Mountain and River Festival 309: The loyalty of the Xiling noble family

After all, killing a few people is not as easy as killing a few chickens. At least, he soon realized that the people he sent did not achieve the desired effect. So, the next morning, the head of the Bai family came to visit in person.

The Bai family is known as the first family in the Xiling Imperial City. Its status in Xiling is similar to that of the original Xu family in Dachu. However, the Xu family has never been interested in monopolizing political affairs, and has always focused on studying. The Bai family is just the opposite. Since the founding of Xiling, the Bai family has served as high-ranking officials in the court. Even among the concubines of Xiling, there are many women from the Bai family. The Bai family has produced several queens and dozens of concubines, and can be said to be a veritable family of descendants. However, since the Regent King Lei Zhenting came to power, although the queen is still a woman of the Bai family, even the charming concubine Su Zuidie, who was favored by three thousand men, entered the palace by borrowing the Bai family's surname. Although the Bai family and the Zhennan King had many secret connections, there was only one thing: the queen had no children, and the Zhennan King's deceased queen and the current Zhennan King's Crown Prince's wife were not surnamed Bai. This made the Bai family's power disappear invisibly.

Lei Zhenting is a man with a mind and calculation that is far beyond the reach of the cowardly Xiling Emperor. So even though he was using the Bai family, he did not deprive them of their power just because they were descendants of the royal family. However, he would never let the Bai family prosper more than before. Therefore, in recent years, not to mention the palace and the Zhennan Palace, very few women from the Bai family have married into the royal family. As time goes by, how could the Bai family not see that the Zhennan King has the intention to suppress them? A family like the Bai family naturally does not attach much importance to the so-called loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. For them, the continuation of the family and wealth and power are the most important. So when the Mohist army began to approach the city, they were already planning the way forward. And the Xu family of Da Chu... is undoubtedly a model for them to refer to.

The Xu family only married a granddaughter to Prince Ding, but now the Xu family's power in Prince Ding's mansion can be said to be unparalleled. The Bai family has never thought of replacing Princess Ding, but as long as Prince Ding can fall in love with a girl from the Bai family, the status of the Bai family in the Xiling Imperial City will be very different from that of other Xiling families in the future. Therefore, among the eight men and women sent over by servants, there are also two illegitimate daughters and a illegitimate son of the Bai family. However, there has been no news about these people after entering the posthouse. Because the Mo family army went out to fight, they did not bring maids and servants with them. In the posthouse, except for Mo Xiuyao, Ye Li and other close servants, most of the people doing rough work are still Xiling people. These Xiling families can't do anything else, but they can get some information. The posthouse is not very big, but there is no news about those people. It is obvious that something bad is going to happen. How can the head of the Bai family not be anxious?

"Master Bai, the prince wants to see you." Having been left in the outer hall for half an hour to drink tea, the master of the Bai family felt a little anxious and unhappy, but he didn't show it on his face. Seeing Lin Han coming to deliver the message, he didn't show any arrogance of the head of a noble family, and nodded politely with a smile: "Thank you, sir, please lead the way."

The place where Mo Xiuyao met the head of the Bai family was still in the small courtyard in the post house. The post house was not very big originally. The inner courtyard was where Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao lived. Ye Li was in a bad mood these days, so Mo Xiuyao naturally did not allow outsiders to disturb her. Official business was usually handled in the study room in the outer courtyard. When the head of the Bai family was led to the garden by Lin Han, Mo Xiuyao was sitting under a tree, holding something in his hand and slowly carving it. The head of the Bai family glanced at it, but it was a hairpin that had been carved into a line. Although it was impossible to tell what the pattern was for a while, seeing how carefully Mo Xiuyao carved and polished it, he knew it must be very important. And looking at the quality of the jade... The head of the Bai family couldn't help but twitch in his heart. It was a piece of top-grade white warm jade, and warm jade of this quality was rare even in the entire Xiling Kingdom. There is only one piece in the Xiling Imperial City, and the head of the Bai family coveted it very much, but it was finally bought by the Sun family. More importantly, the precious jade that he had been thinking about asking a jade carving master to carve a rare treasure turned out to be an inconspicuous hairpin in the hands of Prince Ding. For a time, the head of the Bai family was heartbroken.

Mo Xiuyao ignored the person standing not far in front of him. He held the carving knife in one hand and the jade hairpin in the other hand, frowning a little dissatisfiedly. It's been too long since I last touched it, so I feel a little rusty...

"I am Bai Yuncheng of the Xiling Bai Clan. I have met His Royal Highness Prince Ding." Patriarch Bai knew that if he did not speak up, Prince Ding might not pay attention to him even if he stood here for an hour or two. Although he felt a little uncomfortable, he thought about the prospects of Prince Ding's mansion that his staff had analyzed with him, and Patriarch Bai felt that he could tolerate it.

Mo Xiuyao carefully put the jade hairpin and carving knife in his hand back into a sandalwood box beside him, then raised his head and glanced at Bai Yuncheng, nodded and said: "It turns out that you are the head of the Bai family, nice to meet you. Please sit down." Bai Yuncheng's mouth twitched, looked around and said: "Thank you for your kindness, King Ding, I will just stand." There was no chair in sight, not even a stone bench. Mo Xiuyao just sat casually on a stone beside the rockery. Naturally, he did not intend to prepare a chair for him.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said indifferently, "As long as Patriarch Bai is happy."

Bai Yuncheng couldn't help but feel like vomiting blood in his heart. Was he happy? After all, he was a head of a wealthy family. How could he just sit on the ground casually?

"What's the matter with the Bai family?" Mo Xiuyao asked casually. Bai Yuncheng said respectfully, "Prince Ding and his wife are new to the imperial city, and I am the host. I just want to show my hospitality. Prince Ding and his wife, please come and have a look." Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said helplessly, "It's not that I don't give face to the head of the Bai family, but the princess has been feeling unwell these days, so I'm afraid I have to thank the head of the Bai family for his kindness."

Bai Yuncheng was delighted. He brought Princess Ding with him just out of courtesy. The Bai family wanted to send someone to Prince Ding's mansion but didn't want to offend Princess Ding. Naturally, it would be best if Princess Ding wasn't around.

"Then I wonder, Your Majesty..." Bai Yuncheng asked tentatively.

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "The princess is not feeling well. I am uneasy and have no intention of going out."

In this case, Bai Yuncheng had no choice but to smile. Prince Ding had already rejected it so clearly, and he couldn't say anything more, otherwise it would be counterproductive. After thinking about it, Bai Yuncheng had to try to change the topic that Prince Ding would be interested in, "In a month or so, the emperor will move the capital to Ancheng, but I wonder if His Highness Prince Ding has any plans to move the capital... to the imperial city temporarily?"

Although Bai Yuncheng had never been to the northwest, he still had some understanding of Licheng. For people who lived in the imperial city for a long time, Licheng was really not up to par. It was not that Licheng was not prosperous. In fact, after the governance of Prince Ding's Mansion over the years, Licheng's prosperity was no less prosperous than Chujing and Xiling Imperial City. Such an effect was achieved in just a few years, which showed the means and ability of Prince Ding. However, the most important place in Licheng, Prince Ding's Mansion, was completely inferior to the imperial palaces of Chujing and Xiling. For so many years, it was just a mansion that was more spacious and majestic than other mansions. Therefore, in Bai Yuncheng's view, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Mo Xiuyao would move the political center of Prince Ding's Mansion to Xiling Imperial City.

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said calmly: "Xiling Imperial City is not suitable to be a royal city." Xiling Imperial City is magnificent, but it is too far away from the Central Plains. Any king who has the ambition to compete for the Central Plains will not choose this place as his royal city. After all, the ideals of the heroes who grew up accepting the Central Plains culture in the chaotic world are mostly to unify the Central Plains rather than dominate the Western Regions. The reason why the founding ancestors of Xiling chose this place was mostly because the Great Chu was too powerful at that time.

Bai Yuncheng was not a mediocre person. He understood what Mo Xiuyao said after just a brief thought. He was shocked and looked at Mo Xiuyao with awe. Many people were secretly thinking and arguing whether Mo Xiuyao's sudden attack on Xiling was a coincidence or a premeditated one. But looking at the young king in white clothes and white hair in front of him, Bai Yuncheng suddenly believed that this incident was definitely premeditated by Mo Xiuyao. Thinking of this, the light in Bai Yuncheng's eyes became brighter and his determination became stronger.

"Your Highness has great ambitions, and I admire you. My Bai family is willing to serve you and I hope you will not give up." Bai Yuncheng said respectfully.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyes and calmly stared at the middle-aged man in front of him. Bai Yuncheng seemed to feel a strange pressure coming from all over. If he hadn't been so cautious, he would have fallen to his knees on the spot. He had never felt such a real pressure even when facing the King of Zhennan. Bai Yuncheng maintained a respectful look, but a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. After a long time, he heard Mo Xiuyao said calmly: "Master Bai, there is no need to be so polite. I will be returning to Licheng soon. I will need Master Bai's help in many matters here in the future."

Bai Yuncheng was delighted and quickly responded, "Thank you, Your Majesty. The Bai family will never let you down."

Mo Xiuyao nodded and was about to say something when Zhuo Jing came in and reported, "Your Majesty, the head of the Sun family wants to see you."

Hearing this, Bai Yuncheng's heart sank. In fact, originally, the Bai family and the Sun family were in the court and the opposition, one in politics and the other in business, which did not hinder anything, and the two families did not have any deep hatred. But when the King of Zhennan was in power, although the Sun family was not a loyal supporter of the royal family, they did not have a good impression of the King of Zhennan. The King of Zhennan went on several expeditions and looted a lot of gold and silver from the Sun family, all of which passed through the hands of the Bai family. By the time the Bai family realized that the King of Zhennan wanted to provoke the relationship between them, the hatred had already been formed. In the past few years, the Sun and Bai families have been fighting openly and covertly, but King Zhennan has not helped either side and just let them fight. When one side is weaker, he would even lend a hand to support them. As a result, the hatred between the two families has become deeper and deeper, and now no one has the energy to resolve it.

Bai Yuncheng had just taken refuge in Prince Ding's mansion, so naturally he didn't want the Sun family to be more powerful than himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't make the decision at this time. Even for the sake of the top-grade warm jade, Mo Xiuyao would not refuse to see the Sun family.

Sure enough, after hearing what Zhuo Jing said, Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, "Please let him in."

Not long after, the head of the Sun family strode in. Unlike Bai Yuncheng, who was over fifty years old, the head of the Sun family was completely different from the head of the Bai family, and more importantly, she was a woman. The head of the Sun family was less than thirty years old this year. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, but she was also dignified. There was a bit of boldness and neatness between her brows that was not common among women. It was obvious that she was a person of temperament, no wonder she dared to embarrass Princess Lingyun. She was the wife of the former head of the Sun family. The former head of the Sun family had been sick since childhood. After Mrs. Sun got married, she took care of most of the affairs of the Sun family. Three years ago, the head of the Sun family passed away. Mrs. Sun, who had only one daughter, suppressed the side branches who coveted the wealth of the Sun family with her status as a woman. As a widow, she became the head of the Sun family, waiting for her only daughter to grow up and marry a son-in-law to inherit the bloodline of the Sun family. Although Xiling's restrictions on women are not as strict as those in Dachu, Mrs. Sun was able to stand firm in this imperial city surrounded by powerful enemies as a widow, which shows that her means and knowledge are also comparable.

"I am Hui Niang from the Sun Yu clan. I have met Prince Ding." Madam Sun was not like other women who used derogatory terms such as slave or concubine. Instead, she called herself "I" like a man, with a carefree and generous demeanor that made people like her at first sight.

Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly and said, "I have heard for a long time that the head of the Sun family is as capable as any man. Today I see that she is indeed worthy of her reputation. Madam Sun, please take a seat."

Madam Sun thanked him with a smile, and sat down on a stone not far from Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao turned around and said to Lin Han behind him, "Go and see if the princess is free. Didn't she say she wanted to see Madam Sun the other day?" Madam Sun said quickly, "How dare I? I should go down and pay my respects to the princess."

Mo Xiuyao waved his hand calmly and said, "Ah Li doesn't care about this." Besides, the inn was not as spacious as the original palace. Neither Ye Li nor Mo Xiuyao wanted to let outsiders set foot in the temporary residence of the inner courtyard.

Lin Han took the order and left. Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, "Master Bai and Madam Sun must be old acquaintances, right?"

With his vision, even if he didn't know in advance, he couldn't fail to see that the two families were at odds. But neither Madam Sun nor Bai Yuncheng dared to show it in front of him. Both of them were superiors and naturally understood Prince Ding's thoughts. As a superior, it is impossible to spend a lot of time to reconcile the conflicts among subordinates, and it is impossible to say that because of the conflict between the two families, one family is more important and the other family will be abandoned. As long as it does not hinder the affairs of Prince Ding's mansion, Prince Ding has no intention of intervening in the conflict between the two families, but they can't let the conflict between the two families annoy Prince Ding.

Madam Sun smiled faintly and said, "Prince Ding is right. The Sun and Bai families have lived in the imperial city for a long time, so they are naturally old acquaintances. I am honored to meet the head of the Bai family here today."

Bai Yuncheng pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled, "Madam Sun is too young. Madam Sun is busy with work. I haven't seen you for a long time, but you are still as charming as ever." A cold light flashed in Madam Sun's eyes, but she smiled and said, "Master Bai, you are too kind." As a widow, even Madam Sun had to be careful. What she hated most was that others talked about her appearance. First, as a widow, she couldn't dress too brightly. Second, if someone thought too much about her radiant appearance, they might think she was not a faithful wife.

"The princess is here."

Hearing the voice of the guard at the door, Mo Xiuyao immediately put down Bai and Sun who were talking and went to meet them. Bai Yuncheng and Madam Sun looked over with some curiosity, wanting to see what the Princess Ding, who was famous all over the world and had such deep affection from Prince Ding, looked like. Ye Li was only wearing a light blue embroidered dress today, with her hair loosely tied up. A tassel hairpin was inserted diagonally, and the jade beads hanging on her cheeks swayed slightly when she moved, making her look even more fragile. When I walked in, I saw that her face was a little pale, and there seemed to be some shadows between her eyebrows. It seemed that Prince Ding’s previous statement that the princess was unwell was not an excuse. However, the Princess Ding, who was famous all over the world, was not famous for her beauty, but for her talent and martial arts. Neither of them saw her when they entered the city that day, so they couldn't believe it for a while. How could the Princess Ding, who was said to be good at fighting, be such a frail woman of her age?

"Ah Li, you're still not feeling well... I'll ask Zhuo Jingque to bring a doctor in from outside the city to see you." Seeing Ye Li's haggard face compared to yesterday, Mo Xiuyao was worried and took her into his arms, carefully supporting her waist. Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Nothing, I just didn't sleep well last night."

"As expected, Ah Li can't sleep well without me to take care of her?" Hearing this, Mo Xiuyao suddenly became a little proud. He didn't care about Ye Li's thoughts and said firmly: "It's better for me to stay and take care of Ah Li tonight. Otherwise, Ah Li will not be able to sleep well again. Now there is no one to take care of her. How can I rest assured that Ah Li is alone?"

Ye Li glared at Mo Xiuyao helplessly, and glanced at Bai Yuncheng and Madam Sun indifferently. Bai Yuncheng and Madam Sun didn't think wrongly, they just thought that Princess Ding was sick and worried that she would pass the disease to Prince Ding, so they lived in separate rooms. At the same time, they were also surprised that Prince Ding was so considerate and willing to be a servant for the sake of the princess. However, Bai Yuncheng was worried, while Madam Sun was jealous.

"I've met the princess." The two men stood up and said in unison.

Ye Li nodded and smiled faintly, "Master Bai, Madam Sun, no need to be polite."

After the two thanked Ye Li, Ye Li said, "I have prepared some refreshments in the front. Why don't you two drive over and sit for a while?" The two of them agreed and respectfully asked Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li to go first.

In fact, just around the corner, tea and snacks were already placed on the stone table. The guests sat down, and Madam Sun looked at Ye Li and asked with concern: "Princess, you look a little unwell, are you feeling unwell?"

Bai Yuncheng would not let Madam Sun take the lead alone, so he smiled and said, "I have a few doctors with great medical skills in my mansion. Why don't we send them over to the princess?"

Ye Li smiled and said, "You two are thoughtful. I probably didn't get enough rest when I first arrived at Xiling Imperial City. It's not a problem." This was not Ye Li's excuse. Her body had always been in excellent condition except for the slight injuries when she was pregnant with Mo Xiaobao and gave birth to him. Shen Yang and Doctor Lin have been taking care of her in recent years, and she has recovered a long time ago. She felt depressed for no reason in this short period of time, but she really didn't feel any discomfort in her body. Ye Li has always believed that medicine is three-point poison, so she naturally wouldn't go to the doctor if she wasn't sick.

Madam Sun said, "Licheng is far from the Imperial City, and the climate is quite different. It is possible that the princess is not used to it for a while. I know a lot about food supplements in my mansion. I will send the recipes to you when I get back. You may try it." Madam Sun said so, and Ye Li did not refuse to the end, but just thanked her with a smile. Bai Yuncheng also smiled and said, "The chef in my mansion is very good at Dongchu's dishes. The princess must not be used to Xiling's food. I will send someone to serve you when I get back."

"I'm not that weak, how dare I bother Patriarch Bai?" Ye Li said.

Bai Yuncheng smiled and said, "It is their blessing to be able to serve the princess."

Ye Li was not someone who was not familiar with the affairs of the household. She accepted the goodwill of the Sun family and could not ignore the Bai family. The way of balance was never to act arbitrarily according to someone's wishes. She did not refuse and nodded, "Then thank you, Master Bai." Bai Yuncheng hurriedly said that he did not dare.

Mo Xiuyao held the teacup in one hand and held Ye Li's hand under the table with the other, frowning slightly at the slight chill on his hand. Ah Li had always been in good health, but now it was not a good thing to have a slightly cold constitution, so she should really take care of herself. Therefore, her expression towards Sun Bai and the others was a little more relaxed.

The four of them drank tea and chatted casually, which was a proper etiquette between the guests and the host. If we ignore the implicit struggle between Bai Yuncheng and Madam Sun, it would be better to say that Bai Yuncheng was unilaterally targeting Madam Sun, while Madam Sun was not interested in Bai Yuncheng.

Madam Sun saw it clearly. No matter how attentive Bai Yuncheng was now, the Bai family would offend Princess Ding sooner or later. This was determined from the very beginning by the family nature of the Bai family. The Bai family had been a family of concubines since the founding of Xiling. To put it simply, they climbed up through nepotism. The Bai family had hardly produced any stunning figures throughout the generations, but there had been several prime ministers and many high-ranking officials in the history of the Bai family. This was all due to the status of the daughters of the Bai family in the harem. Therefore, although the Bai family has always been a prominent family in Xiling, the truly capable and well-established families secretly look down on them.

Now the Bai family has taken refuge in the Dingwang Mansion, but the Bai family, including the head of the family, Bai Yuncheng, is not a talented genius, otherwise they would not have been suppressed by the Zhennan King for so many years. Even though they have a queen, they still can't turn things around. If the Bai family still wants to gain a high position in the Dingwang Mansion and restore the glory of the past, they can only continue along the previous path. And this will undoubtedly offend the Dingwang Mansion and the Xu family. Therefore, Madam Sun did not feel that it was necessary for her to fight to the death with Bai Yuncheng in front of the Dingwang and the Dingwang Consort, and let the Dingwang and the Consort think that she was aggressive.

But Bai Yuncheng didn't think so. In Bai Yuncheng's opinion, it was unbearable for Madam Sun, a woman and a widow, to suppress him in front of Prince Ding. Moreover, the hatred between the Sun family and the Bai family could not be resolved. If the Sun family was taken seriously, they would definitely hold grudges for all these years. In this case, it would be better for the Bai family to strike first!