But Fifth Young Master Bai said that his master had rushed to aid Jiangzi City while severely wounded, and his injuries hadn’t yet healed, making him less agile than himself. He didn’t want his nephew or niece to be born without a father. After saying this, he turned his horse around and left, and thus the matter was settled.

Heaven knows how much his master wished it had been himself leading troops to lure the enemy after the incident occurred.

“My master, according to his agreement with Fifth Young Master Bai, didn’t tell the Great Zhou military camp in Xiliang, but fearing First Miss would worry, he sent Yue Shi riding hard to tell First Miss. Who knows… perhaps by now Fifth Young Master and my master have already taken Yunjing! Moreover, my master said… If Yunjing can be secured this time, Fifth Young Master’s merit would be paramount, and Yunjing should belong to Great Zhou!”

Bai Qingyan’s palms tightened as she put on a cold, hard expression and slowly spoke: “Go, Yue Shi…”

While Yunjing was important to Bai Qingyan, it wasn’t as important as her younger siblings!

Yue Shi bit his teeth tightly, his eyes severely red and moist. He had originally wanted to ask how the children were, but thinking that First Miss was currently angry, asking wouldn’t yield an answer. He could only kowtow to Bai Qingyan and withdraw from the great hall.

“Since we know A’Yu is turning the tables on them, and Xiao Qi might also have been captured alive by Xiliang, why don’t you… Just don’t go? With A’Qi and Jinxiu there, A’Yu and Xiao Qi will surely be fine! Alright? Your body… Mother truly cannot rest easy!”

Dong Shi felt sorry for her daughter.

She had to admit that knowing A’Yu was turning the tables on them, Bai Qingyan truly felt relieved, and understood that with the tacit understanding between A’Qi and the others with A’Yu, Yunjing could certainly be taken this time. She believed in her younger siblings’ capabilities and even more believed… that A’Yan would rescue A’Yu and Xiao Qi.

Dong Shi noticed her daughter squeeze her hand, seeming to have something to say privately to her, but her gaze discreetly fell on Imperial Physician Huang: “Imperial Physician Huang, tell me the truth – if I entrust the two children to you, can you nurse their bodies back to health?”

Imperial Physician Huang quickly kowtowed: “The little prince’s weak constitution is manageable – with good care, he should recover! But the little princess’s body is even weaker and requires more careful attention. However, Your Majesty can rest assured – this humble minister will certainly do everything in his power, using all his skills to keep the little prince and little princess safe and sound!”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “Good. Then, Imperial Physician Huang shall reside in the palace from today onward to care for the two children. I entrust the two children to Imperial Physician Huang!”

Hearing these words, Imperial Physician Huang quickly said he dared not, swearing to do his utmost.

After leaving Bai Qingyan’s sleeping quarters, Yue Shi wiped away his tears. First Miss had never spoken to him so harshly before.

It was all his fault. If he hadn’t lost Seventh Miss Bai, First Miss wouldn’t be so heartbroken.

Before he left, his master had told him that if First Miss suspected the Empress Dowager, he should tell First Miss… that if it truly was the Empress Dowager’s doing, he would give First Miss an explanation.

But Yue Shi knew that no matter what explanation was given, his master couldn’t truly take the Empress Dowager’s life, but First Miss certainly wouldn’t easily let the Empress Dowager off.

If this matter were truly related to the Empress Dowager…

Their master valued relationships and righteousness, and would certainly protect the Empress Dowager for the sake of the late emperor and the current Yan Emperor, which meant breaking with First Miss!

No matter what, he had to hurry back and deliver the news to his master.

Yue Shi was about to leave when he saw eunuchs, palace maids, and the imperial physician all withdraw from Bai Qingyan’s sleeping quarters, and even Chun Tao and Chun Zhi came out from within the hall.

Only then did Yue Shi boldly step forward to inquire of Chun Tao: “Miss Chun Tao, are First Miss, the little prince, and little princess all well?”

Inside the palace hall.

“Mother, do you think that this time, because Yan Kingdom betrayed Great Zhou, causing A’Yu and Xiao Qi’s incident, I’ve been driven to madness by anger, disregarding my newborn children and my own body, insisting on personally going to Xiliang to settle accounts and settle accounts with Yan Kingdom?” Bai Qingyan held Dong Shi’s hand, her gaze clear and bright as she gently asked her mother.

Hearing her daughter speak thus, Dong Shi realized her daughter had other plans.

“Is Mother considering that I am Great Zhou’s emperor, which is why you’re not forcefully stopping me as you did before?”

Dong Shi spoke: “Mother knows that even after learning A’Yu was turning the tables on them, you still want to set out for Xiliang to make Xiliang think A’Yu and Xiao Qi are their trump cards against Great Zhou. But there’s still A’Qi and the others! Even if you don’t consider your own body, you should consider the two children – they’re still so small… so weak!”

“Mother, what you said is only one reason!” Bai Qingyan gripped Dong Shi’s hand tightly, “I do want Xiliang to think this way, but I also want Yan Kingdom… to think this way too! Let Yan Kingdom think that I’ve lost my mind from anger, disregarding my children and my own body, rushing to Xiliang immediately after giving premature birth! Next, I’ll act like a madwoman, ignoring everything, determined to attack Yan Kingdom.”

This time, she didn’t hide anything from her mother, telling Dong Shi about the strategy for merging the two countries that she had discussed with Xiao Rongyan and Murong Li.

Dong Shi was quite shocked. She hadn’t expected that Murong Li, at such a young age, would have such broad-mindedness.

“But with such an Empress Dowager in Yan Kingdom, there’s no guarantee this matter won’t have variables. If Yan Kingdom truly goes to war with the Great Zhou… It’s not unwinnable, but Yan Kingdom still has a gap compared to the Great Zhou. Plus, with few generals available to Yan Kingdom, Great Zhou surpasses Yan Kingdom by who knows how much!” Bai Qingyan explained to Dong Shi bit by bit, “If at this time, Great Zhou’s emperor, driven to madness by Yan Kingdom’s betrayal of Great Zhou, abandons her children and disregards her own body to rush straight to Xiliang after premature birth, then relies on her superior military strength to deploy troops at Yan Kingdom’s borders…”

“Will the guilty Yan Empress Dowager tremble after Xiliang is destroyed? Will she make the entire Yan court tremble? At this time, when Murong Li proposes deciding the outcome through national policies and merging the two countries, the resistance in court will be much less!” Her voice was hoarse, “And there’s the Yan Empress Dowager. I estimate… the Yan Empress Dowager, because of A’Yan abandoning Yunjing to go to Jiangzi City to save me, already has wariness and surveillance of A’Yan. The more I show… that I don’t value A’Yan and A’Yan’s children, the more I disregard the marital relationship between A’Yan and me for the sake of my siblings, the more the Yan Empress Dowager will think A’Yan is someone she can win over, and the more she’ll trust A’Yan!”

Because of her relationship with Xiao Rongyan and because they had children, the Yan Empress Dowager was already deeply wary of Xiao Rongyan, especially after the Jiangzi City incident, where Xiao Rongyan abandoned Yunjing to save her. She would certainly monitor Xiao Rongyan even more closely.

Xiao Rongyan was open-hearted and valued his brotherly relationship with Murong Yu, so he would certainly accept the spies his sister-in-law placed around him with equanimity, because to Xiao Rongyan, the Yan Empress Dowager was also his family!