Seeing Bai Qingyan pillowed on his arm, breathing lightly with peaceful sleep, Xiao Rongyan felt immensely satisfied.

He gently kissed the top of Bai Qingyan’s head, tucked the quilt around her properly, then lay down beside her, lightly embracing her. His breath was filled with Bai Qingyan’s subtle fragrance. This was happiness… but also torment.

The next day before dawn, Xiao Rongyan rose and began dressing. His tall, slender figure stood under the dim lamplight, and as his arms moved up and down, the lamp shadows woke Bai Qingyan.

“You’re leaving?” Bai Qingyan supported herself slender arm supported herself as she sat up, her raven-black long hair falling beside her. She looked at Xiao Rongyan in the dim lamplight, about to get up.

Xiao Rongyan finished fastening his collar, placed one foot on the silver-inlaid cypress wood step stool, and sat on the bedside, pressing Bai Qingyan back down. He gazed at her and smiled. In this dim lamplight… Bai Qingyan was even more enchantingly beautiful, making his heart itch unbearably. He leaned close to her ear and whispered: “Next time, I’ll let you get properly tired, so when I leave, I won’t wake you.”

Bai Qingyan understood what Xiao Rongyan meant, pretended to be angry, and glared at him, her fair ears turning completely red: “Be careful on your way back!”

Xiao Rongyan nodded. He originally wanted to kiss Bai Qingyan, but feared that after restraining himself all night, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Though he had already leaned close, he held back. His breathing became slightly heavy. He controlled his breathing, lowered his gaze to hide the burning heat in his eyes, and instructed in a hoarse voice: “Sleep a bit more. Leaving after daybreak would attract too much attention!”

“Mm.” Bai Qingyan nodded. “You should also rest well when you return.”

“Yes, I need to rest well. I was tormented all night last night.” Xiao Rongyan deliberately teased her, his profound features full of mirth. He helped Bai Qingyan lie down, tucked the quilt around her, and knelt on one knee on the cypress step stool. “Sleep, A’Bao. I’ll watch you sleep before I leave!”

“Go ahead. With you here, I can’t sleep!” Bai Qingyan wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, only showing her head. “We still have many days ahead!”

“Mm!” Xiao Rongyan nodded, stood up to arrange the bed curtains for Bai Qingyan, then quietly left.

But after Xiao Rongyan left, Bai Qingyan couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. She simply got up and thought about what Xiao Rongyan had told her the night before, understanding… last night Xiao Rongyan had probably given hints to the Empress of Dongyi that she could imprison the fake Seventh Prince after Great Zhou’s people left, and perhaps… would also have the Empress of Dongyi create a counterfeit of Tuoba Yao to sit on the throne.

After all, the Great Zhou had already performed the front act. If the Empress found someone of similar build, made his voice hoarse, and put a mask on him, others might not be able to recognize whether the masked person was truly Dongyi’s Emperor. Wouldn’t this be up to Dongyi’s Empress, who was about to become Dongyi’s Empress Dowager, to decide?

The Empress of Dongyi was also clever, not telling Xiao Rongyan the truth, instead saying the mother-child poison was in her body. This way… she could find an excuse, claiming she was coerced by Great Zhou because of the mother-child poison and had no choice but to cause trouble for Yan. She could also urge Yan to find a method to resolve the mother-child poison for her. It was just unfortunate that she didn’t know her relationship with Xiao Rongyan.

Xiao Rongyan had been hurt by his father in childhood and had experienced much hardship after leaving home early, so he worried the Empress of Dongyi might be the type of vicious parent who would harm their child, which was why he gave her that warning.

But the Empress of Dongyi had been able to send her flesh and blood away before the Second Prince’s palace coup and rebellion, and had made such long-term plans without planning any escape route for herself. How could such a mother not care for her child?

Bai Qingyan was also a mother and knew to what extent a mother was willing to sacrifice for her children. When Kangle was born so weak, Bai Qingyan would have gladly taken his place.

She combed through her long hair with her fingers, lifted the bed curtains, put on her shoes, and sat on the soft couch by the window, calculating that after Tuoba Yao’s enthronement, appointing Great Zhou’s people as important court ministers would quickly squeeze Dongyi’s Empress Dowager out of Dongyi’s court. Then they could find some pretext to place her under house arrest.

On this day, Dongyi’s new Emperor ascended the throne. What should have been a grand enthronement ceremony was not particularly well-prepared due to time constraints. Moreover, Dongyi’s new Emperor, the Seventh Prince, said that since Dongyi was at a crucial juncture and needed to pay reparations to Great Zhou and Yan, they shouldn’t drain the national treasury for a grand enthronement ceremony. They would simply hold the enthronement during morning court with officials’ obeisance, then announce it to Dongyi, grant amnesty, and finally host a banquet for the Great Zhou’s Emperor and Yan’s Regent.

When the court ministers heard their new Emperor speak thus, they were somewhat moved, feeling that though their new Emperor was young, he was someone who could shoulder responsibility. Dongyi’s court ministers felt that with such an Emperor… Dongyi’s prospects were still hopeful.

The court ministers praised this new Emperor considerably, which made the Empress of Dongyi, sitting in the Empress Dowager’s position, feel uneasy. She watched her fake son wearing hastily made new imperial robes, sitting on Dongyi’s imperial throne, accepting the obeisance of Dongyi’s court ministers, feeling extremely agitated.

Yesterday, Yan’s Regent’s words seemed to have tremendous persuasive power, echoing repeatedly in the Dongyi Empress Dowager’s mind. She could guess that Great Zhou’s Emperor, having placed this fake Seventh Prince, this half-grown child, in Dongyi, would naturally send people to secretly protect him. If she wanted to find a way to imprison this counterfeit while ensuring he couldn’t harm himself, it would probably take considerable effort.

She also needed to find a method to deceive the Great Zhou and secretly replace this little counterfeit without anyone knowing. This way… she could avoid harming her son while finding a way to make Great Zhou and Yan confront each other, with Dongyi profiting from the middle.

But how to do this? She needed to start planning with court ministers she trusted right now, and the faster the better!

After the officials’ obeisance came the grand banquet. Dongyi’s new Emperor said that if not for the Great Zhou’s Emperor and Yan’s Regent being present, he originally didn’t want to hold this banquet either. The new Emperor of Dongyi said… the silver spent on banquets consumed countless people’s taxes, so he lowered the standards, adding that, given Dongyi’s current situation, Great Zhou and Yan would understand – there was no need to put on airs beyond their means. This immediately moved Dongyi’s veteran ministers to tears. Emotionally overwhelmed, they knelt and kowtowed to the new Emperor, declaring Dongyi’s future was promising.

The Dongyi Empress Dowager watched that counterfeit’s earnest performance and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly at Tuoba Yao – he thought he had become Dongyi’s Emperor.

Bai Qingyan was the Great Zhou’s Emperor, and Dongyi was now merely a vassal state of Great Zhou, so when arranging seating, Great Zhou’s Emperor and Dongyi’s Emperor sat side by side in the seats of honor.