“Ahh—”
That agonized scream sent everyone’s first instinct into overdrive, rushing forward to see what had happened. But after a few instinctive steps, everyone froze in place, unable to move any further!
Remembering the contagious illness supposedly lurking inside, even Xuanyuan Zhaoxi stopped short at the doorway, hesitating, not daring to rush in recklessly!
Meanwhile, the screaming from inside continued, sounding as though someone had suffered an enormous shock—or perhaps a severe injury!
“Medicine Clan leader, hurry, go check on my mother, what’s happened to her!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi snapped furiously.
“Yes, yes, Medicine Clan leader, what exactly is going on in there! Hurry and go look—isn’t Prince Yao supposed to be inside? How could this happen!” the Prince of Nanzhao pressed anxiously as well.
But the Medicine Clan leader looked utterly helpless. “Oh dear, Princess Zhaoxi, Her Majesty the Empress really was far too hasty. This old servant hadn’t even finished explaining earlier—Prince Yao’s illness is a rather strange one, an unusual kind of cold. Once contracted by someone else, the illness could mutate. Exactly what form it might take, this old servant truly cannot say.”
At these words, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s face turned deathly pale at once, while the onlookers each harbored their own private thoughts. Yelu Qianqian was the very first to burst out laughing. Ziqing watched the tightly shut door in silence, a knot of tension building in her chest, her small hand unconsciously clenching tight. Could it be that he had really come back?
If only he really had come back—then she could finally relax entirely and simply enjoy watching the Empress of Eastern Qin’s downfall unfold. She had to admit, from the hunting grounds all the way until now, she was more than a little exhausted.
Suddenly, the screaming from inside cut off abruptly. Instantly, everyone outside tensed up as well—even with the Medicine Clan leader’s explanation, no one had any real idea what was actually happening inside.
For a moment, the entire courtyard fell into complete silence!
Then, suddenly… “Bang!” A loud crash rang out as the door was kicked open, and in a flash, a figure came flying out, slamming hard onto the ground!
Everyone’s gaze seemed drawn irresistibly along the arc of that falling figure, following it down as it hit the ground. The moment they got a clear look at who it was, everyone couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air!
It was her!
The Empress of Eastern Qin—her once-radiant, flawless face now swollen like a pig’s head, covered entirely in angry red welts! A footprint was clearly stamped across her once-elegant robes—unmistakably the mark of having been kicked out—and blood stained the corner of her lips!
How could this be?
It was supposed to be just a cold—even if she’d caught it, at worst it should have been a severe cold, nothing more. How could it possibly have produced welts disfiguring enough to ruin her face like this?
And for the sovereign ruler of Eastern Qin herself, the sole reigning Empress on the entire Longyuan continent, to be kicked out through a doorway in front of everyone—this humiliation had essentially kicked the entire imperial dignity of Eastern Qin straight out the door as well!
Not just the onlookers, but everyone present froze in stunned silence. The Empress of Eastern Qin clutched at her own face with both hands, frantically feeling around, then let out a piercing scream. “My face! What’s happened to my face!”
Only Ziqing didn’t even bother glancing in that direction. She was looking instead at the open doorway, where that lean, dark figure was slowly approaching from within.
From the moment Yingzi had held her back, Ziqing had known Jun Beiyue was already handling all of this himself. She’d considered countless possibilities, even entertained the thought that the person inside might well be a body double.
But now, watching that familiar figure draw closer and closer, growing clearer and clearer, her heart couldn’t help but stir with a desperate hope—please, let it be him!
That figure, silhouetted against the light, its features still indiscernible, already seemed to shine brighter than the sun itself!
Step by step, Ziqing’s heart raced faster and faster right along with it. Could it really be him? Was it truly him?
At last, he drew close!
Fully, unmistakably close!
That jade-smooth face, cold and striking, those piercing eyes sharp as blades, that ruthless curve at the corner of his lips—it was Jun Beiyue’s own face, breathtaking as ever, as though carved from heaven itself!
Meeting those deep, sea-dark eyes, Ziqing could never mistake them. Back during that incident with the National Beauty affair, she had failed to recognize those very eyes, mistakenly stabbing him with her blade. Ever since then, she had memorized those eyes for the rest of her life, and she would never mistake them again!
Unconsciously, she parted her lips, wanting to say something, even wanting to rush forward and throw herself into his arms.
This man had never been one to appear at just the right moment—but he had always, without fail, been one step ahead, arriving before she even realized she needed him. She, meanwhile, had always been the slow one to catch on.
What a fool she’d been. How could the matter of the hunting grounds possibly have escaped his notice?
Imperial Physician Gu and Yingzi’s anxious demeanor, the Medicine Clan leader’s deliberate concealment—all of it had been an act, meant solely to reassure the Empress of Eastern Qin, to lure that cunning old fox straight into the room. Ziqing finally understood it all at once!
Jun Beiyue stopped just at the doorway, and Ziqing, having taken two or three steps forward, stopped as well—the act still had to continue, didn’t it?
Watching her rush forward so eagerly, only to freeze in place just as quickly, Jun Beiyue couldn’t help but suppress a laugh, secretly winking at her. Though it lasted only an instant, it left Ziqing’s mind completely blank.
Heavens, this man—was he really just winking at her? This was practically shooting sparks straight at her—wicked, unrestrained, mysterious, utterly captivating—there weren’t even words to describe that single moment; it hardly seemed like something this cold, aloof prince would ever do!
And yet, he’d done it anyway, leaving Ziqing thoroughly, helplessly dazed.
Before she could even recover, Jun Beiyue spoke up furiously. “King of Nanzhao, is this how Nanzhao treats its guests? Two assassins in a row—are all your guards nothing but useless fools?”
These words were spoken with remarkable skill. It was common knowledge that relations between Da Zhou and Eastern Qin were far from friendly—how could the great Prince Yao of Da Zhou possibly bother speaking directly to the Empress of Eastern Qin at all? Even cursing at her would have been beneath him!
Jun Beiyue had first kicked the Empress of Eastern Qin out, then without so much as asking her a single question, turned directly to the Prince of Nanzhao, flatly declaring the intruder an assassin—an unmistakable public slap across the Empress’s face once again.
Now that the Prince of Nanzhao had confirmed Jun Beiyue really was inside all along, the fault clearly lay entirely on his own side, and he hardly dared say much more. Besides, the way Jun Beiyue had framed the question left him utterly at a loss for how to respond.
Was he supposed to argue that the Empress of Eastern Qin wasn’t actually an assassin? But she had, quite clearly, broken into someone else’s private quarters!
Just as the Prince of Nanzhao struggled with how to answer, the Empress of Eastern Qin finally recovered from the shock of her disfigurement, springing back up, snapping furiously, “Jun Beiyue, what exactly do you mean by this?”
“Who do you think you are, to have the right to address this prince?” He was fierce—but Jun Beiyue was even fiercer still!
“You—! I am the Empress of Eastern Qin! Prince Yao of Da Zhou, take a good look and recognize who you’re speaking to!” the Empress of Eastern Qin roared furiously.
“My deepest apologies—with such a distinguished countenance, I simply failed to recognize you at first glance!” Jun Beiyue said with a cold sneer.
“You—!” The Empress of Eastern Qin, clutching her swollen, reddened face, felt fury surging through every fiber of her being, blurting out, “Jun Beiyue poisoned me! Where’s the antidote!”
A cold catching contagious enough to do this—who did he think he was fooling? It had to be poison!
But Jun Beiyue merely erupted with even greater fury. “Antidote? Did the Medicine Clan leader not tell you this prince is ill, and that it’s contagious? Empress of Eastern Qin, you barged into this prince’s quarters uninvited—what exactly do you mean by this?”