Chapter 1321: Chapter 1299: Bai Family (September Bonus Chapter 2)
Manbao’s thirteenth birthday was spent on the road. However, as she was still young, there wasn’t much of a celebration—Zhou SiLang simply made her a bowl of noodles with two eggs early in the morning, just as he had done every year.
Feeling that she had become a year older, Manbao was overjoyed. She rode ahead with Bai Shan and Bai Erlang on horseback to the front of the group.
Daji followed behind them on horseback, accompanied by two guards.
Since they had already gone ahead, they decided to stop at a county town up ahead, where they could book an inn for the group and take a stroll around the local streets.
Carriages always travel slower than horses, and this time around, their return journey to their hometown allowed for more leisure than their previous trip to the capital.
First, they visited the Bai Family’s ancestral graves in Longzhou. Old Madam Liu had no intention of staying in Longzhou for long, so she sent servants ahead to prepare rooms. When they arrived, they didn’t even unload their luggage before making arrangements for the ancestral rites, and the next day, she took Bai Shan to sweep the graves.
Bai Erlang went along as well. Since Manbao was Zhou Yin’s daughter, Old Madam Liu invited her to join them too. Zhou SiLang and Zhou Wulang, meanwhile, worked with the Bai Family’s stewards to make connections with local merchants, eventually negotiating the sale of a batch of furs.
On the third day, they rested briefly. Old Madam Liu customarily sent a New Year gift to the main branch of the family but politely declined visiting, citing the need to continue their journey.
By the time members of the main branch came to call the next day, they had already left the city and hit the road.
Manbao didn’t understand this behavior and secretly asked Bai Shan, "Grandma Liu seems to be avoiding people from your clan."
Bai Shan replied, "Back when we left, Grandmother had a falling out with the clan. She said that unless I bring glory to the family, she will never deepen ties with the clan again."
He added, "Whenever we returned home for ancestral rites, the clan would either stir up trouble for us or treat us coldly. We’ve grown used to the neglect and would rather save our energy than deal with them."
Manbao frowned, "Why are they so awful?"
Bai Erlang chimed in, "My father says it’s because wealth stirs people’s hearts."
Bai Shan nodded, "My family is part of a minor branch. Although our ancestors had some achievements and successive generations were small in number, allowing wealth to accumulate, we manage to stay afloat because every generation has produced someone capable of holding office. The main branch doesn’t dare to go too far, so the assets have remained intact over time."
Bai Shan had already memorized the family genealogy, and Bai Erlang had learned part of it too, though he had forgotten most of it. Treating it like a story, Bai Shan recounted the events to them.
How to put it? Although Bai Shan’s branch faced many hardships, each generation managed to produce at least one official.
Skipping the distant past and focusing on the last hundred years, Bai Shan’s great-granduncle had served as a provincial governor under the previous dynasty. Their close relations enabled them to provide temporary shelter to Bai Shan’s branch after Bai Shan’s great-grandfather died amid wartime chaos.
Unfortunately, Bai Shan’s great-granduncle’s family also perished in the turmoil later on.
By the time of Bai Shan’s grandfather, his tenure straddled the transition from the previous dynasty to the current one. He had barely begun his role under the previous regime before the dynasty collapsed, obliging him to serve Great Jin. Two years later, he succumbed to an untreated cold and passed away.
It was a time when the empire was just stabilizing, but Grandma Liu’s maternal family provided strong support. Despite the Bai Family coveting the wealth accumulated by her branch, they didn’t overstep their bounds.
Grandma Liu herself was formidable, fiercely protecting most of the assets and managing them skillfully so that their wealth continued to grow.
Originally, when Bai Qi excelled in his studies and passed the imperial examinations, the clan treated their family much more cordially, even returning some of the estates and businesses they had previously seized through various schemes.
Who could have predicted that Bai Qi would die an untimely death after only a couple of years in office?
When Bai Qi’s father passed away, Bai Qi had been old enough to demonstrate exceptional academic talent. This time, however, Bai Shan was barely over one year old—just learning to walk by holding onto walls—and showed no promise yet.
If Bai Shan perished, his branch would effectively cease to exist. According to clan rules, all their wealth would then be reclaimed by the clan and redistributed.
The exact extent of Bai Shan’s branch’s assets was unknown, but privately, everyone calculated that they were likely even wealthier than the main family’s most senior members.
After all, their wealth had remained undiluted for four generations.
Four generations of accumulation, plus the dowries brought by wives married into the family.
So naturally, there were plenty of people who coveted the fortune, both openly and in secret.
However, Grandma Liu fiercely protected Bai Shan, ensuring that he remained untouched by poisons or other malicious tactics. Yet these efforts were mentally draining for her.
After warding off yet another poisoned dessert, Bai Shan was shoved into a rockery in plain view of his teacher at the school, splitting his head open and bleeding profusely.
This incident completely enraged Old Madam Liu, marking the turning point in her decision to leave Longzhou.
She considered many options but ultimately chose to relocate to where Old Master Bai resided in Mianzhou.
She had no choice. Her father and brothers had passed away, leaving her maternal family in the hands of a nephew—a generation removed from her. Moreover, her maternal family was too close to Longzhou, unable to fully sever ties with the Bai clan.
Ms. Zheng was even less of an option. Her household was controlled by a stepmother, and as the saying goes, "a married daughter is like spilled water." After weighing the options, Old Madam Liu concluded that Bai Li was the most reliable choice.
Their families shared a good relationship. Bai Qi and Bai Li had studied together since childhood until Bai Qi left to pursue higher studies in the capital.
Another reason was that Mianzhou was far enough away, ensuring that the Bai clan from Longzhou had no influence or foothold there.
When Bai Shan was younger, he only felt that life in Longzhou was miserable—his classmates targeted him, his teacher disliked him, and people’s attitudes were constantly sarcastic and backhanded when visiting or entertaining guests...
But after the Prince of Yizhou’s case had concluded, Grandma Liu had a thorough conversation with Bai Shan about the clan’s affairs. Only then did he realize that the water he drank, the desserts and meals he consumed, all had to go through an exhaustive process before reaching him. This revelation made him detest Longzhou even more.
Grandma Liu disliked it as well. That’s why she decided not to linger in Longzhou this time—leaving after three days and deliberately sending invitations and New Year gifts to the main branch at the last moment in order to avoid meeting them.
Bai Erlang and Manbao listened, stunned. Bai Erlang clicked his tongue and remarked, "Your clan’s drama could easily fill a storybook."
Bai Shan cast him a sidelong glance and said, "It’s your clan too."
Bai Erlang thought about it and realized it was true. Although their branch had moved to Mianzhou and separated their genealogies, they were still linked to Longzhou’s Bai clan. After all, it had only been three generations; they were still close relatives.
Manbao asked, "Have you ever considered forming your own branch?"
Bai Shan glanced outside cautiously before lowering his voice and said, "I’ve thought about it, but my grandmother doesn’t seem to want that."
Manbao and Bai Erlang simultaneously asked, "Why not?"
Bai Shan explained, "Grandmother thinks that if the empire remains peaceful, splitting off would be fine. But if the empire becomes unstable, unity is better than division."
Manbao argued, "But the empire is peaceful now."
Bai Shan lowered his voice even further and said, "Let’s wait until the next emperor ascends the throne. After all, the previous dynasty only lasted two generations. Who knows whether there’ll be another outbreak of war?"