The moment Ziqing stood up, it immediately sparked a wave of discussion. The martial artists from the Longyuan continent present, though they’d heard the name Han Ziqing before, had never seen what this consort actually looked like.
Naturally, none of them recognized her!
What they discussed was: who was this woman? What was her relationship to the Gu family? She’d just been exchanging pleasantries with Elder Qin earlier—but Gu Suying, who’d already had her moment in the spotlight, hadn’t stepped forward, so why was this woman the one standing up now?
Seeing Ziqing rise, Patriarch Gu felt a wave of relief wash over him, his heart, which had been suspended in midair, finally settling back down. He never could have imagined that it would be Han Ziqing who stepped forward on her own!
Jiang Chen and Gu Suying had truly, thoroughly disappointed him. He had to admit he felt a chill of retrospective fear—had he made the wrong choice back when deciding between Gu Meiting and Han Ziqing, the consequences today would have been… he didn’t even dare imagine it.
After standing, Ziqing didn’t immediately address Bai Feiyao, but instead made a graceful gesture, signaling Patriarch Gu to sit back down.
Patriarch Gu immediately complied, not daring to delay for even a moment.
Bai Feiyao raised an eyebrow, looking at her with his nose practically in the air, full of disdain. “Who are you?”
Such a performance—clearly he knew, and was asking just to provoke.
“Consort of Prince Yao of Da Zhou, Han Ziqing,” Ziqing announced her name and title openly, without concealment, leaving no room for anyone to seize upon.
At these words, the entire arena erupted into an uproar.
“That’s her… how… she’s far too young!”
“Why would Prince Yao’s consort come all the way to Liuxian Island!”
“What relationship does Prince Yao’s consort have with the Gu family!”
…
Ziqing’s answer had clearly caught Bai Feiyao off guard, but he immediately shot back, “So what if you’re Da Zhou’s Consort of Prince Yao? Does that give you the right to step forward on the Gu family’s behalf? What, does the Gu family not even have anyone left who can stand up?”
“You!” Patriarch Gu flared with anger, about to rise again, but Ziqing pressed him back down, her tone carrying no particular warmth. “What are you in such a hurry for?”
Patriarch Gu had no choice but to calm himself, taking a deep breath and settling back into his seat.
“My husband, Prince Yao, has acknowledged Patriarch Gu as his adoptive father. As the Prince is recovering from illness and unable to travel, he specifically sent me, his consort, in his stead. So tell me—does his consort, this daughter-in-law, lack the standing to appear here?” Ziqing shot back, her tone brimming with confidence.
Not far away, on the rooftop, Jun Beiyue’s fist was pressed against his teeth, biting down with wicked amusement. Hearing the words “adoptive father,” he immediately broke into a knowing, delighted smile.
How on earth had this woman, Han Ziqing, guessed exactly what was on his mind?
Toward the Gu family, he harbored the resentment left to him by his birth mother, the debt of gratitude owed to Gu Jun, and also the sense of having been used by the Gu family. As for this “father,” he had no intention of formally acknowledging him—only offering the filial respect due to an “adoptive father.”
“Hmph, since when did Jun Beiyue acknowledge an adoptive father? How is it no one knew of this? You show up neither earlier nor later, but precisely at this moment—isn’t that a bit too convenient?” Bai Feiyao snorted coldly.
“Are the Gu family’s private household matters something I need to report to you promptly?” Ziqing snorted coldly in return. He was arrogant, but she was even more so. She looked down at him with cold disdain and demanded, word by word, “Just who do you think you are?”
Bai Feiyao immediately flared with anger. Among peers, no one had ever dared speak to him this way!
“Han Ziqing, an adopted son is not the same as a blood son. I won’t hold it against Patriarch Gu today for having no son—but even if the adopted son counts as a son, even if you’re the Gu family’s daughter-in-law, so what? This young master invited the young masters of each family—what rank do you hold that you’d come out here showing yourself off, with no sense of shame at all!”
“Young master?” Ziqing immediately gave a disdainful laugh. “Young master Bai, a ‘young master’ simply means a young head of the household. Who decided that a young master must necessarily be a son?”
Such words—surely this was too absurd, wasn’t it? Even Patriarch Gu’s expression turned somewhat awkward at this.
Yet Ziqing said it with such righteous conviction, so matter-of-factly, looking down with cold disdain at the muttering crowd, standing tall and upright, back straight, brimming with confidence!
“Ha ha ha!” Bai Feiyao laughed exaggeratedly. “How laughable, how laughable—your Gu family has no young master, so you found a woman to take the place instead!”
He said this while turning to the crowd. “Everyone, isn’t this laughable?”
Had this been Da Zhou, surely no one would have answered him.
But this was Liuxian Island, and everyone around them was a martial artist, all of them well aware of the island’s power dynamics.
The moment Bai Feiyao said this, it immediately struck a chord with many.
“Get lost, woman!”
“Too ridiculous, what is she even saying, I can’t understand a word!”
“What nonsense, disgusting!”
…
Jiang Chen and Gu Suying exchanged a glance, both wearing cold smiles. Let Han Ziqing put on a brave front—today would show her that young master Bai was not someone to be trifled with!
Faced with a scene like this, any other woman would surely have grown timid and flustered by now, might even have burst into tears and wished for a hole to crawl into!
But Ziqing paid no mind whatsoever to all the mockery and vulgar insults, remaining as calm and steady as a mountain. She said nothing, didn’t even spare the crowd a glance, and simply strode forward with unhurried composure.
Origin, status, identity, others’ opinions—none of it mattered to her in the slightest.
What mattered were only two things: the strength of one’s body, and the strength of one’s mind!
Ziqing possessed exactly that kind of confidence, projecting a formidable presence from her petite frame. The moment she took her first step forward, the entire arena instinctively fell silent.
No one had the heart to keep mocking her—an inexplicable sense of unease crept over everyone, unable to guess what this woman intended to do, but certain that her stepping forward meant something was about to happen. Even Bai Feiyao found himself inexplicably on guard.
Ziqing’s composure was truly enviable. She looked at Bai Feiyao with a frown and said, “Young master Bai, do you not understand human speech? Didn’t I just say Prince Yao is recovering from illness and sent me in his place? What, does your Bai family have no daughters-in-law, no daughters, only your single lone shoot of a heir, so you won’t allow other families’ daughters and daughters-in-law to appear on their behalf? Or are you simply afraid of a woman like me?”
“You! Ridiculous, I’m not afraid of you at all!” Bai Feiyao immediately denied it.
“If you’re not afraid, then let’s begin. Don’t keep our friends from the Longyuan continent waiting any longer,” Ziqing said coldly.
“Then let’s begin!” Bai Feiyao agreed readily. He had originally intended for Patriarch Gu to lose all face on this very platform, wanting everyone on Liuxian Island—even those from the Longyuan continent—to see clearly just how little strength the Gu family truly had.
He hadn’t expected Han Ziqing to insert herself so boldly. He hadn’t even made his move against Jun Beiyue yet, and this woman had already delivered herself right to his doorstep!
Very well then—he would deal with her first, then find Patriarch Gu.
With both the Gu and Bai families now stepping forward, naturally the perpetual third-place Yu family had to step forward as well, and the young masters of the other clans followed suit, leaping down one after another.
In an instant, the vast zither platform grew lively. Among the dozen or so young masters, Ziqing alone was a woman. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, composed and dignified, while quite a few of the men present found themselves oddly embarrassed by comparison.
A helpless, amused glint crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes as he leapt down, zither in his arms, landing right in front of Ziqing. Ziqing instinctively stepped back. Xuanyuan Lige paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “Consort of Prince Yao, why don’t you choose the piece?”
Seeing Xuanyuan Lige treat Ziqing with such courtesy, a flash of jealousy crossed Bai Feiyao’s eyes. He snorted coldly, “That hardly seems fair!”
He knew perfectly well that Han Ziqing was also skilled in music, but he simply refused to believe she could be all that impressive.
“Why don’t you choose, then?” Ziqing said with an air of indifference, generously deferring to him, which immediately made Bai Feiyao look petty by comparison. He coughed awkwardly a few times. “Better to let young master Xuanyuan choose himself!”