Jun Beiyue’s words didn’t just startle Madam Jinjiao—they startled everyone present.
Xiong Xiaobao nearly toppled off his shoulder!
“Father, negotiate… what do you mean?”
After all, across the entire continent of Longyuan, to this day, not a single nation had ever dared formally raise a demand for negotiation with the Nanzhao royal family!
Ziqing, too, was shocked. When it came to Nanzhao, they had always avoided showing off their strength—dodging when they could, steering clear whenever possible.
And Jun Beiyue had never been a reckless man.
Facing everyone’s shock, Jun Beiyue showed little expression, saying calmly, “Hand over whoever inside has been assisting Xuanyuan Lige, or I’ll send shadow guards across the border to search.”
“Jun Beiyue…” Ziqing said, worry plain in her voice.
Wasn’t this an outright provocation to the King of Nanzhao?
For a nation with so many formalities required just to cross its border, sending troops directly across to search wasn’t the rhythm of a declaration of war—what else could it possibly be?
The King of Nanzhao would surely be furious, would surely refuse.
Jun Beiyue was giving himself a pretext—a pretext to invade Nanzhao!
Though they’d already laid gunpowder along the border, all of that was purely for defense, not meant for provocation.
Ziqing knew war with Nanzhao was ultimately unavoidable, but she’d never expected it to come at a moment when the timing wasn’t yet ripe.
“Prince Yao, this isn’t wise!” Madam Jinjiao said earnestly. Anxious as she was for her son, she still understood the stakes.
To her surprise, Jun Beiyue said, “What I’m looking for isn’t just Baili Weisheng—it’s Xuanyuan Lige as well.”
At those words, Ziqing froze.
Jun Beiyue never went back to hunt down a defeated enemy who’d already fled the field.
That he wanted to find Xuanyuan Lige could only mean one thing—playing “Parting Sorrow” required Xuanyuan Lige.
So this was his true purpose all along.
Ziqing unconsciously tightened her grip on Jun Beiyue’s hand, realizing belatedly—this man wasn’t being reckless at all. He was doing all of this for her.
Thinking it over carefully—how many of the wars fought across the continent of Longyuan hadn’t been because of her?
From the war among Xichu, Dongqin, and Da Zhou over the Three Realms Territory, from the moment she’d been taken as a hostage—every single battle this man had fought since then had been tied to her!
“For you, nothing needs preparing,” Jun Beiyue said earnestly, turning his hand to grip hers tightly instead.
“I promised you—the matter of the duet, you don’t need to trouble yourself over it. I’ll handle it,” Jun Beiyue said seriously.
He had made this promise back when he first learned the secret of the fourteen notes!
No one in this world would be less willing than him to see Ziqing and Xuanyuan Lige play in perfect harmony together.
But as long as Ziqing needed it, he didn’t mind.
He was even willing to work hard to give Ziqing a reason to play alongside Xuanyuan Lige willingly, without guilt.
As long as… she needed it.
Baili Weisheng and Meng Wanyue had still not turned up, and there were only two possibilities—either both sides had been mutually destroyed, or both had fallen into Xuanyuan Lige’s hands.
He wanted to find Xuanyuan Lige, to give him one more chance—to have the two of them fight it out properly!
He wanted to beat Xuanyuan Lige until the man was utterly convinced, so that the duet would be played for both of them together, not for Ziqing alone.
He thought that a duet like that might sit easier with Ziqing’s heart.
Ziqing looked at the man before her, her heart both warmed and aching, overflowing entirely with emotion—this man always doted on her like this, heedless of the consequences.
Even facing his own romantic rival, he still indulged her so completely.
“All right! Let’s prepare for war,” Ziqing said, nodding firmly. With those words from Jun Beiyue, she was ready to go all in.
But just as they’d made their decision, a guard suddenly came rushing over in a great hurry!
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!”
Uh… shouting like that in the dead of night—since when had Jun Beiyue’s soldiers gotten so worked up?
“What are you yelling about? What happened?” Yingzi immediately stepped forward, grabbing the man as he rushed over, scolding him sharply.
“Meng… Meng… Miss Meng and Young Master Baili…”
Before he could finish, everyone nearly shouted in unison, “What did you say?”
“Meng… Meng…” the attendant panted, stuck on the word “Meng” for what felt like forever.
No one dared make a sound, giving him all the time he needed to catch his breath.
But while the attendant was still stuck on “Meng,” everyone suddenly saw Meng Duo’er walking toward them alone!
“Ahh…” Xiong Xiaobao screamed in fright. Surely they weren’t dreaming!
Everyone had been so anxious about how to find them—and now this woman had just come walking back on her own?
Wait—where was Baili Weisheng?
Just as everyone stood frozen, Madam Jinjiao was the first to rush forward, gripping Meng Duo’er’s shoulders with both hands, asking urgently, “Where’s Weisheng?”
It was only after asking that Madam Jinjiao noticed Meng Duo’er’s small face was streaked with tears and terror.
Realizing she’d frightened the girl, she softened her tone. “Where’s Weisheng?”
If even this foolish girl had managed to make it back, then surely that crafty devil Baili Weisheng couldn’t have run into anything too serious.
Everyone else gathered around too, but the moment Meng Duo’er saw them all, her tears only flowed harder.
“You… say something first, don’t just cry!” Madam Jinjiao couldn’t help herself.
This girl was fine in every other way, except for this one flaw—she burst into tears at the drop of a hat.
“Baili Weisheng, he… he…”
The moment Meng Duo’er started to speak, everyone held their breath, terrified that any misstep might set her off again, leaving her as speechless with fright as the guard had been.
Finally, amid everyone’s tense anticipation, Meng Duo’er got the words out. “He… he’s right at the gate!”
The moment she said it, Madam Jinjiao and Xiong Xiaobao both bolted straight for the front gate.
And almost simultaneously, Meng Duo’er finally broke down completely. “He’s lost his memory! He can’t remember anything! He doesn’t recognize anyone at all!”
Baili Weisheng remembered nothing at all. The one saving grace was that he still knew the road from Nanzhao to Da Zhou like the back of his hand.
Otherwise, Meng Duo’er wouldn’t have known how to escape Nanzhao at all—heaven only knew how at a loss she’d felt these past few days, dealing with a Baili Weisheng who’d lost every memory he had!
Seeing Ziqing and the others, Meng Duo’er felt a string wound tight in her chest finally loosen.
But upon hearing the words “lost his memory,” Ziqing and the rest were all struck utterly dumb.
Lost his memory?
What did that mean?
This… this was far too sudden. What on earth had happened?
Before anyone could recover, a scream rang out from Xiong Xiaobao at the gate. “Ahh…”
Everyone rushed over at once, and upon seeing what awaited them, froze completely.
Ziqing even felt a bit dazed, as though she’d been transported back several years, to when she’d first met Baili Weisheng.
His smile had been clean and pure, gentle and refined, humble and courteous—like a scholar who’d just walked out of an academy.
And now, that very same smile sat on Baili Weisheng’s face.
Even though his robes were disheveled, even though his hair was tousled and his appearance thoroughly bedraggled—
his posture, his smile, his eyes, were all so composed, so much the picture of a modest gentleman, gentle and refined.
This was, through and through, a true scholar.
But not the wretched scholar they knew.
In his eyes, there was no cunning, no mockery, no arrogance—only genuine, unadorned humility.
For a long moment, no one could recover, no one could accept what stood before them. Under everyone’s stares, Baili Weisheng began to grow uneasy. After a moment’s hesitation, he straightened his robes and hair with great seriousness, then stepped forward and bowed politely to everyone. “Everyone, this humble scholar… offers his greetings.”