How had she forced his hand?

Ziqing picked up the medicine bottle on the ground and made as if to pour it out. Situ Haonan hurriedly reached out to catch what fell—that was precious antidote, after all!

But to everyone’s surprise, nothing at all fell out of the bottle. It was empty?

Situ Haonan froze in shock, catching the scent of a scheme.

Ziqing casually tossed the bottle into the poison river, glanced back at the now-empty stretch of water, and without a word walked toward the cabin.

Situ Haonan hurried after her. “The medicine…” he said, then startled himself, lowering his voice. “Han Ziqing, did Changming take the antidote with him?”

“There are many bottles of antidote, all in the large medicine chest. He only took that one bottle,” Ziqing said flatly.

“You…”

Situ Haonan understood all at once—this woman had saved Lord Changming’s life!

In the situation just now, either Ziqing’s secret would have been exposed, or Lord Changming would have confessed and died—that was the bottom line, the only resolution! For Lord Changming, confessing meant death, and being threatened by Han Ziqing also meant death—either way he’d die, so why die under a charge of treachery? If he’d exposed Han Ziqing instead, he would have died a hero, a martyr!

There had seemed to be no solution that satisfied everyone.

Yet she hadn’t expected this woman to pull off such a clever scheme!

That was why she’d asked the King of Nanzhao to throw Lord Changming into the poison river—while in the water, Lord Changming had already swallowed most of an antidote beforehand!

The amount of antidote was enough to sustain him until he reached the shore!

“I saved his life. He’ll serve me in return,” Ziqing said flatly.

“Han Ziqing, what on earth is going on in that head of yours!” Situ Haonan found it utterly unbelievable—who would have thought the truth was this?

Ziqing didn’t answer him. She stepped around the workers repairing the boat and walked toward the stern.

Situ Haonan hurried to catch up again. “So who’s really behind this? It’s connected to that totem on the carriage, isn’t it—Consort Yi?”

“It’s her!” Ziqing nodded.

“Which means… Chu Feiyan!” Situ Haonan exclaimed in shock, then said angrily, “Why didn’t you expose her! A woman like that—I can’t stand the sight of her!”

Ziqing suddenly stopped, turned back, and looked at Situ Haonan very seriously, asking in return, “She plays dirty with us—why should we meet her out in the open?”

Openly, she would never let Chu Feiyan get away with anything. But that went against her principle of not stirring up trouble on this trip—her real goal lay in the Poison Den! If it came to an open conflict, given that both of them were envoys representing two nations, if things blew up in Nanzhao, the King of Nanzhao would certainly have to send them both home—and then wouldn’t her plan come to nothing?

Since Chu Feiyan loved playing dirty so much, she’d oblige her to the very end—slowly, quietly, paying her back in kind!

Hearing this, Situ Haonan immediately began rubbing his chin. “So how do you plan to pay her back?”

Unexpectedly, Ziqing said in a low, distant voice, “This consort will torment her for the rest of her life!”

At these words, Situ Haonan gave an involuntary shiver, a chill running down his spine, unable to help but think of the saying about how venomous a woman’s heart could be.

Truly—a woman should never cross another woman.

“Situ, go tell the King of Nanzhao that traveling by boat is boring, why not hold a qin-playing contest, let the women aboard sign up, have him put up a prize, give everyone something to enjoy,” Ziqing said flatly.

Situ Haonan didn’t understand. “Han Ziqing, aside from Xuanyuan Lige, you’re probably the most skilled at the qin—what’s the point of a music contest, how boring! What are you up to?”

“I guarantee it’ll be very interesting. Go arrange it—it must happen before we reach the source, or Guxi and Shiliang won’t be able to get away,” Ziqing said seriously.

Situ Haonan was even more astonished. “This… what does music have to do with those two?”

“Chu Feiyan bought off Lord Changming and has gained control over quite a few of our little secrets—she’s bound to be watching Guxi and Shiliang closely. Go arrange it, and you’ll understand when the time comes,” Ziqing urged.

Situ Haonan still wanted to ask more, but just then he heard Yelu Qianqian chasing after him from behind, and without further thought he hurried off.

“Hey! Situ Haonan, don’t you dare run off!”

“Am I angry? I really am angry!”

…

Yelu Qianqian really was fuming, but Situ Haonan had already vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Argh… would I actually eat you! Damn it!” Yelu Qianqian roared, unable to hold back a curse.

Ziqing felt a helpless amusement and said flatly, “Princess Qianqian, how about I tell you where he’s hiding?”

Yelu Qianqian grew suspicious. She’d asked that question probably a hundred times before, and Han Ziqing had always answered with just one line: “I don’t know.”

What had gotten into her today, that she’d offer to tell on her own?

“You… you’re not usually this kind, are you?” Yelu Qianqian said warily.

“Of course not,” Ziqing admitted readily, lowering her voice. “Princess Qianqian, let’s make a deal, shall we?”

“A deal—let’s hear it,” Yelu Qianqian said, curious now.

Ziqing lowered her voice further. “Princess Qianqian, do you remember what warning you gave Chu Feiyan in front of everyone at the Earth King’s temple?”

“I remember! I told her she’d never make it back to Western Chu!” Yelu Qianqian remembered it vividly—that had been the first time she’d ever quarreled with someone.

“Promise me you’ll absolutely never let her land at Xijing. During our time in Nanzhao, I’ll faithfully report Situ Haonan’s whereabouts to you,” Ziqing said, and seeing a gleam light up in Yelu Qianqian’s eyes, she added, “Including his likes, his habits, his family situation, and so on. What do you say?”

The moment Ziqing finished speaking, Yelu Qianqian nodded immediately. “Deal!”

She didn’t hesitate even a moment, immediately holding out her pinky finger. “Come on, pinky swear—whoever breaks it is a dog!”

“Princess Qianqian, have you really thought this through? When Chu Feiyan left Xijing’s shores, wasn’t it because the Emperor of Western Chu borrowed passage through your father’s territory? This matter… is it really yours to decide right now?” Ziqing asked seriously.

“No problem, my father listens to me,” Yelu Qianqian promised at once.

“Is that so? Then could you give me something in writing?” Ziqing asked again.

“Oh, no need for all that trouble. I might as well tell you, I already sent someone to report to my father—Chu Feiyan bullied me, cursed me to my face, kicked me while I was down. If this princess takes back words she declared in public, wouldn’t that be humiliating? This princess represents Xijing!” Yelu Qianqian said earnestly.

Only then did Ziqing nod and reach out to hook her pinky with hers. “Good, it’s settled then—whoever goes back on it is a dog!”

Yelu Qianqian brightened at once, her little finger gripping Ziqing’s, saying happily, “It’s settled then! Quick, tell me—where did Situ Haonan just hide!”

A trace of fond indulgence flickered in Ziqing’s eyes. “Go wait outside the King of Nanzhao’s cabin. You’re sure to run into him there.”

Hearing this, Yelu Qianqian immediately let go of Ziqing’s hand to leave.

“Wait a moment!” Ziqing quickly called her back.

“What other news is there?” Yelu Qianqian asked, her face full of excitement.

“Nothing. Qianqian… Princess, thank you, for just now,” Ziqing said flatly.

Yelu Qianqian was stunned for a moment, then asked seriously, “So can we be friends?”

A weight settled in Ziqing’s chest. In the end she still shook her head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Yelu Qianqian stared after her for a long moment, then suddenly shouted, “Being friends with you—would I eat you or something! Damn it!”