He had specifically inquired about the situation of the Minister of Revenue. This person… indeed did not have his entire family brutally slaughtered as he had instructed his men to tell Liu Rushi. His whole family was living well.

Before the person sent to Dongyi departed, Bai Qingjue had specifically instructed him that after arriving, he should not rush to directly meet the Minister of Revenue. First, he should inquire whether any minister families in the Dongyi court had been completely massacred when the Second Prince forced the palace coup, paying particular attention to the Minister of Revenue.

If there were no families in the Dongyi court who had been completely slaughtered on the day of the Second Prince’s palace coup, and if this Dongyi Minister of Revenue’s family was all still well, then it could be confirmed that this Minister of Revenue had sided with the Dongyi Empress. The Dongyi Empress had also used this Minister of Revenue to manipulate the Great Zhou, having him carry the token to find the Minister of Revenue of Dongyi.

Therefore, after making his inquiries clear, he specifically waited until night before taking the Seventh Prince of Dongyi’s peace lock to find this Dongyi Minister of Revenue, pretending to believe that this Minister of Revenue was still loyal to the Great Zhou, asking him to find a way to persuade the Empress.

The next day, the Minister of Revenue’s wife entered the palace to meet the Empress who was still confined in the palace.

This Empress could also be considered capable. Even the Crown Prince of Dongyi had been killed, yet she, who had dared to place a false imperial edict under the Emperor’s pillow in an attempt to usurp the throne, was still perfectly fine in the palace. Apart from being watched daily now, there was no difference from before, except that she had not been made Empress Dowager.

The Second Prince had now ascended to the imperial throne and felt that the Empress no longer posed any threat. Moreover… the Empress was the aunt of the person he loved most in his life, and it was the Empress who had been kind-hearted in her youth and had once protected the person closest to the Second Prince’s heart, so… the Second Prince had not killed the Empress even now.

When the Empress personally opened the medicinal sachet that the Minister of Revenue’s wife had presented, claiming it could help the Empress sleep peacefully, she saw the peace lock inside. Her pupils contracted, but she remained composed, tying the sachet to her body and smiling: “Madam is thoughtful. The embroidery work is excellent. It must surely be Madam’s handiwork.”

“The embroidery is poor. If it can catch Your Majesty’s eye, it would be the greatest fortune for this subject’s wife and this sachet!” The Minister of Revenue’s wife spoke softly and gently, smiling at the Empress. “The silk thread for embroidering this sachet came from the Great Zhou. Unfortunately, after Prince Han died, the two countries no longer have trade relations. I don’t know when this will end. Many things in our Dongyi depend on imports from the Great Zhou’s coastal areas. Your Majesty doesn’t know that this subject’s wife’s rouge came from the capital city. Previously, thinking there would be a continuous supply, I would only send people to purchase more when almost running out. Had I known, I would have had people buy more of this rouge.”

The Empress understood. The peace lock in this sachet was sent from the Great Zhou, and it was people from the capital city who had found the Seventh Prince—the Bai family of Great Zhou’s imperial house!

The Empress inexplicably became nervous, speculating in her heart whether her son had been captured or had sought them out himself. Although both meant he was in Great Zhou’s hands, the two different methods… would have different outcomes.

“This matter between the two countries ultimately depends on His Majesty’s decision. But I imagine normal relations should be restored soon. After all, the Great Zhou is currently governing the nation. The slightest mishap and the entire country would have to be handed over to Yan.” The Empress smiled as she lifted her teacup, took a sip, appearing completely unconcerned.

After the Minister of Revenue’s wife left, the Empress continued tending to flowers and plants in her sleeping quarters as usual, then during her afternoon nap, she quietly opened the sachet and took out the peace lock inside. There was also a small note inside. When unfolded, it concisely stated that the Seventh Prince was now in the hands of the Great Zhou Emperor Bai Qingyan, and that Bai Qingyan would soon send troops to attack Dongyi. When Great Zhou’s army reached Dongyi’s capital, she hoped the Empress would find a way to open the capital’s gates. Thus, the Great Zhou’s Emperor would support the Seventh Prince’s ascension to the throne.

If the Empress could not open the gates and caused losses to the Great Zhou’s army, then Dongyi would be destroyed.

After reading this, the Empress felt anxious. At this critical juncture of the Great Zhou’s national gamble, would the Great Zhou’s Emperor send troops for Prince Han?

But since the message was delivered by the Minister of Revenue’s wife, it probably wouldn’t be wrong.

For the Empress, this was an opportunity, but not entirely without crisis…

But she had no room for hesitation or delay, because her son, who was more important than her own life, was in Great Zhou’s hands. If she could not find a way to open Dongyi’s capital gates before Great Zhou’s army arrived, perhaps her son would lose his life.

Sending this peace lock did not demonstrate Great Zhou’s sincerity, but rather let the Empress see the threat.

The Empress had always been a very calm woman, able to devise a way out for herself and her son in any adversity.

But this time, she was helpless.

Because she had no bargaining chips equal to the Great Zhou’s.

For now, she would assume that previously Lu Fenglang had come to seek her cooperation, and Great Zhou felt that since her son was in their hands and they had a foundation of cooperation with her, even if it wasn’t her initiative, she was powerless to resist.

After her son ascended the throne, he would likely become a puppet emperor. But that didn’t matter. As long as her son could ascend the throne, this situation could be reversed later. The main thing was to first find a way for her son to ascend the throne. If he couldn’t ascend the throne, everything else was meaningless.

The Empress clenched her fists tightly, her heart igniting with fierce fire once again, as if she had found hope anew and regained her fighting spirit.

Shen Qingzhu arrived at the Jinwan sea outlet with the second batch of ships earlier than previously planned. Originally, they thought the second batch of giant ships wouldn’t return until the tenth day of the tenth month, but unexpectedly, the second batch of giant ships had already arrived on the eighth day of the tenth month. It could be seen that Shen Qingzhu had also exerted his utmost effort to push forward.

When Shen Qingzhu came to report to Bai Qingyan, Bai Qingjue casually asked: “Since the warships arrived early, Eldest Sister… should we depart early? I imagine that in at most two or three days, once the navy begins fighting, Dongyi’s navy won’t be able to hold out and will transfer naval officers and soldiers from other places. If we arrive early, we’ll have greater room to operate.”

Bai Qingyan nodded, agreeing, curling her fingers and tapping heavily on the table once: “Have General Cheng prepare. Have General Liu Pinggao assist in loading the provisions onto the ships. Tomorrow morning… we depart!”

“Yes!” Bai Qingjue nodded and personally went to tell Cheng Yuanzhi this good news. Cheng Yuanzhi’s desire to destroy Dongyi was making his teeth itch with anticipation.

“Qingzhu, go rest first!” After speaking to Shen Qingzhu, Bai Qingyan looked toward Bai Jinzhi. “Xiao Si, go take people to transport the medicine that Physician Hong prepared onto the ships. However much Physician Hong has prepared, transport that much.”

“Yes!” Upon hearing that they could go to war, Bai Jinzhi became as energetic as if injected with stimulants and quickly ran out.