Amidst the eight delicacies and jade dishes, cups and wine vessels crossing, and melodious strings and bamboo music, there was toasting and drinking. Drums and music played in unison, and the great hall presented a scene of singing, dancing, peace, and prosperous splendor—such a grand feast would be hard to find again in the entire world.

Bai Qingyan saw that her uncle Dong Qingping, sitting below the platform, was being mocked by his colleagues about the scratch marks around his eyes, calling him henpecked… If he continued to indulge his wife’s arrogance, she might become like the next Empress Ji of Great Yan, controlling their Dong family and cuckolding Dong Qingping.

Xiao Rongyan’s hand pouring wine paused slightly, then he calmly continued filling the cup and picked up his wine cup… his gaze looking toward the lower steps.

The moment she saw Xiao Rongyan’s gaze fall on Dong Qingping, she shuddered. Xiao Rongyan was Empress Ji’s youngest and most beloved son.

She remembered from her previous life… fifteen years later, when fortunes reversed, Great Jin fell into decline while Great Yan rose to become a strong nation. Great Yan and Xiliang attacked Great Jin from both north and south. She was fighting desperately with Prince Liang in Xiliang and couldn’t spare any effort, so the Great Jin could only seek peace with the Great Yan. Xiao Rongyan said he could stop the war, requiring no territorial concessions or reparations, only that the Great Jin hand over those who had verbally insulted Empress Ji. The fate of those people was easy to imagine.

Dong Qingping was usually eloquent and skilled at socializing, appearing composed, but whenever he drank too much, he became uncontrollably frivolous and indulgent. Now, with alcohol clouding his judgment, he spoke boldly: “The ‘True History of Yan’ records that Consort Ji was devastatingly beautiful, surpassing Daji’s fox-like charm and Lixi’s beauty. She used her beauty to serve King Su, first gaining the position of Noble Consort to lead the harem, then maneuvering among important ministers to achieve the honor of Empress and become the mother of the nation. Her status was unparalleled, her schemes reached across the four seas—historically known as the ‘Power Empress.’ My wife, Lady Song, is straightforward, with a quick temper, but how can she compare to that kind of dissolute, venomous woman?!”

Saying this, Dong Qingping hiccupped and looked toward Bai Qingyan’s mother, Dong Shi: “Don’t you think so, sister?!”

Her heart raced with alarm at Dong Qingping’s words. Her palm tightened as she instinctively glanced at Xiao Rongyan, seeing him smile as he drained his cup, his smile cold and not reaching his eyes.

Before Dong Shi could speak, she was already saying: “Pointed at by thousands and continuously cursed, whether having a heart like a serpent or being a seductive enchantress, Empress Ji at that time was just a small consort with no power in the palace and no influence in court. She sought survival amidst treacherous currents while carrying a mad emperor, and pushed Great Yan to a position of dominance—how resilient was her mind and will?”

Xiao Rongyan raised his profound gaze to look at her. She pretended not to notice, only looking at Dong Qingping, her palm already covered with a layer of sticky sweat: “The reason she’s despised by ten thousand people is simply because victors become kings and losers become bandits—uncle taught me this uninteresting principle. How is it that uncle is speaking nonsense after drinking too much today?!”

The Emperor leaned against the soft pillow beside him, his gaze falling on Bai Qingyan.

“Empress Ji usurped authority like a hen crowing at dawn, leading to national decline! That generation’s hero… isn’t he now confined to a corner, even giving up the capital to our Great Jin, surviving by clinging to our Great Jin! Don’t you all think… that’s right?!” Someone stirred up laughter.

As a fellow woman, she particularly hated the phrase “hen crowing at dawn.” Originally, only intending to defend Empress Ji so Xiao Rongyan wouldn’t hold a grudge against her uncle, now she felt several degrees more sincere.

“Everyone says Empress Ji of Great Yan abused power and had a serpent’s heart, but it was this woman, venomous as a serpent, who transformed Great Yan from a poor, weak Kingdom into a strong nation that could stand equal with our Great Jin and Xiliang at that time. Then Great Yan had clear governance and a bright society, with civil officials dying to remonstrate and military officials dying in battle. Later, when the Emperor of Great Yan awakened from madness and took power, killing Empress Ji… everyone in Great Yan rejoiced, yet afterward, Great Yan entered rapid decline, ending up clinging to our Great Jin. How tragic!”

Xiao Rongyan gripped the jade cicada in his hand tightly, his gaze toward Bai Qingyan becoming even more profound. The woman who once rode horses through wind and battle, with clear eyes and brows, now knelt under lamplight in the palace his mother had built in the capital, vindicating his mother’s name.

“No power in the palace, no influence in court, seeking survival amidst treacherous currents while carrying a mad emperor”—Bai Qingyan’s words captured all his mother’s bitter helplessness.

Xiao Rongyan lowered his eyes and filled his wine cup, drinking it all for his mother, to honor Bai Qingyan, this kindred spirit.

The Emperor suddenly laughed: “Aunt, your legitimate granddaughter is quite formidable! I heard… that day at Marquis Zhongyong’s gate, she rendered the Marquis speechless with her words. Today I’ve truly witnessed it.”

Bai Qingyan rose, respectfully bowing her head and standing submissively at her seat.

The Emperor looked Bai Qingyan over, squinting as if recalling, then turned to ask the head eunuch beside him: “What exactly did Miss Bai say? She learned…”

The head eunuch quickly bent down respectfully: “Your Majesty, Miss Bai said she learned the skills to protect home and Kingdom and fight bloody battles with thousands of troops! She learned to prefer being wrapped in horse leather and having her bones ground to dust… rather than allow the people and sovereign of our Jin nation to suffer humiliation—such steadfast loyalty!”

The Grand Princess smiled: “My granddaughter has been by the Duke’s side since childhood, raised with a man’s spirit.”

“This minister remembers that the eldest miss of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion also briefly joined the military and went to battle with the Duke! These words might not be appropriate from other families’ daughters, but from Duke Zhenguo’s mansion’s miss, they’re fitting!” Li Mao raised his wine cup with a smile, rising as if joking: “This century-old military family, Duke Zhenguo’s mansion, the Bai family army—their sons and daughters are all skilled in warfare with no defeats, achieving unparalleled merit. They’ve truly monopolized all military achievements in our Great Jin, leaving not a trace for others!”

Li Mao truly never forgot to poison the Emperor’s mind against their Bai family.

His undermining the Duke’s mansion and Bai family right in front of her was like plunging a knife into her heart, making her instantly furious. A surge of resentment and anger boiled like scalding water—how could she endure it?!

She turned, her spine straight as a rod, directly facing Left Chancellor Li Mao, who was smiling and raising his cup below the high platform. Her face was cold as water as she spoke icily: “So Left Chancellor’s eyes only see military merit! My Bai family is indeed a century-old military house, but Left Chancellor, listen to the heroic spirits of my Bai family—which one of them died for military merit and position?! Left Chancellor should go to my Bai family’s ancestral hall and look at those hundreds of memorial tablets—which one died from competing for power and profit in this prosperous imperial capital?! Even ten-year-old children of my Bai family fight on battlefields! All our clan’s men brave knife mountains and fire seas—do they want military merit?! My Bai family wants to protect the territory and people! We want national peace and prosperity! We want the Great Jin dynasty to be prosperous and enduring!”

Thinking of past events, Bai Qingyan’s heart ached with each sentence rising higher, each word like pearls, every phrase resounding powerfully, shocking to the ears and echoing through the universe.

In the great hall, there was deathly silence.

Li Mao’s expression was quite unsightly, standing there both embarrassed and angry.

The wastrels who had been toasting and drinking, hearing Bai Qingyan’s words, were all deeply moved. Duke Zhenguo’s Bai family was the foremost among Great Jin’s noble houses, yet Bai family men didn’t seek ancestral protection—at ten years old, they already followed Duke Zhenguo for battlefield training, while they lived dissolutely in the capital with no achievements.