She raised her eyes to look at Prince Xihuai: “Can they hold out until late March or early April… when Prince Xihuai meets the Rongdi Ghost-Faced Prince? Can they hold out until the Ghost-Faced Prince leads troops through the State of Jin… to attack the State of Yan? Nearly three to four months—does Prince Xihuai dare gamble with the State of Wei’s safety?”

While attending to her campaigns, Bai Qingyan had never stopped paying attention to the battlefield situation between Great Yan and the State of Wei. Intelligence continued to arrive… Skilled in warfare as she was, Bai Qingyan had long seen through Yan’s campaign plan, even the routes matching her predictions exactly.

According to the latest military intelligence obtained and Bai Qingyan’s calculations of Yan’s army marching speed, plus the time for forced marches, Xie Xun and Second Prince Murong Ping must be about to converge, or have already converged, with their forces approaching Changcheng.

As for the State of Wei, the available great generals… were already few!

Changcheng was the capital of the State of Wei!

Even though the State of Wei had been forced to relocate the capital to Weishu City, Changcheng remained the capital in the hearts of Wei’s people!

If the State of Yan captured Changcheng, it would be equivalent to completely trampling the State of Wei underfoot. The State of Wei could not allow this to happen, so they could only dispatch Grand General and Grand Marshal Song Guanxu, who had not donned armor for many years, to lead troops to defend Changcheng.

Xiao Rongyan had long known that Bai Qingyan’s battlefield judgments were practically prophetic, so he showed no panic at being so accurately predicted.

What Bai Qingyan said was correct. If, according to the plan he had established before leaving, Second Prince Murong Ping and Xie Xun should have already combined forces, perhaps even approaching Changcheng.

Yan’s capture of Changcheng was inevitable, but they would not take Changcheng immediately. After all… even if the State of Yan captured Changcheng, as long as Wei’s royal family remained, the State of Wei could continue relocating the capital and retreating—the State of Wei would still exist.

To address the root cause, the State of Yan intended to draw all of Wei’s main forces to Changcheng, then circle to attack Wei’s new capital, Weishu City, eliminating Wei’s royal family.

Prince Xihuai felt his heart racing under Bai Qingyan’s calm yet profound gaze. Since being pursued and hiding with Xiao Rongyan, he had gone too long without receiving battle reports. But… would the Yan army advance so quickly, pressing toward Changcheng? Had they perhaps already reached Changcheng?

The State of Wei’s Grand General and Grand Marshal Song Guanxu led troops? But the State of Wei had suffered so many defeats without deploying Grand General Song Guanxu. Besides Song Guanxu being too old, it was also because Song Guanxu was bedridden with illness and now relied on medicine to sustain his life. This matter was kept strictly secret throughout Wei’s court because Song Guanxu was the State of Wei’s anchor. With Wei-Yan relations tense at the time, they dared not let this information spread.

If what Princess Zhenguo said was true, then… how long could General Song hold out?

“Since being pursued, this prince has gone too long without receiving news from the State of Wei!” Prince Xihuai panicked, looking toward Xiao Rongyan. “If this is the case, we cannot delay—Rongyan, we must depart immediately to find the Rongdi Ghost-Faced Prince!”

Xiao Rongyan nodded to Prince Xihuai.

“Prince Xihuai need not be too anxious. In my view… the State of Yan will not attack Changcheng immediately!” Bai Qingyan’s lips curved in a smile. “If I were Yan’s commander, I would position troops at the front of Changcheng to attract Wei’s main forces there, then send fierce generals… to bypass Changcheng and assault Wei’s new capital, Weishu City!”

Prince Xihuai’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening as he stared at Bai Qingyan.

Xiao Rongyan’s hand hidden in his sleeve also tightened slightly, feeling like thorns on his back, yet the smile in his eyes grew more intense, thinking of the future… when competing with Bai Qingyan, that battle would surely be extremely difficult.

But that uncomfortable feeling passed in an instant. Xiao Rongyan’s heart was also comforted by having such a beloved, and his blood boiled at having such an opponent.

“As long as Wei’s royal family remains, as long as they don’t surrender, changing the capital is just a matter of location! The State of Wei would still exist! Even if the State of Yan captured countless Wei capitals… it would only be treating symptoms, not the root cause. Only by slaughtering Wei’s entire royal family would they address the root cause and completely pacify the State of Wei.”

This speech from Bai Qingyan left Prince Xihuai terrified, nearly sliding off his chair.

Even if anyone else had said these words to Prince Xihuai, he might not have taken them to heart. But these were the words of the State of Jin’s God of War… Bai Qingyan. How could Prince Xihuai not be chilled to the bone?

If what Bai Qingyan said was true, the State of Wei was in grave danger!

To save the State of Wei, perhaps only by announcing to the world their submission as vassals and tribute payment could they preserve the nation!

Seeing Prince Xihuai’s face turn deathly pale with fright, she said quietly: “Of course, this might… also be my unnecessary worry. I hope whoever devised Yan’s grand plan to destroy Wei doesn’t think this way—then Prince Xihuai would still have sufficient time to obtain Rongdi’s assistance!”

Prince Xihuai stood up again, bowing deeply to Bai Qingyan with sincere gratitude: “Thank you, Princess Zhenguo, for your guidance, which has enlightened this prince greatly!”

“What needed to be said, Bai Qingyan has already said. Prince Xihuai… farewell!” She rose and cupped her hands to Prince Xihuai.

Prince Xihuai’s attitude toward Bai Qingyan was extremely respectful, showing the same deference he once displayed to his imperial brother as he escorted Bai Qingyan downstairs, then instructed Xiao Rongyan to properly escort Bai Qingyan out of the inn.

Xiao Rongyan walked side by side with Bai Qingyan through the inn’s ornately decorated corridor. Seeing the guards following at a great distance behind them, he finally spoke: “A’Bao’s insight into battle situations is truly like seeing through fire. If someday you and I become enemies, I’ll need to summon all my concentration.”

“So you’re saying the State of Yan indeed intends to draw Wei’s main forces to Changcheng, then send troops to directly attack Weishu City… to destroy Wei’s royal family?” She turned her head to look at Xiao Rongyan.

“The State of Yan doesn’t have elite troops like clouds under Jin’s command—they can only resort to cunning tactics…” Xiao Rongyan’s deerskin boots stepped on the orange sunset light on the bluestone floor, his shadow stretching long.

She nodded, then asked: “I heard from Qing Zhu that the precious sword in Yue Shi’s hands is truly remarkable—it penetrated Cao Renyi’s chest armor. Later, when the army physician went to bandage Cao Renyi’s wounds, he said the injuries were quite severe.”

She looked at Xiao Rongyan: “Does this precious sword have an origin?”

She wanted to ask whether that precious sword was forged using ink powder.

Previously, Zeng Shanru had said he had read through various miscellaneous ancient texts and believed ink powder was refined steel powder. This powder came from Empress Ji’s hands… precious swords forged with this powder were indestructible, truly capable of cutting through iron like mud and splitting hair with a breath.

“The precious sword in Yue Shi’s hands is called Asking Moon. Because both Asking Moon and Yue Shi’s names contain the character for moon, my imperial brother bestowed this sword upon Yue Shi. As for its origin, this sword was originally commissioned by my mother to be forged for my father. Unfortunately… before the sword was completed, my mother was already gone.”

The orange rays illuminated the contours of his features. His dark, profound eyes held only tranquility, emotions unreadable, so cold and desolate that not even half an inch of warm light could penetrate them.

Bai Qingyan had not expected that inquiring about the sword’s origin would touch upon Xiao Rongyan’s painful memories. She stopped walking, turned to face Xiao Rongyan, and looked at him.