The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 50

Her eyes glistened with tears and each word she spoke seemed to bleed with raw emotion. She pointed her fingers at Prime Minister Li Mao and raised her voice, “If Prime Minister has the backbone to protect our country and is willing to sacrifice generations of his family for the people and country of our the Jin Kingdom, then this military merit… My Bai family will give it to you! The Bai family army… can be reformed to follow the Prime Minister’s command! Military merit?! If the Prime Minister wants it, take it! My Bai family only asks that our men return home safely, that’s all!”

Seated below the raised dais with the high-ranked Dong-shi, Bai Jintong, Bai Jinzhi, Bai Jinzhao, and Bai Jinhua had reddened eyes. They looked up at Bai Qingyan, who stood tall and unyielding like a pine tree on the high steps, and clenched their fists tightly.

Even the Princess Dowager’s eyes were filled with tears, her throat choked with emotion.

Remembering the fates of the Bai family men who died on the battlefield in the previous life, she trembled with grief.

After a long moment, she restrained her tears and turned to kneel solemnly before the Emperor, “It is nearing the end of the year and my family has yet to receive news from Nanjiang. Our excessive worry has caused us to lose our manners before Your Majesty. I beg for Your Majesty’s pardon..”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on his wine cup. After a long while, he slowly smiled and said, “The Bai family is indeed a house full of loyal people! But Eldest Miss Bai’s words are implicit… Your Bai family is loyal to the people of Jin. Does the Bai family have me as the Emperor in their hearts? Are you loyal to me, the Emperor?”

The hall fell so silent, a pin dropping could be heard.

Bai Jintong, seated below the raised dais, suddenly clutched her clothes tightly. She recalled what Bai Qingyan had told her in Qinghui Courtyard that day… The current Emperor viewed the Bai family as a threatening tiger by his side and wanted to eliminate them as soon as possible. Hearing the Emperor’s words today, she felt a chill all over.

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes and felt extremely cold in her heart. This was the Emperor to whom her grandfather and father had sworn unwavering loyalty until death!

They were seeing Western Liang and Nanyan eyeing them covetously, while Daliang and Rongdi harboured ill intentions. The Great Jin Kingdom had few capable generals to rely on. Once the Great Jin Kingdom’s generals were granted titles, they often did not wish for their descendants to endure the hardships of the frontier, encouraging them to abandon martial pursuits for literary ones.

Her grandfather and father left no room for retreat or any way out in order to train successors of the Jin Kingdom capable of deterring rival states. They took all the Bai family men to the front lines, and the Emperor of the Great Jin Kingdom turned a blind eye to such fervent loyalty! Instead, he schemed in the dark, suspecting and plotting against his ministers, indulging in petty calculations, was mean and despicable…

She bowed again, “The Emperor’s imperial authority is granted by the people of Jin! Without the people, how could there be an emperor? My Bai family defends the borders and protects the people of Jin, never overstepping our bounds. If this is not loyalty to Your Majesty, then dare I ask Your Majesty… What is loyalty?”

For an emperor to ascend to the highest position without concern for the kingdom and its people, it was already regrettable that they lacked the magnanimity to embrace the world. However, for the kingdom’s elite warriors to fight bloody battles against enemies coveting the Jin Kingdom while their emperor stayed in this flourishing capital city, plotting internal strife, worrying that his ministers’ achievements would surpass his own, and doing all kinds of treacherous things, was this kind of person still worthy of being a ruler?!

This imperial court was no longer the one her grandfather once described to her… A court of justice and righteousness. Military generals were fighting to death outside, but within the court, there was no longer the righteous scene with ministers laying their lives down for the sake of justice.

Those straight as a string, die by the roadside; those bent like a hook, gain nobility! Look at this court full of flatterers and traitors, look at this gathering of people who curry favour and fawn on the powerful, who steal the emperor’s name and are made into marquises and prime ministers, basking in utmost glory! Her Bai family, loyal and upright, standing tall and full of righteous spirit, ends up with their entire clan killed! How ironic!

In her past life, it was not unfair at all that the Jin Kingdom had been destroyed by the Yan Kingdom that they had always despised.

“Your Majesty…” The Princess Dowager feared the Emperor would vent his anger on Bai Qingyan and quickly knelt down, “This child has been spoiled by me. Please forgive her, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor was stunned by Bai Qingyan’s question and was also surprised by the undisguised anger on her face.

After a moment, the Emperor chuckled and brushed off invisible dust from his robes. Then he abruptly changed the subject and said casually, “Yesterday, a censor reported that the wife of the Zhongyong Marquis beat to death the dowry maids of the Bai family’s second daughter, but these dowry girls were of civilian status. Qin Dezhao… How much do you know about this matter? Speak in detail.”

The Zhongyong Marquis hurriedly stepped forward and knelt, sweating profusely, unable to fathom the Emperor’s intention from his sudden inquiry. He replied, “Your Majesty, this minister has already questioned his wife in detail. She said that since Bai Jinxiu’s dowry maids’ contracts were still at the Duke’s mansion, she, being just a woman of the inner courtyards of the house, did not know whether these maids were being sent as dowry or something else, so she dealt with them as she felt that if she did not, she would not feel at ease as the Marquis’ wife.”

Bai Qingyan smiled coldly. The Zhongyong Marquis was quite adept at muddling what was right and wrong.

“Your Majesty, may this minister’s daughter ask the Zhongyong Marquis a question?” She respectfully asked the Emperor.

Seeing the Emperor nod, she turned around, standing tall like a pine tree. Her piercing gaze swept over the expressions of the court ministers, some intoxicated, some mocking, and some disdainful.

Many of them probably were waiting to see the Bai family’s downfall, eager to see the collapse of the century-old military family of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence.

With a cold expression, she looked at the Zhongyong Marquis and asked in an icy voice, “Dare I ask, Marquis, did the Marquis’ wife discover that the dowry maids’ contracts were still with our mansion after searching through my second sister’s dowry, or is the Marquis’ wife as clever as Zhu Ge Liang and can predict the future?”

Having already experienced the power of the Bai family’s eldest daughter, the Zhongyong Marquis Qin Dezhao had rehearsed his response with his wife, Jiang-shi, and was prepared. “Your Majesty, the matter of the contracts was told to my wife by Bai Jinxiu’s dowry maid, Mingyu. That is why my wife spared that maid’s life!”

Qin Dezhao had thought about it. Considering the big fuss over Mingyu, this was the only explanation for why Bai Jinxiu’s dowry maid would end up on Jiang-shi’s dowry estate.

Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi gritted her teeth. She was about to stand up and curse the Zhongyong Marquis, but Third Miss Bai Jintong, held her down firmly.

“Third Sister! He’s talking nonsense!” Bai Jinzhi glared fiercely at Qin Dezhao.

“Don’t be impulsive, we’re in the imperial great hall!” Bai Jintong whispered a warning to Bai Jinzhi.

“The matter of the contracts is a serious issue. Does the Marquis think my second sister is a fool, to the point of telling a maid about the contracts? Perhaps the Marquis knows that Mingyu has gone mad… and is trying to use her as an excuse to cover up?” Bai Qingyan’s tone was laced with obvious sarcasm.

Qin Dezhao panicked momentarily but quickly composed himself, responding seriously, “Why must Eldest Miss Bai assume the worst of me? The maid Mingyu clearly stated that she accidentally discovered that my daughter-in-law hadn’t brought their contracts with her. She was afraid of being blackmailed by someone using the contracts, so she informed my wife!”

“Is the Marquis aware of the crime of deceiving the Emperor? In front of His Majesty, tell me, Marquis… A girl who can’t even recognise her own name, was bought by my second sister at a young age and has never seen her own contract, the Marquis is actually saying that Mingyu discovered and reported such a thing? By saying this… Does the Marquis think we’re all fools and easy to deceive, or is the Marquis at his wit’s end trying to cover up mistakes?”

Qin Dezhao was infuriated and at a loss for words. He quickly thought about how to respond, but his lips only moved silently and could not open.