The First Prince heard his mother’s words and paused in his steps. Without turning back, tears fell like broken strings. He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and walked shoulder to shoulder with the Second Prince toward the carriage waiting at the bottom of the high steps.

In the great hall, only Empress Dowager Yan’s weeping remained.

After a long moment, Empress Dowager Yan turned to look at Murong Li.

“That’s your brother! Sending your brother as a hostage to Great Zhou, while Great Zhou sends no hostages to our Yan Kingdom – if Great Zhou loses after three years and uses your brother to threaten us, your brother’s life will be over!” Empress Dowager Yan looked at Murong Li, whose expression remained cold and unchanged. She collapsed weakly into her chair, gazing at Murong Li through tears. “That’s your brother!”

“Second Brother is also my brother!” Murong Li looked at his mother. “If Mother wishes both elder brothers to remain safe and sound in Great Zhou, then don’t make any underhanded moves behind the scenes. Let our Yan Kingdom compete openly and honorably with the Great Zhou using the national policies and governance left by Grandmother. Let us compete fairly with national policies and governance to determine victory and defeat. With the Great Zhou’s Emperor’s character, he certainly won’t harm either of my imperial brothers in the slightest!”

Empress Dowager Yan clenched her fists, staring at her son as if she didn’t recognize the person before her.

Murong Yan stood up and bowed to Empress Dowager Yan: “Both nations are sincere in this wager between countries. Yan sending hostages to Zhou is merely a show of sincerity! Mother need not worry excessively. Your son takes his leave!”

After speaking, Murong Li also rose and walked outside.

Empress Dowager Yan beat her chest and wept bitterly: “What kind of misfortune have I given birth to? My heart is entirely devoted to him and Yan Kingdom, yet he doesn’t trust me, his mother. Instead, he eagerly believes the enemy nation’s emperor! I think he’s also been given a love potion by Bai Qingyan!”

Empress Dowager Yan’s maid quickly said, “Empress Dowager, the current situation forces our hand. You said that the Great Zhou has stationed troops at Yan Kingdom’s border, demanding that the First Prince go there – could our Majesty refuse to permit it? His Majesty is, after all, Yan Kingdom’s emperor and must maintain face. He could only speak this way. Sending his elder brother as a hostage to the Great Zhou is also a humiliation for His Majesty. You absolutely mustn’t blame His Majesty like this anymore.”

Empress Dowager Yan’s weeping grew even more intense. She leaned her head against the maid’s body, continuously beating her chest and crying: “That Bai Qingyan must want to take revenge on me! That’s why she wants my son to go to Great Zhou! She must want to take revenge on me! A’Li is young and doesn’t understand the depths of this situation. He’s sent his brother away, yet our Yan Kingdom has no hostages from the Great Zhou. If Great Zhou loses in the future and acts shamelessly, our Yan Kingdom will either have to surrender meekly or sacrifice… sacrifice my son!”

“And A’Yan… there’s also A’Yan. A’Yan must resent me for previously ruining his relationship with Bai Qingyan, so he didn’t try his best to argue against it!” Empress Dowager Yan gritted her teeth. “He hates me, his sister-in-law, so he watched helplessly as my son was sent as a hostage to Great Zhou!”

“Empress Dowager, you mustn’t speak such words! If the Regent knew, how heartbroken he would be. This servant heard that the Regent also tried his best to argue against it! You needn’t worry excessively. This servant heard those officials say… The Great Zhou wants to implement their new laws in our Yan Kingdom’s cities, so the Great Zhou’s Emperor will certainly send his brother here. At that time, our Yan Kingdom will also have Great Zhou’s hostage – it’s just changing the name in title!” Empress Dowager Yan’s maid wiped her tears. “If you think carefully, isn’t this the reasoning?”

Empress Dowager Yan lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded…

“The little eunuch we arranged to serve beside His Majesty said that according to the secret report sent back from Great Zhou, this was a method devised by the Regent.” The personal maid handed a cup of hot tea into Empress Dowager Yan’s palm. “The Regent has already been doing everything possible to find solutions. Just as the First Prince said… our Yan Kingdom has declined. This is a method found within impossible circumstances!”

Mentioning her son, Empress Dowager Yan couldn’t help but begin crying again.

After leaving the Empress Dowager’s palace, Murong Li didn’t return to his sleeping quarters. He hurried to the top of the city wall and watched his two elder brothers, protected by their guard escort, gradually disappearing into the distance as they left the imperial palace. His eyes grew red and moist.

His eldest imperial brother, though he had made no great contributions to Yan Kingdom, was nevertheless an excellent elder brother who treated him extremely well.

This time, he had originally thought he would need to spend considerable effort persuading his brother to become a hostage to the Great Zhou. Unexpectedly, just as the words left his mouth, his brother hesitated only briefly before firmly agreeing, saying that contributing to Yan Kingdom was what he, as a prince, should do – it was his inescapable duty. Moreover, he knew Yan Kingdom’s current difficulties, and if he could use his own body to exchange for Yan Kingdom’s chance to wager on unifying the realm, he was very pleased.

Just before entering their mother’s great hall, after deep contemplation, his brother had also told him that if the day truly came when the outcome of the wager between nations was decided and Great Zhou lost… but refused to accept defeat and threatened Yan Kingdom with his life, he asked Murong Li never to be threatened. He also wouldn’t allow the Great Zhou to use him to threaten the Yan Kingdom. If he, Murong Ping, and Xie Xun truly couldn’t escape, he would find a way to resolve the problem of these three weaknesses for Murong Li and the Yan Kingdom.

Murong Li understood what these words meant…

If that day truly came, his brother would die together with Murong Ping and Xie Xun rather than burden the Yan Kingdom.

His brother had given him a divorce document, saying that if, after three years, they were truly forced to this step, he hoped Murong Li could give this divorce to his wife. His wife was still young – if he couldn’t return… he hoped she could remarry and never remain a widow for his sake.

Compared to his mother, the shock his brother brought to Murong Li’s heart was not just turbulence, but towering waves.

His usually gentle brother, who had no great ambitions, could say… if Great Zhou lost but refused to accept defeat, he was willing to find a way to resolve the problem of these three weaknesses. His brother was going to Great Zhou with the resolve to die.

Murong Li remembered his father saying his brother couldn’t handle great responsibilities, but now he felt his father seemed to have misjudged his brother. The sons of their Murong family, like the sons of the Bai family… had no soft bones.

The brilliant sun was blinding. Murong Li only felt his eyes aching terribly. He stood on this high wall until he could no longer see his brother’s carriage and guard escort, then finally turned around and said to Wang Jiuzhou: “Go see that Cui Fengnian. Tell him… the Second Prince entrusted everything to your hands before leaving. From now on, you’ll be responsible for all matters.”

He, too, had to be worthy of his brother’s “willing to die” resolve in sacrificing himself to go to Zhou. He had to show his abilities and compete with Great Zhou, though Ninth Uncle hadn’t returned yet. The officials and military generals to be dispatched to those Great Zhou cities to implement the new policies all needed to be decided quickly.

“Yes!” Wang Jiuzhou responded.

On the main street of Yan’s capital, Bai Jintong, dressed in men’s clothing, stood in the double-eaved wine house on the second floor with the window pushed open, watching Murong Ping mounted on horseback, protecting the carriage as it moved forward.

Today was the day Yan Kingdom’s Emperor Murong Li’s two brothers departed for Great Zhou. Having the Empress Dowager’s and Emperor’s blood brothers in hand would be more secure, and holding Murong Ping in Great Zhou’s hands was like taking one of Murong Li’s arms. Bai Jintong was quite satisfied with this outcome.