Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 441 - 438: Feeling the Sharp Edge_1

Chapter 441: Chapter 438: Feeling the Sharp Edge_1

"Commandery Princess, Mrs. Qin, County Lord, Seventh Lady." Xiao Rongyan greeted the young ladies of the Bai family with a smile. His attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, and his voice was rich and gentle, like a spring breeze.

Before, when Bai Qingyan was in the Northern Frontier, news about Yan and Wei had never ceased to reach her ears.

Two months ago, Wei Kingdom took advantage of Yan’s main forces being occupied by the Rong to mobilize troops to Yan’s border, intending to provoke conflicts and expand their territory. Yet, for some reason, when Wei deployed troops to Yan’s border, Yan didn’t send any soldiers, and Wei didn’t initiate any battles either.

Afterward, there was news that Yan had long planned to conquer Wei. Yan initially intended to regain the lost land of Nanyan before turning their forces against Wei.

Once Yan recaptured Nanyan, its national power greatly increased. It was waiting for Wei to make the first move so Yan could have a legitimate reason to attack and seize Wei’s cities and lands.

Wei hesitated because of this, fearing to make a move. In early July, Yan’s fierce general, Xie Xun, led Yan’s main force back to the country, heading straight for Yan’s border. Yan’s envoy, on the orders of the Emperor of Yan, entered Wei’s royal city and bluntly stated that if Wei didn’t withdraw its border troops within half a month, Yan would consider it a declaration of war.

At that time, Yan had already fully controlled the Rong. With the natural pastures, Yan’s military strength was at its peak. How could Wei dare to provoke it?

The internal conflicts within the Rong temporarily ceased, but Yan did not completely eliminate the Nanrong, which was precisely what Yan wanted.

Now, under the name of assisting the Rong, Yan stationed troops in Rong and claimed that Yan was in danger. They used the reason of deploying elite soldiers to protect the motherland to withdraw their main forces back to Yan.

With Nanrong frequently causing troubles, the Rong had to rely on the Yan Army. Wei’s action of deploying troops to Yan’s border seemed to force Yan into a corner, making it necessary to withdraw their main forces from Nanrong. However, secretly, it benefited Yan greatly.

When Bai Qingyan heard this news in the Northern Frontier, she immediately thought of Xiao Rongyan’s hasty departure from Shuoyang that night to return to Wei. She guessed that this was Xiao Rongyan’s doing.

Last year, Yan was still a struggling country, mocked by other nations for its small population and poverty, as if any country could easily conquer it. It quietly strengthened itself, regained the fertile land of Nanyan, and made Wei dare not easily go to war against it.

From Xiao Rongyan’s actions and plans, Bai Qingyan saw his ambition to conquer the world. He was making steady preparations for Yan’s future grand ambitions.

The royalty of the Jin Kingdom, whether it was the Crown Prince or the Emperor, were only thinking about petty power struggles and cunning schemes.

When their eyes met, Bai Qingyan couldn’t help but think of the events that happened in the pavilion at Bai Mansion in Shuoyang that night. Her hands tightened slightly behind her back, and she nodded slightly, "Mr. Xiao."

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes and smiled, thinking that Xiao Rongyan had rushed back in haste for his beloved, wanting to greet the returning triumphant Bai Qingyan.

"Eldest Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady have finally returned safely. The Eldest Princess heard that Fourth Young Lady was injured and was so frightened that she had a high fever for days, praying day and night for their safety. She has finally... welcomed back the Eldest Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady!" Nanny Jiang wiped her tears with a handkerchief and spoke tearfully, "Eldest Young Lady, are you hurt anywhere? Ever since you were a child, you wouldn’t speak of your injuries. The Eldest Princess is extremely worried."

Bai Qingyan smiled at Nanny Jiang and said, "Nanny, don’t worry, I am not hurt!"

After speaking, Bai Qingyan looked at the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness." After bowing to the Crown Prince, Bai Qingyan said, "When I came to Shuoyang, my grandmother was already unwell. Now that the Northern Frontier battle has settled, I wish to visit my grandmother at Qing Temple. I plead with Your Highness to speak on my behalf to His Majesty. I am very worried about my grandmother and fear that I cannot attend the banquet tonight. After visiting my grandmother, I will surely enter the palace tomorrow before returning to Shuoyang to plead for forgiveness from His Majesty."

"Departing for Shuoyang tomorrow?!" The Crown Prince was quite surprised, "So soon?"

"I wish to take my fourth sister back to Shuoyang as soon as possible to ease the worries of our mother and aunts," Bai Qingyan said.

The Crown Prince glanced at Xiao Rongyan, intending to matchmake, and nodded, "I wonder if Rongyan would be willing to escort the Commandery Princess, County Lord, Mrs. Qin, and the Seventh Lady of the Bai family to Qing Temple on my behalf?"

Xiao Rongyan promptly bowed, "How could I dare disobey Your Highness’s command?"

Before her sister could refuse, Bai Jinzhi hastily thanked Xiao Rongyan, "Then I must trouble you, Mr. Xiao!"

The Crown Prince gave Xiao Rongyan a meaningful smile before boarding the carriage with the help of Quan Yu.

Bai Jinxiu glanced sideways at Bai Jinzhi. Her hand, resting on her belly, subtly tightened. Xiao Rongyan’s affection for her eldest sister was almost universally known in the Capital. The Crown Prince’s matchmaking intent was clear to Bai Jinxiu, but what about the fourth sister?

Could it be that her eldest sister harbored feelings for this wealthy Wei merchant, Mr. Xiao?

But as Bai Jinxiu understood her eldest sister, until the Bai family was restored to a position of strength to threaten the Lin family and the throne, her eldest sister would never speak of personal affairs.

"Please, Commandery Princess!" Xiao Rongyan made a gesture of invitation to Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan did not stand on ceremony, instructing Lu Ping to take Shen Qingzhu and Ji Langhua back to the Princess of Zhen’s mansion. Then, she boarded Bai Jinxiu’s carriage, letting Bai Jinzhi ride with their seventh sister, Bai Jinse, to have a good chat and instructed Bai Jinse to take good care of the injured Bai Jinzhi.

Nanny Jiang sensed that Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinxiu had something to discuss and quickly said, "Eldest Young Lady, don’t worry. I will take care of the Fourth Young Lady!"

"Thank you, Nanny!" Bai Qingyan nodded to Nanny Jiang.

As Bai Jinzhi helped Bai Qingyan into the carriage, she lowered her voice, "Eldest Sister, Mr. Xiao must have rushed back to the Capital knowing that you would arrive today!"

Bai Jinxiu tapped Bai Jinzhi’s head, giving her a warning glance, "Don’t speak nonsense!"

Bai Jinzhi giggled and respectfully saluted Bai Jinxiu, "Yes! At your command!"

Bai Jinxiu, rendered speechless by Bai Jinzhi, could only board the carriage.

It was now July, and Bai Jinxiu was nearly eight months pregnant, with a visibly large belly. Xiao Rongyan specifically instructed the carriage to go slower.

Xiao Rongyan’s carriage went ahead, and guards with swords rode on either side, escorting the three carriages slowly toward the royal Qing Temple.

Quan Yu turned back to see Bai Qingyan’s group boarding the carriages and reported to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince, in a good mood, nodded and closed his eyes, leaning on the armrest.

In the battle of the Southern Frontier, he had highly praised Bai Qingyan as a God of Slaughter. Many people initially took it as a mockery. Naturally, the ridicule was in line with the Crown Prince’s intention.

But now, after the battle between the Northern Frontier and Daliang, Bai Qingyan’s name was once again renowned among the nations. Even if she couldn’t quite be called a God of Slaughter, she was certainly a general who could strike fear into other countries!

With such a mighty general guarding the Jin Kingdom, why should he fear invasion from other states?!

But... Bai Qingyan’s health was a significant issue!

Until the Jin Kingdom had a new mighty general capable of deterring other nations, Bai Qingyan must not die!