Raising an army in her husband’s stead, overthrowing the dynasty!

Such words, and Han Ziqing had actually dared to speak them aloud, in front of everyone—so treasonous, so brazenly arrogant. And yet, precisely because of this, no one dared move at all!

Jun Beiyue’s fate hung uncertain between life and death, and this woman held in her hand the very symbol of his identity, the scorpion-shaped ring! Emperor Tianhui had no grounds to seize anyone at all!

Though Jun Beiyue had fallen, though he hadn’t spoken another word, he had arranged everything so perfectly and thoroughly!

Every movement in the hall came to an abrupt halt, every restless stirring settling down at once. Ziqing’s blood-red eyes remained fierce and sharp, sweeping across everyone present, one by one.

“Physician Gu, take the prince back to the mansion. If anything goes wrong, this princess consort will have you buried alongside him!”

Her clear, ringing voice echoed throughout the entire hall, audible even outside!

This was an order—an absolute order!

The guards present, the shadow guards, even the Thirteen Riders of Youyun outside—all of them heard it.

Physician Gu froze for a moment, then stepped forward quickly, bowing respectfully with cupped hands. “Yes, princess consort!”

Physician Gu was Jun Beiyue’s personal physician, having served him since he was barely a teenager—his standing within Prince Yao’s mansion was evident from this alone.

And yet he obeyed Han Ziqing so completely! The guards, the shadow guards, the cavalry—all of them witnessed this, and how could they not look upon this woman with newfound respect, how could they not believe every word she said now!

Prince Yao wasn’t dead. Absolutely not dead!

By the time Physician Gu and Situ Haonan reached her side, Ziqing still held tightly to Jun Beiyue with one hand, yet even now she still hadn’t looked at him, still didn’t dare to look!

“Princess consort…” Physician Gu said in a low voice, clearly noticing Ziqing’s hand trembling!

An inexplicable panic rose within him. Their master’s head was lowered now, and he couldn’t see his face either—he could only see that the blood at his chest had stopped flowing, making him want to reach out and check, just to see whether his heart was still beating!

Ziqing’s blood-red eyes bore directly into Physician Gu, yet she remained frozen, seemingly waiting for him to give her some kind of assurance.

Physician Gu looked back at Ziqing as well, his clouded old eyes gradually welling with tears. Carefully, he reached out, his weathered, calloused hand slowly… slowly taking hold of Jun Beiyue’s hand.

His own hand trembled too. A simple, quiet pulse check would tell him everything, whether the man lived or died—but he hesitated for a long moment, and in the end, his fingers never pressed down. Instead, he released the hand and said loudly, “Princess consort, the prince’s pulse is in complete disarray, time is critical!”

The moment he said this, he saw clearly, unmistakably, tears bursting forth from Ziqing’s eyes like a dam suddenly breaking, blurring her vision entirely!

She finally allowed herself to let go—heaven only knew how terrified she had been that once she released her grip, she would never have another chance to hold this man again!

Thank goodness, he still had a pulse—he was truly still alive!

She still had so many, many true words left to say, words she had kept hidden for so long, and there hadn’t been time!

The score with Emperor Tianhui had been settled—but the score between the two of them remained entirely unsettled. Ever since she had crossed over into this world, she had owed him, for far, far too long!

From beginning to end, Jun Beiyue kept his head lowered, no one able to see his face—not even Ziqing herself. Everyone present immediately cleared a path.

And far beyond the gates, all the cavalry knelt on both sides. Physician Gu and Situ Haonan hurried out, supporting Jun Beiyue between them, and from a distance, this retreating figure looked so desolate, so tragic and heroic.

Ziqing watched in silence, and only after that figure had completely vanished from sight did she slowly come back to herself, drawing in a deep breath.

“Ziqing… the case… the truth of the case has already come to light. Let’s leave the judgment to Lord Huang.”

“Yes, yes, princess consort, we should hurry and go check on the prince’s condition!”

“That’s right, that’s right, someone, summon every physician in the palace to Prince Yao’s mansion at once…”

Emperor Tianhui, the various princes, even the assembled ministers, all urged her one after another.

But no matter how they urged her, Ziqing’s face remained cold and expressionless, as though she’d heard nothing at all. Her eyes lowered and composed, she swept her gaze over the assembled guards and shadow guards, one by one, and strode straight out on her own.

Seeing her about to leave, Emperor Tianhui and the others finally let out a great sigh of relief. But to everyone’s surprise, Ziqing didn’t actually leave—instead, she stopped right at the entrance.

She nodded to Commander Ouyang outside the gate, then stepped up onto the raised threshold!

At once, everyone was startled, all attention fixed on her—what was this woman about to do!

They watched as Ziqing slowly raised the scorpion-shaped ring, sweeping it slowly across the assembled Thirteen Riders of Youyun, across the guards and shadow guards inside the hall, across the assembled ministers and nobles!

She stood tall, holding the scorpion-shaped ring high above her, and in the glow of the hall’s firelight, it shimmered with a faint, dark luster, proclaiming the most exalted status, the most exalted symbol of all!

Everyone recognized this object. It had first appeared the year Prince Yao turned fifteen, returning triumphant from the northern frontier to receive Emperor Tianhui’s formal investiture, worn upon the index finger of his right hand ever since.

Many legends surrounded this scorpion-shaped ring, but everyone knew one thing for certain—it represented Jun Beiyue himself; to see it was to see Jun Beiyue in person!

Everyone watched, unable to help being drawn in by that dark, shimmering luster. Then, suddenly, Ziqing raised her right hand high and, in front of everyone, slowly slipped the ring onto her own index finger!

For a moment, everyone froze in shock—what did this woman mean by this!

Amid the hall’s total silence, Ziqing showed not the slightest trace of timidity or hurry. She gently stroked the scorpion perched upon her finger, as though caressing a lover.

A faint smile curved at her lips, seeming both helpless and self-mocking, yet also strangely content.

Finally, she lifted her head, and her faint smile turned sharp and fierce. With the hand now wearing the ring, she suddenly raised high half of a tiger-head square seal!

This was the very seal Jun Beiyue had once had her sign with Chu Feiyan to hand over to her—he had never once asked for it back.

His belongings, she truly never discarded carelessly.

At once, everyone couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath of cold air!

The scorpion-shaped ring alone was already shocking enough—and now this woman possessed this tiger-head square seal as well!

This was the very tiger tally seal commanding every last one of Jun Beiyue’s Tiger Army troops!

This woman, with her slender, delicate hand, held a scorpion ring in one and a tiger seal in the other—the weight of what she carried was nothing less than the very fate of all of Da Zhou!

Suddenly, Ziqing spoke coldly, “Prince Yao has entrusted all urgent matters entirely to this princess consort. To see this ring is to see Prince Yao himself. From this night forward, to see this princess consort is the same as seeing Prince Yao himself—this princess consort shares equal honor and equal disgrace with Prince Yao!”

The moment these words left her mouth, the entire hall fell into an even deeper silence, everyone utterly astonished—how could a mere woman possibly say such things, how could she possibly claim to represent Jun Beiyue!

After all, even the grown men present, even the most accomplished princes in the hall, all paled in comparison to Jun Beiyue—none of them would dare so much as suggest they could replace him!

And yet, at this very moment, Han Ziqing’s small, delicate frame stood amid a sea of tall, imposing figures, radiating an aura so magnificent it was impossible to ignore.

She said coldly, “Is that clear enough for all of you!”

She… she wasn’t speaking to everyone here at all—she was speaking only to the troops under Jun Beiyue’s command!

Suddenly, with a resounding “thud,” echoing both inside and outside the hall at once, Yingzi and Commander Ouyang outside the gate dropped to their knees in unison.

“This subordinate obeys!”

Each word rang out sharp and forceful, the voice clear and resonant, echoing throughout the entire hall and beyond!

At once, one after another, inside and out, the guards, the shadow guards, the cavalry all dropped to their knees together, their voices rising as one like a crashing tidal wave, echoing throughout the entire Court of Judicial Review, throughout the entire capital of Da Zhou.

“This subordinate obeys! Long live the princess consort, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!”

Without pride, without joy, Ziqing slowly raised her head, gesturing for silence, her composure so calm it was almost frightening.

Finally, she turned slowly to look at Emperor Tianhui—the score wasn’t settled yet!