The King of Nanzhao had always been one to smooth things over and avoid trouble—as long as it didn’t involve the lone island, everything could be discussed, especially when dealing with Jun Beiyue!
But once it involved the lone island, then everything had to become serious!
Of course, even when serious, the King of Nanzhao wasn’t foolish. He certainly wouldn’t act rashly and immediately reach a conclusion, tearing apart relations with Da Zhou!
After all, to this day, no strong evidence had been found proving that the Jiao clan had participated in the naval battle between Dongqin and Da Zhou!
Moreover, even if evidence of Jiao clan involvement were found, it still wouldn’t prove which faction exactly was responsible!
The one closest to the battlefield, and most likely, was Jiao Cha of Liuxian Island’s Qinse Sea Valley. Though Jiao Cha denied it, for safety’s sake, the King of Nanzhao had already replaced his personnel, bringing Jiao Cha back to his own side.
He’d given Jun Beiyue a show of force—first, to test Jun Beiyue’s attitude; second, to demonstrate his own stance; and third, to have a talk with the Empress of Dongqin.
In the great hall, everything was silent. Besides Yelu Chenyi and the Empress of Dongqin, only Nanzhao’s most core figures were present—the King of Nanzhao, the chieftains of the three clans, and a few ministers. Even Consort Qin was not by the King of Nanzhao’s side.
“Jun Beiyue sent the Dongqin princess’s corpse to your Xijing? Why would he do that?”
Having learned the general situation of the naval battle, the King of Nanzhao became more interested in Yelu Chenyi. How had the naval battle between Dongqin and Da Zhou come to involve Xijing, so far inland?
“That’s exactly what this crown prince would like to know. This ‘great gift’ was delivered by Jun Beiyue at the Sand Sacrifice Ceremony,” Yelu Chenyi said coldly. He didn’t say much, but every word was crucial.
By throwing this question at the King of Nanzhao, he was undoubtedly forcing the King of Nanzhao to go ask Jun Beiyue himself!
The war between Xijing and Xiliang was unavoidable now. Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan had already fled into Da Zhou’s territory, and given Situ Haonan’s capabilities, Yelu Qianqian probably couldn’t be found again!
Though Xiliang was more civilized than the Xiongnu, it was still far from the civilization of the Central Plains. For the sake of revenge, they wouldn’t hesitate to exhaust the entire nation’s strength, even if it meant mutual destruction with Xijing!
Xijing faced the disaster of national ruin—this was Jun Beiyue’s most extreme form of revenge. So what else did he have to worry about?
This trip, Nanzhao had come precisely to expose Jun Beiyue alongside the Empress of Dongqin!
Even if Xijing fell, he would drag Da Zhou down with him!
If there was to be chaos, let all of Longyuan descend into chaos together!
Hearing Yelu Chenyi’s words, a flash of suspicion crossed the bottom of the King of Nanzhao’s eyes. He looked toward the Empress of Dongqin, “Your Majesty, what do you think?”
“Me? Hah, I don’t know. All I know is that it was your Nanzhao Jiao clan people who acted as accomplices, killing my daughter, killing the sole heir to my Dongqin throne!”
The originally calm Empress of Dongqin, questioned by the King of Nanzhao, immediately grew agitated again, slamming the table and standing up abruptly, “King of Nanzhao, Da Zhou invaded my territorial waters and killed my heir apparent. If not for your Nanzhao Jiao clan, there certainly wouldn’t have been such consequences today. I don’t care what explanation you have, what explanation Jun Beiyue has—Nanzhao must give my Dongqin an accounting for this matter!”
This… this was practically coming to their doorstep to demand justice!
“King of Nanzhao, on this matter, I too hope to get an explanation here from Prince Yao—to ask him what he means by this. He killed someone at sea, then sent the body here to my Xijing!” Yelu Chenyi said, pausing, then continuing, “And he specifically chose the time of the Sacrificial Ceremony to do it. The importance of Mingsha Mountain to my Xijing royal family—surely the King of Nanzhao is aware of that as well.”
The King of Nanzhao had originally intended to reprimand Yelu Chenyi first—after all, Jun Beiyue sending the Dongqin princess’s corpse to Xijing was a matter between Dongqin, Xijing, and Da Zhou, and had nothing to do with Nanzhao. Even if the Empress of Dongqin had brought Yelu Chenyi along, that proved nothing either!
But when the King of Nanzhao heard the latter half of Yelu Chenyi’s sentence, he immediately grew suspicious. He certainly knew that Mingsha Mountain held great significance for the Xijing royal family, but he understood even more clearly that Mingsha Mountain held even greater significance for the Nanzhao royal family—it was after all one of the most important sites of the lone island’s ruins!
Originally, upon hearing that Xijing’s Princess Qianqian had fled her marriage, angering the Xiliang crown prince and sparking war between the two nations, the King of Nanzhao had actually applauded the news!
If Mingsha Mountain weren’t the sacred mountain of the Xijing royal family, weren’t Xijing’s highest object of faith, he would have destroyed everything on that mountain long ago, by whatever means necessary!
When that totem reappeared, the black Jiao army dispatched by the Nanzhao royal family had gone to Mingsha Mountain first, for no other reason than because it was the most crucial location of all!
The ruins’ guardians there still didn’t even know the true secret of that place!
That secret—only he knew it. Not even the three clan chieftains, not even the important ministers of the court knew of it!
And in the future, he would only pass this secret on to the heir to the throne!
Facing the furious Yelu Chenyi and the Empress of Dongqin, the King of Nanzhao hesitated for a moment, then waved helplessly to Eunuch Gao, “Go invite Prince Yao over.”
As he spoke, he still tried to placate his two distinguished guests, “The two of you have traveled far and worked hard—why don’t you rest a while in the guest palace, and once Prince Yao arrives…”
Before he could finish, the Empress of Dongqin coldly interrupted, “Thank you for your kind intentions, King of Nanzhao, but we’ve already waited so long, a little more won’t matter. Let’s just wait here for Prince Yao.”
She had come directly to lodge a complaint, directly to expose Han Ziqing’s identity, to expose Jun Beiyue’s secret!
But Yelu Chenyi insisted that Jun Beiyue explain it himself.
Fair enough—one question was enough to make things extremely difficult for Jun Beiyue!
“Why did you send Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s corpse to Xijing?”
They weren’t afraid of exposing Yan Zi, and even less afraid of exposing Yelu Chenyi and Yan Zi’s intentions. They had long since prepared for mutual destruction!
They were just waiting for Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing to arrive!
According to what the Empress of Dongqin and Yelu Chenyi said, the King of Nanzhao had originally wanted to discuss the matter with the various clan chieftains, but with the Empress of Dongqin refusing to leave, he had no choice but to stay with her, and could only urge Eunuch Gao to hurry and bring the person over!
But at that moment, the sky was still hazy with early dawn, and Jun Beiyue and Ziqing had only just returned to the diplomatic compound!
As soon as they returned, for safety’s sake, Jun Beiyue immediately had Imperial Physician Gu test her blood.
“Well?” Though he remained calm, the urgency in his tone couldn’t be hidden.
“Congratulations, my lord, felicitations, my lord—the enchanting fragrance’s effects have truly taken hold!” Imperial Physician Gu said with great delight, offering congratulations again and again. Yingzi was also overjoyed, blurting out without thinking, “Wonderful, we’re going to have a little prince! That’s truly wonderful!”
The moment these words came out, the originally lively room instantly fell silent.
It was unclear whether Ziqing had heard or not—she kept her head down, looking at the musical score off to the side, while Jun Beiyue raised an eyebrow at Yingzi, his face largely expressionless. Heaven only knew what he was thinking.
A complicated look flashed across the bottom of Imperial Physician Gu’s eyes.
Though they could now have a child, wasn’t this child still going to carry the bloodline of the lone island? This child might not necessarily be something to be wished for, was it?
Imperial Physician Gu hesitated for a moment, just about to speak up, when the guard’s announcement outside the door suddenly broke the awkward atmosphere.
“My lord, someone has come from the palace, requesting you to go at once.”