*

Without a doubt, the most sought-after female in the entire Federation was Bai Su.

Whether it was her own power, her personal status, or the partner she had chosen, she was the primary topic of discussion throughout the Federation.

But Bai Su had no time for the controversies of the outside world. Her heart and mind were completely focused on her little ones.

Lu Tingyan had helped her officially take ownership of the Little White Spider, renaming it Bai Xiao Zhu to match the naming format of her other little cubs.

The little one’s internal skeleton had already healed, and its cast had been removed.

Bai Su, along with the discharged Bai Xiao Zhu and her two other little ones, moved into their new home.

At Bai Su’s direction, Little Tiger and the other cat cubs had also found new adoptive families.

Bai Su had originally wanted to raise them alongside her own, but Lu Tingyan suggested finding them more ordinary families.

The little ones, Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe, were exceptionally talented, and he planned to take them to the military for training.

Besides, those kids were incredibly audacious. They had formed their own Bounty Hunter Guild in the black market and had brought a massive, disorderly crowd as reinforcements during the last operation—a matter he had yet to fully investigate.

Little Tiger and the cat cubs had ordinary potential and lacked even a trace of spiritual power. Forcing them to stay would only widen the gap between them and Bai Xiaolang’s group, which wouldn’t be good for their mental and emotional development.

After much consideration, Bai Su had a talk with Little Tiger and the cat cubs.

The little ones all expressed a desire for more ordinary families, unwilling to be a "burden" to Bai Su any longer.

Bai Su also knew that her own children’s astonishing talents would make Little Tiger and the others feel an immense sense of disparity.

After some thought, she agreed with Lu Tingyan’s approach and quickly found warm, stable, and ordinary families to adopt the little ones.

The mountaintop restaurant had been destroyed, so Lu Tingyan took the opportunity of Bai Su’s investiture to build her a Duke Mansion.

Lately, Bai Su had been busy bonding with her little ones and nursing Bai Xiao Zhu back to health, leaving her with no time to deal with Bai Junlan.

Bai Junlan had brought people to request an audience several times, but she was never able to see her.

Ever since Bai Ruyan’s meltdown, provoked by Bai Su, Lu Tingyan and Yelias hadn’t dared to let just anyone in.

Left with no other choice, Bai Junlan had to shamelessly use her position as the head of the Female Protection Institution to beg Marquis Zhu Li for an invitation, which was how she barely managed to get an opportunity to enter the Duke Mansion.

She was led into the reception hall by a servant.

This Duke Mansion was built to be nearly as grand as the Imperial Palace. It was far more luxurious than Duke Zhu Li’s mansion and covered a much larger area—the back garden alone spanned three or four hills.

The main structure, an off-white building, looked both warm and solemn. Pink roses were planted everywhere, filling the air with a romantic atmosphere.

When Bai Junlan saw that a single hallway was lined with cultivated roses worth over three million per plant, her eyelid couldn’t help but twitch.

The roses in this one hallway were already a hundred times more expensive than the Bai family’s entire villa...

Even Duke Zhu Li wouldn’t have the resources to decorate such a lavish residence. One didn’t need to guess to know that this was Lu Tingyan’s handiwork.

Despite her age, Bai Junlan couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Bai Su was truly a different person now; no wonder she dared to provoke the Bai Family again and again.

Throughout the entire Duke Mansion, all the servants were, without exception, Border Collie Male Beastmen.

Servants trained from this type of Beastman commanded salaries of up to a million per month on the market. Most nobles considered it a great honor just to hire one as a butler.

But here, nearly every servant in sight was a Border Collie...

Bai Junlan had to admit, she was starting to sweat profusely.

Even after living for so many years, she had never witnessed such a luxurious display.

Neither the Yan Family nor the Bi Family from the Sub-Clan Tribes, nor even the mansion Lu Zhen Country had built for his son Lu Yanhua back when he was leader, could compare to this scale.

Thinking of this, Bai Junlan suddenly felt a renewed sense of confidence.

’I’ll have to give Bai Su a good talking-to later,’ she decided. ’Even with her noble status, she shouldn’t be so extravagant and wasteful. It makes it seem as if the young ladies from our Bai family are ignorant.’

In the reception hall.

Bai Su yawned, sitting lazily upon the main seat at the head of the hall.

The reception hall was flanked by thick Roman columns, with a three-story-high ceiling from which a magnificent crystal chandelier hung.

Directly opposite the main entrance, atop a short, twelve-step staircase, was Bai Su’s ducal throne.

She was wearing a fluffy pajama set, curled up into a ball on her seat, dozing off.

When the servant led Bai Junlan in, the first thing she saw was Bai Su slouching in her seat with no sense of decorum.

She cleared her throat in displeasure. "Bai Su."

Bai Su barely managed to come to her senses. Her eyes stared at Bai Junlan for a long moment before finally focusing. "What?"

Hearing this, Bai Junlan’s brow furrowed even deeper. "Is that any way to speak to an elder? ’What?’ Such impolite words."

Bai Su stared at her darkly. "If you have something to say, spit it out."

Bai Junlan swallowed her anger. Thinking of how hard it was to get this chance to see her, she suppressed her displeasure and sighed slowly. "Bai Su, I am your elder, after all. I would never harm you."

She had already prepared her speech before arriving. "Bai Su, I know you’ve had conflicts with the Bai family before. You’ve always resented us for exiling you, for kicking you out of the family."

"But that’s all in the past. We have offered to let you return to the Bai family many times. You should know when to take an opportunity when it’s offered, because you never know when that opportunity will disappear."

"Besides... I know that child, Xue’er... she died at your hands, didn’t she?"

Bai Su rolled her eyes. "You need evidence to make accusations like that. I’ll call the authorities for baseless slander."

Bai Junlan didn’t argue. She simply said, "I know what really happened. As long as you’re willing to return to the Bai family, I can forgive you for Xue’er’s death. I can even go against everyone else and make you the heir."

"You schemed to climb the social ladder, forced Xue’er to her death—the child with the purest Bai family bloodline—and then captured Rongrong. Wasn’t it all just to get a chance to return to the Bai family?"

"After all, with Xue’er and Rongrong gone, no one can threaten your status as a Dutch Rabbit. It makes it all the more logical for you to inherit the Bai family estate."

"This outcome, isn’t it exactly what you’ve wanted all along?"

The corner of Bai Su’s mouth twitched. "Are you done?"

Even though Bai Junlan was standing below her, she looked at Bai Su with the same condescending gaze.

Bai Su said, "I’ve discovered that you Bai Family members are quite good at deceiving yourselves."

"Are you Lion Rabbits just naturally stupid, with a few screws loose? Or are you just born without the ability to communicate normally with people?"

Bai Junlan had been respected her whole life. When had she ever been spoken to so crudely, especially by a junior?

Her face immediately darkened. She stared at Bai Su in warning. "What did you say?"

Bai Su was even more blunt. "I’m calling you an idiot. Is that simple enough for you to understand?"

"What on earth made you think I want to return to the Bai family?"

"What does your Bai family even amount to? You can’t compare to the great families like the Lu, Yan, and Bi Families, and you’re not even as good as the other wealthy clans. You’ve gotten a little bit of face among the aristocracy just because you managed to produce a few more females, and now you actually think you’re something special?"

"I’ve always wondered, where does your Bai Family’s arrogance come from?"

"You have no money and no power. What can you do besides delude yourselves?"

"Am I crazy? To give up being a perfectly good Duchess and run off to inherit your so-called Bai family estate?"

"That pathetic little inheritance of yours, the size of eye-gunk—tell me, could it even afford the row of roses in my hallway?"

Bai Junlan was so taken aback her old face flushed bright red. "You... you..."

Bai Su looked at her strangely. "Is that fertile bloodline of yours something to be proud of? I have the Healing Power. Even without the Bai family bloodline, countless females have become pregnant and given birth under my care. What makes the Bai family think you can even compare to me?"