Chapter 69
Bai Jinzhi, her eyes bloodshot, gripped the long whip at her waist. Burning with fury, she wished she could whip these foolish troublemakers to death in front of the Duke’s residence.
Seeing the crowd of onlookers surrounding the manor, Bai Jinxiu beside her felt an anxious thumping in her heart.
“Fourth Sister, don’t!” Bai Jinxiu quickly grasped Bai Jinzhi’s hand, preventing her from unleashing the whip. “These people are causing trouble at our Duke’s residence. They might be plotting something. We can’t act impulsively!”
“Your Bai family produced no coward! On the battlefield, you Bai family were always victorious. But your victories were bought with the lives of our common sons!” A woman cried out, “A general’s success requires thousands of bones! With a command, our sons rushed to the blades! Your losses were never yours! How would you know our pain?! The Duke only seeks military achievements and a place in history, using our sons’ lives for your glory!”
“My poor son!” Another woman wailed, angrily screaming, “The Duke has no shame! All you Bai family men deserve to die in the Southern Border! It was your Bai family who killed our sons!”
“Sprouting nonsense again!” Bai Jinzhi flung Bai Jinxiu aside with brute force, raising her whip towards the wailing woman. “You deserve to die! I’ll whip you to death today!”
“Bai Jinzhi!” Bai Jinxiu held Bai Jinzhi back with all her strength, the wound on her forehead splitting open and bleeding profusely.
“You’re a coward who gets bullied! I’m not!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes were crimson as she roared at Bai Jinxiu, pushing her away in fury.
The whip cracked in the air, and the woman’s scream was shrill.
“Little Four! Stop!” Already injured, Bai Jinxiu was pushed against the wall by Bai Jinzhi, pain throbbing in her head.
Qingshu was frantic, “Fourth Miss, how can you fight Second Miss? Second Miss… are you alright?”
Bai Qingyan quickened her steps, gripping her plain clothes as she stepped up. Seeing Bai Jinzhi, eyes red and ready to whip the woman to death, she shouted, “Bai Jinzhi! Stop!” Turning sharply, she ordered, “Uncle Ping, restrain Fourth Miss!”
Lu Ping rushed forward, taking a whip lash himself before restraining the infuriated Bai Jinzhi, who screamed madly like a demon, repeatedly breaking free from Lu Ping’s hold, seeming ready to perish with the accusers of the Duke’s residence.
Arriving then, Bai Jintong grabbed the cold tea from the gatehouse table. Rushing down the steps, she doused Bai Jinzhi with the pot of water.
The cold water snapped Bai Jinzhi out of her fury. Gasping, she looked tearfully at the pale Bai Jintong, then turned her gaze to Bai Qingyan at the top of the steps, whose face was iron gray, “Eld… Eldest Sister.”
“Heaven, open your eyes! The Duke killed my son for military glory! Now the girls of the Duke’s residence want to kill me too!” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
“Nonsense! I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Bai Jinzhi’s anger flared again. She struggled to charge forward.
From atop the steps, Bai Qingyan, her face cold, in mourning clothes, stood with a straight back and asked, “May I ask this lady, the frontline military records from King Xin haven’t been sent back yet. We only know of our army’s loss. My grandfather, father, uncle, and brothers are all dead. The situation of the soldiers hasn’t been reported! How can you be certain your son is dead?”
The woman, her face marked by the whip, showed fear and defensiveness but retorted, “If the Duke is dead, how could my son be alive?!”
“So, you presume your son is dead! From a young age, I went to the battlefield. I also delivered death benefits to fallen soldiers’ families. When did any soldier’s mother not hope for their son’s return, instead of declaring their son’s death without proof, shouting at the Duke’s residence?”
The woman shrank, under the gazes of the crowd, only arguing stubbornly, “I… I’m just anxious! My poor son! What will I do if you die?! You wanted to earn a title in the army, but didn’t! The generals in the Duke’s residence took your bones for their glory!”
“You’re not anxious, you came to make trouble at the Duke’s residence!” Bai Jinzhi screamed hoarsely, “The news of my family’s men all dead just arrived. Even if the eunuch said King Xin would return soon, we still hoped the news was wrong! But you… you cause a commotion without any confirmed news, claiming my grandfather killed your son. Are you even a mother?! If you keep causing trouble, I’ll whip you to death!”
The weakening woman clung to Bai Jinzhi’s last words, her shrill cries even louder, “Heaven, look! The Duke killed my son and now the girls of the Duke’s residence want to kill me! We commoners truly can’t live like this!”
“You… you shrew!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes reddened, struggling fiercely, almost breaking free from Lu Ping.
“My grandfather killed your son?!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was cold as a blade, her heart burning with fury, turning her eyes even redder, “Did my grandfather put a knife to your son’s neck to force him into the army?! Every warrior wants to protect the nation and honor their family. Is glory given freely? The greater the glory, the greater the dangers! Want titles without risks, how is that possible?!”
“Let’s talk about my family! The Duke’s residence has a hundred years of honor! But this honor was bought with the lives of my family’s men on the battlefield! The ancestral hall’s plaques, which one wasn’t earned through blood? Few died peacefully in bed!”
“You say my family are glory seekers? If we were, why did my grandfather present ‘On Titles’ to plead the Emperor to allow common soldiers to earn titles? The Bai family’s honor is well known, why would my grandfather fake achievements?”
Seeing the woman’s eyes darting, she continued coldly, “I once asked my grandfather why other marquises’ children could be officials in the capital, enjoying prosperity. Why must Bai family’s children go to war at ten, suffering and fighting? He said it’s because the frontline always needs someone! Because thousands of civilians there need protection! Because we can’t bear the title of ‘Zhen’ in vain! Zhen means defending against enemies without ceasing until death!”