All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

"Jingqi, don't talk nonsense!"

Bai Jingqi quickly shut his mouth. It wouldn't be so easy to smooth things over, but as long as the source was found and he was given some guidance, the old man Bai would definitely not be beheaded. However, Bai Jingqi was still a little annoyed at being tricked once. Although he didn't have a deep affection for the Bai family, after living in the family for five years, he had gradually come to feel that he was also a member of the Bai family.

Old Master Bai sighed deeply, then said to Lord Wei.

“Lord Wei, judging from the situation, it seems to be similar to what my grandson said. This matter still needs to be addressed by the Prince Zhan’s residence. Back then, I acted impulsively and made enemies with the Prince Zhan’s residence. Now they will definitely take advantage of this opportunity. The only way to resolve this is to use money. I will have my eldest son go to the Prince Zhan’s residence tomorrow to ask if we can spend some money to put their minds at ease. If they don’t agree, then we will have to use money from the palace.”

Lord Wei nodded, then took a deep look at Bai Jingqi, who had his hands behind his back. Although he had heard that the eldest son of the second branch of the Bai family was a child prodigy, seeing him today, he realized that this was no child prodigy at all; he was simply a monster.

No wonder there are rumors that the Third Master of the Bai family saw a monster born into the Bai family. It seems that this child's future achievements are limitless. It seems that we should pay more attention to this young man of the Bai family in the future. My third granddaughter is eight years old this year. I wonder if it would be good to arrange a marriage between them?

When the old master Bai saw Lord Wei glaring at his grandson, he could almost guess what the other man was thinking. The old master Bai quickly coughed and said...

"Lord Wei, it's getting late. I think you should go back and rest early. Thank you for today's matter. I hope you can keep in touch with the palace tomorrow!"

Lord Wei was startled awake and quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Of course, of course. I, Wei, will definitely take full responsibility for this matter. By the way, Brother Bai, your grandson has a square face, and I have a granddaughter who is fair-skinned, beautiful, intelligent, and adorable..."

Before Lord Wei could speak, Old Master Bai, supporting his arm, saw him out the door!

After seeing Lord Wei off, everyone returned to the study. Now, only family members were present. Old Master Bai, no longer flustered, stroked his white beard, took Bai Jingqi's hand, and sat him down. A harmonious scene of grandfather and grandson enjoying each other's company unfolded as they began their private discussion.

Grandpa Bai's expression finally softened a bit. He breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that there was still a way to resolve the matter. He stood aside, listening to the two of them discuss how to solve it, but the more he listened, the more something seemed off.

For example, the father and son were discussing the list of people to bribe, what the eunuchs liked, whether the master preferred married women or middle-aged women, and which old man preferred fair-skinned and beautiful young girls, etc., which left Grandpa Bai dumbfounded, his body trembling uncontrollably several times...!

Chapter Four: Playing dirty tricks?

After discussing it late into the night, the grandfather and grandson finally came up with a temporary solution, which naturally involved spending money.

Despite their large and powerful family, the Bai family actually had very weak connections within the palace. Although they were a family of doctors, they were ultimately just merchants. In feudal society, merchants did not have a high social status; although they could make money, they did not wield much power.

Among the Bai family's relatives, the one with the most influence in the palace should be her aunt Bai Yaping's father-in-law.

Bai Yaping married into the Guan family, a well-known official family in the capital. The patriarch of the Guan family was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Although he didn't have much real power, his influence was much greater than that of the Bai family.

In the original novel, the Bai family had already become enemies with the Guan family at this time. Because Bai Yaping accidentally dropped and killed her son Guan Xiaobao, the Guan family almost died out. From then on, the Guan family also hated the Bai family.

In this world, the two families are related by marriage. His silly aunt often visits, and whenever she has something delicious, she always brings it over to Bai Jingqi.

So this time we have to trouble our in-laws again. The next day, the Bai family split into three groups. The eldest of the Bai family went to the Prince Zhan’s mansion to discuss whether we could buy out this matter with silver. If we could buy out this matter with silver, that would be best. We should remember this and find a way to deal with this old cunning fellow later.

As for the other route, it's Bai Sanye from the Bai family. Ask him to make an appointment with the palace eunuchs to find out what's going on in the palace, and spend some money to give the old witch a channel to pass on messages. Bai Sanye doesn't have any special skills, but he knows quite a few people from all walks of life around him.

The next morning, Old Master Bai personally went to the Guan family with a "generous gift" to pay them a visit.

In-laws are in-laws, and money is money. In this chaotic world, no relatives are as close as money, and the Bai family happens to have plenty of money.

Only Bai Jingqi's cheap father was weak-willed and unsuitable for these tasks, so he went to help out with the accounts.

Bai Jingqi, on the other hand, continued his leisurely life, eating and drinking, writing, reading, exercising his short arms and legs, and waiting for the next development of events.

In the afternoon, the Bai family members gathered again in the old master Bai's study. The eldest master Bai, the second master Bai, and the old master Bai were all there, but the third master Bai was not yet there.

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Master Bai swaggered into the room and saw Bai Jingqi holding a cup of tea, imitating an adult, sitting in the old master's seat and enjoying his tea.

Third Master Bai was displeased and shouted at Second Master Bai, who was standing to the side.

"Second son, are you not going to discipline your little rascal? Doesn't he have any sense of propriety? Is he a man who can sit in the old man's seat?"

Grandpa Bai sat to the side, pretending not to hear. Bai Jingqi's cheap father looked at his son awkwardly, then at the old man pacing in the room, and simply pretended not to see anything either.

Bai Laosan wanted to complain to Old Master Bai, but he heard Old Master Bai scold him impatiently.

"Shut up!"

Bai Laosan immediately fell silent, quickly uttered a sound of surprise, lowered his head, and pretended not to have seen it.

Once everyone had arrived, Old Master Bai spoke first.

"Grandpa Guan has already agreed to plead for the eldest son in the palace. I told him the whole story, and Grandpa Guan's opinion is similar. This matter must be settled with the Prince Zhan's Mansion. Eldest son, tell me what the situation is with the Prince Zhan's Mansion!"

Upon hearing his father's words, Grandpa Bai's brow furrowed even more with worry, and he stood up and spoke.

“I didn’t see Prince Zhan, but I did see his son, Zhan Yu. He said that this time, the prince is determined to fight the Bai family to the death. I said I was willing to spend money to resolve this matter, but Zhan Yu said that this matter is not easy to handle. His father went to the palace early this morning. Father, what do you think we should do?”

Grandpa Bai's words instantly made the atmosphere in the room much heavier, and the third brother next to him also sighed.

"My situation is fine. Eunuch Liu also mentioned that the palace doesn't intend to pursue this matter. Everyone knows what happened with the concubine. This matter still rests with Prince Zhan's residence."

Upon hearing his two sons' reports, Old Master Bai became even more agitated. He paced back and forth on the ground. After a while, he suddenly remembered that there was still one person there. He quickly stopped and spoke to Bai Jingqi, who was still sitting in the chair.

"Jingqi, this is just as you predicted. What do you think?"

Old Master Bai's words startled Third Master Bai, who then looked at Bai Jingqi in the master chair. He hadn't come last night and didn't know what had happened. Seeing his old man actually asking for the opinion of a five-year-old kid, he felt it was absurd. But then he remembered Bai Jingqi's past and quickly shut up. He also wanted to see what this little devil was up to.

Grandpa Bai continued to act as if he hadn't seen anything. His cheap father had been invisible from the beginning, standing in the middle without any opinions.

Bai Jingqi stretched, jumped off the chair, put his hands behind his back, and said as he walked.

"That's simple. If the Prince Zhan's mansion wants to play dirty tricks, then we'll play dirty tricks too. Isn't the point of this to shut Prince Zhan up? Then we just need to find a reason to make him shut up. I'll write a letter about this, and then have someone send it to Prince Zhan. After he reads the letter, he'll naturally shut up!"

Everyone looked at Bai Jingqi, somewhat puzzled, and Third Master Bai said sarcastically.

"Is Prince Zhan your father? And you even wrote a letter to shut him up? I think you're trying to use sorcery!"

Bai Sanye's words finally made Bai Jingqi's cheap father, Bai Erye, realize what was happening, and he quickly spoke up.

"Third brother, don't talk nonsense!"

Old Master Bai coughed and addressed Third Master Bai.

“From today onwards, if you spread rumors outside that Jingqi is a monster again, I will kick you out of the Bai family!”

Master Bai fell completely silent, shutting his mouth and leaving only a somewhat defiant look in his eyes as he stared at Bai Jingqi.

Bai Jingqi completely ignored this guy with a distorted thought process and then spoke to Old Master Bai.

"Grandpa, you write this letter. Tell Uncle and the others to go back. It's enough that you and I know about this!"

Old Master Bai nodded, glared at Third Master Bai, and then spoke to First Master Bai.

"No one is allowed to spread what happened today. Go back now. Be more careful in the future. What kind of behavior is this, all of you rushing around like this? Look at Jingqi. He's so young, yet he's as steady as a mountain. That's the demeanor of a great general. He has everything under control and is clear about everything. That's the principle of a true man!"

The men were so ashamed after being scolded by Old Master Bai that they meekly withdrew from the study.

Bai Jingqi's cheapskate father, Bai Lao Er, is now like a wooden doll, having long since become accustomed to it. At home, his wife has often used the child to lecture him, so when the old man uses the child to lecture him again, he no longer feels anything. Instead, he feels a little smug, thinking, "What can I do? He's my son."

After the others left, the old man, beaming with pride, spoke to Bai Jingqi with great enthusiasm.

"Jingqi, grind the ink for me. Today, my grandson and I will write a proper letter to Old Man Zhan!"

Bai Jingqi stepped forward helplessly, his short legs carrying him to the desk, where he skillfully began grinding ink.

Grandpa Bai spread out the paper, picked up the brush, and was about to start writing when he suddenly paused, wondering what he was going to write.

After thinking for a moment and figuring out the whole story, Old Master Bai quickly put on a flattering smile and said...

"Jingqi, why don't you write it?"

Bai Jingqi rolled his eyes at the old man, then said in a deep voice.

"Grandpa, I'll read it, you write it!"

Old Master Bai immediately responded, picked up his pen, and waited for Bai Jingqi to speak.

Bai Jingqi pondered for a moment, thought for a while, and then slowly said what he wanted to say.

Bai Jingqi didn't say much, just a few words, but the old man Bai's hand almost trembled several times while writing, but in the end he still finished writing according to Bai Jingqi's instructions.

The letter was only one page long, but its contents made Old Master Bai, who had just finished writing it, read it again. In the end, he couldn't help but ask questions out of curiosity.

"Jingqi, where did you learn about these things?"

Bai Jingqi shook his head helplessly and said.

"Grandpa, don't ask about this. Just send this letter to Prince Zhan's residence, and make sure to leave a note saying that Prince Zhan will open it personally. Don't let too many people know about this, or they'll really fight us to the death!"

Grandpa Bai nodded, then carefully put the letter away, sealed the envelope with wax, and then nodded with satisfaction.

"Jingqi, this method is excellent. I still don't believe that the Zhan Prince's Mansion would dare to fight us to the death without any shame. Their nephew and his daughter violated moral principles and gave birth to twins. Now, the nephew poisoned his cousin and framed our Bai family. If these scandalous deeds were to be made public, the Zhan Prince's Mansion would probably have no face to stay in the capital!"

Bai Jingqi smiled and nodded, then gave some instructions with a smile.

"Grandpa, we mustn't let anyone else see this letter, otherwise, the conflict between our Bai family and the Zhan Prince's Mansion will truly be a fight to the death!"

Grandpa Bai gave him a knowing look, and then sighed.

"After this incident, the feud between our Bai family and the Zhan family is now completely severed, and we don't know what will happen next!"

Seeing the old man's worried expression, Bai Jingqi smiled and comforted him.

"Grandpa, don't worry. We can talk about the Zhan Prince's Mansion later. Besides, I can handle him this time, so why should I be afraid of him next time?"

Grandpa Bai looked down at his grandson, who was only five years old, once again, and couldn't help but sigh that God had truly been kind to him. In this generation, the Bai family was able to produce such a prodigy grandson. The Bai family had a reliable support for the future. Otherwise, relying on his three sons, the Bai family would have been ruined by them sooner or later.

The next day, Old Master Bai went to Prince Zhan's residence in person. He was also afraid that if someone sent a message and something unexpected happened, there would be no way to resolve the matter.

When Old Master Bai arrived, the people of the Zhan Prince's Mansion still gave him some face, serving him good tea and snacks. However, when the servants informed Prince Zhan that Old Master Bai wanted to see Prince Zhan, the latter simply said he would not see him.

Old Master Bai wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "Then seeing the heir Zhan Yu is fine too." The servants then went to inform him, and in the end, the heir appeared and met with Old Master Bai.

Old Master Bai was in a good mood. He ate two pastries and drank a cup of tea before contentedly taking out a letter from his pocket and handing it to Zhan Yu.

"Give this letter to your father and tell him that this is the Bai family's stance. If he really insists on fighting to the death, we will accompany him. We've had our fill of the snacks, thank you for the hospitality, farewell!"

After saying that, he got up and left without any hesitation. Zhan Yu was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses. When the eldest master of the Bai family came yesterday, he was not like this old master of Bai today. At that time, the eldest master of the Bai family was in a state of panic and begged him several times, but in the end he had no choice but to leave. How come this old master of Bai is so arrogant?

Looking at the envelope in his hand and seeing the words "To be opened by your father," Zhan Yu's curiosity was piqued. However, seeing the sealed wax seal, he ultimately didn't dare to open it himself. Finally, he took the letter and went to Prince Zhan's study.

Prince Zhan was handling official business in his study when Zhan Yu requested an audience. Prince Zhan told him to wait at the door and then ignored him.

Two hours later, after finishing his official business, he saw his son still standing at the door with his head down. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. He had spent half his life guarding the frontier and fighting on the battlefield, but his children were all useless. Just thinking about it made him angry.

After his eldest daughter had an affair and fathered two bastards, she disappeared without a trace. His second daughter married the Tongzhi Emperor and was doing well until she was murdered by the Empress Dowager. He knew all about this, but in the end, he chose to swallow his anger, since the person in charge of the palace was now the one in power.

As for his only son, he was weak-willed, mediocre, and accomplished nothing. Just thinking about how the future of the Zhan Prince's Mansion would fall into the hands of such a son made Prince Zhan feel a tightness in his chest. He looked at the silent Zhan Yu with his head down and scolded him.

"Spit it out if you have something to say, or stand at the door counting ants?"

Zhan Yu then hurriedly ran to his father, took out the letter from Old Master Bai, placed it on the desk, and said.

“Father, this is a letter from the Bai family patriarch to you. He said that this is the Bai family’s attitude, and it seems that the Bai family’s attitude has suddenly become somewhat tough.”

Upon hearing his son's words, Prince Zhan was so angry that his beard bristled. He grabbed an inkstone from the table and threw it at Zhan Yu, then angrily rebuked him.