While Baili Weisheng was still frantically counting on his fingers trying to work out the timeline, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, consumed by worry for their son, had already rushed out of the music room. After a good while of calculation, though he could hardly believe it himself, Baili Weisheng was forced to accept the truth—by his best estimate, the time they’d spent within the illusion realm meant that, out here in the real world, an entire decade had passed!
Ten years—what did that even mean?
When they’d left, Xiong Xiaobao had been around seven years old—which meant that now, he’d be seventeen!
Good heavens, he’d already come of age! He might very well have already… already started a family of his own by now!
Baili Weisheng shuddered violently from head to toe, his face draining of all color, and he tore off after them, shouting, “Hey, wait, you two! Wait just a moment!”
“Jun Beiyue! Something’s happened, something terrible! Wait for me!”
Baili Weisheng truly couldn’t imagine whether he himself could handle the shock of seeing a teenage Xiong Xiaobao, let alone imagine what kind of reaction Ziqing might have upon seeing the son she’d once cradled in her arms suddenly all grown up!
But age wasn’t even the main concern here!
The real problem was that they’d vanished without a word for over a decade—the real problem was that they’d left an entire empire the size of Da Zhou in the hands of a mere child. How exactly had Xiong Xiaobao managed, all alone, to make his way through these past ten-plus years?
At this thought, Baili Weisheng shouted even louder, “Jun Beiyue! Han Ziqing, could you two please calm down for a moment!”
Unfortunately, the couple couldn’t hear him at all—they’d already run far ahead!
Ziqing and Jun Beiyue flew forward using their lightness techniques, heading straight toward the main hall of Prince Yao’s estate. But just as they were about to clear the bamboo grove, they heard a sharp, scolding voice ring out from not far beyond the grove.
Hearing that voice, both Jun Beiyue and Ziqing came to an abrupt halt, exchanging a glance, both suspicious.
That sharp voice belonged to a woman—a young woman, by the sound of it—and one could tell instantly, just from her tone, that she carried herself with arrogance and cutting sharpness, apparently scolding some servant.
This was, after all, Prince Yao’s own estate—aside from Ziqing herself, how could there possibly be a second woman here speaking with such an imperious, mistress-of-the-house tone toward the servants? Even Ziqing herself had never once spoken that way.
Who could this woman be?
Jun Beiyue and Ziqing exchanged another glance, instinctively slowing their pace.
Yet when the two of them finally emerged from the bamboo grove, they found a young woman with one foot pressed against a maidservant’s face, calmly and unhurriedly toying with her own crimson-painted fingernails, while all around her—every maid, every guard, even several shadow guards—knelt on the ground!
This young woman looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, strikingly beautiful beyond words—phrases like “a beauty to make fish sink and geese fall” or “to put the moon to shame and flowers to blush” seemed insufficient to describe her. Her skin looked as though it had been bathed in milk, fair and delicate; her features were exquisite yet carried an unmistakable air of grandeur, flawless beyond reproach—especially those almond-shaped phoenix eyes, which seemed almost capable of ensnaring anyone who looked into them. Even when she wasn’t looking at you directly, one somehow felt as though those eyes were sending secret, seductive signals your way.
She wore a form-fitting pink robe with fitted sleeves, paired with a white gauze skirt scattered with flower patterns underneath, a vivid purple sash tied into a large butterfly bow at her waist, her hair pinned low with a purple hairpin dangling at an angle—combined with her alluring figure, the overall effect was one of bewitching, seductive beauty, verging almost on the scandalous.
Such a young woman, so hauntingly seductive she practically seemed like some kind of temptress incarnate—even Ziqing couldn’t help but glance over at Jun Beiyue, worried her own man might fall under her spell.
Yet when Ziqing looked, she found Jun Beiyue’s gaze fixed entirely on the shadow guards nearby, his brow furrowed tight—not with confusion, but with clear displeasure.
Jun Beiyue’s shadow guards never knelt before outsiders. Who exactly was this woman, that she could command such reverent submission from his own shadow guards?
Clearly, no one present had yet noticed that Ziqing and Jun Beiyue were standing right there nearby.
The entire scene was utterly silent, as though no one dared even breathe too loudly while the woman remained unspoken.
The maidservant lying on the ground, her face pinned beneath the woman’s foot, was so terrified tears streamed down her face, yet she didn’t dare let out even the faintest whimper.
Amid the silence, the woman spoke at last, her voice languid. “Well? Speak.”
The maidservant, her cheek pressed painfully against the ground, could barely manage to speak at all, yet dared not delay for even a moment, pleading urgently, “Please spare me, Consort Li! This servant knows she erred, knows it was a grave mistake!”
Consort Li?
Ziqing turned to look at Jun Beiyue in utter disbelief, her gaze practically demanding an explanation—since when had the estate acquired another consort?
Yet Jun Beiyue remained just as tight-lipped and puzzled, a single thought flashing through his mind—Xiong Xiaobao—only for him to immediately dismiss the idea himself.
Whether judging by this woman’s temperament or her age, it simply couldn’t be possible!
And if she belonged to some other prince’s harem, which one of them would dare come throw their weight around at Prince Yao’s own estate?
“I told you to repeat exactly what you said a moment ago—I didn’t tell you to beg for mercy…” Consort Li continued, still perfectly composed, but then, unexpectedly, her tone suddenly turned sharp and cold. “Are you going to say it or not?”
That sudden sharpness sent every servant kneeling on the ground instantly ducking their heads down low!
Ziqing froze. Back when she herself had lived at Prince Yao’s estate, not even Jun Beiyue’s own personal shadow guards, let alone the lowest gatekeepers, had ever shown such reverent, submissive obedience—not even toward her.
Ziqing instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes as she began studying the woman nearby, from head to toe.
Who exactly was this woman? Was this some kind of challenge to her own position as mistress of Prince Yao’s estate?
“This servant will say it! This servant will say it right now… please spare me, my lady, this servant just said…”
Hearing the maidservant finally agreeing to speak, Consort Li eased the pressure of her foot slightly, giving the girl some relief.
“This servant just said… just said… that this bamboo grove is… is… is…”
At this point, the maidservant grew visibly even more terrified, stammering, utterly unable to get the words out after “is.”
“I see you really won’t shed tears until you see your own coffin,” Consort Li said icily. Without warning, she suddenly lifted her foot high, and the tall wooden clog favored by court women came crashing down viciously onto the side of the maidservant’s face!
“Ahh…!”
A miserable scream echoed through the entire bamboo grove. Consort Li’s foot remained pressed against the maidservant’s face—no blood, no visible wound, yet anyone could imagine just how excruciating that pain must have been; that force alone could well have crushed the cheekbone entirely!
Ziqing, enraged, was about to charge forward, but Jun Beiyue grabbed her arm and pulled her back instead, signaling for her to hold steady—only then did she notice the maidservant beneath that foot had already fainted from the pain.
Consort Li arched her phoenix brows disdainfully and released the maidservant, revealing half her face now completely swollen and bruised black and blue, a large swath of discoloration spreading across it—her looks, effectively ruined for good.
The scene grew even more deathly silent, and as Consort Li’s phoenix eyes swept across the gathered crowd, everyone present grew visibly more anxious, terrified of becoming the next target.
Suddenly, Consort Li stepped down hard on the hand of a shadow guard pinned to the ground. In that instant, Ziqing instinctively looked up at Jun Beiyue, only to find his handsome face already darkened with fury—yet he still gave nothing away outwardly.
But to everyone’s shock, the shadow guard didn’t resist at all—didn’t even let out so much as a grunt of pain. Instead, he actually lay flat on his own accord, slowly turning his cheek to press it against the ground, allowing Consort Li to plant her foot squarely on the side of his face!
Regardless of Jun Beiyue’s reaction, Ziqing herself sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, her heart pounding with alarm. “Who on earth gave her… this kind of outrageous authority?!”