Faced with Yelu Qianqian’s enthusiasm, Ziqing could only listen attentively.
Yelu Qianqian, seemingly worried others nearby might overhear, lowered her voice and said, “First, we get a full picture of what Consort Li’s really like, and then… heh heh, send my son in to handle it. If he can’t win your boy over, at least we can take care of Consort Li.”
“You mean, drive Consort Li to be unfaithful?” Ziqing asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yelu Qianqian nodded firmly.
“Do you really think Consort Li is that foolish?” Ziqing countered.
“Whether she’s foolish or not, I couldn’t say, but my son… heh heh, in looks and talent, there isn’t a young woman in this world who could resist him!” Though Yelu Qianqian appeared considerably older than Ziqing by now, she still retained a heart even more naively optimistic than Ziqing’s own, speaking with unmistakable pride.
Ziqing shot her a flat look. “So you’re saying Consort Li would think your son is better than mine?”
“I… uh…” Yelu Qianqian immediately found herself at a loss, unable to respond for a long moment.
How could Consort Li possibly abandon the towering shade of Jun Buli’s protection to throw herself at the Crown Prince of Western Jing instead?
It wasn’t that Ziqing meant to discourage Yelu Qianqian—it was simply that the gap between their two situations was impossible to ignore. One was still merely a crown prince, while the other was already a sovereign emperor; one ruled over the Kingdom of Western Jing, while the other commanded dominance over the entire continent of Longyuan.
There truly was no reason for Consort Li to be unfaithful!
Rebuffed like this, Yelu Qianqian still refused to give up. After a moment of silence, she tried again, “How about this, then! Let me just… take care of Consort Li for you…”
She left the rest of her sentence unspoken, instead narrowing her eyes and making a slicing gesture across her throat.
“I can’t do that myself—can you?” Ziqing countered again. Consort Li was someone Jun Buli was determined to protect—she wouldn’t be easy to eliminate at all. Besides, Ziqing and her son had already reached an understanding on this matter; killing Consort Li now would surely break her son’s heart.
Seeing Ziqing’s expression, Yelu Qianqian knew there was no hope left, but she still eagerly tried to come up with another scheme. Ziqing simply waved a hand to stop her. “Enough, enough. He said he wouldn’t go far—I should just let him have his freedom.”
Jun Buli had said he wouldn’t go far.
Ziqing believed that what he meant wasn’t just that he wouldn’t travel far physically, but that his heart wouldn’t drift far from her either.
And that, alone, was enough!
Her son was grown now—didn’t he have the right to keep his own secrets?
“So, will you come back to Western Jing with me?” Yelu Qianqian asked pitifully. Her situation these days was far different from before—the throne wasn’t an easy seat to hold, and countless court affairs demanded her constant attention.
In truth, she genuinely envied Ziqing, still so young, unburdened by the weight of power and authority.
“Ask him,” Ziqing said, smiling and pointing toward Jun Beiyue.
Jun Beiyue, deep in conversation with Situ Haonan at that moment, turned upon hearing his name mentioned.
The instant Yelu Qianqian caught sight of that naturally cold, handsome face, her enthusiasm instantly wilted—she didn’t need to think twice to know this man would never allow a pregnant Ziqing to travel all the way to Western Jing.
“Qianqian, let’s go!” Situ Haonan waved, beckoning her over. Ziqing laughed, knowing full well Yelu Qianqian didn’t have much time left, yet couldn’t resist teasing her anyway. “How about you come back to the capital with me instead?”
Yelu Qianqian immediately scowled, refusing to even acknowledge the jab, storming off toward Situ Haonan instead. With her back to Ziqing, she waved a hand and called out, “Pass along a message to Jun Buli for me—tell him my daughter Situ Jing’er likes him!”
“Are you sure about that?” Ziqing called out, laughing.
“Just tell him exactly that!” Yelu Qianqian said with absolute certainty. Of her twins, the daughter carried Situ Haonan’s surname, while the son carried her own.
Ziqing laughed and agreed, though she had no intention of actually delivering such a message—imagine how mortified Situ Jing’er would feel the next time she ran into Jun Buli!
Satisfied with Ziqing’s response, Yelu Qianqian finally mounted her horse, riding off together with Situ Haonan.
Once they’d seen the couple off, it was time for Ziqing and the others to depart as well. Baili Weisheng, who had remained silent throughout, finally spoke up. “Little Qingqing, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Seeing how serious he looked, even Jun Beiyue turned to him with a grave expression—after all, for Baili Weisheng to be this earnest, it had to be something significant.
“Go ahead,” Ziqing said, feeling a bit anxious herself, wondering if it had something to do with her son.
Yet to her surprise, Baili Weisheng said instead, “Little Qingqing, I’ve been thinking—once your child is born, and eventually, once your grandchildren come along too, will you… be able to keep up with it all?”
At these words, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing froze solid, almost instantly turning to stone.
After a long moment, Ziqing snapped back to herself, grabbing hold of Baili Weisheng’s collar and demanding furiously, “What exactly do you mean by that? Is Consort Li pregnant?”
It was Jun Beiyue who stayed calmer, quickly catching on. “Consort Li has been living in the Eastern Garden for quite some time now, hasn’t she? And still no sign of pregnancy?”
Hearing Jun Beiyue’s words, Ziqing finally understood what Baili Weisheng had really meant—this was, indeed, a significant point of suspicion.
“Have you discovered something?” Ziqing asked hurriedly.
“I’ve pretty much figured Consort Li out inside and out. Aside from her pretty face, there isn’t a single thing about her that measures up to my own disciple!” Baili Weisheng answered with utmost seriousness.
“And here I thought you’d been searching all this time without a single lead!” Ziqing said, somewhat exasperated—Baili Weisheng was usually quite reliable when it came to handling matters, yet whenever it involved his own disciple, he always managed to make people doubt whether she was truly his disciple at all.
“Don’t worry—as long as Shiliang is still alive, and the Xiao clan still stands, her life is guaranteed!”
The very first thing Baili Weisheng had investigated in Nanzhao was news of Shiliang. As long as the poison corpse remained alive, Baili Xiaosheng retained her usefulness, and the Xiao clan would certainly keep her alive.
What genuinely puzzled him, though, was that no matter what he tried, no matter how thoroughly he’d searched the Xiao clan’s estate and everything connected to them, he simply couldn’t uncover any further information at all.
After all, with her still in the Xiao clan’s hands, he preferred to avoid direct confrontation whenever possible. Conveniently, with Jun Buli having arrived as well, he’d taken the opportunity to have him search further, hoping it might also raise Baili Xiaosheng’s perceived value in the process.
“Whether her life is guaranteed and whether she’s living well are two entirely different matters,” Ziqing said seriously.
Baili Weisheng was just about to argue back when suddenly, a dark figure came racing swiftly toward them from a distance—none other than Yingzi!
“Master! Young Master Baili! There’s good news from Nanzhao!” Yingzi called out, too excited to catch his breath.
Everyone lit up with delight, and Baili Weisheng immediately laughed heartily. “What good news? That kid Jun Buli must actually have some real skill after all!”
Yingzi, still visibly excited, replied urgently, “It’s not the young master—it’s Miss Meng! Miss Meng found a lead!”
At this, Baili Weisheng’s excitement instantly evaporated, as though something had just occurred to him, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily. “Miss Meng… which Miss Meng… exactly?”
“Meng Duo’er!” Yingzi, oblivious to Baili Weisheng’s sudden shift in demeanor, continued excitedly. “Young Master Baili, wasn’t it her who took care of you during your memory loss? Don’t you remember?”
Baili Weisheng cleared his throat several times, then said with exaggerated seriousness, “That’s not important right now. What matters is, hurry up and tell us exactly what lead you found… alright?”