“Yes!” Wei Zhong received his orders and departed together with the Magistrate of Jingzhao.

Bai Qingyan waved her hand. Understanding, Chun Tao led Chun Zhi out as well.

Only Bai Qingyan remained in the great hall. She took out the jade cicada she had been carrying with her and placed the two jade cicadas side by side on the table, leaning in to examine them carefully.

The two jade cicadas were almost identical…

Although the Great Zhou court officials who heard the jade cicada legend all considered it unfounded rumors.

Even back then, Bai Qingyan had told Li Zhijie that this talk of the jade cicada reversing time was merely something the childless Tianfeng queen had said to stabilize her political power. But… Bai Qingyan herself was truly someone who had been reborn.

At that time, Bai Qingyan had been carrying this jade cicada that Xiao Rongyan had given her, telling her to flee for her life…

She gripped Xiao Rongyan’s jade cicada in her right hand. Under the candlelight’s reflection, she could see glimmering fragments of golden light throughout the jade cicada. Her brow furrowed as she leaned closer, but then there was nothing.

When Bai Qingyan was first reborn, she had never seen this jade cicada that was now in Sa’er Khan’s possession.

She tried placing the two jade cicadas together, but no unusual phenomena occurred.

After playing with the two jade cicadas in the great hall for half an hour, Bai Qingyan suddenly came to her senses, feeling she had become obsessed.

She actually… wanted to find the secret to making the jade cicada reverse time.

Such things could be encountered but not sought. That she could be reborn was already Heaven’s mercy toward the Bai family. She shouldn’t be greedy for more.

If it was truly like that legend, where each time reversal required paying a price, none of her current loved ones were ones she could sacrifice.

“Miss, shadow guard Wei Su has come to report,” Wei Su’s voice came from one side of the great hall.

Bai Qingyan looked toward the black shadow behind the round pillar: “Speak…”

“The Imperial Consort’s mausoleum is safe and sound. This subordinate has already stationed people to guard the guesthouse. Not even a fly will be allowed out.”

“Good. You’ve worked hard… go.”

After the lamp shadows flickered, only Bai Qingyan remained in the great hall again.

She placed Xiao Rongyan’s jade cicada into her pouch and casually set Sa’er Khan’s jade cicada in a corner of the table, steadying her mind to take up the memorials for review.

After Wei Zhong settled Sa’er Khan’s group in the guesthouse, it was already dark.

Sa’er Khan sat in the main seat, his hands gripping the chair’s armrests tightly, his thin lips pressed together, his expression dark and inscrutable. He hadn’t expected that Bai Qingyan not only wouldn’t see him, but judging by the guards at the door, had essentially placed him under house arrest.

“Eunuch Wei… please trouble yourself to convey a message to the Great Zhou Emperor!” Sa’er Khan raised his head, his brownish eyes like a deep, still pool as he curved his lips: “I came personally to the capital this time to… show goodwill toward Great Zhou, to form a marriage alliance with Great Zhou. Please ask the Great Zhou Emperor not to keep people at a thousand li distance.”

Wei Zhong maintained his smiling expression, nodding: “The Tianfeng ruler can rest assured. This old servant will certainly convey these words to His Majesty! Naturally… this old servant must also presumptuously ask the Tianfeng ruler – since you came to show goodwill and seek peace, why not properly wait for the two nations to exchange diplomatic documents, set a time for entering Great Zhou, and then send envoys according to the agreed schedule? Instead, you used these sneaky methods, which inevitably arouse suspicion.”

“The diplomatic documents have already been submitted to the Great Zhou. The reason for coming early is because… I deeply miss the Great Zhou Emperor!” This statement from Sa’er Khan was impossible to judge as true or false, his gaze calm yet composed.

“Does the Tianfeng ruler need this old servant to convey these words to His Majesty?” Wei Zhong asked.

Sa’er Khan smiled and nodded: “Then I trouble Eunuch Wei.”

Wei Zhong bowed to Sa’er Khan, then withdrew from the main hall.

As soon as Wei Zhong left, Sa’er Khan’s face lost all trace of a smile. He turned to look at a silver-haired elder in black robes sitting below him: “Grand Shaman, are you certain this other jade cicada is within the Great Zhou imperial palace?”

“My King… this subordinate stakes his head that this jade cicada is not in the Great Zhou Imperial Consort’s mausoleum. If it’s not in the Imperial Consort’s mausoleum, where else could it be?” The Tianfeng Grand Shaman’s voice was very mellow, speaking slowly in a very convincing way. “That jade cicada was a beloved object that the Imperial Consort carried with him. Wouldn’t the Great Zhou Emperor keep it as a memento? Even if it was originally buried with that Imperial Consort, since this Great Zhou Emperor has heard the jade cicada legend, wouldn’t she be tempted… to send people to retrieve the jade cicada?”

Sa’er Khan’s brow furrowed tightly. Thinking of Bai Qingyan with her ice-like skin, jade-like bones, and exquisitely beautiful eyes, the displeasure between his brows gradually relaxed.

“My King must not forget – in the Southern Border battle years ago, the Great Zhou Emperor’s grandfather, father, uncle, and most of her brothers all perished in the Southern Border. After obtaining the jade cicada, wouldn’t she try every means to reverse time and change the battle’s outcome?” The Grand Shaman rose and respectfully bowed to Sa’er Khan. “Now that My King has sent the mother jade cicada to the Great Zhou Emperor’s hands, if she has the father jade cicada, she will naturally attempt it. If her attempts fail… she will inevitably come to inquire of My King.”

Sa’er Khan straightened his spine, curled his fingers, and tapped once on the table: “We still need to have Akxie prepare for another battle. We underestimated the enemy before… now that we know Great Zhou’s formidability, and summer is extremely favorable for our elephant army – whether to fight or make peace… depends on the Great Zhou Emperor.”

“With Great Zhou and Yan about to engage in their fateful battle, presumably… Great Zhou wouldn’t want to face our Tianfeng as well.” The Tianfeng Grand Shaman pondered Sa’er Khan’s earlier words, pretending to quietly advise: “Moreover… since this Great Zhou Emperor might be the mother of the future ruler of this land, My King might act accordingly. If you have a son with the Great Zhou Emperor, our Tianfeng could also compete for rulership of this realm, and we wouldn’t need to marry off our princess.”

Sa’er Khan lowered his eyes, casually picked up the teacup before him, and took a sip, saying nothing. This left the Grand Shaman and other accompanying Tianfeng officials unable to fathom what Sa’er Khan was truly thinking.

Wei Zhong emerged from the guesthouse courtyard where Sa’er Khan’s group was under “house arrest.” Passing through the corridor’s stone forest scenery, Wei Zhong encountered Xiao Rongyan, who was leaning against a railing atop an artificial mountain. Wei Zhong’s steps paused, and after respectfully saluting Xiao Rongyan, he departed with his people.

“Master, we’ve investigated clearly – it’s the ruler of Tianfeng!” Yue Shi landed lightly outside the pavilion, kneeling on one knee to report to Xiao Rongyan.

“Tianfeng…” Xiao Rongyan held a folding fan in his hand, tapping it against his palm. “A’Li secretly sent people to contact Dongyi, and now Tianfeng’s people have come to Great Zhou. How interesting.”

He wondered who would win this final wager.

Regardless of whether A’Bao or A’Li ultimately won, what Xiao Rongyan needed to do was use his utmost ability to help Yan, and after the wager was decided, ensure both sides would honor their agreement without triggering war.