“Well… as for lifelong matters, I’ll leave that to the aunts. I won’t elaborate further here.” Bai Qingyan set down the teacup in her hand. “You just need to keep this matter in mind!”

She then turned to speak of serious business: “Although the tiny territory of Dongyi might not dare to openly fight with our Great Zhou, you’ve all seen the secret reports. This ruler of Tianfeng Nation… is secretly cooperating with Yan Nation’s envoys in Dongyi, stirring up trouble, and seems intent on supporting Dongyi’s Second Prince to ascend the throne. If this Second Prince is truly the complete madman described in the secret reports…”

Bai Qingyan hesitated to continue, but the others all understood their eldest sister’s meaning.

“Although Yan Nation has had no apparent contact with Tianfeng Nation on the surface, and even… during the Western Liang war, the two nations could be said to have formed a grudge, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Now that Tianfeng Nation and Yan Nation share the same goal of causing trouble for Great Zhou, naturally, they cooperate seamlessly.” Bai Qingjue said in a low voice.

“Therefore, we cannot let Yan Nation and Tianfeng Nation succeed!” Bai Qingyan half-lowered her eyes. “It all depends on whether Minister Liu can succeed. Otherwise… if we allow Yan Nation and Tianfeng Nation to support this Second Prince to power, perhaps Dongyi Nation might truly be incited to recklessly fight with our Great Zhou. Although our Great Zhou wouldn’t fear even if a real war broke out, we still need to prepare early for this matter.”

“Yes!”

·

Prince Han Cheng stood on the rocky reef, gazing at the rolling white foam stirred up by the waves, watching the backs of fishermen protected by troops as they departed to sea one after another, his expression grave.

Now, Great Zhou’s eloquent Liu Rushi had already arrived in Dongyi Nation, and both Great Zhou’s army and the Bai Family Army were in position. Whether it would be war or peace would probably be known within these few days.

Prince Han Cheng knew that the Bai Family Army was essentially Bai Qingyan’s force, so unless absolutely necessary, he absolutely dared not rashly deploy the Bai Family Army. Moreover, the Bai Family Army wasn’t skilled in naval warfare. Prince Han Cheng had already decided that when the time came, land defense would be entrusted to the Great Zhou army and Bai Family Army, while naval matters… would be left to their naval forces!

Prince Han Cheng lowered his gaze and touched the golden tablet in his bosom, his eyes reddening again involuntarily…

He didn’t know what feelings stirred in his heart. The trust and regard he had always hoped for from his father emperor, he had never received even a fraction of it, yet he had obtained it from the enemy nation’s emperor to whom he had surrendered.

Entrusting him with the golden tablet, completely unworried about his betrayal!

Thus, he must prove worthy of His Majesty’s trust in him.

Previously, before truly encountering Bai Qingyan, Prince Han Cheng had genuinely believed that whether it was the Bai Family or Bai Qingyan herself, their claims about unifying the realm for the people’s eternal peace were merely excuses for their military conquest of other’ nations!

Now, Prince Han Cheng believed that Bai Qingyan’s ability to become emperor lay in her differences from ordinary people. Her thinking and mindset were truly different from theirs.

Prince Han Cheng raised his head to gaze at the blazing sun overhead, the corners of his lips curving upward. Now understanding Bai Qingyan, he realized that people are indeed different from one another.

Some come to this world for the karmic bonds of past and present lives, willing to die and forget death for love, like his foolish princess consort.

Some come to this world to suffer hardships and gain experience, like the soldiers under his command…

Some come to this world to play and enjoy fortune, like the nobles and imperial relatives of their Great Liang.

Some come to this world to fulfill certain missions and aspirations, like Bai Qingyan.

Because she possessed such ambition and aspirations, with a broad-minded nature… she dared to give him trust.

Unifying mountains and rivers, achieving peace under heaven, was never the achievement of one person alone. A ruler who dared to employ others… was worthy of ruling the realm.

If Bai Qingyan could ultimately become the master of the realm, Prince Han Cheng would be convinced.

Ever since receiving Bai Qingyan’s letter instructing the naval forces to protect the people going out to fish, Prince Han Cheng had been in a state of combat readiness daily, fearing that any carelessness might cause friction between the two nations’ naval forces, immediately leading to war.

After handling military affairs each day, he would stand here to watch for any military reports being sent back, until the sun set, before returning.

Now Tianfeng Nation’s ruler was maneuvering on all sides in Dongyi Nation, seemingly intent on supporting the Second Prince with his notorious, cruel reputation to ascend the throne. Yan Nation, extremely eager to entangle Dongyi with the Great Zhou, would probably also want this Dongyi Second Prince to take power.

Now, Dongyi Nation’s old emperor was probably near death. If that Second Prince truly ascended to power, this battle between the Great Zhou and the Dongyi Nation would likely be unavoidable!

However, Prince Han Cheng also understood that with the Great Zhou currently gambling with its national fate, it would be best if they could avoid fighting.

He only hoped that Minister Liu’s trip to Dongyi Nation could establish an alliance with Dongyi Nation, capable of restraining this Second Prince so that even after ascending the throne, he wouldn’t dare easily wage war against Great Zhou, even if it meant offering substantial benefits.

After all, the Great Zhou, Yan Nation, and Tianfeng Nation all now wanted to win over the Dongyi Nation.

The entire court of Dongyi Nation thought exactly as Prince Han Cheng now did, so they put on airs and acted arrogantly before Liu Rushi, harboring resentment over the previous rejection of their marriage proposal to Great Zhou. Now that the wind had shifted, with Great Zhou coming to their Dongyi territory, they naturally wanted to give Great Zhou a good slap in the face.

But what the Dongyi court ministers didn’t know was that this Great Zhou envoy Liu Rushi was a tough character, accompanied by a shameless rogue youth and a seemingly very refined young lady.

The Dongyi court ministers knew that Great Zhou currently had a female emperor on the throne, and moreover promoted new policies allowing women to study, take imperial examinations, and even serve as officials, so they made issues of Lu Fenglang’s female identity and public appearances.

As a result, Fan Yugan, who had learned a half-baked Dongyi language following Liu Rushi along the way, showed no courtesy whatsoever. He directly asked three questions in Dongyi language: “Surely you weren’t all born from women? Are your honored mothers at home… all of male gender? Or would your mothers be scolded back home by you, unfilial descendants, if they stepped outside?”

After asking these questions, that wasn’t enough. He also smiled warmly and told Lu Fenglang that Dongyi Nation was a wonderful place where the custom of male homosexuality flourished, which he truly appreciated. This nearly made the Dongyi court ministers ascend to heaven in anger. Yet after Fan Yugan finished speaking, he also apologized, saying he had only been learning the Dongyi language for less than a month, and if there were any inaccurate word choices, he asked for their tolerance.

The Tianfeng Nation envoys had suffered losses at Fan Yugan’s hands before. Each one was clear as a mirror in their hearts, knowing that Fan Yugan was doing this intentionally.

At night, in the post house, Fan Yugan and Lu Fenglang sat with Liu Rushi at the low table, all three wearing grave expressions.

“Now Yan Nation is secretly active in this Dongyi Nation, eager for Dongyi Nation and our Great Zhou to fight. This Tianfeng Nation is even more blatantly causing trouble. The benefits we’ve brought to Dongyi Nation will probably only serve as Dongyi Nation’s military resources in the future!” Fan Yugan said with deeply furrowed brows.