At the Dong Qin frontier, the Empress of Dong Qin herself had arrived in person — this was precisely why Jun Beiyue had rushed back!

Only, the Empress of Dong Qin had already been there for several days without any movement at all, and the Xiongnu side showed no activity either.

At this moment, the Empress of Dong Qin stood atop a tall beacon tower, gazing out at Da Zhou’s encampment in the distance. If she had any other choice, she wouldn’t have wanted to ally with the Xiongnu either — but she had no other option.

She would rather see Dong Qin destroyed by the Xiongnu than have Dong Qin submit to Da Zhou!

Jun Beiyue was nothing but an arrogant brat not even thirty years old — what right did he have to make Dong Qin bow to him? He merely relied on the troops under his command; if she had sufficient forces of her own, she could command the winds and rains just as easily!

“Are you certain Han Ziqing has left the military camp?” the Empress of Dong Qin asked coldly. In a standoff like this, every movement from either side was critical.

“Confirmed, Your Majesty. And word has spread from Da Zhou’s western frontier that Princess Qianqian is trapped at the western border pass,” the guard reported honestly.

“The western border pass?” The Empress of Dong Qin immediately caught the scent of a scheme.

If Yelu Qianqian returned to Xijing and put a stop to the war between Xijing and Xiliang, then with Dong Qin allying with the Xiongnu to go to war, no matter how powerful Jun Beiyue’s forces were, he wouldn’t be able to defend both fronts at once!

By then, all his forces would inevitably concentrate on the northern frontier to deal with the Xiongnu, and Da Zhou’s western border… would be left undefended!

This was exactly the opportunity she had been waiting for — her final path of retreat!

“Good! I’ll continue waiting! And Nanny Qin — summon her at once!”

The Empress of Dong Qin seemed to have thought of some good plan, and after many days without a smile, a sinister, cold smile finally spread across her face.

But the guard replied timidly, “Your Majesty, since Nanny Qin left that day… there’s been no word from her at all.”

The Empress seemed to have forgotten their earlier heated argument, and had no idea that Nanny Qin had actually left entirely!

She was suddenly struck with alarm. That old nanny knew far, far too much about her affairs, and controlled no small number of Dong Qin’s secret forces.

“Left? She actually dared to leave?” the Empress suddenly snapped furiously. “She dared to leave without a single word of explanation! I haven’t even questioned her yet about the matter of Yaoshun Island!”

Seeing the Empress’s fury, the guard didn’t dare respond further, retreating timidly to the side.

Ever since Princess Zhaoxi’s death, and with Crown Prince Li still missing without a trace, the Empress had grown increasingly volatile, sometimes flying into rages that bordered on madness, and no one could calm her down.

“Fine, one by one, everyone wants to leave me! Zhaoxi left, Lige left, and now even she wants to leave!” she muttered to herself, hands pressed against the railing so tightly it seemed about to crack under her grip. “Someone — issue my decree. Strip Nanny Qin of all her privileges, including access to Yaoshun Island! From today onward, no one may set foot on that island in the name of the imperial house without my explicit permission!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The guard could hardly wait to retreat!

But just as the Empress finished issuing her orders, she suddenly spun around, and the guard nearly stumbled backward in fright. Fortunately, someone else arrived just then, and the moment the Empress saw who it was, she calmed down instantly.

This person was none other than the long-vanished Seventh Prince of Da Zhou — Jun Beiyao!

“Your Majesty, anger harms the liver and hastens aging — please, calm yourself, calm yourself!” Jun Beiyao appeared in white robes, gently fanning himself with a folding fan, walking into the camp with the unmistakable bearing of a strategist.

He had indeed been gone for a very long time — so long that most people had forgotten he even existed. Only the Empress of Dong Qin knew exactly where he had gone.

“Ha, Seventh Prince, I do recall telling you once — don’t bother coming back without good news!” the Empress said coldly. Back when she had left Nanzhao, she hadn’t only ordered Xuanyuan Lige to guard Dong Qin’s northern frontier — she had also secretly dispatched Jun Beiyao personally to the Xiongnu capital!

Otherwise, how could her current alliance with the Xiongnu have gone so smoothly?

“Of course I bring good news!” Jun Beiyao said with a hearty laugh — though no matter how hearty, it couldn’t quite mask the increasingly shrill, thin quality that had crept into his voice. Anyone with a keen ear would recognize it instantly — the unmistakable voice of a eunuch.