Casting a glance at the Western Jing emperor, who had likewise stopped in his tracks, Jun Beiyue’s lips curled into a disdainful smirk. Though he’d done Western Jing’s emperor a favor this time around, that emperor was no kind soul either — he certainly wasn’t about to feel any gratitude toward him. Judging by his expression, he harbored just as much resentment deep down as the Western Chu emperor did!

Ziqing remained composed, giving nothing away. If it weren’t for Jun Beiyue bringing her along, she wouldn’t have bothered gracing this occasion with her presence at all. What exactly did these two emperors have to be so resentful about, anyway?

If they had any pride left, they could have gone off and found their own venue to negotiate. What business was it of Da Zhou’s, this quarrel between two other nations?

“Does Emperor Xiaokang mean to suggest… that this prince ought to go down to receive you personally?” Jun Beiyue’s voice was cold and detached, giving nothing away of his true thoughts.

“Precisely!” The Western Chu Emperor Xiaokang said this with great seriousness. Having just suffered defeat, his temper was already running exceedingly hot, and being forced to come all the way to the Three Western Cities of all places only made it worse — this was the very land Jun Beiyue had seized from Western Chu years ago!

Now, negotiating peace with Western Jing as a defeated nation, there was no avoiding further territorial concessions — ceding land on top of land already lost. It was fresh humiliation piled directly on top of old shame, all converging at once!

Jun Beiyue’s lofty disdain toward him, on the surface a mere breach of etiquette, was in truth a pointed reminder — the Three Western Cities had already changed hands.

“Is that so? But this prince distinctly recalls never having invited you to the Three Western Cities at all. This prince merely agreed, at the Western Jing emperor’s request, to lend him a table and some wine, and to serve as witness, nothing more!”

Jun Beiyue said this flatly, and the words made even Ziqing struggle to hold back a laugh — with a single sentence, he’d effortlessly silenced the Western Chu emperor, while simultaneously nudging the Western Jing emperor squarely into the spotlight!

The Western Chu emperor, despite being the defeated party, showed no self-awareness whatsoever, still trying to throw his weight around here — while the Western Jing emperor, having received a great favor, showed not a shred of gratitude either, content instead to sit back and watch the show. Neither of these two old emperors amounted to much of anything — to put it bluntly, they’d been given an inch of grace and were trying to take a mile. Ziqing thought Jun Beiyue’s move here was absolutely brilliant — precisely to stand above them and make them come to him.

Seeing the Western Chu emperor’s face turn ashen, Jun Beiyue paid him no further mind, turning instead toward the Western Jing emperor with a courteous smile. “Emperor Zude, you’ll have to vouch for this lowly prince, won’t you, lest I earn a reputation for not knowing my place.”

At these words, the Western Jing emperor really had no choice but to side with Jun Beiyue. He immediately strode forward, as though he’d never paused at all, laughing as he walked. “Quite right — it should have been this humble one arriving first. Making Prince Yao wait so long was truly discourteous of me!”

When an emperor spoke to a prince in such terms, it was more than enough proof that this prince stood as an equal to any sovereign ruler!

The Western Jing emperor had expected Jun Beiyue to demur modestly in response, but to his surprise, Jun Beiyue simply accepted it as his due, giving only a nod — without so much as a smile!

A flicker of admiration crossed Yelu Chenyi’s eyes as he followed along behind, still giving nothing away.

With the Western Jing emperor already climbing the tower, if the Western Chu emperor continued to linger below, it would only mean humiliating himself further. Jun Beiyue didn’t even spare him a glance, leaving Chu Tiange no choice but to find his father a graceful way out of the situation.

“Father, don’t lower yourself to their level. Please, this way!”

The Western Chu emperor gave a cold snort, though inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief, and continued up the tower, arriving at almost the same moment as the Western Jing emperor, standing at the left and right side entrances of the tower!

But just as the Western Chu emperor had steadied his footing, Jun Beiyue asked, “Emperor Xiaokang, why have you come up here as well?”

At these words, the Western Chu emperor was utterly stunned, and even the Western Jing emperor was caught off guard. He’d assumed Jun Beiyue’s refusal to come down and greet them was simply meant as an initial show of dominance — but as it turned out, the real show of dominance was still to come!

Emperor Xiaokang felt something choke in his chest, unable to go up or down. Jun Beiyue walked right past him, hands clasped behind his back, and seated himself in the single seat of honor at the head of the banquet table, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him, waiting for an answer!

This commanding presence was clearly not that of a mere prince of one nation, nor that of a simple witness to negotiations — it was, in every way, the bearing of a sovereign ruler of this very land, one preparing to mediate the disputes among lesser vassal states.

Ziqing couldn’t help but steal several more glances at him — resplendent in purple, his fine features flawless, a pair of eyes as deep and unfathomable as the sea, sharp enough to pierce straight through to the heart, seeing everything with utter clarity.

Watching the Western Chu emperor squirm, the Western Jing emperor observed coldly from the sidelines, secretly delighted — but behind him, Yelu Chenyi wore a complicated expression, as though he’d already sensed something.

On an occasion like this, every word and action from anyone present represented the dignity of their entire nation, and carried weight for the future of the whole Longyuan continent.

“Ha, since Prince Yao has already arrived, this one naturally shouldn’t delay any further!”

What else could the Western Chu emperor do? He could only grudgingly find himself some excuse to answer Jun Beiyue’s question. Without question, what he actually said no longer mattered — the moment he answered at all, it meant he had bowed to Jun Beiyue, acknowledging that Jun Beiyue had no obligation to come down and greet them.

Only then did Jun Beiyue nod in satisfaction, saying, “Then please, Emperor Xiaokang, do sit.”

The Western Chu emperor, still reeling from Jun Beiyue’s earlier jab, moved forward without thinking to sit down — only for Chu Tiange to hastily grab his arm. “Father, the seating!”

Those two simple words — “the seating” — got straight to the heart of the matter, the very issue Yelu Chenyi had already noticed moments earlier.

The banquet table was rectangular, running north to south, with all the seats arranged facing north, meaning the guests would be seated facing south. To put it more precisely, this banquet had only a single seat of true honor — positioned exactly the same way as the thrones of both Da Zhou and Western Chu, facing south from the north.

And at this very moment, Jun Beiyue sat calmly in that very seat, with Ziqing standing at his side.

Every other seat was arranged below him, to either side — and every single one of them was empty!

Neither the Western Jing emperor nor the Western Chu emperor had any choice but to sit below Jun Beiyue!

What exactly did Jun Beiyue mean by this?

Setting aside the significance of the seating arrangement itself, just consider Jun Beiyue’s behavior in this moment — both emperors were still standing, and he had already sat down.

By seniority, by rank, by status — there was no justification whatsoever for Jun Beiyue being the first to take his seat.

If this were simply a banquet, in any household in the realm hosting guests, would the host ever sit down before the guests did?

Only in an imperial household. Only an emperor would do such a thing.

Jun Beiyue was carrying himself with the bearing of an emperor — the bearing of Longyuan’s true overlord!

Seeing the Western Chu emperor held back, the Western Jing emperor, who had been thoroughly enjoying the show, finally caught on to what was happening!

Today, unless someone forced Jun Beiyue to change seats, both Western Chu and Western Jing would effectively be acknowledging Da Zhou — acknowledging Jun Beiyue’s position as the true overlord of all Longyuan!

Jun Beiyue had invited the Western Chu emperor to sit, while the Western Jing emperor could simply go on enjoying the spectacle.

The Western Chu emperor, grinding his teeth in fury, snapped without any courtesy at all, “Prince Yao, where exactly should I sit?”

“There are plenty of seats. Take your pick,” Jun Beiyue said flatly, sitting high in the seat of honor, radiant with dignity and authority.

“My pick? Ha. And if I chose this very seat of yours?” the Western Chu emperor said coldly!

“This seat faces south from the north — it marks the northernmost point of Da Zhou’s own territory, looking out over the vast expanse of our own domain. It’s hardly a seat you’re entitled to sit in.”

The moment these words left his mouth, Ziqing couldn’t help but want to laugh — this man really was clever, managing to grind the Western Chu emperor thoroughly into the ground with nothing but a few carefully chosen words, no need for force at all!

And what mattered most of all was that he’d somehow managed to do it without offending the Western Jing emperor in the slightest!

Hearing Jun Beiyue’s words, the Western Jing emperor immediately broke into laughter, delighted…

Why was that, exactly?