Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Bai Qingyan nodded, considering that A Yu's considerations were extremely appropriate. At this moment... it should also be the time for A Yu to prepare to return to the Rong.

That day, when Xiao Rongyan left the Imperial Palace in Dadu City and returned to the posthouse, the Ninth Prince of Yan and the Yan envoys began to pack their things and return to their country.

This time, Yan's attempt at a marriage alliance had ended in failure, which made more people in Yan wary of Ninth Prince Murong Yan. They speculated that he did not allow the new Emperor of Yan, Murong Li, to gain Zhou's support and deliberately thwarted the marriage.

On the sixth day of the ninth month in the early years of Yuanhe, Bai Jintong arrived in Dadu City.

Bai Jintong returned day and night without rest, without time to send a message in advance.

She held the token given by Bai Qingqi, and made her way into the palace unhindered...

Bai Qingyan was having lunch with Commandant Lu, Minister Shen, Minister Dong, and the six Chief of Staffs while discussing state affairs when Wei Zhong hurriedly arrived.

Wei Zhong walked with short steps to Bai Qingyan's side, covering his lips and whispered to Bai Qingyan, "The Third Young Lady has returned, and she is currently outside the hall."

Gripping the chopsticks tightly, Bai Qingyan quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said to the officials, "Please continue the discussion. I'll be right back."

Commandant Lu hurriedly led a few senior officials to bow to Bai Qingyan.

Seeing Bai Qingyan leave in haste, Dong Qingping felt uneasy, "What's going on?"

"You're the Emperor's uncle. If you don't know, how could we possibly know?" Minister Shen said with a smile.

"Let's have our meal first, and after that, we'll come up with a few measures for the Emperor to choose from later..." Commandant Lu said while taking the lead to sit down and began to eat.

Zhang Duanning, the current Minister of War, held a bowl and chopsticks and couldn't help but feel, "Our Empress really doesn't adhere to conventions. This is the first time... I've seen an Emperor discuss state affairs with officials while having meals."

Hearing that Zhang Duanning was not dissatisfied but merely finding it curious, Lu Jin from the Ministry of Justice said, "When the Empress was young, she went on expeditions with elders; time was tight on the battlefield, and fighting was physically demanding, so the King of Zhen, the Duke of Zhen, and various generals would discuss and plan battles while having meals! Our Empress doesn't put on airs and has meals with us officials, which shows she hasn't forgotten her beginnings."

Zhang Duanning nodded, "When my cousin was still around, he always spoke highly of the Empress with great admiration every time he mentioned her."

Bai Jintong remained in the side hall, looking serious and uneasy, not having had the time to freshen up, still in men's clothing to meet her elder sister.

Seeing her elder sister step into the side hall, Bai Jintong's eyes suddenly reddened for some reason, and she quickly walked towards her, "Elder Sister!"

Bai Qingyan also took a few steps forward, seeing Bai Jintong's dark circles and gaunt frame, her eyes and cheeks sunken, and she felt deeply distressed, embracing Bai Jintong tightly.

Chun Tao, who was following alongside, watched with apprehension, fearing anything might happen since Bai Qingyan was currently with child.

"Elder Sister..." Bai Jintong tightly embraced her elder sister, her voice nasal, almost thinking she would never see her sister again in this lifetime.

"You've suffered! It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!" Bai Qingyan gently stroked Bai Jintong's back, soothing her softly.

"Third Young Lady!" Chun Tao smiled with tears, also saluting Bai Jintong.

Bai Jintong smiled and nodded at Chun Tao, "Chun Tao... your cousin asked me to bring a message back to you, saying the Third Young Master instructed your cousin to handle something very urgent, so he couldn't return with me this time."

Chun Tao's ears reddened, quickly responding, "Serving the Third Young Lady and Third Young Master is what my cousin ought to do, Chun Tao knows the importance!"

Bai Jintong nodded.

"Elder Sister, I saw them in the southern frontier... they're still alive... some of our Bai family's men are still alive!" Bai Jintong's tears cascaded down like broken beads.

Bai Qingyan released Bai Jintong and led her towards the soft couch, instructing Chun Tao to bring hot tea and snacks for Bai Jintong: "Have you seen Third Aunt yet?"

"I haven't seen Mother yet! I rushed back because there's an urgent matter..." Bai Jintong wiped her tears as she recalled the important matter and said, "Elder Sister, when I was returning, the Empress of Xiliang had already sent people to seek aid from the Tianfeng Kingdom."

Bai Qingyan gestured for Bai Jintong to sit. She had previously heard of this Tianfeng Kingdom from Bai Jintong's letters, and later she specifically searched for maps.

Tianfeng Kingdom had many things that greatly interested Bai Qingyan, such as ink powder that could make weapons sharper and more indestructible.

"I remember you mentioned in your letters that... Tianfeng Kingdom is located behind the snow-capped mountain at the junction of the Rong and Xiliang, a mountain no one has crossed?"

Chun Tao brought up tea and snacks, and after serving tea, she led the others out of the side hall to wait outside.

Bai Jintong nodded, dipped her finger in the tea, and sketched the general locations of the Rong, Xiliang, and that snow mountain, as well as the Tianfeng Kingdom's position on the small agarwood table.

"Tianfeng Kingdom is right here, an advantageous location. Previously, the snow mountain isolated them... for the people of Xiliang and Rong, the snow mountain was sacred and untouchable, believed to be the end of the world! Those in Tianfeng Kingdom on the other side believed the same and didn't know of another country beyond the snow mountain!"

Bai Jintong circled a location next to the snow mountain and tapped with her finger: "The end of the snow mountain towards the south is a desert, just at Xiliang, and beyond the desert was a place no one dared to go! Luckily, I discovered a route, a way to pass between Tianfeng Kingdom and Xiliang, then journeying through Xiliang to export goods from Tianfeng Kingdom to Zhou, Yan, and previously Wei and Daliang! This earned quite a profit, but... unfortunately, while in Xiliang, in order to swiftly gain the support of the Eight Great Families of Xiliang, I had no choice but to reveal this route to them. The route is treacherous but not cold, so people can traverse it."

Bai Qingyan suddenly felt a pang of caution: "Tell me more details about this Tianfeng Kingdom."

"When I first arrived in the Tianfeng Kingdom, many things seemed incredibly wondrous. The kind of gigantic animals called elephants are rare even in Liang Kingdom, yet in Tianfeng Kingdom, elephants are everywhere, and their size surpasses those in Liang, referred to as great guests or massive beasts. This nation's population is less than Zhou and Yan, thus their army isn't large, but they can use elephants in their army."

"They train these enormous and tall elephants as the Elephant Army. Like our cavalry, but compared to cavalry... the Elephant Army crosses mountains and rivers as if walking on flat ground. The elephants are armored, with soldiers commanding battles atop them, and during marches... the Elephant Army can transport supplies and provisions. My time in Tianfeng Kingdom was too short to witness the Elephant Army engaging in warfare, but in everyday life in Tianfeng... the populace cannot do without elephants."