The flickering orange flames reflected in Xiao Rongyan’s ink-dark pupils showed not the slightest glimmer of light.

Xiao Rongyan had prepared for this conversation. When he abandoned Yunjing to save Bai Qingyan, he had indeed placed Bai Qingyan in a position more important than Yan—on this point, he had no rebuttal.

But to ensure the smooth progress of the two countries’ merger strategy, Xiao Rongyan had already devised a response on his way back—one that even if… his sister-in-law told it to her brother, he couldn’t find fault with.

“Does sister-in-law think that if our Yan army had arrived at Yunjing earlier, we could have successfully taken Yunjing?” Xiao Rongyan withdrew his gaze from his sister-in-law, only playing with the goose hairpin in his hands, speaking plainly. “True, Yunjing didn’t have so many troops then, but even so, after our Yan army broke through Yunjing, could we have successfully held it?”

Empress Dowager Yan looked at Xiao Rongyan in confusion: “Didn’t Great Zhou and our Yan originally agree that whoever entered Yunjing’s imperial palace first would gain Yunjing?”

“Has the sister-in-law forgotten that there was also General Cui Shanzhong of Xiliang? Xiliang’s Yunjing wasn’t something in the pockets of just our Yan and Great Zhou—first come, first served.” Xiao Rongyan squinted as he gazed at the increasingly heavy rain in the lantern’s halo outside. “Cui Shanzhong chose to besiege Jiangzi City because he knew the Great Zhou was stronger than our Yan. He wanted to force the Great Zhou’s army to return and rescue the Great Zhou emperor, making our Yan think… Xiliang’s main forces were all at Jiangzi City, so we could attack the city with confidence.”

Xiao Rongyan tapped the table once with his finger: “If I had led troops to attack the city then, it would have played right into General Cui Shanzhong’s hands.”

“Sister-in-law, don’t forget…” Xiao Rongyan turned to look at Empress Dowager Yan, his entire person deep and solemn under the lamplight, “General Cui Shanzhong of Xiliang is most cunning and scheming.”

Empress Dowager Yan was stunned. She wasn’t very clear about battlefield matters, but listening to Xiao Rongyan’s analysis seemed reasonable. Moreover, Empress Dowager Yan had suffered a loss at Cui Shanzhong’s hands and very much agreed with Xiao Rongyan’s assessment of Cui Shanzhong as cunning and scheming.

“Furthermore, our Yan did indeed agree with Great Zhou that whoever first attacked into Yunjing’s imperial palace would gain Yunjing! But even if we had broken through Yunjing city, could we have entered the imperial palace? How much would General Cui Shanzhong have to love Yan to be willing to expend Xiliang’s military strength to hold back the Great Zhou for us and let our Yan gain Yunjing?” Xiao Rongyan shook his head. “After we sacrificed countless soldiers’ lives and blood to kill our way into Yunjing city, General Cui Shanzhong could then lead troops in a surprise attack from behind, coordinating with Xiliang’s imperial guards inside the palace—our Yan’s main forces would have been lost there! The troops General Cui Shanzhong left inside Yunjing city were not few!”

Hearing Xiao Rongyan’s analysis, Empress Dowager Yan’s heart immediately pounded with fear.

“And I chose to lead troops to Jiangzi City to save the Great Zhou emperor because… I once had some friendship with the Great Zhou emperor and couldn’t rest easy about her safety and her children’s safety, but… more importantly, Yan could use this opportunity to repay Great Zhou’s kindness in giving us more spoils of war! And rushing to aid Jiangzi City… could also explain to our Yan soldiers why we were about to reach Yunjing but didn’t attack the city!”

Xiao Rongyan’s voice was gentle and slow: “Otherwise, if we had stayed put and waited for Great Zhou’s army to arrive and join forces to attack the city, it would inevitably make our soldiers feel that our Yan couldn’t win battles without Great Zhou’s army! This would damage Yan’s morale! Rather than staying there without moving, better to lead troops to save the Great Zhou emperor—we could repay a debt of gratitude… and I could have peace of mind. Two birds with one stone!”

“A’Yan…” Empress Dowager Yan’s eyes were full of guilt.

“In the past… when I was with the Great Zhou emperor, I clearly stated… that in great matters, personal feelings wouldn’t matter!” Xiao Rongyan’s voice paused, then continued, “Moreover, with mother’s example before us, A’Yan… places Yan in his heart, before emotions!”

Tears streamed down Empress Dowager Yan’s face: “A’Yan, it’s sister-in-law’s fault. Sister-in-law shouldn’t have doubted you! It’s all the sister-in-law’s fault! Sister-in-law is just a woman and truly doesn’t understand battlefield matters. Every time I hear others speak, my heart becomes completely chaotic!”

Zhong Xingxiao had taught his sister-in-law to use the late empress to persuade him, and today he would likewise use the late empress to convince his sister-in-law… hoping she would never doubt him again from this day forward. Though Xiao Rongyan felt somewhat guilty about lying to his sister-in-law, he believed that when the day came that the world was unified without war, she would surely understand.

After all, his sister-in-law wasn’t an ordinary woman of the inner quarters, but Great Yan’s empress dowager, with decisive influence both for Emperor A’Li and for Yan’s court.

“Sister-in-law, now that the Great Zhou emperor and I have no further connection, A’Yan hopes sister-in-law can trust A’Yan more in the future. Only then… can A’Yan lead little A’Li to walk even further ahead!” Xiao Rongyan’s voice was gentle. “And in A’Yan’s lifetime, I can contribute more to Yan, rather than… having to use my energy daily to deal with my sister-in-law.”

Hearing Xiao Rongyan speak thus, Empress Dowager Yan detected that he had no thoughts of pulling Murong Li down from the throne, and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Empress Dowager Yan nodded repeatedly, wiping away tears with her handkerchief, choking as she spoke: “In the future, sister-in-law will never doubt you again! It’s all the sister-in-law’s fault—the sister-in-law has brought trouble to Yan! What should we do now? A’Li has already sent envoys to Zhou. Though I don’t want A’Li to use such methods, currently our Yan truly has no other options!”

“Moreover… A’Li is our Great Yan’s emperor! An emperor’s word… is worth nine cauldrons! Now, everyone in Yan’s court knows A’Li said that if they don’t follow his wishes, they should depose him!” The more Empress Dowager Yan spoke, the harder her tears fell. “How can the imperial position be casually discussed in terms of deposition and installation? If this gets out… we can’t guarantee that others with different thoughts won’t use this opportunity to cause trouble! Our Yan would become even more unstable!”

Hearing Empress Dowager Yan speak thus, Xiao Rongyan seemed very troubled… his brow furrowing even deeper: “This is indeed a problem!”

“So A’Yan, why don’t you… Just agree to A’Li’s method!” Empress Dowager Yan looked at Xiao Rongyan with pleading in her eyes. “In the short term, A’Li’s method can prevent the Great Zhou from immediately attacking us. In the long term… perhaps in a few years, our Great Yan could gain Great Zhou without bloodshed!”

“What sister-in-law says, A’Yan has considered…” He frowned as he looked at Empress Dowager Yan, his face full of difficulty. “But, sister-in-law, this is thinking of the best outcome. What if our Yan loses in a few years? It’s not that I think mother’s governance is inferior to the Great Zhou’s, but we must prepare for both possibilities in all matters. If we truly lose… should we hand over the Murong family’s territory to Great Zhou?”