“Prince Han Cheng requested permission from our Majesty to come to the coast with the naval forces, now eagerly hoping to achieve merit… to gain our Majesty’s regard, and would love nothing more than to start fighting.” After speaking, Fan Yugan picked up his wine cup and curled his lip, as if looking down on it disdainfully. “Your Second Highness, how could I possibly let a surrendered prince from a conquered nation show off before our Majesty? So if the Second Prince can privately establish an alliance with Great Zhou, I can persuade Minister Liu… to lend the Second Prince a helping hand!”

Previously, the Dongyi Nation had submitted to the Great Liang, and now even the Great Liang had been destroyed by the Great Zhou, let alone a mere Dongyi.

Dongyi Nation dared to put on airs only because they thought Prince Han Cheng wouldn’t share the same heart as the Great Zhou, and the Great Zhou lacked naval forces.

Fan Yugan’s words mixed truth with falsehood, making them impossible to distinguish…

But Prince Han Cheng had indeed dispatched troops to escort fishermen to sea, seemingly really… eager to fight with the Dongyi Nation.

Dongyi Nation was small with few people. They couldn’t even defeat Great Liang’s naval forces before, and now, if Prince Han Cheng truly wanted to use them to demonstrate merit to Great Zhou’s emperor, with his naval generals all mobilizing together, the Dongyi Nation might not be able to withstand them.

The Second Prince, who had previously been flattered into complacency by Tianfeng Nation and Yan Nation’s attention, now showed more thoughtfulness.

The prince set down his wine cup, looked solemnly at Fan Yugan, the corners of his lips curving upward, his deep eyes carrying a smile as he spoke: “If Great Zhou… could give me that jade cicada once worn by your Great Zhou emperor’s imperial consort, I… would be willing to peacefully serve as Great Zhou’s vassal state during Great Zhou and Yan Nation’s national gamble, continuing to submit to Great Zhou!”

Fan Yugan’s hands, hidden in his sleeves, tightened, his smile growing broader: “I didn’t expect the Second Prince to also believe Tianfeng Nation’s baseless words.”

“I wonder, would Great Zhou’s emperor be willing to part with it?” The smile in the Second Prince’s eyes deepened.

“I won’t hide it from the Second Prince – our Majesty is still searching for that jade cicada worn by the imperial consort. Even Tianfeng Nation’s ruler is offering high rewards in our Great Zhou, hoping to find that jade cicada!” Fan Yugan maintained his carefree demeanor. “If the Second Prince truly believes those so-called time reversal rumors, why not take advantage of the fact that the mother jade cicada is still in Tianfeng Nation’s ruler’s hands and obtain it first? When Great Zhou finds the male jade cicada later, we can send it to the Second Prince!”

The Second Prince, seeing Fan Yugan’s seemingly indifferent attitude toward the jade cicada, pulled the jade cicada from his waist to show Fan Yugan: “Tianfeng Nation’s ruler has already gifted this jade cicada to me, saying he cannot obtain the other jade cicada from Great Zhou’s emperor, so he’s given up.”

“So…” Fan Yugan spread his hands. “Does the Second Prince think this jade cicada can reverse time? I’m someone who only knows how to eat, drink, and play. If I had half a key that could activate time reversal, I’d naturally find ways to obtain the other half. I wouldn’t just hand over the key, would I? Or perhaps…”

Fan Yugan suddenly looked thoughtful, then abruptly raised his head to look at the Second Prince: “Or perhaps when these two keys are put together, some method is needed to make time reverse, and then the Second Prince collects these keys for Tianfeng Nation’s ruler and goes to consult him… he’ll have conveniently gathered both keys! Oh my… wouldn’t the Second Prince be working for nothing!”

Hearing Fan Yugan’s words, the Second Prince found Fan Yugan increasingly interesting. This sowing of discord was… quite reasonable, leaving the Second Prince unable to feel angry at all.

“I hear Tianfeng Nation’s Grand Shaman is in Great Zhou…” The Second Prince propped his chin with one hand, fingering the jade cicada in his hand. “Great Zhou should also know the method for time reversal, right?”

Fan Yugan nodded: “If this time reversal matter were real, and Great Zhou knew the method for time reversal, this time it wouldn’t be Minister Liu and this humble official coming, but… our Great Zhou’s army! Oh… I imagine Prince Han Cheng probably also wants this treasure – either to reverse time and restore his nation, or… to present it to our Majesty to win favor.”

But Great Zhou’s emperor seemed uninterested in this time reversal matter, the Second Prince thought, half-lowering his eyes.

“Regardless, if Great Zhou wants to privately sign an alliance with me, then send the jade pendant!” The Second Prince put away the jade cicada in his hand and said to Fan Yugan.

“Done! When I return, I’ll urge our Minister Liu to send word back to the capital!” After speaking, Fan Yugan rubbed his hands together. “In that case, can the Second Prince let me taste that fine wine you mentioned?”

·

When Bai Qingyan received Liu Rushi’s urgent letter, she was preparing for bed, sitting by the window alcove with her long hair loose, carefully reading through Liu Rushi’s correspondence.

Liu Rushi said Lu Fenglang had already met with the First Prince, finding him hesitant and indecisive. Despite clearly informing him that there were Second Prince spies around him, he still wouldn’t believe it. Lu Fenglang suggested supporting the Seventh Prince with leg disabilities to ascend the throne, and they had already begun making secret preparations.

The Second Prince, however, wanted the jade cicada, claiming that if he obtained Xiao Rongyan’s jade cicada from back then, he would be willing to privately sign an alliance with Great Zhou.

But Lu Fenglang felt this wasn’t reliable and still wanted to pursue the Seventh Prince route, making the Seventh Prince Great Zhou’s puppet emperor.

Bai Qingyan held the letter, pondering. She had considered supporting the Seventh Prince initially, but… the Seventh Prince was young, and if the emperor died, the Empress Dowager would hold power, which could easily create variables!

Moreover, if they entertained thoughts about the Seventh Prince, with two legitimate sons joining the Second Prince in competing for the throne, if any Dongyi court officials became distracted, it might force this Second Prince into desperate measures.

Bai Qingyan rose and called: “Chun Tao, bring writing materials!”

She wrote back to Liu Rushi, telling him to maintain proper judgment. If they could support the First Prince to power, it would be best to choose from the two mutually competing princes rather than introducing a third prince into the game and complicating the Dongyi Nation’s situation. Great Zhou didn’t know much about Dongyi Nation’s specific circumstances, so they should avoid creating uncontrollable new problems that would catch Great Zhou off guard.

Additionally, Bai Qingyan mentioned that Tianfeng Nation’s ruler, Sa’er Khan, was using the jade cicada time reversal matter to stir up trouble in Dongyi Nation. This was originally expected, as Tianfeng Nation now desperately wanted Dongyi Nation and Great Zhou to fight.

Since the Second Prince wanted the jade cicada, they should tell the Dongyi Second Prince that thanks to Tianfeng Nation’s ruler, Great Zhou’s streets were now full of jade cicadas, making the search even more difficult. The Great Zhou would gift the three recently found jade cicadas, which Bai Qingyan felt were almost identical to her late husband’s jade cicada, to Dongyi Nation’s Second Prince.

After finishing the letter, Bai Qingyan sealed it and had Wei Zhong fetch the three jade cicadas she had previously ordered replicated, sending them all by fast horse to Liu Rushi.

“Miss, please rest!” Chun Tao felt sorry for her young mistress.