Capítulo 1373: Chapter 1368: Paying the Price for a Gamble
“Yes!” Wei Zhong accepted the order and left with Jing Zhaoyin.
Bai Qingyan waved her hand, and Chun Tao, understanding her gesture, took Chun Zhi and left as well.
Only Bai Qingyan remained in the grand hall. She took out the jade cicada she always carried with her and placed the two jade cicadas side by side, leaning closer to scrutinize them.
The two jade cicadas were almost identical…
Although, Zhou Dynasty officials who heard the story of the jade cicada considered it a baseless rumor.
In fact, Bai Qingyan once told Li Zhijie that the tale of the jade cicada’s ti reversal was rhetoric by the childless Queen of Tianfeng Kingdom to stabilize her regi. Yet… Bai Qingyan herself was indeed soone who had been reborn.
At that ti, she carried the jade cicada that Xiao Rongyan gifted her, telling her to escape with it…
Holding the jade cicada gifted by Xiao Rongyan in her right hand, she watched it gleam with faint golden light under the candlelight. Her brows furrowed, and when she moved closer, the glow vanished.
When Bai Qingyan was reborn, she had never seen the jade cicada in Sal Khan’s hand.
She attempted to combine the two jade cicadas, yet nothing extraordinary happened.
After fiddling with the two jade cicadas for half an hour in the grand hall, Bai Qingyan suddenly ca to her senses, feeling as though she had beco obsessed.
She actually wanted to find a way to make the jade cicada reverse ti.
Such an event is rare and fleeting. Her rebirth was already a heavenly favor to the Bai family, and she shouldn’t covet more.
If, as legend suggests, every ti reversal demands a price, none of her relatives is soone she could bear to lose.
“Miss, Hidden Guard Weisu has co to report.” Weisu’s voice ca from one side of the grand hall.
Bai Qingyan looked towards the shadow behind the pillar: “Speak…”
“The Emperor’s tomb is intact, and I have stationed guards at the posthouse; not even a fly can escape.”
“Good, well done… you may go!”
After the light flickered, Bai Qingyan was alone in the grand hall once again.
She wrapped the jade cicada given by Xiao Rongyan in paper and casually placed Sal Khan’s jade cicada in a corner of the table, steadying her mind to review docunts.
After Wei Zhong settled Sal Khan and his entourage in the posthouse, it was already dark.
Sal Khan sat in the main seat, grasping the armrest tightly, his thin lips tightly sealed, his expression dark and inscrutable. He hadn’t expected Bai Qingyan not only refused to see him but judging by the guards at the gate, had him under house arrest!
“Eunuch Wei… Please, deliver a ssage to the Emperor of Zhou for !” Sal Khan raised his head, his hazel eyes deep like a still pond, and with a slight smile, said, “This ti, I personally ca to Dadu City to show goodwill to Zhou and intend to form a matrimonial alliance with Zhou. I hope the Emperor of Zhou won’t keep at a distance.”
Wei Zhong maintained his usual smiling deanor, nodding: “Rest assured, Monarch of Tianfeng, I will surely deliver your ssage to His Majesty! Naturally… I must also ask you, Monarch of Tianfeng, since you’ve co to show goodwill and seek peace, why not wait properly for the two nations to exchange official letters, settle on a date to enter Zhou, and then send emissaries as agreed? Engaging in such furtive behavior inevitably raises suspicions.”
“The official letter has been submitted to Zhou. The reason for my early arrival is because… I have longed to see the Emperor of Zhou!” The ambiguity in Sal Khan’s response was hard to discern, his gaze calm and composed.
“Do you want to deliver these words to His Majesty, Monarch of Tianfeng?” Wei Zhong asked.
Sal Khan nodded with a smile: “Then I trouble Eunuch Wei.”
Wei Zhong nodded to Sal Khan and then exited the main hall.
Once Wei Zhong left, Sal Khan’s face lost its smile. He turned to look at a silver-haired old man seated lower on his right, dressed in a black robe: “Great Shaman, are you sure that the other jade cicada is inside the Imperial Palace of Zhou?”
“My King… I guarantee with my life, this jade cicada is definitely not in the Emperor’s tomb in Zhou. If it’s not in the tomb, where else can it be?” The voice of the Great Shaman of Tianfeng Kingdom was deep and persuasive, “That jade cicada was once a cherished item carried by the Emperor. Wouldn’t the Emperor of Zhou keep it for mory? Even if it was initially buried with the Emperor, having heard the tale of the jade cicada, wouldn’t the current Emperor be tempted to have it retrieved?”
Sal Khan frowned, recalling Bai Qingyan’s icy, elegant beauty; his displeasure gradually faded.
“Let us not forget, during the Southern Border War, the grandfather, father, uncle, and most brothers of the Emperor of Zhou perished in the south. Having obtained the jade cicada, wouldn’t she try to manipulate ti to change the outco?” The Great Shaman bowed respectfully to Sal Khan, “Now that you’ve sent the female jade cicada to the Emperor of Zhou, naturally, if she has the male jade cicada, she will try to combine them, and failing that, she will undoubtedly co to consult you.”
Sal Khan straightened his back, his fingers tapping the table: “We must prepare Aksai for a potential battle. Underestimating our enemy before, now aware of Zhou’s might, with sumr favoring our Elephant Army, whether to fight or negotiate, it depends on the Emperor of Zhou.”
“With Zhou and Yan Kingdom soon competing for supremacy, Zhou likely won’t want to confront our Tianfeng Kingdom,” the Great Shaman considered Sal Khan’s previous words, feigning softly advising him, “And… if the Emperor of Zhou might beco the mother of this land’s future ruler, you, My King, might seize the opportunity. If you have a child with the Emperor of Zhou, our Tianfeng Kingdom could compete for this world’s leadership without needing to marry our Princess abroad.”
Sal Khan lowered his gaze, took a sip of tea without speaking, leaving the Great Shaman and other accompanying Tianfeng officials unable to fathom his thoughts.
As Wei Zhong erged from the courtyard of the “house-arrested” Sal Khan’s entourage, crossing through cloistered paths and rocky landscapes, he encountered Xiao Rongyan leaning against a rockery. Pausing, he respectfully greeted Xiao Rongyan before leaving with his n.
“Master, I’ve confird; it is the Monarch of Tianfeng Kingdom!” Yue Shi landed gracefully outside the pavilion, kneeling on one knee as he reported to Xiao Rongyan.
“Tianfeng Kingdom…” Xiao Rongyan tapped his palm with a folded fan, “Ah Li secretly sent people to contact the Dongyi Kingdom, and now Tianfeng’s people have co to Zhou. Interesting.”
No one knows who will win this final contest for the nation.
Regardless of whether Kid or Ah Li wins, Xiao Rongyan’s task is to do his utmost to assist the Yan Kingdom and, once the outco of the nation’s contest is settled, ensure that both parties will honorably accept the result without sparking war.
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