But… why did the eldest sister have Shen Qingzhu bring the Wei young emperor to Dongyi?

Bai Qingjue was silent for a moment. Thinking of Shen Qingzhu’s words that the Wei young emperor was willing to spend the rest of his life fighting Yan to the death, his mind suddenly became clear. He turned to look at his eldest sister, enlightened yet still somewhat confused…

“I see…” Bai Qingjue looked suddenly enlightened.

“What? What do you see?” Bai Jinzhi was even more confused, staring at her seventh brother with round eyes in frustration. “Seventh Brother, don’t join in speaking riddles! Tell me what’s going on!”

“Bai Jinzhi, Cheng Yuanzhi…” Bai Qingyan turned her horse around and called out.

Cheng Yuanzhi immediately responded and stepped forward: “This subordinate is here!”

“Eldest Sister!” The named Bai Jinzhi also spiritedly stepped forward.

“You two lead the great army to rest here and await orders,” Bai Qingyan said, then looked at Bai Qingjue. “Come with me!”

“Yes!” Bai Qingjue pulled his reins forward and rode away quickly with Bai Qingyan.

“Hey… Eldest Sister! Seventh Brother!” Bai Jinzhi chased after them for two steps but ate a mouthful of dust. “What kind of thing is this! You should at least explain clearly before leaving!”

Lu Yuanpeng and Sima Ping from behind also rode up quickly, asking Bai Jinzhi, “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. They said our Little Seven came, then Eldest Sister told me to stay here while she and Seventh Brother left, speaking some riddle!” Bai Jinzhi frowned tightly.

“It should be related to that rumored… Dongyi Seventh Prince, who escaped to our Great Zhou!” Sima Ping’s mind was very clear. “Think about it – just now, the Dongyi Empress sent people to say that Dongyi’s usurping Second Prince had been shot dead, and the Dongyi Empress would personally lead the officials to welcome His Majesty and the Bai family army into the city. This indicates that… the Dongyi Empress perhaps had some agreement with His Majesty long ago, probably to support this Dongyi Seventh Prince’s ascension to the throne!”

“What does that have to do with Bai Yusheng?” Bai Jinzhi seemed to understand after hearing Sima Ping’s explanation, but felt even more confused upon reflection. “Just now, Sister Qingzhu came and said Bai Yusheng said… he wanted to fight Yan to the death or something!”

Sima Ping hadn’t been at the front just now and didn’t know what Shen Qingzhu had said. Hearing this, he was also puzzled. He knew Bai Yusheng was a child the Bai family’s Seventh Miss had brought back, but what did fighting Yan to the death have to do with this Bai Yusheng?

Seeing Sima Ping’s tightly furrowed brow, Lu Yuanpeng looked gloating: “Even our great genius Sima has confused moments?”

“His Majesty’s thoughts are far-reaching, beyond my ability to fathom. We’ll see… We’ll know eventually!” Sima Ping said.

“I’ll admit that. No matter how clever Sima Ping is, he can’t be cleverer than my eldest sister!” Bai Jinzhi felt honored to hear praise for her eldest sister from Sima Ping, who rarely said good things about anyone.

Bai Jinse and Bai Yusheng were waiting for Bai Qingyan at a farewell pavilion not far from where the great army was resting, accompanied by Lu Ping.

Lu Ping saw Bai Qingyan approaching on horseback from afar, came out of the farewell pavilion, ran down from the earthen slope, and after saluting Bai Qingyan, helped hold her reins: “Eldest Miss, Seventh Young Master!”

“Uncle Ping has worked hard all the way!” After Bai Qingyan spoke, her gaze turned toward the farewell pavilion. Seeing her sister seemed to be comforting the Wei young emperor, she turned to Bai Qingjue and said, “Let’s go!”

Bai Qingjue held his riding whip behind his back and followed beside Bai Qingyan, asking in a low voice: “Did Eldest Sister have Shen Qingzhu bring that Wei young emperor here, planning to switch the dragon for the phoenix, making that Wei young emperor become Dongyi’s emperor?”

Bai Qingyan didn’t hide anything from her brother, stepping up the stairs as she spoke: “Before departure, I was thinking that the Yan Emperor had found us Great Zhou, such trouble as Dongyi. Although our Great Zhou took advantage of the situation… using Great Zhou national bonds to turn the tide and even gain the upper hand, letting Yan off so easily would be too advantageous for them! Our Great Zhou should also find some trouble for Yan!”

Bai Qingjue nodded: “But if it were that simple, supporting the Seventh Prince’s ascension would suffice. The Eldest Sister wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to make the Wei young emperor become Dongyi’s emperor. Eldest Sister must have already anticipated… that Yan would come to Dongyi for a share of the benefits!”

“Yan’s emperor, needless to say, is a child of exceptional intelligence! That Yan Regent is even more troublesome…”

Hearing his eldest sister’s words, Bai Qingjue couldn’t help laughing: “Eldest Sister, isn’t it inappropriate to say this…”

After all, this Yan Regent was the eldest sister’s husband, his brother-in-law.

“Speaking truthfully, when discussing state affairs, personal feelings don’t matter!” Bai Qingyan held herself very steady. “Before I set out, I roughly calculated that given the Yan Regent’s understanding of me, he would certainly know that after Prince Han Cheng’s incident… I would destroy Dongyi. After our Great Zhou destroyed Dongyi, there are only two possible outcomes: destroying Dongyi or supporting a puppet in Dongyi! So… Yan will come!”

“If we destroy Dongyi, Yan can get a share of the benefits. If we support a puppet emperor, Yan would have… contributed some effort. In the future, even if our Great Zhou supports this Seventh Prince’s ascension, would this Seventh Prince wholeheartedly trouble Yan for our Great Zhou’s sake?” Bai Qingyan walked unhurriedly up the steps with Bai Qingjue while speaking gently to her brother. “Moreover, the Dongyi Empress is not someone who would willingly submit in defeat. If Yan gets involved, this Dongyi Empress will try to profit from it. Our Great Zhou fought so hard in this battle – we absolutely cannot make wedding clothes for others.”

“So Eldest Sister plans to have this Wei young emperor pretend to be Dongyi’s Seventh Prince and ascend the throne. Wei and Yan have deep grievances, so… the Dongyi Empress can’t play tricks, and it breaks the Yan Regent’s schemes.” Bai Qingjue’s expression was full of enlightenment. “But what if this Dongyi Empress refuses to comply?”

“Then Dongyi will be destroyed, and the Dongyi Seventh Prince killed…” Bai Qingyan smiled. “This Dongyi… Empress might not care about the nation, but can she not care about this Seventh Prince? This… The Seventh Prince was personally sent into our Great Zhou’s hands by her. Not using him would be a disservice to her planning!”

Great Zhou was not something the Dongyi Empress could casually manipulate. Since she thought herself clever and used Great Zhou to make plans for her son, she had to be prepared to bear the consequences.

Seeing that his eldest sister had calculated every step steadily, Bai Qingjue felt relieved.

Seeing that eldest sister and seventh brother had already reached the bottom of the farewell pavilion steps, Bai Jinse looked at Bai Yusheng, then stepped forward to salute: “Eldest Sister, Seventh Brother…”

Upon seeing Bai Qingyan, Bai Yusheng’s fists at his sides clenched involuntarily.