Chapter 277: Chapter 275: Known to All_1 Chapter 277: Chapter 275: Known to All_1 Nanny Qin stepped forward with a mahogany brocade box and opened it.

She wiped her hands with a handkerchief and saw a ring inside the box. Her pupils shrank suddenly; it was Bai Qingqiong’s ring, a gift from Bai Qingyan to him.

She picked up the ring and held it tightly in her palm, then unfolded the letter. There was only one line of text on it.

“At the posthouse at You hour, come alone for a detailed discussion. Do not come late.”

The You hour…

It was already the end of Shen hour now.

Bai Qingyan closed her eyes and bit her teeth, quickly calculating in her mind.

When Li Zhijie was in the southern border, he suffered a great loss. Now he sent the ring, asking her to go to the posthouse at You hour. It was either an assassination or some conspiracy waiting for her.

But what if her second brother Bai Qingqiong was really alive and in Li Zhijie’s hands?

For Bai Qingyan, nothing was more important than Bai Qingqiong.

She had to go! The letter specified she had to go alone. If she took others with her, Li Zhijie might refuse to reveal any information about Bai Qingqiong.

So…

She would go alone first to see what Li Zhijie had to say. After that, she would let Bai Jinzhi bring people over, and then send the gift Li Zhijie sent to the Crown Prince. If it turned out to be a frame-up… she would have warned the Crown Prince in advance.

“Nanny Tong, Chun Tao… send someone to call Little Four and Lu Ping over. I have something to instruct!” Bai Qingyan said while removing the iron sandbags from her wrist.

Nanny Tong and Chun Tao immediately sent people to call Fourth Miss Bai Jinzhi and Lu Ping.

“Nanny Qin… don’t tell Mother about this for now. I can handle it, there’s no need for her to worry.” Bai Qingyan looked at Nanny Qin, “There’s also something I need you to do, Nanny Qin!”

“Just give your orders, Miss Bai!” Nanny Qin watched Bai Qingyan grow up. If Bai Qingyan said she could handle it, then she certainly could. Nanny Qin trusted her.

“In a moment, I’ll have Uncle Ping invite the Crown Prince to the posthouse where King Yan and the Princess of Xiliang are staying. Nanny, send a few trusted people to mix with the common folk outside the posthouse, and when you see the Crown Prince arrive…” Bai Qingyan leaned close to Nanny Qin’s ear and whispered.

Bai Jinzhi arrived quickly. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Bai Qingyan had already changed into clean and neat clothes.

“Eldest Young Lady?” Bai Jinzhi asked, breathing heavily, puzzled as she looked at Bai Qingyan.

Bai Qingyan fastened the quiver on her waist, took up the sun-shooting bow, and instructed Bai Jinzhi: “Half a stick of incense after I leave, take the Bai Mansion guards and storm the posthouse. Demand Li Zhijie to hand over your second brother! Make a big fuss, so everyone in Dadu City knows!”

“Elder sister, what are you saying?! Second brother?! Second brother is also in Li Zhijie’s hands?!” Bai Jinzhi’s eyes widened.

“Don’t ask! I’ll explain it to you in detail later! Just remember my words!”

Bai Jinzhi’s heart pounded, and she nodded vigorously: “Elder sister, don’t worry! In the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, I will make sure everyone in Dadu City knows!”

“Miss, Lu Ping from the security guard is here.” Chun Tao said after paying her respects.

“Take the mahogany brocade box that Li Zhijie sent and give it to Lu Ping.”

Bai Jinzhi nodded, picked up the mahogany brocade box on the table, and followed Bai Qingyan out of the main room.

Lu Ping waited prudently outside Qinghui Courtyard. When he saw Bai Qingyan come out, he hurriedly took two steps forward. Before he could salute, Bai Qingyan said: “After half a cup of tea, Uncle Ping, you take this box straight to the Crown Prince’s mansion. Tell them… this is a gift from King Yan of Xiliang, and I asked you to deliver it to the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince asks you anything else, just say you don’t know.”

Seeing Bai Qingyan holding the sun-shooting bow, Lu Ping understood the gravity of the situation and quickly nodded: “Rest assured, Miss!”

*
Li Zhijie stood by the fish pond in the posthouse, holding a box of fish food and feeding the fish. Lu Tianzhuo stood obediently behind him, his eyes occasionally glancing outside.

“A Zhuo, how are you so sure Bai Qingyan will come alone to the appointment and not… inform the Crown Prince?” Li Zhijie squinted at the fat, glistening koi fighting for the fish food in the water, his eyes narrowing against the sparkling light. “I think the relationship between Bai Qingyan and the Crown Prince is quite extraordinary.”

“I bet on the fact that the Crown Prince did not know about Bai Qingyan’s rescue operation during the last incident at Qiushan Pass! The Crown Prince doesn’t even know now that Bai Qingyan went to Qiushan Pass to save someone.” Lu Tianzhuo lowered his eyes slightly, “As soon as I entered Dadu City, I met with our secret agents there and made many inquiries. I heard that Miss Bai has done many astonishing things in Dadu City before, such as forcing Prince Xin, the Emperor’s legitimate son, to death by striking the drum of justice. I don’t believe the Jin Kingdom’s Emperor would wholeheartedly trust such a subject, nor do I believe the Crown Prince wouldn’t be wary of her.”

Seeing that Li Zhijie remained silent, Lu Tianzhuo continued: “Even if Bai Qingyan tells the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince asks… You can still claim that you offended Bai Qingyan in the southern border, and sending the ring of Bai Qingqiong this time was just to find an opportunity to make peace with Bai Qingyan and to propose to marry the Fourth Miss of the Bai family! This aligns with our original plan.”

Li Zhijie smiled faintly, hiding the dangerous cold glint in his eyes, and asked softly: “So A Zhuo, tell me… when did you, behind my back, capture the second son of the Bai family, Bai Qingqiong?”

Li Zhijie threw the remaining fish food into the pond and turned, his gleaming peach blossom eyes full of amusement: “If it weren’t for the fact that you need my help for this operation, how long did you intend to keep this from me?”

Originally, Li Zhijie was very willing to trust Lu Tianzhuo, but recently he had found several secrets Lu Tianzhuo had kept from him…

For example, the unknown secret connection between Lu Tianzhuo and Li Tianfu.

For example, Lu Tianzhuo’s possession of Bai Qingqiong.

This made Li Zhijie question whether the complete trust he once placed in Lu Tianzhuo, allowing him to command his forces, was a mistake.

He even suspected that Bai Qingyan’s group learned of the Bai family member in his hands at Qiushan Pass because Lu Tianzhuo had deliberately leaked the information to lure Bai Qingyan.

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Li Zhijie always had a principle; he would not use people he doubted.

But correspondingly, when he gave someone his trust, he needed the other person to reciprocate with unwavering loyalty.

And the result? Lu Tianzhuo had hidden far more than just one thing from him.

Lu Tianzhuo, who had followed Li Zhijie for many years, knew his temper. He knelt down slowly to admit his guilt, his voice firm and calm: “Your Highness, I never intended to deceive you. Over the years, you’ve treated me very well, and my life is yours. But… Your Highness knows that I owe my foster father a debt of life, and I want revenge for him. I can swear to my foster father’s spirit in heaven that I have never betrayed you.”

Li Zhijie gazed calmly at the kneeling Lu Tianzhuo with his beautiful, deep eyes, his voice slow and cold: “After the affairs of the Jin Kingdom are settled, you will stay by the Princess’s side and serve. You don’t need to follow me anymore.”