“Although my imperial brother’s son A’Li is precocious, he is still young after all. Moreover… Yan’s internal politics are unstable, and the great enterprise remains unfinished. I… dare not fail my mother and elder brother, dare not fail the people who suffered alongside Yan to build our nation!”

Once, to establish a new army and gather capital for him to maneuver among other nations, the entire Yan kingdom donated whatever they could from their homes, with both common people and the imperial family eating only one meal a day to save silver.

Xiao Rongyan still remembered a lame old man from Yan, dressed in tattered clothes, who had just received… the pension for his son who died in battle and brought it to the donation center. His elder brother supported the old man and told him to take the silver back, but the old man said that although he had never read books, he still knew the saying “every man has his responsibility.” He was a Yan person… he couldn’t just watch the Yan kingdom disappear. He gripped his elder brother’s hand… instructing him to lead Yan to restore its former glory, so that these Yan people could die with peace in their hearts. At that time, Xiao Rongyan was right beside his elder brother.

Xiao Rongyan spoke with a sincere voice, lifting his eyes to look at Dong Shi: “And A’Bao… to me, she is also what I seek in this lifetime, I absolutely cannot let go! Now that A’Bao is with child… whether as a husband or as a father, I cannot wrong A’Bao and the child!”

Once, Xiao Rongyan had a father who failed his mother. Although he had never thought he would meet A’Bao, never thought he would have children, when he met A’Bao… he warned himself that he absolutely could not wrong his wife. And now that A’Bao is with child… he must be a good father even more!

“You cannot have both fish and a bear’s paw. If you choose A’Bao and the child, you must abandon Great Yan! If you choose Great Yan, from now on, A’Bao and the child will have nothing to do with you. The child’s father is the world’s greatest righteous merchant, Xiao Rongyan, who died of illness shortly after marrying the Great Zhou Female Emperor. From then on… You must never again appear before my A’Bao and child!” Dong Shi’s meaning was very clear – if Xiao Rongyan chose the Yan kingdom, this child would never know who their father was.

“Mother, I have my aspirations and ambitions, and A’Yan… also has his aspirations and ambitions. I cannot use the child as a bargaining chip to bind his hands and feet. The reason I admire him is precisely because of his ambitions, his aspirations, and his courage to strive for them!” Bai Qingyan turned to look at Xiao Rongyan. “If I were to tie him to my side and make him just a man who revolves around me, then Murong Yan… would no longer be the Murong Yan I admire!”

Xiao Rongyan’s deep eyes gazed at the woman sitting quietly on the soft couch watching him, warm currents surging in his heart, guilt enveloping him like a great net.

“Once, Great Yan’s late emperor Murong Yu sent me the treasures that Empress Ji left for her daughter-in-law, and I also… offered tea to Great Yan’s late emperor and called him elder brother. To A’Bao… when I called the Yan Emperor elder brother, A’Yan was already my husband.”

Listening to Bai Qingyan’s unhurried, clear voice, Xiao Rongyan closed his aching eyes, remembering that before his elder brother left, he had promised him… to come to the Bai family to propose marriage.

“A’Yan and I made a gentleman’s agreement – in the future, when the world is unified… if Yan gains the world, I will marry him as his wife. If Great Zhou gains the world, he will marry into the Bai family as a son-in-law. We agreed… that when facing great matters of state, we would not consider personal feelings.” Bai Qingyan showed Xiao Rongyan a faint smile, then turned to look at her mother. “Mother, this is the first time your daughter has admired someone. I don’t understand much about matters of love. Whether before or now, your daughter always puts more thought into the Bai family and Great Zhou! I don’t know if my thinking is right or wrong, but… watching Mother and Father’s relationship, I always feel that true admiration and love should not, in the name of love, cut off his aspirations and wings! Just like how Mother, no matter how reluctant, would still send Father to the battlefield.”

Xiao Rongyan’s deep eyes surged with emotion, his eye sockets reddening. To have such a wife… what more could a husband ask for!

Dong Shi looked at her daughter with heartache…

Bai Qingyan’s eyes reddened: “Your daughter is very happy to have A’Yan as a lover. He understands your daughter’s aspirations and has never used love as an excuse to force your daughter to marry him! Your daughter also understands him and is unwilling to use love and the child as reasons to force him to choose between the two. We understand each other and both regard each other as worthy opponents!”

She looked at her mother’s gradually softening expression, then turned to look at Xiao Rongyan: “Moreover, now Great Yan and Great Zhou are using two similar, yet not quite the same, ideological national policies to govern. Your daughter is also very curious to know whether Great Zhou’s national policies will prove superior in the future, or whether Great Yan’s governing methods are more suitable for this era! At that time, we’ll be able to see… which Kingdom’s strategies are more beneficial to the people!”

“But you…” Dong Shi looked toward Bai Qingyan’s abdomen, her heart aching.

“Mother, I admit this child comes at an inopportune time, and I admit that this time your daughter lost her usual caution. But since the child has come, your daughter will protect them well. In the future, after giving birth… even if there is no father by the child’s side, A’Bao will teach them carefully. When Yan kingdom and Great Zhou have determined the victor, that will be when A’Yan… comes to our side with his true identity.”

At that time, whether as imperial consort or prince… it wouldn’t matter. Murong Yan would simply be her husband, her child’s father.

Everything Bai Qingyan said today came from her heart, just as she had said before… she was willing to compete with Xiao Rongyan for dominance, to see who could claim the central plains.

She also believed that whichever strong nation ultimately gained the world would certainly have strong people, strong soldiers, and a strong Kingdom. Even if Great Zhou had to compete with Great Yan in military might in the end, then… the victorious nation’s national policies would certainly be superior as well!

Xiao Rongyan looked at Dong Shi, slightly shifting his position to bow deeply to her, kowtowing: “A’Yan presumes to call Madam ‘Mother.’ Please trust me, Mother – when the world is settled, regardless of whether Great Zhou or Great Yan unifies the realm, A’Yan will stay by A’Bao and the child’s side, protecting them for life! Now A’Yan humbly requests Mother’s blessing… let A’Yan marry A’Bao, giving our future child legitimacy! Before completing the great enterprise, A’Yan will also do his utmost to spend more time accompanying A’Bao and the child.”

Having said this, Xiao Rongyan kowtowed. Dong Shi’s eyes were already full of tears.

Things had reached this point – what could she do if she didn’t agree…

A’Bao truly loved this Great Yan Ninth Prince Murong Yan. Fortunately, this Great Yan Ninth Prince had not said anything about having A’Bao follow him to the Yan kingdom or having A’Bao bring the Great Zhou to merge with the Yan kingdom. Dong Shi closed her eyes, thinking of Bai Qishan.

When they first married, she truly didn’t want Bai Qishan to rush to battlefields where death was almost certain. But Bai Qishan had told her about his dreams, the aspirations passed down through generations of the Bai family, and the original purpose for establishing the Bai family army. So… no matter how reluctant she was, she still sent him to the battlefield, promising him… he would protect the people, and she would protect the Bai family!