"Oh my lady!" Puliu quickly stretched her neck to look outside, then lowered her voice to advise, "You must not say such things again! Now, she is the Empress... Calling her by her na like that is a great taboo! If the master or the young master hears it, it could be explained away, but if soone with ill intentions hears it, it would be a grave offense! You might even lose your head over it."
Mrs. Fang, terrified, quickly covered her mouth, looked outside to make sure there was no one else, and then angrily shook her handkerchief, "I just can’t change my way of speaking so quickly, and besides... Even if she becos the Empress, am I not still her aunt? Back then, I suggested to the master to match her with the legitimate second son of my second brother’s family... If the master had agreed, would we have anything to worry about now? It’s all the master’s fault... Missed such a great opportunity for nothing!"
Puliu looked at Mrs. Fang and sighed secretly, feeling that Mrs. Fang was too clueless. Back when the Princess of Zhen was just the Princess of Zhen... Even not ntioning the Princess of Zhen, soone like Bai Qingyan, the eldest daughter of the Bai family, how could she be matched with Mrs. Fang’s nephew?
At this point, Mrs. Fang seed to have thought of sothing, and turned her bright eyes towards Puliu, "Puliu, didn’t Bai Qingyan lose her ability to bear children early on? Who will inherit her throne in the future?"
"Madam!" Puliu’s eyes widened, "This is not sothing for you to worry about! You must not have any thoughts about this matter, or you might suffer a great loss!"
"I’m just talking to you!" The more Mrs. Fang thought about it, the happier she got, "Think about it, while she was recuperating in Shuoyang, she almost didn’t survive several tis, and now she is mustering up the strength to campaign against Liang, she... should be almost at her wits’ end, right? You think... All the direct heirs of the Bai family are dead, my A Ping... has been close to her, might it be..."
Puliu was once again startled into a cold sweat by Mrs. Fang’s wild imagination. She had long known that Mrs. Fang sotis had fanciful ideas, but she never thought Mrs. Fang could imagine sothing so outrageous.
"Madam, you must not speak of this anymore!" Puliu said in a very low voice, "The Empress is the Empress, she can naturally pass the throne to her own sister. Not to ntion that the Empress has a legitimate half-sister, the second and third legitimate daughters are like sisters to her! Besides, the Bai family’s eighth daughter, born of Mrs. Qi, almost always accompanied the Empress in Shuoyang."
"But they are all won, they all have to marry..." Mrs. Fang suddenly realized that Bai Qingyan was also a woman, she shook her handkerchief, frowning and muttering, "Yes! How can it be my A Ping! But my A Ping trains soldiers for her... guards Shuoyang for her, is all his effort for nothing?"
"Madam..." Puliu patiently and earnestly advised Mrs. Fang, "The young master has worked hard for the Empress, so the Empress used him heavily. Don’t you rember Mrs. Dong, the Bai family’s madam’s words? The Bai Clan helped Shuoyang through the difficulties, and when the Empress returns, she will definitely reward the ritorious, but... It’s all up to the Empress. Whatever the Empress rewards, we will take it gladly, but we must never ask for anything, asking... would be crossing the line and losing our standing! So please don’t suggest to the master to ask the Empress for anything."
Seeing Mrs. Fang biting her lip, feeling wronged, with red eyes, Puliu continued, "Madam, you had a falling out with the master before but just managed to win back his favor, don’t drive the master away again, or you will be the one who suffers."
"They both always side with her, as if I’m their enemy. I’m doing this for them... for this family!" Mrs. Fang felt miserable, turned around, and grabbed Puliu’s hand, "It’s a good thing I have you! If you weren’t here to talk to and relieve my stress, I would’ve been infuriated to death by those two."
Puliu patted Mrs. Fang’s hand softly and advised in a gentle voice, "Madam, please rember what I said, don’t get carried away and say inappropriate things in front of the master when he returns, making him angry."
At that mont, Bai Qihe was surrounded by a roomful of clan elders, all asking how Bai Qihe planned to arrange things for Bai Qingyan’s ascension on June 20, and whether they needed to move the entire family to Dadu City since once Bai Qingyan ascended, the Shuoyang Bai Clan would officially beco mbers of the imperial family.
Back when Bai Qingyan took action against the Bai Clan, those who weren’t expelled from the clan were grateful. Luckily, when their own family mbers or descendants were expelled, they didn’t act rashly and leave with them, otherwise... they wouldn’t be part of the imperial family now.
Those who were expelled from the clan heard the news... and the Bai Clan elders had already sought out the clan leader, seeking a fief and a hereditary title for their kin.
Having a fief and a title would allow them to live like emperors in their fief, who wouldn’t want such a good life?
Those expelled from the Bai Clan were now living in poverty and regret. Hearing that Bai Qingyan would beco the Empress, they beat their chests and regretted bitterly. Unable to see Bai Qihe, they tried every ans to find Bai Qingping in the military camp, begging Bai Qingping to speak well of them in front of the clan leader Bai Qihe, to allow them back into the clan, promising never to act recklessly again.
Bai Qingyan grew up in Shuoyang and understood this group of clan mbers well. After being expelled, their lives weren’t as comfortable as before when they were under the Bai family’s protection in Dadu City’s Duke Zhen’s residence.
Now, knowing that Bai Qingyan was going to ascend as the Empress, these expelled mbers humbled themselves, groveling and asking for forgiveness to rejoin the clan knowing that the Bai Clan would beco part of the imperial family.
People like them, whose nature was hard to change, once they were only relying on the Duke Zhen’s residence in Dadu City, dared to bully the people of Shuoyang. If they beca part of the imperial family, who knows how they would bully the commoners.
Bai Qingping, having led soldiers in Shuoyang for so long, was no longer the timid and weak young man he once was, filled only with resentnt. When those forr elders or brothers blocked his horse and knelt to beg, Bai Qingping ordered the Shuoyang soldiers to drag them away, decreeing that anyone causing trouble at the military camp gates would be jailed and sentenced to thirty days of labor in the mines.
The soldiers dragged the expelled Bai Clan mbers away as ordered, and Bai Qingping spurred his horse and rode away quickly.
He knew that the Shuoyang Bai Clan mbers must have already gone to find his father, so he hurried back to check on the situation.
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