From being a powerless legitimate daughter of the previous dynasty, she had walked to her current position as Emperor of Great Zhou for one purpose… to protect every member of the Bai family, to protect the Bai family army from ever again suffering harm and betrayal.

If this matter were related to the Empress Dowager of Yan, she would never let it pass!

If anything happened to A’Yu and Xiao Qi, she would flay the Empress Dowager of Yan alive and destroy the nation to vent her hatred.

Dong Shi gritted her back teeth, wanting to tell her daughter not to worry about military affairs right now, but her daughter was not merely her daughter—she was also the Emperor of Great Zhou, the eldest sister to her younger brothers and sisters.

With her son and youngest daughter’s whereabouts unknown, and her eldest daughter now giving birth at death’s door, Dong Shi’s heart was truly like being cut by knives, not knowing what to do.

Wei Zhong immediately responded and hurried away.

A wave of severe pain struck. Bai Qingyan gripped the bedding beneath her so tightly that the veins on the back of her hands bulged and throbbed. Her mind went blank in waves, her entire body trembling as she called out loudly: “Where is Xingchen?”

The shadow guard Xingchen, hearing Bai Qingyan call for her, caused the candlelight in the room to flicker as she suddenly appeared, kneeling outside the screen.

“Take your people to Western Liang immediately. You must… find Fifth Young Master and Seventh Miss! Use whatever methods necessary to bring them back to me! Spare no cost!” Bai Qingyan’s final words were nearly shrill from the pain.

“This subordinate receives your command!” Xingchen immediately vanished from the great hall.

“Alright! Alright! A’Bao…” Dong Shi’s tears dripped steadily, but her voice remained very steady. “Alright! First, give birth to the child. Let’s get through the immediate crisis first!”

Dong Shi wiped her daughter’s sweat and asked the midwife: “Where’s the medicinal soup?”

“Ah…”

Severe pain struck again. Bai Qingyan once more gripped the brocade quilt tightly. Dong Shi heard the sound of silk tearing.

The midwife took a look and called out loudly: “Your Majesty can push now! Your Majesty… when this old servant tells you to push in a moment, use that strength to push. Look at the pointed part of your belly and push downward!”

Bai Qingyan nodded, took a deep breath, her breathing completely irregular, her long hair all stuck to her sweat-soaked body.

Pain swept over her again. Besides the sharp ringing in her ears, she could hear the midwife shouting for her to push. Bai Qingyan gripped the edge of the wooden bed, clenched her teeth, and pushed downward…

Fourth Madam Wang was so worried she couldn’t stand it and simply returned to her bedchamber, kneeling before the Buddhist shrine and kowtowing continuously.

Li Shi and Qi Shi were also pacing anxiously outside the delivery room, comforting each other that women giving birth to their first child were usually slower.

Dong Qingping, who had been waiting in the front hall, saw Wei Zhong hurrying over from afar and called out: “Eunuch Wei is coming!”

Grand Commandant Lu, Minister Shen, and Dong Qingping immediately surrounded him.

“How is it? Has His Majesty given birth?” Dong Qingping asked.

“This is His Majesty’s first child, so it probably won’t be that quick!” Wei Zhong told them honestly, then added, “His Majesty has issued an edict. General Fu Ruoxi is to take the military tally and immediately go to Anping Camp, mobilize twenty thousand Anping Camp garrison troops, and immediately head to Western Liang to flatten Western Liang!”

Fu Ruoxi, hearing these words, immediately knelt to receive the command: “Fu Ruoxi receives the command!”

Fu Ruoxi received the command and left quickly. Wei Zhong then looked at Grand Commandant Lu: “Grand Commandant Lu, mobilize the Hancheng garrison to rush to the Yan border. General Shi Panshan and General Zhen Zeping are to lead troops to station at Guangling at the Zhou-Yan border. General Jiang Ruhai is to rush to Pingyang City to prepare for war against Yan. If Yan makes any unusual moves, drive straight to Yan’s capital.”

Grand Commandant Lu shuddered, stunned for a moment, and exchanged a glance with Minister Shen.

Minister Shen Jingzhong stepped forward and quietly asked Wei Zhong: “Eunuch Wei, His Majesty made this decision in great anger. Yan and Great Zhou have just allied…”

“What alliance!” Dong Qingping’s eyes turned red, full of rage. “Does allying mean letting Yan stab us, Great Zhou, in the back?!”

Dong Qingping lost emotional control, wiped his face with his hand, his voice choked and trembling as he pointed in the direction of the northern barbarians: “That A’Yu… narrowly escaped death, saved by how many Bai family army brothers who sacrificed their lives! He was covered in wounds himself… and still conquered the northern barbarians for Great Zhou! He’s His Majesty’s own younger brother! Own younger brother! That Seventh Miss… how young is she! Yan harmed us, Great Zhou—so what if we go to war? So what if we go to war?! Can’t Great Zhou afford to fight, or are we spineless?”

Thinking of his nephew suffering outside, Dong Qingping didn’t know how much resentment filled his heart. He still hadn’t properly met his nephew, who had just been found and lost again, and now they were telling him… his nephew’s life and death were unknown!

“I even think it was the Yan army who deliberately leaked the intelligence!” Dong Qingping became more agitated as he spoke. “After all, once Western Liang is pacified, to unify the realm, Great Zhou and Yan must have a life-and-death battle. Yan is trying to strike us when the Great Zhou is completely unprepared and still trusting in the alliance! Minister Shen, can’t you even see this!”

“Minister Dong, please don’t get excited!” Shen Jingzhong knew Dong Qingping was grieving, his voice unusually gentle. “I, Shen Jingzhong, also come from military service and still have a soldier’s hot blood! It’s just that the matter hasn’t been completely clarified yet. Even if we’re certain Yan did this, we need concrete evidence before sending troops to be justified!”

Dong Qingping’s throat worked: “Does this still need investigation! Isn’t what Third Young Master wrote in his military report clear enough? Could it be that the Bai family members harmed A’Yu and Seventh Miss themselves?!”

“Third Young Master’s military report only stated it was speculation!” Shen Jingzhong soothed in a low voice. “Now His Majesty is furious, and at the critical moment of giving birth, with confused thoughts. My meaning isn’t that we shouldn’t fight—we can first let General Fu mobilize Anping Camp’s troops to go to Western Liang. Destroying Western Liang is what should be done! But… this matter of stationing troops at Yan’s border, let Eunuch Wei first report back to His Majesty to postpone it. After His Majesty gives birth, if His Majesty still insists on this, it won’t be too late for us to act.”

Grand Commandant Lu, not having seen Bai Qingyan in person at this moment, didn’t know whether Bai Qingyan was acting on momentary impulse or truly intended to go to war with Yan.

Wei Zhong, seeing the situation, spoke quietly: “The three lords are pillars of the court. This old servant also knows the three lords’ loyalty to the Great Zhou. But… what kind of person His Majesty is, Grand Commandant Lu and Minister Shen should know. When news came from the Bai family that all the men had perished in Nan Jiang, did His Majesty ever make a wrong step? Minister Shen asks this old servant to report back to His Majesty about postponing the matter—this old servant won’t carry that message for Minister Shen. After all, His Majesty is currently giving birth, with one foot in the gates of hell. This old servant has already conveyed His Majesty’s edict. As for whether the three lords will defy the imperial edict, that is the three lords’ own business. This old servant takes his leave!”

Wei Zhong spoke precisely to the point, nodded to the three lords, and turned to leave.

Shen Jingzhong’s lips parted slightly as he watched Wei Zhong’s retreating figure, his fists clenching behind his back. He recalled when the tragic news of the Bai family had reached the capital—His Majesty then should have been even more grief-stricken than now, yet her actions… though they seemed risky, were all perfectly appropriate.