When he learned that Bai Qingyan was trapped in Jiangzi City and unhesitatingly led troops from Anfen to Jiangzi City, he knew they were different.

“I must go…” Xiao Rongyan said in a low voice.

“Your wounds have just been properly rebandaged…”

“I must go take Yun Jing for Great Yan. This is what I owe Great Yan.”

The smile in Xiao Rongyan’s eyes was gentle yet calm. Because he couldn’t let go of his personal feelings, he had brought Yan troops who should have been fighting in Western Liang cities to Jiangzi City.

Now, he had to return to the battlefield to take Yun Jing for Great Yan to make amends.

Otherwise… if word reached his sister-in-law’s ears, who knew what she would think. She might create another situation that put A’Li in a difficult position, caught in the middle.

“A’Bao, I don’t want to force you or burden you, but… next time you encounter danger, even if not for me, not for our unborn child, please consider your mother and aunts, and your younger brothers and sisters. If they knew… that you didn’t light the beacon fires to call for aid so they could focus on taking Yun Jing, and something happened to you in Jiangzi City, wouldn’t they regret it for life? Hmm?”

Xiao Rongyan’s tone was very gentle, gentler than any time he had ever spoken to Bai Qingyan before, yet it made her heart both sour and painful.

She wasn’t unaware of the deep, thick emotions Xiao Rongyan concealed behind his faint smile.

“I wasn’t uncaring about you, not caring about our unborn child…”

“Then… what were you thinking when you decided not to light the beacon fires for aid?” Xiao Rongyan smiled. “You were thinking that you couldn’t let Yecheng Pass come to aid, otherwise they would be ambushed by Western Liang’s General Cui Shanzhong, thus losing Yecheng Pass! Losing Yecheng Pass would cut off the supply route for provisions to your younger brothers and sisters? You were thinking that you must take Yun Jing, Western Liang’s center, to lay the foundation for future competition between the two countries over whose national policies could make the nation prosperous and the people wealthy.”

“A’Bao…” Xiao Rongyan gently caressed Bai Qingyan’s lips, which had been kissed red by him. “Did you ever, for even a moment, think that you’re still carrying our child, and if something happened to you and the child, I wouldn’t be able to live either? Hmm?”

Bai Qingyan’s lips parted slightly, her eyes flooded with heat. So… that’s why Xiao Rongyan disregarded his severe injuries and brought Yan troops to Jiangzi City!

She didn’t know when Xiao Rongyan’s position in her heart had become so important that he would ignore his wounds…

“I’ve thought about it, A’Bao.” Xiao Rongyan’s brow carried undisguised fatigue. “I’ve thought that if I died, perhaps you would be grief-stricken, or perhaps you would be very sad… You might even never forget me for the rest of your life, but you would still pull yourself together to complete everything you wanted to accomplish! But if there’s even the slightest possibility of causing you pain, I tell myself that no matter how difficult, I cannot let myself face danger! Let you worry about me. What about you, A’Bao?”

Seeing that Bai Qingyan didn’t answer, he sighed: “In this regard… I’m not as good as you!”

His sister-in-law had once said she was worried about him because Consort Ji was such a deeply loving woman, and Xiao Rongyan was Consort Ji’s son. That’s why his sister-in-law feared that Xiao Rongyan would be like Consort Ji, eventually destroying himself and the entire nation over the word “love,” and also feared that Bai Qingyan would become like the old Yan Emperor.

He didn’t think A’Bao would become the next old Yan Emperor, but whether he would become like his mother, he didn’t know before…

Now, he seemed to understand a little.

“A’Yan, I was confident!” She gripped Xiao Rongyan’s wrists with both hands. “There was just a slight miscalculation. General Cui sent people to intercept the grain supplies from Bailong City, but I had already notified Bailong City’s garrison in advance. They would turn the tables on Western Liang and then come to Jiangzi City to provide aid and restrain Western Liang’s northern forces! When General Cui learned that Yecheng Pass’s garrison commander was leading troops to aid Jiangzi City, he couldn’t let Yecheng Pass’s reinforcements come and catch Western Liang forces off guard, so he would need to divide his forces to set up an ambush…”

She looked up at Xiao Rongyan: “Western Liang’s early attack on the city was unexpected…”

“If I hadn’t come, would you have lit the beacon fires?” Xiao Rongyan asked.

Bai Qingyan pressed her lips together…

“Once the beacon fires are lit, other cities would know about Jiangzi City’s call for aid, and news would surely reach the main Great Zhou forces at the front lines! Affecting your younger brothers and sisters…” Xiao Rongyan looked at her. “A’Bao, would you have lit them? You’re not good at lying…”

Bai Qingyan remained silent.

“How many battles have you fought? Don’t you know that on the battlefield, no matter how accurately you calculate, the slightest change can alter the entire situation? Ultimately, you didn’t take your safety…” He lowered his eyes to look at Bai Qingyan’s rounded belly, “and the child’s safety to heart!”

He gazed at Bai Qingyan’s abdomen, having thought countless times whether, if back then… so many physicians hadn’t determined that Bai Qingyan could never bear children in this lifetime, would she still have gotten together with him so hastily.

The answer was definitive – Bai Qingyan would not have…

This child came unexpectedly. Even though it was in Bai Qingyan’s womb, and she would do everything to protect this child, to her, it probably wasn’t as important as the Bai Family and the nation of Great Zhou.

He never denied that Bai Qingyan also loved him and their child, but they just weren’t that important.

Xiao Rongyan smiled as he tucked the loose strands of hair behind Bai Qingyan’s temples behind her ear: “A’Bao, I can be ruthless to others, and you can be ruthless to yourself. Though both are ruthless, they’re still different.”

Bai Qingyan shook her head through her tears.

“But this is also good…” His pale lips curved upward as he kissed the corner of Bai Qingyan’s lips again, his distinct, handsome features appearing both beautiful and gentle at first glance. “This way, even if something happens to me and I die, I won’t have to worry too much about you!”

Hearing the word “death” so casually spoken from Xiao Rongyan’s mouth, Bai Qingyan felt as if someone had struck her head with a club. She gripped Xiao Rongyan’s wrists forcefully as tears immediately poured out: “A’Yan, don’t say such things!”

“Don’t cry, A’Bao!” Xiao Rongyan used his fingers to wipe away the tears on Bai Qingyan’s face. Seeing that he couldn’t wipe them clean, he kissed her eyes. “I won’t say it anymore. I’ll never say such things again. Don’t cry, hmm?”

Bai Qingyan wrapped her arms tightly around Xiao Rongyan’s neck: “You are my husband. How could I not care about you? How could I not care about our child?”

Xiao Rongyan gently stroked Bai Qingyan’s back: “It’s my fault. I won’t say it anymore. There… I really must go now.”

“But your wounds are severe, you…”

“If our positions were reversed and you had such injuries, wouldn’t you depart immediately for Great Zhou?”

Knowing she couldn’t stop Xiao Rongyan, she slowly released him, then grasped his wrist again: “The medicine is ready. I’ll have Wei Zhong bring it in. Drink it before you go, and take the military physician with you… He’s quite skilled at treating wounds like these.”