Don’t dare?

Chu Feiyan was pushed entirely over the edge, throwing her head back with a laugh. “Han Ziqing, fine, let’s wager. What are the stakes?”

Only then did Ziqing look up. “Princess Imperial, no need for stakes. If you dare, by the rules governing peace negotiations across the continent of Longyuan, you’ll never set foot back in Western Chu for the rest of your life.”

Was Ziqing threatening her?

No — she was simply stating a fact.

Anyone who initiated violence during a negotiation was, by the established rules, required to remain a hostage for life, to guarantee the agreement’s validity!

At those words, Chu Feiyan snapped back to her senses at once, flinging the short blade away, sending it clattering far across the floor.

If Ziqing hadn’t reminded her, her fury would have found its outlet, and she’d have been free to teach this woman a brutal lesson.

But Ziqing had deliberately provoked her rage to its absolute peak — and then, just as suddenly, slammed the brakes, reminding her of the dire consequences.

All that pent-up fury, having reached its very limit, now lodged itself squarely in Chu Feiyan’s chest, choking her so badly she instinctively pressed a hand to her heart, the rage neither released nor subsiding, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

And in that very moment, Ziqing was still smiling. “Princess Imperial, I bet you wouldn’t dare — and look, you really didn’t.”

At last, that pent-up breath lodged entirely in Chu Feiyan’s throat, her face draining to a ghostly white, and without warning, she coughed up a mouthful of blood, finally breaking free of the choking fury. Her once-radiant beauty had entirely drained away, and she staggered backward several steps in disarray, collapsing heavily into her chair, too shaken even to spare Ziqing another glance, gasping desperately for fresh air. Had she not managed to catch her breath in time, she might well have become the greatest laughingstock in the history of Longyuan diplomacy.

She’d meant to provoke Han Ziqing into striking first — and instead, she’d very nearly fallen into the woman’s trap herself.

She was going to be the first peace envoy in history to nearly choke to death on her own rage!

Chu Feiyan, still catching her breath, no longer wore her earlier arrogance — her eyes now watched Ziqing with wary vigilance. If she’d merely wished her dead back at the hunting grounds of Da Zhou, this time, she was determined to kill her outright.

Han Ziqing — just you wait. I couldn’t touch you at the negotiating table, but one day, you’ll die without even knowing how it happened.

Ziqing glanced at her once, entirely unbothered, calmly smoothing out her robes. Though her birth was far humbler than Chu Feiyan’s, her bearing and conduct far surpassed the other woman’s breeding.

“Princess Imperial, I’ll take my leave.”

With that, she rose and, saying nothing further, strode toward the door.

This time, Chu Feiyan simply glared at her, making no move to stop her — until, just as Ziqing’s feet crossed the threshold, Chu Feiyan suddenly called out, “Oh, right!”

Ziqing paid her no mind. Having lost to her twice already, she had no interest in wasting further time on this woman.

But to her surprise, Chu Feiyan chased after her all the way to the door, still shouting, “Oh, right, Han Ziqing — there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you!”

Ziqing ignored her entirely, continuing forward, while Chu Feiyan burst into laughter right there at the doorway — had the courtyard not been empty, a crowd would surely have gathered by now.

At last, having laughed her fill, Chu Feiyan called out loudly, “Han Ziqing — will Jun Beiyue ever touch you, in this lifetime?”

Though she was already quite far away, Ziqing still heard it clearly.

She truly didn’t care that much, truly wasn’t the sort of person who could be shattered by such things — and yet, unmistakably, involuntarily, Ziqing found herself stopping in her tracks.

Would Jun Beiyue ever touch her, in this lifetime?

“Han Ziqing, will he? If he ever does touch you someday, you’d better tell me! I’ll be waiting — waiting to finally give up on him! Ha ha!”

Seeing Ziqing stop, Chu Feiyan’s laughter grew even more brazen. “Han Ziqing, why have you stopped? Why don’t you turn around and let this princess get a good look at you — are you still smiling?”

At last, she’d found the wound. So this really was this woman’s weakness after all! So she really did love Jun Beiyue!

“Ha ha, Han Ziqing, let me tell you — I’ve loved him for so many years, no one understands him better than I do. He has a purity complex, you know. He’ll never touch you, not in this lifetime. Give up on that hope, and just obediently work yourself to death for him!”

With that, Chu Feiyan finally felt fully satisfied, striding out through the hall’s threshold, walking toward Ziqing.

Ziqing still hadn’t moved, remaining exactly where she’d stopped.

Chu Feiyan came to a halt right behind her, and said, low, “Han Ziqing, let’s make a wager. If he ever touches you, I’ll willingly become your servant, serve you for the rest of my life! If he never does, I won’t ask anything of you at all!”

With that, she extended her thumb toward Ziqing, holding out her hand beside her.

No one could tell what expression crossed Ziqing’s face in that moment. Only that, for a very long time, she made no move at all.

Chu Feiyan, with rare patience, waited and waited — but Ziqing still didn’t move. At last, she scoffed disdainfully, shoving Ziqing roughly aside as she strode off without a backward glance.

Ziqing kept her head lowered, very low, her eyes downcast, her expression unreadable — only her fingertip, still resting on the scorpion ring, continued its slow, unconscious tracing.

No telling how long passed before she finally moved, pressing the hand wearing the ring lightly against her chest, her mind gone utterly blank. She, always so quick-witted, so sharp-tongued, suddenly found herself with no answer at all for Chu Feiyan.

Her heart had been racing wildly this entire time, refusing to settle no matter what — why did she feel this faint, suffocating tightness in her chest?

However cutting the words, hadn’t she always laughed and shot them right back before?

However transactional this relationship truly was, hadn’t she understood that far better than Chu Feiyan ever could?

Never mind him — even an ordinary commoner, an ordinary man, would care about such a thing. She knew that well enough. That was precisely why she’d always kept her distance from him.

She could have laughed off Chu Feiyan’s taunt so easily!

So why, just now, had she felt so utterly, so desperately unwilling to answer?

In this moment, she felt as lost and bewildered as a child who’d wandered off the path, not understanding what was wrong with her — for the first time in her life, so utterly indecisive.

She lifted her head slowly, staring blankly toward the door outside, and at last her small hand slipped down from her chest, and she murmured to herself, “Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life with him?”

She didn’t answer her own question, simply walking slowly toward the door.

That man had promised he’d be waiting for her outside.

But Ziqing had barely taken a few steps before she stopped short. At the sight before her, her chest clenched tight, and she nearly couldn’t breathe.

“No!”

The word burst from her lips, and she repeated it again and again, answering her own hesitant question with sudden, fierce resolve. “No. No. No…”

No. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with him.

On the stone steps outside the government hall gate, Jun Beiyue had kept his word, and was indeed sitting there, waiting for her.

But seated right beside him was a woman in blue, seemingly pleading with him about something, her arm affectionately looped through his, pouting and coquettish.

That shade of blue — Ziqing recognized it instantly. It was the same precious fabric that had been offered as tribute shortly after she’d first arrived at the Prince Yao estate — cool in summer, warm in winter, the rare golden silkworm silk. There had only been that single bolt of it, and Hongyi had mentioned more than once wanting to ask the prince for some to make her an undergarment, but had never managed to get it.

Had it been given to her instead?

Her — who exactly was she?