“The physician is none other than the Medicine Clan leader!”

Lord Bomiluo, as if startled into it, blurted the words out abruptly.

At these words, everyone present was momentarily stunned. None of them were fools—nearly everyone, even a simple-minded girl like Yelu Qianqian, could see clearly that there was something deeply suspicious about Jun Beiyue’s whereabouts, that Lord Bomiluo was lying through his teeth.

And yet now, Lord Bomiluo had actually thrown out the name of the Medicine Clan leader!

If this could be successfully covered up, all would be well. But if it couldn’t, the Medicine Clan leader’s crime would be severe indeed—and Jun Beiyue’s crime would be even more severe still! Not only had he left the capital without permission, he had also colluded with the Medicine Clan leader—these two charges alone would be enough for the Prince of Nanzhao to expel Jun Beiyue from Nanzhao entirely, forbidding him, and perhaps even anyone from Da Zhou, from ever setting foot in Nanzhao again!

Ziqing hadn’t expected the Medicine Clan leader’s name to come up at all, but she understood that if Lord Bomiluo dared say such a thing, he must have some confidence behind it.

She simply hadn’t expected Jun Beiyue to have actually established ties with the Medicine Clan leader.

Ziqing’s impression of the Medicine Clan leader had always been quite favorable. The last time she’d come to Nanzhao, he’d asked about Jun Beiyue’s condition and seemed to have guessed at the general situation, even giving her medicinal pills.

At this, Ziqing’s heart finally settled back down considerably. At least with the Medicine Clan leader backing them up, the Prince of Nanzhao’s trust in them would be restored significantly.

The Empress of Eastern Qin, however, remained perfectly composed, the corner of her lips curving faintly—she would have loved nothing more than for even more people to be implicated in this.

“The Medicine Clan leader?” the Prince of Nanzhao asked in surprise, his tone noticeably softening. “Then where is he now?”

“Right here inside!” Lord Bomiluo answered quickly.

The moment he spoke, the Medicine Clan leader’s voice suddenly rang out from a side door. “This old servant greets Your Majesty. I did not know of Your Majesty’s arrival and failed to receive you properly—I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”

Everyone turned to look at once, and sure enough, it truly was the Medicine Clan leader. A flicker of surprise crossed the Second Beast Young Master’s eyes as he glanced toward the Empress of Eastern Qin, who happened to be looking back at him at the same moment, a faint smile at her lips, seemingly reassuring him.

“Have you been treating Prince Yao?” the Prince of Nanzhao asked at once.

“Indeed, this old servant has, Your Majesty. This matter should have been reported properly, but… Prince Yao insisted such a trivial matter shouldn’t trouble Your Majesty, and forbade this old servant from reporting it, so…” the Medicine Clan leader said, offering only a respectful bow.

The Prince of Nanzhao let out a huge sigh of relief. With the Medicine Clan leader’s testimony as confirmation, what more could he possibly doubt? He would never have imagined connecting Jun Beiyue to any collusion with the Medicine Clan leader at all!

“And how is Prince Yao’s condition now?” he asked anxiously, and at nearly the same moment, Ziqing let out an equally enormous breath of relief, stepping forward quickly. “Yes, when I left for the hunt, he was perfectly fine! How did he suddenly fall ill—what exactly happened?”

“Your Majesty, Princess Consort, please don’t fret—it’s merely a minor cold. The trouble is that this particular cold is contagious, so no one but this old servant may see Prince Yao. This old servant guarantees His Highness will recover fully by tomorrow!”

“Good, good! That’s a relief—what a scare that was!” The Prince of Nanzhao’s words appeared to concern only the illness, but underneath, they were really about Jun Beiyue’s whereabouts. He glanced briefly, almost casually, at the Empress of Eastern Qin, but said nothing further in front of everyone.

“Can I not see him either?” Ziqing asked with a sorrowful expression.

“Princess Consort, it’s best you don’t. If this cold were to spread to you, the consequences could be even more severe than the original illness. With Your Majesty’s wedding approaching and you having traveled so far to attend, you mustn’t risk missing it!” the Medicine Clan leader said with a smile.

Ziqing had no choice but to nod, resigned.

The Medicine Clan leader continued, “As for the matter at the hunting grounds, Yingzi has already given a full report. Prince Yao says as long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters most. The Second Beast Young Master meant well too—please, Your Majesty, don’t be too harsh with him!”

At these words, the previously deflated beastfolk clan leader suddenly perked up, hurrying to bow to the Prince of Nanzhao. “Your Majesty, it was this old servant’s poor discipline that failed him. This old servant is willing to accept whatever punishment you see fit—please, Your Majesty, spare Guyi just this once!”

The matter at the hunting grounds had already been safely resolved, and with the Prince of Nanzhao’s mind entirely occupied with Jun Beiyue’s whereabouts, and now with the Medicine Clan leader’s assurance in hand, he had little patience left to dwell on it further. Chu Feiyan had already arrived in the capital, and he had plenty else demanding his attention.

“Since it is Prince Yao’s own wish, this king will show mercy toward you and your son on his account this once. But should anything like this happen again due to such carelessness, this king will show no mercy whatsoever!”

Hearing this, both the beastfolk clan leader and the Second Beast Young Master hurried to express their gratitude.

The Prince of Nanzhao gave the Medicine Clan leader a few brief instructions, exchanged some polite pleasantries with the other distinguished guests, and rose to take his leave!

At last, Ziqing’s heart, which had been suspended in midair this whole time, finally settled. It was over. The Medicine Clan leader had helped her weather this crisis!

But just as the Prince of Nanzhao was about to step down from his seat of honor, a sudden scream of alarm rang out from a side door to the right. “Someone, help! There’s an assassin! An assassin is trying to kill Prince Yao!”

An assassin!

Everyone froze in shock at once. Ziqing reacted with lightning speed, rushing straight toward the side door—but at nearly the same instant, the Empress of Eastern Qin and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi lunged forward as well, followed quickly by Situ Haonan, Yelu Qianqian, Yingzi, and a swarm of guards.

In the chaos, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, having clearly planned this in advance, seized hold of Ziqing—just for an instant, but that instant was enough for the Empress of Eastern Qin to seize the advantage, being the first to burst through the side door, straight into the one courtyard that belonged to Ziqing and Jun Beiyue.

“Someone, an assassin!”

“We saw a man in black break into the courtyard!”

“He was armed with a blade, broke straight into the room in the courtyard! We’ve been guarding it the whole time and haven’t seen him come out!”

…

The maidservants cried out frantically. Many of those who’d rushed forward stopped short, wary of the contagious illness, and even the Prince of Nanzhao himself paused. But Yingzi, Situ Haonan, the Empress of Eastern Qin, and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi all charged straight inside, with Lord Bomiluo, Imperial Physician Gu, and the Medicine Clan leader following close behind.

“Guards, guards! Surround the entire courtyard, the entire envoy compound, right now!” the Prince of Nanzhao ordered furiously.

Within moments, the courtyard was surrounded three layers deep by guards with bows drawn, and the Second Beast Young Master hurried to whisper, “Father, summon the beasts—don’t let the assassin escape, no matter what. We need to redeem ourselves!”

At this, the beastfolk clan leader immediately called forth a flock of hawks lying in wait nearby, encircling the courtyard tightly from the air!

Now, not just this small courtyard, but the entire sprawling envoy compound was surrounded on every side, above and below—not even a fly could have slipped out.

Yelu Qianqian paced back and forth anxiously, at a complete loss for what to do. So many people had rushed inside, all straight into Jun Beiyue’s quarters—had the Empress of Eastern Qin and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi discovered he wasn’t actually there?

What exactly was happening inside?

Baili Weisheng, silent this whole time, treated as though invisible, stood at the very back, gazing at the courtyard gate, stroking his chin thoughtfully.