Jun Beiyue had never claimed the Gu surname—to him, a family name was something entirely dispensable. Why should he care so much about it?
For a ruler, what mattered wasn’t what surname he bore, but what kind of ruler he was.
Ziqing had no intention of explaining any of this to Gu Suying—she would never understand it anyway. If Gu Suying wanted to provoke her, then Ziqing would show her exactly what real provocation looked like!
“Second Miss Gu, that’s right, we’re cowards—we’ve taken over the Gu clan, and taken over Great Zhou too, so greedy we want both! Are you jealous? Go ahead, shout it out, let everyone know.” Ziqing said, taking a step back!
“You! You!” Gu Suying, furious beyond words, pointed at Ziqing, unable to speak, finally spitting out, “Vile woman!”
Ziqing couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Vile? Yes, vile. So what? Second Miss Gu, do you even realize you couldn’t out-vile me if you tried?”
“Han Ziqing, you! You!” Gu Suying was so furious she wanted to bite something. Such vicious curses, and she still couldn’t out-curse Han Ziqing, still couldn’t wound her heart in the slightest!
“Don’t be upset. Hongyi, bring the tea, let Second Miss Gu calm herself down,” Ziqing said with a smile.
Gu Suying was instantly alarmed—tea offered by Han Ziqing, could that possibly be anything good?
“No need!” she immediately refused!
But Ziqing brought the cup right up to her lips anyway. Gu Suying jerked violently, knocking the cup away entirely, shattering it along with the tea across the floor!
“Han Ziqing, if you have the nerve… if you have the nerve, let me go! I’m telling you, I will find a way to bring you down!” Gu Suying couldn’t help but try provoking her once more.
She regretted it so much—she had already escaped the Isle of Immortal Retreat, had already made it to Great Zhou. With her own capabilities, she could have lived quite well in Great Zhou!
She didn’t want to die here!
“What are you afraid of? I’m merely offering you a cup of tea, not asking for your life,” Ziqing said with a smile, calling for Hongyi to bring another cup.
“Liar! Do you think I’m that stupid? You want to poison me to death!” Gu Suying shouted.
“Death? Second Miss Gu, you flatter yourself far too much. This consort has never killed people carelessly,” Ziqing said with a smile, taking the teacup again. This time, she seized Gu Suying’s chin firmly with one hand.
“No! I don’t want it!”
Finally, Gu Suying broke down completely, wailing and screaming. “I don’t want it, Han Ziqing, spare me, I beg you, spare me, I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”
Ziqing’s hand faltered slightly, and she released the teacup.
Seeing this, Gu Suying’s heart leapt with joy, and she immediately dropped to her knees. “Han Ziqing, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have schemed against you, I shouldn’t have been jealous of you! I was wrong, I beg you, please spare me, I’ll do anything you ask, just don’t kill me!”
Ziqing didn’t retreat, only watching her coldly.
“Han Ziqing, I regret it, I truly regret it. I shouldn’t have poisoned Jun Beiyue. The Gu clan has such a wonderful son and daughter-in-law—I should have been happy for my parents. I shouldn’t have incited Gu Meiting to compete with you!”
Ziqing listened in silence, her small face nearly expressionless.
Gu Suying clung to Ziqing’s legs, weeping pitifully, begging desperately. “Sister-in-law… dear sister-in-law, please forgive me, I know my mistake! I know my mistake!”
Gu Suying truly did regret it now—regretted how foolish she’d been back then. With Han Ziqing and Jun Beiyue as such powerful pillars to rely on, why had she been so foolish as to compete against them?
Suddenly, Ziqing spoke with a cold laugh. “Pretending. Keep pretending. How disgusting.”
Hearing this, Gu Suying immediately wailed even louder. “I’m not pretending, Ziqing, I truly regret it! I’m not pretending! I’m not!”
What could she possibly be pretending for at this point? She was sincerely apologizing, sincerely admitting her wrongs!
Being accused like this by Han Ziqing, unbelieved, she suddenly felt a bitterness she couldn’t express, her heart choked with suffocating frustration!
Of course Ziqing knew that Gu Suying wasn’t pretending at this moment. But she was determined to say she was, to let her taste what it felt like to have genuine sincerity dismissed as an act.
Hadn’t she and Jun Beiyue once had grateful, sincere hearts too?
Behind their backs, how many times had these two sisters mocked them, called them fakes, accused them of putting on an act? Gu Suying herself had even once accused Beiyue of faking his injuries just to steal their internal energy techniques!
Ziqing knew all of this perfectly well!
Even if Gu Suying was truly repentant now, truly wished to reconcile—so what!
Han Ziqing had never been the kind of person who could be slapped once and then talked into forgiveness with sweet words!
Once you’d wronged someone, you’d wronged them. And someone who wronged another and then pitifully begged for forgiveness afterward was especially repulsive.
Suddenly, Ziqing yanked Gu Suying up by force. Gu Suying immediately covered her mouth and face—she didn’t want that tea!
“Let go,” Ziqing said coldly.
Gu Suying shook her head, sobbing.
But Ziqing struck her hard across the face regardless, all the fury she’d been holding back finally erupting in full force—a fury vast enough to fill the heavens. This single slap nearly crippled Gu Suying’s hand, leaving her unable even to cover her mouth!
Ziqing seized her chin, forcing the tea down her throat, saying coldly, “The poison you used on Jun Beiyue—here, take it back.”
With that, she flung Gu Suying aside forcefully and said coldly, “Someone, tattoo the character ‘slave’ on her face, and send her back to the Isle of Immortal Retreat.”
A “slave” tattoo on the face—this was the cruelest punishment on the entire continent of Longyuan, reducing a person to the status of livestock. Wherever she went, in whatever nation, the moment anyone saw that character, no one would ever respect her, no one would ever speak a single word to her.
Being branded a slave on the continent of Longyuan was worse than death itself.
Even if Gu Suying knew that a certain red antidote could cure the poison in her body, no matter how much money she had, no one would ever sell her the medicine.
Death, for someone who had earned Ziqing’s lasting hatred, was never something that came easily.
Gu Suying slumped to the floor, her cheeks swollen and red, her expression utterly hopeless. Ziqing didn’t spare her another glance, turning and walking away.
Just as she was about to walk out the door, she came face to face with Jun Beiyue, who had just returned!
By now, the night had grown very deep. Seeing his exhausted expression, Ziqing couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy—after so many days adrift at sea, the moment he’d returned to Great Zhou, he’d gone straight to the Ministry of Justice.
He’d stayed behind at the Ministry, handling all those people, all those matters—far more exhausting than anything she’d had to deal with.
She could act on her feelings freely, seeking vengeance and settling scores as she pleased. But he, as Prince Yao, as the sole pillar upholding Great Zhou, had to consider every angle, every implication. Being Prince Yao, in truth, wasn’t really something so wonderful after all.
“Hongyi, go brew a bowl of ginseng soup for His Highness, to help restore his strength,” Ziqing said softly.
“My lady, let Shiliang do it. That girl has quite a talent for brewing soup,” Hongyi promptly replied.
“Being lazy?” Ziqing said flatly.
“Truly, my lady, everything you’ve drunk before was brewed by Shiliang. This servant will go make preparations—you and His Highness have had such an exhausting journey, you should soak in the hot springs and rest well,” Hongyi said with a smile.
Ziqing seemed to recall something, a flush of red crossing her face, and she said only softly, “Mm, go on then.”
Then Jun Beiyue came walking toward her, looking somewhat urgent. He asked about Gu Suying’s situation without saying much else, then handed Ziqing three sealed letters.