“So, we must first kill Great Zhou’s emperor… Once Great Zhou’s emperor is dead, whether the regent is prepared or wants to come for revenge, mobilizing troops… always takes time, right? Thus, we’ll have room to free our hands to deal with the regent!” Prince Xiping spoke slowly. “Naturally, it would be best if we could kill both husband and wife together! That would eliminate many future worries.”

“Why not ambush and wait for Great Zhou’s emperor first, then notify the regent… If this regent is truly the Great Zhou emperor’s consort, he’ll surely come to the rescue like he did at Jiangzi City before. Then… we can catch them all in one net!” an advisor suggested.

“That probably won’t work! If we’re not careful, we might end up hurt by our prey instead of catching it!” Prince Xiping set his teacup aside, closed his eyes, and stretched his hands toward the fire.

“Your Majesty’s concern is very valid!” the dark-robed advisor said. “Our regent Murong Yan is also quite formidable at military strategy, as we could see from the previous destruction of Western Liang. But before, he was stretched thin… with the emperor young, being pulled by court affairs while also having to fight wars, his energy was inevitably scattered! But now, if it’s to save his wife… that would be different. The regent might stake everything! After all… if Great Zhou’s emperor dies, his status as imperial consort is unclear, his son is still babbling and can’t hold power, so he could be replaced by Great Zhou’s princes at any time, and might not even be left alive! This probably doesn’t align with the regent’s plans and interests.”

“Mm…” Prince Xiping didn’t open his eyes, turning his hands back and forth over the fire. “Speaking of this matter, it’s simple. The feudal princes all agree to kill Murong Yan and Great Zhou’s emperor, so… we’ll be responsible for Great Zhou’s emperor, and others will be responsible for Murong Yan!”

Otherwise, why should they contribute Xiping’s military forces while sharing benefits with everyone else? That didn’t make sense.

“But if other feudal princes are responsible, the troop movements probably can’t be hidden from the regent!” an advisor worried.

“What does that have to do with us?” Prince Xiping’s lips curved into a smile. He had already calculated this clearly in his mind. “They mobilize troops to find the regent, and the regent will naturally be prepared. We can then quietly move toward the Great Zhou’s emperor and catch her off guard. Best would be best if Great Zhou’s emperor knew Murong Yan was in trouble and divided her forces to rescue him… then we’d have an easier time dealing with Great Zhou’s emperor! For our Xiping army, that’s a good thing!”

As soon as Prince Xiping finished speaking, they heard the soft sound of red charcoal sparks bursting in the brazier.

“Even if this Great Zhou emperor is ruthless and won’t divide forces to save regent Murong Yan, for us, as long as the regent is held back by others, we’ll have no worries behind us!” Prince Xiping continued.

Setting aside any marital affection and speaking purely of interests, the regent’s child was in Great Zhou, the nominal father was already dead, and Great Zhou emperor Bai Qingyan had too many capable brothers and sisters. If Bai Qingyan died… the regent’s plan to unify the realm through the child would be shattered, and the child’s life might not even be preserved.

So, the regent had compelling reasons to save the Great Zhou’s emperor!

But Great Zhou’s emperor, aside from marital affection, had no compelling reason to save the regent.

Grasping this point to negotiate with other feudal princes, Prince Xiping was essentially doing the most dangerous thing. If they couldn’t even handle this small matter well, what right did they have to share benefits, just because they also bore the surname Murong?

Heh… Prince Xiping was not like that reasonable young emperor who valued familial bonds.

With his mind made up, Prince Xiping said, “Let’s do it this way. Send people quickly to deliver letters to nearby feudal princes. I don’t care who goes to deal with the regent, but someone must kill the regent. Otherwise, when Xiping’s army fights the Great Zhou here and they take no action, I’ll be attacked from both sides. At that time, I’ll lead Xiping’s army to surrender to the regent, and when the regent orders me to attack them, even if I want to show consideration for clan brotherhood, I probably can’t afford to for the sake of my family and comrades’ lives.”

“I’ll write the letter!” the dark-robed advisor said. “Please rest assured, Your Majesty!”

“Good… send people to keep watch! This heavy snow probably won’t stop for days, which will surely delay the Great Zhou emperor’s journey. There’s still time to send letters to other feudal princes. As soon as the Great Zhou’s emperor departs for Danzhou ahead, our Xiping army will set up the ambush.”

“Yes!” The advisors and generals in the room responded in unison.

In the wind and snow, swift horses departed from Prince Xiping’s mansion in four directions toward the four city gates, galloping away…

The heavy snow continued for three days. On the morning of the fifth day, there were finally signs of clearing weather.

Golden light penetrated the thinnest edges of the clouds, as if gilding the thick clouds with a layer of dazzling gold trim.

Liu Pinggao and Lu Yuanpeng knew that once the wind and snow stopped, Bai Qingyan would depart, so they began having the soldiers organize their gear and prepare to leave.

Snow roads were difficult to travel, but they were taking the road home. Not a single soldier complained, happily packing their things. Some even tucked sweet potatoes roasted in furnace ashes into their chests to eat on the road.

In the mansion, Wei Zhong stepped through the snow-blue cotton door curtain and saw through the painted screen that Bai Qingyan had already put on a cloak with excellent fur trim. After bowing, he said: “Your Majesty, the carriage is ready.”

“Today eldest sister will ride a horse! Eunuch Wei said the snow scenery is nice, so we can enjoy the view along the way…” Bai Jinzhi emerged first from behind the painted screen, a stone-blue cloak draped over her arm, looking quite pleased.

Bai Qingyan passed through the hanging curtains and came around the painted screen: “Riding back, no need to escort the carriage, and the army’s marching speed can be faster too!”

“Your Majesty misses the Empress Dowager and the little prince and princess – eager to return home!” Wei Zhong said with a smile, then bowed again. “This old servant will go prepare immediately!”

The garrison general and county magistrate of Bianliang City saw Bai Qingyan off outside the city. Before leaving, Bai Qingyan repeatedly instructed them to take good care of the people and told Great Zhou’s garrison general that she was urging him to work hard, caring for the people here for two more years.

The garrison general repeatedly agreed and watched until Bai Qingyan’s army disappeared into that vast white expanse before turning back to the city.

Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingjue had previously split their forces to go to various cities to comfort the people. This time, the two would still return to Shequ together, meet at Shequ, then return to Great Zhou together.

On Bianliang City’s side, not long after Bai Qingyan’s army had departed, scouts who had been waiting outside the city for a long time determined that Bai Qingyan’s forces numbered less than ten thousand, and immediately returned to report to Prince Xiping.

Xiping’s army had long been ready for battle. Just as dusk was falling, the scouts he had sent out returned and reported Bai Qingyan’s military strength for this expedition.

“How strange! The Great Zhou’s emperor didn’t come to Yan to fight this time, yet she brought quite a few troops…”