“Yes!” Wei Zhong responded.

Seeing Bai Qingyan, Second Madam Liu of the Bai family, quickly stepped forward: “A’Bao…”

“Second Aunt!” Bai Qingyan stood in the morning light, her features seemingly tinted with warm colors. “I heard Second Aunt came early—I’ve kept you waiting too long.”

“A’Bao…” Liu’s eyes were red-rimmed. The A’Bao before her was different from the imposing emperor in the great hall just now—she seemed like their family’s First Miss again. She grasped Bai Qingyan’s hand and asked in a low voice: “A’Bao, do you know… about Tianfeng’s jade cicada being able to reverse time?”

Liu only dared to speak directly because she saw that those around Bai Qingyan were all their people.

Bai Qingyan was slightly taken aback.

“You detained that Tianfeng grand shaman in our Great Zhou—was it to investigate this time reversal matter? Do you also think that if time could be reversed, you could go back to save your grandfather, uncles, and brothers? Right?” Liu was now one hundred percent certain, and if time reversal was truly possible with only the one who reversed time retaining memories, then… Bai Qingyan would be the best candidate for time reversal.

Moreover, given Bai Qingyan’s character of saying nothing and shouldering all burdens herself, even if she had discovered something, without complete certainty, she would never tell other members of the Bai family about such matters.

“Second Aunt knows you’re the type who wouldn’t tell other family members about such things without certainty, but Second Aunt… really can’t wait. When I send people to investigate, they certainly can’t be as thorough as yours, so I wanted to come ask you.” Liu gripped Bai Qingyan’s hand tightly. “Have you found the whereabouts of the other jade cicada? Is sending Liu Rushi to Dongyi this time for the other jade cicada in Sa’er Khan’s possession?”

Liu had already taken this matter as truth. After all… if the jade cicada couldn’t reverse time, why would Tianfeng’s ruler go to such lengths and pay such a great price to search for it?

Not hearing Bai Qingyan respond, Liu became anxious: “Don’t tell me you don’t have this plan? If this time reversal is real… we could save our Bai family sons! The jade cicada that Xiao Rongyan once wore must be in our Great Zhou—we just need to search thoroughly! The main thing is the jade cicada in Sa’er Khan’s possession!”

Bai Qingyan lowered her eyes, gently stroking her Second Aunt’s hand, then looked up with a smile and took Liu’s arm, walking forward while saying: “Second Aunt, you tell me… if Tianfeng’s rumor about time reversal is true, even if I handed over all of Great Zhou to him, would he give me the jade cicada? If time reversal is possible… I could give him the Great Zhou, reverse time, and take it back. Tianfeng’s ruler isn’t stupid…”

Liu thought about it—wasn’t this exactly the logic? If time reversal were real, Liu Rushi definitely couldn’t get the jade cicada back. If time reversal was fake, under threats and enticements, Tianfeng’s ruler might give the jade cicada to Great Zhou, but if it was fake… what use would getting it back be?

“But… Tianfeng is offering rewards to find the jade cicada that Xiao Rongyan once wore. If it’s not real… why pay such a great price?” Liu frowned.

“Second Aunt, if this jade cicada could truly reverse time, Tianfeng would be hiding it away—why would they make it known to everyone?” Bai Qingyan spoke methodically to Liu. “Wouldn’t Tianfeng fear that someone who obtained this jade cicada would also want to possess this time reversal ability and further go to Tianfeng to steal their jade cicada? Or… that Great Zhou, Yan, and Dongyi would all want this jade cicada and attack them en masse? Wouldn’t the ability to reverse time be more important than silver and money? Which nation wouldn’t want it? Take our Great Zhou for example… if we lost the national gamble, couldn’t we use the time reversal ability to return to now and just directly attack Yan?”

With Bai Qingyan’s explanation, Liu had a sudden realization.

“Pah, pah, pah!” Liu quickly spat several times. “Our Great Zhou will not lose the national gamble!”

Bai Qingyan was amused by her Second Aunt. Though deceiving Second Aunt like this made her feel guilty, rather than let Second Aunt pin her hopes on time reversal that might not be able to return to before the Nan Jiang campaign, it was better to give Second Aunt other hopes.

“Second Aunt, A’Bao knows… now only the second branch has no sons who have returned, and Second Aunt’s heart is heavy!” Bai Qingyan stopped walking and looked steadily at Second Madam Liu. “Now that A’Bao sits in this position, I’ve sent out even more people to search for the younger brothers! Perhaps… they were kindly rescued but lost their memories and can’t remember they’re sons of the Bai family. None of this matters… We’ll go find them and bring them all back!”

Liu’s heartache was exposed by Bai Qingyan’s words, and she immediately burst into tears, choking as she grasped Bai Qingyan’s hand: “A’Bao… Second Aunt’s heart hurts!”

“Look… didn’t they say none of our Bai family sons would return? Now Third Brother and the others have come back…” Bai Qingyan pulled out her handkerchief to wipe Liu’s tears. “They will return. The ancestors of the Bai family will protect all our family’s descendants!”

Liu nodded through her tears, then, as if thinking of something, looked up at Bai Qingyan with a face full of tears: “This… Tianfeng spreading this time reversal matter has ulterior motives! You must be on guard!”

“Second Aunt, this wasn’t spread by Tianfeng!” Bai Qingyan squeezed Liu’s hand. “Tianfeng just wants their national treasure to return to Tianfeng, so they’re offering rewards to find the jade cicada. This matter was spread by our Great Zhou, precisely to cause trouble for Tianfeng. Now Tianfeng’s ruler is in Dongyi. You tell me… if Dongyi’s ruler knew this jade cicada had time reversal abilities, wouldn’t he be tempted? Wouldn’t he have designs on the jade cicada in Tianfeng ruler’s possession? In that case… could Tianfeng and Dongyi still smoothly ally?”

Liu’s mind became even clearer: “So there’s so much entanglement in this!”

“Competition between nations involves all aspects. In the future, if Second Aunt has any doubts, come ask A’Bao… A’Bao will resolve Second Aunt’s confusion!” Bai Qingyan said to Liu with a smile.

“How could I do that?” Liu shook her head. “You’re now supporting such a vast nation—it’s already very hard! Second Aunt is useless and can’t help. Coming today has only caused you trouble and wasted your time! A’Bao, rest assured… Second Aunt will always believe in you no matter what! Because… you must be the person in our family who most hopes to reverse time and save our Bai family!”

Hearing such heartwarming words from Liu, Bai Qingyan’s eyes immediately reddened with moisture. She smiled and nodded.

“Good! Alright… Second Aunt won’t delay you here any longer! Go quickly and attend to your business!” Liu’s smile looked worse than crying as she spoke to Bai Qingyan.