amaotonovel Chapter 1086 The Bai Family's Sacrifice
Chapter 1086 The Bai Family's Sacrifice
The eldest son of the Bai family did not wake his daughter up with a slap. He said angrily, "You still do not know how to repent. Your grandfather has always been in charge of the Bai family. The Bai family has not split up. You have no right to make decisions on behalf of the Bai family to donate grain. Have you considered how I will explain this to the Bai family?"
“I believe that if my grandfather knew what I had done, he would definitely support me. He would understand my intentions. My father has always worked hard for the Bai family, but in the end he was only schemed against by the second branch and other uncles. Rather than having our hard-earned family property taken away by my second uncle and aunt, it would be better to donate it to the court and gain a good reputation.”
Bai Lao Er pointed at Bai Lao Da with cold eyes and said angrily, "So this is what you've always thought of us, brother. The keys to the storeroom are all in the eldest son's hands. How could we be scheming for the family property? Brother, make things clear today. This girl is a thief who turned around and blamed us. The Bai family has really raised an ingrate."
Madam Bai the Second also said, "Our Bai family used to run a branch in Shengjing and did very well. In the end, we were implicated by someone and had no face to stay in Shengjing. In the end, we had to return to Yuzhou. A lot of the money in the Bai family was earned by our second branch. Your first branch only got the power to manage the family. Who said that all the money was earned by your first branch? I would say that all the money was earned by our second branch and all of it was seized by your first branch."
Bai Yuhan said, "Second Aunt, how dare you bring up your branch in Shengjing? You've only been in Shengjing for a few years, yet you've lost money every year. The family has been subsidizing you every year. Tell me how much money you've made for the Bai family, and say it in front of our uncles and elders."
Bai Lao Er and Bai Er Madam were immediately speechless; only they themselves knew what had really happened.
Bai Lao Er said, "Business in Shengjing is not easy. Our Bai family has neither connections nor backing, so it's normal for us to lose money. You, a junior, have done some petty theft, and now you're criticizing your second uncle. Who taught you to be so unruly?"
"Brother, if you don't discipline Yuhan's temperament and temper, she'll suffer when she gets married! She's behaving like a shrew, and a daughter like that is a disgrace to the Bai family." Bai Lao Er adopted the posture of an elder.
Boss Bai was indeed very angry that his daughter had repeatedly stolen his patriarch's token and key to open the warehouse. "You good-for-nothing, I'll beat you to death in front of the Bai family today."
Old Bai was so angry he wanted to slap her.
Bai Yuhan raised her face, "Father, if you want to hit me, then hit me to death!"
At the same time, Madam Bai stepped forward and grabbed Bai Laoda's hand, saying, "If you want to hit Han'er again, kill me first. You are not allowed to hit my daughter."
This was the first time Madam Bai had defied her husband. Bai Laoda was stunned for a moment, then pointed at her nose and shouted angrily, "You helped this wretched girl steal the family head's token. I'll settle accounts with you later. Get out of my way."
Madam Bai leaned forward further, saying, "Let's go home and talk about it. Han'er must have her reasons for doing this."
"What hardship could she possibly have? Did someone hold a knife to the young lady's neck and force her to steal?" Du, the eldest son's concubine, chimed in, adding fuel to the fire. "Why should the eldest madam make things difficult for the master in front of so many people? It was the young lady who made a mistake. The master was only disciplining her to teach her to be sensible. If we let her run wild like this, outsiders will think that our Bai family is unruly and can't stand up to scrutiny."
As soon as the concubine spoke, Madam Bai immediately chimed in, "Even a concubine doesn't understand reason as well as the eldest sister-in-law. It was clearly Yuhan who was in the wrong in this matter."
The other wives were also worried that Bai Yuhan would squander the Bai family's wealth, so they quickly said, "We can usually ignore Miss Bai's nonsense, but Yuhan is definitely in the wrong today. How can she steal our own grain and give it away? We've raised such a daughter in vain. The family must give us an explanation."
When Madam Bai saw her daughter being criticized by the Bai family, she realized that her daughter had indeed done something wrong first. She didn't understand why her daughter had insisted on donating grain to the imperial court. The Bai family had planned to keep this batch of grain to sell at a high price, but now her daughter had taken it all away.
Madam Bai knew that Consort Du was the master's darling and was always good at whispering in his ear. Men were easily swayed by her charms and only liked to hear the words of a vixen.
Madam Bai pulled Bai Yuhan aside and whispered, "Quickly apologize to your father and beg for his forgiveness. Also, tell Prefect Zhang that our Bai family will no longer donate grain and that we should transport the grain back first."
"Mother, I have already donated the grain to the imperial court, and it can't be brought back." Bai Yuhan shielded her mother behind her and said in a deep voice, "I have already sent someone to the ancestral home to invite the old master."
Last time I donated grain to the disaster victims, my grandfather said that the Bai family doing good deeds is accumulating virtue and doing good. Moreover, this time the Wan family has also stepped forward, and my grandfather will not allow the Bai family to be inferior to the Wan family. You should think carefully.
Don't think I don't know your plans. You want me to marry into the Wan family, to sell me to them for your own benefit. I don't care what kind of entanglements you have with the Wan family, but I will never agree to use my marriage as a bargaining chip.
Madam Bai was clearly unaware of this matter. "Master, are you really going to marry Han'er into the Wan family? You clearly know the relationship between the Wan and Bai families..."
"Shut up." Old Bai felt his face turn red. "What do you know, you're just a woman?"
For her daughter's sake, Madam Bai finally couldn't bear it anymore. "But the Wan family hates our Bai family, and the master knows it best. Can Han'er have a good life after marrying into that family?"
He pulled his wife aside and whispered, "I didn't directly reveal the Bai family's plans in front of everyone. I want to marry my daughter to Wan Qianshan. It depends on whether the Wan family agrees. The next head of the Wan family is very likely to be the eldest young master Wan. Miss Bai won't be wronged if she marries into the family."
Madam Bai said, "Rumor has it that Wanqian Mountain has homosexual tendencies. He doesn't like women and only has relationships with men... Any daughter who marries him is destined to live a life of widowhood. You're not doing this for your daughter's sake at all! You're clearly harming her."
The eldest son of the Bai family gleamed coldly in his eyes. “It’s all just rumors. You women love to gossip. The position of the Wan family’s matriarch is the most important thing and the most helpful to our Bai family. Alright, take Han’er home first. I’ll handle the rest.”
Madam Bai sensed something was wrong. She was also the wife of the head of the Bai family, but what happened to her? Men can change their minds if they want to, and it's always the women who suffer.
My husband's eldest sister married into the Wan family, but she couldn't bear her husband's betrayal and eventually took the initiative to divorce him and went home, where she committed suicide...
Men are all heartless.
The Bai family members are all selfish and self-serving; Han'er can no longer stay in the Bai family.
She would never let Han'er live the same life as her; she remembered that Han'er had said that she and the Empress were friends.
She thought her daughter was talking nonsense, but she had indeed seen the Empress protect her daughter. If she sent her daughter to Shengjing to find Empress Jiang, she could get rid of the Bai family and wouldn't have to be a sacrifice for them.
At this moment, each of them had their own thoughts.
Hiding in the carriage, Wan Qianshan listened to Bai Yuhan's words and thought to himself, "So Bai Yuhan did all this just to avoid marrying into the Wan family."
Zhang Qian is now in a dilemma. The Bai family has come to his door, and since they do not agree to donate grain, the government should not withhold it.
What should I do...?
Just as the Bai family was in the midst of a major dispute, Hongxiu suddenly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Prefect Zhang. "Prefect Zhang, this servant is here on my master's orders to invite the Bai family head and Second Master Bai into the inner courtyard for a meeting."
The Bai family members felt as if they had seen Hongxiu somewhere before.
Wan Qianshan jumped down from the carriage and just then saw Hongxiu leading the Bai family toward the inner courtyard.
He muttered to himself, "What is Lord Ruan doing meeting with the Bai family?"
He prepared to climb over the wall to find out what was going on, but he didn't expect to be caught by the hidden guards as soon as he got to the wall.