made up her mind to protect the Bai family with the support of the people and public sentiment, preferring to use the situation to pressure the current emperor rather than rely on her, the grandmother. She would rather trust the unrelated people than trust her own grandmother.

The Eldest Princess’s body swayed almost imperceptibly, and her heart kept sinking.

The pain of the departure of her husband, son, and grandson, combined with the pain of her granddaughter’s distance, almost made the Eldest Princess unable to hold on.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Ɲ0νǤᴑ.сο

But now, under the gaze of the public, it wasn’t the right moment to discuss the matters between her and her granddaughter.

Before the Eldest Princess could speak again, Bai Jinzhi had already stepped forward, bowed to the people with clasped fists, and said, “I beg all the heroic men to wait with us outside Wude Gate. If His Majesty wants to confront, please witness for the Bai family!”

“Fourth Miss, there’s no need for that! Even if you don’t say it, we will surely go with the Bai family widows to Wude Gate!”

“Yes! We will go with the Bai family widows! If His Majesty shows favoritism, we will sound the drum at Dengwen Drum Tower for the Bai family! We will not let the Bai family heroes be wronged! Let’s go!”

Before the Bai family widows could move, the people had already started noisily, heading towards Wude Gate in groups.

“Sister! Let’s go too!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes were burning with fire as she looked at Bai Qingyan.

“Grandmother is taking the carriage and should be faster than us! We will wait outside Wude Gate for Grandmother’s good news,” Bai Qingyan said calmly and respectfully to the Eldest Princess.

“Kid…” the Eldest Princess called Bai Qingyan, “If you’re afraid that Grandmother will be partial to King Liang, then come with Grandmother into the palace!”

Going to Wude Gate to petition again would be the same as forcing the Emperor by pounding the drum at Dengwen Drum Tower on the seventh day of the first month.

They could not let Bai Qingyan lead the people to Wude Gate again. Last time, the Emperor had no choice but to deal with King Xin because Bai Qingyan led people to pound the drum, and he was angry with Bai Qingyan. If Bai Qingyan went with these people again, even if she didn’t take the lead, the Emperor would blame the gathering at Wude Gate on her again.

Royal power and authority could not be challenged.

The Eldest Princess feared that when the Emperor openly had to consider public opinion and didn’t dare to act against Bai Qingyan, he might secretly harm her.

“Sister, I think you should go with Grandmother into the palace. In case His Majesty believes King Liang’s excuses. If he really is disguising his weakness and incompetence to conceal his true intentions, his schemes would be deep, and we cannot be unprepared!” Bai Jinxiu whispered to Bai Qingyan, “Outside the palace, there are Aunt and us; inside, we rely on you, Sister.”

Bai Jinxiu felt that it would be more secured for Bai Qingyan to confront King Liang in the palace, avoiding King Liang’s pretended submissiveness and later asking the Emperor for marriage. Once the Imperial Edict was issued, Sister would have no room to turn back.

“Sister! Don’t worry, we have everything under control outside the palace!” Bai Jintong also said.

The incident where Bai Qingyan was beaten at Wude Gate last time still pained Mrs. Dong whenever she thought about it. She wasn’t just a housewife who only managed the household; she knew that Bai Qingyan couldn’t be the one to step forward this time at Wude Gate.

The tree that stands out in the forest is sure to be destroyed by the wind.

The high performer is sure to be criticized by all.

The precedent of the Duke of Zhen’s Bai family was right in front of Mrs. Dong; she couldn’t let her daughter follow the same path.

“Kid, go with your Grandmother into the palace!” Mrs. Dong slowly said, “I’ll take care of things outside the palace.”

How could she not know that her mother and sisters didn’t want her to be the one to force the Emperor again?

Bai Jinxiu was right. King Liang was treacherous, and Grandmother held the Imperial Family close to heart. If she softened or reached any agreement with the Emperor to downplay this matter, all their arrangements would be for naught.

However, Bai Qingyan was not entirely unprepared. If Grandmother really sided with the Imperial Family this time, she would use the simplest and most foolish method, killing and arson!

She would kill King Liang and set fire to King Liang’s residence.

But unless it was absolutely necessary, she couldn’t use this method. Not to mention Gao Sheng with unfathomable martial arts beside King Liang, this method would leave traces. She wasn’t entirely confident in killing King Liang in one strike. If her people got caught by King Liang’s men, it would tarnish the Bai family’s century-old reputation.

Moreover, she couldn’t fully predict the consequences of King Liang’s death.

King Liang was now surrounded by the former subordinates of the Second Prince. The Second Prince had many talented people around him in the past. Bai Qingyan had seen many of them when she marched into battle with King Liang, Du Zhiwei being one of them.

It was Du Zhiwei who had planned for King Liang, letting him pretend to be under King Xin’s command while quietly gaining military merit. When King Xin and King Qi fought to a standstill, King Liang would return with military merit and earn the Emperor’s favor.

Bai Qingyan was very cautious of Du Zhiwei.

Moreover, if a risky move like this were to be made, it would need the Bai family’s loyal servants to sacrifice their lives, even implicating the innocent!

This was the last resort of last resorts.

Bai Qingyan leaned close to Bai Jinxiu’s ear and carefully instructed her. Bai Jinxiu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded, “Rest assured, Sister! Jinxiu understands!”

The Emperor wanted to be a wiser and more enlightened ruler than the previous emperor, to be remembered in history. He naturally cared about his reputation, which was his biggest weakness.