Bai Jintong’s bloodshot eyes stared intently at Bai Qingyan: “According to local people, there was once an army of twenty thousand that came to cause trouble in Tianfeng Kingdom. When the elephant army was deployed, the troublemaking army was almost annihilated. Since then, for nearly fifty years, no one has dared provoke Tianfeng Kingdom!”

It was precisely because of this that Bai Jintong had rushed back day and night. She said in a low voice to Bai Qingyan: “Although I believe Tianfeng Kingdom is not a warlike nation and perhaps wouldn’t help Xi Liang get involved in war, but… if Xi Liang offers substantial benefits, it’s not certain that Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler wouldn’t agree. But I’ve thought it over and can’t figure out what Xi Liang could offer Tianfeng Kingdom! Tianfeng Kingdom has an advantageous geographical position – Xi Liang has no way to offer benefits substantial enough to move Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler, so presumably Tianfeng Kingdom wouldn’t mobilize their forces for Xi Liang’s sake.”

“Even so, we still must guard against it. Third Brother said he’s staying in Nan Jiang, ready to engage in battle at any time.” Bai Jintong said.

Bai Qingyan was not unfamiliar with elephants. With their massive size, if they were truly deployed in warfare in sufficient numbers, they would certainly be unstoppable, and their destructive power is unimaginable.

“Do you know how many elephant armies Tianfeng Kingdom has?” Bai Qingyan asked.

Bai Jintong shook her head: “I don’t know, but Chen Qingsheng and Xiao Ruohai, following Third Brother’s orders, have already gone to Tianfeng Kingdom. First… to investigate Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant armies, and second to find out… whether Tianfeng Kingdom will ally with Xi Liang.”

“Did your Third Brother give the tally to Xiao Ruohai and Chen Qingsheng?” Bai Qingyan asked.

Bai Jintong nodded repeatedly: “Third Brother gave Elder Sister’s tally to Xiao Ruohai and Chen Qingsheng. Third Brother said… If all else fails, they can propose mutual trade relations and negotiate an alliance – in short, show goodwill to Tianfeng Kingdom, and Tianfeng Kingdom will surely think twice before acting.”

“Elder Sister…” Bai Jintong called Bai Qingyan softly, “To put it bluntly, although we don’t know the exact number of elephant armies, but… Tianfeng Kingdom has elephant trainers everywhere. Just gathering the elephants that common people use daily to transport goods would already be a massive number.”

Bai Qingyan slowly sat up straight, her fingers rubbing back and forth. After a long while, “I remember you mentioned in your last letter that you went to sea from Guanping… got lost at sea and found Tianfeng Kingdom through exploration. Which route was that?”

Bai Jintong again dipped her finger in tea water, redrawing the snow mountain where the water stains had dried, then drew the former coastline of Great Liang and the island nations far from Great Liang. She pointed to the island nation: “I departed from here loaded with goods, drifted and explored through the sea to here…”

She pointed to behind the snow mountain, to the land she had casually drawn: “Later, after I sent people to survey, I guessed this is the back side of the snow mountain that the Rong Di and Xi Liang consider sacred, roughly at the border between the Rong Di and Xi Liang snow mountains. We entered the river from here, followed the river… crossed grasslands, and then discovered Tianfeng Kingdom.”

Bai Qingyan looked down at the map Bai Jintong had drawn with water: “So Tianfeng Kingdom is closest to Xi Liang?”

“It should be, but I can only give an approximate location. For specifics… We’ll need Elder Sister’s milk brother Xiao Ruohai to make the trip to draw a more precise location.” Bai Jintong said.

Bai Qingyan nodded.

“Also, there’s the situation in Xi Liang…”

Bai Jintong explained the chaos of Xi Liang’s eight great families, how the Xi Liang Female Emperor had suppressed the eight great families with fierce methods, how Xiao Ruohai had led people to burn all the granaries of the eight great families, Xi Liang’s current food shortage, and Bai Qingqi’s original plans.

But… if Xi Liang turned to seek aid from Tianfeng Kingdom instead of Yan Kingdom, she didn’t know whether Bai Qingqi’s previous schemes could still succeed.

“Good, I understand this matter.” Seeing Bai Jintong’s haggard and exhausted appearance, Bai Qingyan felt deeply distressed. She pushed her untouched tea toward Bai Jintong. “Have some refreshments first, go see Third Aunt, take a bath and get a good sleep. We’ll talk more after you wake up…”

Utterly exhausted, Bai Jintong had indeed reached her limit after telling Bai Qingyan the important matters. She nodded and stood to bow to Bai Qingyan: “I heard from Wei Zhong that Elder Sister is discussing serious business with Grand Commandant Lu and the others. Elder Sister should attend to that first. When Elder Sister is free, Jintong will speak with Elder Sister in detail.”

Bai Qingyan nodded.

“Oh, Elder Sister, we found General Guan in Xi Liang!” Bai Jintong almost forgot this matter.

“General Guan Zhangning?” Bai Qingyan’s hand gripping the small table tightened as she asked, “Guan Zhangning, the general who was by Fifth Uncle’s side?”

“Yes!” Bai Jintong nodded. “I mentioned in a previous letter to Elder Sister that the Xi Liang Female Emperor seemed to be forming an army similar to our Bai family army’s Huying Battalion. This army is called the Huoyun Army, and it was trained by General Guan Zhangning. General Guan Zhangning lost his memory in the Nan Jiang battle and was deceived by the Yun family… thinking he was a member of the Yun family, so he stayed in Xi Liang these past years.”

“Besides losing his memory, did he suffer any other injuries?” Bai Qingyan asked with concern.

Bai Jintong shook her head: “Elder Sister can rest assured. General Guan’s old injuries have healed, and he has no serious wounds, so he’s fine. Elder Sister can be at ease! It’s just that after General Guan returned, he felt quite indignant and kept wanting to go back to Xi Liang to bring the Huoyun Army back…”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “As long as he’s unharmed, that’s good.”

Only now did Bai Jintong seriously look at the clothes her elder sister was wearing. With a smile in her brows and eyes, she bowed to Bai Qingyan again: “I haven’t yet congratulated Elder Sister for finally achieving what she once envisioned!”

Although Jintong hadn’t returned in time for Elder Sister’s enthronement, Bai Jintong’s heart had always been with the Bai family.

When Elder Sister had told her to prepare an escape route for the Bai family, she knew Elder Sister would certainly rebel, but she never imagined Elder Sister would overthrow the Jin Dynasty in just a few short years and ascend to the imperial throne as a woman.

Bai Jintong had depth and ambition. Bai Qingyan knew that when she first chose to speak those words to Bai Jintong, she knew Jintong understood her. She smiled and said, “Go quickly! Third Aunt will be so happy to see you.”

“Elder Sister…” Bai Jintong called out to Bai Qingyan again, saying in a low voice, “About Mr. Xiao… my condolences regarding the brother-in-law’s matter.”

On her way back, Bai Jintong had heard that Bai Qingyan had married Xiao Rongyan because of his serious illness, and also heard that Xiao Rongyan still couldn’t overcome it and had passed away. Bai Jintong was afraid that Elder Sister would keep all her thoughts buried deep in her heart without expressing them, which over time might make her sick with worry.

Bai Qingyan smiled at Bai Jintong and said, “Go rest first. I’ll tell you about this matter later…”

Watching Bai Jintong leave with Wei Zhong, she said to Chun Tao: “Have someone prepare bath water for Jintong and prepare chicken soup noodles. After Jintong finishes bathing, make sure she eats something before sleeping.”

“Miss, please rest assured. This servant will handle it immediately.” Chun Tao curtsied and hurried away.