Ziqing froze in the doorway. Her good mood and the hard-won sense of ease seemed to be yanked away in an instant, gone without a trace.

She said nothing at all, only lowered her head in silence.

After a long while, seeing that Ziqing still wouldn’t speak, a complicated look flickered through Jun Beiyue’s eyes. He said flatly, “You don’t actually have to go through with this poison technique, do you?”

But Ziqing was blunt. “I have to.”

“What are you trying to do?” Jun Beiyue asked seriously.

Ziqing opened her mouth as if to speak, then stopped herself, falling silent again.

Jun Beiyue held onto his patience and waited a long while more, but in the end he asked nothing further. He simply pulled Ziqing inside by force.

Ziqing stumbled several steps before she managed to steady herself, but the moment she did, the sight of the poison master made her flinch back despite herself.

Jun Beiyue, however, didn’t notice the fear that flashed across Ziqing’s face. He gave Imperial Physician Gu a look, and Hongyi and the others were promptly sent out. The doors were shut tight.

Inside the room now were only the poison master, the poison master’s assistant, Imperial Physician Gu, Jun Beiyue, and Ziqing—five people in all.

As the poison master brought out all the poisons and made his final preparations, Ziqing’s hand instinctively reached for the hem of Jun Beiyue’s robe, but he didn’t notice, striding forward, murmuring some instruction to Imperial Physician Gu.

Ziqing had no thought left to spare for what he was saying. She stood alone in the middle of the empty hall, her gaze darting back and forth between Jun Beiyue and the things in the poison master’s hands, flickering with all kinds of uncertainty.

Did it really have to be this way?

Did she really have to show him, of all people, the moment she had the least control over herself?

She didn’t want to. She didn’t even want to speak of it—just as she’d never tell him that there was a secret on her face, one so ugly it would frighten even herself.

“Beiyue, I don’t want to.” Ziqing kept her head down, not daring to look at him. She knew his temperament all too well—once he said something, there was no changing his mind.

“Fight me. If you win, you don’t have to.” Jun Beiyue looked over at her, his voice cold. He wasn’t giving Ziqing a choice—he was telling her plainly that there was nothing to discuss.

“What right do you have to decide things for me!” Ziqing suddenly snapped, furious.

Imperial Physician Gu and the others stayed perfectly silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly. They all understood—the earlier tension had only been the calm before the storm. The real argument was just beginning.

“Then think of me as unreasonable and overbearing.” Jun Beiyue’s voice was cold, even harder than Ziqing’s. He would rather have her resent him—he would even rather force her—than let this poison go untreated. The Charm Fragrance was already one risk; he wouldn’t allow a second one to exist.

“You—!” Ziqing choked with anger.

“Poison master, are you ready?” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

Ziqing immediately turned a venomous glare on the poison master. “Try taking one step closer and see what happens!”

Jun Beiyue’s gaze turned cold as well. Caught in the middle, the poison master hesitated, then said timidly, “Your Highness… to cure the poison, the Princess Consort will need to lie down.”

Ziqing moved at once to retreat, but Jun Beiyue didn’t say another word—he was at her side in an instant, one arm sweeping around her waist, one leg hooking behind her knees. Skilled as she was in close combat, Ziqing was simply no match for him.

Back when he’d sparred with her in that black mask, disguised, he had clearly been holding back for her sake!

In speed and in strength, Ziqing could not overpower him. The moment Jun Beiyue’s leg pressed harder, it swept her legs out from under her—had he not been holding her waist, she would surely have gone sprawling flat on her back.

And yet, it was precisely that arm around her that gave Ziqing her opening. Even as she fell backward, she used the momentum of his arm to flip herself upright again, landing steady, and immediately tried to retreat.

But Jun Beiyue’s figure flickered, and he was suddenly blocking her path from behind. Ziqing slammed straight into him—it hurt.

“You bastard!” Ziqing cried out in fury.

She had been independent and self-reliant since childhood. No one had ever dared to be so overbearing with her.

“Just this once. Whatever your reasons are, I won’t listen to them—this poison must be cured!” Jun Beiyue’s voice rose even louder as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning her in place, unable to move.

Ziqing’s brows knit tight, too consumed by fury to even register the ache at her forehead. She bit down hard on the back of Jun Beiyue’s hand. He flinched with pain and loosened his grip for a moment. Ziqing tried to bolt, but this time Jun Beiyue showed no mercy—he kicked straight into the back of her knee, and the pain sent her crashing down onto both knees.

He had always been like this—stubborn and overbearing, never once yielding once he’d decided on something. This was the first time he’d dragged a confrontation out this long.

“Jun Beiyue, you’ve gone too far!” Ziqing accused him.

Jun Beiyue paid it no mind. “Behave. This is for your own good!”

“Whether it’s good for me or not, I know best. Tell those useless poison quacks to get lost—who understands my own body better than I do?” Ziqing roared.

“I’m telling you right now—there is nothing to discuss on this matter!” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

“Then let me tell you something too—this isn’t yours to decide!” Ziqing shouted back.

Without another word, Jun Beiyue shoved her down. As Ziqing tried to rise, he barked furiously, “Someone bring rope!”

“Try it and see!” Ziqing exploded.

A complicated look flickered through Jun Beiyue’s eyes as he shouted again, “Bring it now!”

Watching this, Imperial Physician Gu was torn. Both master and mistress were exceedingly stubborn people, especially His Highness Prince Yao—once he’d decided to do something, he would see it through to the very end, no matter what.

He could sense faintly that the Princess Consort had some hidden reason for her refusal—if it were something she could simply speak of, it wouldn’t be a hidden reason at all. She didn’t have to explain it, but why was she so foolish? She still had an injury on her head—why not just play the delicate card, say she was feeling dizzy, and buy herself some time to put this off, even temporarily?

Seeing Imperial Physician Gu approach, the light in Ziqing’s eyes dimmed at once. She turned her face away, refusing to look at Jun Beiyue any longer. But the moment the physician brought the rope over, Jun Beiyue suddenly snatched it and flung it violently aside with a sharp, cracking sound.

He didn’t bind her. He didn’t even look at her. He simply sat down to the side, his expression dark, staring off in another direction.

At once, the whole room fell silent.

Not even Imperial Physician Gu dared make a sound. He gestured toward his own forehead, hinting to Ziqing. If, before this, he’d still harbored some resentment toward the Princess Consort for having stabbed His Highness, now he found himself aching for her instead.

Just the fact that she had taken that bronze mirror meant for the prince from Chu Feiyan in his place was enough to show how kind, how soft-hearted, this mistress truly was.

Even Prince Yao himself, when the bigger picture was at stake, would never have gone so far as to protect a mere servant like that.

Watching the two of them locked in this stubborn standoff, Imperial Physician Gu couldn’t help wanting to help. His Highness hadn’t actually used the rope in the end, but after all these years of serving him, the physician knew well enough—this wasn’t the prince giving up. It was the prince at the very edge of his fury.

There was no talking sense into His Highness. All he could do was try to give the Princess Consort a hint. Ziqing had clearly seen Imperial Physician Gu’s subtle gesture—clever as she was, how could she not understand it?

And yet Ziqing did nothing of the sort. She gritted her teeth, on the verge of speaking, when Jun Beiyue suddenly looked over and said coldly, “Imperial Physician Gu. The rope.”

The physician gave a cold huff of resignation and had no choice but to go pick it back up.

Ziqing wouldn’t yield an inch. “Jun Beiyue, try it and see what happens!”

“Give me one reason. One reason that could actually convince me!”

“I don’t want to, and that’s all there is to it. What’s the point in forcing me!”

“This is for your own good. What does ‘the point’ even mean—can you eat it?”

“Do I have to give you a reason for everything I do?”

“I already said—this matter, even if it means forcing you, I will force you!”

“Even in one single matter, you have no right to force me!”

“Today, this prince has decided he’s forcing you regardless!”

“…Beiyue, you like green tea around this time, don’t you? Let me go brew you a cup, all right?”

“I—”

For a moment, Jun Beiyue was at a loss for words, stunned. What had this woman just said?

Brew tea?

Everyone else in the room was just as baffled, utterly lost. They’d been arguing so fiercely, and now, out of nowhere, this woman had suddenly gone soft, asking with no rhyme or reason whether he wanted tea!

What did she mean by that?

“Beiyue, do you want your green tea warm or hot? Let me go brew it for you, all right?” Ziqing said with a faint smile, her voice a little hoarse from all the shouting, sounding almost like she was crying.

A note to readers:

An early update really was just a happy accident this time! Will this poison actually be cured, and how will it be cured in the end?