Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Bai Qingyan fixed her gaze on the Qin family's second daughter, who was crying uncontrollably yet listening intently, with a half-smile, and said slowly, "Did you hear that? The Qin family's elder daughter said someone instigated the Qin family's second daughter... I'll leave this Qin family's second daughter to you, and you must find out who is behind instigating her to obstruct the new law, and they must be dealt with according to the law!"

This Lu Jin is the Chief of the Ministry of Justice, and even when he was the Minister of Judicial Review, his methods of interrogating criminals were varied, making life unbearable. How could she endure such suffering? She might as well be killed now!

The second daughter of the Qin family was so frightened that her tears hovered on her eyelashes, and she held her breath not daring to cry out. While hesitating whether to beg for mercy, her lowered gaze instinctively sought someone out, and upon seeing someone... her eyes fixed, she looked up with a glance for help.

Bai Jinzhi had already gripped the whip behind her waist and, seeing the Qin family's second daughter's gaze fixed on a man dressed as a servant, she pulled out the whip and struck towards the man.

The man reacted quickly, almost leaping away from Bai Jinzhi's whip at the exact moment the whip's sound pierced the air, and a hidden weapon shot from his sleeve toward Bai Qingyan's direction.

"Protect the emperor!" Lu Ping threw himself towards Bai Qingyan, while Shi Yueshi had already drawn her sword and rushed towards Bai Qingyan.

Lu Ping drew his knife to block the hidden weapon, the poisoned nail piercing his blade and getting stuck there, only half an inch from Lu Ping's eye, emitting a grim light.

Fu Ruoxi and Xie Yuchang, along with Yang Wuce, were also the first to stand guard in front of Bai Qingyan's pavilion.

"Kid!" Mrs. Dong stood up in shock, her face pale, and hurriedly shielded the pregnant Bai Qingyan, her gaze then turned towards the Dong family's pavilion, seeing Madam Dong supported by her sister-in-law, aunt, and brother, and Dong Changsheng, Dong Changyuan, and Dong Changqing busy protecting their sister and elders, she finally felt relieved.

The imperial guards drew their swords and protected the Bai family's ladies inside the pavilion, as well as the pavilions of various important ministers, to prevent any unexpected incidents.

"It's alright, mother!" Bai Qingyan's eyes were cold, but she grasped Mrs. Dong's hand instead, shielding her behind, her voice calm and composed, "Take him down!"

With Bai Qingyan's order, the imperial guards and the Bai family guards moved in to capture the individual, clearly an easy task.

Today, it was anticipated that this person would cause trouble. Bai Qingyan had already informed Bai Jinzhi and several generals who were early on waiting for that person from the Jin Dynasty's Imperial Hidden Guard, Sun Wenyao's team leader, to appear.

This person likely instigated the Qin family's second daughter to create trouble in front of Bai Qingyan's pavilion, hoping to find an opportunity amidst the chaos to attack Bai Qingyan, but didn't expect the fifth lady to stand up and approach Bai Qingyan's desk, waving a fan, which deterred him from acting rashly. After all, he was alone and outmatched; if he missed his chance, there would be no second opportunity...

Meanwhile, Bai Jinzhi, Fu Ruoxi, Xie Yuchang, Yang Wuce, and Lu Ping were already on guard upon seeing the Qin family's second daughter approach.

No one expected this former imperial hidden guard to be so fearless, daring to act in a heavily guarded place.

Bai Qingyan's gaze remained cold, watching as the former dynasty's hidden guard, like a trapped beast, was surrounded yet still struggled in vain until within a few breaths, he finally fell. Yang Wuce had just subdued the hidden guard when he saw the hidden guard spit blood, collapsing stiffly to the ground.

"Your Majesty! This scoundrel must have bitten through the poison hidden in his mouth!" Xie Yuchang turned around and called out loudly to Bai Qingyan.

This matter of Wei Zhong speaking to Bai Qingyan mentioned this as well... Sun Wenyao had probably not returned to the imperial hidden guard location to receive his mission, so he didn't have the poison that could be kept in the mouth for immediate effect...

And Sun Wenyao even considered that since the Jin Kingdom was gone, he wanted to fight for a way out for his brothers, so when his identity was recognized that day, he didn't commit suicide, but wanted to try persuading those hidden guards first.

The second daughter of the Qin family, seeing the man who had been advising her was now dead, collapsed to the ground, her face ashen.

"Did this person... come in with the Qin family's second daughter?" Bai Qingyan turned her gaze back to the Qin family's second daughter.

"The Qin family's second daughter is quite bold, not only obstructing the new law but also attempting to assassinate the emperor!" Bai Jinzhi held a whip in her hand, unwilling to use it on the Qin family's second daughter, slowly coiling it up and hanging it behind her waist, loudly announcing, "Someone, arrest the Qin family's daughters and interrogate them thoroughly, to see if there are other accomplices in the assassination attempt on the emperor!"

The Qin family's elder daughter's head buzzed with the thought of assassinating the emperor... this was a crime punishable by death, implicating the nine clans. She wept, crawling forward on all fours, desperately kowtowing, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I knew nothing of this! It was all my second sister's doing and has nothing to do with me. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy considering the Auxiliary General, please spare me! I truly knew nothing!"

Bai Qingyan turned to look at Lu Jin: "Minister Lu, I'll leave this to you, take them away without affecting today's kite competition..."

"Your Majesty, given the assassination attempt and your current pregnancy, you should return to the palace!" Lu Jin urged.

"No need to be overly cautious, Minister Lu! Since we've promised to celebrate with the people, there's no reason to let one or two troublemakers spoil the fun! Moreover, I've got a clear conscience, and with so many by my side to protect us, my child and I fear nothing!" Bai Qingyan replied with a smile.

The entire city of Dadu was watching; if the event was hastily interrupted due to this incident, it would lead to rampant speculation among the people. Furthermore, on the day Lu Ping captured people, only this one escaped, and has now been caught and killed... With the imperial guard enhancing their vigilance, even if someone else harbored other intentions, the deterrence would prevent reckless actions...

This was, in fact, the safest time, and she was self-assured.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Lu Jin waved a hand, signaling to remove the two daughters of the Qin family.

Soon, the crying elder Qin daughter and the ashen-faced second Qin daughter were dragged away, and Liu Rushi announced the top three winners of the kite competition.

Remarkably, the top three were all women who remarried under the new law, which wasn't entirely surprising. These women, who worked daily, possessed more strength and endurance than the noble girls, allowing them to seize an early advantage during the competition and maintain a stable lead.

However, the noble girls weren't all aimed at winning; although the prizes were indeed valuable to them, they weren't particularly lacking. On the other hand, the rewards were a considerable fortune for women from ordinary families.

Bai Qingyan personally awarded the top three prizes, advising them to live well, and gave small tokens of appreciation to all the participants—ornaments favored by women and girls, exquisitely crafted and clearly not ordinary items.