Ziqing came to a stop, gave a light scornful huff, and finally—after all this time—deigned to speak. “If the Crown Prince of Xijing wishes to throw open his gates and welcome this consort inside, this consort would certainly be delighted to accept.”
Those words very nearly made Yelu Chenyi cough up blood on the spot. He clenched his fists, ordering his men to surround Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan, but for the moment he dared not act rashly—he understood all too well that if he made another move, who knew where in Akbachu another hole might get blown open.
Everyone else was confused, but the Emperor of Xijing’s confidence had already crumbled.
He had no idea where Jun Beiyue was at this moment, nor what else Han Ziqing might yet do.
This was, after all, the capital of Xijing!
The slightest tremor here could set off an earthquake across the entire nation.
“She… how could she be Han Ziqing? What do you two know?” Wanyan Lie muttered, baffled. He had, of course, met Han Ziqing before—twice, in fact!
Both encounters had left a deep impression. The first time, during a diplomatic mission to Nanzhao, this woman had, with only a few words, defused a brewing war between Xijing and Xichu, forcibly arranging for the Grand Princess of Xichu to marry the Prince of Nanzhao instead!
And the second time, during another mission to Nanzhao, this woman had saved Yelu Qianqian’s life just in time.
A woman belonging to Jun Beiyue would naturally be neither weak nor foolish—but he had never imagined that her skill at using a qin as a weapon of sound could be so beautiful, more beautiful than any dance he had ever witnessed.
If, during those two encounters in Nanzhao, she had been restrained, then this time she had let her true nature show without any reservation at all.
This woman was more beautiful than Yelu Qianqian, more wild than Yelu Qianqian! He liked her!
Relations between Xijing and Great Zhou had long been poor, especially after Xijing took advantage of the northern border rebellion in Great Zhou to press its army to the border, cutting off all further contact. But since the last war between Xijing and Xichu, when Jun Beiyue had voluntarily lent support, the two nations had quietly formed something of an alliance behind the scenes.
Yet now, with Han Ziqing showing up like this in such a menacing fashion, and Jun Beiyue suddenly nowhere to be found, there had to be some deeper grudge behind all this.
“What do you two know—or rather, what have you two done?” Wanyan Lie sneered coldly.
Watching Han Ziqing stride steadily closer, the Emperor of Xijing could hardly spare a thought to answer; his back had already gone cold with dread. Even surrounded by countless guards, he felt no sense of safety at all.
Ziqing stopped right at the breach in the wall and, without so much as glancing at the heavily guarded Yelu Chenyi behind her, said coldly to the Emperor of Xijing, “Emperor of Xijing—Princess Qianqian and Young Master Situ are in love and had already privately pledged themselves to each other long ago. Why must you force them apart like a stick breaking apart a pair of mandarin ducks? Do you know that ruining a marriage brings down the wrath of heaven?”
Sure enough—she said nothing until she spoke, and when she did, it was infuriating enough to leave anyone speechless with rage!
“Han Ziqing, you—you—this is a family matter of the Yelu clan; it’s not for some little girl like you to meddle in! What exactly are you trying to do? What is your meaning? What exactly is Great Zhou trying to accomplish!”
The Emperor of Xijing broke into a fit of coughing, his face ashen, yet he still tried to pretend he knew nothing.
He wanted to keep pretending? Very well—let’s see just how long he could keep it up.
“This consort has absolutely no interest in the Yelu clan’s family affairs. However, since this matter concerns the lifelong happiness of my sworn brother Situ, this consort will most certainly see to it,” Ziqing said coldly, immediately issuing an order. “Someone—escort Young Master Situ and Princess Qianqian away!”
The moment those words were spoken, the guards surrounding Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian immediately tensed, each gripping their blades tighter.
Yet, unexpectedly, the Shadow Guards on this side made no move at all. Instead, it was Bingchan, standing beside Ziqing, who acted—pulling out a small black sphere, some unknown weapon, and suddenly leaping onto a rooftop.
Yelu Chenyi, startled, immediately gave chase. Bingchan, expressionless, made no attempt to flee—instead advancing directly toward Yelu Chenyi.
In that split second, Yelu Chenyi seemed to understand something and abruptly retreated, putting as much distance between them as possible. A “boom” rang out, and another huge section of the wall where Bingchan had been standing collapsed—yet Bingchan, protected by the black jiao-scale armor, remained completely unharmed.
This was nothing short of an indestructible human bomb!
No matter how well one understood martial arts, it could never compare to the terror of a weapon like this.
Bingchan didn’t even glance at the still-shaken Yelu Chenyi, immediately heading toward Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan, given the devastation the wall had just suffered.
Not a single Xijing guard remained unshaken, unafraid. As Bingchan advanced step by step, they all instinctively retreated.
“Young Master Situ, Princess Qianqian, this humble servant Bingchan is under orders to escort you away,” Bingchan said respectfully, making a gesture of invitation in full view of everyone.
Situ Haonan looked somewhat worried—he knew perfectly well that Han Ziqing had only a small amount of gunpowder left, otherwise they wouldn’t have been so wary of Nanzhao’s beast-tribe army.
Heaven only knew how much longer she could hold out. Where on earth had Jun Beiyue gone?
Still, he couldn’t afford to let his guard slip either. He immediately stood, cradling Yelu Qianqian in one arm, and gave Ziqing a dashing salute in return. “Han Ziqing, my thanks. Once you’ve seen your old friend, I’ll send you a matchmaker’s gift in return!”
Yelu Chenyi watched, gritting his teeth, but he no longer had time to spare for Yelu Qianqian—the crisis now facing the Xijing capital far outweighed the one between Xijing and Xiliang.
He had to find a way to stop Han Ziqing—kill her, even!
Otherwise, once word of this got out, Xijing would never be able to hold its head up again, not before Great Zhou, not before the entire world!
For an enemy army to reach the very gates of the capital during wartime was already humiliation enough!
And now, Han Ziqing had come utterly alone, bringing only a handful of guards with her—this would become the most astonishing tale in all of Longyuan, and an everlasting disgrace for Xijing that could never be erased!
But just as Yelu Chenyi and the Emperor of Xijing were seething with fury, just as everyone watched Situ Haonan carrying off the princess who was to be married off, Ziqing finally turned her gaze properly toward Wanyan Lie and said with a smile, “Crown Prince of Xiliang, shouldn’t you be thanking me for saving you from being cuckolded before the wedding even happened?”
The instant those words left her mouth, the Emperor of Xijing rushed to explain, “Your Highness, please don’t misunderstand—we knew nothing of this. Qianqian must have been abducted!”
Wanyan Lie snorted coldly. “This prince saw it with his own eyes—the two of them embracing each other. Tell me, should this prince trust his own eyes, or trust you?”
“What?” The Emperor of Xijing was stunned, utterly unaware of what had happened.
Wanyan Lie stepped forward and gave Ziqing a bow, but what he said next caught everyone off guard. “Han Ziqing, this prince doesn’t care what grudge you have with Yelu Chenyi, nor does this prince care who Yelu Qianqian truly loves. Xijing deceived this prince first, and you abducted this prince’s betrothed second. If Yelu Qianqian is not delivered to my great city of Xiliang within one month, don’t blame this prince for showing no mercy.”
With that, he turned and swept away furiously.
Those words were a warning not only to Xijing, but to Great Zhou as well.
Yelu Chenyi immediately stepped forward, grabbing Wanyan Lie’s shoulder like a brother, about to explain and placate him—but then, unexpectedly, Ziqing spoke up with a smile. “A few years ago, Young Master Situ happened upon Princess Qianqian while she was bathing, and has taken responsibility for her ever since. The two of them privately pledged themselves to each other long ago—didn’t the Crown Prince of Xijing ever tell you?”