Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 729 - 726: Justify Oneself_1

Bai Qingyan curled her lips, thinking about how Li Mingrui had mentioned surrendering last time, taking Liu Ruofu as a gift...

"Li Mingrui, openly claiming allegiance to our Bai family... but secretly planning to overthrow me! Intending to make me lose the Crown Prince’s trust..."

Bai Jinxiu listened, confused: "Eldest Young Lady, what do you mean?"

Bai Qingyan had roughly figured out the sequence of events, calmly explaining to Bai Jinxiu: "Li Mingrui ordered Wang Qiulu to guide Fu Ruoxi to witness him entering King Liang’s mansion. First, to test whether Fu Ruoxi was ours, and second, to get a witness... proving Wang Qiulu did go to King Liang’s mansion. Then he sent someone to inform me... suggesting that Wang Qiulu might betray us and have ties with King Liang, urging me to be wary of Wang Qiulu and King Liang."

Bai Jinxiu was still somewhat puzzled. Bai Qingyan continued: "Today, someone from the Crown Prince’s mansion went to Du Residence in Jiuchuan Alley. An old man... wearing thick-soled deerskin boots, his position in the Crown Prince’s mansion must be significant. Coincidentally... I saw Elder Fang today, wearing a pair of thick-soled deerskin boots! Li Mingrui likely handed Wang Qiulu over to Elder Fang from the Crown Prince’s mansion! Elder Fang hates me to the core... even if it’s a setup, the act of saving Wang Qiulu would still fall on my shoulders!"

Bai Jinxiu suddenly felt her heart tighten, clutching her handkerchief.

"When the incident happens, Li Mingrui would have already warned me. He asked me to be wary of Wang Qiulu. Losing the Crown Prince’s trust... If the court still wants to use the Li family, they certainly can’t expose Li Mingrui! They can’t let the Crown Prince know that behind his back, I already have dirt on the Left Prime Minister. Otherwise, the Crown Prince’s mistrust of the Bai family would only grow!"

Bai Qingyan tapped the table, her smile not reaching her eyes: "Moreover, if I truly fall into Li Mingrui’s trap, I would attribute Wang Qiulu’s appearance at the Crown Prince’s mansion to King Liang!"

"Would Wang Qiulu betray the Eldest Young Lady?" Bai Jinxiu frowned, her expression fierce.

"Betray?!" Bai Qingyan chuckled, "How could it be betrayal? I’ve never used Wang Qiulu. As for Li Mao... what evidence does he have to prove that I ordered him to save Wang Qiulu? Just based on Wang Qiulu’s testimony?"

"I worry that Wang Qiulu might attribute the collusion between King Liang and King Xian to the Eldest Young Lady!"

Now, with Wang Qiulu’s allegiance unclear, how could Bai Jinxiu not be anxious?

Whether it’s Wang Qiulu or Li Mingrui, both surrendered halfway. Bai Qingyan naturally couldn’t trust them fully. The reason she kept them idle for so long was to see if they would make any moves.

Unexpectedly, Li Mingrui couldn’t wait any longer. Or perhaps... Li Mingrui had originally planned to surrender just to gather evidence against the Bai family and Bai Qingyan.

Now that Li Mao had jumped out, it was a good thing for Bai Qingyan...

Better than having a problem emerge later when he was in use. Fixing it afterward would be much harder than today.

"I was just wondering. Outside King Liang’s mansion, there are not only the Emperor’s Hidden Guards but also the Crown Prince’s Hidden Guards. How could both groups ignore Wang Qiulu and let him into King Liang’s mansion?" Bai Qingyan frowned, trying to understand.

"By the way..." Bai Jinxiu suddenly thought of something and leaned closer to Bai Qingyan, "Since the Eldest Young Lady mentioned it, I remembered something! Half a month after the Wude Gate incident, Left Prime Minister Li Mao was summoned to the palace by the Emperor, and Li Mingrui accompanied him. After they left the Imperial Palace, the Li Mansion quietly sent servants to King Liang’s mansion. At the time, I thought it was Li Mao trying to please the Emperor, given his worries about King Liang. So I didn’t mention it in my letters to the Eldest Young Lady."

Bai Jinxiu thought carefully, sitting up straight: "Now that I think about it... this whole matter is quite strange. Given that the Eldest Young Lady ordered Li Mingrui to save Wang Qiulu, could Wang Qiulu believe that Li Mingrui is his benefactor and has thus pledged allegiance to the Li family and serves them?"

Bai Qingyan’s frown gradually eased.

"We have defenses in place, so there’s no need to worry..." Bai Qingyan’s voice was calm, her confidence reassuring Bai Jinxiu, "Li Mingrui wants to put me in a difficult position, forcing me to rely on the Li family to intervene in the royal court, unwilling to let the position of Left Prime Minister change hands. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the ability to get exactly what he wants."

If things truly reached an irreversible point, though raising troops now would be hasty... it wasn’t entirely without a chance of victory.

Bai Qingyan had been tolerating the Lin family’s corrupt royal authority.

Moreover, it hadn’t come to that point yet.

"Since Li Mingrui is so kind, then... I can only drag Li Mingrui down with me!" Bai Qingyan smiled as she looked at Bai Jinxiu, "I don’t believe Li Mingrui would dare tell the Crown Prince that I hold letters proving the Left Prime Minister once colluded with the Second Prince to rebel. After all... Master Tan and Lord Shoushan, two renowned calligraphers, aren’t so easily bribed by the Li family! Though Li Mingrui is ruthless, he doesn’t have the courage to go down with me!"

Bai Qingyan’s deep eyes were somber: "After all... if I lose, I only lose the Crown Prince’s trust! But if the Li family loses, they’ll lose... their heads!"

Bai Qingyan turned to Bai Jinxiu, a faint smile on her lips: "Where did you put the box of letters Left Prime Minister Li Mao wrote to the Second Prince that I gave you?"

"In the Green Bamboo Pavilion," Bai Jinxiu recalled, "Eldest Young Lady... do you intend to get rid of Li Mingrui because his reach is too long?"

Bai Qingyan shook her head: "There’s still no suitable candidate for the position of Left Prime Minister. But we can cause some trouble for the Li Mansion... pick a few important letters and send them to the Crown Prince. Say that I came to Dadu City this time to persuade His Highness the Crown Prince to keep the epidemic sufferers in the two cities and to have Master Tan and Lord Shoushan verify the authenticity of these letters. If they are genuine, we will hand them over to the Crown Prince and collect other correspondence. Li Mingrui probably knows this, which is why he’s trying to frame me first, making me seem untrustworthy to the Crown Prince and clearing the Li family."

"Alright!" Bai Jinxiu responded.

"I also want to see Li Mingrui’s methods, to see if he can turn the tables. If he can, then there are only two paths... either recruit him or eliminate him." Bai Qingyan said.

Bai Jinxiu nodded. If Li Mingrui couldn’t turn the tables, naturally... the entire Li family wouldn’t survive.

Killing was easiest. But Bai Qingyan wouldn’t do it unless absolutely necessary, to avoid leaving any incriminating evidence and disturbing the stability of Dadu City.