Back Western Chu?

Da Zhou and Eastern Qin had an alliance agreement, and the most critical clause within that agreement was a mutual pledge of no military action against each other for five years!

If Jun Beiyue backed Western Jing, wouldn’t that directly violate their alliance with Western Chu!

Though historically, relations between nations always prioritized national interest above all else, and even brotherly allied relationships like that between Da Zhou and Nanzhao could turn hostile in the blink of an eye—doing so would directly damage a ruler’s credibility, and by extension, an entire nation’s reputation!

Though agreements between enemy nations were never truly gentlemanly agreements to begin with, abandoning such principles required sufficient national strength to back up Da Zhou’s standing among the various nations!

Denying this momentary satisfaction now could very easily make one the target of universal condemnation in the future!

“Breaking an alliance treaty doesn’t seem quite appropriate,” Ziqing said flatly.

Yet unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue snorted coldly. “This prince is not the sovereign!”

At these words, Ziqing immediately frowned. Jun Beiyue clearly intended to shift the blame onto someone else! He was Da Zhou’s prince—Emperor Tianhui was Da Zhou’s actual sovereign!

Ziqing gave Jun Beiyue a complicated look, not pressing further, yet she sensed vaguely that once this man returned to Da Zhou, the political landscape of Da Zhou—perhaps even the entire Longyuan continent—was about to undergo an earth-shattering transformation!

The war between Western Jing and Western Chu was, without question, an opportunity he wouldn’t easily let slip by!

If she hadn’t struck that blow at the imperial capital’s court of justice, would this man have deliberately provoked this war between Western Jing and Western Chu himself instead?

Ziqing smiled faintly. “You… are truly despicable.”

Not the sovereign, not a monarch, not a gentleman, and perhaps not even the Jun family’s true son—three layers of meaning, all at once.

If the situation were reversed today—between Western Jing and Da Zhou instead—Western Chu would surely make the exact same decision Jun Beiyue was making now.

No poison, no true man of ambition, especially when facing opponents who were themselves nothing but wolves with ambitious, ruthless hearts.

Much like the seemingly graceful, delicate Xuanyuan Lige—she never spoke of it, but she saw through him clearly enough. After he and Jun Beiyue had surfaced, both bearing wounds—how vicious that underwater battle must have truly been!

Hearing Ziqing’s earnest accusation of “despicable,” Jun Beiyue, far from taking offense, instead burst into laughter. “As long as I’m not despicable toward you, that’s all that matters.”

That was simply the kind of man he was—toward enemies, always ruthless and merciless, even savage—but toward those he chose to hold close to his heart, there was only one word: doting!

Doting on her so completely that no one else in this world could ever match it!

Ziqing looked at him, unable to suppress a laugh. “If you were ever despicable toward me, I would…”

“Hm?” Jun Beiyue waited.

Ziqing said nothing.

“Hm? Go on, tell me!” Jun Beiyue asked, curious.

“Pour out my heart and lungs, tear apart my very soul, become heartless and shameless, ruthless as a wolf, cruel as a dog.” Ziqing gave him four such expressions directly.

Jun Beiyue was momentarily stunned, then immediately pulled her close, laughing heartily. “Good, good, such a heart and such lungs—this prince will remember that well!”

“Now that we’ve poured out our hearts and lungs, tell me—what exactly is the connection between Qinse Valley and the isolated island?” Ziqing asked, not even realizing when exactly she’d grown so accustomed to curling up in this man’s embrace, no longer feeling quite so stiff and guarded.

After his injury, coming to the isolated island hadn’t just been about recovering—he’d surely had other purposes as well, having already known about the Fusang tree, already known this lead about Qinse Valley!

“Honestly, I don’t know either. Originally, I only knew the isolated island’s secret was somehow connected to Qinse Valley’s sea valley. I never expected that going down into the sea valley would lead us to hear ‘Sorrow’s Parting,'” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

“‘Sorrow’s Parting’ was brought to Qinse Valley by my mother, and yet the two Qinse elders had no idea about this at all!” Ziqing was equally puzzled. This matter was riddled with contradictions—no matter how she tried to reason through it, she couldn’t arrive at any conclusion.

“The other day, I secretly went down into the sea valley and encountered one of the Jiao people—judging by their attire, likely a guard of some kind. The two Qinse elders may not know about ‘Sorrow’s Parting,’ but they must surely know of the Jiao people’s presence there, and are deliberately concealing it!” Jun Beiyue said earnestly.

“The Jiao people, Nanzhao’s people!” Ziqing was startled. One had to remember, the isolated island had once belonged to Nanzhao—and to this day remained one of Nanzhao’s forbidden secrets!

“At the very least, this proves one thing—the isolated island maintains contact with Nanzhao’s royal family, and the sea valley harbors some kind of secret!” Jun Beiyue said earnestly.

“But they don’t even know my mother’s true identity, nor do they recognize that the sound is ‘Sorrow’s Parting’…” Ziqing hesitated, yet Jun Beiyue had already worked it through. “Qing’er, your mother encountering Jue Mingzi surely wasn’t mere coincidence. There must have been a reason for her arriving at Qinse Valley!”

Ziqing nodded. What they could now confirm with certainty was this: Qinse Valley and Nanzhao shared some secret connection related to the sea valley, and Qinse Valley had never once suspected anything unusual about Madam Ci’s background, including the Bloodstring, the Wuzheng, and “Sorrow’s Parting” itself.

“The two Qinse elders know something, but not everything,” Ziqing murmured to herself.

“Xuanyuan Lige knows quite a bit too, it seems!” Jun Beiyue snorted coldly.

“What did the two of you see at the bottom of the lake?” Ziqing asked flatly.

“Nothing at all—that’s precisely what puzzles me most. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll need to go down there once more,” Jun Beiyue said, hesitating a moment before continuing, “Qing’er, find some time to have all that poison you’ve cultivated within your body removed. The more people who know about your immunity to all poisons, the more danger you’re in—do you understand?”

Consort Li knew, which meant Chu Feiyan’s faction surely knew as well, and Xuanyuan Lige knew too—and then there was that black-clad figure he’d encountered in the sea valley, whose purpose remained entirely unknown as well.

Ziqing’s identity was uniquely sensitive, and the relationship between Da Zhou and Nanzhao equally so—this matter directly touched upon the relationship between the two nations, and demanded the utmost caution!

Ziqing didn’t answer, only nodding.

“When will you have the poison removed?” Jun Beiyue asked earnestly.

“I’ll simply stop using poison arts from now on—wouldn’t that solve it?” Ziqing muttered.

“Until the seductive fragrance is fully cured, don’t treat your own body as a testing ground,” Jun Beiyue insisted seriously.

“At the very least, nothing bad has happened so far,” Ziqing said, her voice still quite low, yet her attitude unmistakably clear—she didn’t want to give it up. She genuinely loved her poison arts, especially since this particular skill happened to be the perfect counter to the Bai family’s vine arts.

“You can’t guarantee that for the future!” Jun Beiyue suddenly said coldly. At the very least, from what he’d learned, those legendary figures said to have once existed on the isolated island, immune to all poisons, had never met a good end.

Mere legend, an unverified matter—he chose not to tell her, not wanting her to worry, yet that didn’t mean he himself didn’t care.

Ziqing looked up at him, her brow furrowing slightly—did this man have any idea how much she disliked being shouted at so loudly like that?

Just as she was about to speak, the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Ziqing lurched forward unexpectedly, fortunately caught in time by Jun Beiyue’s tight embrace!

What was going on?

Just as Ziqing was about to ask, an attendant hurried over to report, “Young master, young mistress, the eldest young miss sent word—Madam’s low fever won’t break. Both Physician Hua and Physician Gu insist nothing but a certain red medicinal herb with strong yang properties will work, but a full day’s search has turned up nothing. The master has instructed you both to return ahead without him—he’s gone personally to search for the medicine!”

Hearing this, Ziqing was immediately taken aback, abruptly lifting the carriage curtain. Sure enough, Patriarch Gu had already dismounted from the carriage, riding off at full speed toward the nearby town, while Gu Suying had somehow tumbled off to the side of the carriage, and Jiang Chen stood frozen beside her, seemingly unsure whether to help her up!

Ziqing turned back to look at Jun Beiyue, only to find a cold, knowing smile curling at the corner of his sharply defined lips.

The carriage had stopped at precisely the point closest to the town.