Chapter 1002: Chapter 997: Surrounded by Enemies
Because it was being used in the outskirts of Dadu City, the house newly rebuilt by the noble families of the Jin Dynasty, the Ministry of Works only needed to repair it slightly before it was ready for use, so the women’s academy proceeded very smoothly. On August 13 of Yuanhe’s early years, ministers in the court sent their daughters to the academy.
Shen Tianzhi was sitting opposite Bai Qingyan, having lunch with her, talking about the grand occasion of the women’s academy.
"The daughters of prominent officials will go first, and then as the women’s academy expands, it can accommodate more women..." Shen Tianzhi said.
Bai Qingyan nodded: "Regarding the expansion, I will trouble Master Shen to take care of it..."
"Your Majesty..." Wei Zhong shuffled over to Bai Qingyan’s side, whispering, "King Yan of Xiliang requests an audience, presumably intending to resign and return to his country."
Seeing the situation, Shen Tianzhi quickly put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and moved to the center of the hall to salute Bai Qingyan: "Your Majesty, I have finished eating and will take my leave first..."
Bai Qingyan nodded and wiped her mouth with her napkin: "Regarding the expansion plans, I will trouble Master Shen to take care of it; I need not review them further."
Shen Tianzhi hurriedly bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan and then exited the hall.
"Take it away!" Bai Qingyan put down her napkin and took the honeydew water offered by Chun Tao to rinse her mouth.
After some tidying up, Nanny Tong and Chun Zhi assisted Bai Qingyan in changing clothes, accompanied by Wei Zhong and Chun Tao, to the front hall to meet King Yan of Xiliang, Li Zhijie.
In the grand hall, Li Zhijie tightly gripped his folded fan; today was his final attempt for Xiliang. Since Yan Kingdom dared to tell him that the ghost-faced general of Rong was from the Bai family, why couldn’t he pass this information to the Empress of Zhou? If it could stir up trouble between Zhou and Yan, Xiliang could at least gain temporary peace.
He would make a last-ditch effort; if it didn’t work, he would have to return to Xiliang and find another way.
Upon hearing the eunuch’s announcement, Li Zhijie stood and bowed deeply towards the hall door.
Bai Qingyan glanced at Li Zhijie, who was lowering his eyes with a less-than-pleasant expression, stepped over the threshold, and said: "No need for excessive courtesy, King Yan. I hear you are here to resign?"
Li Zhijie bent at the waist until he heard Bai Qingyan seated, then straightened his back, nodded, and said: "Now, Yan Kingdom stays in Dadu City for the marriage alliance, and Xiliang stays for the treaty discussions. However, the envoy in me hesitated upon receiving a message, lingering over a month, finally deciding to resign to the Empress. If the Empress truly wishes to treaty with Xiliang, please send an envoy to accompany me back to Yunjing to sign the treaty."
She watched Li Zhijie assume a formal tone, smiled softly, and asked: "Is it because... the Ninth Prince of Yan told you the ghost-faced prince of Rong is from the Bai family?"
Li Zhijie suddenly raised his head...
Seeing the surprise on Li Zhijie’s face, she lightly stroked the armrest of her chair, smiling as she spoke: "Yan signed a three-year non-aggression treaty with Rong, allowing their troops to return home without a legitimate excuse to attack Xiliang. Let me guess... did the Ninth Prince of Yan tell you the way for Xiliang to preserve itself is to pay tribute and surrender to Yan?"
Li Zhijie’s palm was slightly sweaty, suspecting Bai Qingyan had had someone eavesdrop during his talks with the Ninth Prince.
"After being intimidated by the Ninth Prince of Yan, is King Yan planning to return home and suggest to the Empress to pay tribute and surrender to Yan?" She accepted the cyan-colored sweet porcelain wide-mouthed teacup handed by Chun Tao, saw Chun Tao signaling her with her eyes, waved her hand to indicate Li Zhijie should sit down, "Sit down, King Yan, have some tea before we continue."
Li Zhijie stood where he was, resistant. She didn’t force him, merely smiling as she said: "Not to mention whether the Empress of Xiliang would agree to pay tribute and surrender, would the Eight Great Families who truly control Xiliang consent? Even if... as the Ninth Prince of Yan said, the ghost-faced prince of Rong belongs to Zhou, wouldn’t paying tribute and surrendering to Zhou be better?"
Hearing this, Li Zhijie felt like a piece of meat on the chopping board, pursed his lips, and finally took a seat at Bai Qingyan’s lower position.
"What does King Yan think? You can speak your mind..." Bai Qingyan said with a smile.
Li Zhijie felt that Xiliang was beset by internal strife and external threats, smiled bitterly, and looked up at Bai Qingyan: "It seems that the conditions for Your Majesty’s peace talks will change now, right?"
She nodded with a smile: "Since Rong belongs to Zhou, and Yan can propose Xiliang pay tribute and surrender, why wouldn’t Zhou be able to?"
Li Zhijie closed his eyes, all filled with... how the Ninth Prince of Yan had harmed him.
"To pay tribute and surrender would mean the demise of the country; I dare not be a traitor to Xiliang!" Li Zhijie straightened his back and bowed to Bai Qingyan, "Therefore, I can only bid farewell to Your Majesty and return to fight alongside Xiliang."
"No need to hurry, King Yan; I have already sent my third brother Bai Qingqiong to Xiliang’s Yunjing to discuss the treaty with the Empress of Xiliang. Calculating the time, he should be on his way back now. You can wait with me in Dadu City for the news." Bai Qingyan said with a smile.
Li Zhijie was stunned, remembering the Ninth Prince of Yan mentioning that the Empress of Zhou’s recently returned cousin Bai Qingqi was heading towards the southern border. So... he went to Xiliang!
"Why didn’t Your Majesty mention it before?" Li Zhijie frowned and asked.
"Naturally, to prevent Yan from discovering the news..." Bai Qingyan put down her teacup.
"The envoy sent by Your Majesty is supposed to demand our Xiliang to pay tribute and surrender." Li Zhijie looked firmly at Bai Qingyan, "Then I can assure your Majesty, our Empress of Xiliang will never agree."
"Whether she agrees, we shall wait and see! After all, even if King Yan returns now, it will be futile; staying in Dadu City... can still negotiate with Yan, or discuss with the ghost-faced prince of Rong, to see if the war between Rong and Xiliang can be avoided." Bai Qingyan appeared completely unconcerned, gently blowing into her teacup, "Please try it, King Yan, this is Yunwu tea sent by Mr. Xiao; I recall Xiliang’s shops owned by Mr. Xiao don’t have such fine tea sent over."
Bai Qingyan’s seemingly casual words struck Li Zhijie’s heart sharply...
Perhaps he could try negotiating the treaty with Rong’s ghost-faced prince; after all, logically, a weaker country should unite to resist the stronger. But why did Rong persist against Xiliang, and how the Ninth Prince of Yan exploited this thinking to convince him the ghost-faced prince of Rong belonged to the Bai family?
Proud of his intelligence, he never thought of sincerely asking Rong’s ghost-faced prince about this matter.
Thinking of this, Li Zhijie deliberately steadied himself before bowing slowly to Bai Qingyan.