Open it?
This vat contained Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s corpse, soaked in corpse-poison technique!
This was the first step in cultivating a gu. The Empress of Dongqin didn’t know this, but Yelu Chenyi certainly did, and the King of Nanzhao certainly knew it too!
This alone was enough to arouse the King of Nanzhao’s suspicion!
Jun Beiyue’s ease was his strongest source of confidence, but exactly how much preparation Yelu Chenyi and the Empress of Dongqin had made was impossible to guess.
Something had changed!
At that moment, the vast hall fell completely silent, everyone’s gaze fixed on that water vat as the guard slowly opened the sealed lid!
Suddenly, with a “boom,” a burst of greenish vapor forced the lid open. What was happening?
“Careful, corpse poison!”
Suddenly the medicine clan chieftain shouted out. In an instant, everyone covered their noses—only Yelu Chenyi didn’t cover his, watching coldly.
The Dongqin guards didn’t dare move either. At a glance from the medicine clan chieftain, two poison masters immediately stepped forward, boldly sniffing the air, then leaning in to examine the contents of the vat. Instantly, both poison masters’ faces turned deathly pale!
“Your Majesty, everyone, this corpse vapor is not poisonous, rest assured!” one of them reported respectfully.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. The smile at the corner of Yelu Chenyi’s mouth grew even more pronounced.
Ever since Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s corpse had been verified by the Empress of Dongqin, it had remained sealed in this water vat the entire time. What he wanted was precisely to bring this vat of corpse-poison water before the King of Nanzhao today!
If Jun Beiyue wanted to accuse him and Yan Zi in front of the King of Nanzhao and the Empress of Dongqin, he wouldn’t mind at all—he was perfectly willing to go down together with Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing in mutual destruction.
Of course, if Jun Beiyue didn’t reveal the truth, he was also happy to personally expose his and Yan Zi’s secret. The war on Xijing’s western border was already unstoppable—if he had to die, if Xijing had to fall, he would drag Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing down with him too!
Today, he never intended to walk out of this Nanzhao hall alive!
Hearing there was no poison, the King of Nanzhao relaxed. Seeing the Empress of Dongqin wiping away tears, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity. Though the corpse’s smell wasn’t pleasant, he still forced himself to stand up.
But just as the King of Nanzhao was about to walk over, the medicine clan chieftain suddenly stopped him, “Your Majesty, wait a moment!”
“What’s the matter?” the King of Nanzhao asked, puzzled. The Empress of Dongqin was equally confused, “Chieftain of the medicine clan, let His Majesty see for himself, lest anyone say my Dongqin conspired with Xijing to slander Prince Yao!”
“Your Majesty, are you certain the thing… the thing in this vat is a corpse?” the medicine clan chieftain asked seriously. At that moment, the two poison masters, not daring to delay, hurriedly reported, “Your Majesty, there is no corpse in this vat at all—it’s entirely poison-corpse water. Though not toxic to breathe, it’s extremely corrosive. Please do not approach it!”
The moment these words came out, the Empress of Dongqin whipped around to look at Yelu Chenyi, whose expression suddenly changed drastically. How could this be?
The King of Nanzhao, now fearful, sat back down, suddenly shouting sharply, “What exactly is going on here?”
“This… this…” The Empress of Dongqin would have staked her life on it—this vat was the original vat. Though Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s corpse had decomposed beyond recognition, she could still recognize the head!
How could… how could this be happening now!
Exactly what had Yelu Chenyi done? Yelu Chenyi couldn’t believe it either, standing up and striding over quickly. But seeing only a pool of bloody water in the vat, with even the deliberately preserved head gone, he was struck with shock!
How could this be!
This vat—he had personally verified it, and it truly had been the corpse-poison water Yan Zi had used to soak Han Ziqing’s body. How could it have become poison-corpse water instead?
Corpse-poison and poison-corpse were two completely different things!
Corpse-poison water was the first step in cultivating a human gu, while poison-corpse water was a common form of torture used in prisons—just a small amount of contact could corrode flesh and bone!
This vat had been sealed the entire time, personally kept by him the whole time, and after being handed to the Empress of Dongqin, it had remained under her personal care the entire time as well!
It was impossible for anyone else to have tampered with it!
The only possibility was that this vat had been tampered with before it was even sent here!
Corpse-poison water had been switched for poison-corpse water!
Yelu Chenyi glared furiously at Jun Beiyue, only to see Jun Beiyue personally pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Han Ziqing, showing little interest in anything happening before him. Han Ziqing, on the other hand, watched him with great interest!
Yelu Chenyi couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly, wishing he could punch Jun Beiyue right then and there!
This fellow—he hadn’t come unprepared, hadn’t acted in a fit of rage for a woman’s sake. Long before he’d angrily disregarded the world’s rumors and gossip, disregarded the Empress of Dongqin’s condemnation, disregarded the King of Nanzhao’s questioning, disregarded Prince Baxian’s obstruction, and stubbornly insisted on visiting Xijing as a guest—he had already calculated this move well in advance!
Even the fact that he, Yelu Chenyi, and the Empress of Dongqin would be forced to come to Nanzhao today to lodge their complaint had been calculated by him from the start!
So he had already tampered with Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s corpse long ago! Destroying their evidence!
Ziqing accepted the tea. Jun Beiyue said gently, in a low voice, “Careful, it’s hot.”
Having taken care of the woman beside him, only then did he slowly turn to look at the King of Nanzhao, asking flatly, “King of Nanzhao, this king has neither the interest nor the time to waste on tedious people. This king came to discuss an important matter with you. If you don’t have time right now, this king can go back and wait patiently.”
With that, he even stood up as if to leave!
Before the King of Nanzhao could speak, the Empress of Dongqin shouted sharply, “Wait!”
Jun Beiyue paid her no attention. The Empress of Dongqin, furious beyond words, had no choice but to suppress her anger—the matter of the corpse had already become an established fact of manipulation. It was already fortunate enough that Jun Beiyue wasn’t pressing the matter further; she had no choice but to swallow her anger and let it go for now.
Since Jun Beiyue ignored her, she didn’t bother questioning him either, instead demanding of the King of Nanzhao angrily, “King of Nanzhao, I came to Nanzhao recognizing no one but you, asking you only one thing—why did the Jiao clan help Da Zhou bully my Dongqin!”
The King of Nanzhao, too, set aside the matter of the corpse, his true concern being precisely this question.
He looked at Jun Beiyue, his words carefully chosen, saying, “Beiyue, this king believes the Jiao clan wouldn’t have the audacity to secretly help you without permission. On this matter, shouldn’t you clarify things for this king, for the Empress of Dongqin’s sake?”
“The naval battle? What about it?” Jun Beiyue asked in return.
“What about the naval battle? Hah, Jun Beiyue, still trying to deny it? Don’t tell me Da Zhou destroyed my entire elite navy with just one large ship and one small ship!” the Empress of Dongqin laughed contemptuously.
Jun Beiyue snorted coldly, still looking toward the King of Nanzhao, “King of Nanzhao, do you also think that’s impossible?”
How was the King of Nanzhao supposed to answer this?
Da Zhou was powerful, and Jun Beiyue was formidable, but when it came to naval strength, they were indeed extremely weak!
Yet looking at Jun Beiyue’s arrogant, domineering, handsome face, the King of Nanzhao found himself at a loss for how to respond for a moment.
If he spoke the truth, it would inevitably wound this proud prince’s pride!
But appreciation and pity were only fleeting emotions. The King of Nanzhao finally began to speak…