All of these… were far more important to her than romantic love between men and women.

But what if everything was settled and the world was at peace?

Bai Qingyan had never thought about it before.

Hearing the footsteps of Yue Shi and the others who had finished packing and were running over quickly, Bai Qingyan pushed away Xiao Rongyan, cleared her throat, and straightened her clothes. Her gaze inevitably fell on the wrinkled spot on Xiao Rongyan’s chest that she had grabbed, then she formally bowed to Xiao Rongyan: “Master Xiao, farewell.”

Seeing that Bai Qingyan was about to leave, Xiao Rongyan stepped forward and grasped Bai Qingyan’s slender wrist, pulling her back behind the wall. His well-defined large hand pressed against the wall outside Qing’an Courtyard, and he lowered his head to ask her: “Will you bet?”

Just as Bai Qingyan was about to speak, she heard Bai Jinzhi’s voice…

“Eh? Where did the eldest sister go? Didn’t she say she was coming to see Master Xiao? Hey… that person running ahead is Yue Shi, right? Where are your Master Xiao and our eldest sister?!”

Bai Qingyan shivered and nimbly slipped out from under Xiao Rongyan’s arm, clutching the whip in her hand as she walked out from around the corner.

“Xiao Si!” Bai Qingyan called out.

Hearing this, Bai Jinzhi happily ran over to Bai Qingyan and took her arm: “Eldest sister, Nanny Jiang has made osmanthus yam cake, and grandmother asked Nanny Jiang to call eldest sister to taste it. I was afraid Nanny Jiang would see eldest sister with Master Xiao, so I said eldest sister was cooling off in the back garden. I came specially to tell eldest sister – don’t let it slip.”

Having been interrupted twice in a row, Xiao Rongyan was not in a good mood. He still straightened his clothes and stepped out: “Fourth Miss…”

“Master Xiao!” Bai Jinzhi quickly turned around, smiled, and bowed.

“This is what Master Xiao brought back for you from the Wei Kingdom. Why don’t you thank Master Xiao?” Bai Qingyan handed the fire-red whip in her hand to Bai Jinzhi.

The fire-red leather whip had gems embedded in its handle, though not in the grip area. Bai Jinzhi loved it at first sight. She took it and gave it a swing – the sound of it cutting through the air was crisp. What a fine whip!

Bai Jinzhi’s face was full of smiles as she quickly bowed: “Thank you, Master Xiao, for still thinking of Xiao Si!”

“As it should be!” Xiao Rongyan did not act superior, maintaining his elegant and refined bearing as he returned the bow. He looked toward Bai Qingyan and bowed again: “Regarding the wager… Master Xiao will take it that Miss Bai has agreed.”

“Yan does not like to gamble.” Bai Qingyan’s palm tightened, with a faint smile at the corner of her lips.

“No matter. Master Xiao isn’t either – consider it mere entertainment.” After Xiao Rongyan finished speaking, he bowed to both Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi, then left with his guards.

Bai Jinzhi was quite curious. She took Bai Qingyan’s arm as they entered Qing’an Courtyard and asked in a low voice: “Eldest sister… what bet did you make with Master Xiao?”

“A bet on whose hands this realm will ultimately fall into!” Bai Qingyan spoke unhurriedly. “However, I had no intention of betting with Master Xiao.”

From the corner of her eye, Bai Jinzhi caught sight of the jade hairpin in Bai Qingyan’s hair and looked up: “Eldest sister has an extra hairpin! Ah… it must be a gift from Master Xiao?!”

Bai Jinzhi winked at Bai Qingyan meaningfully.

Xiao Rongyan’s words had come too suddenly – Bai Qingyan had forgotten to return the hairpin to him. She raised her hand to remove the hairpin and hid it in her sleeve: “It’s merely a token of gratitude!”

Bai Jinzhi smiled meaningfully: “Oh… a token of gratitude!”

When Bai Jinzhi and Bai Qingyan entered the Grand Princess’s small courtyard, the Grand Princess had already awakened. Bai Jinse and Bai Jinxiu were sitting in the courtyard, accompanying the Grand Princess as she ate osmanthus yam cake.

“Nanny Jiang is partial to eldest sister – since eldest sister doesn’t like sweet food, she made it on the bland side!” Bai Jinse said with a smile. “Fourth sister will start complaining soon!”

“Who says I’m going to complain! As long as the eldest sister likes it… Any flavor is fine by me!” Bai Jinzhi was in an exceptionally good mood today, having received the whip. She had already hidden the whip in the carriage to avoid her grandmother seeing it and asking questions.

The Grand Princess put down her silver chopsticks and beckoned to Bai Qingyan: “Come, A’Bao, you try some…”

Nanny Jiang stood nearby with a beaming smile: “There’s more, there’s more – this dish is for eldest miss, made bland! The next batch coming out will be sweeter.”

Bai Qingyan washed her hands and used silver chopsticks to taste a piece of osmanthus yam cake. The flavor was light and the same as what Nanny Jiang used to make for her.

“Nanny Jiang’s cooking is still so excellent.” Bai Qingyan said with a smile.

“This old servant will organize the food that the eldest miss likes and give the recipes to Nanny Tong. If the eldest miss wants to eat them, she can have Nanny Tong make them.” Nanny Jiang was extremely pleased watching Bai Qingyan take another bite with her chopsticks.

After dining at the Grand Princess’s place, Bai Jinse escorted Bai Jinxiu, Bai Jinzhi, and Bai Qingyan to the entrance of Qing’an Courtyard.

Bai Jinxiu sighed: “Grandmother’s place is too quiet. The only servants are Nanny Jiang, Aunt Lu, and Xiao Qi!”

“If there were more people, we couldn’t hide the fact that the third sister isn’t here. Grandmother is also thinking of the bigger picture.” Bai Jinse smiled. “Second sister, don’t worry – Xiao Qi will take good care of grandmother.”

Bai Jinxiu nodded and got into the carriage.

Knowing that Bai Qingyan would be leaving tomorrow, Bai Jinse was somewhat reluctant. With reddened eyes, she said to Bai Qingyan: “Eldest sister, when you return to Shouyang, please give my regards to mother. Tell mother… that I am well and she needn’t worry!”

“If there’s anything at grandmother’s place that needs to be told to the eldest sister, go find your second sister. The second sister will naturally send someone to relay the message to me! When you encounter difficulties, don’t be afraid of troubling your second sister or try to handle things alone – go find your second sister, understand?” Bai Qingyan looked at her precocious younger sister and gently instructed her.

“Eldest sister, rest assured. Xiao Qi understands…” Bai Jinse stepped back and formally bowed to Bai Qingyan.

When they returned from Qing’an Courtyard to the Capital City, the red lanterns were already lit along the main streets of the Capital City.

The Capital City remained as it always had been – the sounds of children playing and vendors calling out rose and fell in succession, bustling and lively, the same as before the Bai family left the Capital City.

Bai Qingyan lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside at the bright lights that illuminated the night like day. Around the old man making sugar figurines, a group of children of varying heights had gathered. In front of the restaurant hung with red lanterns, shop assistants greeted the coming and going customers with extremely glib tongues.

Occasionally, she could see carriages from noble families heading toward the painted pleasure boats and flower streets. Groups of two or three idle rich young men who liked to tease cats and dogs were drinking in the most luxurious private rooms upstairs, then engaging in grandiose discussions… talking about how mighty the Jin army was in this battle against Great Liang, how they flooded Longyang City and destroyed the Liang army, and how the enemy’s commander-in-chief Xun Tianchang was so enraged that he coughed up blood and died.

With Lu Yuanpeng’s group of wastrels gone from the Capital City, the liveliness had not decreased in the slightest.

Perhaps it was because the Capital City never lacked nobility, and the Capital City never lacked wastrels either. When they left… There would always be someone to take their place. The vast Capital City would never change in the slightest because of who left or who stayed.

Only Liu Shi, the second wife, remaining at the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion in the Capital City, had heard that Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinzhi had returned safely from the northern frontier and had been standing anxiously at the entrance waiting early.