Chapter 933: 930: Remove the Firewood from Under the Pot

Chapter 933: Chapter 930: Remove the Firewood from Under the Pot

“Hey!” Chun Tao swiftly got up and went outside to stand guard.

Qin Lang and Bai Jinxiu knelt on the mats, speaking urgently: “That day, I accompanied my mother-in-law to offer incense and pray for the safety of the Bai family. While she was reciting scriptures, having nothing else to do, I took Wang Geer for a stroll in the back mountain and saw King of Baishui dressed as a commoner… I was about to go over and greet him when I spotted Li Zhijie…”

Just as Qin Lang finished speaking, Bai Jinse, lying next to Bai Qingyan, suddenly kicked in her sleep…

Bai Qingyan reached out to pat Bai Jinse’s shoulder and covered her with a blanket.

She moved her body to shield Bai Jinse from the glaring candlelight, lowered her eyes, and thought of what Prime Minister Lu said today… about Li Zhijie running around Dadu City giving gifts ever since his arrival.

Qin Lang glanced at Bai Jinse and lowered his voice further: “I feared Wang Geer might alarm the two and cause trouble, so I took him away. While accompanying my mother-in-law down the mountain… I overheard a woodcutter in a teahouse saying he originally went up the mountain to chop wood but was so frightened by a large number of soldiers that he hurriedly fled without cutting any! So, after returning, I wrote a letter and sent it to Shuoyang, thinking… that the Eldest Young Lady and Jinxiu already knew. Unexpectedly, when I mentioned it earlier, I found out the news hadn’t been delivered.”

“It was I who intercepted the message!” Bai Qingjue looked at Qin Lang, speaking softly, “When I received the letter, Dadu City was still in chaos. Second Sister led troops to rescue Grandmother, Eldest Sister was handling the disturbances in Dadu City, and from my calculations, King of Baishui’s army was no more than ten thousand. I believed I could manage it.”

“As for King Yan…” Bai Qingjue’s eyes were indifferent, his tone turning cold, “What waves can he possibly create on Zhou’s territory?”

A Yun’s leg was broken by this Xiliang King Yan. This… Bai Qingjue had not forgotten that Li Zhijie’s leg was only temporarily in his keeping. Bai Qingjue would someday take it all back with interest openly.

“Since Ah Jue is prepared, King of Tianshui is not a concern anymore.” Bai Jinxiu said, turning to look at Bai Qingyan, “Eldest Sister, now that you’re back in Dadu City, how do we handle the deposed Crown Prince of Jin?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll personally meet with the deposed Crown Prince…” Bai Qingyan slowly spoke.

If the deposed Crown Prince of Jin is willing to behave, Bai Qingyan would treat him like the Third Prince of Daliang, grant him a title, and have the Zhou Dynasty provide for him… Exile him to a picturesque place in the Liang Kingdom to keep him from being used again.

Keeping the deposed Crown Prince away from Dadu City would prevent further manipulation.

“After the enthronement ceremony, Ah Jue… would you be willing to lead the Bai family army to Hancheng to assist Chen Zhaolu and Lu Yuanqing in implementing reforms?” Bai Qingyan asked, looking at Bai Qingjue.

“Eldest Sister’s arrangement is my command, regardless of the order, Ah Jue will comply!” Bai Qingjue replied.

Originally, Bai Jinxiu would have been more suitable, but… Wang Geer was too young.

Bai Qingyan hesitated repeatedly but decided to send Bai Qingjue instead.

Yet, it was hard to bear letting Fourth Aunt and Ah Jue, who had just reunited, part ways again so soon.

·

Li Zhijie stood by the window, holding a handful of seeds, feeding a giant parrot with blue body and yellow feathers on its neck. Under the flickering lights, the parrot’s feathers shimmered enchantingly, its colors vivid and striking.

“Say, long live Empress of Zhou!” Li Zhijie teased the parrot with a seed.

The parrot immediately squawked loudly, “Say, long live Empress of Zhou!”

Li Zhijie nodded with satisfaction, feeding the seed to the parrot and stroking its head.

This… was the gift Li Zhijie intended to present at the palace banquet after the enthronement ceremony for Bai Qingyan tomorrow, assuming she could successfully ascend the throne.

Li Zhijie was naturally fond of beautiful things, be it people… or pets alike.

This blue-and-yellow parrot was acquired by Li Zhijie with great effort, and though it was hard to part with after such a short time, the thought of gifting it to someone as beautiful as Bai Qingyan made it seem less regrettable.

Li Zhijie’s subordinate entered, saluted Li Zhijie, and said, “Prince, King of Baishui has everything ready. Among the imperial guard commanders left by the Jin Dynasty’s head of the Imperial Guards, Fan Yuhuai, in Dadu City, many cannot accept a woman ascending the throne. But with Bai Qingyan’s strong troops, they only dare to rage silently. King of Baishui, being of the Lin family imperial clan and holding military power, still has some influence if he calls for action!”

“Hmm…” Li Zhijie responded nonchalantly, as King of Baishui was already in his fifties or sixties and wasn’t exactly pleasing to the eye, and Li Zhijie wasn’t particularly interested in his affairs, “What’s King of Baishui planning to do?”

“In reply to Prince, King of Baishui plans to have people ambush inside the main hall on the day of the Empress of Zhou’s enthronement, to kill her as a desperate measure. Once the Empress of Zhou is dead, King of Baishui himself will ascend that day. He said… being of the Lin family imperial clan, although the Empress has changed the country name to Zhou, those alive today… have been Jin citizens for too long. As long as he doesn’t cut the vassals, at least four remaining vassal kings would support his ascension! He hopes you’ll support him vigorously.”

Li Zhijie chuckled softly, moving the seeds in his hand with his fingers, “Alright… I understand! You may leave!”

For Li Zhijie, he’d done nearly everything he could in the Jin Kingdom at this point.

Whether King of Baishui succeeded or not was none of his concern; he was merely there to celebrate the Empress of Zhou’s enthronement and had even prepared a substantial gift… for the Empress of Zhou, a gift of fifteen cities! Naturally, Xiliang had requests from the Jin Kingdom.

Though they had requests, how many nations would be so magnanimous, offering such lavish gifts?

Having surrendered such a weighty gift, how could they possibly conspire alongside King of Baishui to murder the Empress of Zhou? It was King of Baishui himself who intended rebellion, not Li Zhijie holding a dagger to his throat, forcing him.

If King of Baishui managed to kill Bai Qingyan, all the better…

In that case, the fifteen cities brought by His Majesty wouldn’t need to be presented.

After all, even if King of Baishui killed Bai Qingyan, it was uncertain he’d secure the throne, possibly plunging the nation into chaos.

Whether called Zhou or Jin, only through chaos could Xiliang have a chance to breathe.

Only then could they turn the dire situation of the Ghost Mask Prince of Rong and Yan signing an alliance—where Yan agreed not to assist or share in attacks against Xiliang—into an opportunity.

With Jin in turmoil and unable to spare any attention and Yan prohibited from interfering, Xiliang could focus solely on the Rong… and had a fighting chance, even conquering the Rong was not out of the question!

Should Xiliang conquer the Rong, it would finally have the power to stand on equal footing with Jin and Yan, potentially allowing it to survive as a state amidst this turbulent era.