“There’s no need to mention Wei. It doesn’t border our Jin, so even if it occupies Yan, as long as it doesn’t exceed the area where Jin and Yan share borders, it won’t matter! But Great Liang… borders our entire northern frontier. When our Jin destroyed Shu and seized that small territory, we barely avoided being landlocked by Great Liang and gained access to the sea! But if Great Liang also occupies Great Yan, though their territories wouldn’t directly border each other, their legitimate stationing of troops would mean our Jin’s western flank would also be constrained by Great Liang!”

The Crown Prince rose and walked to the map, taking one look at it and immediately staring: “Go… send someone to summon the Minister of War! Quan Yu, go immediately and invite Master Ren… along with Master Qin, bring them both here!”

Upon hearing the words “Master Qin,” Old Fang’s fingers twitched slightly!

When Qin Shangzhi arrived and heard about Wei and Great Liang’s plan to attack Yan, he strongly supported the Crown Prince’s intention to deploy troops.

That afternoon, the Crown Prince and Minister of War Shen Jingzhong entered the palace for an audience. By evening, the Emperor’s decree came down, dispatching Liu Rushi to depart immediately for Great Liang to demand the territories, and commanding Liu Hong to lead the twenty thousand soldiers who had rescued the emperor from Anping Camp the next morning to Chun Mushan. If Great Liang refused to hand over the territories, Liu Rushi was to deliver a declaration of war.

When Bai Qingyan received this news, she was quite surprised.

She lowered her gaze to contemplate the chessboard before her, her fingers rubbing the red jade chess piece. The Emperor’s attitude in demanding these territories was unusually firm this time, likely considering that if Great Liang captured Great Yan’s cities, it would form a pincer movement from the west and north against Jin, potentially swallowing up the Shu territory that Jin had fought so hard to conquer, landlocking Jin… cutting off their access to the sea.

Back then, Grandfather had insisted on destroying Shu at all costs, even willing to incur the displeasure of other nations, precisely to prevent anyone from cutting off Jin’s access to the sea.

This time, even if the Crown Prince asked Bai Qingyan for advice, considering Jin’s overall situation, she would never allow Great Liang to seize even an inch of Great Yan’s territory.

“Elder Sister, Elder Sister!” Bai Jinzhi rushed in from outside Qinghui Courtyard, her voice reaching before she arrived.

Bai Qingyan turned toward the bright, sunlit window lattice, seeing Bai Jinzhi run under the corridor, lift the curtain and enter, circle the screen, pass through the hanging drapes, quickly step onto the footstool, and sit beside the window couch: “Master Xiao has come again… saying he’s come to bid farewell! Looking at Second Aunt’s expression, she won’t let Master Xiao see Elder Sister. Elder Sister… if you want to see him, I’ll go speak with Second Aunt right now!”

With Great Yan in trouble, Xiao Rongyan would naturally have to leave. It was considerate of him to find time in his busy schedule to bid her farewell.

Remembering Xiao Rongyan’s message left on the bird’s leg expressing his concern for her, Bai Qingyan pressed her lips together: “Go invite Master Xiao here, and say… I have something to consult with him about.”

Bai Jinzhi grinned, stood up, and bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan: “Elder Sister, rest assured, I’ll bring Master Xiao to you!”

After speaking, Bai Jinzhi rushed out like a gust of wind.

Bai Qingyan’s ears turned slightly red. She cleared her throat and said to Chun Tao, “Put away the chessboard. When Master Xiao arrives, have him sit outside the screen.”

“Yes!” Chun Tao responded.

Bai Jinzhi lived up to her mission and brought Xiao Rongyan over.

Since Bai Qingyan was an unmarried woman, although Bai Jinzhi didn’t want to stand here and interfere with her elder sister and Master Xiao’s private conversation, if she truly left… she worried about her elder sister’s reputation being damaged, so she could only stand with Bai Qingyan on this side of the screen, gazing through the gauze screen at Xiao Rongyan on the other side.

Before coming, Xiao Rongyan hadn’t expected to be able to see Bai Qingyan again, so he was already overjoyed.

“I heard that Princess Zhenguo vomited blood yesterday. I wonder if she’s feeling better?” Xiao Rongyan noticed that Bai Qingyan’s maid Chun Tao had already withdrawn, and his gaze moved toward Bai Jinzhi inside the screen.

Bai Jinzhi was sitting properly beside her elder sister, eating refreshments.

Bai Qingyan also glanced at Bai Jinzhi before speaking: “Thank you for your concern, Master Xiao. It’s nothing serious now. I heard Master Xiao has come to bid farewell. I wonder… where is Master Xiao going?”

“I have some business in Great Liang, and with my mother Kingdom now joining forces with Great Liang to attack Yan, I’m going to Great Liang… to gather intelligence for my mother Kingdom as well.” Xiao Rongyan said.

Bai Jinzhi ate a piece of pastry and choked on it, quickly pounding her chest with her fist and picking up her teacup to drink tea for relief.

“Master Xiao is quite honest with me.” Bai Qingyan’s eyes carried a gentle smile.

Hearing the laughter in Bai Qingyan’s voice, Xiao Rongyan’s rich, low voice carried a tenderness he himself hadn’t noticed: “I… speak from the heart to Miss.”

“Pfft…” Bai Jinzhi couldn’t hold back and spat out a mouthful of tea, quickly wiping her mouth with her sleeve: “Sorry, Elder Sister! I just didn’t expect Master Xiao to… to…”

To speak so intimately! There’s still another person here!

Bai Qingyan took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Bai Jinzhi. Bai Jinzhi quickly took the handkerchief and wiped her mouth, feeling the pastry still stuck in her throat, and pounded her chest with her fist again.

“Go out and find some water to drink!” Bai Qingyan said.

Bai Jinzhi nodded, clutching her elder sister’s handkerchief, and left the main room with a red face.

Xiao Rongyan turned back to see that the swaying curtain had stilled, then spoke: “I… have been presumptuous!”

After speaking, Xiao Rongyan walked around the screen toward Bai Qingyan.

He saw the pale-faced Bai Qingyan in plain clothes sitting before the window couch, looking more haggard than usual. Her raven-black hair was pinned up with the jade hairpin he had given her, and a white fine wool blanket lay across her legs.

The noon sunlight filtered through the window lattice in scattered golden rays, falling between her smiling brows and eyes. With skin like ice and bones like jade, she was so ethereally beautiful, breathtakingly lovely.

“What happened yesterday?” Xiao Rongyan, disregarding propriety, stepped forward and grasped Bai Qingyan’s hand. Feeling her fingertips were ice-cold, he asked again: “Did you use the medicine little A’Li sent?”

“Don’t worry, yesterday’s blood-vomiting was fake, to smoothly return to Shouyang! On your trip to Great Liang… be careful in all things.” Bai Qingyan asked.

Xiao Rongyan nodded, lowering his gaze to look at Bai Qingyan’s hand, stroking her wrist bone, his eyes full of concern: “Take good care of your health. The first batch of grain has already reached Shouyang. I’ll continue sending grain there, but… can you consume so much grain? If not, I can…”

Before Xiao Rongyan could finish, Bai Qingyan had already interrupted: “When the remaining grain reaches Shouyang, I’ll have Steward Hao negotiate with your people to settle the payment. Don’t worry… since I dared to make the request, I can truly consume it all.”

Xiao Rongyan always performed his acts completely. The grain was naturally available, but… later, unable to use this excuse to prevent Jin from interfering with Beirong and Great Yan’s attack on Nanrong, Xiao Rongyan sent it to Shouyang as agreed.

Ever since Great Yan had bloodlessly recovered the lost territories of Nanyan, Great Yan… no longer lacked grain.

Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan didn’t say much more.

Both understood each other well, knowing that each had their responsibilities and ambitions, and neither was the type to be trapped by romantic entanglements.