Seeing Bai Jinxiu’s unmoved expression, Ren Shijie added, “Counselors have their dignity. Since I have chosen my master, I will never betray him! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! Rather than Madam Qin insulting me like this, you might as well kill me!”

Ren Shijie indeed wasn’t lying. Having acknowledged the Ninth Prince Murong Yan of Great Yan as his master, he would never betray his lord.

“For now, I won’t kill you.” Bai Jinxiu’s bone-chillingly cold gaze fixed on Ren Shijie. “But you must understand, these are extraordinary times. If you dare make any suspicious moves, the Bai family guards… would rather kill wrongly than let you go!”

As soon as Bai Jinxiu finished speaking, the imperial shadow guards who had escaped from the capital with her personally took rope and bound Ren Shijie tightly.

“Rest for one hour, then we continue toward Yuanping!” Bai Jinxiu took a deep look at Ren Shijie and pointed at him with her riding whip. “Knock him out to prevent trouble!”

“Madam Qin!”

Ren Shijie had barely cried out before he was knocked unconscious by the imperial shadow guards.

On the first day of the fifth month, Bai Qingyan, Liu Hong, and Lin Kangle led their troops on a forced march to the outskirts of Chunmu City at Chunmu Mountain.

Bai Qingyan and Liu Hong had already received news that Chancellor Lu had been imprisoned, the Emperor had issued an edict abolishing the position of Chancellor and establishing a cabinet, while Prince Liang had already taken the imperial palace, coercing the Emperor to issue an edict transferring state affairs to Prince Liang’s hands and ordering the capture of the Crown Prince. Therefore, they had accelerated their march speed, with soldiers following behind in rapid steps, their entire bodies drenched in sweat.

The scorching sun blazed overhead like fire.

Fortunately, along the official road, green willows provided shade on the left side, while rushing river water flowed on the right, dispersing the summer heat for the soldiers marching in haste.

Riding at the front, Bai Qingyan saw from afar an old woman leading an eight or nine-year-old boy and a young woman holding a five or six-year-old girl in her arms, running forward as if their lives depended on it. The old woman had even lost her shoes, one foot bleeding profusely, yet she dared not stop, as if tigers were chasing behind them.

Seeing the army in the distance, the old woman suddenly cried out in despair, hugging the gasping boy beside her as they collapsed to the ground, wailing in grief.

The young woman holding the little girl froze for a moment, then, with a resolute expression, held the girl with one hand while grabbing the boy with the other, looking warily at the rapidly advancing army. Without a word, she rushed toward the swift-flowing river.

Though Bai Qingyan didn’t know what had happened, she could see that if this young woman rushed into the river with the two children, even if they could swim, they would be swallowed by the rushing current. She quickly turned to Yang Wuce: “Go stop them!”

Yang Wuce received the order and led ten light cavalry toward the young woman who was rushing toward the river while holding the girl and pulling the boy.

Seeing this, the old woman’s eyes widened as she cried out and rushed toward the cavalry, spreading her arms to block Yang Wuce. The young woman became even more panicked, looking back at the soldiers galloping toward them and screaming as she quickened her pace toward the river.

Seeing the old woman charging toward the galloping horses with deadly determination, Bai Qingyan couldn’t sit still and spurred her horse forward.

“Princess Zhenguo!” Liu Hong worried about Bai Qingyan’s condition and quickly raised his hand to signal the army to halt. He saw Bai Qingyan leap down from her galloping horse and tackle the old woman to safety, preventing her from colliding with Yang Wuce’s horse.

Before Liu Hong could hear what the old woman was cursing at Bai Qingyan, he saw common people approaching from a distance carrying hoes and ropes, along with knife-bearing bailiffs.

Liu Hong saw that Yang Wuce’s cavalry had already stopped the young woman, with two cavalrymen dismounting to protect the two children in their arms. But the young woman clawed at Yang Wuce like a madwoman, while the two children screamed and cried, kicking and biting the soldiers who had saved them.

Liu Hong quickly ordered Lin Kangle to have the army rest in place for a moment, then rode over quickly to investigate.

Bai Qingyan turned her face away, avoiding the old woman’s grasping hands, and restrained her with one hand.

As soon as Liu Hong dismounted, he heard the old woman crying and cursing: “You’re all the dog Emperor’s lackeys! The dog Emperor wants the lives of our two children just to seek immortality! Why should it be our two children? Why doesn’t that cursed dog Emperor just die? Why don’t you all just die!”

Bai Qingyan’s pupils contracted. With Prince Liang’s rebellion and internal chaos still unresolved, the Emperor had already begun forcibly conscripting children.

Liu Hong’s face turned pale. Though he hadn’t yet figured out what was happening, his thoughts aligned with Bai Qingyan’s – with internal strife still unresolved, the Emperor had already begun conscripting children?

Yang Wuce had his men restrain the young woman while he carried the two crying children who were calling for their mother, walking toward Bai Qingyan.

Lin Kangle, who had been observing the situation from afar, couldn’t contain himself and also rode over quickly.

The young woman was crying uncontrollably, her clothes soaked with sweat, her hair disheveled and in complete disarray. Seeing that Bai Qingyan was a woman, before even approaching, the young woman fell to her knees and crawled toward Bai Qingyan, tears flowing like broken beads as she wept heartbrokenly: “Miss! Miss… please, I beg you, please release my two children! I’ll work like an ox or horse to repay you, Miss!”

Yang Wuce saluted Bai Qingyan: “Princess Zhenguo, General Liu, we’ve stopped them!”

“Princess Zhenguo!” Upon hearing this title, the young woman’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Bai Qingyan. “You are… are you a descendant of the Zhenguo Duke’s mansion Bai family? You’re Princess Zhenguo Bai Qingyan, who protects and brings peace to the people?!”

Bai Qingyan nodded: “Sister-in-law, please get up first…”

Confirming that Bai Qingyan was indeed a descendant of the Bai family, the woman burst into tears with a wail. She tightly grasped the hem of Bai Qingyan’s silver armor and kowtowed forcefully: “Princess Zhenguo, please save my two children! When I was small, my grandfather and father always told me that the Bai family… and the Bai family army were the greatest protectors of us common people! Now the Emperor has issued an edict to capture our two children… to use their lives to make elixirs for him! My father-in-law and the father of these two children… both died as Jin soldiers in Nan Jiang! These two are all the bloodline left in our family!”

Lin Kangle, who had just dismounted, widened his eyes upon hearing this and looked toward Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan clenched her palms, rage burning in her chest. Soldiers fought and died for their Kingdom, spilling their blood and sacrificing their lives, yet in the end… the dog Emperor wanted to use the fresh blood of these soldiers’ children to extend his worthless life and make elixirs!

She immediately recalled the scene from New Year’s Eve in the fourteenth year of Xuanjia, when news arrived of her grandfather, father, uncle, and younger brothers all dying in battle, and Prince Xin’s eagerness to crush the remaining orphans of the Bai family.

The young woman could barely speak through her tears: “Please have mercy on my two children, Princess Zhenguo! The county magistrate bought children from human traffickers to replace his flesh and blood, and wealthy families are all following suit…”