Bai Qingyan nodded. A’Yu’s considerations were extremely thoughtful. At this time, it should also be time for A’Yu to return to the Rong Di to make preparations.

That day, after Xiao Rongyan left the imperial palace of the capital and returned to the embassy, the Ninth Prince of Yan and the Yan envoys packed their belongings and returned to their Kingdom.

The fact that Yan had come seeking marriage only to return empty-handed made many more people in Yan wary of the Ninth Prince Murong Yan, secretly speculating… it must be that the Ninth Prince would not allow the new Emperor of Great Yan, Murong Li, to gain Great Zhou’s support, so he deliberately sabotaged the marriage alliance.

On the sixth day of the ninth month in the first year of Yuanhe, Bai Jintong arrived at the capital.

Bai Jintong had rushed back without rest day or night, having no time at all to send word ahead.

Holding the token Bai Qingqi had given her, she passed through smoothly into the palace…

Bai Qingyan was dining and discussing state affairs with Grand Commandant Lu, Minister of Works Shen, Minister of Education Dong, and the six ministry ministers when she saw Wei Zhong hurrying over.

Wei Zhong walked with small steps to Bai Qingyan’s side, covering his mouth and whispering to her: “Third Miss has returned and is waiting outside the hall.”

Bai Qingyan’s hand tightened around her chopsticks. She hurriedly set down her bowl and chopsticks, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and said to the ministers: “Everyone, continue discussing, I’ll go and return shortly.”

Grand Commandant Lu quickly led the other high ministers in bowing to Bai Qingyan.

Seeing Bai Qingyan leave hurriedly, Dong Qingping felt uneasy: “What’s happening?”

“You’re His Majesty’s uncle, and even you don’t know, so how could we know?” Minister of Works Shen said with a smile.

“Let’s eat first. After we finish, we’ll discuss and come up with several strategies for His Majesty to choose from later…” Grand Commandant Lu said, taking the lead in sitting down and picking up his bowl and chopsticks to eat.

The current Minister of War, Zhang Duanning, holding his bowl and chopsticks, couldn’t help but sigh: “Our Female Emperor is truly unconventional. This is the first time I’ve… encountered a situation where His Majesty discusses state affairs with ministers while eating.”

Hearing that Zhang Duanning wasn’t displeased but merely found it novel, Minister of Justice Lu Jin said: “His Majesty grew up campaigning with elders. On the battlefield, time is precious, and fighting is physically demanding work. Prince Zhenguo, Duke Zhenguo, and the generals would do exactly this – eat while discussing battle plans! Our Majesty doesn’t put on airs, dining together with us ministers. This shows His Majesty hasn’t forgotten the original intention.”

Zhang Duanning nodded: “When my cousin was still alive, whenever he mentioned His Majesty, it was always with endless praise and deep admiration.”

In the side hall, Bai Jintong sat with a grave expression, restless and unable to sit still. She hadn’t had time to wash or change, still dusty from travel and in men’s clothing when she came to see her eldest sister.

Seeing her eldest sister step into the side hall, for some reason Bai Jintong’s eyes suddenly reddened, and she quickly walked toward her sister: “Elder Sister!”

Bai Qingyan also took two steps forward to meet her. Seeing Bai Jintong’s dark circles under her eyes, having lost a full circle of weight, her eye sockets and cheeks sunken from being so thin, her heart ached as she forcefully embraced Bai Jintong.

Chun Tao, following nearby, watched with trepidation, fearing Bai Qingyan might have some mishap, since Bai Qingyan was now carrying a child.

“Elder Sister…” Bai Jintong hugged her eldest sister tightly, her voice thick with emotion. She had almost thought she would never see her eldest sister again in this lifetime.

“You’ve suffered! It’s good that you’re back! It’s good that you’re back!” Bai Qingyan gently stroked Bai Jintong’s back, softly comforting her.

“Third Miss!” Chun Tao, smiling through tears, also bowed to Bai Jintong.

Bai Jintong smiled and nodded to Chun Tao: “Chun Tao… your cousin asked me to bring you a letter. Third Brother assigned your cousin to handle an extremely important matter, so he couldn’t return with me this time.”

Chun Tao’s ears turned red as she quickly said: “Serving Third Miss and Third Young Master is my cousin’s duty. Chun Tao understands what’s important!”

Bai Jintong nodded.

“Elder Sister, in Nan Jiang… I saw them. They’re still alive… our Bai family’s sons are still alive!” Bai Jintong’s tears fell like broken pearls.

Bai Qingyan released Bai Jintong, taking her hand and walking toward the soft couch, instructing Chun Tao to bring hot tea and refreshments for Bai Jintong: “Have you seen Third Aunt yet?”

“I haven’t seen Mother yet! I was anxious to return because there’s urgent business…” Bai Jintong, thinking of serious matters, quickly wiped away her tears and said, “Elder Sister, when I was returning, the Female Emperor of Xi Liang had already sent people to the Tianfeng Kingdom to seek aid.”

Bai Qingyan gestured for Bai Jintong to sit down. She had first heard of this Tianfeng Kingdom from Bai Jintong’s letters, and later she had specifically looked for maps.

Tianfeng Kingdom had many things that greatly interested Bai Qingyan, such as the black powder that could make weapons sharper, tougher, and invincible.

“I remember you mentioned in your letter… Tianfeng Kingdom is located beyond that snow mountain where the Rong Di and Xi Liang meet, which no one can cross.”

Chun Tao brought up tea and refreshments. After serving tea, she led others out of the side hall to wait outside.

Bai Jintong nodded, dipping her finger in the tea water to roughly draw the positions of the Rong Di, Xi Liang, the snow mountain, and Tianfeng Kingdom on the small sandalwood table.

“Tianfeng Kingdom is here, in a truly advantageous position. Previously separated by the snow mountain… to the Xi Liang people and Rong Di, the snow mountain is sacred and inviolable, deeply believe the snow mountain is the end of the world! And the Tianfeng Kingdom beyond the snow mountain thinks the same way, not knowing there are other countries beyond that snow mountain!”

Bai Jintong circled another position beside the snow mountain, pointing with her finger: “The southern end of the snow mountain is a desert, right in Xi Liang, and the desert’s edge is a place no one dares to go! I was fortunate… to discover a route that allows travel between Tianfeng Kingdom and Xi Liang, and from Xi Liang, one can transport Tianfeng Kingdom’s goods to Great Zhou, Great Yan, and the former Great Wei and Great Liang! This brought considerable profit, but… unfortunately, while in Xi Liang, to quickly gain the support of Xi Liang’s eight great families, I had no choice but to tell them about this route too. This path is treacherous but not severely cold, so people can indeed pass through.”

Bai Qingyan suddenly felt alarmed: “Tell me about this Tianfeng Kingdom in detail.”

“When I first arrived in Tianfeng Kingdom, I found many things deeply incredible. Elephants, these giant animals, are rare even in Liang Kingdom, but in Tianfeng Kingdom, elephants… are everywhere, and they’re even larger than Great Liang’s elephants. Tianfeng Kingdom calls elephants ‘great guests’ and ‘great beasts.’ This Kingdom’s population cannot compare to the Great Zhou and Great Yan, so their army numbers aren’t large, but they can use elephants as military forces.”

“They train these massive, powerful elephants as elephant armies, like our cavalry. Compared to cavalry, elephant armies traverse mountains and rivers as if on flat ground. The elephants wear iron armor, with soldiers riding on their backs commanding battles, and during marches, the elephant armies can also transport grain and supplies. My time in Tianfeng Kingdom was too short to witness elephant armies in actual warfare, but in daily life in Tianfeng Kingdom… the people’s lives are inseparable from elephants.”