Volume 4, Chapter 108 – Human Hearts

Bai Maoxu was the classic kind of child who seemed far older than his years. On ordinary days, he looked carefree and heedless, but in truth, many adults were not nearly as quick-witted as he was.

So naturally, he had spoken those words on purpose.

Just as he had said, there were no outsiders here, and it was a rare occasion for the whole family to make time and more or less gather together. His little speech had not only been meant to test Bai Xiang and confirm the suspicions in his own heart, but also to give the rest of the family a warning.

Because the bai family was already doing the work of rebellion.

Whether or not you actually become emperor, once you start doing this sort of thing, there is no turning back anymore.

The reason he had done this was because Bai Maoxu had noticed that some of the people in the family, especially his own mother Shen Xuelan and First Aunt Zhu Ying, were still not taking this matter seriously enough.

Take Shen Xuelan as an example. She still followed the news from other provinces every day, especially news from Yujing City and whatever was happening at court. When Bai Maoxu occasionally tested her on purpose, the answers she gave were never very satisfying.

It all felt as if… part of the bai family had already gathered its strength and was preparing to rebel, while another part only wanted to risk everything to win justice for Bai Nianchan, and still retained hope for the continuation of the Yu Emperor Sacred Dynasty’s Dao lineage, and for the next emperor.

To Bai Maoxu, that was an extremely dangerous state of affairs. In his view, if something like this was going to be done at all, then it had to be done thoroughly.

Throughout history, there had been countless examples. Any family that was the first to raise the banner of rebellion, if it ultimately failed to become the imperial house, never came to a good end.

No matter who became emperor afterward, that family would almost certainly be dragged out and dealt with. The given reason would always be that it had thrown the order of the world into chaos and caused endless killing and calamity. All the blame would be dumped onto them like a bucket of filth, just to highlight the new ruler’s own benevolence and virtue.

So from the standpoint of private interest, even if only to preserve the family, to preserve himself, and to preserve future generations, Bai Maoxu of course hoped Bai Xiang would become the new emperor.

And from the standpoint of public good, that was even more the case.

The Sacred Emperors recorded in the histories had mostly had parts of their lives embellished by later generations simply because they died young. But even so, in Bai Maoxu’s eyes, those people’s early strength, achievements, and virtue still did not match Bai Xiang.

Rather than letting the world be smashed to pieces in a chaotic age, with countless people fighting over that position until all living things suffered and nine out of ten homes stood empty, only to select some person nobody really knew, whose character and morality were uncertain, it would be better to let Elder Sister ascend and become the female emperor.

“Maoxu… you!?”

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Even Bai Guanshan was deeply shocked by those words. He quickly shot a glance at Bai Xiang’s expression and saw that she did not seem very angry. Only then did he glare at Bai Maoxu, looking as though he were seeing the boy for the first time.

He wants Xiang’er to become the female emperor?

The resistance to that would not be ordinary at all.

In Bai Guanshan’s view, Bai Maoxu had a mature side, but the way he thought about things was still too simple.

The reason for that was that the histories generally evaluated female emperors rather poorly. That was because the female emperors who had appeared in history had all failed to demonstrate sufficient merit. Instead, they had been excessively emotional, acted recklessly, damaged the strength of the state, and had even brought about later ages of chaos.

With that background in place, if you wanted in modern times to support another female emperor onto the throne, the difficulty would be enormous.

First, none of the scholars or political factions would support you.

Second, if the situation grew any more chaotic and the bai family formally entered the struggle for supremacy, the banner you raised would be very difficult for the world at large to recognize.

The common people harbored a deep fear of such a thing.

It was true that Great Yu had many supernatural powers, and Xiang’er’s current strength was not far from that of an immortal. But to govern the state purely by force…?

Surely we cannot just kill every last person who opposes us.

“It’s fine.” Bai Xiang stopped Shen Xuelan from trying to apologize to her, turned her head to look at Bai Maoxu, and said, “Maoxu is only being a little impatient.”

The moment those words came out, even someone as dull as little sister Bai Leying felt numb.

Impatient… impatient?

Not “he shouldn’t say that”? Only “impatient”?

That was already as good as saying it outright. It meant that regardless of whether Bai Xiang truly intended to do such a thing, at the very least she had not never considered it.

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And judging from her attitude…

Most importantly, judging from the aura currently surrounding her, she seemed already to have taken on some responsibility for whether or not she would do this. She had already made up her mind to bear responsibility for certain actions.

Even after Bai Xiang disappeared through the doorway, the members of the bai family still could not recover from their shock for a long time.

“I think… this matter is not impossible.”

The one who broke the silence was Bai Lianzhou.

He said in a deep voice, “The people of the world fear a female emperor as though fearing a tiger, terrified that another great catastrophe will be born and that rites and music will collapse.”

“But in the Great Yu of today, the emperor has no Dao, does not honor rites and law, and people are gradually abandoning morality. Is that not already a collapse of rites and music?”

“And besides, have you not noticed that Xiang’er is plainly different from ordinary women?”

That was true…

With Bai Lianzhou’s words, everyone found themselves nodding inwardly.

In terms of talent.

In terms of character.

In terms of conduct.

In terms of virtue.

She was not merely different from ordinary women. Even if one ignored gender altogether and counted all the outstanding figures of the age as well, how many people were there who could compare to Bai Xiang?

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Bai Lianzhou looked as though he wanted to say more but hesitated.

The truth was, there were some things that were not easy for him to put into words. Bai Xiang was very obviously walking a path that fused Buddhist and Daoist learning in classical principles, and even mixed in other schools and Confucian thought. Combined with her study of all those doctrines and her natural unusual appearance, it gave her a special bearing.

Bai Lianzhou did not know what others thought, but at the very least, for himself, as time passed and Bai Xiang’s strength grew, as the weight of her authority deepened, whenever those golden pupils turned toward him, he could sense from that face a trace of solemn divinity.

That kind of bearing and appearance, when paired with her strength and virtue, had an exceptional effect when it came to winning people’s hearts.

Hadn’t Zhang Xianzhi submitted as well?

And his senior brother, Xu Ling, Scholar Xu, after meeting Xiang’er, had he not also willingly remained behind to serve as an official?

It was precisely because of these examples that Bai Lianzhou firmly believed this: Bai Xiang possessed not only force, but also extremely powerful personal charisma.

That sort of charisma naturally had no use in direct combat. But if she could defeat all her enemies by force, then its true value would appear.

In other words, for any other woman to become the female emperor would be impossible.

But if it were her, everyone who had met her would hesitate. At the very least, they would genuinely consider whether it might be possible.

That was enough.

In Bai Lianzhou’s eyes, if Bai Xiang could reach that point, then she was absolutely qualified to lead the bai family into the chaotic age and eventually ascend to the highest throne.

“That does seem right…”

“Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard rumors that the broad framework of Maozhou’s policies was actually proposed by Xiang’er, while Zhang Xianzhi only refined them and carried them out.”

“Oh? She is capable in governance too?”

“Xiang’er has read the hundred classics since childhood. She can take up Buddhist and Daoist principles as easily as breathing. Having that kind of talent would make sense.”

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“Just look at Zhennan, and at Maozhou.”

“Have you noticed? Many of the officials from Chilong truly approve of her and are willing to follow her in building Maozhou.”

“For example, Chief Inspector Zhang. Chief Inspector Zhang treats Xiang’er with great respect.”

“And the learned men too. Principal Zhang even came to bring me a gift on the last holiday, and mentioned Xiang’er several times in the course of speaking.”

“She did not force them into this with strength. Rather, they personally saw how she behaved when facing calamity, and they saw how she treated the common people.”

“That’s right. They recognized Xiang’er’s merit.”

“And this new province has become prosperous too. It’s only been a year. Who could have imagined that back then?”

The adults were discussing things with lowered voices, but still quite heatedly. That left only the two younger ones, Bai Maoxu and Bai Leying, standing off to one side with no one paying them any attention.

Bai Leying was outwardly as quiet as a chicken, but inwardly her heart was a stormy sea.

Wait… she had thought that after the family moved to Maozhou they would at most become local bigshots, and she had never paid much attention to it. Usually, aside from practicing swordsmanship, she had even sought out former classmates who had come over from Chilong, and every so often she still found time to do band activities.

And now you’re telling me this is actually serious?

I… I haven’t done anything. Usually I just practice swordsmanship and mess around with the band. Am I about to become part of the imperial clan?

Overwhelming excitement, fear, and confusion engulfed Bai Leying, leaving her helpless and utterly at sea.

The adults certainly had no time for her now, so like a drowning person grasping after straw, she turned her gaze toward the one who had started it all.

Only to see Bai Maoxu squatting on the edge of the steps, happily playing on his phone.