In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

Upon hearing the report, Bai Qingze's face darkened.

He put down the deed in his hand, his voice cold.

"Notify Bai Lu and ask her to send someone over."

In less than an hour, five hundred female soldiers in uniform black clothing and scimitars on their waists surrounded the Xishan mine.

They moved swiftly and in neat formation, and their murderous aura made the miners' servants tremble with fear!

Seventh Uncle stood on the gate tower and shouted loudly, but no one dared to step forward.

Finally, the door was forced open.

Mu Guiying held a long whip and pulled her seventh uncle down from the gate tower.

After a merciless beating, the Seventh Uncle knelt on the ground and cried, "I am willing to hand over all my property!!"

Mu Guiying dragged the man away, sealed off the mine, and waited for the accountant to come and count.

Anyone who is willing to pay must return the capital earned that year.

Those who were unwilling to pay were first severely beaten, and then their property was liquidated.

The Bai family's swift and decisive measures soon spread throughout the city.

Those elders who were once so arrogant have now become stray dogs.

All the properties they held, whether they were fertile fields, shops, farms, hills or real estate, were taken back one by one.

This massive purge lasted for several days.

Bai Qingze goes out before dawn every day and does not return until late at night.

More importantly, his marriage was imminent, and he needed to personally take care of many etiquette matters.

In just a few days, he lost a lot of weight.

That night, Bai Lu couldn't help but go to his study.

The study was brightly lit, and the desk was piled with various account books and land deeds.

Bai Qingze was looking at the file with his brows pinched.

Bai Lu gently placed a bowl of ginseng soup next to him.

"Third brother. Thank you for your hard work."

She looked at her brother's tired appearance and felt a little sorry for him.

Bai Qingze raised his head and smiled at her, his smile full of fatigue.

"Bai Lu, you're here."

He picked up the ginseng soup and took a sip. The warm soup slid down his throat, dispelling some of the coldness.

"It's not hard work... There's just too much to do... Those old guys, none of them are worry-free. The business is a mess, the accounts are a mess, and I'm lucky to be able to get my money back."

Bai Qingze put down the soup bowl and sighed.

"There are still a few stubborn people who refuse to pay the money and only want to hand over their property. We beat them and scolded them, but they just keep wasting their time."

Bai Lu listened quietly, her eyes gradually turning colder.

"Brother, you still have to prepare for the wedding, so don't worry about these trivial matters."

She stood up and said, "From tomorrow on, leave the debt collection to me."

Bai Qingze looked at his sister's beautiful yet cold profile and hesitated.

"You... your methods, aren't they too..."

He knew his sister's style of doing things. Unlike him, she still cared about the camaraderie of her kindred.

Bai Lu turned her head and looked at him.

"Brother, if they don't feel pain, they will never learn to be afraid."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left the study, leaving only the cool fragrance of plum blossoms in the room.

The next day, the Bai family's debt collection style suddenly changed!

The sixth uncle of the Bai family in the north of the city handed over the land deed a few days ago, but has been holding back on a small amount of silver, claiming that he is old and frail and has no money left at home.

Bai Qingze sent people to urge him several times, but he just lay on the bed groaning, looking like he was about to die at any moment.

Bai Lu personally brought people to the door.

She did not use courtesy first and then force like Bai Qingze did, but directly closed the door of the house and dragged Sixth Uncle from the warm bed to the center of the yard!

Uncle Liu was only wearing a thin undershirt and had a bucket of ice-cold well water poured over his head. He was so cold that his whole body turned purple and his teeth kept chattering.

"Bai Lu! You... you unfilial daughter! I am your elder!"

Uncle Liu cursed while trembling.

Bai Lu sat on the armchair in the courtyard, slowly wiping the dagger at her waist.

"Elder? When you were encroaching on the family property, why didn't you think of yourself as an elder?"

"You took advantage of my brothers' youth... and bullied their ignorance... and kept asking for property, land deeds, and farmland! Why don't you admit that you're the elder?!"

"The elder of the Bai family who bullied my brothers back then...you want the most!"

She raised her eyes and her gaze fell on him like a knife.

"I'll count to three. Either you give me the silver, or I'll chop off every finger of yours."

Everyone present felt a chill!

Uncle Liu's wife and son rushed out crying and begging for mercy, but were rudely stopped by the women's army...

"one."

The Bailu starts counting.

Uncle Liu's body was shaking even more violently, and I didn't know if it was because of the cold or fear.

"two."

Bai Lu placed the dagger against her nails and gently scratched them.

"three."

As soon as she finished speaking...

"I'll give it! I'll give it!"

Uncle Liu let out a shrill scream and completely collapsed.

"The money is hidden...in the secret compartment in the study! I'll give it all to you! Please spare me!"

Soon, all the banknotes were found.

Bai Lu stood up, not even bothering to look at him again, and turned and left.

"The next one."

Bai Lu's methods are a hundred times more cruel than Bai Qingze's.

She doesn't like to waste her breath and has no patience to deal with others.

At most, Bai Qingze would beat the man up to vent his anger.

As for Bai Lu, she has plenty of ways to make people's lives worse than death.

She would have people soak their fingers in salt water and then use fine needles to pierce the nails one by one.

Or drip scalding wax onto their skin until they howled for mercy.

She would even slowly recount in front of those people...the various tortures used by Pei Huizhou, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, when interrogating prisoners. Each one was described in such detail that it was chilling.

Even the hardest bones were broken under her iron fist.

However, within just two days, all the overdue payments were recovered.

Those elders who had been hoping for a lucky break before would be scared out of their wits when they heard Bai Lu's name now!

The cleanup within the Bai family was extremely fast.

The originally complex clan power was completely disintegrated, and all power was concentrated in the hands of the four siblings Bai Chuyao, Bai Lu, Bai Qingze and Bai Liezhao.

The entire family's resources, wealth and connections were reintegrated.

Every move made by the Bai family brothers and sisters during this period was precise and ruthless, which frightened many court officials.

Especially the Bai family's patriarch Bai Chuyao, who rarely takes action but stirs up trouble when he does, is even more unfathomable!

It was still dark and the outline of the imperial city was faintly visible in the morning mist.

At three quarters past the hour of the morning, court officials dressed in official uniforms of various colors entered from the various gates of the imperial city, holding ivory tablets and with solemn expressions, they walked along the palace road towards the Golden Throne Hall.

Among the crowd, four figures stood out.

The surrounding officials subconsciously avoided it.

They are the four siblings of the Bai family, the center of the recent storm in the capital.

Walking in front is the eldest brother Bai Chuyao.

He was tall and wore a crimson-purple court robe, which made him look even more majestic.

The last one to come was their youngest sister, Bai Lu.

She was dressed in a lady's robe, her figure was as straight as a pine tree, her eyebrows and eyes were clear, and she had a heroic spirit that was no less than that of a man. She was extremely conspicuous.

Everyone was fine when they saw the three Bai brothers, but when they saw Bai Lu, they were all like they had seen a ghost! !

"Run! The living devil is coming!!"

Bai Lu: “???”

"..."

All the land, shops and mines that had been occupied for years or even decades were recovered by them with thundering means within just one month.

The whole process was clean and neat, leaving no room for ambiguity.

The Bai family gained huge practical benefits as a result.

There were mountains of gold and silver in the warehouse, and a thick stack of land deeds.

However, everything has two sides.

While they reaped benefits, they also sowed countless seeds of hatred.

His methods were too cruel, his actions were too decisive, and he completely disregarded the feelings of his clan, which made those families who were deprived of their interests hate him to the core...

Bai Chuyao was under pressure from the previous dynasty, and Bai Liezhao helped to block the assassins, so the specific matters in the rear were handled by Bai Lu and Bai Qingze.

Bai Lu is the most ruthless among them.

Officials were whispering in private, and the focus of the discussion was her.

Cruel and ruthless, and heartless, are the labels people give them!

Today's morning court session was unusual from the very beginning because of the White Dew.

All the officials stood in the hall according to their ranks, but the emperor sitting on the dragon throne had not yet arrived.

A discordant voice came.

"Bai Chuyao! Bai Liezhao! Bai Qingze! And you, Bai Lu!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Bai Yansong striding out from the queue.

He was so angry that his hair and beard trembled slightly, and his old face turned the color of liver.

Pointing straight at the four siblings of the Bai family in front.

At this moment, there was no kindness of an elder in his eyes, only resentment and anger.

Bai Chuyao turned around slowly, his tall figure casting a shadow.

He just looked at Bai Yansong calmly, without any emotion in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Father?"

Bai Liezhao and Bai Qingze behind him also looked over.

Bai Lu's delicate brows were slightly furrowed.

Seeing the four of them so calm and composed, Bai Yansong's anger burned even more fiercely.

This feeling of being ignored was more embarrassing to him than a direct rebuttal.

"You...you are so brave!"

His voice became a little hoarse with excitement.

"I'm investigating our family property, and you dare to target me! Do you still have respect for elders?"

Everyone's eyes were focused on these people and they started to watch the fun.

Bai Yansong took a few steps forward, almost standing in front of Bai Chuyao.

"My personal property is the hard-earned money I've accumulated through decades of ups and downs in my career! What does it have to do with the Bai family's public property? Why would you take it just like that?"

"I'm your father! Why?"

Spit flew everywhere as he spoke.

He felt deeply humiliated. His personal belongings had been raided by a few juniors, like they were ransacking his property. How could he hold his head up in front of his colleagues?!

Bai Qingze took a step forward and stood in front of his brother and sister.

"Father, this is wrong."

His voice was as gentle as jade, and there was still a gentle smile on his face, but that smile did not reach his eyes.

"Before the investigation began, the head of the family had already issued an order to inform all branches. All property and assets acquired through the use of the Bai family's name, connections, and resources are considered public property of the Bai family and should be managed by the main branch."

His eyes fell on Bai Yansong's flushed face.

"Of your 'private property', how many farms were acquired by suppressing the gentry who had old grudges against the Bai family? How many shops were seized by leveraging the Bai family's connections in official circles? You should know better than us."

Bai Yansong was left speechless by his words, his face turning from red to blue, and then from blue to white, it was extremely exciting.

He did use the influence of the Bai family to gain countless personal benefits for himself. This was almost an open secret in the officialdom of the capital!

Who in the court is not useful?

Family, family, that’s how it’s used!

But he never expected that these youngsters would be so ruthless and dare to tear off this last fig leaf in front of all the civil and military officials in the court.

This is no longer a matter of money, but a matter of face!

Bai Yansong was furious!

"Assholes! A bunch of assholes!"

He roared in frustration, "I am your elder after all! Is this how you treat your elders?! Do you still have filial piety in your eyes? Do you still have rules?"

He turned his attention to Bai Chuyao, who had remained silent, and his voice became even sharper.

"Bai Chuyao! How can you be the head of the family? Are you just going to indulge your brothers and sisters to do whatever they want? For the sake of money, you even ignore your own father!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "real father".

Many officials subconsciously gasped.

Everyone knows that Bai Yansong is using the big hat of filial piety to suppress these children in front of the civil and military officials of the entire court.

He considers himself the elder and puts himself in the position of "father".

If this accusation is proven, the reputation of the four siblings of the Bai family will be completely ruined.

Tomorrow, your reputation as an unfilial person will spread.

But...they don't have a very good reputation anyway.

A cold female voice sounded, crisp but chilling.

"Minister Bai."

Bai Lu walked out from behind her brother. She had a slender figure and exuded a powerful aura that could not be ignored.

Bai Lu's gaze swept across Bai Yansong, and then slowly swept across the faces in the hall that were either curious, gloating, or fearful.

"Bai Chuyao is the patriarch of the Bai family."

"How dare others interfere in his decision-making?"

"If you're not happy...you can become the head of the family yourself!"

Bai Yansong: “…”

So, I am just an outsider?

An outsider who has no right to interfere with the head of the family's decision-making?

Shit, that seems to make sense!

Bai Yansong opened his mouth but had nothing to say.

Yes, the current head of the Bai family is Bai Chuyao.

It’s not him, Bai Yansong.

In the face of the absolute authority of the patriarch, the so-called seniority...seems so pale and powerless.

Even if it’s my dad, it’s not allowed!

Bai Yansong's face was pale.