If they were truly calculating based on the order in which the great armies entered the city, then it should have been Great Zhou’s Bai Qingqi who first led her men to storm into Yunjing’s imperial palace, since it was the Bai Family Army of Great Zhou’s forces that first took control of the palace gates.
Seeing Xiao Rongyan flick his sleeves and depart, Murong Ping also followed behind his ninth uncle as they walked out. The Yan Kingdom generals then surrounded Xie Xun, all pleading with Xie Xun to speak favorably on their behalf to their Ninth Prince, insisting that Yunjing could not be given away.
Xie Xun simply said, “The Ninth Prince has given his command, and we shall obey! The Ninth Prince’s ambition encompasses all under heaven, so our Yan Kingdom must never break faith with the world! Gentlemen… your vision and perspective must be cast further and broader.”
After speaking, Xie Xun also bowed to the generals and departed.
“General Xie! General Xie!”
Seeing Xie Xun leave without looking back, the Yan Kingdom generals were filled with rage, declaring they would submit memorials to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager in the Yan capital.
That afternoon, the people Xiao Rongyan had sent to search for Bai Jinse finally found her by a river in the outskirts, where she and a wolf cub-like little boy were drinking water at the riverbank.
Just as Bai Jinse had cupped some water and was about to drink it without caring whether it was clean, the little boy grabbed her arm and pulled her to hide behind a tree. Soon after, they saw a group of mounted soldiers approaching along the river.
Hidden behind the tree, Bai Jinse saw that the approaching men wore Yan Kingdom military uniforms and did not rush out.
She watched as those soldiers also dismounted to drink water, discussing among themselves how much longer they would need to pursue the refugees ahead to catch up with them, how long before they could rescue the Seventh Miss of the Bai Family, to make amends for General Chu’s betrayal of their Zhou Kingdom allies.
Bai Jinse also heard someone among the group speculate that by now, the Great Zhou and the Yan Kingdom had probably already stormed into Yunjing, though they wondered whether Yunjing would ultimately belong to their Yan Kingdom or the Great Zhou.
The leading general, after drinking water and having everyone fill their water pouches, ordered the soldiers to mount up. The sooner they caught up with those refugees, the less danger the Seventh Miss of the Bai Family would face.
After observing these soldiers for a while, Bai Jinse hesitated for a moment, then emerged from behind the tree and revealed her identity: “I am the Seventh Miss of the Bai Family…”
Originally, Bai Jinse had not wanted the Yan Kingdom soldiers to take her back, since after destroying Western Liang, the Great Zhou and Yan Kingdom would be in opposition. What if the Yan Kingdom quietly took her back as a hostage?
But they had no more food left. If they continued wandering in this desolate wilderness and encountered refugees, they would have no strength to resist. Having finally escaped, they might well become someone else’s meal again.
After careful consideration, Bai Jinse still felt that preserving her life was most important.
Moreover… Yan Kingdom might not necessarily use her as a hostage. After all, it was Yan Kingdom’s fault that their betrayal of Great Zhou had led to her capture by refugees. Given her eldest sister’s protection of her siblings, plus her arrangements for the situation between the two kingdoms and the war, if Yan Kingdom could not find her, they would probably fear that Great Zhou would use this as an excuse to send troops against Yan Kingdom and complete the unification of the realm.
Now that Yan Kingdom’s main forces were all in Yunjing, if Great Zhou truly wanted to attack Yan Kingdom, they could mobilize the troops stationed along the border between the two countries to march straight to the Yan capital, while also controlling Yan Kingdom’s main forces in Western Liang. Even if Yan Kingdom did not perish in such a battle, they would be severely crippled, especially given Yan Kingdom’s current food shortage.
Therefore, Bai Jinse was betting that the seemingly wise and enlightened Ninth Prince of Great Yan would never risk using the entire Yan Kingdom as a wager just to hold her as leverage – it simply was not worth it.
After the two kingdoms destroyed Western Liang, what Yan Kingdom should do was try their best not to provoke Great Zhou, then rest and recuperate, building strength for the future battle with Great Zhou.
After weighing her options, Bai Jinse decided to come forward and return to Yunjing with those Yan Kingdom soldiers.
Those Yan Kingdom generals looked at Bai Jinse, then at the dirty little boy following beside her. They immediately dismounted, bowed to Bai Jinse, helped her onto a horse, and asked how she wanted the boy handled.
Bai Jinse looked at the boy standing there, his pair of dark pupils gazing at her, and extended her hand to him: “Do you want to come home with me? I am from Great Zhou…”
The boy stood motionless in place. After a long while, he slowly shuffled over to Bai Jinse’s side and grasped her hand with his dirty little fingers, holding on tightly.
A Yan army soldier standing nearby lifted the boy and placed him behind Bai Jinse, asking in a low voice, “Can Seventh Miss ride a horse?”
“How far is it still to Yunjing?” Bai Jinse asked.
“In reply to Seventh Miss, about a day and night’s journey!” the Yan soldier replied.
“Did you bring dry rations?” Bai Jinse was already so hungry that her stomach cramped with pain. The boy must be the same.
Hearing this, the Yan soldier quickly took out the bag containing dry rations and handed it to Bai Jinse.
Bai Jinse passed the bag of rations to the boy behind her, saying, “Eat a little first! We need to hurry back. I don’t want my brothers and sisters to worry.”
The little boy untied the cord of the ration bag and used his dirty little hands to take out a piece of salted elephant jerky, offering it to Bai Jinse’s mouth.
Bai Jinse took the jerky with one hand while holding the reins, seeing the boy also begin to tear at the jerky with his teeth, looking extremely hungry. She said to him, “After we return… I’ll have my brother send someone to take you home!”
The boy froze upon hearing this, the jerky still between his teeth. Before he could say anything, Bai Jinse had already spurred her horse and galloped away.
Bai Jinse’s heart was now set on returning home like an arrow. During all these days she had been missing, she did not know how worried her brothers and sisters must have become.
Since Bai Jinse did not know what the current situation in Yunjing was, and was somewhat concerned about possibilities she had not considered – that the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom might use her to compete with Great Zhou for Yunjing upon learning she had been found – she prepared to keep these Yan Kingdom soldiers with her all along the way, not allowing them to return ahead to report the news.
Who would have thought that after galloping for less than half a tea’s time, Shen Qingzhu came pursuing from behind, riding the very same blood-sweating horse that Fifth Brother had ridden when Bai Jinse left the Great Zhou military camp with him…
Shen Qingzhu had already caught up with that group of refugees and learned from them that Bai Jinse had escaped. She had been searching all along the way and unexpectedly found that the Yan army had found Bai Jinse first.
Seeing Shen Qingzhu who had come searching for her, Bai Jinse finally felt relieved. Shen Qingzhu, noticing that Bai Jinse’s clothing was thin, removed her own cloak and draped it over Bai Jinse.
Bai Jinse did not refuse, watching as Shen Qingzhu tied the cloak’s strings for her and asked, “Sister Qingzhu, what is the situation in Yunjing now? Have we taken Yunjing?”
“I’m not clear about the situation in Yunjing. After the Seventh Miss went missing, I originally planned to enter Yunjing city to search for you, but then I spotted Fifth Young Master’s horse.” Shen Qingzhu patted the fine steed beneath her and said, “I followed this horse to where the refugees had passed through, and this horse kept neighing restlessly…”