While the Yan clan members were cursing and screaming as they received their beatings at the government office, the deeply anxious Zhu Chengru finally met the Great Zhou Emperor outside the city. He trembled as he paid respects to the Great Zhou Emperor – a noble personage he had never imagined he would see in his lifetime.

Bai Qingyan stood at the very front of the light cavalry. Seeing Zhu Chengru pull on his reins and approach, Zhu Chengru didn’t even dare raise his head. Before he had even drawn near, his legs went weak, and he knelt in obeisance: “Commoner Zhu Chengru pays respects to the Great Zhou Emperor!”

She dismounted and walked to Zhu Chengru’s front, helping him to his feet.

Zhu Chengru stood up stiffly, not daring to move. He poured out all the words he had rehearsed in his mind when he learned he would meet the Great Zhou Emperor: “Many thanks to the Great Zhou Emperor for not shirking hardship to come to Li City to save this commoner. This commoner is deeply grateful, moved to the core. The Great Zhou Emperor’s kindness to this commoner is as high as mountains and seas. Even ten thousand deaths could not repay one ten-thousandth of it. However, this commoner is from Li City and truly cannot bear to leave his homeland. Please forgive this commoner, Great Zhou Emperor!”

“You are very good. You did what our Great Zhou court should have done! I… am very grateful to you! This time, hearing that you were in trouble, I brought troops to come. You are a hero to the people of Anshun City. I could not watch a hero be beheaded.” Bai Qingyan’s voice was gentle, speaking slowly. “If you are unwilling to leave Li City and wish to remain in Li City to serve the people of Li City, I will not force you. I have already agreed with your Regent – no matter when, as long as you wish to come to Anshun City, Anshun City’s gates will always be open to you.”

Zhu Chengru was just an ordinary physician who had never expected to meet the lofty Great Zhou Emperor, much less that this Great Zhou Emperor would call him a hero and say… that Anshun City’s gates would always be open to him. How could this not bring tears to his eyes?

“I dare not deceive Your Majesty. Because my father-in-law took in my sister, who was… noticed by imperial clan members wanting to take her as a concubine, this commoner initially only wanted to deliver medicine to my father-in-law and my wife’s relatives. This commoner does not deserve the word ‘hero’!” Zhu Chengru was about to kneel again, but Bai Qingyan supported his arm.

“No matter what the initial cause, I know that Physician Zhu repeatedly delivered medicine to the people afterward! Physician Zhu deserves to be called a hero!”

Besides verbal promises, Bai Qingyan also had Liu Pinggao give silver to Zhu Chengru. Zhu Chengru refused to accept it no matter what, so Bai Qingyan said, “Medicine materials also require silver to purchase. Thanks to Physician Zhu delivering medicine materials into Anshun City at that time, so this silver… Physician Zhu must accept it.”

Seeing he could not refuse, Zhu Chengru accepted the silver, bid farewell to Bai Qingyan, and departed.

Xiao Rongyan had not spent time alone with Bai Qingyan this time, so he said: “I wonder how many days Your Majesty will stay in Anshun City?”

“I will stay four or five days, then depart to return to Shequ, and afterward return to the capital…” Bai Qingyan did not hide this from Xiao Rongyan.

Xiao Rongyan nodded, calculated his itinerary, stepped back, and bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan: “May the Great Zhou Emperor travel safely. Perhaps… this king will have the fortune to meet Your Majesty once more in Shequ.”

Bai Qingyan nodded. She had originally been about to turn and leave, but looked back to ask: “I wonder if the Regent has received news from Dongyi?”

Xiao Rongyan nodded: “I received the news last night. Please rest assured, Great Zhou – our Yan will definitely handle this properly and absolutely will not implicate Great Zhou!”

Xiao Rongyan bowed again to respectfully see off Bai Qingyan. Looking up, he saw Bai Qingyan leap onto her horse, turn her mount around, and lead the great army away.

When Yue Shi arrived, he could only see Bai Qingyan’s retreating figure. Having missed the chance to bid farewell to Bai Qingyan, he could only cup his fists and report to Xiao Rongyan: “Regent, among the clan members… two couldn’t endure and died!”

“I know.” Xiao Rongyan responded indifferently, as if he didn’t take it to heart.

·

Yan’s capital.

The carriage carrying Bai Jintong slowly entered the city. Bai Jintong sat inside the carriage with furrowed brows, carefully thinking about what that imperial clan dandy had said when they went snow viewing together today.

Fourteen days ago, when the Empress Dowager left the palace for the traveling palace, the imperial clan members held the Regent’s written orders as evidence, accused the Regent of treason, and knelt in unison before the palace gates, requesting the Emperor to recall the Regent for imprisonment and execution. But the Emperor remained unmoved. The clan members knelt outside the gates for three days, fainting one after another and being carried away.

Afterward, seeing that the Emperor would not punish the Regent, the remaining imperial clan members quietly returned home…

At that time, Bai Jintong had panicked that her brother-in-law’s identity had been discovered, but also felt that it was good it was known – let this group of imperial relatives force her brother-in-law to Great Zhou, which would be good for Great Zhou!

From the time Yan’s young Emperor Murong Li ascended the throne until now, or rather from when Yan’s former Emperor Murong Yu fell, the one supporting this Yan nation had been her brother-in-law Xiao Rongyan.

Bai Jintong, being in Yan, could see Xiao Rongyan’s capability and competence as Yan’s Regent, but could also see Xiao Rongyan’s helplessness as a member of the Murong imperial house, being constrained in every way.

Long ago, Bai Jintong had seen that Yan’s court and even the imperial clan were not united in heart. Everyone had their petty calculations and schemes, each working toward their own desired direction. For example, these imperial clan members, constantly thinking of finding opportunities to overthrow Empress Ji’s new policies and restore the old governance, because only that way could these nobles obtain maximum benefit.

If positions were reversed, Bai Jintong admitted that if she were in Xiao Rongyan’s position, she couldn’t do better than him.

She thought that with Xiao Rongyan assisting her eldest sister, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

She was so happy about this that she couldn’t sleep all night.

But later, the more Bai Jintong thought about it, the more something felt wrong. These Yan imperial clan members had been too quiet since their failed attempt to kneel before the palace and petition the Emperor to kill the Regent.

So when this Murong imperial clan member extended an invitation today, she went…

She pretended to probe, saying that ever since the Second Prince went to Great Zhou and the Regent returned… many of the low tax policies the Second Prince had promised no longer counted with the Regent. Her treasure “Clouds Embrace the Moon” had been lost in Dongyi, and she had originally wanted to make a trip to Dongyi, but with the Regent… she still had to follow the original agreement with the Second Prince and wasn’t allowed to leave Yan’s capital. She complained about what kind of situation this was.

That dandy, seeing Bai Jintong was indeed distressed, revealed a little, saying that before long, she wouldn’t need to worry so much about the Regent.

Bai Jintong looked around to make sure no one was there, then pretended to ask carefully in a low voice: “What’s going on? Did you get some news?”

That dandy smiled mysteriously, picked up his wine cup, and only said: “Just knowing this is enough for you – I can’t say more!”

Afterward, no matter how much Bai Jintong asked, that dandy seemed afraid and wouldn’t say another word. His degree of caution made Bai Jintong’s heart uneasy.