Immune to all poisons!

Hearing this, both the Empress of Dongqin and Jun Beiyao were stunned, exchanging startled glances. Jun Beiyao might not fully grasp the significance, but the Empress of Dongqin had heard of it since childhood—the Lonely Isle bloodline of Nanzhao had, in the past, produced extraordinarily formidable figures, and the source of their formidable power lay precisely in this immunity to all poisons!

Being immune to all poisons carried another implication as well—it meant being invincible under heaven!

A body immune to all poisons was the ideal vessel for cultivating poison itself—possessing such a person meant one could cultivate them into an unrivaled master with no equal under heaven!

Every poison known to the world could be implanted within such a body, even turning the very skin toxic, so that any enemy who so much as touched them would be poisoned instantly!

Why did the Medicine Clan hold the foremost position among Nanzhao’s three clans?

Not because the Medicine Clan’s medicines could save lives, but because the Medicine Clan’s poisons could kill. On an actual battlefield, among Nanzhao’s three-clan armies, the Medicine Clan’s poison corps would be even more feared than the Beast Clan’s beast legions.

“Are you certain Han Ziqing is truly immune to all poisons?” the Empress of Dongqin asked seriously.

“Absolutely certain. This information comes from Da Zhou’s Consort Yi,” Chu Tiange said quietly, and proceeded to explain in full detail everything from Jun Beiyue’s exposure to the Enchanting Fragrance to the entire Beauty of the Nation case!

Of course, he noticed that Jun Beiyao’s expression had turned rather unpleasant.

Jun Beiyue’s Enchanting Fragrance, transmitted to Han Ziqing that fateful night of the Beauty of the Nation incident, had miraculously remained within her body without ever transferring to anyone else, and yet she had not died from its poison!

If it had been any other poison, there might have been other explanations—but this was the Enchanting Fragrance, one of the most potent poisons originating from Nanzhao’s very own Lonely Isle!

It was a poison meant either to be passed on continuously through intimate contact, or else to end in certain death—there was no other way out!

Unless one was immune to all poisons, how could she possibly have remained unharmed to this day?

Han Ziqing must indeed be someone immune to all poisons—she carried the bloodline of the Lonely Isle!

Having heard Chu Tiange’s explanation, the Empress of Dongqin remained silent for a long moment before breaking into a smile, casting a disdainful glance toward Jun Beiyao, mocking him. “Heh, Seventh Prince, aren’t you quite the capable one? You were personally involved in the Beauty of the Nation case at the Court of Judicial Review, and yet, in the end, even Consort Yi and the Second Prince knew about this—while you apparently had no idea!”

With that, the Empress of Dongqin slammed her hand down hard on the table!

Seeing this, the corners of Chu Tiange’s lips curled into a cold smile at once—now he understood clearly. Jun Beiyao had thrown in his lot with the Empress of Dongqin, but as her subordinate, not as an equal partner!

Yet Jun Beiyao showed no fear at all. “Your Majesty, back during the Court of Judicial Review case, this Prince at least kept hold of one person.”

At these words, the Empress of Dongqin immediately grew suspicious. Her true target was Jun Beiyue, and any information that could be dug up about him, she would never let slip through her fingers. She knew the Court of Judicial Review case quite well too—if she hadn’t originally handed the matter entirely over to Xuanyuan Lige, and if Xuanyuan Lige hadn’t let Han Ziqing off the hook, missing that golden opportunity, would Jun Beiyue ever have made it to Liuxian Isle?

“Heh, what kind of person could possibly catch the Seventh Prince’s eye?” Chu Tiange sneered, his contempt for Jun Beiyao running clear to the bone.

“During the Court of Judicial Review case, the entire Han Prime Minister’s household was executed down to the last member. Do you really think Prime Minister Han would be content to let his line end there?” Jun Beiyao said with a smile. Back then, it was precisely because Prime Minister Han still had someone in his grasp that he and Han Xi’er had joined forces to frame Han Ziqing in the first place.

A close relative of the Han Prime Minister’s household, the only surviving descendant of the Han clan, a young man now fifteen years old—Han Jue.

“This person had better be of some use to me,” the Empress of Dongqin said, displeased.

“Your Majesty, this person’s name is Han Jue. His father was Prime Minister Han’s younger brother. It was his father who, all those years ago, introduced Han Ziqing’s birth mother, Mu Ci, to Prime Minister Han. Because of Han Ziqing, the entire Han clan was wiped out—this boy harbors nothing but… bone-deep hatred toward Han Ziqing.”

Jun Beiyao spoke with a strange, mysterious air, his tone dripping with insinuation. Inwardly, he sneered—the Empress of Dongqin and Xuanyuan Lige truly were mother and son, both looking down on him with equal disdain!

If he hadn’t had leverage in hand, would he have so easily come groveling before the Empress of Dongqin like this? Did he not know exactly what kind of person she was?

“What use is bone-deep hatred? Don’t you harbor the very same hatred toward Han Ziqing yourself?” the Empress of Dongqin said with a smile, her expression blossoming like a flower, carrying not the faintest trace of mockery in tone—yet somehow making the remark cut all the more sharply for it.

“And what if I told you that he went and dug up Han Ziqing’s birth mother’s grave, and made a discovery there?”

At these words from Jun Beiyao, both the Empress of Dongqin and Chu Tiange were instantly startled.

Jun Beiyao, however, remained perfectly composed. “Mu Ci’s body was not in the grave at all. The tomb had clearly been disturbed long before—if the body wasn’t simply moved elsewhere, then Mu Ci never actually died back then at all!”

“Now this is interesting!” Chu Tiange clapped his hands at once, his expression full of intrigue.

“Interesting indeed! Ha!” the Empress of Dongqin laughed as well. Prime Minister Han was, without question, a man born and raised in Da Zhou’s capital, with not the slightest connection to the Lonely Isle—so Han Ziqing’s Lonely Isle bloodline had clearly been inherited from Mu Ci!

The Empress of Dongqin had little interest in Mu Ci herself. She had originally intended for Han Ziqing to die in Nanzhao—but now, seeing that Han Ziqing possessed this rare constitution of being immune to all poisons, she realized this girl could well be worth an entire army to Dongqin!

To simply kill off such an extraordinary talent would be far too great a waste! Of course, if she couldn’t have her, she certainly wouldn’t let Jun Beiyue benefit from her either! She absolutely had to die!

Jun Beiyao had now laid his leverage plainly on the table, sitting back with calm composure. Neither the Empress of Dongqin nor Chu Tiange were fools—they understood immediately that this Han Jue must be holding onto some further secret as well.

“Heh, Your Majesty, it seems you’ve found the right man after all. If we could track down Mu Ci…” Chu Tiange trailed off deliberately, glancing sidelong at Jun Beiyao.

Jun Beiyao said nothing. Chu Tiange had the whole of Western Chu backing him, while he himself had nothing—the small scrap of leverage in his hands was his single greatest asset. How could he possibly hand it all over so easily?

Seeing Jun Beiyao remain silent, the Empress of Dongqin decided not to press the matter further for now. Chu Tiange, ever perceptive, spoke up instead. “Your Majesty has barely just arrived in Nanzhao and already commands so much information—might I ask whose guidance has made this possible?”

The Empress of Dongqin surely had someone behind her. Chu Tiange had turned it over in his mind for quite a while now, but still had no clue at all. Whoever could so easily gather information and still earn the Empress of Dongqin’s regard had to be from one of the three great clans—yet the three clans were utterly loyal to the royal family. Who among them would conspire with the Empress of Dongqin?

The Empress of Dongqin merely smiled, raising her cup to toast Chu Tiange. “All under heaven are friends, so long as one befriends the right people.”

Chu Tiange understood the implication behind those words perfectly well—she wouldn’t say more, and he had no need to press further. The night was growing late; once the tea was finished, it would be time to take his leave.

Still, Chu Tiange couldn’t quite let it go, and asked once more, “This King is, in a sense, a free man here in Nanzhao. If Your Majesty has any task that needs doing, simply command it.”

Chu Tiange had crossed the border in secret, and if not for staying at the guest palace alongside Chu Feiyan, he might not even have gotten this far—nor would he have taken such a risk lightly. Operating in the shadows as he did, he remained entirely free to act.

“Prince Xiang, just keep your sister in line and have her stay put obediently at the border—don’t let her cause any more trouble. Prince Xiang has brought this one such momentous news tonight already; this one is more than satisfied,” the Empress of Dongqin said, raising her cup and draining the tea in one smooth motion.