Deep in the night, the whole capital lay silent, but one corner of the envoy’s residence blazed with lamplight.

If Chu Feiyan hadn’t confirmed beforehand that Jun Beiyue wasn’t at the Prince Yao estate, she certainly wouldn’t have headed straight there upon arriving in the capital to give Han Ziqing a hard time. Relying on her status as Nanzhao’s princess consort, she’d planned to give Han Ziqing a proper show of force from the start, to make her regret ever having pushed her off onto Prince Nanzhao in the first place.

But she never imagined that not only would she fail to secure lodging at the Prince Yao estate, she’d be scared witless and sent fleeing back in disgrace!

The room was in complete disarray—the princess imperial had spent the entire night venting her fury. Consort Yi and the Second Prince sat off to the side, brows knitted tightly.

“If I don’t avenge this humiliation, how will I, Chu Feiyan, ever hold my head up again? I refuse to believe Han Ziqing has the nerve to sabotage relations between Nanzhao and Da Zhou!”

Chu Feiyan continued raging, and with a sharp crack of her riding crop, another vase went crashing down!

“Princess Imperial, it’s late—please calm your anger. It won’t do to disturb the servants,” Consort Yi advised mildly, her expression thoughtful, clearly pondering something.

“Tell me—does she really dare?”

To her surprise, Chu Feiyan suddenly cracked her whip right beside Consort Yi, startling her into a cry of alarm as she quickly dodged aside.

“Oh, Princess Imperial, if she truly dared to break things off entirely, would you be sitting here so calmly right now? With Prince Yao away, this matter isn’t even hers to decide!”

Consort Yi hastened to soothe her, though a flash of disgust crossed her eyes—if not for Prince Xiang Chu Tiange’s sake, she wouldn’t bother humoring this reckless, thoughtless princess at all!

Hearing Consort Yi’s words, Chu Feiyan immediately brightened. “I knew it! So what if she has Beiyue’s favor—Han Ziqing is at best a favored concubine, she has no authority to decide anything!”

The enormous scandal at the capital’s Court of Judicial Review had, of course, reached her ears through Consort Yi.

Already resentful of Jun Beiyue’s special treatment of Han Ziqing, she’d been unable to let that incident go, determined to see Han Ziqing removed once and for all.

Consort Yi remained good-natured throughout, but Jun Beichen didn’t have nearly as much patience. Hearing Chu Feiyan’s lovesick ramblings, he finally couldn’t hold back, snapping angrily, “Princess Imperial, please stop dreaming such foolish dreams! During the months Jun Beiyue lay gravely wounded, Han Ziqing had complete control of the Prince Yao estate—have you forgotten? That was a golden opportunity, and where were you then? Trapped in Nanzhao! You couldn’t even get through Da Zhou’s front gate!”

What Jun Beichen resented most was missing that opportunity—and worse, having Han Ziqing bring in Prince Baxian to help.

Chu Feiyan froze for a moment, then immediately cracked her whip fiercely at him—how dare he raise his voice at her like this! “What do you think you are, lecturing me? The whole Nanzhao mess was your idea in the first place—who knows if she even has any real connection to the Lonely Isle!”

Suspecting them?

Consort Yi sucked in a sharp breath of alarm, about to speak, but Chu Feiyan’s temper had already flared beyond control, and she cracked the whip at Jun Beichen again. “It’s you—it’s all your fault! I’m the one who has to marry that old fossil, and it’s all because of you! I don’t care, you’d better figure something out, or I’ll expose the both of you! I won’t marry him!”

Jun Beichen dodged Consort Yi’s furious glare, keeping his distance, seething with rage but not daring to provoke Chu Feiyan any further!

Not for any other reason—simply because Chu Feiyan had powerful backing.

If Chu Tiange really were dead, would he and his mother still hold any sway over West Chu at all?

If not for Chu Tiange, would someone with Chu Feiyan’s temperament ever have gone along so obediently, marrying into Nanzhao as promised, even after returning to West Chu?

Just as Chu Feiyan raised her whip again, Consort Yi suddenly seized her hand, her voice finally turning cold. “Princess Imperial, the matter of the Lonely Isle isn’t yours to decide. This has always been a matter between myself and Prince Xiang. Let me remind you—you’d best behave yourself on this journey. If you ruin Prince Xiang’s plans, your royal father may not go easy on you either!”

Chu Feiyan had indeed once been more favored than Chu Tiange, but ever since Chu Tiange’s defeat and disappearance at the treacherous Wuxie Ravine, the King of West Chu had truly come to realize his son’s importance, even going so far as to sign a peace treaty with Da Zhou at any cost, buying time to search for him.

Now, Chu Feiyan’s standing in West Chu had fallen far from what it once was—especially after the war triggered by West Jing’s refusal to grant passage, which had earned her the reputation of a scapegoat among the court officials!

Chu Feiyan was stunned, never expecting Consort Yi to turn on her like this, caught in an impossible bind, only managing to shout, “How dare you! Let go of me!”

But Consort Yi only gripped tighter, her smile turning cold. “Princess Imperial, the most important thing to a married woman is her man—her man is her face, her honor. Why bother locking horns with Han Ziqing directly? Bring Jun Beiyue down so thoroughly he can never recover, and Han Ziqing will have nothing left to be smug about.”

“You—!” Chu Feiyan choked with fury. She didn’t want to harm Beiyue!

“Princess Imperial, I know you don’t want to admit it, but Han Ziqing genuinely is better than you. Fighting her directly, you’ll never have any chance of winning,” Consort Yi said, then laughed softly. “But you should be grateful for your birth—the mighty Emperor of West Chu is your father, the unrivaled Prince Xiang is your brother, while Han Ziqing has only herself. She only has Jun Beiyue. If you simply cooperate with us and bring Jun Beiyue down, Han Ziqing will never be able to compare to you again.”

Listening closely, Chu Feiyan suddenly understood. “You really do want to spark a war between Nanzhao and Da Zhou!”

Nanzhao’s avoidance of war and closed-door policy wasn’t weakness—it was simply a distaste for warfare. No one had ever dared test the true strength of Nanzhao’s mermaid legions, alchemist corps, and beast armies—naturally, no nation on this continent wished to be the first to find out!

Chu Feiyan had only wanted to use the matter of the Lonely Isle to have Nanzhao remove Han Ziqing—she’d never once considered turning against Jun Beiyue himself!

“Princess Imperial, if you can’t have this man, why let anyone else have him? Better to destroy him, make Han Ziqing suffer beyond bearing—that would be true revenge!” Consort Yi said, a flash of malice crossing her eyes.

Ever since the incident at the Court of Judicial Review, all her thoughts had been consumed by Han Ziqing’s true origins. She desperately wanted war between Nanzhao and Da Zhou to break out immediately, wanted Jun Beiyue’s reputation utterly destroyed, so that her son Chen’er could gain Chu Tiange’s backing, ascend to the throne with legitimate claim, and negotiate peace with Nanzhao.

Chu Feiyan stared blankly at Consort Yi for a long moment before suddenly shouting furiously, “Who says I can’t have him! Let me tell you, even after I’m married, I’ll still get him one way or another!”

Consort Yi released her grip, unwilling to argue the point further—she’d said her piece, and didn’t want to offend the princess too deeply. After all, without her cooperation, nothing could be accomplished at all.

But to her surprise, the moment she let go, Chu Feiyan suddenly seized her by the throat, saying darkly, “Consort Yi, let me make this clear—this matter isn’t between you and Chu Tiange, it’s between me and Chu Tiange. Understand that clearly. And let me warn you—don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. If you dare let my royal father find out about tonight, I’ll see you removed. This capital is full of people my West Chu can call upon.”

Consort Yi merely smiled faintly, offering no rebuttal, dismissing it as an idle threat—the capital was indeed full of people Chu Tiange could buy off. But only she alone knew the origins of the seductive fragrance, the secrets of the Lonely Isle!

Seeing Consort Yi’s disdainful expression, Chu Feiyan was about to tighten her grip further when an urgent voice suddenly called out from beyond the door, “Princess, Princess! Prince Yao is coming!”