By the time the sky had just begun to grow faintly light, the Nanzhao diplomatic compound was still brightly lit throughout the night.
Eunuch Gao, having come the previous night, truly didn’t dare leave, personally keeping watch in the courtyard, determined to wait until Jun Beiyue came out. Of course, he didn’t dare urge them either, sitting obediently on the stone steps to the side like a grandson.
Yingzi stood guard through the night with his sword in his arms, yawning and stretching, glancing sideways with a cold smile, not bothering to greet him.
At that moment, a servant girl arrived carrying washing supplies and fresh green tea!
The moment Eunuch Gao saw that green tea, he immediately perked up, springing to his feet—it was Prince Yao’s habit to have a cup of fresh green tea every morning; the tea’s arrival meant Prince Yao had risen.
Eunuch Gao didn’t dare act rashly, walking to the door and grinning foolishly at Yingzi without saying anything.
Yingzi didn’t bother acknowledging him, knocking on the door to report, “My lord, the green tea has arrived.”
“Bring it in.” Sure enough, Jun Beiyue’s voice came from inside.
Eunuch Gao grew even more delighted, personally confirming the man really was inside.
Inside the room, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing had already risen long ago. Ziqing sat before the mirror while Jun Beiyue drew her eyebrows for her—one had to admit, this prince who could do anything at all found himself stumped by something as trivial as drawing eyebrows.
Holding the brush, he gestured over Ziqing’s face for a long while, still not daring to make the first stroke.
Ziqing watched him, not telling him to stop, secretly smiling to herself. Jun Beiyue glanced at her, coughing lightly a few times, and continued gesturing!
The couple was truly at ease, completely unconcerned about the people who had been waiting in the palace for two full days and nights.
Ziqing wasn’t wearing Nanzhao attire today. Though the weather wasn’t cold, she’d wrapped herself up so that nothing showed—for no other reason than because, after this day and night of unrestrained passion, this man had left marks practically everywhere on her body, declaring his ownership!
She was too lazy to bother with Jun Beiyue’s gesturing, looking instead at her own reflection in the mirror. Perhaps because she’d experienced intimacy, she felt she seemed somehow different, yet couldn’t say exactly how!
At that moment, a servant girl brought in the green tea, whispering, “Prince Yao, this was prepared by Lord Bomiluo—he said it’s your favorite kind of green tea.”
“Mm.” Jun Beiyue didn’t even glance at it, responding only with a flat acknowledgment.
However, after the servant girl withdrew, he set down the brush he’d been weighing in his hand all along and walked toward the green tea. Ziqing looked at him suspiciously—this fellow’s green tea had always been prepared by either her or Yingzi!
“You…”
Before she could ask, she saw Jun Beiyue pour out the green tea, and Ziqing hurriedly got up and walked over. As the pale green tea poured onto the wooden-colored table, a layer of transparent membrane became clearly visible!
Something was hidden inside this green tea!
“This thing…” Ziqing still didn’t understand. All she knew was that Nanzhao had always had many rules, and once here, there was basically no private space to speak of—and this time Jun Beiyue’s visit was under especially strict surveillance.
Leaving this compound might be easy enough, but bringing anything in was much harder.
“Fortunately, it dried properly. Take a look.” Jun Beiyue said, taking the item out—it was a thin membrane, somewhat similar to the one Ziqing had worn on her face before, though not quite as thin as before.
“Only Nanzhao’s masters can make this. I had Lord Bomiluo prepare it—it can only be used for three days, after which it dissolves,” Jun Beiyue said seriously.
As he spoke, he pushed the suspicious-looking Ziqing to sit before the mirror, carefully removed her silver-white mask, gently wiped clean the poison scar, and then put the membrane on for her!
His movements were gentle and careful, tending to her as if handling a precious treasure, warming Ziqing’s heart. Soon, the small piece of membrane completely covered the poison scar.
Her face—it was still her original face. Anyone who hadn’t seen Ziqing’s poison scar before would never be able to imagine her disfigurement.
“Well?” Only then did Jun Beiyue smile, raising an eyebrow to ask.
“You… what exactly are you planning?” Only now did Ziqing speak up.
“Come on, let’s go pay respects to the sovereign. You’ll understand once we get there,” Jun Beiyue said with a mysterious smile. Ziqing’s eyes rolled about, but she didn’t ask further, mulling it over herself.
The couple leisurely didn’t arrive at the palace until nearly noon.
By that time, having received word, the King of Nanzhao, the Empress of Dongqin, and Yelu Chenyi had all been waiting in the great hall for a full two hours or more!
When Jun Beiyue, leading Ziqing by the hand, stepped over the high threshold, the Empress of Dongqin was the first to lose her patience, slamming the table and standing up, furious, “Jun Beiyue, you certainly have some nerve!”
Let her be angry—Jun Beiyue didn’t even glance her way, his eyes fixed straight ahead, walking leisurely toward the hall alongside Ziqing, making the Empress of Dongqin’s outburst all the more embarrassing for herself.
Just as she was about to demand an answer again, the King of Nanzhao waved his hand, signaling her to be silent.
Yelu Chenyi, however, remained calm, his attention fixed entirely on the half of Ziqing’s face covered by the silver-white mask. Undoubtedly, Han Ziqing’s face had been restored, but the poison scar couldn’t be cured—even if Yan Zi had surrendered, Han Ziqing’s identity was still destined to be exposed.
Thinking this, he silently curved his lips into a confident, cold smile.
“King of Nanzhao! It’s been a while.”
Jun Beiyue merely cupped his hands in a bow, not performing a full formal salute. Even Yelu Chenyi, as noble as a crown prince, had to perform a full salute when meeting the King of Nanzhao, on behalf of his father the emperor’s regards. Yet Jun Beiyue enjoyed such privilege—not granted by the King of Nanzhao, but inherent to his own noble status!
The King of Nanzhao himself didn’t mind this at all; what he minded was Jun Beiyue’s arrogant airs over the past two full days and nights. On this matter, if he didn’t put Jun Beiyue in his place a little, how could he save face for Nanzhao in front of Dongqin and Xijing?
He didn’t immediately excuse Jun Beiyue from formalities, instead saying coldly, “Since when has Prince Yao’s health declined to such a degree that a single rest requires two full days and nights?”
At the very least, he deserved some kind of explanation, didn’t he?
The Empress of Dongqin and Yelu Chenyi were also waiting for his answer, waiting right along with him, also wanting an explanation.
However, Jun Beiyue merely smiled and said, “This lowly prince simply saw that Your Majesty had guests, and originally thought hiding for two days would let me avoid some disgusting faces, but I didn’t expect two days still wasn’t enough to avoid them. Why don’t you grant me leave, Your Majesty, and I’ll go back and rest a few more days?”
The moment these words came out, Ziqing beside him was the first to want to laugh, and the King of Nanzhao was the second—his original anger immediately dissipated by more than half!
No matter how Jun Beiyue had phrased it, it counted as giving him an explanation. It was just phrased so cleverly that in one sentence, it had completely humiliated both the Empress of Dongqin and Yelu Chenyi.
“Bang!”
Another slam of the table, again from the Empress of Dongqin, “Jun Beiyue, what do you mean by that! Who are you calling disgusting!”
At this, Jun Beiyue finally cast a cold glance her way, saying only one word, “You.”
“You!” The Empress of Dongqin, enraged, raised her hand and pointed directly at him, “Jun Beiyue, you! You! You’re going too far!”
With that, disregarding everything else, she moved to charge at Jun Beiyue. Fortunately, the Nanzhao guards beside her quickly held her back. The King of Nanzhao, who had originally been secretly amused, now had no choice but to play peacemaker, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger, calm your anger!”
He then also tried to persuade Jun Beiyue, “Beiyue, sit down first. The reason I’ve called you here today is that there’s a matter I want to ask clearly in front of everyone. If this matter has nothing to do with my Nanzhao Jiao clan, then whatever business is between the rest of you, you can go handle it however you like once you leave Nanzhao—this king won’t ask a single question about it. But…”
At this point, the King of Nanzhao paused. Being so direct and to the point made even the Empress of Dongqin temporarily hold her tongue, sitting back down!