As night fell, Xiao Rongyan was kneeling and sitting behind the desk in his military tent, having just finished reading the battle plan sent by Da Zhou’s army detailing how to advance on Yunjing and what coordination was needed from Yan’s army.

The battle plan was devised by Bai Qingyu. Bai Qingyu’s strategy involved cooperation between the Yan and Da Zhou armies. Bai Qingyu would feign defeat to lure Western Liang forces to capture him alive, while Yan’s army would set an early ambush. After consuming most of Western Liang’s main forces, Da Zhou and Yan would each rely on their abilities to attack the city gates. Whoever first broke into Yunjing’s imperial palace would claim Yunjing.

Xiao Rongyan hadn’t expected that his young brother-in-law’s battle plan coincided with his thoughts.

However, Xiao Rongyan had originally intended to feign defeat and lure the enemy himself; after all, he was Yan’s Regent Prince.

He set aside Bai Qingyu’s letter, pondering how to reply, when a secret report from Yan’s capital arrived.

Xiao Rongyan carefully read the secret report from Yan’s capital. The medicine beside him had grown cold but remained untouched.

The secret message stated that before he abandoned Yunjing and led troops to Jiangzi City to rescue Bai Qingyan, the Yan Empress Dowager had frequently summoned Consort Meng Zhao, daughter of Minister Meng. Word had even spread from the palace that the Empress Dowager intended to decree marriage between him and Consort Meng Zhao. Subsequently, Consort Meng Zhao had vanished, but the Empress Dowager kept the news from spreading.

Someone had whispered in the Empress Dowager’s ear, saying the Ninth Prince now disregarded even the Empress Dowager’s dignity. When the Empress Dowager spoke of decreeing marriage for the Ninth Prince, he was dissatisfied and audaciously employed this strategy of removing the fuel from under the cauldron, making Consort Meng Zhao disappear, openly slapping the Empress Dowager’s face.

Some even said the Ninth Prince had hidden Consort Meng Zhao away, planning to demand her return after achieving victory in Western Liang, openly defying the Empress Dowager.

Standing behind Xiao Rongyan, bronze crane lamps carved with lifelike detail flickered with flames, casting his sharply defined features in alternating light and shadow.

“Master! Master!” Yue Shi entered the tent hurriedly, holding Bai Qingyan’s letter to Xiao Rongyan and the wound medicine she had sent, saying with a smile: “A letter from Miss Bai, and wound medicine she sent for you.”

Xiao Rongyan looked up toward Yue Shi.

Yue Shi excitedly knelt and sat before Xiao Rongyan’s desk, pushing both the letter and medicine toward him: “Master, the letter and wound medicine Miss Bai had delivered.”

After speaking, Yue Shi noticed his master’s medicine remained untouched: “Master, you haven’t drunk your medicine yet?”

Xiao Rongyan didn’t answer. He took Bai Qingyan’s letter and opened it—it was written in Bai Qingyan’s hand.

With good sense, Yue Shi moved the lamp closer to Xiao Rongyan and remained there, planning to persuade his master to drink the medicine after he finished reading Miss Bai’s letter. How could he get better without taking medicine?

Xiao Rongyan read Bai Qingyan’s letter repeatedly, the gloom that had clouded his brow for days seeming gradually dispelled.

Although Bai Qingyan made excuses in her letter, claiming she truly had confidence in the battle situation and only dared risk herself because of that assurance, absolutely not disregarding her safety, and mentioning that Du Sanbao had already dug through the tunnel, so she had an escape route if necessary.

Xiao Rongyan knew the talk about crawling through tunnels was Bai Qingyan’s way of appeasing him. But thinking carefully, everything Bai Qingyan did had a purpose and effect. Like when she led the Bai family through life-and-death struggles in the capital, her methods were intricately linked and endlessly resourceful. Indeed… she was not a reckless person.

Bai Qingyan was confident but not arrogant, strong but not obstinate. It was just that Xiao Rongyan’s concern had clouded his judgment.

He had already understood this point on the journey.

Especially when he read the end of the letter, where Bai Qingyan said that from now on, before doing anything, she would consider him… and their child more carefully, definitely never again risking her safety, asking him also to take good care of himself and be sure to change dressing and take medicine on time. Finally, a very faint smile appeared in Xiao Rongyan’s eyes.

Seeing his master’s mood finally showing some brightness, Yue Shi quickly said: “Master, so as not to worry Miss Bai, you should drink this medicine! Otherwise, next time you meet, if your wound still hasn’t healed, Miss Bai will hold me accountable, since you were wounded saving me!”

Xiao Rongyan gripped Bai Qingyan’s letter, gently stroking the paper, then casually picked up the medicine bowl and tilted his head back to drain the cold medicine.

“Ah… Master!” Yue Shi saw that his master had already gulped it down. The words about reheating the medicine died on his lips.

The bitter medicine numbed his tongue, but Xiao Rongyan’s heart felt no bitterness at all. He folded Bai Qingyan’s letter and placed it in a brocade box on the desk, saying to Yue Shi: “The military physician Miss Bai sent—is he still waiting to dress this prince’s wounds?”

“Yes, Master!” Yue Shi responded, thinking Miss Bai’s letter was indeed effective. As soon as her letter arrived, Master immediately let the military physician change his dressing.

Previously, when the physician came, Master always found him bothersome. Now he was proactively remembering to change the dressing.

“Go call him over!” Xiao Rongyan said quietly.

“Yes!” Yue Shi immediately stood up and happily went to fetch the military physician.

The military physician was worrying about failing to complete the task Miss Bai had given him. This Ninth Prince of Yan was too uncooperative, and his intimidating presence made the physician afraid to forcefully change the dressing.

He was just pondering whether to carry his medicine chest over again in a while when Yue Shi came to invite him.

The military physician couldn’t quite believe it. How had the Ninth Prince suddenly changed his attitude? Usually, he needed to make seven or eight trips and endure the Ninth Prince’s scolding about disrupting military affairs before barely getting him to accept wound treatment. Today, he was sending a guard to invite him?

Despite his hesitation, he still had to complete the task Miss Bai had assigned. The military physician hurriedly shouldered his medicine chest and followed Yue Shi to Xiao Rongyan’s tent to change his dressing.

After changing the dressing, the military physician still found the smooth process somewhat unbelievable as he left with his medicine chest.

Yue Shi waited beside Xiao Rongyan for quite a while. Seeing his master didn’t instruct him to send a reply to Miss Bai, he finally couldn’t help asking: “Master, will you write a reply to Miss Bai?”

“No need…”

From the letter, Xiao Rongyan could see that Bai Qingyan had lowered her stance to apologize and appease him. This seemed to prove that Xiao Rongyan was also very important in Bai Qingyan’s heart. He very much liked this feeling of being missed by Bai Qingyan. He wanted to let Bai Qingyan worry about him for a few more days.

Just as Xiao Rongyan finished speaking, someone outside reported that a Bai family guard was requesting an audience.

Xiao Rongyan’s expression suddenly changed. Bai Qingyan’s letter had just arrived not long ago, and now another Bai family guard had come. Could something have happened to Bai Qingyan?

“Let him in!” Xiao Rongyan’s palms tightened, his thin lips pressed tight.

Soon, the Bai family guard entered the tent and bowed to Xiao Rongyan: “Greetings to Great Yan’s Ninth Prince.”

Yue Shi recognized him—an acquaintance!

He was also worried that something had happened to Bai Qingyan and quickly asked: “Miss Bai’s letter just arrived. Why are you here delivering another message?”