“Yes…” Steward Hao responded, bowed, and went ahead to make arrangements.

Just as Bai Qingyan reached the front hall, guards delivered the first copy of the prescription that Physician Hong had written. Before she could mount her horse, she heard Old Master Min Qianqiu calling her.

“Princess Zhenguo…”

Bai Qingyan turned her head and saw Old Master Min wearing a cloak, lifting the hem of his long robe as he climbed the steps. She quickly bowed to Mr. Min Qianqiu: “Sir.”

Bai Qingyan still maintained her sickly appearance, with white lips and a pale face, completely bloodless, her body frail and thin.

Min Qianqiu glanced at the twenty guards outside the Bai mansion gates, all mounted and wearing cloaks, clearly prepared for a long journey.

Min Qianqiu bowed to Bai Qingyan, then looked up to see her frail appearance and frowned deeply: “Is Princess Zhenguo going to the capital city to admonish His Highness the Crown Prince of Jin because of the matter of the Jin Crown Prince wanting to kill the plague victims of Huayang City and Qin Huai City?”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “Exactly. Physician Hong has already developed a prescription to treat the plague. I have already sent people to rush the prescription to Huayang City and Qin Huai City, but since I took this upon myself… I still need to personally go to the Crown Prince’s mansion to persuade and explain.”

Old Master Min Qianqiu nodded and watched as Bai Qingyan was helped onto her horse with assistance.

Old Master Min Qianqiu had been staying at the Bai mansion for a long time to write the Bai family history, so he naturally knew that since winter began, Bai Qingyan had nearly died twice.

Seeing that even the simple action of being helped onto her horse made Bai Qingyan’s chest heave violently, she covered her heart, looking extremely uncomfortable, yet gritted her teeth and rode off at full speed.

Old Master Min Qianqiu felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

To rush to save the people of two cities… this girl, who was not even as old as his granddaughter, disregarded her own body, not even daring to take a carriage, wanting to ride swiftly to the capital city.

Once, Old Master Min Qianqiu had read the memorial text that Bai Qingyan wrote to the Bai family’s heroic spirits.

There was this passage in it…

Though the sons were not born at the same time, there are distinctions of age, but their aspirations are the same path, with no difference in length or shortness. If asked what they sought in life, they would surely answer… peaceful seas and clear rivers, peace throughout the realm!

Old Master Min Qianqiu raised his hand to gently stroke his beard: “The Bai family knows how to teach children! The century-old military family Duke Zhenguo’s mansion of Jin truly deserves the two characters ‘Zhenguo’ (Stabilizing the Nation).”

That afternoon, news spread throughout Shouyang that Princess Zhenguo Bai Qingyan had dragged her “dying body” to the capital city to save the people of Huayang and Qin Huai cities.

Some claimed they saw Princess Zhenguo being helped out of the Bai mansion and helped onto her horse, her face completely bloodless, her entire person emaciated beyond recognition.

The rumors grew more intense, with some even saying that Bai Qingyan was hanging onto life by a thread just to save the people of the two cities.

But no matter how bizarre the rumors became, the four characters “Princess Zhenguo” truly gained extremely important weight in the hearts of Shouyang’s people… in the hearts of those refugees at the treatment centers outside the city.

Not because she was the God of Death, not because she was invincible in battle, but because, despite all her glory, she disregarded her own body to work tirelessly for the lives of the common people.

Dong Shi sat upright in the main hall, listening to the continuous reports about Princess Zhenguo’s efforts to save the people. Her heart gradually settled down.

Since her daughter insisted on making this trip to the capital city herself, then… as her mother, she could only use this matter to build her daughter’s reputation, just as when they were in the capital city before, her daughter had deliberately pushed the Bai family’s reputation to its peak, making the Emperor wary and not daring to harm the Bai family’s widows and orphans!

Now, Dong Shi also wanted to use this method to make the Crown Prince not dare to harm her daughter.

Dong Shi was not stupid. The Crown Prince’s order to massacre the people of two cities would not be an open decree, but only a secret order. But how did her daughter know about this secret order… wouldn’t the Crown Prince think more about this? Even if the Crown Prince trusted her daughter, wouldn’t the advisors around him be suspicious?

Although Bai Qingyan was extremely intelligent, as a mother, Dong Shi had to do her utmost to protect her daughter’s safety.

Dong Shi had a vague feeling in her heart that her daughter… was not someone who willingly submitted to such a mediocre talent as the Crown Prince. The military training in Shouyang was ostensibly for bandit suppression, but in reality, her daughter was trying to grasp military power.

Dong Shi’s elbow rested on the armrest of her chair. If there came a day when her daughter truly harbored such thoughts, today’s momentum-building for her daughter using Huayang City and Huaiyang City… would surely help her daughter win over all hearts in the future.

“Steward Hao, spreading the word only within Shouyang city is not enough…” Dong Shi looked at Steward Hao with steady eyes, “Send people to spread the news! The wider the better…”

Steward Hao clasped his fists in acknowledgment and went out to make further arrangements.

Bai Qingyan traveled swiftly all the way. To put on an act, she sent Bai family guards ahead of her to the Crown Prince’s mansion to inform the Crown Prince that she had already sent people to deliver Physician Hong’s prescription for treating the plague to Huayang City and Qin Huai City, and that she was also on her way to the capital city to meet the Crown Prince, asking the Crown Prince to please show mercy to the plague victims of the two cities.

Crown Prince’s Mansion.

When the Crown Prince heard from Bai Qingyan’s messenger that Bai Qingyan had already sent people ahead to Huayang and Qin Huai cities to block the Crown Prince’s order to massacre the plague victims, he was momentarily stunned, then asked the kneeling Bai family guard: “Where is Princess Zhenguo now?”

Old Fang’s hands on his knees tightened, gripping his robe hem as he turned to look at the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince did not notice anything unusual…

The matter of massacring Huayang City and Qin Huai City was a secret order from the Crown Prince. Not many people knew about it. How did Bai Qingyan find out?

“In reply to Your Highness, the Crown Prince, she should be arriving at the capital city soon… Our Eldest Miss rode without daring to rest, forcing herself to come before Your Highness as quickly as possible to plead. If her body could have endured it, she would surely have arrived together with this humble servant!” the Bai family guard said.

Quan Yu’s heart jumped to his throat upon hearing this. With Princess Zhenguo’s current physical condition… riding a horse in this heavy snow, did she not want to live anymore!

“Quan Yu!” The Crown Prince turned to Quan Yu, “Immediately take people out of the city to meet Princess Zhenguo!”

“Yes!” Quan Yu hurriedly responded and quickly walked out of the Crown Prince’s mansion main hall, calling for people to prepare a carriage to go with him out of the city to meet Princess Zhenguo.

The Crown Prince looked at the Bai family guard kneeling in the center of the main hall and asked again: “Can that Physician Hong’s prescription truly cure the plague?”

“In reply to Your Highness, the Crown Prince, this humble servant dares not deceive Your Highness. Our Physician Hong has already used this prescription to save many people who contracted the plague, which is why our Eldest Miss had people rush to deliver the prescription…” the Bai family guard continued.

Hearing this, the Crown Prince nodded: “Good, you have also worked hard. Go rest!”

“This humble servant takes leave…”

Old Fang squinted as he watched the Bai family guard leave, then turned to look at the Crown Prince and said: “Doesn’t Your Highness find this matter rather suspicious? Your Highness’s order to massacre all the plague victims was a secret order. Princess Zhenguo is far away in Shouyang. Unless Your Highness had sent word, how else could she have learned of it? Doesn’t Your Highness find this strange?”

When Old Fang said this, the Crown Prince was stunned and suddenly looked toward Old Fang…