“This time reversal… seems absurd and nonsensical to us in Great Zhou.” Minister Shen frowned deeply. “Therefore, your subject firmly believes what Your Majesty said – that this Empress of Tianfeng Kingdom, having no heir, used this jade cicada as an excuse to stabilize the court situation, claiming she had lost her husband and child. Otherwise, as someone not of royal blood, the Empress would be unable to control the government!”

“The people of Xiliang worship the heavenly gods with great devotion. The Tianfeng Kingdom is separated from Xiliang by only a snow mountain, and their shared faith will surely deepen Tianfeng Kingdom’s belief in this mythical story.” Dong Qingping also spoke slowly. “Then, how does Your Majesty plan to respond? Will you let them come?”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “Let them come! If we don’t let them come openly and legitimately, they’ll probably try to sneak around and find ways anyway. Since that’s the case, it’s better to first let A’Qi hear how they plan to negotiate and bring their demands out into the open.”

“Then we should first send people to guard the Imperial Consort’s mausoleum!” Grand Commandant Lu worried that these people from Tianfeng Kingdom might resort to any means for this jade cicada, even going so far as to rob Xiao Rongyan’s tomb.

No matter what, Xiao Rongyan was their Great Zhou’s Imperial Consort. If his tomb were truly robbed, it would be a great humiliation for the Great Zhou. Even if they didn’t want to go to war, they would have to fight to maintain the Great Zhou’s dignity. And now that they were about to engage in the gambling agreement with Yan Kingdom, they absolutely could not allow Great Zhou to have warfare in the Xiliang territory they had just captured.

“Naturally…” Bai Qingyan looked at Grand Commandant Lu. “I’ll leave this matter to Fu Ruoxi to arrange.”

“General Fu has always been meticulous. This matter will surely be handled well.” Minister Shen also nodded.

After Grand Commandant Lu, Minister Shen, and Minister Dong left, Xiao Rongyan was finally invited in from the side hall by Wei Zhong. By this time, Xiao Rongyan had been waiting solidly in the side hall for Bai Qingyan for an hour and a half.

As the Regent of Yan Kingdom, Xiao Rongyan naturally knew how busy government affairs could be and was not impatient.

When he entered the hall, Bai Qingyan had already had the two children brought over.

Beneath Bai Qingyan’s desk was spread a golden carpet with nine dragons, and light shark silk hung from the crossbeams on both sides, secured by golden branch hooks on either side. On the sandalwood desk, one side had memorials stacked high, while the other side held a red sandalwood brush holder. Bai Qingyan sat in the center holding the two children, smiling gently at him in the flickering light of thirty-two lotus lamps on both sides – a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Seeing Wei Zhong and Chun Tao tactfully withdraw, Xiao Rongyan quickly walked to Bai Qingyan’s side, took one of the children, and sat down beside her: “Only now do I know how hard it is for you to care for the children alone while also worrying about government affairs.”

“That’s why I look forward to the merger of our two countries, so we can go to Baivo City together in the future and live more leisurely days!” As Bai Qingyan spoke, she reached under the desk with one hand to take out a sandalwood box and handed it to Xiao Rongyan.

“What gift has A’Bao prepared for me this time?” Xiao Rongyan smiled as he opened the wooden box.

Inside were the property deed and land deed for a residence in Baivo City.

Xiao Rongyan looked somewhat surprised: “This… A’Bao, the house you bought is separated from the house I already bought by only one wall.”

Hearing Xiao Rongyan say this, Bai Qingyan was also inevitably surprised. After a moment, she laughed: “That’s perfect then. We can connect the two houses to make it more spacious.”

This idea of Bai Qingyan’s coincided with Xiao Rongyan’s thoughts. Last month, Xiao Rongyan had wanted to buy the house next door, but his actions were too slow – the house had already been sold. When his people went to offer a high price, the other party refused to sell, no matter what. He hadn’t expected that it was Bai Qingyan who had bought it.

She looked up at Xiao Rongyan, holding the child, his eyes full of the gentle warmth of a loving father, and spoke softly: “People from Tianfeng Kingdom want to come to Great Zhou for peace negotiations. I’ve already approved it…”

Xiao Rongyan looked up at Bai Qingyan: “I imagine it’s for that jade cicada matter.”

“That’s what I think, too.” Bai Qingyan gently touched the jade cicada in the pouch at her waist. “So Grand Commandant Lu’s idea is to guard the Imperial Consort’s tomb well.”

“I’ll also have people keep watch. I absolutely won’t let the Imperial Consort’s tomb be robbed and bring you any trouble…” Xiao Rongyan pressed his forehead against Bai Qingyan’s and spoke in a low voice.

Xiao Rongyan knew that there was nothing in that Imperial Consort’s tomb. If the Imperial Consort’s tomb were truly robbed and people discovered that there was no body of Xiao Rongyan in the coffin, it would bring trouble to Bai Qingyan.

“Mm…” Bai Qingyan’s ears turned red as she softly responded.

“Your Majesty!” Wei Zhong’s cautious and probing voice came from outside the door. “Your Majesty, something has happened to Old Madam Wang from Fourth Madam’s maternal family. Fourth Madam didn’t even have time to change clothes and tearfully informed the Empress Dowager before leaving the palace.”

Unless it was an extremely urgent matter, Wei Zhong wouldn’t dare disturb Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan’s family reunion. Although the Empress Dowager hadn’t sent anyone to notify Bai Qingyan, since Bai Qingyan had always cared about her aunt, Wei Zhong didn’t dare hide this news.

Bai Qingyan frowned and looked toward the direction outside the great hall, asking: “Who accompanied Fourth Aunt out of the palace?”

“In response to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager sent Nanny Qin from her side to accompany Fourth Madam out of the palace,” Wei Zhong replied.

Hearing that Nanny Qin was accompanying her, Bai Qingyan felt much more at ease, not worried that Fourth Aunt would be bullied. She adjusted her clothes and sat apart from Xiao Rongyan: “Come in.”

Wei Zhong responded and entered the great hall, closing the hall doors again and standing in the center: “Your Majesty…”

“Do you know what happened?” Bai Qingyan asked.

“They say Old Madam Wang coughed up blood…”

Bai Qingyan’s palm tightened. She didn’t suspect that the couple had done anything to the old madam, since they had always used the old madam to threaten Fourth Aunt. If Old Madam Wang truly died, they would lose their leverage to exploit Fourth Aunt.

But regardless, Old Madam Wang was Fourth Aunt’s mother and A’Jue’s maternal grandmother. There was no reason for her to continue being mistreated by these two villains.

Bai Qingyan lowered her eyes and pondered carefully for a moment, then spoke: “Wei Zhong, you make the trip to the Wang family… First tell that couple that Old Madam Wang is my brother’s maternal grandmother. My brother is fighting and bleeding for the country abroad. If anyone has thoughts of using the old madam, I will not sit by and ignore it. Since they are adopted heirs, if they are unfilial and harbor improper greed, then I will take charge and choose someone else with clear eyes and a bright heart to adopt anew – it’s not a difficult matter!”

“When you see Old Madam Wang, if her condition is still good, ask what concerns she has. If Old Madam Wang cares about the Wang family’s honor, convey my words to her: I can take charge of selecting someone kind-hearted and filial from the Wang clan to adopt, definitely preserving the Wang family’s full honor. A sovereign’s word is never given lightly! But if this black-hearted couple dares to covet A’Jue’s marriage again, I am one who fiercely protects my own, and I will show no mercy to these two. If it harms the Wang family, please ask Old Madam Wang to forgive me.” After finishing, Bai Qingyan added another sentence: “Say this without Fourth Aunt knowing – don’t make things difficult for Fourth Aunt!”