Immunity to all poison — the very thing most people could only dream of — was now Ziqing’s most fatal weakness.

The isolated island was a taboo subject for the Nanzhao royal family, and while others might not know it, surely the Prince of Nanzhao himself understood this matter clearly.

People with an immunity-to-all-poison constitution had only ever appeared on that isolated island!

The Prince of Nanzhao might even know exactly why such a constitution existed at all!

Now, with everyone watching, if Ziqing remained perfectly unharmed for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, wouldn’t that be as good as announcing her deepest secret to the entire world?

In the silence, Situ Haonan suddenly cried out in alarm. “The antidote! Prince of Nanzhao, there must be an antidote, isn’t there?”

The Prince of Nanzhao snapped back to himself and urgently ordered, “Lord Changming, the antidote! Who’s holding the antidote!”

No matter which nation’s envoy it was, no one could be allowed to come to harm on Nanzhao soil without cause — that was Nanzhao’s responsibility. Especially since this woman was none other than Prince Yao’s own consort of Da Zhou. He held Prince Yao in such high regard and valued deeply the long friendship between their two nations in guarding their shared borders — he wouldn’t even bear to see Prince Yao struggle, let alone let Han Ziqing come to harm!

But at that very moment, Lord Changming was nowhere to be found!

“Where is Changming!” the Prince of Nanzhao roared with fury.

The whole gathering fell into stunned silence, no one daring to speak, still no answer coming.

Ziqing and Situ Haonan exchanged a glance, both hearts pounding with dread.

Changming!

Surely not… it couldn’t be him. They must be overthinking this. How could it possibly be him — how would he even know Ziqing’s secret?

“The physicians! Where are the physicians!” the Prince of Nanzhao bellowed!

At once, all four physicians stepped forward together, heads bowed low in fear, not daring to meet the Prince’s eyes.

“Don’t tell this king the antidote isn’t in your hands!” the Prince of Nanzhao thundered.

“Your Highness… the antidote… aside from the commonly used medicines, the main medicine chest is kept by Lord Changming — it truly… truly isn’t in our hands!” the lead physician answered, trembling.

“Then Changming, you—!” the Prince of Nanzhao roared.

“This lowly one… this lowly one doesn’t know! Perhaps he’s on one of the ships further back!” the physician stammered hurriedly.

“Someone, find him! Find him now! If this drags on too long, this king will have every one of your heads! What foolishness is this!” the Prince of Nanzhao raged, pressing a hand to his chest as he staggered backward several steps.

Consort Qin rushed forward to support him. “Your Highness, please calm yourself, don’t let this harm your health — no one could have foreseen something like this happening. Lord Changming surely can’t have been on this ship the entire time!”

Consort Qin had a real talent for this — a single sentence, and much of the Prince’s fury visibly eased.

By now, Situ Haonan had already helped Ziqing to a seat off to the side. The two of them stared, unable to help it, at the hole in the deck that had given way so easily, forced to confront the suspicion forming in both their minds!

Would a royal ship really be built so shoddily? All the supplies and provisions for this journey had been arranged entirely under Lord Changming’s charge!

If it truly was Changming behind this, then the problem ran far deeper than they’d feared!

Ziqing had no time to dwell on any of this now — every passing moment mattered, and the crowd showed no sign of dispersing, all waiting for Changming to arrive with the life-saving antidote. In other words, with each passing moment, the exposure of Ziqing’s secret drew that much closer!

This particular poison allowed only the time it took to drink a cup of tea before it turned fatal, no antidote administered in time meant certain death.

She had to admit — this was a consequence she truly could not survive.

The Prince of Nanzhao’s chest heaved violently as he stared anxiously toward the line of ships trailing behind, waiting.

Yelu Qianqian, still shaken from fright, watched Situ Haonan rush over without so much as a glance in her direction, and slowly, resentment began to creep into her eyes.

Chu Feiyan, meanwhile, lurked within the crowd, a satisfied, cold smile curling at the corner of her lips. Of course she was waiting along with everyone else — waiting patiently, for an ending no one else could possibly anticipate!

Han Ziqing, soon, you’ll learn exactly what it means to wish for death.

At the thought, she couldn’t help covering her mouth to keep from laughing aloud.

Elsewhere, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi watched coldly, likewise reveling in the misfortune, silently wishing Lord Changming would simply vanish from the face of the earth — if Han Ziqing were to die here in Nanzhao, the imperial capital of Da Zhou would surely descend into spectacular chaos!

She gripped a silver needle tightly in her hand, glancing repeatedly toward the ships trailing behind. If Lord Changming didn’t die, how could things possibly proceed smoothly?

At long last, the Prince of Nanzhao, unable to wait any longer and heedless of his own dignity, roared furiously, “Where is he? Is he dead?”

“Your Highness, Lord Changming is on the very last ship, handling something — he’s already on his way here!” a guard reported hurriedly.

“Damn it, what good is it that you’ve come back empty-handed? I want the antidote, not him!” the Prince of Nanzhao bellowed in fury!

Ziqing’s face turned instantly ashen. If she still had any doubt, she would truly have been a fool.

“Lord Changming said he’s coming… coming…”

The guard who had just arrived suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, stammering, unable to get the words out!

At last, the Prince of Nanzhao and everyone around him were struck with alarm! Something was very wrong!

“Speak!” Situ Haonan burst out, unable to contain his anger.

Ziqing pressed her lips tightly together, her mind going utterly blank. It had already been nearly half an hour since it happened — even if there were an antidote, she couldn’t possibly hold out much longer.

“Speak, now!” the Prince of Nanzhao thundered as well.

The guard finally broke, collapsing forward onto the ground. “Your Highness, Lord Changming says he’s coming personally to admit his crime — the main medicine chest accidentally fell into the water this morning. He immediately sent someone to fetch a replacement, but it can’t possibly arrive before tomorrow at the earliest.”

Click.

Ziqing distinctly heard something like the snap of a bowstring, echoing loudly through the emptiness of her mind.

There was no antidote!

What now?

There was no time left at all!

In an instant, two thoughts flashed through her mind at once — feign poisoning, fake her own death — but neither would work.

The Prince of Nanzhao, too, stood frozen in shock, looking utterly wretched with panic. “Someone, anyone — do you have an antidote? Medicine Clan Chief, surely you do, don’t you?”

“Your Highness, this old servant assumed the physicians would bring some…” the Medicine Clan chief said awkwardly. If he’d had any, he’d have produced it long before now — why would he wait until this moment?

No one had any!

There was nothing to be done. Time was nearly up, and a life hung in the balance! What now?

Thud!

The Prince of Nanzhao actually collapsed to the ground in front of everyone. What did that mean?

It meant despair! In an instant, all eyes turned to Ziqing, everyone holding their breath, bracing themselves to watch this woman die of poison right before their eyes!

Ziqing’s heart was pounding wildly, so fast it felt as though it might burst straight out of her chest.

Then, suddenly, Situ Haonan roared furiously, “Get Changming here immediately! This is a setup — he must have the antidote! Look at this hole — how could someone have simply stepped through it and broken it open? Someone clearly tampered with this deliberately!”

He’d thrown caution to the wind — the worst outcome now would simply be exposing the secret of her origins, and beyond that, there was nothing else they couldn’t accept.

Just then, Lord Changming finally arrived, leaping across the gap between the two adjacent ships!

At once, every head turned sharply toward him. Lord Changming had heard Situ Haonan’s furious shouting from a distance, yet showed not the slightest trace of panic, walking forward step by calm step under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Chu Feiyan watched, unable to resist applauding this man internally — what a clever servant indeed!

He’d gambled and won this round — not only would he escape blame, he’d come out with a great achievement to his name! An enormous merit!

What did he have to fear?

All he needed to do now was stall for time, wait it out, wait for his glorious reward to fall into his lap.

Ziqing, panicked as she was, kept silently counting the passing seconds. In the silence, she slowly turned her head to look at Lord Changming, her clear eyes suddenly as terrifying as a demon’s.

Situ Haonan had already thrown caution to the wind — what was she still waiting for?

Abruptly, she rose to her feet, and before anyone could react, she had already blocked Lord Changming’s path.