“Father, calm yourself, don’t let your health suffer. Ninth Sister’s matter still needs you to see it through!” Sheng Zimo hurried to advise.
Old Master Sheng let out a long sigh, and only after a good while did he calm himself. “Zimo, this inside traitor… who could it possibly be?”
Both Madam Sheng and Old Master Sheng suspected an inside traitor had abducted Baili Xiaosheng—this time bore too close a resemblance to what had happened over a decade ago, someone simply vanishing without a single trace.
Aside from an inside collaborator, no one else could possibly have the means to spirit someone away from within the Sheng estate without a sound.
Only, that earlier incident had been investigated for over a decade, and still no one had ever been identified.
And now, this matter too had yielded not a single clue.
Old Master Sheng was certain of one thing—this inside traitor had to be someone extremely familiar with the Sheng estate, even someone with real standing within the family.
Hearing his father’s question, Sheng Zimo didn’t answer right away, his brow furrowing tightly, his expression complicated as he looked at his father.
After a long while, seeing him say nothing, Old Master Sheng shook his head helplessly. “Go on, then. This matter… keep it quiet for now, and… don’t let word reach Da Zhou either.”
Sheng Zimo raised no objection, nodding obediently. “Father, rest early. Ninth Sister has good fortune on her side—nothing will happen to her.”
Old Master Sheng sighed again and again, saying nothing more, gesturing for him to leave.
Only then did Sheng Zimo withdraw, but the moment he stepped through the doorway, his gentle, deferential manner vanished entirely, replaced by a faint, sinister smile curling at his lips—subtle, understated, and yet, in the moonlight, it carried something chillingly menacing.
Old Master Sheng could never have imagined that within the entire Sheng family, the person most intimately familiar with the estate… was him; the person with the most real power… was also him!
And over a decade ago, the one who had taken Baili Xiaosheng away… had also been him!
“Father, Mother, please do take good care of yourselves.” Sheng Zimo said flatly, then strode off.
Baili Xiaosheng’s whereabouts remained unknown, and crisis loomed within the Sheng family—yet how could Ziqing and the others, far off at the southern border, possibly know any of this!
After several days’ wait, following the Hundred Clans Assembly, the King of Nanzhao proved unable to hold out any longer, just as expected—not only did he publicly reveal the truth of the lonely island, vindicating its people, but he also issued a proclamation to the world, apologizing to the lonely island in the name of the Nanzhao royal family!
The proclamation reached Ziqing and Jun Beiyue first, and at last, it drew a faint smile from Ziqing.
An outcome like this was better than no outcome at all, wasn’t it?
Ziqing took a deep breath and handed the proclamation to Jun Beiyue. “Keep this somewhere safe…”
Then, thinking better of it, she reconsidered. “I’ll keep it myself.”
Jun Beiyue said nothing, only smiling. Jue Mingzi watched eagerly but didn’t dare ask for it either—all he hoped for now was that Ziqing would go back to Da Zhou with Jun Beiyue, properly support him there, and talk him out of this notion of bonding with the blood zheng and learning the fingering for “Parting Sorrow.”
And yet, Jue Mingzi clearly still didn’t understand Jun Beiyue at all!
Jun Beiyue’s intention to bond with the blood zheng, to learn “Parting Sorrow”—everyone present knew of it, save for Ziqing herself.
Only, no one dared tell Ziqing. Not even Xiong Xiaobao, who Jun Beiyue doted on more than anyone, dared breathe a word of it.
“Someone, order the withdrawal—we return to Da Zhou!” Jun Beiyue commanded coldly.
News that should have thrilled everyone drew barely any reaction at all—everyone present was too weighed down by their own thoughts.
If it had been any other time, Ziqing would surely have noticed something was off by now, but these past few days, her own mind had been so heavy, her own spirits so low, that she’d had no attention left to spare for anyone else.
After the withdrawal came the time to part ways.
Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan were the ones most reluctant to leave, and yet also the ones who most had to.
“Ah, if only we could go back to the capital together with you.” Situ Haonan said, sighing.
Yelu Qianqian sat beside Ziqing, wanting badly to console her, but setting aside the fact that she was hopeless at comforting people, even if she had been good at it, Ziqing hadn’t given her the chance!
From the very start, Ziqing had simply kept smiling faintly, as though nothing at all had happened.
Before Yelu Qianqian could even open her mouth, Ziqing said flatly, “Go on back. Xijing can’t do without you both.”
Yelu Qianqian had no choice but to nod. If anyone could talk this woman around, offer her real comfort, it could only be Jun Beiyue anyway!
“Mm, let’s head back! You two should return to Da Zhou as well—Haonan’s been waiting for Beiyue to ascend the throne for years now!” Yelu Qianqian could only put it this way, gently.
Forget the lonely island, forget Xuanyuan Lige—be like Baili Weisheng, forget everything, go back to Da Zhou, and fight for the future that belonged to them!
The moment Yelu Qianqian thought of Jun Beiyue ascending the throne, of Da Zhou ruling over the whole realm, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Of course, she also had reason to be grateful—if not for this bond between them, Xijing too would surely have fallen under Jun Beiyue’s rule sooner or later!
Hearing Yelu Qianqian put it this way, Jue Mingzi seized the opening at once. “Yes, yes! Beiyue, you should return to the capital and take up the duties that are truly yours!”
Ziqing, beside him, said nothing, but nodded repeatedly. She knew she’d kept this man waiting far too long already—it was time to let him soar freely toward the sky that was rightfully his.
And yet Jun Beiyue avoided the subject entirely, draping an arm over Situ Haonan’s shoulder and walking outside. “Come on, I’ll see you off.”
The moment the two of them stepped through the gate, Situ Haonan lowered his voice, getting straight to the point. “Jue Mingzi told me the blood zheng isn’t easy to bond with at all. It might take you decades.”
“Xuanyuan Lige only needed a little over ten years. Why would this king need decades?” Jun Beiyue shot back coldly.
“That’s different! Xuanyuan Lige had natural talent for it, and besides, the blood zheng hadn’t been bonded to anyone for three hundred years before it fell into his hands!” Situ Haonan said urgently.
The blood zheng had originally belonged to a Nanzhao musician. That musician had been dead for over three hundred years, and the blood essence within the instrument had grown extremely faint by the time it changed hands.
But now, everything was completely different. The blood zheng was saturated entirely with Xuanyuan Lige’s own blood essence, even carrying traces of his resentment.
If it were merely a matter of decades, that would be one thing—but the real issue was that bonding with the blood zheng carried genuine danger, even the risk of dying from complete depletion of one’s own vital essence.
Jun Beiyue said nothing, walking steadily onward with his head down. Situ Haonan grew even more anxious, about to press further, when Ziqing and the others caught up to them.
In the end, all he could offer, helplessly, was a single warning: “Please, think this through carefully!”
To his surprise, Jun Beiyue answered with an equally brief reply: “Silence, permanently.”
“You—!” Situ Haonan choked with frustration, but the moment he turned and saw the icy look on Jun Beiyue’s face, he shut his mouth at once.
After all these years as brothers-in-arms, how could he not know this man’s temperament by now!
Once he’d made up his mind about something, even knowing full well it was wrong, he would never turn back, never change course.
Beside them, everything had already been prepared. Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian would head west, while the rest of their group would head north.
Yelu Qianqian walked alongside Ziqing, the words rising to her lips several times over, and yet, in the end, she never dared speak them.
She knew—if she let slip that Jun Beiyue intended to bond with the blood zheng, the ones to suffer for it could very well be all of Xijing!
However torn she felt, she still obediently mounted her horse alongside Situ Haonan!
“Let’s go!” Situ Haonan waved his hand, never one to dwell on partings, and Yelu Qianqian gazed longingly at Ziqing for a long, long moment before finally following him away.
It was at this point that Madam Jinjiao returned.