Chapter 1068: 1062: Illusion

Chapter 1068: Chapter 1062: Illusion

The kiss was brief, a mere taste.

Xiao Rongyan restrained his heavy breathing, his deep black eyes intensely staring at the breathless Bai Qingyan. He kissed her lips again before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Is there any room in Kid’s mind for me with all these books left by his mother?”

“Speaking of which…” Bai Qingyan looked at Xiao Rongyan and asked, “Do you know the meaning of the words in these books left by Empress Ji?”

Xiao Rongyan glanced at the bamboo slip left by his mother, then straightened up and picked it up to take a look. He said, “I have read these books… I once asked my mother about them. My mother said… these are not suitable for this era. She left them hoping that one day, when the right time comes, they can inspire the monarch of that time so that Yan does not fall.”

Bai Qingyan’s lips parted slightly, so… was Xiao Rongyan’s initial refusal to decide the outcome between the two countries based on national policies also because of Empress Ji?

Not wanting to remind Xiao Rongyan of sad things again, she got up and took the bamboo slip from Xiao Rongyan’s hands: “In that case, we can discuss this later. Let’s first talk about the matter of this Four-Nation Alliance.”

Xiao Rongyan nodded and casually placed the bamboo slip Bai Qingyan rolled up to the side, “Come…”

Xiao Rongyan led her to the chair. After he sat down, he pulled Bai Qingyan into his arms, letting her sit on his lap.

With their eyes at the same level, Xiao Rongyan said to Bai Qingyan, “The reason Tianfeng Kingdom is holding this Four-Nation Alliance is because their Great Shaman… received divine revelation. The God has chosen a ruler for this land, so if they forcibly occupy it, they will incur divine punishment!”

“Divine punishment?” She looked towards Xiao Rongyan.

Xiao Rongyan nodded: “Tianfeng Kingdom has a desert. It is said that the desert was the God’s punishment transforming what was once the most suitable fertile grassland for grazing into a desert that Tianfeng people cannot easily venture into. Moreover… it is said that the desert in Tianfeng Kingdom is expanding daily, devouring their farmland. This is the true reason Tianfeng Kingdom stepped into Xiliang, not because they share the same deity as Xiliang.”

“How do you know this?” she asked.

“Xiliang is not so wary of Yan, so Yan grain merchants can easily mix into Xiliang to gather information.”

She nodded, lowered her eyes, and thought carefully, “Divine punishment…”

Hearing Bai Qingyan’s soft murmuring, Xiao Rongyan held Bai Qingyan’s delicate hand, playing with it, and asked in a low voice, “Do you believe in God?”

She lifted her eyes to look at Xiao Rongyan, whose gaze seemed skeptical, and firmly said, “I don’t know if the Tianfeng God believed by the Xiliang and Tianfeng people truly exists, but I respect their belief in a deity and do not consider their faith to be unfounded. I believe Heaven is watching…”

Otherwise, how could she, in moments of despair and unrestful death, be reborn and return before Jinxiu’s marriage?

So, Bai Qingyan has always believed that Heaven has eyes! She believes that Heaven didn’t want the loyal Bai family line to meet such a fate, so she was allowed to return, allowed her several brothers to return!

Xiao Rongyan had not expected Bai Qingyan’s reply to be so firm, which surprised him quite a bit. He quietly said, “The concept of gods and Buddhas has long been a means to comfort the people, guide them… to live virtuously.”

Which implies that Xiao Rongyan himself doesn’t strongly believe in it.

This is the kind of guidance the Imperial Master gives to the Emperor after he ascends the throne. It can be said that… this is knowledge that is not passed on through generations of the Imperial Family, as they always used the concept of gods and Buddhas to guide the people, which over time… lessened the true rulers’ reverence for divine entities.

Especially after Empress Ji analyzed phenomena with her children from a young age and involved them in practices to dispel their fear of the unknown, teaching them there are no such things as ghosts in the world.

Without fear of ghosts, naturally, their reverence for divine entities diminished as well.

The matter of rebirth, she has not figured out how to tell Xiao Rongyan. Moreover, that world order and state of affairs have undergone drastic changes from Bai Qingyan’s previous life, so even if she speaks of it, there is no way to prove her truth and not just that it was a dream.

As Bai Qingyan quietly pondered, she suddenly felt movement in her abdomen and hurriedly clutched Xiao Rongyan’s arm.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Rongyan looked nervous.

“The baby moved…” Bai Qingyan placed her hand on her abdomen, a look of surprise appearing on her face.

Hearing Bai Qingyan say the baby moved, Xiao Rongyan felt a lump in his throat: “Let me try…”

He carefully placed his palm on Bai Qingyan’s abdomen and waited for a while without feeling any movement. Slightly disappointed, Xiao Rongyan helped Bai Qingyan sit back in the chair, knelt beside her with one knee, and pressed his ear against her abdomen to listen. Then he felt the child within her move again.

“It moved!” Xiao Rongyan lifted his eyes to look at Bai Qingyan, his usually calm and profound dark eyes unable to conceal his joy.

Bai Qingyan smiled as she watched Xiao Rongyan’s excited expression. She gently stroked his hair, “Don’t worry, the baby is really very good. This isn’t just to comfort you.”

She gripped Xiao Rongyan’s arm, “Stand up first, let’s sit down and discuss the alliance…”

The matter of Yan and Zhou’s alliance is, in fact, straightforward: to establish a treaty where if one country is invaded, the other will send troops in support, thus intimidating Tianfeng Kingdom from acting rashly.

“Tonight, the Ninth Prince will come to preliminarily confirm the matter with the Empress of Zhou. Next… Kid and Ah Li will need to make an appearance.” Xiao Rongyan sat in the seat beside Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan nodded, “Additionally… since the Emperors of Zhou and Yan are already here, Tianfeng Kingdom will surely send someone to discuss the alliance timing soon. Therefore, there’s no need to finalize the alliance too early. When Tianfeng Kingdom sends someone to inquire, as long as both our countries provide the same date, they will definitely understand.”