That night, once Ziqing had gone to sleep, Hongyi lay wide awake on the small bamboo cot in the side chamber, eyes wide open, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what!

She kept debating whether to go find Physician Gu and ask him about it directly—but this was clearly Prince Yao’s own private business, and even though Physician Gu privately disapproved, there was only so much he could really do about it either.

If she spoke up about it, wouldn’t Physician Gu and Yingzi simply have her sent straight back to Da Zhou at once?

Utterly unable to sleep, she found herself recalling everything about how Shiliang had first come to join Prince Yao’s household.

She remembered clearly—it had been Her Highness herself who’d personally brought Shiliang into the princely estate, a beggar she’d rescued at an inn. Nothing unusual had ever happened while Shiliang served within the household, as far as she knew.

The Prince was frequently away, and even when he was present, he was always attended either by Her Highness herself, or by Yingzi and Physician Gu—the Prince never kept personal maidservants close to him at all!

Except that one time—when the Prince had gone out searching for a poison specialist, he’d actually brought Shiliang and Guxi along with him. She remembered Her Highness had found it puzzling at the time too, wondering why he’d brought her own attendant along.

Guxi had returned first, with Shiliang making her own way back sometime later.

The thought struck her suddenly—how could she have forgotten about Guxi? He and Shiliang had practically grown up together!

Hongyi immediately sat up and headed outside—tonight it was Guxi’s turn to keep watch at the door!

The moment Hongyi drew near, Guxi sensed her presence at once, his gaze turning sharp and wary before relaxing when he recognized her. “Sister Hongyi, still awake this late?”

Hongyi sat down beside him, murmuring quietly, “Couldn’t sleep. There’s something I can’t get straight in my head, and it won’t let me rest.”

“What is it?” Guxi asked flatly, his attention not really on Hongyi at all but scanning their surroundings instead—he was, without question, the most rigorously disciplined member of Ziqing’s mercenary band; while others kept watch and occasionally dozed off, he alone remained fully alert throughout the entire night.

“Guxi, let me ask you something. If you don’t know the answer, just pretend I never asked, alright?” Hongyi said seriously.

“Asked is asked. If you want me to pretend you didn’t, then don’t ask in the first place,” Guxi said flatly. Hongyi couldn’t help but suck in a breath—whoever said Shiliang’s temperament resembled their mistress’s most closely clearly hadn’t met this one!

“Fine, ask or not, that’s your call to make—I’m just going to ask. Do you know Shiliang is supposed to be arriving in a few days?” Hongyi said, cutting straight to the point.

At these words, Guxi’s focus sharpened at once, his brow furrowing. “Why would that be?”

“Prince Yao is bringing her here himself. She should be on the road to the Poison Den with him right now. What I really want to know is—what exactly is going on between Shiliang and the Prince…”

Before Hongyi could even finish the sentence, Guxi cut her off angrily. “Don’t go spouting nonsense!”

“So you don’t know either!” Hongyi said, feeling a pang of disappointment. “Well, just watch—when the Prince returns in a few days, he’ll definitely have her with him!”

With that, she rose to leave. Guxi’s brows knitted tightly together. He’d noticed it himself these past few days—Shiliang’s odd behavior, her strange temperament, her unexplained comings and goings. He’d certainly taken note of it.

Only, he’d never once imagined it could be…

Watching Hongyi walk away, Guxi found himself startled as well. There were things Hongyi didn’t fully understand—but he understood them perfectly well himself!

No matter how deeply the Prince favored Her Highness, the fact remained that she currently had no way to bear him an heir, and no one knew when the Enchanting Fragrance would finally be cured. For a royal family, the matter of continuing the bloodline was of the utmost importance!

Besides, it was perfectly ordinary for a man to keep multiple wives and concubines—but why would it have to be Shiliang, of all people? How deeply that would wound Her Highness’s heart!

The night stretched on endlessly, some sleeping soundly, others lying awake.

The next morning, Ziqing rose bright and early, dressed in a sleek, practical set of Nanzhao-style riding attire. Mounted high on her horse, she carried herself with an untouchable, goddess-like presence entirely her own.

Even the Second Young Beast Master stared, momentarily stunned, before exclaiming exaggeratedly, “Consort Yao, thank goodness you came! Otherwise, our Beast Clan’s hunting grounds would have been missing quite the sight today!”

“My archery and horsemanship are nothing special—I’m just here to enjoy the outing since I had nothing better to do,” Ziqing said modestly, glancing around at the assembled company. Aside from the Empress of Dongqin, who traveled by carriage, everyone else—Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, the Xiliang official, Yelu Qianqian, Situ Haonan, and the several young gentlemen the Second Young Beast Master had invited—rode on horseback.

Judging by how confidently they all sat their mounts, it was clear every one of them was a skilled rider. From the capital to the Beast Clan’s hunting grounds, the ride would take no more than half a day at this pace.

“Consort Yao is far too modest. I’ve heard tell of your feat of ‘Riding Down the Wild Goose’—I wonder if we might be treated to a repeat performance today, to everyone’s delight!” the Second Young Beast Master said excitedly, flashing a bright, guileless grin across his sun-browned face—when he wasn’t being hot-headed, he was actually rather endearing.

But his remark left quite a few people in the group suddenly falling silent. Ziqing’s feat of “riding down the wild goose” had, strictly speaking, actually been about Chu Feiyan—not a literal wild goose at all, since her name contained the character for “wild goose.”

Chu Feiyan was set to become the Nanzhao King’s own consort, and many of the young gentlemen present had no idea of the hidden circumstances behind the wedding’s postponement, and certainly didn’t dare risk offending anyone by bringing it up.

The Empress of Dongqin and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi kept a low profile, staying well back at the edge of the group, showing no reaction whatsoever, while the Xiliang general clearly hadn’t understood the wordplay at all, and thus had no standing to comment either way.

Yelu Qianqian, however, spoke up with a laugh. “No riding-down this time—there’s no one here named Feiyan to ride down!”

Her remark drew even less reaction from the group. Ziqing simply held back a laugh privately—with so many people present, especially the Empress of Dongqin, she knew she needed to watch every word and action carefully.

Only the Second Young Beast Master burst out laughing heartily. “Quite right, quite right! Next time, then! Ha ha!”

He and Yelu Qianqian shared the joke between themselves, their laughter leaving Situ Haonan visibly, if inexplicably, irritated—even he himself couldn’t quite pin down why.

Just then, Lord Gaoge, the reception minister accompanying the Empress of Dongqin, suddenly spoke up. “Consort Yao, why hasn’t Prince Yao joined us today? I’ve heard his skill in archery and horsemanship is truly unrivaled—capable of striking a target from a hundred paces, and on the battlefield, felling a hundred enemies with a single arrow, they say?”

“My lord was detained by other matters,” Ziqing said flatly.

“Some urgent business, perhaps? Though I hadn’t heard His Majesty summoned him today,” Lord Gaoge pressed further.

Ziqing turned to look at him directly, meeting the Empress of Dongqin’s haughty, challenging gaze head-on. She replied coldly, “This Consort isn’t entirely certain herself. If Lord Gaoge has concerns about my lord’s whereabouts, perhaps you should direct your questions to Minister Bomiluo instead.”

This should have been more than enough to silence Lord Gaoge, but the man was clearly pressing the matter deliberately, and continued, “This lowly official wouldn’t dare presume so much—this official simply holds Prince Yao in the highest regard and sincerely hopes to witness his celebrated skill in archery firsthand. I’m not sure where Minister Bomiluo might be at the moment—perhaps this official should send someone to fetch him.”

At these words, a flash of cold menace crossed Ziqing’s eyes at once. Yet, seeing the Empress of Dongqin’s smile, she managed to keep her composure, and was just about to respond when, unexpectedly, the Second Young Beast Master cut in sharply. “How presumptuous of you—since when is Prince Yao’s whereabouts any of your business to question? Don’t you know Prince Yao was summoned by His Majesty for a private conference that lasted the entire night? If you’re truly so eager, go ask His Majesty about it directly! And don’t you dare claim this young master invited you to break things up—if you want to go bother someone about it, go find them yourself!”

With that, without waiting for Lord Gaoge to respond, he immediately cracked his whip hard across the rear of Lord Gaoge’s horse. The startled horse reared violently, forcing Lord Gaoge to leap off in a panic, bowing his head low, trembling, not daring to utter another word.

“Empress of Dongqin, I do apologize for this insolent lackey embarrassing you—I’ll arrange a proper new minister for you at once!” the Second Young Beast Master said earnestly.

The Empress of Dongqin offered a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Whatever the Second Young Master thinks best.”

Ziqing observed all of this quietly, feeling a faint sense of relief inwardly—thank goodness for the Second Young Beast Master’s blunt, straightforward temperament. Had that little exchange been allowed to escalate further, there was no telling how far the Empress of Dongqin might have pushed things!

The Second Young Beast Master had clearly meant it as a warning to the rest—no one dared press the matter any further after that. The whole party soon set off on their way…