Bai Qingyan cupped her fists and bowed to the Crown Prince: “Protecting the Crown Prince is my duty as a subject. Your Highness is too kind.”

The Crown Prince’s heart filled with even deeper gratitude. Not only did Bai Qingyan not claim credit for herself, but she also didn’t mention the trouble she went through to arrange the divine deer incident, acting as if nothing had happened.

The Crown Prince gripped the sachet in his hand tightly. Since Bai Qingyan had gone to such lengths for him, he had received this favor and would surely repay her double in the future…

“How should we bring this divine deer to the capital?” The Crown Prince was troubled.

“Your Highness may leave this matter to General Zhang Duanrui. Your Highness has been frightened and should rest in the carriage!” Bai Qingyan said.

The Crown Prince nodded, called Zhang Duanrui to handle the divine deer matter, then looked deeply at Bai Qingyan before turning and mounting his horse to gallop away. Bai Qingyan watched his heroic and spirited figure, a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“Your Highness!” Old Fang hurried to the Crown Prince with a deep bow, his face pale as he lowered his voice, “Your Highness, are you injured anywhere?”

The Crown Prince shook his head: “Old Fang need not worry. I am not injured.”

“Bai Qingyan was truly too bold! If something had happened to Your Highness, even a hundred of her heads wouldn’t be enough to compensate!” Old Fang gritted his teeth, cold sweat still breaking out on his back when he thought of that critical moment.

Following behind, Qin Shangzhi lowered his eyes, barely able to restrain himself from arguing with Old Fang, when he heard the Crown Prince’s pleased voice: “Old Fang, do not speak of General Bai in such a way! What General Bai did was well-calculated!”

Qin Shangzhi’s eyebrows jumped.

Having followed the Crown Prince for so long, this was the first time Qin Shangzhi had heard the Crown Prince contradict Old Fang’s words so directly.

Old Fang was greatly astonished.

“Let’s go first!”

After speaking, the Crown Prince boarded his carriage.

The messenger rode straight to the front where Bai Qingyan was leading the troops. After the Crown Prince and others boarded their carriages and the soldiers returned to formation, Bai Qingyan nodded, pulled the reins, and shouted: “Advance!”

The messenger rode swiftly along the winding dragon-like formation, galloping and shouting orders: “Advance!”

Bai Jinzhi, whose heart was still beating rapidly, rode beside Bai Qingyan, her palms sweaty. When the giant deer had charged at her elder sister just now, she had nearly been frightened to death: “Elder Sister, are you injured?”

Bai Qingyan reached out to pat Bai Jinzhi’s head and smiled: “I’m fine, don’t worry!” After finishing, she raised her eyes to look toward the high slope, thinking that after her milk brother Xiao Ruojiang finished this task, he would rush nonstop to find A’Jue. She hoped her milk brother’s injuries could hold out.

On the twelfth day of the tenth month in the sixteenth year of Xuanjia, the Crown Prince returned triumphant from the Southern frontier. At Yuqing Mountain, a white deer divine beast descended from heaven, which Jin regarded as an auspicious omen. The divine beast submitted and traveled with the army toward the capital.

The twenty-fifth day of the tenth month.

The capital city, the Bai residence.

Before dawn broke, servants were already sweeping the courtyards, and people were entering through the side gates.

In the ancient and distinguished Bai residence, cooking smoke rose from the kitchens. Maids from various courtyards came to fetch hot water from the kitchen in order, walking softly along the corridors back to their respective quarters, their faces glowing with vitality and joy.

Today, the eldest miss and fourth miss, who had campaigned in the Southern frontier, would return.

The great victory in the Southern frontier meant that no one in the capital would dare say again that all the Bai family’s sons had perished in the Southern frontier, leaving the Bai family with no standing in the capital.

Even though the Bai family now had only daughters, they were heroines who yielded to no man!

This victory was particularly uplifting for the Bai family.

Those petty people who had once trampled on the Bai family when they were down, never expecting that the Bai family would turn things around under the eldest miss’s leadership, when these same petty people heard news of the eldest miss’s Southern frontier victory, they nearly lost their jaws in shock. The Bai family servants felt vindicated and proud.

Originally, the lady of the house, Li Shi, and Dong Shi had planned to go outside the capital today to welcome Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi back.

Dong Shi said that Bai Qingyan’s current fame was too great, and within the capital, there were various rumors about Bai Qingyan burning and killing surrendered prisoners on the Southern frontier, with mixed praise and criticism.

Meeting them at the door would be less conspicuous than meeting them at the city gates.

Despite these words, as Dong Shi was still their mother… knowing her daughters had risked their lives on the battlefield, her heart had been constantly on edge. Now that her daughters were returning victorious, she naturally wished she could sprout wings and fly to her daughters’ side to embrace them.

Having tossed and turned sleeplessly almost all night, she rose early to instruct the kitchen to prepare dishes that Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi loved to eat, then sat in the main hall listening to servants report news from outside. Dong Shi was so nervous that her handkerchief was soaked with sweat from her palms.

The lady of the house Li Shi arrived early, and the fifth lady, fourth lady, and second lady also waited in the main hall for Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi.

Li Shi couldn’t sit still and kept craning her neck to look outside.

“Sister-in-law, don’t be anxious. We have servants at the south gate—they’ll report as soon as they see anyone! Besides, when the great army returns victorious, they’ll surely go to the palace first to see His Majesty before coming home!”

Li Shi was experienced in such matters, but this was her first time… she was truly anxious beyond measure.

At the south gate of the capital.

Lu Yuanpeng led the capital’s wealthy young men, bringing wine and riding horses, heading to the south gate to welcome the triumphant army and see the white deer divine beast, but more importantly, to welcome the Bai family sisters.

In truth, when the successive victory reports first came from the Southern frontier, they were all attributed to the Crown Prince’s achievements, and those of Zhang Duanrui, Shi Panshan, Zhen Zeping, and others.

Who would have known that later news would spread that just as the Crown Prince’s army reached Wanping, the situation became critical, and it was the Bai family’s eldest miss Bai Qingyan who led fifty thousand reinforcements to achieve great victory over Western Liang’s army of over a hundred thousand.

Only then did Lu Yuanpeng learn that the Bai family’s eldest miss, who had been said to be ill at home, had gone to the Southern frontier!

It was unimaginable that the Bai family’s eldest miss, having lost her martial arts and dragging her frail, sickly body, had achieved great victory over Western Liang’s fearsome General Yun Poxing.

The Bai family’s eldest miss, being a woman, had still rushed to the Southern frontier to protect the Kingdom and people, shedding blood and sweat, while Lu Yuanpeng, a grown man, had cowered in the capital! Feeling both deeply ashamed and blood boiling with excitement, he had rallied the capital’s wealthy young men, planning to ride out with swords to rush to the Southern frontier, but just as they left the city, they were caught and brought back by people sent by their respective elders.

Lu Yuanpeng, who had proposed going to the Southern frontier, suffered the worst fate—his grandfather whipped him twenty lashes and kept him confined for reflection until the Southern frontier situation was settled and Western Liang sued for peace. Only then did his grandfather release him.

Learning that the great army would return to the city today, Lu Yuanpeng specifically called his friends to gather at the south gate.

Not only Lu Yuanpeng and his group, but many common people from the capital had also gathered at the south city gate, discussing the Southern frontier war, the white deer divine beast they had never seen, and the Western Liang princess Li Tianfu and Prince Yan Li Zhijie.

“They’re coming!”

Lu Yuanpeng, mounted on his tall horse, could faintly see banners fluttering in the distance, and his whole being became excited.

Soon they could see the army stretching like a black dragon in the distance, and the thunderous, orderly sound of horse hooves struck their hearts like drums, stirring their blood with excitement.