“That’s only natural. Our miss is so good and so beautiful, and she even helped Young Master Cui establish himself in our Yan capital back then. Young Master Cui naturally holds our miss dear to his heart. It’s just a pity his status is somewhat lowly.” The maidservant shook her head, also believing Cui Fengnian was not a good choice.

“Enough, stop talking. Go prepare! Tomorrow morning, as soon as the city gates open, we leave!” Consort Meng Zhao said.

“Yes!” the maidservant responded.

That night, Bai Qingyan slept fairly peacefully. Perhaps because she had written out the words weighing on her heart and had them sent to Xiao Rongyan, and had also made up her mind to avoid putting herself in danger as much as possible in the future for Xiao Rongyan and the child’s sake, her heart felt somewhat lighter.

Seeing that Bai Qingyan was sleeping soundly, Weizhong and Chun Zhi didn’t wake her. It wasn’t until Weizhong heard faint sounds from inside that he inquired in a low voice through the carved screen: “First Miss, are you awake? Shall I send someone in to attend to your washing and dressing?”

“Mm…” Bai Qingyan responded.

Chun Zhi hurriedly went to prepare and attended to Bai Qingyan’s washing and dressing. Only then did Weizhong hand over the letter sent by Bai Jintong to Bai Qingyan.

“It’s from Third Miss. The letter arrived last night when First Miss was already asleep, so this old servant didn’t wake First Miss,” Weizhong said with a smile. “The one who delivered the letter… was a secret guard First Miss had previously sent to protect Third Miss. He said he was following Third Miss’s orders and had been waiting for First Miss in Tianmen Pass early, thinking that First Miss returning from the Western Liang battlefield would surely pass through Tianmen Pass.”

The Bai family people had always been clever.

While Chun Zhi was still arranging the meal, Bai Qingyan opened the letter…

In the letter, Bai Jintong said that the Yan Empress Dowager had successively sent people through her maternal family secretly to Western Liang for unknown purposes, and afterward, Western Liang people had secretly entered Yan’s capital, even entering the palace to see the Yan Empress Dowager.

Now Yan was allied with Da Zhou, yet ambiguously involved with Western Liang, with unclear motives. She asked Bai Qingyan to be careful and vigilant. She had already sent secret guards to the front lines to deliver letters to their elder brothers, so Bai Qingyan need not worry.

Furthermore, now that both Yan and Da Zhou armies were approaching Yunjing, Western Liang’s destruction was inevitable. The Yan court was now preparing for how to divide Western Liang with Da Zhou in the future, with ministers arguing endlessly.

In the letter, Bai Jintong listed the ministers in Yan’s court who believed that… since Da Zhou had shown benevolence in war by giving most of the spoils to Yan, in the division of cities, Yan could not only consider Yan’s private interests.

She also listed those who seemed to have blood feuds with Da Zhou, demanding not to yield an inch, believing they could repay Da Zhou with heavy profits but not yield a single step of land.

She separately listed the ministers from both factions who held weight with the Yan Empress Dowager. Bai Jintong believed that while Yunjing hadn’t been taken yet, they should prepare early to win over one or two important ministers toward Da Zhou with heavy profits. She asked Bai Qingyan whether to begin preparations now and risk attempting to win them over.

There was also a second matter. She told Bai Qingyan that she had established a relationship with Sima Mingdao, descendant of the hydraulic engineer Sima Sheng, who had once emerged from the Four Seas Pavilion of Luopan Mountain. Hearing that Da Zhou was constructing the Great River Canal, under her persuasion and encouragement, Sima Mingdao had already set off for Da Zhou’s Yanwo. If her elder sister wanted to use this person, she could give advance notice to those in charge of the Great River Canal construction.

The Great River Canal had originally been designed and built by Sima Mingdao’s grandfather. In her conversations with Sima Mingdao, she learned that hydraulic engineer Sima Sheng had left complete blueprints for the Great River Canal construction, which Sima Mingdao had later improved upon.

When Sima Sheng emerged from the Four Seas Pavilion, he became famous throughout the world for the Great River Canal. Now, Sima Mingdao was willing to complete his grandfather’s remaining blueprints and achieve the true Great River Canal, bringing glory to the Sima family once again.

Additionally, Bai Jintong also mentioned in the letter that the Great Yan Empress Dowager was determined to decree marriage for the Ninth Prince Murong Yan. The intended bride was Minister Meng’s daughter, Yan’s first beauty Consort Meng Zhao. According to Consort Meng Zhao, the Empress Dowager had obtained evidence against her father and planned to force her to marry the Ninth Prince, using her beauty to win over the Ninth Prince, even forcing her to become the Empress Dowager’s spy.

Consort Meng Zhao was unwilling, and Lady Meng was also unwilling to have her daughter marry the Ninth Prince and be controlled by the Empress Dowager. They wanted to arrange for Consort Meng Zhao to escape. She had sought her out and given her much silver, begging her to help use trade routes to secretly send Consort Meng Zhao out of Yan.

Feeling that women had difficult lives, she declined the silver and helped send Consort Meng Zhao out of Yan to settle in Feng County, arranging a shop for her future livelihood, with strict supervision.

More importantly, she planned to frame Ninth Prince Murong Yan for Consort Meng Zhao’s disappearance, thereby causing the Empress Dowager to be even more wary of Yan’s Ninth Prince, creating greater division in Yan’s court. An unstable Yan court would be beneficial for Da Zhou.

At the end of the letter, Bai Jintong rambled on, instructing Bai Qingyan to pay attention to her health, feeling that it was reckless for Bai Qingyan to lead soldiers in battle while pregnant, urging her to think more about the child in her womb and not to worry her.

Seeing that Bai Qingyan had finished reading the letter and folded it up, Weizhong said with a smile: “Third Miss also sent a box of small toys for children, saying they’re for the future little nephew or niece. This old servant has already had them loaded onto the carriage.”

“Good…” Bai Qingyan nodded with a smile, pondered briefly, then rose and walked to the desk to write a reply to Bai Jintong.

In the letter, she told Bai Jintong to hold back for now, as she would send a letter for Da Zhou’s envoy in Yan to handle this matter.

Bai Qingyan hesitated, ultimately not telling Bai Jintong that the discord between Yan’s emperor and Ninth Prince was a façade. She only instructed Bai Jintong not to act rashly, as she had already reached an agreement with both Yan’s emperor and Ninth Prince. This time, regardless of whether Yan or Da Zhou took Yunjing, Yan’s emperor would take action. She urged Bai Jintong to protect herself and not be reckless.

Furthermore, Western Liang’s Li Tianjiao already knew Bai Jintong’s identity. Given Li Tianjiao’s nature, he would either betray Bai Jintong’s identity as a Da Zhou spy to Yan, or hope that Bai Jintong, as a Da Zhou spy, would make Great Yan restless too, keeping silent about her identity.

But regardless, Bai Jintong had to prepare for the possibility that her identity was already known to Great Yan, keeping backup plans ready. If necessary, she should sell off her shops now, with her safety as the top priority.

Having Weizhong send out the letter, Bai Qingyan accepted the hot towel Chun Zhi handed her to wipe her hands, then had breakfast.

She repeatedly pondered what Bai Jintong had written about the Yan Empress Dowager wanting to arrange marriage between Xiao Rongyan and Consort Meng Zhao, inevitably recalling the words the Yan Empress Dowager had said when she came to find her.

If news of Xiao Rongyan abandoning Yunjing and instead leading troops to rescue her reached Yan’s capital, the Yan Empress Dowager would probably cause trouble for Xiao Rongyan again.