After the joy, Bai Jinzhi thought of Liu Rushi’s attitude toward Bai Qingyan today and said, “Elder Sister, this battle has already been won. The Crown Prince will surely have us return to the capital with the Western Liang peace envoys. Should we bring the Bai Family Army back to the capital?”
She hadn’t expected Fourth Sister to be concerned about this issue. She smiled and said, “The Emperor and Crown Prince will not allow us to bring the Bai Family Army back. Not only will they not let us bring them back, they’ll probably station the Bai Family Army to guard the territories Western Liang cedes this time.”
The Bai Family Army was the Bai family’s foundation. If the Bai Family Army didn’t return with them…
“Then what should we do?!” Bai Jinzhi frowned deeply.
“Not going back is also good—this suits my intentions perfectly!” Bai Qingyan raised her hand to pat Bai Jinzhi’s head. “Don’t worry, Elder Sister has everything under control.”
Although there were many things Bai Jinzhi couldn’t understand, since Elder Sister said she had everything under control, she certainly did. Bai Jinzhi wasn’t worried.
In the evening, Bai Qingyan, Zhang Duanrui, Liu Rushi, and others led a battalion to accompany His Highness the Crown Prince to the banquet in the area between Youhua Road and Qiushan Pass.
Western Liang’s Prince Yan Li Zhijie wore a light purple robe with a black cloak, holding an iron-ribbed folding fan in his hand, standing outside a luxuriously constructed temporary tent, waiting for Jin’s Crown Prince.
From afar, he saw Bai Qingyan riding at the front in silver armor, holding a red-tasseled spear. His rippling peach blossom phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to ask the advisor beside him, “Silver armor, silver spear, Sun-Shooting Bow—is that the God of Slaughter, Young Marshal Bai?”
Li Zhijie’s advisor appeared to be in his twenties, clean-shaven with a fair, refined face. He stood properly behind Li Zhijie. Hearing Li Zhijie’s words, he raised his eyes to glance into the distance, then lowered his gaze and stepped forward: “Indeed, it is Young Marshal Bai.”
Though this advisor wore ordinary Western Liang men’s clothing, his speech, behavior, and posture were extremely standard palace attendant mannerisms—respectful yet restrained.
Li Zhijie nodded, his lips curving into a cold, shallow smile: “She’s more slender than I imagined! Though she has a blood feud with you over your father’s death, this time it’s our Western Liang lowering its stance to seek peace. A’Zhuo, you mustn’t lose your composure!”
The advisor called A’Zhuo nodded with a slight smile: “Your Highness can rest assured, this subordinate knows what to do.”
This advisor named A’Zhuo was the adopted son of Shu Kingdom’s Grand General Pang Pingguo, called Lu Tianzhuo. Pang Pingguo had shown Lu Tianzhuo deep kindness and righteousness.
Later, when Pang Pingguo was beheaded by Bai Qingyan and the Shu Kingdom was destroyed, Lu Tianzhuo, filled with grief and indignation, wandered in exile to Western Liang. By chance, he castrated himself and entered the palace to serve the legitimate Princess Li Tianfu. Later, through coincidence, he caught Li Zhijie’s eye and became Li Zhijie’s advisor, serving at his side.
Lu Tianzhuo had survived with his broken body until now, with only one desire—to avenge his adoptive father Pang Pingguo and the Shu Kingdom. Lu Tianzhuo had contributed significantly to Western Liang’s determination to ally with Nanyan’s forces to attack the Jin Kingdom.
It was also Lu Tianzhuo who worked to establish connections, using the relationship between the Nanyan Prince’s wife and Liu Huanzhang’s wife to connect with Liu Huanzhang, making Liu Huanzhang an inside agent for Nanyan.
However, Lu Tianzhuo also knew that the outcome of the Southern Border War—where the Bai family ended up with all their men executed—was the result of the Jin Kingdom’s internal strife, foreign scheming, and the ruler’s suspicion of the Bai family, among multiple strategic considerations. It wasn’t something he could have achieved alone.
“I only hope this Jin Crown Prince takes a liking to the Princess’s beauty. If the Jin Crown Prince voluntarily asks to marry the Princess, that would be best…” Li Zhijie said.
Lu Tianzhuo’s eyes lowered further, his hands behind his back slowly clenching into fists.
Seeing Bai Qingyan on horseback drawing nearer, Li Zhijie, who had always prided himself on being romantic and having seen countless women, was momentarily stunned.
Li Zhijie had imagined that a fierce general who was also a woman would probably be someone with bulging muscles and rough, masculine features. He hadn’t expected that as Bai Qingyan drew closer, he could increasingly make out her exquisite facial features, vaguely guessing that this young woman probably possessed heavenly beauty.
That made sense—the captured Bai family descendants were so handsome, so naturally the Bai family would produce beauties.
Li Zhijie’s lips curved upward, his left hand holding the iron-ribbed fan, tapping his right palm intermittently: “I never expected this Young Marshal Bai to be such a beauty! Even from this distance, I can smell the beauty’s fragrance.”
Lu Tianzhuo knew Li Zhijie loved beautiful things and always showed extraordinary tolerance and patience toward handsome or beautiful people. Lu Tianzhuo himself had caught Li Zhijie’s eye because of his good looks.
If not for Li Zhijie’s love of worldly beauty and lack of ambition for the throne, Li Zhijie could have completely used the chaos at Yunjing to seize power.
Lu Tianzhuo lowered his voice to patiently remind: “Your Highness must not forget that we bear the responsibility of peace negotiations and should prioritize the nation’s great interests.”
“I know! I know!” Li Zhijie’s burning peach blossom eyes looked in Bai Qingyan’s direction, his smile deepening. “Do you think I’m someone whose intelligence is clouded by lust? However, even though both sides are enemies, it doesn’t prevent me from appreciating Young Marshal Bai’s beauty! Though I love beauty, I only appreciate it—I never lust after it. I will maintain my dignity. Even if I can’t intimidate Jin Kingdom, I certainly won’t let Jin Kingdom look down on us.”
Soon, Jin Kingdom’s convoy arrived before the great tent. Bai Qingyan, mounted on her reddish-brown stallion, dismounted first. Li Zhijie, who had come to greet them, stared at her in a daze, his pair of narrow peach blossom eyes burning like fire.
She looked at Li Zhijie with composed calm, her gaze quiet and profound.
Lu Tianzhuo stepped forward with small steps, lowering his voice: “Your Highness…”
Only then did Li Zhijie come to his senses, his eyes growing even brighter. Probably realizing his impropriety, he bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan with extreme respect: “This must be General Bai!”
She should have been a stunning, delicate woman, but in her military armor with upright bearing, she instead possessed an additional heroic and spirited air. Li Zhijie had never seen such a woman, both ethereally beautiful and displaying a noble, cold bearing. She was truly a peerless beauty, a proud beauty rarely encountered in a thousand years!
Lu Tianzhuo: “…”
He didn’t want to look at their Prince anymore. What happened to maintaining dignity and not letting the Jin Kingdom look down on them, even if they couldn’t intimidate them?
Meeting for the first time and showing such great courtesy to an enemy general, when meeting Jin’s Crown Prince, would he have to kneel in submission?
Bai Qingyan nodded: “Prince Yan is too kind!”
Lu Tianzhuo stood behind Li Zhijie with lowered eyes, feeling that this had allowed Bai Qingyan to intimidate Western Liang instead.
Quan Yu helped the Crown Prince down from the carriage. Li Zhijie stepped forward to greet him, but felt the Crown Prince’s appearance was somewhat lacking, not even as good-looking as that Bai family member who had assassinated Western Liang’s former king.
Li Zhijie still gave the Crown Prince considerable face, bowing deeply: “Your Highness, the Crown Prince…”
“Prince Yan is too courteous!” The Crown Prince nodded with restraint.
“Your Highness, please!” Prince Yan stepped aside respectfully to address the Crown Prince, then his gaze fell on Bai Qingyan again: “General Bai, please!”