The Eldest Legitimate Daughter is Both Beautiful and Valiant (ELDBBV) - Chapter 96

Her reply sounded as though she cared little for Xiao Rongyan’s true identity.

Xiao Rongyan could not quite discern whether this eldest daughter of the Bai family simply wanted to earn his favor, or if she sought to balance herself on both sides.

He knew the young lady’s abilities well and he understood her methods. Even though the memory of her astride a horse in the palace of the Shu Kingdom remained vivid, and though he had once regarded her as his mother’s confidante at the Jin Kingdom’s palace banquet, he could not help but feel wary and cautious.

He shouldered more than just his own legacy. His own personal success… If he failed, he could just wait a few more years.

However, he bore the responsibility of restoring the Great Yan Kingdom. Should he fail in the struggle of heroes for supremacy… it would not simply be his defeat, but the fall of a nation.

He could not afford such a defeat!

“A chivalrous heart, a chivalrous man. Eldest Miss Bai, are you trying to tell me that the warning you once sent me was nothing more than a chivalrous impulse?” Xiao Rongyan said, his long fingers idly stroking the rim of his teacup, gaze lowered, voice deepening, “To be chivalrous towards a spy from an enemy nation… Eldest Miss Bai, are you being perfunctory or deliberately evasive?”

Xiao Rongyan placed heavy emphasis upon the words ‘spy from an enemy nation’.

Since they met today and the truth had been laid bare, Xiao Rongyan could not allow Bai Qingyan, who already knew his identity… to dismiss the matter so lightly.

Seeing the fierceness evident in Xiao Rongyan’s eyes, she steadied herself and decided to make things clearer with him.

“A lesser knight aids the weak with his blade. A greater knight saves the common people.”

Her voice was clear and steady. Xiao Rongyan’s hand tightened on the cup, and he lifted his eyes.

She stared directly at the handsome man opposite her, unflinching. Her brows were clear and her eyes were bright, without the slightest disdain, extremely solemn.
Seeing the smile in Xiao Rongyan’s eyes gradually recede, she continued slowly, “Therefore… a chivalrous heart is precious. Greater still is the chivalry of the great hero. This chivalry does not distinguish between the aristocratic and the commoner, nor between the Jin and Wei kingdoms. In today’s troubled times, no matter who it is, as long as one has the ability to pacify the chaos and command military power, in the eyes of the Bai family, that person is a great hero.”
No matter who… Of course, that included the Prince of Yan before her, Xiao Rongyan. So she addressed him as a chivalrous hero.
These words were extremely bold.
She had clearly told Xiao Rongyan that in today’s turbulent times, with all the kingdoms at war with each other and vying for supremacy, no matter which kingdom’s ruler aspired to dominate the world, as long as his mind was set on calming the chaos, and his virtue and ability could restore peace to the world, then he was worthy of Bai Qingyan’s and the Bai family’s respect, and the Bai family would even welcome this outcome.
At this point, Xiao Rongyan no longer held back and asked, “The Bai family has guarded the Jin Kingdom for generations, your loyalty witnessed by all the kingdoms. Are these words of Eldest Miss a speech of anger over the deaths of the sons of the Bai family buried in Nanjiang?”
“It’s true that the Bai family has been loyal for generations, but our loyalty is to the people of Great Jin who support the Bai family through their taxes. To protect the borders and its people, these words are the faith passed down through generations of the Bai family’s descendants!” Her voice was calm and slow, as though it was nothing more than a breeze. “As for anger…”
She lowered her gaze, hiding the sharp gleam within, the deep grief buried in her heart: “Merits may vary and lifespans can be long or short. All are determined by fate. How then can there be talk of anger?”
She did not say the rest of her words aloud, that the rise and fall of heaven, the fortune of a kingdom, were also predestined.
In her previous life, the Bai family that defended Great Jin was disfavoured by the emperor, and framed by treacherous ministers. After the Bai family’s destruction, within only ten years, this Prince Regent of Yan, Xiao Rongyan, led his cavalry to knock down the palace gates of Jin, just as Jin had once razed the palace of Shu to the ground.
So the Bai family had no need to sacrifice the lives of the entire clan again for the waning imperial power of the Lin family.
Her grandmother, the Princess Dowager, had spoken aptly. What mattered now was those who were still living. She had no choice but to plan and calculate for the long-term survival of the Bai family.
She had not forgotten how Xiao Rongyan had conquered the Wei Kingdom in her previous life. The family of the loyal Prime minister Gongsun was eradicated in one night, leaving not a single soul alive.
When it came to sinister and ruthless schemes, Xiao Rongyan was a true expert. If Bai Qingyan had to contend with someone of such unmatched intelligence and mercilessness during the time when the Bai family was at its strongest, she might still have dared to take a chance.
But now, she had no strength with which to counter Xiao Rongyan, nor the confidence that in struggling against him she could protect the Bai family completely.
At this time, the Bai family needed to lie low, to have time to build and plan, not to scheme against others.
Since that was the case, there was no need to pit themselves against one another right now.
At least, before the Bai family had survived this great disaster, let this Prince Regent of Yan, Xiao Rongyan, believe… that the Bai family was blindly loyal to the Jin Kingdom, that even if only women remained, they would still swear to uphold the Jin Kingdom and the Lin family’s imperial power till death..
This way, Xiao Rongyan, whose heart still held kindness, would not completely destroy the Bai family today.
Xiao Rongyan was an extremely intelligent man, and so he understood Bai Qingyan’s meaning perfectly.
Smiling faintly, he poured out the lukewarm tea in front of Bai Qingyan, lifted the teapot on the brazier, and poured her a cup of hot tea. “What Eldest Miss Bai means is that the Bai family does not care who ends up on the throne.”
Since Bai Qingyan already knew his identity and her words were so clear, he did not beat around the bush.
She glanced at the steaming cup of hot tea, her expression calm and composed, her words firm, “I was fortunate to be born in the Zhenguo Duke’s family, a family who never belittled women. As a child, I studied the classics with Elder Master Guan Yongchong, and also followed my grandfather to fight on the battlefield. Though dull, I at least know this… Only a unified world can bring the people eternal peace.”
She knew Xiao Rongyan had such ambition, and also such capabilities in the future.
The Bai family was but a fleeting fleeting moment in the vast expanse of time. Why bother acting foolishly like a praying mantis trying to stop a carriage?
Xiao Rongyan’s heart trembled, his eyes shrouded in a deep and distant well of water. She was still so young, yet she could so calmly and confidently declare that only a unified world could bring eternal peace to the people?
These years, Xiao Rongyan had travelled extensively for the Great Yan. He had met the rulers of the three great powers of Western Liang, Great Wei, and Great Jin. They each occupied their own land, always speaking of peace for the world, but none could comprehend the true principle.
Even he himself had only come to such understanding after travelling across the kingdoms for many years.
For a moment he could not quite see through the young woman before him… Seemingly gentle in nature, yet was firm and upright.
Did the dramatic changes in the Bai family cause her to lose loyalty to Jin Kingdom? Or was her mind and spirit naturally so broad?
He thought of how this Eldest Miss had persuaded Qin Lang to voluntarily relinquish the title of being the heir, with courage and boldness to break and rebuild! How she handled that illegitimate son at the front of Manjiang Restaurant, with a demeanour of frost and snow! In the palace, she exuded even greater pride, a heart filled with love for the people, and a righteous spirit.
Xiao Rongyan believed that Bai Qingyan fell into the latter category.
Eldest Miss Bai’s clarity and wisdom could obscure her age and gender. Sitting opposite her… Xiao Rongyan felt not the sentiment of “do not belittle the young,” but genuine respect and admiration from the heart.