Ziqing didn’t look at the contents of the letters yet—just seeing the seals themselves told her this was no simple matter! These three letters came respectively from the imperial households of Xichu, Xijing, and the royal court of Nanzhao!

At this critical juncture, all three parties sending letters at once—could this possibly be good news?

She didn’t open the letters right away, instead walking back inside with Jun Beiyue, asking about the situation at the Ministry of Justice. Grateful for Jun Beiyue’s understanding treatment, Prince Baxian had voluntarily requested to remain in his position, while the Seventh Prince, stripped of his title and reduced to commoner status, was now wanted throughout the entire nation!

Ziqing mused to herself—if Xuanyuan Lige knew that this scheme, far from bringing down Beiyue, had instead completely won him Prince Baxian’s loyalty, wouldn’t he be furious enough to die of anger?

Ziqing had always known the mastermind behind all this was Xuanyuan Lige. This was precisely why she had so resolutely cut ties with this so-called “friend” back then. She had never understood how Xuanyuan Lige could so confidently claim, over and over, that he could keep public duty and private feelings entirely separate.

Once inside, Ziqing finally opened all three letters one by one. The letters from Xichu and Xijing were the same as before, when they’d been on the Isle of Immortal Retreat—both requesting Jun Beiyue’s military assistance!

But the letter from Nanzhao made Ziqing suck in a sharp breath of cold air!

“Well now, Chu Feiyan—I never expected she had it in her!” Ziqing said, frowning. This letter wasn’t merely from the royal household of Nanzhao—it was a personal letter written in Prince Nanzhao’s own hand, addressed directly to Jun Beiyue, not an official communication to the ruler of Great Zhou at all!

The letter spoke not merely of requesting safe passage through Great Zhou, but cited concern for Chu Feiyan’s safety as grounds for requesting that Jun Beiyue personally escort her to Nanzhao, while also inviting the two of them to attend the grand wedding ceremony!

Chu Feiyan hadn’t even married into Nanzhao yet, and already she’d displaced Consort Qin from favor.

A grand wedding ceremony was an entirely different matter from a mere consort-installation ceremony. Consort Qin, though deeply favored by Prince Nanzhao, was still only a secondary consort—her own installation ceremony had been nothing more than a small, modest affair!

Yet now, to hold such a grand wedding ceremony for Chu Feiyan—this made it unmistakably clear she would be installed as the primary consort!

“Chu Feiyan is the legitimate Princess Imperial of Xichu—marrying into Nanzhao as the primary consort through a political alliance is entirely normal,” Jun Beiyue said flatly, his brow furrowing slightly.

Ziqing, of course, understood exactly what worried him. This was a private letter from Prince Nanzhao himself—Jun Beiyue couldn’t easily refuse. Yet while it appeared to be a private matter, it was tangled up with affairs of state!

With Xichu and Xijing locked in fierce conflict, if Jun Beiyue agreed to escort Chu Feiyan, it would undeniably mean siding with Xichu!

And that was precisely Prince Nanzhao’s intention!

On the surface, it seemed like a simple request for Jun Beiyue to escort Chu Feiyan—but in truth, it was a request for Jun Beiyue to help Xichu!

If he helped Xichu, would Ziqing even need to bother stirring up this war in the first place?

“This matter… can’t it wait?” Ziqing asked flatly.

“Chu Feiyan has already reached the Realm of Three Boundaries, waiting only for this king’s nod to proceed,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

Ziqing hesitated a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “At the very least, we could maintain neutrality, couldn’t we?”

Unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat puzzled.

“Did I… say something wrong?” Ziqing asked timidly. Her analysis should have been correct—Great Zhou’s bottom line should be escorting Chu Feiyan while remaining neutral. Sending troops to actively help Xichu was absolutely out of the question!

But Jun Beiyue suddenly broke into a grin. “Silly girl, didn’t I already tell you this king has committed to helping Xijing?”

“But Nanzhao…” Ziqing hesitated. Nanzhao and Great Zhou had maintained friendly relations for generations, and besides, Nanzhao wasn’t a nation one could offend lightly—the combined forces of Nanzhao’s three tribes, the Medicine Clan, the Merfolk, and the Beast Clan, had never once been tested in battle by anyone!

“Silly girl, if it can’t be done openly, why not do it secretly?” Jun Beiyue said with a smile.

Great Zhou’s western frontier didn’t originally border Xichu at all—but the three cities Ziqing had seized from the Seventh Prince last time had become the exact junction point where Xijing, Xichu, and Great Zhou now converged. If they wanted to accomplish something quietly, those three cities were naturally where it would happen.

This entire war’s front lines lay to the west, along the border between the two nations, nowhere near these three cities to the east.

But if the soldiers guarding those three cities happened to “carelessly” let the western frontier’s army pass through, the course of the war would look entirely different!

Without deploying troops directly, Jun Beiyue could still leave Xichu overwhelmed, forcing them to divert forces eastward to defend against this threat.

Hearing this, Ziqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Then Xichu will probably come sending letters again soon!”

“Ha, by then, this king will already be far away in Nanzhao. Letters sent there would take at least half a month, if not a full month, to arrive,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold smile. Half a month would be more than enough time for the war between Xijing and Xichu to reach its conclusion!

Ziqing studied Jun Beiyue earnestly, her heart trembling slightly. This man truly had masterful strategic instincts!

But if everything had already been so carefully arranged, why had he seemed so anxious and troubled earlier?

Jun Beiyue hesitated for a moment before saying flatly, “Escorting Chu Feiyan… would you mind?”

At these words, Ziqing was momentarily stunned. Minding—she’d never even considered such a thing.

Yet seeing Ziqing’s astonished expression, the slight furrow in Jun Beiyue’s brow finally relaxed, and he let out a helpless, wry smile. It seemed he’d been overthinking things—this woman really didn’t seem to mind such matters at all.

In certain ways, Ziqing truly was insensitive to such things. She always felt that what was hers was hers—why would she need to doubt or resent anything?

If doubt and resentment were needed to hold onto something, then she’d simply rather not have it at all, wouldn’t she?

That was how she felt about possessions—and about people too.

Once she understood his meaning, Ziqing’s expression turned thoroughly serious. “I don’t mind. An escort is just an escort, nothing more. It’s not as though you’ll be taking care of her personally or anything, is it?”

Jun Beiyue smiled, gently wiping the tip of her nose. “Of course not.”

Of course he wouldn’t. Yet the journey to Nanzhao was such a long one—would Chu Feiyan really behave herself along the way? These days, Chu Feiyan was no longer merely the Princess Imperial of Xichu, but soon to be the primary consort of Nanzhao, with Prince Nanzhao himself standing behind her!

Between himself and Prince Nanzhao, mutual courtesy had always been a two-way street. That Prince Nanzhao was willing to arrange a political marriage, installing her as primary consort, just to allow Chu Feiyan safe passage back to Xichu—and to involve himself in the complicated affairs of the entire continent of Longyuan besides—showed just how much importance he placed on her.

This was what truly worried him.

“Yingzi, inform General Baihu to grant safe passage,” he ordered flatly.

At that moment, Shiliang arrived carrying the medicinal soup. She’d barely reached the door when Ziqing caught the fragrant scent—the delicate aroma of aged ginseng, refreshing just to breathe in.

Shiliang truly was skilled at brewing soup—she’d already finished preparing it in such a short time.

Jun Beiyue caught the scent too, remarking with a smile, “Whose soup is this, smelling so fragrant?”

“Shiliang made it. If Hongyi hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known she had such a talent,” Ziqing said with a smile, personally bringing the bowl over and ladling out a small portion to offer to Jun Beiyue.

But Jun Beiyue pushed it away. “You drink it. I don’t feel like having soup after nightfall.”

Only then did Ziqing remember this habit of his. Yet seeing the exhaustion etched between his brows, she couldn’t help feeling a quiet ache of sympathy. As his wife, she knew she should look after his health, but she wasn’t quite sure how.

“You haven’t eaten all day, drink at least a little,” Ziqing urged.

Instead, Jun Beiyue personally fed a spoonful to Ziqing’s lips. “You’ve grown quite thin. Shiliang, from now on, prepare a bowl of soup for your mistress every day, to help build up her strength.”

“Yes,” Shiliang said with a secret smile, withdrawing.

Ziqing obediently drank it down, her heart warming. She thought to herself that she’d have to learn from Shiliang sometime—since he didn’t drink soup at night, she’d simply have it stewed for him during the day instead.