Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1520 - 1515: Nobility

The city most severely affected by the epidemic in the Yan Kingdom is very close to the city divided to Zhou by Yan.

Now that the epidemic is rampant, indeed a royal figure needs to be present for the people to feel at ease. The Emperor personally went for Zhou, but on the Yan side... Xiao Ali going would worry Xiao Rongyan.

Moreover, he does indeed hope that in his absence... Murong Li can understand that he should shoulder the burdens of a nation and not always rely on him. Just now, the reason he had Yue Shi bring those words to Murong Li was still out of pity for him.

After this incident, no matter what, Xiao Rongyan will not allow the Empress Dowager the opportunity to send even the slightest message to Ah Li. If Ah Li were to lose his mother at this time, and he were to leave without saying a word, the child would be deeply saddened.

Remembering the tears in Murong Li’s eyes when he bowed earlier, he felt a pang of heartache.

Upon leaving the Imperial Palace, Xiao Rongyan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the gradually darkening sky, his eyes growing solemn.

Once in the carriage, he closed his eyes and played with the ring on his finger before speaking after a pause, instructing the carriage to turn into a side alley and ordering all accompanying guards to withdraw. He called out, "Guan Ying..."

"Guan Ying is here!"

Guan Ying, like Pingyi, was once a guard beside Xiao Rongyan’s elder brother, Murong Yu. However, Guan Ying was a Hidden Guard, while Pingyi was an Open Guard. Later... before Murong Yu’s departure, he arranged for Guan Ying and Pingyi to protect Xiao Rongyan in the future.

Xiao Rongyan raised his hand to lift the small window curtain of the carriage and cast a sidelong glance at Pingyi, who knelt beside the carriage with his head lowered. "Regarding the Empress Dowager, whether Ah Li orders the Empress Dowager to be confined in the palace or sent to a villa, you follow, ensuring she is not harmed, but... do not allow any of her words or things to reach the Emperor. If anyone dares to deliver any message or item from her to the Emperor, they will not live."

"Guan Ying understands!"

"Apply the same medicine the Empress Dowager gave the Emperor on her. Let her understand the feeling of being full of anger yet unable to get out of bed, unable to control her own body," said Xiao Rongyan, his voice showing no sign of emotion.

"Understood!"

"Go now!" Xiao Rongyan lowered the curtain of the small window again and closed his eyes once more.

Once, out of respect for his brother and the Empress Dowager, he indulged her...

Ah Li, unable to let go of the mother-son bond, softened towards the Empress Dowager...

Because of their indulgence and softness, a near catastrophe almost occurred, causing the Yan Kingdom to lose its credibility worldwide for the first time, leading to Kid’s premature birth in fright, and his daughter... having a weak constitution because of that. If it wasn’t for divine protection, he might not have seen Kid and his two children!

This time, it nearly cost countless innocent citizens their lives due to her desire to win, which contradicted the original intention when they were willing to gamble their nation.

Once, Xiao Rongyan felt chilled by the Empress Dowager, but he was still willing to respectfully call her sister-in-law.

Now, blinded by power, the Empress Dowager, willing to sacrifice everything just to win, even at the cost of the citizens’ lives, has completely cooled Xiao Rongyan’s heart towards her.

Human greed is boundless; if left unchecked, once she dared to give Ah Li the medicine that left him weak and unable to rise, who knows if next time she might use poison to take Ah Li’s life!

Just like... his father!

The hand resting on his knee slowly clenched tightly, the grip so strong that his knuckles whitened.

He must not let Ah Li become like his brother...

·

Bai Qingyan and her party were about to reach Dongguan City, and they had almost gathered enough herbs. Early the next morning, Bai Qingyan would personally lead the army to escort the herbs and officials into Yan territory. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

At this time, Lu Ping was helping prepare face towels boiled in medicinal water with a group of officials.

Bai Qingjue and Doctor Hong were explaining to the soldiers the precautions after entering Yan Kingdom, how to avoid infecting the epidemic, and how to treat it if infected, striving to ensure each soldier felt at ease.

During the attack on Liang, Bai Qingyan led the Zhou army, which included the Anping Army, who already had this experience. This was one of the reasons why Bai Qingyan did not bring the Bai family army but instead the Anping Army.

Bai Qingyan sat under the lamp reading a letter sent by her brother, Bai Qingyu.

In the letter, Bai Qingyu said he would personally go to the city given to Zhou by Yan to stabilize the people’s sentiments, showing his concern for Bai Qingyan and promising to handle the epidemic well.

Looking at her brother’s handwriting, Bai Qingyan’s expression was gentle with a soft smile. She picked up her pen to write a reply to A Yu, instructing Weisu to deliver it urgently to Bai Qingyu. She wiped her hands with the hot towel Wei Zhong handed her, reminding Weisu, "Deliver the message directly to King of Zhen’s hands, tell him... once the herbs are escorted to Yan, he must immediately return to Dadu City; this is a military order!"

"Yes!" Weisu accepted the order and exited the tent with the letter in hand.

Seeing Wei Zhong setting her meal, Bai Qingyan said, "Wei Zhong, you’ve worked hard on this journey, go and rest!"

"Serving Your Majesty is this servant’s duty, there’s no such thing as hard or not hard!" Wei Zhong did not feel it was hard; he only felt Bai Qingyan had it harder. Kneeling on one side, he offered the chopsticks with a cloth, "Please have your meal, Your Majesty, it’s been heated twice already."

As Wei Zhong finished speaking, Xiao Ruojiang entered, bowed and said, "Miss Bai, King Huai... requests an audience."

Taking the chopsticks from Wei Zhong with a smile, Bai Qingyan said, "Followed all the way, finally revealed himself, let him in..."

"Yes!" Xiao Ruojiang stepped out of the tent to invite him in.

Soon, King Huai followed Xiao Ruojiang inside.

Before entering, he saw Bai Qingyan sitting under the light having her meal, the flickering candlelight etched her clean and delicate features, though rarely entering the military, her posture was straight and proud, showcasing a resolute spirit, her dining manner was extremely elegant, making her tranquil and serene as if she was part of a painting.

Having not seen her for a long time, upon meeting again, King Huai found Bai Qingyan’s already exceptionally beautiful features seemed even more extraordinary, dazzling, and noble.

Staring at Bai Qingyan, King Huai became somewhat lost in thought.

When he first met Bai Qingyan, he was struck by her beauty. Clearly, there was a heroic spirit within her gentle beauty, as if she held the strength to move mountains. He had never seen anyone who could embody both qualities. Now, he found Bai Qingyan’s beauty carried an imposing noble aura.

"I assume King Huai hasn’t eaten yet," Bai Qingyan said, her deep black eyes meeting King Huai’s, her lips slightly upturned, signaling Wei Zhong to serve the dishes to King Huai.

"Greeting the Emperor of Zhou..." King Huai returned to his senses, offering a deep bow to Bai Qingyan.