Bai Qingyan’s palm tightened, her fingers nearly piercing through the letter. She threw the paper into the brazier, rose, and walked behind the desk, picking up a brush to write a reply to Bai Jinxiu.
In her letter, she instructed Bai Jinxiu that regardless of whether the Emperor intended to bring five hundred boys and girls up the Nine-Tiered Platform to use their lives for immortality elixirs or merely to ascend seeking elixirs, she should spread word that the Emperor planned to use five hundred children for alchemy. The matter should be done discreetly, ideally causing panic throughout Jin.
This way, Chancellor Lu and others would surely advise the Emperor and Crown Prince to stabilize public sentiment in Jin.
Even if they couldn’t dissuade the Emperor, the people would be wary upon hearing rumors and wouldn’t eagerly send their children upon hearing they could ascend the Nine-Tiered Platform with the Emperor. With such rumors… the people wouldn’t hand their children to Li Mingrui, letting the Emperor take their children up the Nine-Tiered Platform.
If even this couldn’t stop the Emperor’s determination to gather boys and girls, then Bai Qingyan didn’t have much time left. She had to capture Great Liang’s capital, Han City, before the Nine-Tiered Platform was completed.
Additionally, Bai Qingyan told Bai Jinxiu to assign more people to monitor Fan Yuhuai’s family members as well, and if necessary, find opportunities to bribe the Fan household servants.
After writing these instructions, she hesitated for a moment before adding at the letter’s end that Bai Jinxiu should accompany Qin Lang to take office in Baishui City. First, Wang Ge’er was still young and leaving his father would be harmful to the child. Second… Qin Lang also needed someone to care for him.
But the most important point Bai Qingyan didn’t mention – she hoped to get Jinxiu out of the capital because after capturing Han City and raising troops against Jin, transferring Bai Jinxiu and Wang Ge’er out then would cause too much commotion.
This time… the Crown Prince was conveniently sending Qin Lang to take office in Baishui City after the New Year, so Bai Jinxiu accompanying Qin Lang would be legitimate.
As for the Qin residence in the capital, let Jiang Fengchun’s two daughters deal with it themselves!
There was also Xiao Qi, who was currently still with Grandmother…
However, Bai Qingyan firmly believed that if she truly raised troops against Jin, Grandmother would still protect her granddaughter Xiao Qi.
But Bai Qingyan still instructed in her letter for Bai Jinxiu to remind Xiao Qi (Bai Jinse) that Fan Yuhuai’s movements were unclear. If chaos erupted in the capital, she must be clever. She could trust Grandmother, but not completely – she should prepare in advance based on the situation.
Additionally, after Bai Jinxiu left, she should transfer all her hidden guards to Fu Ruoxi and leave all intelligence gathering in the capital to Fu Ruoxi.
She wrote very discreetly, fearing that directly telling Bai Jinxiu about her plans to rebel after capturing Great Liang’s Han City would make Bai Jinxiu risk staying in the capital to collect intelligence for her.
But in her heart, her sister’s safety was more important than anything else.
After finishing the letter, Bai Qingyan sealed it and handed it to Shen Qingzhu: “Send reliable people to deliver this to the capital day and night without rest.”
Shen Qingzhu nodded. As he left Bai Qingyan’s tent with the letter, he happened to encounter Physician Hong coming to Bai Qingyan’s tent carrying his medicine box.
Physician Hong smiled and pulled a red pouch from his chest, handing it to Shen Qingzhu: “Here… Qingzhu girl, this is your New Year money!”
Shen Qingzhu was startled, then received it with both hands and thanked him: “Thank you, Physician Hong!”
After speaking, Shen Qingzhu hurriedly went to summon the Bai family guards. She didn’t dare delay and needed to immediately send someone to deliver the letter to Bai Jinxiu.
Hearing Physician Hong’s voice, Bai Qingyan came out to greet him: “Physician Hong, why aren’t you joining the festivities up front?”
Physician Hong entered the main tent with Bai Qingyan, laughing heartily. He set down his medicine box and stretched his cold hands over the brazier to warm them, saying: “I’m too old. Those young ones up front are too noisy. Come… let me check your pulse!”
Physician Hong placed the pulse pillow on the desk, had Bai Qingyan sit, and pushed the brazier closer to her.
Bai Qingyan obediently knelt across from Physician Hong and extended her hand for him to check her pulse.
Physician Hong rubbed his warmed hands together before extending them to press Bai Qingyan’s wrist pulse, lowering his eyes in careful contemplation.
After a long while, Physician Hong withdrew his hand, the smile in his eyes growing deeper: “It seems it’s time to change Miss’s prescription again.”
This meant Bai Qingyan’s health had improved compared to before, and her prescription needed adjustment.
Bai Qingyan straightened her sleeves and looked up to see Physician Hong extending a red pouch toward her: “Take this…”
Bai Qingyan was slightly stunned, looking at Physician Hong in confusion: “What is this?”
“Since we’re spending New Year away from home this year, this old man presumes to act as half an elder to Miss – consider this your New Year money.” Physician Hong smiled kindly, the deep lines around his eyes illuminated by candlelight, faintly showing brown spots.
Hearing this, her eyes grew warm as she received the red pouch with both hands, saying, “Qingyan has been watched over by Physician Hong since childhood. In Qingyan’s heart… Physician Hong is no different from Grandfather.”
Physician Hong nodded, packed up his medicine box, and stood: “Miss should rest early. Tonight this old man will go back and study… tomorrow I’ll give Miss a new prescription.”
“Physician Hong, take care!” Bai Qingyan rose to see him off.
Watching Physician Hong leave, Bai Qingyan looked down at the red pouch in her hand by the tent’s candlelight. Nothing was embroidered on it – unlike the pouches Bai Qingyan usually received, it was just two pieces of red cloth stitched together with red thread in a few simple stitches. It seemed Physician Hong had hastily put it together.
But… even such a simple pouch felt heavy in Bai Qingyan’s hands, warm and heartwarming.
In Physician Hong’s heart, she had always been just a child.
Tonight was New Year’s Eve. If she were in the capital or Shouyang, snow would surely be falling everywhere, but Great Liang’s winters saw no snow.
At this moment, the bright moon hung like a disk in the high sky, with scattered stars dotting the heavens, clear light covering the ground, and silver frost everywhere.
Bai Qingyan looked up at the bright night sky, her fingers caressing the pouch. She was about to enter the tent when… suddenly, a small stone gently struck the tent curtain on her right side. She turned to see Xiao Rongyan emerging gracefully from behind a tree.
Xiao Rongyan wore black fitted clothing with a hooded black cloak. Only after emerging from behind the tree did he remove his hood, his deep, dark eyes gazing at Bai Qingyan with gentle warmth.
The last time Bai Qingyan had seen Xiao Rongyan was on February eighteenth at the Kongtong Mountain post station, the night she was attacked… when Xiao Rongyan happened to be there too.
On Bai Qingyan’s birthday this year, though she knew Xiao Rongyan couldn’t get away from Great Yan, she still secretly hoped in her heart that he might suddenly appear.
Later, when Xiao Rongyan didn’t come and didn’t even send word, Bai Qingyan felt somewhat disappointed but understood he couldn’t be in multiple places at once. She simply ate a bowl of longevity noodles and left it at that – after all, campaigning abroad… There wasn’t time for such formalities.
When Xiao Rongyan didn’t appear on her birthday, she thought their next meeting would surely be as opponents. Who would have thought… she’d see Xiao Rongyan on New Year’s Eve.