When night fell, Jun Beiyue was still busy at work.

The two armies remained at a standoff, with no movement from Eastern Qin. In truth, he had already made all his preparations — these past few days had held nothing unexpected.

Except that Bai Mengmeng’s actions made it hard for him not to think of Eastern Qin.

At a time like this, who else besides Eastern Qin would come to disrupt the morale of his Three Great Tiger Armies?

Bai Mengmeng was without a doubt a menace!

After so many years of her lying in wait, he hadn’t even noticed — perhaps because of his sympathy for General White Tiger’s advanced age and lack of children, or perhaps because Bai Mengmeng had simply hidden herself too well.

To be precise, it was because the Empress of Eastern Qin had kept this piece in reserve for far too long, and with far too much caution.

Since Eastern Qin had made its move, he naturally had to pay close attention.

It wasn’t until deep in the night, when all was silent, that Jun Beiyue’s tent finally grew quiet.

Behind the layers of hanging curtains, in the most comfortable bedchamber at the heart of the central camp, wisps of white steam curled up behind a folding screen.

This bedchamber was divided in two by a massive screen — on one side lay a bed piled with layer upon layer of tiger pelts, a low tatami-style platform entirely covered in warm, soft tiger fur.

This had actually been prepared for Ziqing. Regrettably, Yelu Qianqian’s departure had forced Ziqing to personally go to Xijing to clean up the mess.

On the other side of the screen, Jun Beiyue was soaking in a large bathing tub, his powerful arms resting casually along its rim. His head was tilted back, his hair — unwashed for three days — falling loose, several strands clinging to his handsome, water-beaded face, and to his sharply defined chest muscles. His lean, bronzed body, wreathed in mist, radiated a deadly allure that made it impossible not to want to see just how breathtaking he looked beneath the water.

Head tilted back, eyes closed — seen from a distance, the sight was utterly, achingly seductive.

Anyone who didn’t know him, seeing this, would surely think this man was the finest of the fine, a treasure beyond compare, a devastatingly bewitching creature.

But those who truly knew him understood that this allure was absolutely lethal — however magnificent this man was, he was never someone to be approached carelessly.

And yet, Bai Mengmeng was drawn precisely to a man like this — to precisely this kind of challenge.

Deep in the silent night, Bai Mengmeng still stood outside the tent. At that moment, she was staring at the trail of water on the ground, an unmistakable delight lingering at the corners of her lips.

Soldiers had just delivered a good deal of hot water. She knew — Jun Beiyue was bathing.

She loved moments like this.

Suppressing the smile at her lips, she lifted the hanging curtain. But the guard on night watch immediately grabbed her arm. “Miss Bai, without my lord’s order, no one is permitted to enter.”

These guards weren’t General White Tiger’s men — they were Jun Beiyue’s own direct guards.

Even if General White Tiger himself came now, without prior notice, he wouldn’t be allowed in either.

“Is that so? But I have something very important to tell my lord,” Bai Mengmeng said, smiling, her voice turning sweet and coquettish, nothing at all like her usual tomboyish manner.

The guard didn’t fall for it. He stepped back, his spear barring the entrance. “Miss Bai, please don’t make this difficult for me. Allow me to go in and report first.”

“What I have to say is extremely important. I suddenly remembered something I saw in the grain store yesterday. This is extremely urgent — if it’s delayed, can you take responsibility for that?” Bai Mengmeng said, taking a step closer to the guard, one step at a time.

At the mention of the grain store fire, the guard hesitated slightly. And in that instant of hesitation, Bai Mengmeng drew out a dagger and, without a moment’s pause, drove it straight into him!

The guard’s eyes went wide with shock, blood spraying from his mouth — he didn’t even have time to cry out!

Bai Mengmeng put the dagger away, calmly wiped it clean on the guard’s body, then shoved him aside and slipped through the entrance.

Just as before, she slipped through the layers of hanging curtains in a single fluid motion — but she saw no sign of Jun Beiyue at all. Instead, a powerful jet of water came rushing straight at her face!

Bai Mengmeng dodged at once, falling heavily to the ground. But just as she fell, an invisible blade of wind seemed to rise up from the very ground itself, slashing violently downward!

She had absolutely no way to stop her fall — she could only take the full brunt of it.

The instant she hit the ground, blood immediately spilled from her mouth — the force of that wind-blade was no less than a real blade slashing across her back!

Though there was no visible wound to her flesh, the internal injury was severe — so severe she had no strength left to rise.

It was at that moment that Jun Beiyue finally emerged slowly from behind the screen, his ink-black hair, unwashed for three days, falling loose down his back, his lean, bronzed body still damp, a loose robe draped carelessly over him, his sharply defined chest faintly visible beneath it — as if every handsome, wild, commanding quality in the world had converged upon him alone; no one who saw him could tear their eyes away.

Bai Mengmeng nearly lost her very soul at the sight of him. She couldn’t bear to imagine another woman tangled up with him on that tiger-pelt bed — the mere thought was enough to drive her mad.

Jun Beiyue was hers!

“This prince thought you were clever. Turns out you’re nothing more than this,” Jun Beiyue said, smiling with a wicked, otherworldly edge, sitting down carelessly to one side. Even dressed in nothing but a thin robe, he could not hide the imperial dominance that seemed to radiate naturally from him.

Dealing with Bai Mengmeng, in truth, wasn’t difficult at all — all he had to do was stay still and let her make the first move.

If Bai Mengmeng had any real wits, she would have stayed put outside the door. After all, framing her for something would have been child’s play for him.

Pin a crime on her, then dispose of her — perfectly justified.

He hadn’t even had to lift a finger. Bai Mengmeng had come knocking on his door first.

Hearing Jun Beiyue’s words, Bai Mengmeng finally came back to her senses, and immediately burst out laughing. “Prince Yao, there’s more than one guard at your door — you’ve been waiting for me a while, haven’t you?”

If Bai Mengmeng weren’t clever, she wouldn’t have shown up at Jun Beiyue’s camp tonight at all.

She understood perfectly well that Jun Beiyue had plenty of guards. She had entered deliberately.

Jun Beiyue was mildly surprised — he hadn’t expected her to figure that out.

“What, then — feeling guilty toward your adoptive father, and coming to confess your crimes to this prince on your own?” Jun Beiyue asked, arching an eyebrow. This woman had, in fact, exceeded his expectations, if only slightly.

“Guilty? Can guilt fill my stomach?” Bai Mengmeng scoffed, sitting up despite her injuries, showing not the slightest hint of fear.

“Then what did you come here for? It’s a bit too late now to surrender,” Jun Beiyue shot back. This woman had come either to assassinate him or to surrender — there was no third possibility.

Bai Mengmeng’s eyes turned playfully, and she smiled. “Neither! What I came here for…”

Her voice trailed off, taking on an ambiguous, coquettish tone, deliberately drawing out the last word. “You… guess!”

The instant those words left her mouth, she suddenly leapt up from the ground, charging straight at Jun Beiyue!

Jun Beiyue was mildly taken aback. He already knew exactly how much fighting strength Bai Mengmeng had, without even needing to trade blows with her — that wind-blade a moment ago should have left her utterly without the strength to move. And yet, somehow, she still managed to leap up!

In an instant, Bai Mengmeng grabbed hold of Jun Beiyue’s robe — and Jun Beiyue clearly saw fresh blood trailing from the armor on her back, spreading around to the front!

Even in this state, she still smiled brilliantly. “Prince Yao, I came here purely for you!”

…