Chapter 1494 - 1489: Spies

Some with weak resolve have already knelt down, unable to withstand the pressure.

Bai Qingyan, as if she hadn’t seen it, continued, "The King of Hancheng is dead... I do not wish to break my promise to him. Therefore, for his sake, I am willing to give you another chance. If you do not cherish it, you cannot blame me for not keeping my word!"

Bai Qingyan’s gaze swept over them, her eyes carried a chilling smile that made one’s heart tremble: "May you all recognize the current trend of events clearly!"

"Before I leave, I will leave some spies in the Capital of the Dongyi Kingdom. If you give your all for the Zhou, they will naturally support you wholeheartedly. If you betray the Zhou... you won’t live to return!" Bai Qingyan stood up and said, "I hope you take care of yourselves and also hope that some of you will act wisely. If you can atone for past crimes with new merits... I will forgive and forget!"

After speaking, Bai Qingyan walked out. Bai Jinzhi glanced at the agents inside before frowning and following Bai Qingyan. As soon as Bai Qingyan stepped out, she said to Shen Qingzhu, "In a moment, register the names and official positions of those who are willing to stay on the list, and personally deliver the list to Bai Yusheng, so he can make good use of them and discern carefully."

"Yes!" Shen Qingzhu bowed and went off to handle the matter.

Bai Jinzhi watched Shen Qingzhu leave, then placed her hands behind her back, following her eldest sister, and asked in a low voice: "Eldest Sister, you knew among those people were spies, yet you still allowed them to meet. Aren’t you afraid it will leave a hidden danger for our own spies? Just for the promise to give these spies a way out for King of Hancheng, if anything goes wrong, there won’t just be one casualty!"

Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Jinzhi and smiled: "Even the Emperor of the Dongyi Kingdom is one of our Zhou’s own people. What need do we have for spies? What we want... is for our own people to become influential ministers in the Dongyi Kingdom’s royal court! Only when they are aware of each other’s identities can they work together. I just told the Empress that we have many spies in Dongyi, and once the Emperor ascends the throne, he’ll become a key figure in the court!"

Bai Jinzhi’s eyes widened: "I thought, Eldest Sister, you were just trying to anger her!"

"Why would I anger her?" Bai Qingyan halted her steps and tapped Bai Jinzhi’s forehead, "With our Zhou in the dominant position right now, leaving Yusheng in the Dongyi Kingdom, we naturally need to provide him with influential ministers in the royal court, to exclude the Empress from it! Only then can Yusheng freely do as he wishes!"

Bai Jinzhi suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly.

As they continued to walk, Bai Qingyan told Bai Jinzhi, "Of course, there need to be people in the shadows as well. But the spies Daliang sent in previously, we don’t know who among them is truly loyal to the Zhou or who betrayed the Zhou because of Daliang’s fall. Rather than wasting time and effort investigating all of them, which might not even be completed by the time the country’s situation is decided, it’s better to take some back. Those willing to stay can be utilized openly! And for the shadows... we’ll reinsert our people!"

Bai Jinzhi pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood: "So, Eldest Sister asked Qingzhu to give the list to Yusheng so Yusheng can use these people. Those who are truly ours will certainly work wholeheartedly! If they are not ours, they won’t dare to sabotage openly! If anyone truly tries to sabotage Yusheng’s appointment, they’ll be noticed and can be dealt with later! Also... Eldest Sister really gave these people a chance to repent, for the sake of King of Hancheng."

Bai Jinzhi suddenly thought of something else: "Nobody else knows about Yusheng being the Emperor. If someone among them reports it to the Emperor... reporting to Bai Yusheng would indeed be interesting! Or what if they report to the Empress! Eldest Sister... we should have someone monitor the Empress!"

Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Jinzhi, tidying her hair, "Now you’ve really used your brain... knowing everything, yet previously being too impulsive. Now that your brothers are back, are you getting spoiled, not wanting to use your brain anymore!"

"With Eldest Sister and my brothers around, naturally I don’t need to use my brains!" Bai Jinzhi displayed a bright smile, "But if I’m left alone, I would surely use my brain! Last time Sun Wenyao tried to fool me and failed, and I even managed to turn the tables on him!"

As their Eldest Sister walked away, Bai Jinzhi hurried to catch up: "Eldest Sister, who should we leave in the shadows to ensure safety?"

Bai Qingyan originally favored Chen Qingsheng, but just the thought of keeping Chun Tao and Chen Qingsheng apart made her feel sorry for that naïve girl, Chun Tao. If it really doesn’t work out, she would leave Shen Qingzhu and Xiao Ruohai in Dongyi—this way... it would also bring the two together.

Once Bai Qingyan had arranged everything related to the palace, she immediately went to visit Liu Rushi. He had grown so thin that his cheeks were hollow, no longer showing the once refined and handsome look when leaving Dadu City, appearing over ten years older. Yet his eyes remained remarkably bright.

Liu Rushi spoke to Bai Qingyan about how the second prince ascending the throne in the Dongyi Kingdom had become obsessed, insistent on finding a jade cicada to rewind time.

"When the Tianfeng Kingdom signed an alliance with our Zhou, I learned that the Tianfen people have a deep belief in the God, and thus certainly would also fully trust the matter of rewinding time. From what I investigated... Sal Khan gave the jade cicada in his hand to the second prince of the Dongyi Kingdom purely because the prince acted on impulse. Therefore, the Tianfeng Kingdom absolutely wouldn’t have given a fake jade cicada to the second prince!" Liu Rushi tapped his finger on the table, leaned closer to Bai Qingyan, and continued, "But the Monarch of Tianfeng did not take back the jade cicada before leaving, others don’t know, but I am aware, back when the Monarch of Tianfeng was in our Zhou, he was willing to pay any price for that jade cicada among the late Emperor’s relics! Initially, when the Monarch gave the jade cicada to the second prince of the Dongyi Kingdom, it was almost as if they wanted to test whether, during our Zhou’s gamble with the kingdom, they could exchange for the real jade cicada by not causing trouble on Dongyi’s side. There’s no reason they would leave the jade cicada behind when leaving!"

"You suspect there are spies from Dongyi in the palace of the Dongyi Kingdom?" Bai Qingyan picked up her teacup, gently blowing away the steam.

"Exactly..." Liu Rushi nodded, "If the Tianfeng Kingdom left spies in the Dongyi Kingdom and allied with the Yan Kingdom, then Dongyi could pose a potential threat to our Zhou! Your Majesty, you should take precautions!"

Bai Jinzhi, seeing her elder sister lift the tea, felt a sense of pleasure in knowing things others didn’t. Minister Liu was unaware that the current Emperor of the Dongyi Kingdom was indeed one of their Zhou’s people...