Chapter 1241: 1236: Cruelty

Chapter 1241: Chapter 1236: Cruelty

Chun Tao carried the chicken soup that had been simmering on the stove, lifted the curtain, and stood by the bedside. Her eyes were red as she whispered, “Miss, have some hot chicken soup and rest quickly!”

Bai Qingyan’s fall suddenly led to early childbirth, which truly frightened many people.

The entire Imperial Medical Bureau and the midwives were worried about the delivery; now that Bai Qingyan has given birth, both Mrs. Dong and the Imperial Medical Bureau are relieved.

Chen Qingsheng has already gone back to the Bai Mansion to report the good news, and let Steward Hao and Lu Ping know… Miss has given birth.

Mrs. Dong fed Bai Qingyan half a bowl of chicken soup, and Bai family’s military report sent by Bai Jinse was brought in, now waiting outside the main hall.

Bai Qingyan gently blocked Mrs. Dong’s hand from feeding her chicken soup and whispered, “Mother spent the night with me, go back and rest, please take good care of the two children for me.”

Upon hearing Bai Qingyan’s words, Mrs. Dong understood what Bai Qingyan intended to do. With a solemn look, she stared at her daughter, “Kid… You’ve just given birth and are still in confinement!”

“I don’t trust anyone with my younger siblings’ lives! Mother… It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have returned; Heaven gave me a warning, but I thought it was just a dream!” Bai Qingyan’s voice choked up and she couldn’t continue, wiping her tears, “Mother, I need to save them!”

“A Yu is my flesh and blood, and I raised Xiao Qi; am I not more worried than you?!” Mrs. Dong’s voice uncontainably rose, “But you… you are also the heart of Mother! You’ve just given birth, how can you endure the hardships of travel? If… if something were to happen to A Yu, I would only have you left! If anything happens to you, how can Mother continue to live?!”

Listening to this, Bai Qingyan felt a sourness attack her eyes, tears swirling in her eyes. Mrs. Dong’s voice immediately softened, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe Bai Qingyan’s tears, “Alright, alright! You can’t cry just after giving birth! It’s bad for your eyes! Be obedient!”

“Mother, I know you care for me, the two children have just been born, I understand all this, but I must find A Yu and Xiao Qi, I am their elder sister…” Bai Qingyan bit her teeth tightly, “Xiliang has likely captured A Yu and Xiao Qi, only by spreading the news that I, the Emperor of Zhou, disregard my recent childbirth and rush to the battlefield, will Xiliang realize how much I cherish A Yu and Xiao Qi, making them valuable… Xiliang won’t dare to kill A Yu and Xiao Qi!”

Nor would they force A Yu and Xiao Qi into suicide!

A Yu and Xiao Qi are children of the Bai family, Bai family’s children… would never allow themselves to be a burden to Bai family’s army on the battlefield, this is what Bai Qingyan fears the most!

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Dong immediately turned away, not wanting her daughter to see her tears. She swallowed the tears and turned back, looking at Bai Qingyan with moist eyes, again offering a spoonful of chicken soup to Bai Qingyan’s lips, “Mother knows you are a stubborn child, Mother can’t stop you! Finish the chicken soup, come… it’s no longer hot, Mother will feed you!”

Now, don’t mention Bai Qingyan, Mrs. Dong also wishes vehemently to go to the battlefield to find her son!

If she, who has just regained her son, were to lose him again… it would be even more cruel than taking her life, it would have been better if she hadn’t learned her son was still alive from the start.

Watching her daughter lower her eyes to drink the chicken soup, Mrs. Dong couldn’t hold back, her nostrils flared and tears dropped straight down.

“Your Majesty, the people are here.” Wei Zhong said to Bai Qingyan from behind the Nanmu Eight Treasures screen inlaid with jade.

“Commander pays respect to the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty!” The Bai family’s military voice was extremely hoarse, he hadn’t changed clothes or managed to freshen up, he was completely windswept.

The battle report sent, along with Bai Qingyan’s fall from the carriage leading to unexpected early childbirth, were known to him.

Now that the Fifth Young Master and Seventh Young Lady’s lives hang in the balance, if Young General Bai encounters any mishap here, he truly would be irredeemable even in death.

Mrs. Dong placed the chicken soup to one side, dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, and sat poised next to the bed, gazing at the Bai family’s military officer through the hazy curtain.

Bai Qingyan leaned against the pillow, turned her head to look at the Bai family’s military officer kneeling outside the embroidered curtain, and asked, “In the military report, Third Young Master said the Fifth Young Master and Seventh Young Lady hadn’t reached the ambush site set by Yan Kingdom and were waylaid by General Cui Shanzhong. Do you know the specifics?”

On this topic, the Bai family’s military was deeply aggrieved. He looked up at Bai Qingyan through the curtain, his voice choked, seething with anger that he didn’t know how to release, “The ambush site set by Yan army was somewhat distant from the enemy’s position set by Yan Kingdom, but didn’t Yan Kingdom send scouts to check it out? Young General Bai… must have been Yan Kingdom who sold us out, otherwise how could Cui Shanzhong manage to ambush at such a critical enemy point!”

Toward the end, the Bai family’s military voice was nearly choked, “By the time Fifth Young Master’s men returned to report, our Zhou reinforcements arrived, and Yan Kingdom’s army was already there! The Fifth Young Master and Seventh Young Lady were gone, none of the Bai family’s soldiers brothers survived! If it was merely a skirmish with Xiliang, how could not a single survivor remain!”

By this point, the Bai family’s military officer couldn’t suppress his sobs.

These details were not communicated to Bai Qingyan in Bai Qingqi’s letter.

Bai Qingyan’s hand tightly gripped the bedding beneath her, gritted her teeth, breathing heavily, but thinking of Xiao Rongyan slightly calmed her anger.

Even though Xiao Rongyan had once used A Yu’s identity, he also told her he had ensured no real harm would come to A Yu!

This time leading troops wasn’t only A Yu, but also her sister, Xiao Qi Bai Jinse; Xiao Rongyan knew what A Yu and Xiao Qi meant to her and her siblings, so he wouldn’t betray Zhou to Xiliang.

In a hoarse voice, she asked, “Yan Kingdom’s ambush… was it the Ninth Prince of Yan Kingdom?!”

“Indeed!” The Bai family’s military clenched his teeth, “Though Third Young Master forbade us to speculate carelessly for fear of ruining the alliance between the two nations, Young General Bai… Xiliang’s fall, and Yunjing’s stability, our Zhou and their Yan stand on opposing sides, we treated them as allies openly, dividing the battle spoils with priority to Yan Kingdom, but it’s uncertain whether Yan had made prior arrangements, I suspect they seized Fifth Young Master and Seventh Young Lady for leverage! Young General Bai, we must prepare early!”

These were speculations by Bai family’s generals, but Third Young Master Bai Qingqi believed Xiliang might want Zhou to suspect their ally.

Bai Qingqi and Bai Qingyan both believed the Yan Kingdom’s Ninth Prince, who sacrificed the chance to strike Yunjing first to save Bai Qingyan, would never betray an ally.

But the Ninth Prince not betraying doesn’t mean others wouldn’t…

She needs to ask Xiao Rongyan, who else besides him and her siblings knew about this ambush plan!