Lord Changming stopped dead in his tracks. Like everyone else, it wasn’t until Ziqing was right in front of him that he realized — even the calmest heart couldn’t help but skip several beats.
What was this woman about to do?
Suddenly, without warning, Ziqing seized him by the throat, and in front of everyone, dragged him headfirst straight toward the water!
Only when a loud splash rang out did everyone finally snap back to their senses, realizing what had just happened!
Situ Haonan couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath — this woman… how ruthless, how decisive, how brilliant!
“Heavens!”
“What… what’s happening?”
“She must suspect it’s Lord Changming!”
…
The crowd erupted into an uproar all at once, no one having anticipated this turn of events. Chu Feiyan’s smug, satisfied smile froze on her exquisite face, every muscle locking rigid, unable to move!
In the water, Ziqing gripped Lord Changming fiercely, letting him thrash and struggle in terror, and murmured into his ear, “Tell me — who put you up to this!”
“Let go of me, let go, or you’ll be dead within moments!”
“Dead? Isn’t that exactly what you’re hoping to see happen to me? Let’s make a wager, then — a bet with our very lives. You have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to decide!”
Ziqing snorted coldly — did he really think she couldn’t see through this as more than a simple attempted murder? Her grip tightened, dragging Lord Changming further and further from the ship. As he gasped, on the verge of screaming for help, Ziqing clamped a hand over his mouth and said coldly, “If you’ve decided to tell me who put you up to this, nod. You have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”
With that, she continued dragging Lord Changming further out, swimming steadily away. She had already prepared herself for the worst — if it came to it, she’d simply disappear beneath the water, vanish without a trace.
Vanishing meant an uncertain fate — but that was still better than dying here in full view of everyone, wasn’t it?
At the thought, Ziqing couldn’t help a cold, inward laugh. She never would have imagined she’d be pushed to a point where she couldn’t even keep a single breath of life for herself.
On shore, the Prince of Nanzhao finally snapped back to his senses and gave an urgent order. “Someone, pull them out! Get down there and save them! Quickly! Now!”
But no one moved. That water was lethally poisonous — and with no antidote left on the ship, going in after them would mean certain death.
“Your Highness, isn’t Princess Yao going too far with this? We still don’t even know what really happened — how can she simply accuse Lord Changming outright?” Consort Qin protested angrily.
“Silence!” To everyone’s shock, the Prince of Nanzhao snapped at her instead, hurrying up the stairs, his voice sharp. “Find a way to pull them out, now! Hurry!”
If this scandal spread, how could it possibly be contained? If word got out, what would become of Nanzhao’s reputation? What foreign envoy would ever accept an invitation to come here again? What nation would ever feel honored to be invited by Nanzhao in the future?
Situ Haonan watched Ziqing swim further and further away, his heart sinking along with her, submerged and impossibly heavy, his breathing growing labored.
Did this woman have any idea time was running out?
Just a little longer, and it would be a full cup of tea’s worth of time since she’d fallen in — was she really planning to drag Lord Changming down and disappear into the poisoned river with him?
This… what was he supposed to do about this?
There was nothing on the ship capable of retrieving anyone from the water — the vessel was far too heavy and cumbersome to give chase to a single swimmer!
The Prince of Nanzhao seethed with fury, but there was nothing anyone could do.
Chu Feiyan’s eyes narrowed, a hidden dart already primed in her hand, having gathered its force for some time now. Beside her, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi likewise stared unblinkingly at Han Ziqing, the silver needle in her hand — originally meant for Lord Changming — now redirected with a change of intent.
Almost simultaneously, the two women’s hidden weapons flew at once, cutting precisely through the crowd, aimed viciously at Ziqing. In the water, Ziqing was struggling to hold onto Lord Changming while threatening him, all while trying to decide whether to dive and flee or climb back aboard, all against the ticking clock!
She had no spare attention left to notice anything else!
And yet, the darts, sharp and precise as they were, suddenly veered off course just as they neared Ziqing, splashing into the water instead, as though deflected by some invisible force!
Chu Feiyan startled, and quickly loosed several more darts in succession — yet the exact same thing happened again, deflected in the same eerie way. No matter how closely she watched, she couldn’t make out what force was knocking her darts astray.
On the other side, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi had already given up, glaring viciously instead toward a guard standing at the highest point of the tower ship. What else, besides a blade of wind, could deflect hidden weapons so silently and precisely?
Xuanyuan Lige — what exactly are you here for?
Just then, a loud splash rang out as Ziqing suddenly burst up from the water, dragging Lord Changming with her. Undeterred, Chu Feiyan loosed all eight remaining darts from both hands at once — but it made no difference. Han Ziqing was already scrambling onto the deck.
Seeing her back on board, everyone’s hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled — though a moment later, remembering that her time before the poison took hold was fast running out, their hearts clenched with worry all over again.
Ziqing flung Lord Changming down onto the deck and shouted furiously, “The antidote!”
Chu Feiyan sucked in a sharp breath, her whole body trembling, the little bells on her attire jingling with the motion. Her eyes went wide as saucers, staring at Lord Changming in utter disbelief!
She had calculated this so carefully — no matter what, Lord Changming would never confess, would never hand over the antidote, because doing so would be as good as sentencing himself to death!
How on earth had Han Ziqing managed to threaten him into this?
She held her breath, watching Lord Changming, her heart pounding faster and faster. This couldn’t happen — absolutely could not be allowed to happen. If Lord Changming produced that antidote, everything would collapse in ruin — and worse, it would mean this Lord Changming had betrayed her!
With a single glance from Chu Feiyan, the Nanzhao guards on either side rushed forward at once, moving to seize Han Ziqing.
Situ Haonan immediately stepped in front of her. “How dare you! Without the Prince’s order, what do you think you’re doing?”
The guards froze mid-step, glancing back to see the Prince of Nanzhao’s furious glare, and dared not press forward.
Just then, Lord Changming, hands trembling violently, drew out a porcelain vial and pressed it into Ziqing’s hands.
As Ziqing hastily poured out a small red pill, everyone present gasped sharply — instantly recognizing it as the antidote!
Lord Changming actually had the antidote this whole time — and had dared to lie to the Prince’s face about it!
Ziqing swallowed it in front of everyone, then collapsed backward onto the deck with a thud, her heart still pounding uncontrollably, hard to bear — partly from exhaustion, and partly for the sake of appearances. She drew in great heaving breaths, then tossed the porcelain vial back to Lord Changming.
Lord Changming didn’t dare delay a moment longer, quickly taking the medicine himself, after which he too collapsed completely onto the deck, gasping for breath.
For a moment, the vast deck fell utterly silent, save for the ragged, labored breathing of the two of them, echoing with startling clarity.
Everything that had just happened spoke for itself — what further explanation could possibly be needed?
Suddenly, the Prince of Nanzhao erupted in fury. “Someone, examine that broken section of the deck!”
The guards hurried forward, and after a thorough inspection, confirmed without doubt that it had indeed been deliberately tampered with!
“Changming, how dare you! Plotting to harm an envoy of Da Zhou — have you borrowed courage straight from the heavens themselves?” the Prince of Nanzhao demanded furiously.
Lord Changming had no answer. He glanced once at Ziqing, a lingering trace of terror still in his eyes, then silently crawled forward and knelt before the Prince of Nanzhao, head bowed low.
“Why did you try to frame Princess Yao? Speak!” the Prince of Nanzhao demanded sharply.