What did Ziqing want to ask?

Before she could get the words out, Jun Beiyue suddenly smiled at her. Across his pale, deathly white handsome face, his blood-smeared lips slowly bloomed into a genuine, heartfelt smile, leaving Ziqing unconsciously stunned.

She had so rarely seen this man smile; she hadn’t known he was even capable of such a pure, unguarded expression.

“Han Ziqing…” he said, smiling, as if he wanted to say something more. But the moment the words left his lips, he slowly released the hand resting on her shoulder!

Ziqing’s heart lurched in alarm, and she was about to speak, when suddenly Jun Beiyue’s entire body tilted forward toward her!

Blood suddenly surged from his mouth without warning, and this surge seemed as though it would never stop—mouthful after mouthful of blood, throwing Ziqing into instant panic. “Jun Beiyue!”

How could this be!

She knew he had been holding on through sheer willpower all along, but surely not to this extent!

What was wrong with him, what exactly was wrong with him!

“Jun Beiyue!” Ziqing cried out in alarm, immediately spreading her arms wide to catch him—and in that very embrace, her heart stopped beating entirely!

Because, in that instant of catching him, he went completely limp, his entire weight collapsing onto her!

She couldn’t see his face, couldn’t see his smile. She tilted her head back, straining with all her strength to bear his weight!

His head rested against her shoulder, so heavy it filled her with dread. “Jun Beiyue…”

The words rose to her lips, but this man had pressed a kiss against the side of her neck instead. “Shh… there’s no time left, listen to me…”

Listen to him!

What did he want to say?

Ziqing froze, not daring to make a sound. Against her ear, he was still smiling somehow. “Han Ziqing, are you…”

Ziqing stayed perfectly still, listening carefully, a thousand words forcibly caught in her throat, her own heart uncertain whether it was even still beating.

She wanted desperately to shout at this man, “Jun Beiyue, do you have any idea, I care about you, I care so, so much. If not for what happened at the House of National Beauty, even if you didn’t like me, I would have clung to you more shamelessly than Situ Xin’er ever could, I would have fought tooth and nail to keep you no matter what!”

But she didn’t dare say it. She waited with intense focus, listening, her cold eyes blazing red with terrifying intensity, silently warning everyone around them not to make a single sound.

The entire hall fell silent—no one had expected that Jun Beiyue, so cold and unyielding just moments ago, would suddenly collapse onto a woman like this!

And what’s more, he showed every sign of continuing to sink further!

Ziqing waited, and waited, but in the silence there was only Jun Beiyue’s heavy breathing, his icy-cold lips still pressed against her neck, as if about to move, yet never quite doing so!

Ziqing wanted to ask, wanted to say something to him, but still didn’t dare open her mouth, terrified that speaking might make her miss whatever he was about to say!

The weight on her grew heavier and heavier. If it were merely a weakened, exhausted person, she could surely have borne it without difficulty!

But he wasn’t merely that—he had gone completely limp, utterly collapsed. If she didn’t support him, if she didn’t hold him close, she wouldn’t even be able to keep her own footing!

What exactly did he want from her, what exactly did he want to ask—why wouldn’t he say it,

Why was it only his weak, icy-cold body continuing to sink, again and again, against her, pressing her back until she began tilting backward herself—and still he said nothing?

A sense of unease spread through her heart. In a situation like this, with this kind of weight, she should have understood exactly what this meant!

So many times before, her comrades had collapsed against her just like this—and once they collapsed, they never rose again!

But she refused to think it, didn’t dare let her mind go in that direction!

She knew—if she didn’t say it now, it would be too late. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she spoke. “Jun Beiyue, do you know…”

“Shh…”

It seemed—it seemed her voice had roused him from his fading consciousness. “Shh… there’s no time, Han Ziqing, listen to me, you…”

But instead of finishing his words, a mouthful of blood sprayed out instead, hot and thick, spreading immediately across Ziqing’s neck, trickling slowly down into her embrace.

She could only watch as her own mouth opened wide, the word “no” never quite making it out, before—with a heavy “thud”—she was forced backward, pressed down by Jun Beiyue’s weight!

He lay collapsed on top of her, his face buried against her neck. She stared up at the high ceiling above, unable to see his expression, her heart pounding wildly beneath him, refusing to still.

He didn’t move again, and neither did she. The entire hall fell silent, as though everything had frozen in place.

After a long, long while, she finally, slowly raised her hand, lifting up a scorpion-shaped ring—the symbol of Prince Yao, Jun Beiyue. To see this object was to see Prince Yao himself; throughout all of Da Zhou, indeed across the entire continent of Longyuan, there was no one who didn’t recognize it!

He wanted this thing back!

In the very instant he had collapsed, she had finally heard it.

He had said, “Han Ziqing, since you’ve already retrieved both the dagger and the ring… then… then never throw them away again, all right? That wasn’t payment… it was a gift from me to you.”

He had said, “Han Ziqing… the third task… help me protect… protect Da Zhou… for three years!”

The marble floor was so cold.

But the man lying on top of her was even colder than the floor itself. Ziqing held the scorpion-shaped ring high above her, staring at it in a daze, tears finally slipping slowly down her cheeks.

Jun Beiyue—the dagger and the ring—Ziqing had never once let go of them, not for a single day! She had carried them with her, always, without fail.

The words, left unspoken, too late to say!

Could he still hear her, even now? Why did there have to be so many misunderstandings? Why, after finally meeting someone who could take her home, who was willing to take her home, did she have to be the one to shatter this beautiful dream with a single blade?

Why!

Why had she been so foolish, why had the man in black turned out to be him! No amount of explaining, no amount of regret, could change anything now.

Finally, the tears fell, and she broke into anguished sobs. “Jun Beiyue, why!”

It was at this moment that everyone else finally snapped back to their senses.

“He’s dead!” Emperor Tianhui was the first to speak.

“Prince Yao has perished!”

“Heavens, Prince Yao has actually… perished!”

“No!” Physician Gu shouted furiously, rushing forward—only for Jun Beiyao to suddenly snatch up a nearby guard’s long sword and leap into the air to block his path!

Yingzi and Situ Haonan immediately rushed forward to intervene, shouting sharply, “Someone, protect the princess consort!”

But not a single guard or shadow guard in the hall moved. Instead, all at once, they dropped to their knees together, weeping and crying out, “Prince Yao!”

How could this be…

At that very moment, from outside the gates, the mounted cavalry too raised their voices in mournful cries, “Prince Yao! Prince Yao!”

“He’s dead, he’s dead! Seize him! Seize Han Ziqing!”

Emperor Tianhui urged desperately—Jun Beiyue was dead, Jun Beiyue must surely be dead!

There would never be a better opportunity than this. No matter how loyal these guards might be, once their master perished, their army was bound to descend into chaos!

Strike hard amid the confusion—capture the leader first, and the rest would fall in line!

But just then, Ziqing’s gaze darkened. Gritting her teeth, she braced Jun Beiyue up with one hand, and with the other, sent a sharp blade of wind flying unexpectedly straight toward Emperor Tianhui!

It struck his crown clean off in a single stroke!

For a moment, everyone froze in shock. Emperor Tianhui’s face drained completely of color, caught frozen between standing and sitting, suspended in midair.

Amid the chaos, amid the mournful cries, she held the scorpion-shaped ring high above her head, and said coldly, “Jun Beiyue isn’t dead yet—what are you all crying for!”

Not dead?

Was it true? Everyone’s gaze turned toward that pale, corpse-like handsome face—everyone except Ziqing herself, who refused to look, her hand and her heart both trembling visibly.

She cast a cold glare toward Emperor Tianhui and said sharply, “Emperor Tianhui, it was you yourself, just moments ago, who declared my husband and I innocent, over and over. If you wish to seize anyone now, you had better give this princess consort a proper reason—otherwise, don’t blame me, Han Ziqing, for raising an army in my husband’s stead and overthrowing this dynasty entirely!”

She finally understood why he had pushed himself to hold on with everything he had.

He had preserved the loyalty of the people’s hearts for himself, and secured her complete innocence!

Before he collapsed, he had created for her a perfectly legitimate opportunity—for these three years, she could move freely and boldly across the courts of Da Zhou!

But Jun Beiyue… would it really only be three years?

You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?