"Kneel!"
As soon as they entered the study, Bai Wenshan dropped the gentle smile from his face.
He stared darkly at his young granddaughter standing before him.
He hadn't expected her to be so audacious.
Bai Liuyue stood there, still appearing timid, yet she was completely unfazed by the old man's imposing aura.
There was not a trace of fear in her clear, bright eyes.
"Kneel for what?" she asked.
Bai Wenshan slammed his hand heavily onto the desk and said coldly,
"How could it be such a coincidence? Baocheng and Baozhu were caught by the Fengtian warlord's men on their way to the ferry?"
"Wasn't it you who tipped them off? Is this how you scheme against your own brother and sister?"
"I thought the second branch of the family had finally produced an obedient child, but to my surprise, you are just as wicked!"
The corners of Bai Liuyue's lips curled up slightly, rippling into a faint smile.
"Grandfather, if I am a wicked seed, I take after my father, and my father takes after you."
"When we were in the Northwest, Bai Baocheng laid a hand on me and caused Pei Yu to take a bullet to the arm. Tell me, if Marshal Pei found out about this, would he kill Bai Baocheng?"
"I have already been very polite."
She spoke these words slowly and unhurriedly.
This caused a flash of surprise in Bai Wenshan's eyes. He hadn't expected this usually inconspicuous granddaughter to be so intelligent and adept at manipulating people's hearts.
Bai Wenshan took a deep breath.
He knew about the covert and overt struggles between his two sons, and he had tacitly approved of them.
After all, there were no cowards in the Bai family. If they wanted the family to prosper, necessary competition was indispensable.
But he hadn't expected the grandchildren to start so early.
He felt somewhat conflicted.
Bai Wenshan looked at her with a dark, heavy gaze.
"Are you dissatisfied that I made you marry into the Northwest in your cousin's place?"
Bai Liuyue shook her head slightly and said,
"I have never had any objections to your arrangements, Grandfather."
"However, what displeases me is why you treat me like a mere object, to be summoned and dismissed at will."
"My mother isn't sick at all, is she? The servants in the estate only said so under your orders. Does my father know?"
"Who are you planning to give me to this time, Grandfather?"
As the last sentence fell, Bai Liuyue shed her gentle and obedient facade, her full aura instantly erupting.
Her gaze was as sharp as a knife, her back straight, as she stood before Bai Wenshan.
She showed absolutely no fear.
A hoarse chuckle escaped Bai Wenshan's throat, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his sharp eyes beneath light white eyebrows.
The old man looked at his young granddaughter with satisfaction.
The once inconspicuous little flower seemed to have unknowingly grown into a sturdy sapling.
"Yue, you are more like me than Baozhu is," he said.
"Why did the Jin clique and the Fengtian clique start fighting? It's just an act, right? Grandfather, your relationship with the Northwest has changed..."
Bai Liuyue suddenly narrowed her eyes.
She thought of a terrifying possibility.
There are no permanent friends, nor are there permanent alliances.
Now that the marriage agreement between Xie Chengxiao and Bai Baozhu had been dissolved, Bai Wenshan had no intention of continuing to marry her off to Xie Chengxiao.
Then what about the so-called friendship between him and Xie Zhenning?
Would the political landscape between Jinzhong and the Northwest change?
Ah.
This was truly terrible.
Could her relationship with Xie Chengxiao turn into a bitter blood feud...
Bai Liuyue thought in distress, why did the difficulty of her conquest always have to increase?
Bai Wenshan spoke up,
"Yue, Grandfather plans to marry you to the second son of the Presidential Palace. What do you think?"
Jiang Yunshen?
Bai Liuyue didn't even know him.
Besides, Bai Wenshan wasn't actually asking for her opinion by saying this.
It was merely a notification.
He had said the exact same thing back then: Yue, Grandfather plans to marry you to Young Marshal Xie of the Northwest. What do you think?
He didn't allow her to think at all before directly packing her up and sending her to the Northwest.
"Grandfather," Bai Liuyue pursed her lips and said, "I don't want to be a chess piece. If you want me to cooperate, you must first let me sit at the table."
"What do you think?"
Bai Wenshan carefully evaluated his young granddaughter.
The young girl before him was nothing like the rigid, well-bred lady the outside world rumored her to be, nor was she as radical and naive as his eldest granddaughter Baozhu, who had studied abroad.
"What do you want?" he asked tentatively.
"Pei Yu likes me, you know that." Bai Liuyue curled her lips and added, "So he should be able to help persuade Marshal Pei."
"I want the position of Women's Advisor in the Jinzhong Provincial Assembly."
This was a special position for women to participate in politics.
Its purpose was to elevate women's political status and protect women's rights.
Bai Baozhu's efforts to fight for women's rights were just a few lines of ink in the New Nation Newspaper, which couldn't change anything at all.
But the position Bai Liuyue wanted.
Held real power.
Bai Wenshan had still underestimated her ambition.
"You want to enter politics?"
"Grandfather, our Bai family has always been a political family in Jinzhong. You are the Director of the Finance Department, Uncle is the Section Chief of General Affairs, and my father is the Chief Secretary."
"Even Bai Baocheng is a Counselor. So, it's not too much for me to want to be the Women's Advisor for the Jinzhong Provincial Assembly, is it?"
The corners of her lips curled upward gracefully.
Bai Wenshan shook his head slightly.
He originally thought Bai Baozhu's previous actions were bold, but what his young granddaughter was proposing right now was true audacity.
Bai Liuyue smiled.
She waited in silence for his response.
Whether it was being the wife of Young Marshal Xie, the wife of Young Marshal Pei, or the wife of the Presidential Palace's second son, none of it compared to having her own seat in the political arena of the new Republic.
Bai Wenshan hesitated for a moment and said,
"You should know that even with the development of the New Culture Movement, women participating in politics is still extremely rare. You would have to withstand a great deal of external pressure."
Ha! This old fox.
It would be difficult for anyone else, but for this Director of the Finance Department, it would be a breeze.
In the territory of Jinzhong, even Marshal Pei had to give Bai Wenshan some face.
He was merely weighing the pros and cons.
Bai Liuyue curved her lips into a smile.
She asked, seemingly casually,
"That second son of the Presidential Palace took the initiative to ask for my hand in marriage, didn't he?"
"Grandfather, did you originally want to marry my cousin off to him?"
Bai Wenshan was stunned.
How did she even know this?
Using retreat as an advance, Bai Liuyue smiled, bowed slightly, and curtsied.
"Why don't you think it over carefully, Grandfather? I've been away from Jinzhong for so long, I should head home first."
"My mother must truly miss me, so I will take my leave now."
Bai Liuyue opened the study door and bumped right into Bai Baozhu. Her complexion looked poor, and it was unknown how much of the conversation she had just overheard.
Regardless, Bai Liuyue didn't care.
While Bai Baozhu was still chasing after romance and love, Bai Liuyue had already figured out how this world should be played.
"Wait! Don't you like Xie Chengxiao?" Bai Baozhu called out to stop her.
"Cousin, do you truly like Xie Chengxiao? Or do you just want to be the Young Marshal's wife and live a life free of worries?"
Bai Liuyue delivered a soul-searching question.
Bai Baozhu froze.
Bai Liuyue smiled faintly and said,
"Never place your sense of security on another person, no matter who they are. The only person who can give you true security is yourself."
