have also seen Princess Changle once. The current empress is the original consort of the emperor, though she may not be favored by him, she must still be a generous and virtuous woman. As for Empress...317. Fall of the Bai Clan

317. The Fall of the White Family

In the study of the Bai residence, Bai Yuncheng was discussing strategies with his collateral brothers and advisors when a steward rushed in to report, "Master, Feng Sanzi and Xu Sanzi have arrived." At this news, Bai Yuncheng's heart sank; Feng Zhiyao was a trusted aide of Duke Mo Xiuyao, while Xu Qingfeng was the third son of the Xu family and the eldest uncle of the injured Xu Qibo. What good could come from their joint visit

“What does Feng Sanzi have to say” Bai Yuncheng asked.

The steward's face turned pale as he replied, "Feng Sanzi says that his lord has ordered him to see Master for some matter and hasn't elaborated. However... Xu Sanzi is accompanied by many guards, who seem to have surrounded our residence." Hearing this, everyone in the study was shocked, their faces even more grim. After a while, Bai Yuncheng sighed deeply and said, "Alright, I'll go take a look."

Leading the steward to the main hall, he saw Feng Zhiyao in red robes sitting with Xu Qingfeng in black standing beside him. Upon seeing Bai Yuncheng come out, the seated Feng Zhiyao stood up and clasped his hands in greeting with a smile as warm as springtime breeze, saying, "Master of the White family, I have intruded." However, Xu Qingfeng remained silent with an unpleasant expression on his face. Bai Yuncheng's smile became stiff as he returned the greeting: "No trouble at all; it is our honor to receive such distinguished guests. May I offer you some tea"

Xu Qingfeng refused without grace, saying, "No need, Sir. I did not come here for tea."

Bai Yuncheng was taken aback again; he had thought Xu Qingfeng from the Xu family would be as gentlemanly and courteous as his brother Xu Qibo despite being a martial arts practitioner. Instead, he found him to be direct and utterly disrespectful. Feng Zhiyao remained indifferent, smiling insincerely: "Master of the White family, please don't mind; he's just in a bad mood."

Bai Yuncheng asked cautiously, "Is there anything we have failed to accommodate"

Xu Qingfeng sneered, saying, "Who would be happy upon hearing someone wants to kill his cousin who hasn’t even been born yet" Bai Yuncheng was shocked and forced a smile: "Third Master Xu... you must be mistaken; no one dares to commit such a crime..."

Feng Zhiyao waved his fan carelessly, looking at Bai Yuncheng with regretful eyes: "Master of the White family, what my friend has said is true. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to come here for this matter. I have come in accordance with Duke's orders... to investigate this affair."

Bai Yuncheng’s smile had long since frozen on his face like a mask, and he could not hide the shock in his eyes: "Feng Sanzi... what does all this mean"

Feng Zhiyao didn't beat around the bush; with solemnity, he said, "I received news that your wife has harbored murderous intentions towards the Empress Dowager. The Duke is extremely angry. However… since the White family is different from others, the Duke still wants to give Master Bai some face. I respectfully request that you bring your esteemed wife out to face me; if it turns out this is all a false accusation, I can also explain to the Duke and Empress Dowager."

"This…" Bai Yuncheng inwardly groaned; his wife had just confided in him, and now personnel from the Ding王府were here. He could not decide whether Feng Zhiyao truly had evidence or if someone overheard their conversation.

Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow with a light smile: "This also gives Master Bai a chance to prove your innocence. If you evade this matter, doesn’t it seem like there’s something to hide Although the White family outwardly submits to the Ding王府, secretly they still harbor rebellious intentions"

"How could this be" Bai Yun Cheng hurriedly said, "Since that's the case, I'll have someone fetch Madam right away." As he was about to send someone for Lady Bai, Feng Zhirao waved his hand and smiled, "No need to trouble yourself. It would be quicker if we go ourselves."

"This... The place in the back courtyard might..." Bai Yun Cheng wanted to refuse, but Feng Zhirao calmly said with a smile, "The people we brought are all disciplined; as long as your servants are discreet, there won't be any rumors spread." Looking at Feng Zhirao who seemed to be smiling yet not, and then meeting Xu Qingfeng's cold gaze, Bai Yun Cheng could only yield. "In that case, Third Young Master Feng, Third Young Master Xu, please come in."

Bai Yun Cheng led the two straight to the back courtyard where Lady Bai resided. Hardly had they reached the courtyard gate when they heard wailing sounds from inside. Bai Yun Cheng's heart tightened and he hurried into the yard without caring about Feng Zhirao and Xu Qingfeng. As soon as they entered, they saw Lady Bai lying on the ground with dark red blood stains all over her body and a small dagger piercing her abdomen. Seeing how one of Lady Bai’s hands was gripping the handle of the dagger as if she had committed suicide, Bai Yun Cheng recognized that it was precisely the little dagger which Bai Qingning was fond of playing with.

Seeing that Lady Bai was already dead, Bai Yun Cheng's first reaction was a sigh of relief, followed by a faint sorrow over his deceased wife. Turning back around to see Feng Zhirao and Xu Qingfeng approaching side by side, Bai Yun Cheng said in grief, "Third Young Master Feng, Third Young Master Xu, my late wife... "

Feng Zhirao wouldn't give him the chance, furrowing his brows as he glanced at him. "Why would this be How could Lady Bai commit suicide"

Xu Qingfeng crossed his arms and smiled coldly. "Obviously because she's guilty. Go take a look and you'll know." They walked in several steps to see the spirit tablet of Bai Qingning, with an incense stick still burning before it. Feng Zhirao turned around and looked at Bai Yun Cheng, sneering. "Master Bai, how do you explain this"

Bai Yun Cheng forced himself to calm down and said, "I don't understand what Third Young Master Feng means. What's wrong with my daughter’s spirit tablet"

Feng Zhirao snorted sarcastically, saying calmly, "Is Master Bai trying to mock me as someone who grew up in a small household Who would enshrine their deceased loved one’s spirit tablet inside their bedroom"

Bai Yun Cheng's face turned pale and he said, "My wife was overly indulgent with my daughter since childhood. Now that she has lost her child suddenly, so..."

"So she harbors resentment and wants to kill the Queen Consort of Ding Kingdom for revenge" Feng Zhirao interjected.

Bai Yun Cheng said fiercely, "Third Young Master Feng, you're slandering me!"

Feng Zhirao remained calm. "Whether it's slander or not, Master Bai can explain to the Prince later." Puzzled and anxious, Bai Yun Cheng looked towards the door. The black-robed figures standing outside made him feel a glimmer of despair. Under Feng Zhirao and Xu Qingfeng’s gaze, he finally lowered his head in disappointment.

In Xi Ling's imperial capital during September, although there was no war ongoing, bloodshed continued incessantly. After the massacre at Sun Family Garden earlier, Bai Family, known as one of the noble families with royal connections, had fallen too. Lady Bai died by her own hand after failing in an assassination attempt on the Queen Consort to avenge her daughter’s death. The rest of the Bai family members were also arrested and locked up, though they weren't immediately executed. Xi Ling's nobility no longer cared about the Bai Family's fate. When the Queen Consort was attacked before, half the people in the imperial capital had been implicated; now with another assassination attempt from the Bai Family, did it mean the other half of the city would be implicated too Such foolishness wasn’t worth grieving over, and no one wanted to associate themselves with them.

Sun Family

Madam Sun held her obedient daughter in her arms, sitting in her study looking through accounts. Upon hearing from a servant about Bai Family's downfall, she didn't even blink an eye but said indifferently, "Understood. You may leave."

The servant withdrew respectfully. After a while, Madam Sun put down the account book and looked at her daughter with a faint smile. "Xiaofu, can you understand these"

XiaoFu Sun nodded obediently and hesitated as she looked at her mother's indifferent expression before finally asking, "Mother, have Lady Bai and the others... died" Although she was young, Madam Sun frequently took XiaoFu outside, so XiaoFu recognized most of the influential women in the capital. With a smile, Madam Sun replied, "I don't know that. Why would you think they're dead"

XiaoFu's small body trembled slightly as she tightly grabbed onto her mother’s clothes and said, "XiaoFu heard that Prince Dì killed many people. Little Zhao sister and the others were all killed... as well as everyone in Money Brother's family..." A child of such age shouldn’t understand death, but XiaoFu was there during the assassination attempt. Although Madam Sun had tried her best to protect XiaoFu, she still saw those corpses drenched with blood. In her young mind, the children who used to play together were now dead and broken, covered in blood. Such a scene would certainly frighten an 8-year-old child.

"Does XiaoFu fear Prince Dì" Madam Sun looked down at her daughter and sighed softly.

XiaoFu nodded heavily, indicating that she was indeed scared of the handsome young man in white. In Madam Sun’s eyes was a mixture of pity and helplessness as she said gently, "XiaoFu doesn’t need to be afraid; Prince Dì and Princess Consort Dì aren't bad people. There are so many who covet what your father left behind. By relying on the Prince Dì's mansion, I can protect everything that your father left for you. Therefore, when you see Prince Dì and Princess Consort Dì in the future, XiaoFu mustn’t be afraid, understand They’re good people; they won’t harm XiaoFu."

XiaoFu looked at her mother with confusion. What her mother said was true, but... could a person who had killed many truly be a good person Good people weren't supposed to do bad things, were they Murdering someone... wasn't that considered a bad thing As if she understood XiaoFu's thoughts, Madam Sun sighed softly and said, "Some people might kill many others without being evil; sometimes it is because they have no choice." Looking into her daughter’s confused eyes, she patted XiaoFu’s head and smiled, “When you grow up, you’ll understand.”

"Madam Xu of Sun Family pays respects to Your Highness and Princess Consort," Madam Sun tugged on her daughter's hand as they entered the study in the inn to pay their respects to Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao looked up at her and said calmly, "You can rise." Madam Sun thanked him and whispered to XiaoFu, "XiaoFu, don't you want to greet Your Highness and Princess Consort" Although she had practiced the greeting at home beforehand, when XiaoFu saw Mo Xiuyao sitting in his prominent position, she was so scared that she could not speak. She hid behind her mother's side and clung onto Madam Sun’s clothes.

Seeing this, Ye Li smiled gently and said to Madam Sun, "She is still young; there's no need to force her."

Madam Sun smiled helplessly as a hint of worry appeared in her eyes. After the wet nurse took XiaoFu out, she turned towards Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li and bowed again solemnly, saying, "This time, it’s all my fault for the assassination attempt on Princess Consort; please punish me." Although Mo Xiuyao hadn't blamed them recently, Madam Sun knew that Prince Dì was also displeased with her family due to this incident. However, since the Western Capital had just been taken over by Prince Dì, he could not possibly deal with all the powerful merchants in town at once. Furthermore, as one of the first families to ally themselves with him, the Sun Family would not be targeted for now, regardless of how much White Family's property was confiscated. But... if they were spared now, it did not mean that they would always be safe in the future. Although she was a woman, by taking on the responsibilities of the family head, she also had to take on her duties.

Indeed, Mo Xiuyao simply looked at Madam Sun without saying anything; however, his subtle pressure made it difficult for Madam Sun to maintain eye contact.

At the main seat, Ye Li reached out and lightly held Mo Xiuyao's hand back as she smiled gently. Mo Xiuyao's expression softened slightly as he said calmly, "This time, Princess Consort has asked me to spare you punishment; I will overlook it for now. My wife and I are leaving the Western Capital soon, so from now on, you should assist Fourth Young Master in governing the West well. Do you understand" Madam Sun was delighted by this and bowed respectfully towards Ye Li before saying, "The Sun Family is grateful to Princess Consort."

Ye Li smiled gently and said, "Rise; it’s not your fault anyway." Indeed, although she had organized the Autumn Flower Fair as a way for Prince Dì's followers to make connections with potential allies, how could she foresee an assassination attempt Furthermore, given Sun Family's influence, they were no match against General Southern Command's elite troops. With only herself and her daughter managing such a large family business, it was already challenging enough. As long as she didn’t do anything out of line, Ye Li would still give her some leeway.

Madam Sun felt even more grateful to Ye Li; she knew that although she could manage the Sun Family's affairs well, compared to Prince Dì’s capable subordinates and advisors, she was not particularly outstanding. Even with regards to family wealth, the Han and Feng families in Glass City were far superior. Although it wasn’t easy for a woman like her to gain Prince Dì’s attention, if Ye Li supported her, no one would dare to bully an orphaned mother like herself. Thus, her gratitude towards Ye Li grew even more sincere as she bowed again to express her thanks and then stood up.

"Has the matter with White Family been resolved properly" Mo Xiuyao asked Madam Sun after she rose from bowing. As a prominent family in Western Capital, White Family had vast assets and treasures bestowed upon them by generations of emperors and empresses. Even Madam Sun was shocked when ordered to confiscate their properties. "Everything has been handled properly," Madam Sun said as she nodded. The assessed value of all of the assets under White Family’s name were sealed in a study after being calculated, waiting for Fourth Young Master to recover before they could be checked. In addition, there were 57,000 silver taels and 12,000 gold taels; over 873,000 silver taels in the banks; 1 million gold vouchers; 678 precious antiques; 34 boxes of jewelry; 275 scrolls of valuable calligraphy; 452 copies of rare ancient books. The total value of all confiscated assets from White Family was around five hundred thousand taels of silver. They had already been recorded and were ready for Prince Dì’s inspection. "When Fourth Young Master takes over the Western Capital, we can have someone transport them to Glass City," she said as she handed a thin book to Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiuyao took it and smiled faintly before handing the book to Ye Li. After flipping through the pages, Ye Li was quite surprised but then thought of Prince Dì’s vast fortune that seemed endless; she didn’t find this as unexpected anymore. These were truly the resources of a powerful family with centuries of history. Unlike the Li Family who would be frantically worried about tens of thousands of taels of silver, it was clear that White Family had been established for generations and were well-connected to the imperial family. It made sense that they possessed such wealth.

Ye Li thought for a moment before saying, "Send the silver vouchers and gold to Fourth Brother; it's too inconvenient to have 300,000 soldiers' pay come from Glass City.

Moxiuyao didn't hesitate and nodded, saying, "Agli is right. Let ZHUO Jing take it over there for now."

Ye Li nodded her head and no longer paid attention to the matter. She looked at the booklet in her hand and said, "These antiques... It would be troublesome to bring them back with us. Just pick a few items to bring back. There are two treasure swords here as well; I'll add another two that were sent over recently. Give each one of Generals Zhang, Lü, and Yuan one sword, and give the remaining one to Marquis Nan."

Moxiuyao leaned against his chair while playing with Ye Li's hair strands and gestured for ZHUO Jing standing by his side to write down what Ye Li had said. "You've only sent gifts to Zhang Qilan and a few others, so aren't you afraid that Feng San will come and cause trouble"

Ye Li smiled sweetly and replied, "I remember there's an antique folding fan painted by Wu Zhikai of the previous dynasty in these antiques. I believe Lord Feng San would prefer fans over swords."

Feng Zhaoyao always liked to show off his suave demeanor, waving a fan regardless of winter or summer. With such an invaluable fan at hand, he wouldn't even remember that he wanted a sword anymore. Moxiuyao seemed to recall the image of Feng San strutting around in red clothes while idly fanning himself with a folding fan and couldn't help but smile as well. "Such a good thing would be wasted on him." Yet, he still waved his hand for ZHUO Jing to write it down.

Ye Li selected many more items from the booklet and rewarded them to those who were meritorious in this western campaign, almost everyone received something. She also added an extra month's salary to ordinary soldiers’ pay since all of Bai Family’s wealth was unexpected windfall. If they used up Ding Wang's resources, it would be troublesome. During this time, Moxiuyao made no objections and only watched Ye Li calmly instructing these matters with a smile on his face that was different from the cold looks he usually gave others, making him appear warm and peaceful.

ZHUO Jing and Lin Han standing by his side were unperturbed. However, Lady Sun who was waiting together with them felt extremely shocked. Clearly, Ding Wang had far more trust in Princess Consort Ding than anyone could imagine; there were many things where Princess Consort Ding didn't need to discuss with the Prince and directly instructed people to carry out tasks instead. The Prince showed no displeasure or doubt either, as if it was perfectly reasonable for them to meddle in the government and military affairs of Ding Wang's territory. For this reason, Lady Sun silently placed more importance on Ye Li’s loyalty.

When Ye Li finished instructing, ZHUO Jing turned around to leave and carry out his tasks. Ye Li closed the booklet with a smile and said, "Let's take these rare books back to Licheng together; Grandfather would surely be delighted when he sees them. I didn't expect that Bai Family had actually been hiding some good rare books."

Even if they were fewer in quantity compared to Xu Family’s collection, many of the books themselves were extremely rare and valuable, so even adding one more could make countless scholars and literati overjoyed.

Moxiuyao smiled and said, "We probably won't be able to take everything back with us. We should leave some for your fourth brother to use as bribery."

Ye Li blinked her eyes suddenly and understood immediately. Great scholars weren’t exclusive to Licheng; there was still one great scholar in Western Province. Furthermore, he just so happened to be a person they needed help from. If Scholar Dragon Pavilion found out that they had taken away such a large amount of ancient books and rare manuscripts but didn't leave any for him, Grandfather would surely torment Fourth Brother relentlessly until his death.

Ye Li could only choose some of the rare books that her grandfather and uncles were interested in to take back with them while leaving the rest for Xu Qingbai to use as a way to invite Scholar Dragon Pavilion out.

The days passed quickly, and before they knew it, several days had gone by. It was time for Moxiuyao and Ye Li to return to Licheng. Thirty million troops and Zhang Qilan remained in Western Province, while only Feng Zhaoyao, Xu Qingfeng, Yun Ting, and three thousand Black Cloud Cavalry soldiers as well as a few Dark Soldiers accompanied Moxiuyao and Ye Li back.

The day before they left, Moxiuyao issued the first imperial edict in Western Province under the name of Ding Wang. The edict announced the renaming of Western Province's capital to Anping City and appointed Xu Qingbai as the Governor-General of all five states and twelve cities in Western Province, overseeing all military, political, and civilian affairs. Zhang Qilan was also granted the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Pacification Army with command over thirty million troops stationed in Western Province. All troops within Western Province fell under his jurisdiction. Upon issuing this edict, everyone was shocked. Although there hadn't been such a position as Governor-General before, one could understand how much authority it held by looking at the power Moxiuyao had given to Xu Qingbai. As long as they were in Western Province, everything belonged to Xu Qingbai’s realm of influence. Even though Zhang Qilan was in charge of military affairs, he still needed Xu Qingbai for financial matters. This clearly demonstrated Ding Wang's trust in the Xu Family.

Xu Qingbai felt wronged by Moxiuyao and helplessly stood up despite his body not fully recovered to personally return the over a million silver coins that Moxiuyao had handed him, declaring that since he would be sending Feng Huiting instead, financial matters should naturally be handled by someone who understood finances. I won't serve you, my lord. Moxiuyao was displeased with Xu Qingbai's lack of trust in him.

Xu Qingbai sighed helplessly and said, "Have I offended Your Highness the Prince Are you trying to burn me alive"

Moxiuyao grumbled but withdrew his previous statement. He claimed, "I believe in Fourth Young Master Xu."

However, he silently sighed inwardly; why did everyone in the Xu Family have such sharp minds Didn't he feel that XU Qingchen's cunning might run off at any moment and wanted to train Fourth Young Master a bit more Compared to the overly intelligent and scheming XU Qingchen, it was better to choose someone as smart as Xu Qingbai who grounded himself in reality. The resentful Ding Wang forgot that if Xu Qingbai wasn’t sharp enough, why would he go through such lengths for an unlikely possibility eight hundred years latergli for example, even someone as smart as Mosius Yue and Xu Qingchen wouldn't have thought he would start a rebellion at that time. Because whoever they were could see that success was impossible. In...