"Yes!" Wei Zhong responded.
Upon seeing Bai Qingyan, Mrs. Liu, the second lady of the Bai family, briskly walked up to her: "Kid..."
"Second Aunt!" Bai Qingyan stood in the morning glow, her features seemingly imbued with warmth, "I heard Second Aunt came early, sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Kid..." Mrs. Liuâs eyes were red, the Kid before her was different from the imposing emperor in the hall earlier, like she was still their familyâs eldest girl. Grasping Bai Qingyanâs hand, she asked softly, "Kid, do you know... about the jade cicada from Tianfeng Kingdom that can reverse time?"
Mrs. Liu dared to speak directly only because Bai Qingyan was surrounded by her own people.
Bai Qingyan was slightly stunned.
"You detained that Great Shaman from Tianfeng Kingdom in our Zhou, was it to investigate this matter of time reversal? Do you also think that if time could reverse, you could go back to save your grandfather, uncle, and brothers? Right?" Mrs. Liu was now one hundred percent sure, and if indeed time reversal was possible, and only the person reversing had memory, then... Bai Qingyan would undoubtedly be the best candidate for time reversal.
Considering Bai Qingyanâs personality of keeping silent and bearing burdens alone, if she had discovered anything, she would certainly not tell the Bai family unless she was completely certain.
"Second Aunt knows you wouldnât tell the family without certainty, but I... just canât stand the wait. My people canât investigate as thoroughly as you can, so I came to ask you." Mrs. Liu tightly held Bai Qingyanâs hand, "Have you found the whereabouts of the other jade cicada? Is sending Liu Rushi to Dongyi Kingdom for the jade cicada in Sal Khanâs hands?"
Mrs. Liu believed this matter completely, after all... if the jade cicada couldnât reverse time, why would the Tianfeng Kingdomâs Monarch go to such lengths to search for it?
Seeing Bai Qingyan silent, Mrs. Liu became anxious: "Could it be youâre not planning this? If time reversal is true... we could save the sons of our Bai family! Xiao Rongyanâs former jade cicada must be in our Zhou, we just need to search carefully! But the crucial one is the jade cicada in Sal Khanâs hands!"
Bai Qingyan lowered her gaze and gently stroked her Second Auntâs hand, then looked up with a smile, linking her arm with Mrs. Liuâs as they walked forward: "Second Aunt, do you say... if the rumor of time reversal in Tianfeng Kingdom is true, even if I handed over Zhou to him, would he give the jade cicada to me? If time reversal was true... handing Zhou to him wouldnât matter because I could reverse time and reclaim it, the Tianfeng Kingdom Monarch isnât foolish..."
Mrs. Liu thought for a moment, agreeing with the logic. If time reversal was true, Liu Rushi certainly wouldnât bring back the jade cicada, and if time reversal was false, perhaps the Monarch, faced with pressure, would give the jade cicada to Zhou. But if false... whatâs the point of having it?
"But... if itâs not true, why would Tianfeng Kingdom offer high rewards to find the jade cicada Xiao Rongyan once wore?" Mrs. Liu frowned deeply.
"Second Aunt, if the jade cicada truly can reverse time, Tianfeng Kingdom would hide it desperately rather than making it known to everyone." Bai Qingyan spoke calmly to Mrs. Liu, "Doesnât Tianfeng Kingdom fear someone acquiring the jade cicada and coveting its time reversal abilities, even further prying for Tianfeng Kingdomâs own jade cicada? Or... might Zhou, Yan Kingdom, and Dongyi all want the jade cicada, rising to attack it? For time reversal powers... isnât it more significant than Silver Coin? Which kingdom wouldnât want it? For example, our Zhou... if we lost a gamble, couldnât we use time reversal to come back to now and directly defeat Yan Kingdom?"
With Bai Qingyanâs words, Mrs. Liu seemed to have an epiphany.
"Spit, spit, spit!" Mrs. Liu spat several times, "Our Zhou doesnât lose gambles!"
Bai Qingyan was amused by her Second Aunt, though deceiving her made Bai Qingyan feel guilty inside, it was better than letting her pin hopes on uncertain time reversal before the battle of Southern Border. It was preferable to give her other hopes.
"Second Aunt, Kid understands... currently only the second branch has no sons who returned, itâs hard for you!" Bai Qingyan halted and gazed steadily at Mrs. Liu, "Now with Kid here in this position, Iâve sent more people to search for the brothers! Perhaps... someone kindly saved them, but theyâve lost memories and canât recall being Bai family sons, and it doesnât matter... weâre searching for them and weâll find them!"
Mrs. Liuâs heartache was revealed with Bai Qingyanâs words, causing tears to flow as she choked holding Bai Qingyanâs hand: "Kid... Second Aunt feels terrible!"
"Remember... back then they said none of our Bai family sons would return! Now hasnât Third Brother returned..." Bai Qingyan drew out her handkerchief to wipe Mrs. Liuâs tears, "Theyâll return, the ancestors of Bai family will protect all our descendants!"
Mrs. Liu nodded through her tears, as if suddenly remembering something, looking up at Bai Qingyan with her tear-stained face: "This... Tianfeng Kingdom spreading the word about time reversal, they must have ulterior motives! You must guard against them!"
"Second Aunt, this wasnât spread by Tianfeng Kingdom!" Bai Qingyan held Mrs. Liuâs hand, "Tianfeng Kingdom simply wants the national treasure to return to them, so they offer a reward seeking the jade cicada, but it was us, Zhou, who spread the word to trouble Tianfeng Kingdom. Now the Monarch of Tianfeng Kingdom is in Dongyi Kingdom. You see... if Dongyi Kingdomâs Monarch finds out that this jade cicada has time reversal abilities, wouldnât he be tempted and covet the jade cicada in Tianfeng Kingdom Monarchâs hands? With this... can Tianfeng Kingdom and Dongyi Kingdom ally smoothly?"
Mrs. Liuâs mind cleared even further: "So, this involves so much!"
"The rivalry between countries is a multifaceted contest. If Second Aunt ever has doubts later, come ask Kid... Kid will definitely clear things up for Second Aunt!" Bai Qingyan smiled while speaking to Mrs. Liu.
"How could I do that!" Mrs. Liu shook her head, "You are now supporting a huge nation, already working very hard! Second Aunt is useless and canât help. Coming today just added chaos and wasted your time! Rest assured Kid... Second Aunt will trust you no matter what! Because... you must be the one in our family who most hopes to use time reversal to save our Bai family!"
Listening to Mrs. Liuâs heartwarming words, Bai Qingyanâs eyes reddened with emotion, she nodded with a smile.
"Okay! Enough... Second Aunt wonât delay you any longer here! Go get busy!" Mrs. Liu said to Bai Qingyan with a smile uglier than crying.