Business!
Of course they needed to discuss business — if there hadn’t been genuine business to discuss with Bai Mengmeng, would Jun Beiyue have so readily let her into his tent at all?
A man who had seen through countless people in his time, he could practically read a person at a single glance. A woman like Bai Mengmeng was no exception to his sharp eyes.
Seeing Jun Beiyue so direct, Bai Mengmeng felt a slight pang of disappointment, but wasn’t discouraged. She smiled and sat herself down across from him without hesitation.
Jun Beiyue arched an eyebrow and reminded her, “Your adoptive father, when speaking with this prince, has always stood.”
Among the Three Great Tiger Generals, General White Tiger was practically second only to Jun Beiyue himself in standing — and even he had never been given the privilege of sitting in this tent. How much less did she deserve it?
Bai Mengmeng had made careful inquiries and knew perfectly well that Jun Beiyue’s tent had no shortage of rules and taboos — she’d simply never known, until now, that they were all actually true.
She’d never imagined that even after being granted entry, she still wouldn’t have the privilege of sitting.
Jun Beiyue hadn’t told her to rise, yet with a single sentence he’d left her with no choice but to stand — if even her adoptive father couldn’t sit, how much less could she, his daughter?
But would she really submit so easily? If she were willing to obediently follow these rules, she never would have exposed herself like this in the first place!
Having already confessed her true identity to Jun Beiyue, what she wanted now was the freedom to be unguarded before him, to be her true self.
She stayed seated and said with a smile, “My lord, I’m afraid my body can’t handle standing too long — I’m worried I won’t be able to hold up, and then we won’t be able to finish our business, and I’ll have to trouble Prince Yao to send me back.”
But no sooner had she said this than, before she even realized what was happening, a blade of wind came whistling straight at her from Jun Beiyue’s direction. In an instant, the chair beneath her shattered with a loud crack. It all happened in the blink of an eye — Bai Mengmeng had no time to react at all, and as the chair broke apart beneath her, she came crashing down hard onto the ground.
Already covered in wounds, the impact sent pain tearing through every injury on her body as if they were splitting open all at once. It hurt terribly!
But more painful than her body was her heart, and more unbearable than her heart was her fury. “Jun Beiyue, are you even a man?!”
Honestly — was this man even a man at all? So petty, with not the slightest bit of tenderness toward women!
And yet, why should Jun Beiyue make any exception for Bai Mengmeng at all? Why should he show her any tenderness?
This woman was plainly challenging his authority, threatening him!
“Someone — take Miss Bai out,” Jun Beiyue said, not even bothering with further words, using action alone to warn Bai Mengmeng: whatever special privilege she hoped to gain from him, there was no chance of it — not even room for negotiation.
Seeing the guards enter, whatever towering fury Bai Mengmeng had felt was instantly suppressed. She hurried to say, “No, no, wait — I have something extremely important to discuss with Prince Yao!”
As she spoke, she forced herself to stand despite the pain in her back and her backside.
But Jun Beiyue paid her no mind at all. He said nothing, didn’t even glance her way again, and simply waved a hand, signaling the guards to take her out.
“Wait!”
Bai Mengmeng was finally growing desperate. She couldn’t understand it, couldn’t see through it at all — wasn’t she the Empress of Eastern Qin’s most trusted spy? If she fed the Empress a few pieces of false intelligence, she could lure her out in an instant, and then it would be child’s play for Jun Beiyue to wipe out the entire Eastern Qin army in one sweep.
And yet Jun Beiyue didn’t seem to value this in the slightest — didn’t seem to care about it at all!
How could that possibly be?
The guards had already reached her, still perfectly courteous. “Miss Bai, this way, please.”
Bai Mengmeng took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. “The rest of you, step back — I have something to say to Prince Yao!”
But the guards showed no further courtesy. The two of them immediately seized her by both arms and began dragging her toward the exit — these were indeed Jun Beiyue’s own men, equally disinclined toward idle talk.
“Let go of me!”
“Jun Beiyue, I am the Empress of Eastern Qin’s inside agent — you should know exactly what benefit I can bring you!”
“Jun Beiyue, I know so many of the Empress of Eastern Qin’s secrets — is this really the attitude you’ll take toward someone who can hand you every kind of intelligence?”
“Jun Beiyue, are you even listening? Jun Beiyue!”
Bai Mengmeng was so furious she was practically stomping her feet, but covered in wounds as she was, she was no match for the guards. Just as she was being dragged to the entrance, she finally couldn’t hold back any longer. Her furious tone shifted entirely into pleading. “Prince Yao, I beg you, for my adoptive father’s sake, please help me. The Empress of Eastern Qin and I have a five-day agreement — if there’s no action within five days, she will absolutely not spare me!”
Indeed, the Empress of Eastern Qin had repeatedly, urgently instructed her that action must be taken within five days — after all, the Empress had made a wager with Crown Prince Minhan!
If she failed to complete the task the Empress had assigned her, then within these next few days, she would certainly die.
Given Jun Beiyue’s current attitude, she no longer dared hope he would protect her at all!
She had come to negotiate with Jun Beiyue brimming with confidence, armed with every bargaining chip she thought she had, believing herself valuable, believing this man would gradually come to make an exception for her.
She never imagined he simply wouldn’t buy any of it, forcing her instead to turn around and beg him.
Hearing Bai Mengmeng’s plea, Jun Beiyue finally signaled the guards to stop — this was exactly the outcome he wanted.
He wanted precisely to tell this woman that she wasn’t nearly as valuable as she imagined herself to be!
Once the guards withdrew, Bai Mengmeng, aching all over, no longer dared to sit. She simply stood before Jun Beiyue.
If she could still manage to smile brightly now, Jun Beiyue might truly have come to admire her from the bottom of his heart. But she could no longer summon a smile at all.
She kept taking slow, deep breaths, clearly forcing herself to hold back, forcing herself to stay calm.
Jun Beiyue didn’t even bother speaking first, waiting instead for Bai Mengmeng to explain herself.
“Prince Yao, the Empress of Eastern Qin has a five-day wager with Crown Prince Minhan. If there’s no movement from our forces after five days, the Empress will agree to His Highness Minhan’s withdrawal, and from then on, everything will follow His Highness’s decisions. But if our forces make a move within these five days, Crown Prince Minhan will abandon his plan to withdraw and agree to hold firm alongside the Empress of Eastern Qin to the bitter end,” Bai Mengmeng said flatly.
“She had you set the fire to sow chaos in the ranks?” Jun Beiyue finally spoke.
Bai Mengmeng nodded. “My lord is astute. Setting the fire was never truly the goal — she wanted to sow discord among the troops, to drive a wedge between you and my adoptive father. I have quite a few people planted in my adoptive father’s camp. Once this succeeded, I would have had them incite my adoptive father into launching an attack first.”
Hearing this, Jun Beiyue’s eyes narrowed sharply. If he hadn’t stayed on his guard, hadn’t given the matter that extra measure of caution, the army’s morale might already have been thrown into complete chaos by now.
And with morale in total disarray, if General White Tiger — as head of the Three Great Tiger Armies — had then acted rashly and deployed troops on his own, wouldn’t the entire army have descended into even greater chaos?
Seeing Jun Beiyue’s narrowed, piercing gaze, Bai Mengmeng couldn’t help feeling a flicker of fear despite herself, involuntarily taking a step back, and quickly added, “My lord, I propose we turn the tables and use this against her — spread false word that General White Tiger and you had a serious falling out because of me. On the fifth day, we let General White Tiger lead the charge, with the other two Tiger Armies lying in ambush. Once the Empress of Eastern Qin sends out her troops, we can wipe them out in a single stroke!”
The moment she said this, Jun Beiyue finally raised his eyes to look at her. Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, Bai Mengmeng hurried to add, “My lord, if you don’t believe me, you may confine me here under guard right now!”
Though frightened, Bai Mengmeng was still running her own calculations — regardless of everything else, she genuinely hoped to remain in Jun Beiyue’s camp. After all, that had always been her true objective.