Chapter 48: Conspiracy
Meanwhile, the Bai Family's situation was growing worse and worse.
Bai Shoucheng felt like a hollow shell, completely drained of all energy.
He had to sleep for long stretches during the day, and at night as well, leaving him with very few waking hours.
This feeling of frailty made him increasingly panicked, worried that one day he might go to sleep and never wake up!
'No, I can't let this continue.'
The thought of returning the Golden Saber had crossed Bai Shoucheng's mind, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He summoned his son to ask for his opinion. "I plan to hand the Bai Family over to you in the future. Tell me, do you think we should return that Golden Saber?"
Bai Yi sat in his wheelchair. Though only in his twenties, his face was a ghastly pale, and he barely had the strength to walk. "Dad, I think we should return the Golden Saber."
"I'm still so young. I don't want to die because of some so-called retribution."
Bai Shoucheng was clearly not satisfied with this answer. "Since you're the future heir of the Bai Family, you must be brave, resourceful, and responsible!"
"You can't just shrink back from problems. Besides returning the saber, don't you have any other ideas?"
Bai Yi thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Dad, I remember there's another way to fulfill the covenant, isn't there? We just have to marry one of the Bai Family's women to him!"
"If we just marry someone over to him, won't that be enough? Once we're family, he'll definitely no longer want the Golden Saber!"
Bai Shoucheng was reluctant. "According to the marriage agreement, the first daughter of the Bai Family is your sister, Bai Xue."
"But don't forget, she has a fiancé—Young Master Yuan from Shanghai. He's someone we can't afford to offend!"
"Never mind how much we'd lose by breaking the engagement, the Wang Family certainly wouldn't let us get away with it. How could a major family like theirs allow a minor one like ours to call off a wedding?"
The bigger the family, the more they value their reputation, and they were not a family to be trifled with.
A cold smirk appeared on Bai Yi's face. "Dad, if Bai Xue is not an option, doesn't the Bai Family have other daughters?"
"The agreement might specify Bai Xue, but if Xiao Ye were to become intimate with another woman from the Bai Family, what right would he have to be with Bai Xue anymore?"
"At that point, he'll have to take responsibility for our family member. If he doesn't want to marry her, then he's the one failing to fulfill the agreement, not us. Everything will be resolved!"
Bai Shoucheng nodded repeatedly. "Yes, you're right. That is indeed a solution. Go get Bai Meng."
Bai Meng was Bai Xue's distant cousin. Her mother was the sister of Bai Shoucheng's wife, which was why she bore a strong resemblance to Bai Xue.
Soon, Bai Meng arrived.
Because she was not from the direct family line, her sickness wasn't as severe. Other than being a little weaker than before, she could still walk freely.
"Uncle," Bai Meng called out timidly.
Her pretty face made Bai Shoucheng nod in satisfaction. "In a bit, I'll have someone do your makeup. Then you'll disguise yourself as Bai Xue and go wait in a hotel."
"Remember, once that man named Xiao Ye goes in, you must make him stay!"
"I don't care what methods you have to use, you must get him to sleep with you. Understand?"
Bai Meng's body trembled. "Uncle, but I…"
"No buts!"
Bai Shoucheng's face turned to ice. "You are a member of the Bai Family, so you will act for the Bai Family! If you don't succeed, you can get the hell out of the Bai Family! Your entire family can get out with you!"
Bai Meng's heart sank to the depths. 'But what could she do?'
'If I refuse, my entire family will be kicked out.'
She helplessly accepted her fate. "I understand, Uncle."
---
「Jiangcheng, Huating Hotel.」
Following the location on his phone, Xiao Ye made his way to the door of a top-floor suite.
Half an hour ago, Bai Shoucheng had called to tell him he would be returning the Golden Saber here.
Although he had a vague feeling that something was wrong, he came anyway.
'In the face of absolute power, all schemes are useless!'
The door was ajar. Xiao Ye went inside, and finding no one there, he walked into the bedroom.
The curtains in the room were drawn, making it very dark. He could make out the shape of a person lying on the bed.
A faint fragrance filled his nostrils, and a wave of heat began to rise within him.
Xiao Ye sneered. 'The Bai Family is really courting death, daring to try and drug me!'
He turned to leave, but unexpectedly, the person on the bed shot out a hand and grabbed his arm.
"You… don't go. I'm Bai Xue, the one from the Bai Family engaged to you by contract."
The woman's voice trembled, likely out of fear.
Xiao Ye slowly turned his head to look at her face.
Even through the makeup, he could see her destiny at a glance.
'The partner my master chose for this contract was meant to inherit a portion of my destiny; she is fated to be either wealthy or noble.'
'But this person before me is mediocre and plain—a complete imposter!'
"You're not her."
Xiao Ye flung her hand off. "Swapping one person for another... Your Bai Family is truly despicable!"
"Don't go!" Bai Meng's body went weak, and she threw herself at his legs, hugging them tightly. "Please, don't go! If you leave, my whole family is done for."
"My uncle said that if I fail to keep you here, my entire family will be kicked out. I'm begging you, please, just stay!"
With that, she began to quickly pull off her own clothes, reaching for Xiao Ye's hand with a stuttering, hesitant motion.
"I'm still a virgin. You would be my first man."
Xiao Ye took a large step back, dodging her touch. "Get dressed!"
"I won't! I don't want to leave the Bai Family!"
Hearing her sobs, Xiao Ye felt a pang of pity, but he still spun around and knocked her unconscious with a single chop to the neck.
He then went straight downstairs, and his gaze immediately landed on Bai Shoucheng, sitting in a wheelchair.
He was waiting in the main lobby, clearly eager to find out if the plan had succeeded.
As soon as he had news, he would likely rush upstairs and use Bai Meng in Bai Xue's place to satisfy the Golden Saber Covenant.
Unfortunately for him, he was doomed to be disappointed this time.
Xiao Ye strode right up to him. Any bodyguards who might have tried to intercept him were frozen in place, too intimidated by the aura he was emitting to move a muscle.
His face a mask of killing intent, Xiao Ye strode before Bai Shoucheng and, without a word, slapped him across the face.
SLAP!
The crisp sound of the slap was exceptionally loud.
The dignified Patriarch of the Bai Family, slapped in front of everyone until half his face was swollen.
"Bai! Did my repeated forbearance make you think that I, Xiao Ye, was a pushover?"
"Let me tell you, the Bai Family has repeatedly violated the Golden Saber Covenant. Now, even if you wanted to return the Golden Saber, I wouldn't accept it!"
"And believe me, in less than three months, your Bai Family will be completely wiped from the face of Jiangcheng!"
Bai Shoucheng clutched his stinging-hot face, a mixture of fury and terror churning within him.
'Has the Bai Family really reached a dead end?'
'Is there really no way to salvage this?!'
Just as he was debating whether to kill Xiao Ye and end this once and for all or to get on his knees and beg for mercy, an anxious shout rang out from behind him.
"Dad, it's terrible!"
From a distance, a delicate-looking girl came running over.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with skin as white as snow and small, delicate features, giving her the adorable appearance of a doll.
The girl's face was deathly pale as she ran, and she was clearly terrified. "Dad, just now, Grandpa… Grandpa's dead!"
"He was fine one moment, but then he suddenly started convulsing, and then he bled from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth and died suddenly!"