Before the Bai family guard could answer, Yue Shi raised his voice again and shouted: “Is there something wrong with Eldest Miss? Is Eldest Miss about to give birth?”

Yue Shi was wildly speculating.

Xiao Rongyan thought of premature birth and was so shocked he nearly stood up. His fists clenched tightly as he composed himself and asked: “What happened to Eldest Miss?”

“Thank you for Your Highness the Ninth Prince’s concern. Eldest Miss and the child in her womb are both safe and sound, please rest assured,” the Bai family guard replied with a composed expression. “This time I’ve come because Eldest Miss, on her way back to the capital city, temporarily went to Feng County to investigate the people’s conditions. By coincidence, she encountered the daughter of Minister Meng from Yan Kingdom, the prospective Princess Consort of Great Yan’s Ninth Prince…”

Yue Shi’s eyes widened. Prospective Princess Consort? When did this happen? How did he not know?

The Bai family guard glanced up at Xiao Rongyan’s expression, then lowered his gaze and continued: “So, Eunuch Wei sent this humble one to inform Your Highness the Ninth Prince about this matter, and also…”

The Bai family guard pulled out a storybook from his chest, gesturing for Yue Shi to take it to Xiao Rongyan.

Yue Shi hurried forward to receive the storybook. Just as he was about to look at the title, he saw the Bai family guard gesture for him to hand it over, so he respectfully presented the storybook to his master.

“This is a storybook given from the clothing shop opened by Your Highness, the Ninth Prince’s prospective Princess Consort, Meng Zhaorong, in Feng County. Our Eldest Miss happened to stroll past this clothing shop and heard the shop assistant inside talking about the love-hate entanglements between Yan Kingdom’s Ninth Prince and his prospective Princess Consort, so she went in to listen…”

The Bai family guard watched Xiao Rongyan rapidly flipping through the storybook and recounted everything that happened after Bai Qingyan arrived in Feng County. He also told Xiao Rongyan about how someone followed them to outside Tianmen Pass after they left the clothing shop, and how the next morning, this Meng Zhao came to seek an audience with Eldest Miss using her identity as the Ninth Prince’s prospective Princess Consort.

Naturally, the Bai family guard also informed Xiao Rongyan that Meng Zhaorong had been imprisoned in Tianmen Pass as a suspected spy.

After listening, Xiao Rongyan had also roughly finished browsing through this chaotic storybook. The storybook didn’t avoid using his name at all, nor did it avoid using Meng Zhaorong’s name, suggesting it hadn’t spread throughout the Yan Kingdom.

But…

“You’re saying this Meng Zhaorong went to seek an audience with Great Zhou’s Emperor using the identity of Yan Kingdom’s Ninth Prince’s prospective Princess Consort?” Xiao Rongyan’s calm, mellow voice carried a careless coldness.

“Exactly. When she was taken away by Tianmen Pass’s patrolling officers and soldiers, she was still loudly shouting that she was Yan Kingdom’s Ninth Prince’s prospective Princess Consort. There should be no mistake,” the Bai family guard replied honestly, being naturally truthful.

Xiao Rongyan casually tossed the storybook in his hand onto the table and said to the Bai family guard, “Thank you for coming to inform me of this matter. Yue Shi… take this guard to rest and have something to eat! In a while, we’ll need to trouble you to take a letter back to Eldest Miss.”

“Yes!” the Bai family guard responded.

Yue Shi glanced at his master. Just now he said he wouldn’t write a letter to that Eldest Miss, but now he was eagerly wanting to write a letter again.

Xiao Rongyan looked at the storybook, originally planning to throw it into the brazier after writing a letter to Bai Qingyan, but after thinking about it, he put the storybook down.

After he finished writing the letter and sealed it, he placed it aside. His fingers tapped on the envelope as he called out: “Summon Wang Jiuzhou!”

Soon, Wang Jiuzhou came upon receiving the order.

Xiao Rongyan looked up at Wang Jiuzhou: “You return to the capital and tell Imperial Sister-in-law… say that this prince heard from the general who came to deliver grain today that Imperial Sister-in-law has intentions of betrothing Miss Meng from Minister Meng’s family to me. If Imperial Sister-in-law truly has the intention to care about my lifelong matters, after the great victory at Yun Jing, she can find an occasion to host a banquet. If I truly take a liking to any young lady, as the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother… I will naturally approach Imperial Sister-in-law and request her to bestow the marriage. But… this Great Yan’s first beauty, Meng Zhaorong, absolutely will not do.”

Xiao Rongyan pushed the storybook toward Wang Jiuzhou’s direction: “This prince does not like becoming others’ topic of idle gossip!”

The reason Xiao Rongyan had Wang Jiuzhou return with this message to Empress Dowager Yan was to give his sister-in-law peace of mind.

After all, with his abandonment of Yun Jing… leading troops to Jiangzi City to rescue Bai Qingyan as precedent, his sister-in-law would inevitably suspect that he might abandon Yan Kingdom for Bai Qingyan’s sake in the future. Only by agreeing to his sister-in-law that he was willing to discuss marriage matters after returning would she feel at ease.

Secondly, those people constantly whispered poison in his soft-hearted sister-in-law’s ear. Only by making his attitude clear would his sister-in-law know that he had never intended to stand in opposition to her and A’Li. He didn’t want this Meng Zhaorong, but he had no intention of using Meng Zhaorong to slap his sister-in-law’s face.

It could be said that the storybook A’Bao sent came at a very timely moment…

He believed there must be copies in Yan Kingdom as well, just that the versions circulating in Yan Kingdom wouldn’t write the names so clearly.

“Yes!” Wang Jiuzhou received the order, stepped forward to take the storybook, his gaze sweeping over the letter sent by Great Zhou’s Bai Qingyu, then withdrew from the main tent.

Soon, Yue Shi and the Bai family guard returned. Taking Xiao Rongyan’s letter for Bai Qingyan, they quickly departed on horseback to deliver the letter to Bai Qingyan.

Yue Shi stood with his hands behind his back, watching the Bai family guard galloping away, his features full of smiles. In the past, this letter-delivering work was all done by him; now, finally, someone was replacing him as a messenger between Eldest Miss and his master.

Wei Zhong and the Bai family guards escorted Bai Qingyan on the journey back. When passing through Yanwo, Bai Qingyan stopped again.

After not seeing him for several months, Qin Shangzhi had grown even thinner. When he heard Bai Qingyan had come and hurried to meet her, he was still ill. Although he tried to suppress his coughing, coughing couldn’t completely suppress it. When speaking, he would occasionally let out two coughs, his face flushed red from holding back.

Bai Qingyan had the accompanying physician take Qin Shangzhi’s pulse and prescribed medicine to be decocted. She also had Wei Zhong bring Qin Shangzhi a thick cloak, only then did she have Qin Shangzhi accompany her for a walk along the embankment to discuss the canal construction.

“The progress of canal construction is within this minister’s planned scope, but there is one matter that still requires Your Majesty’s decision!” Qin Shangzhi turned around while suppressing his cough.

A subordinate who had been following behind Qin Shangzhi immediately stepped forward, holding sheepskin blueprints. Qin Shangzhi took the blueprints and said to Bai Qingyan, “Your Majesty, there’s a rest pavilion not far ahead. Please move there, and this minister will explain in detail to Your Majesty…”

Bai Qingyan nodded and walked with Qin Shangzhi to the pavilion that could somewhat shield them from the cold wind.

Qin Shangzhi spread out the blueprints on the paint-peeled square table and respectfully invited Bai Qingyan to come forward and look: “Your Majesty, these are the blueprints for constructing the Guanghe Canal submitted by Sima Mingdao, the grandson of the hydraulic engineering master Sima Sheng. I heard these were left behind by Master Sima Sheng, and then Sima Mingdao made some additions and modifications to Master Sima Sheng’s blueprints!”

Bai Qingyan looked at Sima Mingdao’s blueprints and smiled: “This doesn’t seem to have any major differences from the blueprints Master Qin showed me before.”