Bai Qingyan gazed at Bai Jinse with a slight smile and said softly, "The road ahead is long and far; I shall seek it high and low..."
"Eldest Young Lady, I will rember your words! To seek the way to govern and prosper a nation... It is our unshirkable duty!" Bai Jinse bowed to Bai Qingyan.
Seeing Bai Qingyan nod, Bai Jinse handed her a teacup and said softly, "Eldest Young Lady, have so tea and take a rest! Tomorrow, once everything at the Bai Mansion is arranged, Sister Chun Tao and Nanny Tong can enter the palace to take care of you."
Bai Jinse was precocious, so Bai Qingyan never concealed her words in front of her. Seeing her younger sister’s determined gaze, she was deeply moved, and she raised her hand to gently rub her sister’s hair, accepting the teacup.
"Your Majesty, King Yan of Xiliang requests an audience..." Wei Zhong stepped forward and spoke softly.
"At this hour, what could King Yan want to discuss?" Bai Jinse asked with a frown.
Since Eldest Young Lady ascended to the throne, she has been even busier than before... so busy she can barely have a al.
Holding the teacup, Bai Qingyan’s lips curved into a subtle smile. It seems... Li Zhijie is in a hurry.
"Tell King Yan of Xiliang that it’s too late today. Invite him to et after tomorrow’s morning court." Bai Qingyan lowered her head and gently blew on the tea leaves in her cup.
"Yes!" Wei Zhong slowly retreated from the grand hall.
Bai Qingyan looked down at the floating tea leaves in her cup. eting Li Zhijie tomorrow... would be a suitable opportunity to also et A Yu.
After all, both the Rong and Xiliang wish to form an alliance with Zhou. While the agreent is not yet set, Li Zhijie’s visit to see the Empress of Zhou ans that the ghost-faced prince of Rong naturally should also be t.
Bai Qingyan covered her cup with the lid, gripping it tightly, deciding to send soone to convey a ssage to A Yu. He could co after she t Li Mingrui... preferably when she and her mother are together.
"Wait..." She looked up at Wei Zhong, "Have Li Zhijie co right after the morning court, just before... I have breakfast with my mother."
"Yes!" Wei Zhong responded.
As long as this information is released, A Yu will know that after Li Zhijie leaves the palace, she will be having breakfast with her mother, and he could co at that ti... to see Mother.
A Yu will definitely co.
·
Yesterday, Bai Qingyan instructed Li Zhijie to co after today’s morning court. Li Zhijie dared not delay and arrived early outside Bai Qingyan’s study, bringing along a parrot with vibrant feathers.
On the day Bai Qingyan ascended the throne, Li Zhijie was anxious because the assassin he lent to the King of Baishui was discovered, so much so that he didn’t even ntion giving the parrot to Bai Qingyan. Today, as he ca to see Bai Qingyan again, he brought this parrot as an excuse to et her.
After a while, Wei Zhong ca out of the study, greeted Li Zhijie with a smile, and said, "King Yan, Her Majesty invites you in..."
Li Zhijie nodded in thanks, handed Wei Zhong a hefty purse as an offering for tea, and then followed Wei Zhong into the study.
Seeing Bai Qingyan sitting on a soft couch, Li Zhijie hurried forward to salute and had soone bring the parrot forward. Smiling, he said, "Originally, I wanted to offer this parrot to Your Majesty on the day of your enthronent, but due to the incident with the King of Baishui, I was so anxious that I forgot!"
Bai Qingyan had never seen such a large parrot before. Its entire body was covered in blue feathers, with yellow feathers around its neck. Even inside the grand hall, the bird’s feathers seed to shimr with brilliance, making it truly a rare and remarkable specin.
The parrot inside the cage was gripping the crossbar tightly with its claws, its wings spread. It wasn’t until the cage was set down and the parrot saw Li Zhijie that it retracted its wings, emitting a low coo from its throat.
Seeing Bai Qingyan looking at the clean and vibrant parrot, Li Zhijie laughed and said, "Your Majesty might want to let the servant feed it sothing; there will be a pleasant surprise."
With Bai Qingyan nodding at him, Wei Zhong took so sunflower seeds and approached the parrot, feeding it one. The parrot imdiately stretched its neck and shrieked, "The Empress of Zhou is the most beautiful! The Empress of Zhou is the most beautiful!"
Even Wei Zhong was surprised.
Seeing Bai Qingyan’s slightly surprised expression, Li Zhijie continued, "Would the eunuch kindly feed it again?"
Wei Zhong fed the parrot again, and after eating, it shrieked, "Long live the Empress of Zhou! Long live the Empress of Zhou!"
Li Zhijie looked deeply at the parrot that had brought him face, then turned and bowed to Bai Qingyan: "This little creature is rely to make the Empress smile; I hope the Empress will accept it."
Bai Qingyan nodded to Wei Zhong, indicating for him to accept it: "Thank you, King Yan, please grant him a seat..."
After making a long bow of thanks, Li Zhijie sat down and then serenely said, "I rember the first ti I saw the Empress of Zhou was at Qiushan Pass. From a distance, seeing you ride with such valor and presence... I was astounded. Thinking back now, perhaps the God was already reminding then that one day, the world would change and Your Majesty will be the ruler of this vast land."
Bai Qingyan looked at Li Zhijie with a smile: "King Yan didn’t co just to give a parrot and offer a few complints, did you?"
Li Zhijie rose and bowed: "Xiliang still hopes to form an alliance with Zhou, but... since it hasn’t been set, I dared to co and request an audience with the Empress. I understand... what General Yun did to the seventeenth young master of the Bai family was indeed heartbreaking for you, and it is only right for you to rember it with resentnt. General Yun regretted it deeply after he returned, otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent his eldest grandson to offer his life for the seventeenth young master of the Bai family, and our Empress of Xiliang wouldn’t have ceded so many cities."
Bai Qingyan picked up the teacup, gently blew over it, lowering her head to drink tea, without responding, pondering how to probe Li Zhijie about his knowledge of Jintong’s identity.
Seeing this, Li Zhijie gritted his teeth and continued, "What Xiliang can offer to Zhou far surpasses the Rong. Zhou could gain over twenty cities without lifting a finger; that’s tantamount to winning a battle without fighting!"
"The warhorses from Rong are also available in Xiliang... it’s just that Xiliang is currently preparing for war and cannot provide them imdiately. As long as Zhou signs an alliance with Xiliang, after the battles, as many horses as Rong provides, Xiliang will offer the sa amount!" Li Zhijie’s voice was steady, "This is a very profitable deal for Zhou."
"But the fine horses from Rong would arrive at once, whereas Xiliang’s promise after the battles is nothing but empty words to Zhou." Bai Qingyan rubbed the teacup in her hand, "If Xiliang loses, isn’t it... re lip service without substance? It’s true that Zhou desires Xiliang’s cities, but warhorses are equally important. With warhorses... Zhou has a cloud of valiant generals, and with Xiliang’s main force distracted by the Rong, Zhou taking those cities shouldn’t be an issue, don’t you think, King Yan?"
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