Seeing that Qi Yuan didn’t react strongly, Lai Chenglong explained, “Don’t be fooled by the seemingly small casualty count, my lady. It may not compare to the number of people hurt when two villages in Great Zhou fight each other but over there, their population is small to begin with.”
Qi Yuan nodded. “I know. And the ones who died were samurai and rōnin. That kind of loss is precious to them.”
She knew all this—
—because she’d dealt with those Japanese pirates in her past life.
Hearing her say that, Lai Chenglong looked at her with newfound respect. He never imagined Qi Yuan would know so much.
He had personally sailed across the sea to Japan to learn these things. And yet Qi Yuan already knew?
Now that was impressive.
He nodded and continued, “After Huailiang Qin Wang’s death, his faction supported his younger brother to take his place. He now calls himself Qingyou Qin Wang. They’re now locked in conflict with the Yamana clan. Aside from these two, Japan currently has three major powers. One is the Emperor but he’s just a puppet now, nothing but a figurehead. The second is the Ashikaga in Osaka, what they call the Shogunate. The Shogunate is currently the strongest force in Japan.”
Ashikaga Saburo. Qi Yuan knew the name.
He was Xu Hai’s collaborator.
Well—collaborator in name, but really, Xu Hai was his subordinate.
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked directly, before Lai Chenglong could continue, “And the third faction, is it the Great Zhou renegades, Xu Xing and his nephew Xu Hai?”
She knew that too?
Lai Chenglong was stunned.
After the initial shock, he drew in a breath and nodded heavily. “Yes. These lords and warlords are constantly fighting. The Japanese envoys themselves called it their Warring States period.”
Warring States?
Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh.
Those little dwarves dare call themselves Warring States?
She curled her lips disdainfully. “You must have reported all this to His Majesty by now, I assume?”
Lai Chenglong nodded. “Yes. I also brought back a diplomat from the Yamana clan.”
Which meant the Emperor of Great Zhou was likely going to support the Yamana clan to pit them against the other warlords.
Exactly what Qi Yuan had expected.
Japan was like a mad dog, always watching Great Zhou with hungry eyes. When Zhou was strong, they’d only dare nibble at the edges. But if Zhou weakened, they wouldn’t hesitate to bare their fangs and devour it.
Qi Yuan said evenly, “We need to act quickly. Ashikaga’s power is vast. He’s even on the verge of controlling the Emperor. Once that happens, both Yamana and Qingyou Qin Wang won’t stand a chance. And if Japan is unified, Great Zhou will suffer for it.”
The tragedies of her past life were still fresh.
She still remembered the sea at Changle, floating with the corpses of Great Zhou’s people.
She never wanted to see that again.
Lai Chenglong replied in a low voice, “Rest assured, my lady. I’ll urge the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial to act on this as soon as possible.”
Qi Yuan trusted him to handle it. She gave a short nod.
Lai Chenglong sat for a while longer… but didn’t leave.
Qi Yuan gave him a puzzled glance. She had already served tea, meaning it was time to go.
Lai Chenglong knew the etiquette. So why was he still sitting there?
Just then, Liu Jin returned from sending a letter. When he saw Lai Chenglong hadn’t left, he ground his teeth: “I knew it! He’s here to cut in line! A two-faced scoundrel!”
Lai Chenglong hesitated, then awkwardly pulled out a small square box from his robe and pushed it toward Qi Yuan.
His voice was suddenly a little unsure: “My lady, I… I didn’t bring much back from the trip. But I found this and thought it looked beautiful. I hope you’ll accept it.”
Baizhi’s eyes widened. She glanced at Baiyin—
—and Baiyin immediately winked back.
Something’s off with Lord Lai!
Qi Yuan frowned slightly and expressionlessly pushed the box back toward him. “I don’t accept undeserved gifts, Lord Lai. There’s no need for presents between us.”
Lai Chenglong looked a little lost, clearly flustered. He went silent for a long moment before quietly saying, “My lady… I really searched long and hard for it. I truly didn’t mean anything by it, I just wanted you to have this as a token of friendship.”
He was sincere and stubborn.
Qi Yuan paused, then finally accepted the box and lifted the lid.
Baizhi immediately covered her mouth to muffle a gasp.
My heavens!
It was a huge, perfectly round Night Pearl—and it was pink!
So beautiful!
Where had Lord Lai found something like this?!
Qi Yuan was equally surprised. Lai Chenglong had made it sound so casual, “searched for a while and found it”? No. Most people would never find such a thing in their lifetime.
She rubbed her temples. “This is far too valuable.”
“No,” Lai Chenglong looked her straight in the eye. “If you don’t accept it, it’s worthless.”
With that, Qi Yuan closed the lid and handed the box to Baizhi, then looked at Lai Chenglong seriously. “Then… thank you, Lord Lai.”
Lai Chenglong lit up like a child, exhaled deeply, and hurriedly took his leave, afraid she might insist on returning a gift of equal value.
After he left, Qi Yuan shook her head and told Baizhi, “Put it away.”
Baizhi quickly and carefully stored the box.
Liu Jin’s eyes were red with jealousy. Pink pearl? Big deal.
He would tell the prince to sneak into Mount Longhu and steal that sacred jade seal said to be left behind when Daoist Master Zhang Daoling ascended to immortality!
That one glowed even brighter!
Qi Yuan had no idea Liu Jin was scheming so hard. Even if she had, she wouldn’t care.
Because she had more important things to do, she had to play matchmaker.
On the third day, she and the second madam brought Qi Changting to Feilai Peak’s Feilai Temple.
The second madam was nervous. “Yuanyuan, how do you know that Caiyin is a good girl?”
Qi Yuan winked and grinned. “Bodhisattva told me in a dream.”
The second madam laughed. “You little liar!”
But the mood eased.
When they arrived, the Feng family was already there, listening to a high monk preach in the main hall.
Feng Yuzhang hurried up to greet them. “I heard the murals and the sea of clouds behind the temple are spectacular. I’m not good at walking, perhaps we should let the youngsters go have a look?”
Trying to give the young ones a chance to talk alone.
The second madam looked to Qi Yuan. Seeing her nod, she agreed with a smile.
Qi Changting was a bit shy but stood by the pillar to wait. When Feng Caiyin came out, the two set off together toward the back mountain.
The second madam, worried, decided to wait in the main hall.
Qi Yuan wanted to rest, so she brought Baizhi to the guest quarters prepared at the temple.
But when passing a large banyan tree, she suddenly caught sight of the hem of a white dress behind it.
She frowned and turned toward it.
There, lying among the flowers beneath the tree was a girl.
She immediately turned the girl over and her face changed drastically.
“Feng Caiyin?!”
If this was Feng Caiyin…
Then who just went to the back mountain with Qi Changting?!
