Chapter 391: The Bai Family and Bai Yuanyuan (Thanks to the book friend Zuokanfengqiyunqing for the reward!)
Late at night, Ye Mingsheng was lying on the beautiful woman's jade-like back, while Bai Yuanyuan was carefully listening to Ye Mingsheng's ears.

Under Bai Yuanyuan's gentle care, Ye Mingsheng, who was completely relaxed, felt more and more sleepy. Just when Bai Yuanyuan thought that Ye Mingsheng was about to fall asleep and his movements became gentler, Ye Mingsheng suddenly asked as if he remembered something:
"Yuanyuan, do you have two brothers, one named Bai Changrong and the other named Bai Changjiu?"

Bai Yuanyuan was stunned when she heard Ye Mingsheng's words. Although she didn't know why Ye Mingsheng asked this, Bai Yuanyuan nodded and said:
"Yes, Bai Changjiu, Bai Changrong is indeed my biological brother from the same mother!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard that, and then he didn't say anything else. Seeing Ye Mingsheng stop talking halfway, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. She knew that the man in front of her had become the local emperor of Liaoyang and the overlord of the Great Zhou. Her two brothers were now working under him...
When Bai Yuanyuan thought of this, she became even more frightened, and was secretly worried that her two brothers had done something wrong to anger Ye Mingsheng. Her beautiful eyes, like water, quietly looked at Ye Mingsheng's face, trying to find some clues from it.

But what disappointed her was that Ye Mingsheng had his eyes slightly closed and his face was very calm. He was snoring and had actually fallen asleep. Seeing this, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't bear to disturb Ye Mingsheng's sleep, so she suppressed her doubts and ordered the maid outside the room to blow out the lights.

Although the lights were off and it was late at night, Bai Yuanyuan, who was asked this by Ye Mingsheng, could not fall asleep no matter what. Her mind was full of thoughts about why Ye Mingsheng suddenly asked about her two brothers. It had been a while since she was dominated by Ye Mingsheng, and Bai Yuanyuan had gradually figured out Ye Mingsheng's temper.

In her eyes, Ye Mingsheng was a man who was both unbridled and restrained. In order to completely occupy her, he could instruct his men to create accidents and send Wang Jin and the others to death. Although she obviously liked her serving him, she would only stay with her for one night each time and leave on time the next morning...
When Bai Yuanyuan first got together with Ye Mingsheng, she had never imagined that Ye Mingsheng would rise so quickly. In less than a year, he went from being the general of Fengzhou to the master of the entire Liaoyang.

While this made Bai Yuanyuan happy and proud, she also felt a sense of crisis in her heart. Ever since Ye Mingsheng eliminated the Wang family, she, Bai Yuanyuan, had no way out and could only rely on Ye Mingsheng in the future.

As a noble lady born in an official family, Bai Yuanyuan could not tolerate her identity in the days to come being just Ye Mingsheng's mistress, living without a name or status in a deep courtyard, waiting for Ye Mingsheng's arrival with resentment every day.

After learning that Ye Mingsheng's two concubines, one a female doctor picked up from outside and the other a maid, were of lower status, Bai Yuanyuan, who came from an official family, became more and more indignant and wanted to ask Ye Mingsheng for a legitimate status. She didn't even dare to tell her family about her current situation for fear of bringing shame to them.

Ye Mingsheng is the local emperor of Liaoyang now. It is not shameful for her to be a concubine by his side. It can also be a great help to her family...
Although she had such thoughts in her mind, Bai Yuanyuan was a very smart woman. She knew that Ye Mingsheng was not the kind of person who would satisfy her demands as long as she acted coquettishly. And her current status as a widow made it not a good thing for Ye Mingsheng to marry her.

Ye Mingsheng is the kind of person who will give naturally if he is willing to give. If he is not willing to give it to you and you insist on asking for it, then not only will he not satisfy you, he will even feel disgusted with you. Ye Mingsheng is such a high-ranking official now, and he can just move his fingers and there will be countless women who will want to offer themselves to him.

It is a man's nature to get tired of the old and love the new. If I rashly ask for a name, not only will I get nothing, but Ye Mingsheng might even be cruel enough to abandon me. In that case, Bai Yuanyuan, who has already given everything for Ye Mingsheng, will be in tears.
Therefore, Bai Yuanyuan, who lacked a sense of security, did not dare to make any requests to Ye Mingsheng, let alone use her relationship with Ye Mingsheng to seek benefits for her family. She was always trying to maintain the image of herself as obedient and sensible in Ye Mingsheng's mind, waiting for a suitable opportunity...
But now that this opportunity has not come, it is very likely that she has received danger signals from her two brothers. In Bai Yuanyuan's opinion, hearing the names of her two brothers from a cruel and ruthless man like Ye Mingsheng is definitely not a good thing.

Thinking of this, Bai Yuanyuan, who felt very aggrieved, couldn't help but shed two lines of tears from her eyes, and she began to sob softly.

Although Bai Yuanyuan's crying was not loud, Ye Mingsheng, who had a light sleep, was still awakened by her crying.

Looking at the pitiful Bai Yuanyuan crying, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but ask with concern:
"Yuanyuan, what happened to you? Did you have a nightmare?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Bai Yuanyuan shook her head while crying. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng, who was confused and didn't know what was going on, asked in confusion:

"Since it's not a nightmare, then Yuanyuan, what happened to you? What made you cry so sadly?"

Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Bai Yuanyuan thought of the safety of her two brothers, and could not care about anything else and cried to Ye Mingsheng:

"I am following you, my lord. I dare not ask for anything else. I just hope that my family can be safe!"

"When I was at my mother's house, my two brothers were the best to me and always took good care of me. I don't know what they did wrong, but I beg you to spare my brothers' lives for my sake. My family will be grateful to you..."

After the words fell, Bai Yuanyuan, with tears on her face, stood up from the bed and knelt in front of Ye Mingsheng. Her words confused Ye Mingsheng. He didn't know what was going on and why Bai Yuanyuan suddenly begged for mercy. He didn't dare to make a promise easily. He hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:
"Bai Changrong, Bai Changjiu, what did they do?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Bai Yuanyuan, who was kneeling on the ground, cried and said:

"Didn't you say that my two brothers were guilty?"

Ye Mingsheng probably understood what was going on after hearing this. He shook his head and said with a smile:

"When did I say that Bai Changrong and Bai Changjiu were guilty?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng’s expression did not seem fake, Bai Yuanyuan seemed to realize that she had thought too much. Her face slightly blushed and she pretended to wipe the tears from her eyes and cheeks to hide her embarrassment.
At this time, Ye Mingsheng also helped her up from the cold floor tiles and said soothingly:

"Don't worry, your two brothers, Bai Changrong and Bai Changjiu, are doing pretty well in their positions. The reason I asked you about them is that I want to promote them!" Perhaps happiness came too suddenly, and the transition from extreme sadness to extreme joy was too fast, Bai Yuanyuan was a little dazed for a while, and it took her a while to react to what Ye Mingsheng said. She grabbed Ye Mingsheng's arm and said expectantly:

"Sir, you are not trying to deceive me, are you?"

After scratching Bai Yuanyuan's delicate cheek, Ye Mingsheng said with a smile:

"When did I ever lie to you?"

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Bai Yuanyuan seemed to recall some scenes, and a shy blush suddenly appeared on her fair cheeks. She said in a soft voice:

"Sir, you are the most trustworthy..."

"By the way, have you told your family about us?" Ye Mingsheng looked at Bai Yuanyuan and asked:

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Bai Yuanyuan lowered her head and said nothing, looking a little melancholy. She was originally the daughter-in-law of Wang Jin, the magistrate of Fengzhou, and was also a noble lady in Liaoyang, living a life of luxury.

Now Ye Mingsheng has taken possession of her without any status or status. For Bai Yuanyuan, who has received the traditional education of the three obediences and four virtues, she naturally knows that this is not something glorious or worth bragging about, so she did not dare to tell her family about her and Ye Mingsheng.

Although Bai Yuanyuan didn't say anything, Ye Mingsheng knew the answer by looking at her like this, and he couldn't help but touch her pretty face with some pity.

Although he was only attracted to Bai Yuanyuan at first and wanted to vent his lust, but after spending time together, Ye Mingsheng began to like her. This considerate young woman who knew what he was going to do with just a glance from her...
After a while, Bai Yuanyuan came out of her depressed mood and looked at Ye Mingsheng with beautiful eyes, as if she wanted to thank Ye Mingsheng very much.

Because there are still many important things to do tomorrow, including meetings with several key figures, and he has been very presumptuous recently after getting a taste of An Miaoyi, so his life is more important. Ye Mingsheng resisted the urge to kill the pretty young woman on the spot, and persuaded Bai Yuanyuan to go back to bed to sleep.

Looking at Bai Yuanyuan, who was smiling happily while sleeping beside him, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but shook his head, sighing at the deep affection between the Bai brothers and sisters.

What he just said to Bai Yuanyuan was part true and part false. It was true that he wanted to promote the Bai brothers, but it was not as he said that the Bai brothers were doing a good job in their respective positions.

The Bai family, where Bai Yuanyuan was born, was a fairly large official family in Dongning Prefecture. There were people in the family who had been officials for generations. Five generations ago, someone had served as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Although the family had fallen into decline in recent years, they had to rely on the Yun family, one of the three clans in Liaoyang, to survive.

However, the power of the Bai family is not small. The eldest son of the family, Bai Changrong, is the commander of thousands of soldiers in the army. The second son, Bai Changjiu, is also the magistrate of Yulong County, one of the few wealthy counties in Liaoyang, managing more than 100,000 people in the county.

The Bai family not only has people in the government and the military, but also owns tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in Yulong County and Sanyuan County of Dongning Prefecture. They are a typical large landowner family with considerable wealth.

Seriously speaking, Bai Yuanyuan's father, Bai Wanhao, was a real character. When the Bai family was passed down to him, the family business was almost ruined. Although it was a family of officials, the whole family relied on the salaries of Bai Wanhao and several other officials in the family to survive. Although they could afford to eat, the family did not live a rich life...

Under such circumstances, Bai Wanhao was determined to revitalize his family. Although he was only a county clerk, he actively sought official positions in official circles. He spoke differently to different people and finally won the appreciation of his superiors during an inspection. He was promoted to become a county magistrate in Lelang Prefecture.

After becoming a county magistrate, Bai Wanhao was still not satisfied. He tried every means to enter the circle of big families and became close friends with Yun Xiuwei, the fourth master of the Yun family. After getting on the strong support of the Yun family, Yun Wanhao's official career gradually became smooth. He was transferred from a lower-class poor county to a wealthy county with abundant oil and water, and later he even worked his way up to the sixth-rank judge of Xuantu Prefecture.

In addition to his successful career in officialdom, Bai Wanhao also picked up a lot of leftovers from the Yun family along the way with the Bai family. Although they were just leftovers, they made the Bai family earn a lot of money and accumulated a lot of wealth.

Later, after Bai Wanhao retired and returned to his hometown due to his old age, he relied on the connections he had accumulated in the Liaoyang officialdom for many years to push his two mediocre sons, one to the position of commander and the other to the position of county magistrate. In general, reading Bai Wanhao's life is like reading the struggle and development history of a small family...

Looking at Bai Wanhao's rise to wealth, in addition to the help of the Yun family, Bai Wanhao's own efforts also contributed greatly. His political sense is very sharp, and he is always able to stand on the right side at critical moments. This time, Bai Wanhao stood on Ye Mingsheng's side!
Three days ago, Gu Sansi came to report to Ye Mingsheng that the magistrate of Yulong County, Bai Changjiu, had come to him with a generous gift. What he meant was that the Bai family wanted to completely defect from the local faction, and hoped that Gu Sansi could introduce him to meet Ye Mingsheng.

When Ye Mingsheng first heard the name Bai Changjiu from Gu Sansi, he just felt that it sounded familiar and didn't think too much about it. Later, after Ye Kui reminded him, he realized that this Bai Changjiu was Bai Yuanyuan's second brother.

At that time, he thought that Bai Yuanyuan had told her parents about their relationship, so her parents wanted to rely on the relationship between Bai Yuanyuan and themselves to gain some benefits for political speculation.

(Because some book friends have responded that the long analysis of the situation was a bit boring and the sense of immersion was not strong, so I added these two chapters to make some adjustments. I will return to the main line to advance the plot tomorrow. Please stay tuned.)
(End of this chapter)