The night Xiong Xiaobao left, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue didn’t go after him. Even though they both knew perfectly well the boy wouldn’t run into any real trouble, neither of them could sleep a wink that night!
Baili Weisheng, that wicked man, didn’t bother passing along Xiong Xiaobao’s message that same night. Instead, he lounged lazily up on the rooftop, gazing up at the bright, full moon, lost in thought.
He’d forgotten nearly everything that had happened during his period of amnesia, but Xiong Xiaobao’s earlier hints had stirred a faint, hazy memory—of having once asked someone about liking a certain person.
He frowned deeply, unable to recall no matter how hard he tried exactly who he’d asked.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain who he’d asked—but one thing he could be sure of: whatever “liking” had come out of his own mouth, it could only have been about Little Qingqing!
Either way, as long as it wasn’t Jun Beiyue or Little Qingqing he’d asked, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?
Ah, forget it—whatever he couldn’t remember simply hadn’t happened. He was used to letting a lot of things just rot away in his heart, unexamined. No point dwelling on it.
With that thought, he drifted off into a hazy sleep, not waking until noon. Only then did he discover that the entire Prince Yao estate was in an uproar, searching for someone everywhere.
Given Jun Beiyue’s influence across the imperial capital of Da Zhou, finding a person—let alone a single insect—should have been effortless. Yet even now, they still couldn’t locate him, which meant, without a doubt, that Xiong Xiaobao had slipped out of the city overnight.
Guards, shadow guards, maidservants, and eunuchs were rushing in and out of the estate in complete chaos.
Only then did Baili Weisheng climb down from the roof, strolling toward the main hall with a sly grin on his face. The moment he entered, he saw Jun Beiyue’s face frozen in a chilly expression, while Ziqing’s delicate brows were tightly knit.
How pitiful are the hearts of parents everywhere in this world! Even the coldest of people always carry a warm heart when it comes to their children!
Baili Weisheng smiled, sauntering elegantly over to Ziqing’s side, and asked, “Did you two have a fight? What’s got everyone up so early running around like this?”
“Xiong Bao ran away from home.”
Ziqing said flatly. They’d spent the entire morning searching everywhere they could think of, even outside the city, but there’d been no sign of him all night—that little rascal must have ridden off on some enormous beast.
If that was the case, finding him would truly be difficult.
Remembering what he’d said the night before—”Once I’m gone, I’m not coming back”—Ziqing couldn’t help but worry. That child wasn’t just stubborn, he was also fiercely proud. What if he really didn’t come back? What then?
Baili Weisheng glanced at Jun Beiyue, feigning confusion, drawing out his words. “Ran away… from home?”
Jun Beiyue and Ziqing were no fools. Hearing his reaction, the two of them immediately perked up.
Baili Weisheng doted on Xiong Xiaobao as if he were his own son—yet upon hearing he’d run away, he wasn’t the least bit worried?
There was no doubt about it—this man already knew exactly what was going on!
Ziqing shot to her feet, glaring furiously at Baili Weisheng. “Don’t tell me you’re the one who sent him off!”
Jun Beiyue, appearing behind her without anyone noticing, was even more direct. “Where is he?”
Baili Weisheng put on an innocent face. “He just said he wanted to go to Nanzhao himself, to bring Baili Xiaosheng back. How was I supposed to know that counted as running away from home?”
At these words, both Jun Beiyue and Ziqing finally relaxed.
“Nanzhao?”
“He’ll come back once he’s brought her back?”
Baili Weisheng shrugged and countered, “Of course he’ll come back once he’s got her—isn’t that kid always glued to you two, unable to bear being apart? If he doesn’t come back, where else would he go?”
Ziqing wanted to say something but held back—family scandals shouldn’t be aired to outsiders. Specifically, she’d rather Baili Weisheng not know about the embarrassing fight between Jun Beiyue and Xiong Xiaobao.
She said, somewhat awkwardly, “He’ll come back, of course he will.”
Seeing Jun Beiyue stay silent, a flicker of mischief crossed Baili Weisheng’s eyes as he added, “What, did that little brat have so little manners that he left without even telling you two?”
“Indeed, no manners at all,” Jun Beiyue could only answer this way, and immediately sought an excuse to leave. “I’m heading into the palace.”
Baili Weisheng smiled with an air of complete innocence, nodding and stepping aside to let him pass. But just as Jun Beiyue was about to step across the threshold, Baili Weisheng spoke up. “Oh, by the way… Jun Beiyue, last night Xiong Xiaobao asked me to pass along a message to you.”
The moment these words left his mouth, Jun Beiyue’s foot froze mid-air. After a moment, he turned back, his deep, hawk-like eyes narrowing slowly, radiating a dangerous aura.
But Baili Weisheng, utterly fearless, simply smiled cheerfully. “He said he was wrong, and that once he comes back, he’ll come kneel before you in person and admit his fault.”
At these words, Jun Beiyue paused, momentarily stunned, then turned to look at Ziqing instead.
Ziqing froze too, her heart gradually beginning to ache.
Fights were fights, quarrels were quarrels—but their son was still a sensible child after all!
Husband and wife exchanged a long look, and finally Ziqing smiled faintly. “Well, so be it. Let him go out and run wild for a while!”
A helpless smile touched the corner of Jun Beiyue’s lips, and all he could do was nod in agreement.
At this point, Baili Weisheng, still utterly fearless, asked, “So you really did fight last night!”
Jun Beiyue shot him a cold glance and warned, “If he hasn’t come back within half a year, this prince will be coming to you for him!”
Baili Weisheng’s mouth twitched, and he rolled his eyes repeatedly, too lazy to even respond.
Now that they knew Xiong Xiaobao’s whereabouts, both Ziqing and Jun Beiyue felt their hearts ease.
They had originally planned to play the melody Xuanyuan Lige had left behind that very morning, but this whole affair had delayed it. Now, Ziqing could finally play it with peace of mind.
A piece capable of seizing the soul and conjuring an illusion was called a demonic sound illusion piece—an extremely special kind of music. It required not only tremendous spiritual power in its composition, but also demanded that the performer be in an excellent state of mind, not only mastering the fingering and melody of the entire piece with perfect precision, but more importantly, being able to truly feel the emotion the composer meant to convey.
Only by combining both “skill” and “feeling” could the “mood” of the piece truly be conjured.
For an ordinary piece, this “mood” allowed the listener to feel the emotion of the music.
For a piece of sonic slaughter, this “mood” could draw the listener into obsession, leading them to lose their mind and their life.
And for a demonic sound illusion piece, this “mood” became an actual illusory realm—a world created by the musician.
Though she was quite certain the piece Xuanyuan Lige had left behind was a demonic sound illusion piece, Ziqing still couldn’t be entirely sure. Until the piece was actually played, could anyone truly be certain?
“Beiyue, get ready. I want to play this piece out,” Ziqing said flatly.
She had long since given up on the isolated island, and had long since accepted the reality of Lige’s passing. This was the one thing he’d left behind for her—since it had been meant for her, she naturally wanted to understand it fully.
Ziqing thought that once she played this piece through, she would finally be able to let everything go completely, and become a true, proper Princess Consort of Prince Yao.
With this thought, her heart settled even further, filled with a sense of relief, and she felt more at peace than she had in a long while.
“Let’s go to the music room,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.
The plain zither, the blood zither, and the score—all of it he had stored away in the music room, a secluded spot in the eastern garden of the Princess Consort’s quarters, specially prepared for Ziqing.
“I’ll come too. After all, it was entrusted to me as well—I want to hear it!” Baili Weisheng said with a smile, following along.