The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 68

Bai Jinzhi, her eyes bloodshot, gripped the long whip at her waist. She was burning with rage, wishing she could lash these foolish people stirring trouble in front of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence to death.

Seeing the crowd of onlookers, who had long surrounded the Zhenguo Duke’s residence three layers deep, Bai Jinxiu, standing beside Bai Jinzhi, felt her heart pounding wildly.

“Fourth Sister, don’t!” Bai Jinxiu hurriedly pressed down on Bai Jinzhi’s hand that was about to lash out with the whip. “This group gathered at the gates of our Duke’s residence to cause trouble, they must have a scheme in mind. You mustn’t act impulsively!”

“Your Bai family may not produce trash! The Bai family may be undefeated on the battlefield, but the Bai family’s victories are earned by the sons of ordinary people like us… with their lives!!” A woman wailed and shouted bitterly, “A general’s success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of people! At the general’s command, our sons rush forward one after another, throwing themselves onto the blades! The ones losing their lives are not you! How would you know what the pain feels like?! The Zhenguo Duke only cares about military achievements! As long as you can leave his name in history, you’ll use our sons’ lives to build your glory!”

“My poor son!” Another woman screamed in fury, “The Zhenguo Duke is shameless! Your Bai family men deserved to die in Nanjiang! It was your Bai family that killed our sons!”

“I dare you to say another slanderous word!” Bai Jinzhi forcibly shook off Bai Jinxiu and swung her whip toward the woman. Her rage consumed her, and she spoke without thought, “You are the one who deserves to die! I will whip you to death today!”

“Bai Jinzhi!” Bai Jinxiu desperately pulled Bai Jinzhi back, the wound on her forehead splitting open. Bright red bl00d flowed down from her forehead.

“You’re a coward who lets others trample all over you! But I’m not!” Bai Jinzhi, her eyes crimson, yelled at Bai Jinxiu, then angrily shoved Bai Jinxiu aside.

The long whip cracked through the air, and the woman’s shrill scream was piercing.

“Little Fourth! Don’t!” Bai Jinxiu was already injured and was pushed into the wall by Bai Jinzhi. Her head throbbed with unbearable pain.

Qingshu was frantic, “Fourth Miss, how could you lay hands on Second Miss?! Second Miss… are you alright?”

Bai Qingyan quickened her pace, lifting the hem of her plain dress as she stepped onto the stairs. She saw Bai Jinzhi with bloodshot eyes trying to beat the woman to death with all her strength.

“Bai Jinzhi! Stop right now!” Her face turned pale as she turned to instruct Lu Ping, “Uncle Ping, restrain Fourth Miss for me!”

Lu Ping rushed forward in a few steps. He took a lash himself before managing to restrain the enraged Bai Jinzhi. Bai Jinzhi, as though possessed, screamed madly, breaking free from Lu Ping’s hold several times, as if intent on perishing together with the group of people cursing the Zhenguo Duke’s household.

Bai Jintong, who was coming over, saw Bai Jinzhi’s frenzied state. She picked up the now-cold teapot from the side table by the gatehouse, and swiftly descended the high steps of the Zhenguo Duke’s main entrance. She poured the pot of water over Bai Jinzhi to wake her up.

The icy water extinguished the fire of Bai Jinzhi’s rage. She seemed to awaken from a dream, her chest heaving violently. Choking back a sob, she glanced at Bai Jintong, whose face was pale, then shifted her gaze to Bai Qingyan, standing on the high steps with a livid expression, “Eldest… Eldest Sister.”

“Heavens above! Open your eyes wide and look! The Zhenguo Duke sacrificed my son for his military merits! And now, even this girl from the Zhenguo Duke’s household wants to kill me!”

“You are spouting nonsense! I will tear your mouth apart!” Bai Jinzhi’s anger reignited, and she struggled to rush forward.

Standing on the high steps, Bai Qingyan’s expression was cold and composed. Dressed in mourning clothes, her back straight and proud, she asked, “May I ask this lady, the official battle records from the historians accompanying the army have not yet been sent back by Prince Xin. The war report has reached us, but even my Bai family only knows that our army suffered a catastrophic defeat… My grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers all perished, and the army’s casualties have yet to be formally tallied! Why s it that you so confidently insist that your son has died in battle?”

The woman with a bruised face visibly hesitated and grew flustered. She stiffened her neck and retorted, “The Zhenguo Duke already died in battle, how could my son still be alive?!”

“Then it is merely your assumption that your son is dead! I’ve been with the army since I was young,
and I’ve also distributed pensions to the families of fallen soldiers with my uncles. I’ve never seen a soldier’s mother who… instead of hoping her son might still live, baselessly declares him dead and comes to the gates of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence to hurl curses.”

The woman shrank back under the gaze of the crowd. She could only make irrational arguments, “I… I’m just anxious! My poor son! If you’re dead, how will your mother live? You said you joined the army to fight for a title… but you didn’t earn a title. Instead, the generals of the Zhenguo Duke’s household fought to gain credit and leave their names in history… using your bones as their stepping stones!”

“You’re not anxious at all. You clearly came to the gates of the Zhenguo Duke’s residence deliberately to cause trouble!” Bai Jinzhi shouting at the top of her lungs, “The news has been passed back that all the men in my Bai family are dead. Even the eunuch who brought yesterday’s report said that Prince Xin would soon escort the coffins back to the capital. My Bai family still holds onto hope that the news is wrong! But you… You came to our gates without any information to accuse my grandfather of killing your son. Are you even fit to be a mother?! If you keep stirring up trouble at our gates, I will whip you to death!”

The woman, who had already lost much of her momentum, seized on Bai Jinzhi’s final words. Her wailing grew several times louder, “Heavens, open your eyes and look! The Zhenguo Duke already killed my son, and now this girl from the Zhenguo Duke’s household wants to whip me to death! We common folk have no way to live! No way to live!”

“You… you wretched shrew!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes turned bloodshot again as she struggled fiercely. Even Lu Ping nearly failed to restrain her.

“Did my grandfather cause your son’s death?!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was as cold as a blade, the fire in her chest burning fiercely, her dark eyes blazing red, “Did my grandfather hold a blade to your son’s neck and force him to enlist?! Fighting on the battlefield and accomplishing meritorious deeds will earn you a title, but which brave man doesn’t want to protect his country and bring honour to his family? But are titles free?! With great honour and wealth comes greater trials and dangers! How can one expect such glory as a title without facing danger?!”

“Let’s not speak of others, let’s talk about my Bai family! They say the Zhenguo Duke’s household… has enjoyed a century of glory! But that glory was earned by the lives of Bai men fighting bloody battles! The ancestral hall of the Bai family is filled with hundreds of memorial tablets, which one represents a man who did not die wrapped in his armour on the battlefield?! Those who lived to old age are few and far between!”

“You accuse my Bai family of greed for glory?! If my Bai family was greedy… Why did my grandfather submit the ‘Treatise on Merits and Titles’ in the third year of Xuanjia, asking His Majesty to grant titles to common civilian soldiers who earned merits in battle and bring honour to their families? The Bai family’s military achievements are well known to the people and there is no need to repeat them. Why would Grandfather stoop to petty behaviour, seeking glory recklessly?”

Noticing the woman’s eyes darting nervously, she continued coldly, “I once asked Grandfather why the children of other marquis households could live peacefully in this prosperous capital and be appointed as officials, enjoying prosperity and peace, while the children of the Bai family had to join the army at the age of ten, enduring hardship and fighting enemies. Grandfather replied that the frontlines are dangerous, so someone must go! Because tens of thousands of civilians there have no one to protect them! Because we cannot bear the title of ‘Zhenguo (guardian of the country)’ and live idly, doing nothing! The word ‘Zhenguo’ means… I swear to never return until I die, unless I destroy the bandits who have invaded our Jin people!”