The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 53

Prince Liang sat draped in a heavy cloak in front of the blazing fire. The vibrant flames cast a reddish hue on Prince Liang’s pallid face that was as pale as paper. His eyes were dark and brooding, lost in thought.

Du Zhiwei, Prince Liang’s strategist, had planned everything meticulously for him before he died…

He was to act under the guise of working for Prince Xin, then encourage him to go to the front lines to compete with the Zhenguo Duke for military glory. The current Emperor had long been dissatisfied with the Zhenguo Duke’s residence which had made great military achievements. Sure enough, he immediately allowed his favourite son to go to the front lines as a military supervisor, even granting Prince Xin the golden imperial token of authority.

Later, he secretly arranged for Liu Huanzhang to communicate with the Emperor of Nanyan. The aim was to take advantage of all the Bai family’s men being by the Zhenguo Duke’s side, and wiping out the Bai family in one fell swoop.

Like that, the most capable and battle-hardened generals of the Bai family in the Great Jin Kingdom would be annihilated! Then he would have the Bai family accused of treason so the entire clan would be uprooted!

Once war resumed in Nanjiang and his Father the Emperor had no capable generals to turn to, he would have no choice but to rely on Liu Huanzhang. This would allow his people to seize control of military power. That was the first reason.

As for why he had tried so hard to win over Bai Qingyan, it was all because Du Zhiwei had pointed out that Prince Liang’s strengths did not lie in military command, so he advised him to keep Bai Qingyan, whom even the Zhenguo Duke praised as a “rising star in the military,” close to him to secure future battle merits and pave the way for his own rise to the throne. That was the second reason.

Once Prince Qi and Prince Xin, who were both vying for the crown, exhausted each other in a deadly struggle, he, the prince who returned with great military achievements, would be able to reap the benefits.

Initially, everything had progressed smoothly according to Du Zhiwei’s plan. However, since the second daughter of the Bai family, Bai Jinxiu, got married and Du Zhiwei died, things had not gone as well as they had when Du Zhiwei was alive.

Bai Qingyan’s maternal family in Dengzhou planned to have their second grandson marry Bai Qingyan. When Prince Liang sent a jade pendant to Bai Qingyan and offered her the position of primary consort, she refused to accept it. He even personally went to see Bai Qingyan, but she would not see him. What should he do?

Instinctively, Prince Liang wanted to ask Du Zhiwei how to handle the situation. He was just about to call for someone to summon Du Zhiwei when he opened his mouth and remembered that Du Zhiwei had died protecting him during the attack on the main street that day…

He coughed violently. Tong Ji, who was brewing medicine, heard the sound and hurried in immediately to pour him a cup of water, “Your Highness, please have some water!”

“Cough, cough, cough… leave me!” Prince Liang pulled his cloak tighter around him.

His birth mother had a low status and died early. He had been raised in Noble Consort Tong’s care. Noble Consort Tong and his deceased second brother had treated him like family, yet they had been killed by the so-called backbone of the country and pillar of the court, the Zhenguo Duke, leaving them to such a tragic end.

So he had to fight for that position! Only by ascending to the throne could he avenge Noble Consort Tong and his second brother, no matter what despicable or lowly methods he had to use.

After staring at the fire brazier in deep thought for a long time, Prince Liang suddenly called out in a hoarse voice, “Gao Sheng!”

Gao Sheng quickly entered when he heard this. He cupped his fists and bowed. “Master!”

“Bring Hong Qiao here… I have something to instruct her.”

Soon, Hong Qiao came in the snow. Upon hearing Prince Liang’s instructions, she was initially stunned, but then she knelt down and bowed her head with a look of resolute determination, as if ready to sacrifice herself, “This servant once received a great favour from the Second Prince. Now that Second Prince is gone, this servant should have followed in death. It was only Your Highness who gave me the hope of revenge that allowed this servant to live! This servant understands Your Highness’s intentions. Not to mention sacrificing my reputation… even if it costs my life, this servant will not hesitate and will make sure the task is done perfectly!”

Prince Liang coughed softly and then shook his head, “You must live. As you said, you need to see revenge fulfilled for my brother. Only once that is done can you answer to him! Follow the plan and do not act rashly.”

Tears welled in Hong Qiao’s eyes as she kowtowed heavily to Prince Liang.

“Go now!” Prince Liang pulled his cloak tighter, his eyes dark and brooding as he gazed into the flickering coals in the brazier.

On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, every household was preparing for the new year, slaughtering pigs and cutting meat.

The procurement officers of the noble families were also busy. Although the men of the Zhenguo Duke’s household were unable to return from Nanjiang this year, the mansion was livelier than ever. Butchers and farmers continued to send their best goods to the Duke’s residence! True to the previous orders from the Duke’s heir’s wife, as soon as items were delivered, the mansion would send someone to pay for them.

People who could not find a way to express their gratitude to the Bai family of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence would secretly drag their goods to the back gate in the middle of the night, then sneak away!

Steward Liu, the mansion’s procurement officer, was overwhelmed and hurried to report to Butler Hao once again.

This time, Butler Hao made the decision to accept all of the goods. He instructed them to wait until the 29th of the 12th lunar month to send thank you notes and more substantial than usual gifts to the merchants, butchers, and farmers who regularly dealt with the Duke’s residence. He also told Steward Liu to prepare small packets of silver wrapped in red paper, and if they saw children in their homes, give them early New Year’s gifts.

Butler Hao, whose family had served the Bai family for generations, knew well that the Bai family was always generous. If you showed them a bit of kindness, they would repay it tenfold. His arrangements were by no means excessive.

Grand Madam Dong, who was currently living in Honglu Temple, had planned to return to Dengzhou after the New Year. Originally, the Grand Madam intended to invite Bai Qingyan to stay at the Dong residence for a few days to celebrate the New Year. However, with all the men of the Bai family away, she was reluctant to compete with the Zhenguo Duke’s residence during the festive season, and leave the Bai household cold and empty. As a result, she simply invited Bai Qingyan over to the Dong residence the next day.

Dong-shi thought it would be inappropriate for her mother, Grand Madam Dong, to invite Bai Qingyan alone, so she asked Bai Qingyan to bring her younger sisters along.

On this day, except for Second Miss Bai Jinxiu, who was recovering from her injuries, and the Seventh Miss Bai Jinse, who had caught a cold, all the Bai sisters gathered at the Dong family estate.

Although Bai Qingyan’s cousins at the Dong family were not as bold and heroic as the Bai daughters, they were not the scheming type either and got along well with the Bai family’s daughters.

Before they left, the two youngest, Fifth Miss and Sixth Miss, had their arms full of small trinkets given to them by their elders and cousins. They were so fond of them that they would let go and would not even let their personal maids touch them. As soon as they got on the carriage, they already began playing with them.

“How can Cousin Dong be so skillful, these little birds look as if they are about to come to life!” Bai Jinzhi exclaimed as she held up a pair of paper sparrows, sighing “It’s great to be young! I also wanted these paper sparrows, but now that I am older, it’s embarrassing…”

Upon hearing this, Bai Jinzhao immediately snatched the sparrows from Bai Jinzhi’s hands and held them to her chest, “Fourth Sister is an adult now and is not allowed to compete with your younger sisters. Second Sister is still healing… and Seventh Sister caught a cold. They didn’t get to play with our cousins today, so I’m bringing these back for Second Sister and Seventh Sister!”

Both Bai Jintong and Bai Qingyan burst into laughter at this.

Suddenly, there was the sound of horses being reined in from the front of the carriage, and the Zhenguo Duke’s carriage came to a slow stop.

“Eldest Miss!”

At the sound of this, Bai Qingyan lifted the curtain of the carriage and peered outside. A servant of the Zhenguo Duke’s household called out to her, “Eldest Miss, there is a young lady kneeling at the gates of our Duke’s residence. She said she’s a maid from Prince Liang’s residence and is requesting to see Eldest Miss. Butler Hao has sent me to inform Eldest Miss.”