The Grand Princess nodded but showed no concern, only smiling as she beckoned to Bai Qingyan: “Come…”

Bai Qingyan heard her words and walked toward the Grand Princess, obediently kneeling beside her grandmother.

When Gao Demao saw a maidservant bring hot tea, he stepped forward to receive it, carefully examining the maidservant to ensure there were no problems before taking small steps forward to personally place it on the low table before Bai Qingyan, then retreating to one side.

The Grand Princess suppressed the stinging sensation in her nose, smiling radiantly as she looked up and down at her granddaughter, lovingly raising her hand to stroke Bai Qingyan’s long hair bound atop her head, then reaching out to touch Bai Qingyan’s palm-sized, delicate little face, speaking to Bai Qingyan with the same smile as she once had at the Bai Manor: “You’ve grown thinner!”

“Military campaigns are somewhat harsh, but Grandmother needn’t worry… I’ll be able to regain the weight in a few days.”

The Emperor sitting behind the screen listened to the grandmother and granddaughter’s casual family conversation, feeling somewhat impatient, but thinking of his Nine-Tiered Platform, he patiently waited.

“A’Bao, you knew that entering the city this time meant attending a Hongmen Banquet, yet you still came…” The Grand Princess gently grasped Bai Qingyan’s hand, her voice gentle and compassionate. “Does A’Bao plan to accept Grandmother’s suggestion and show the greatest sincerity by submitting to become a powerful minister?”

How wonderful it would have been if her granddaughter hadn’t come. If A’Bao hadn’t come… though she would inevitably feel lonely, she wouldn’t feel such overwhelming guilt.

Bai Qingyan looked at her grandmother’s smiling gaze and shook her head: “I came… because I needed to give Grandmother an explanation. Grandmother is my grandmother, but also the Grand Princess of the Jin Dynasty. Grandmother’s protection of the Lin imperial power is no different from us sisters protecting the Bai Family.”

She gazed deeply at the white-haired elderly woman before her, who concealed all her heartbreak behind her eyes while wearing a smile: “Grandmother and I should have been the closest people in the world. Now, due to different positions… we’ve taken opposing paths, and Grandmother’s heart must feel like it’s being cut by a dull knife. Therefore… your granddaughter had to come, so Grandmother would know that regardless of how different our positions are, the blood kinship between Grandmother and me cannot be falsified.”

Hearing Bai Qingyan’s words, the Grand Princess’s tears suddenly fell like broken pearls, old tears streaming down her face. No matter how high her pride or great her arrogance… none of it could withstand her granddaughter’s words.

Salty tears flowed into her mouth. The deep apology to her granddaughter was right on her lips, but she forced herself to swallow it back. Her withered hand rose to gently stroke Bai Qingyan’s head, then rested on Bai Qingyan’s shoulder armor: “A’Bao, if you truly rebel and establish yourself as the Female Emperor of Great Zhou, future historians’ brushes… will record you as a treacherous rebel.”

“Grandmother, speaking honestly, whether it’s the current Emperor or the current Crown Prince, you don’t expect them to be rulers who expand territory and unify the world with ambition and grand aspirations. Just asking them to preserve Jin’s vast family estate – can they maintain it?” Bai Qingyan spoke candidly to the Grand Princess. “Grandmother… those who care for all people can rule the world! But is this monarch such a ruler? Yan has already destroyed Wei, leaving the southern borders without worry. The next step will be to embark on the path of unifying the world. How long does Grandmother think the Jin Emperor and Jin Crown Prince can hold out? How many generations can they persist before perishing?”

“The reason the imperial family sits high above and receives the people’s support is that the people hope the imperial family can shoulder the responsibility of protecting them. But has the current imperial family achieved protecting and loving the people? Forcibly seizing children to send to the Nine-Tiered Platform for the Emperor’s elixir refinement, and if children aren’t sent, implicating entire neighborhoods. Forcibly conscripting people to reach the Nine-Tiered Platform within deadlines, or face execution! Implementing tyrannical policies for selfish desires, causing uprisings in many regions.”

“Grandmother… the Lin imperial power has reached its end. Even if it weren’t Bai Qingyan… there would be Li Qingyan, Wang Qingyan, or Zhao Qingyan rising. With military weakness abroad and political chaos at home, this is the foundation of national destruction. Your granddaughter is merely going with the flow!”

Seeing the Grand Princess’s lips tremble, Bai Qingyan continued: “Grandmother might say that the Bai Family could strongly support the Lin monarch, but Grandmother… didn’t Grandfather strongly support this Jin Emperor? What fate did our Bai Family meet? When a monarch lacks ambition and a minister’s aspirations are too great, they will inevitably reach the point where the ruler’s suspicion of the minister means the minister must die! Therefore… only by holding great power can one avoid constraints and threats, realizing the Bai Family’s generational aspiration to unify the world.”

“Grandmother once said that this world has no natural justice, that people are born with distinctions of nobility and status. Indeed, this world is currently like this, but A’Bao is willing to exhaust her entire life’s ability to give the people a peaceful and just world!”

Sitting under the lamplight, Bai Qingyan’s gaze was clear and resilient, as if she could never be defeated, her presence thick and steady: “Those who rule… who receive the people’s support must shoulder the responsibility of controlling national decisions and promoting national development. Court officials who receive the people’s taxes must bear the responsibility of planning for people’s livelihoods and stabilizing them. Soldiers who receive the people’s support must take on the duty of guarding borders and protecting people from war’s chaos. Generals who receive the people’s support must shoulder the responsibility of not letting soldiers die meaninglessly! A’Bao wants this world… regardless of whether they are scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants, everyone should be able to live and work in peace and enjoy tranquility, everyone should be able to seek justice – this is something the Lin imperial power cannot provide!”

Behind the screen, the Emperor burned with fury, but lacking confidence, appeared anxious and restless, sitting on pins and needles.

Unifying the world – how could a mere woman’s heart grow so ambitious?

If Bai Qingyan was truly so resolute, then he would not spare her.

“The Bai Family has been loyal and righteous for generations, respected by all nations. Can you bear to let the Bai Family’s century of honorable reputation be thus tarnished?” The Grand Princess spoke these words without conviction.

Her granddaughter had inherited the Bai Family’s generational aspirations and character, inheriting the Bai Family’s compassionate heart for the world. In A’Bao, the Grand Princess saw the bearing and ambition of a true ruler, exactly what the current Jin imperial family lacked.

“The Bai Family, generation after generation, has been worthy of rulers above and common people below, and does not fear historians’ brushes.” She looked at her grandmother with an open expression. “Moreover, if we can truly restore peace to the world’s people, even bearing this name of traitor and being reviled for thousands of years – what harm is there? Grandmother and Grandfather were married for decades; you should understand Grandfather. If Grandfather were still here… he would surely make the same choice as A’Bao. In Grandfather’s eyes… one person’s honor and disgrace, the Bai Family’s honor and disgrace, compared to the lives and peaceful days of countless people, amounts to nothing.”

Yes…

If her husband Bai Weiting were still alive, seeing Jin reach this state today, producing such an emperor who only sought immortality and would use an entire nation’s children to refine elixirs, producing such a spineless Crown Prince who groveled before Prince Liang, Bai Weiting would certainly no longer stand by idly. He would surely… lead the Bai Family army in rebellion to protect the people.