“Prefect’s wife Ye Yingyan was already worried about being rejected by Ye Shouguan, and considering that the Western Liang Emperor was in Great Zhou’s hands, Western Liang’s situation seemed hopeless. So she decided to take a gamble, turned around and returned to Suining City… hoping to use her identity as Ye Shouguan’s sister to negotiate Ye Shouguan’s surrender or steal the token to open the city gates, in exchange for her daughter’s marriage into Great Zhou’s imperial family.”
Bai Qingyan gently stroked her abdomen, pacing slowly: “But Great Zhou’s imperial family are not fools to be deceived by Ye Yingyan. Naturally, they won’t release the eagle without seeing the rabbit first. And because of her greed, Ye Yingyan was captured just like Li Tianfu. That’s why Ye Yingyan sent her daughter with the token to seek out this personal guard. Only if the guard obtains the token can Li Tianfu and the prefect couple’s lives be temporarily preserved. If he can’t get the token and can’t open the city gates, then… when we Great Zhou, attack the city, we’ll use Western Liang Emperor Li Tianfu, the prefect, and the prefect’s wife as shields to advance!”
Bai Qingyan knew clearly in her heart that stealing the token wouldn’t be so simple. The token controlled the opening and closing of city gates – it was something that determined the survival of an entire city. How could Ye Shouguan easily let someone steal it?
“Ye Yingyan’s daughter deeply knows that her mother has stumbled before the Great Zhou this time. She also fears that Ye Shouguan, because of his years of accumulated grievances with the prefect’s wife Ye Yingyan, might want to take this opportunity to eliminate her mother, then kill Li Tianfu and claim the territory as king himself. So she requests the personal guard’s help!”
“As long as this personal guard of General Ye Shoucheng, being a Western Liang person, doesn’t worry about harming their Western Liang Emperor, and as someone who has admired the prefect’s wife for many years, doesn’t fear hurting the person dear to his heart, he can disregard Li Tianfu and Ye Yingyan’s lives!”
Bai Qingyan’s voice was unhurried and methodical, quickly sorting out and defining the entire sequence of events.
The whole affair was a mixture of truth and falsehood. As long as one or two things could match up, it would greatly increase the credibility of the entire story.
For instance, the fact that Suining City’s prefect and prefect’s wife Ye Yingyan turned back on their way to Yecheng Pass – there must be Western Liang people who escaped into Yecheng Pass who saw and knew this. So when Ye Shouguan inquires from these people, he’ll know this statement is true, and the credibility of other matters will also greatly increase.
Hearing Bai Qingyan speak thus, Bai Qingjue said: “Elder sister means to reduce this personal guard’s guilt, making him feel that stealing the token isn’t just to save his beloved, but also to save Western Liang’s emperor – that he’s being loyal…”
“There’s also the fact that Ye Shouguan might become suspicious about Li Tianfu being in our Great Zhou’s hands, doubting how Ye Yingyan’s daughter managed to pass through layers of guards to reach Ye Shoucheng!” Bai Qingyan’s brows carried a faint smile. “If something goes wrong in the middle of this affair, as long as this personal guard is caught while stealing the token or afterwards, he might conveniently reveal that Li Tianfu is in Great Zhou’s military camp, and that if they can’t steal the token to open the city gates, we’ll kill Li Tianfu and the Suining prefect couple…”
“Elder sister wants to use this method to make Ye Shouguan believe that Li Tianfu is in our hands?” Bai Jinzhao frowned. “But… will this work?”
Bai Qingyan smiled and shook her head.
“The entire affair isn’t to make Ye Shouguan believe, but to make the soldiers of Yecheng Pass… deeply believe without doubt that Li Tianfu is in our Great Zhou’s hands! So it’s best if the matter becomes a big commotion – the bigger the better… letting more of Yecheng Pass’s soldiers believe Li Tianfu is in our hands. This way… when we bring out the fake Li Tianfu, if Ye Shouguan says Li Tianfu is fake, he’ll be suspected by his soldiers.” Bai Qingyan’s brows showed a light smile as she looked at Bai Jinse, who had proposed this idea. “At the same time, we’ll follow Xiao Qi’s suggestion and have soldiers lie in ambush beforehand, using ‘Li Tianfu’ to lure Ye Shouguan to lead troops out of the city for battle!”
Bai Qingqi nodded: “Dispatching internal agents into the city, frontal engagement, and Tiger Eagle Battalion soldiers entering Yecheng Pass! Three-pronged approach… we’re certain to succeed!”
“Elder sister’s method is excellent! I said with my elder sister here, we’ll win the battle!” Bai Jinhua, hearing Bai Qingyan finish speaking, seemed as if victory was already assured.
“The method was Xiao Qi’s idea. I merely took Xiao Qi and A’Jue’s method and thought through the details more carefully.” Bai Qingyan raised her hand to pat Bai Jinse’s head. “This time… for the frontal campaign, Xiao Qi will stay by my side!”
“Yes!” Bai Jinse clasped her fists in response.
“Then tonight we’ll have Miss Sima set out for Yecheng Pass, and our main army will depart tomorrow morning at dawn! Even if we don’t attack the city, we’ll deploy our formation to frighten those Western Liang soldiers!” Bai Jinzhao clenched her fist tightly.
That very night, Sima Ruodan, who had observed Ye Yingyan’s family for a long time, departed overnight. She boarded a carriage and rushed toward Yecheng Pass. Originally, she had been uneasy in her heart, fearing that if she didn’t perform well, she’d ruin His Majesty’s and the Bai Family Army’s important affairs. But His Majesty not only sent people to protect her but also told her that if she couldn’t accomplish the task, it didn’t matter – everything should prioritize her safety, and she should adapt as circumstances required.
His Majesty also said that before Great Zhou’s army departed for Yecheng Pass at the chen hour tomorrow morning, even if she truly couldn’t avoid Ye Shouguan’s people, she needn’t avoid them. She could deliberately shake off Ye Shouguan’s people to find that personal guard and proceed according to plan. Even if Ye Shouguan discovered this, he wouldn’t make things difficult for a young lady. He might either imprison her or, considering their uncle-niece relationship, place her under house arrest. None of this mattered – Great Zhou’s army would rescue her once they entered the city.
Sima Ruodan had complete faith in Bai Qingyan. His Majesty was the great hero who had previously destroyed Shu and pacified the Southern and Northern frontiers, invincible in battle. When it came to warfare… how many people in this world could match their Great Zhou Emperor!
This was the first time His Majesty had given her a mission. She absolutely had to complete it beautifully.
Sitting in the jolting carriage, Sima Ruodan tightly gripped the jade pendant in her hand, closing her eyes to recall that prefect’s daughter’s speech patterns and mannerisms. This was her first time impersonating someone else, and without time to practice, she could only simulate the prefect’s daughter’s tone and gestures over and over in her mind.
Before she left, Seventh Miss Bai Jinse had gone over things with her. She was supposed to be protected by loyal family servants while escaping, stealing someone else’s carriage along the way to flee here. Naturally, her appearance should be somewhat disheveled to seem authentic. So her clothes had tears from being caught on something, and there were dried leaves stuck in her hair.
Yecheng Pass.
It was already the zi hour, and Ye Shouguan’s deputy general was still patrolling atop the city wall.
“General, you should go rest! The Great Zhou just captured Suining City – they won’t necessarily come to our Yecheng Pass immediately. Besides, Yecheng Pass is one of the most difficult passes in the world to attack. It’s not something Great Zhou can bite into just because they want to!” The gate guard followed behind the deputy general, speaking in a low voice. “The wind is so strong – you should go back and rest!”
The patrolling deputy general suddenly stopped in his tracks, tightly gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist, shouting: “Archers, prepare!”