The Crown Prince had just alighted from his carriage when he saw Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi returning to the group after paying respects to their father. He nodded to Bai Qingyan from afar, then smiled as he invited Western Liang’s Flame King and Princess into the relay station.
Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi handed their horses to the station grooms. Just as they were about to enter the relay station, they saw Liu Rushi and Zhang Duirui walking into the station with their heads held high after paying their respects. Bai Qingyan raised her hand to stop Bai Jinzhi, giving way to Liu Rushi.
Seeing this, Liu Rushi not only didn’t express thanks, but snorted coldly and swept his sleeves as he walked into the relay station with his hands behind his back, again displaying that attitude of unwillingness to associate with Bai Qingyan.
Zhang Duirui was stunned. He had originally thought that after Liu Rushi and Bai Qingyan’s coordinated performance in the peace negotiation tent, Liu Rushi had surely set aside his prejudices, but unexpectedly, he still had that sour scholarly air.
Bai Jinzhi was quite angered by Liu Rushi: “You…”
Before Bai Jinzhi could finish speaking, Bai Qingyan had already pressed down Bai Jinzhi’s hand that was pointing at Liu Rushi, gesturing for Bai Jinzhi to look inside the relay station…
Inside the relay station, the injured Li Zhijie stood upstairs, smiling as he looked toward the entrance, his peach blossom eyes rippling without revealing any emotion.
Even if there were internal disagreements within Jin, they couldn’t let Western Liang outsiders see them as a laughingstock. Bai Jinzhi naturally understood this principle.
“General Bai!” Zhang Duirui stepped forward with a smile and cupped his hands to Bai Qingyan. “Minister Liu has been famous for his foul temper since his time in the capital. Please be magnanimous, General Bai!”
“He’s just a sour scholar – what’s there to put on airs about! If it weren’t for his elder sister and the various generals achieving victory, would it be his turn to show off here? He doesn’t know what’s good for him!” Bai Jinzhi lowered her voice to complain to Zhang Duirui while looking at Liu Rushi’s retreating figure.
“Literati and scholars are mostly like that! Fourth Miss, please be magnanimous!” Zhang Duirui laughed to change the subject. “General Bai, Fourth Miss, please go ahead…”
Though Bai Jinzhi was unhappy, thinking that she could see Jiu Ge in Feng County tomorrow, she temporarily suppressed her anger.
Taking advantage of the Crown Prince not yet having retired, Bai Qingyan went to tell the Crown Prince about wanting to go to Feng County early tomorrow morning to pay respects to Bai Qingming. The Crown Prince nodded and granted permission, instructing Bai Qingyan to catch up with the group early after paying respects: “Only with you here can I feel at ease.”
As she emerged from the Crown Prince’s room, she saw Qin Shangzhi standing not far away, hands behind his back, looking at her.
Last time when she had asked Li Zhijie for the Dong family’s death warriors, although neither the Crown Prince nor Old Fang had discovered anything, Bai Qingyan knew… with Qin Shangzhi’s intelligence, he had probably already detected something amiss.
Though Qin Shangzhi had once sent her a message, he was ultimately the Crown Prince’s strategist – how could he not serve the Crown Prince and serve her instead?
Bai Qingyan and Qin Shangzhi stood on the hillside behind the relay station. Qin Shangzhi turned his head to look at Bai Qingyan: “I carefully sent people to investigate the fire pit by the Jing River. There were no burned bone fragments inside at all, so Miss Bai… those death warriors that Western Liang’s Flame King Li Zhijie brought were your people, weren’t they?”
Though Qin Shangzhi had known Bai Qingyan for only a short time, he knew that she was a person of unparalleled intelligence and strategy, who valued relationships and loyalty.
Seeing that Bai Qingyan didn’t answer, Qin Shangzhi said: “I once received life-saving grace from Miss Bai, so this time I only borrowed power to protect Miss Bai with my life! But… I am His Highness the Crown Prince’s strategist, and I absolutely cannot watch Miss Bai play His Highness for a fool!”
Having said this, Qin Shangzhi bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan and turned to leave, intending to find the Crown Prince and reveal this matter.
“Mister Qin…” Bai Qingyan called out to Qin Shangzhi unhurriedly. “Those death warriors were indeed my people.”
Qin Shangzhi turned around to look at Bai Qingyan, his eyes full of fury: “Why?! You didn’t hesitate to sacrifice the lives of death warriors and Tiger Eagle Battalion elite soldiers to assassinate Western Liang’s Flame King, just to sabotage this peace negotiation between Western Liang and Great Jin? To use war to strengthen the army?! I thought Miss Bai was someone who cared for the world and was as loyal and devoted as Duke Zhenguo. Don’t tell me you want to plunge the people of the world into warfare for power and profit!”
“My ninth brother is at Qiushan Pass.” Bai Qingyan’s voice was steady.
Qin Shangzhi’s raging fury seemed to hit ice, suddenly contracting. After being stunned for a moment, his anger subsided: “Ninth brother? A son of the Bai family?”
Under the brilliant starlight, the night wind blew the red cloth band that bound Bai Qingyan’s hair.
She kept her voice extremely low: “My ninth brother is the assassin who stabbed Western Liang’s emperor. He was captured alive by Li Zhijie and secretly brought to Qiushan Pass! I’ve been waiting for Li Zhijie to use my ninth brother as a bargaining chip during the peace negotiations, but Western Liang ceded territory and paid reparations – no matter what unthinkable conditions Jin proposed, they never brought up my ninth brother’s matter at the negotiation table. Mister Qin, tell me… could I just watch my brother suffer torment in Western Liang’s hands?”
The Bai family still had one son surviving. Qin Shangzhi asked in a low voice: “Then… Ninth Young Master, is he still alive?”
She nodded slightly.
Qin Shangzhi’s fist tightened at his side: “But this matter cannot be let known to His Majesty. The reason His Majesty allows the Bai family to survive is only because no matter how capable you are, Miss Bai, you’re still a woman. If His Majesty knew that the Bai family still had one son alive who could inherit the Bai family’s title, I fear…”
“The principle that Mister Qin understands, I naturally understand as well.” She looked at Qin Shangzhi. “So, I ask Mister Qin to remember the Bai family’s past grace in saving you and keep silent about this matter.”
“I am the Crown Prince’s… strategist.” Qin Shangzhi said the last two words extremely softly. “Moreover, even if I don’t speak, Old Fang and Ren Shijie beside the Crown Prince are not simple figures. Though they haven’t figured it out temporarily, understanding will come sooner or later, especially Ren Shijie… I heard that on his way to prepare birthday gifts for His Majesty, he passed by the Jing River and stopped there.”
“I only ask you to conceal the fact that my ninth brother is alive. You are now the Crown Prince’s strategist and should naturally strategize for the Crown Prince – I understand this in my heart! You can go tell the Crown Prince right now that those black-clothed death warriors were my people, and you can also tell His Highness that the black-clothed death warriors I buried by the Jing River were not burned!” She bowed deeply to Qin Shangzhi. “I thank you for the grace of delivering messages, and thank you for the virtue of allowing my ninth brother to live.”
It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of asking Qin Shangzhi to join hands with her, but since she hadn’t yet secured a place in those high halls of power, how could she rashly extend such an invitation?
Something flashed through Qin Shangzhi’s mind as he looked at Bai Qingyan: “You’re telling me to inform His Highness – what are you planning?”
With Bai Qingyan’s intelligence, if she dared let him inform His Highness the Crown Prince, she must have something to rely on… or even something waiting behind.
“To gain the Crown Prince’s trust!” Bai Qingyan spoke forthrightly.
“Since you want the Crown Prince’s trust, why not go tell the Crown Prince directly?” As soon as Qin Shangzhi spoke these words, he pressed his lips together. If he told the Crown Prince that the Bai family’s ninth son was still alive at Qiushan Pass, then His Majesty would also know of this matter.
Having followed the Crown Prince for these days, he could see that this Crown Prince… was quite afraid of the current Emperor – he was a good son, one might say.