Emperor Tianhui’s words rang with such heartfelt emotion that even Eunuch Yin, standing nearby, played along, dabbing at feigned tears, his voice choked. “Fourth Prince, His Majesty dotes on you more than anyone. These past six days without food or water have hurt your body, but they’ve wounded His Majesty’s heart even more! There now, please, do have a sip of this ginseng tea!”
As he spoke, Eunuch Yin hurried forward with the tea. Emperor Tianhui’s brow remained furrowed as he looked at Jun Beiyue with an expression of genuine heartache—heartache that held real paternal affection, though not without a measure of performance as well.
Jun Beiyue seemed unsurprised by his father’s display of tender concession. He pushed away Eunuch Yin’s offered tea and instead stepped back, dropping to one knee in a formal bow to the Emperor, saying earnestly, “Your unfilial son has caused Father great worry. Father’s boundless love and care, your son will hold dear in his heart forever. After the wedding, Ziqing and I will honor and serve Father with the utmost filial devotion, and never cause you further worry.”
Seeing this, Emperor Tianhui felt a surge of secret satisfaction, patting Jun Beiyue’s shoulder with genuine warmth. “Good, good, good! Get up now, quickly drink this ginseng tea. If you’ve damaged your health over this, how could I possibly face your late mother?”
Yet Jun Beiyue did not rise. Instead, he bowed once more, saying earnestly, “Your son makes a bold request—please, Father, issue an imperial edict formally granting Ziqing the position of Principal Consort.”
At these words, the gratified expression on Emperor Tianhui’s face froze instantly, flashes of barely-concealed anger flickering through his sharp eyes. Jun Beiyue lifted his head to meet his father’s gaze directly, waiting earnestly for an answer.
Emperor Tianhui’s fist clenched tight within his sleeve, yet he had no choice but to agree—otherwise, everything he’d worked toward until now would collapse entirely. Han Ziqing was, after all, a woman already marked for death—if trading her title for the restoration of his bond with Beiyue was the price, it was one he could certainly afford to pay!
As a man of deep cunning and calculation, he suppressed his anger in an instant, his expression once again warm and affectionate. “Good, good, good, whatever you say shall be done. Get up now, quickly.”
Only then did Jun Beiyue rise. Right there in front of him, Emperor Tianhui drafted the formal edict of investiture, ordering Eunuch Yin on the spot to proceed to the Prime Minister’s residence to announce it at first light.
“Go home now and rest properly. The autumn hunt is coming up soon—if you can’t attend, it will spoil my mood entirely!” Emperor Tianhui said, finally smiling, his tone teasing.
Jun Beiyue offered a faint smile and promptly took his leave.
The moment he stepped outside the palace gates, his expression turned cold. “Is Prince Xiang of Chu, Chu Tiange, personally attending this year’s autumn hunt?”
By tradition, envoys from the Western Chu always attended Da Zhou’s autumn hunt. North of Da Zhou lay the East Qin and the Western Chu—the vast grasslands of the north had once all belonged to the once-mighty cavalry empire of Great Qin. After the Great Qin imperial house gradually declined, its generals rebelled and broke away to form an independent state known as Western Chu, while the surviving remnants of the Great Qin imperial line retreated to a corner of their former territory, becoming today’s East Qin.
Western Chu was the wolf of the grasslands—its hundred thousand cavalry could easily trample East Qin flat, but East Qin was protected by the natural barrier of the “Wuxie Ravine,” a chasm the Western Chu cavalry could never cross. At the time, the Western Chu Prince, Chu Tiange, then only fifteen years old, had devised a scheme—inciting the generals of the Seven Prefectures to rebel, borrowing passage through Da Zhou’s northern Seven Prefectures of Youyun to attack East Qin from that direction.
And it was precisely that rebellion which had led Jun Beiyue—himself only fifteen at the time—to ride alone for a thousand miles straight into the Seven Prefectures of Youyun, single-handedly slaying the rebel generals there, earning overnight fame throughout the realm!
Western Chu, wary of Jun Beiyue after that, had since actively sought friendly relations with Da Zhou. From that point on, every year during Da Zhou’s autumn hunt, Western Chu would dispatch envoys bearing fine horses and leather goods, exchanging them for Da Zhou’s grain and silk, cementing the friendship between the two realms.
“My lord truly anticipates everything with uncanny precision. This year it is indeed Prince Xiang himself attending in person—His Majesty only received word of it ten days ago, and it hasn’t even been made public yet! With Prince Xiang coming, His Majesty will have no choice but to keep you close by his side,” a guard remarked quietly.
A cold smile touched Jun Beiyue’s lips. Of course he’d anticipated this already—otherwise, why would he have kept such a low profile, standing in silent punishment in the Imperial Study for six full days?
Chu Tiange’s arrival came at precisely the right time, giving him just the leverage he needed to negotiate with his father—otherwise, would his father have conceded so quickly?
“Has anyone come to the residence these past few days?”
Jun Beiyue asked as he mounted his horse. That night, he had personally brought Han Ziqing back to Prince Yao’s residence and given clear instructions that she was not to leave—so long as she remained within the estate, no matter who might try to move against her secretly, it wouldn’t be so easy for them.
“Consort Yi invited the Princess Consort for tea, and afterward the Second Prince Consort came to visit…”
Before the guard could finish reporting, Jun Beiyue’s voice turned sharp. “Fetch Imperial Physician Gu, now!” With that, his horse shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, galloping at full speed…
“Crack!”
A sharp, ringing slap shattered the tranquility of the early morning at Prince Yao’s residence.
The moment Jun Beiyue stepped through the door, he struck Hongyi hard across the face without a shred of mercy, fury blazing in his eyes. “How did I instruct you!”
Hongyi understood completely, immediately dropping to her knees. “This servant has failed in her duty, and accepts whatever punishment the Prince deems fit. The Princess Consort is gravely ill—it’s consumption. Please, my lord, go see her at once!”
“Where is she!” Jun Beiyue demanded coldly.
“In the West Garden.” Hongyi hurried ahead to lead the way, and Imperial Physician Gu, having just arrived, quickly followed as well.
In the West Garden, Ziqing lay weakly reclined on the couch, her small hand clutching a handkerchief damp with sweat, pressed against her chest, coughing repeatedly and violently. The moment she saw Jun Beiyue enter, she hurriedly tried to rise from the couch to greet him properly.
Jun Beiyue, unable to hide his agitation, rushed forward to support her, saying coldly, “Forget the formalities. What tea did Consort Yi have you drink?”
Ziqing seemed momentarily stunned, staring at him for a beat, and only then did Jun Beiyue notice his own unusual behavior. He coughed lightly a few times and, without further questioning, had Imperial Physician Gu check her pulse.
Imperial Physician Gu took his time carefully examining her pulse, then studied her complexion before asking, “Princess Consort, was there a severe episode yesterday?”
Ziqing nodded obediently.
“That would explain it—this is an acute flare-up of consumption. Fortunately, the needles were applied in time yesterday. My lord, there’s no need to worry—there are already signs of improvement today.”
As Imperial Physician Gu spoke, he examined the prescription left by Physician Chen as well, nodding repeatedly. “This medication is entirely correct. Physician Chen truly is skilled indeed!”
Watching Jun Beiyue’s slightly furrowed brow, Ziqing sneered inwardly. The poison she’d actually taken produced symptoms far more convincingly consumption-like than Huajin’s poison ever could—aside from herself, Hongyi, and Shiliang, no one else could possibly know the truth of what was happening!
Only then did she answer the question Jun Beiyue had asked earlier. “My lord, Consort Yi summoned Ziqing into the palace and gifted her a cup of autumn Bilong tea to drink.”
Jun Beiyue nodded, his expression giving nothing away, saying only flatly, “Everyone, leave us.”
“Yes!” Everyone present bowed and withdrew.
In the now-silent room, only the two of them remained. Ziqing thought to herself that now was perhaps the time to probe him a little—to find out exactly why he’d insisted on marrying her, defying the disapproval of the entire realm to do so.