The King of Nanzhao had indeed arranged a number of activities, all genuinely meant simply to help everyone pass the time—nothing special was actually happening. The King himself was likely still deep in consultation with the three clan leaders over how to proceed.

Chu Feiyan wasn’t merely an individual—she represented Western Chu itself, and the fact that the Western Chu royal family would somehow possess something connected to the Lonely Isle was truly a puzzling matter.

“Your Majesty, back then the people of the Lonely Isle were not entirely wiped out. I believe this totem must have been carried out by a descendant of the Lonely Isle!”

“Such an ancient secret, and to think it would surface now of all times—and in the hands of the Princess Imperial, no less.”

“Your Majesty, this official has already thoroughly investigated the Princess Imperial’s maternal line going back three generations—there’s no connection whatsoever to the Lonely Isle bloodline. They were all born and raised in Western Chu’s capital, through and through!”

“That… that only makes matters more troublesome. If this item doesn’t belong to the Princess Imperial, then whose could it possibly be?”

“The Princess Imperial refuses to admit it’s hers at all!”

…

After much discussion, they still arrived at no conclusion. The wedding was to be postponed, but it absolutely had to proceed eventually—regardless of whether the totem’s owner or bearer was ever identified!

Either way, it all pointed back to the Lonely Isle. The person had to remain in Nanzhao, and had to be kept under the strictest surveillance!

“Beast Clan Elder, the Second Young Beast Master came to see me yesterday—were you aware?” the King of Nanzhao asked flatly, resting his forehead against one hand. Days of accumulated worry had drained away any excitement he might have felt over the upcoming wedding. The Nanzhao royal family had guarded the secret of the Lonely Isle for so many generations—he couldn’t possibly let it fall apart on his watch!

“Yes, Your Majesty. He mentioned wanting to invite the honored guests to the hunting grounds, and came seeking Your Majesty’s permission,” the Beast Clan Elder replied at once.

“The Second Young Beast Master certainly seems in fine spirits this time,” the Medicine Clan Elder said with a cold smile. Though the three clans didn’t openly compete, there was no shortage of quiet rivalry beneath the surface—after all, there was inevitably a hierarchy of status among the three!

The Beast Clan, ranked second, had long harbored resentment over the King’s apparent favoritism toward the Medicine Clan, while the Medicine Clan, holding the top position, kept a constant watchful eye on the Beast Clan, ready to stamp out the faintest hint of trouble, giving them no opportunity whatsoever.

The Merfolk Clan Elder, by contrast, remained rather at ease—unable to compete for the top spot, he’d simply given up trying.

“He’s merely trying to ease Your Majesty’s burdens. The honored guests are no fools—the Beast Clan’s hunting grounds are the only decent way to help them pass these coming days!” the Beast Clan Elder quickly explained.

The King of Nanzhao hadn’t earned his throne for nothing—he caught the underlying rivalry in their exchange at once, and waved a hand to silence them both. He had more than enough on his mind already.

“Merfolk Clan Elder, I hear the Sea Valley within the Qinse Valley on Liuxian Isle opened not long ago—did everything go smoothly?” he asked next.

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. My clan has guarded the Sea Valley for decades without fail—even if the secret sits in plain view before everyone, no one will ever realize it’s a secret at all!”

The Merfolk Clan Elder spoke with complete confidence—after all, even the master of Qinse Valley itself remained entirely unaware of what lay hidden within the Sea Valley!

Years ago, when Nanzhao first discovered traces connecting this place to the secret of the Lonely Isle, they had immediately negotiated with Qinse Valley, revealing only that a secret existed within the Sea Valley, without ever disclosing what that secret actually was.

The Merfolk Clan preserved the Sea Valley from collapse, Qinse Valley remained protected from the encroaching seawater, and in exchange, Qinse Valley kept quiet about the Merfolk Clan’s presence within the Sea Valley.

This arrangement had kept the peace for many years now, without incident.

The King of Nanzhao nodded, though the Medicine Clan Elder still seemed troubled. “Xuanyuan Lige is the greatest guqin master under heaven, renowned for his extraordinary talent—what if he manages to see through it?”

“Heh, talent or not, how many generations of Qinse Valley masters have failed to see through it themselves?” the Beast Clan Elder said with a laugh, then added after a pause, “Besides, even we ourselves don’t fully know what that secret actually is!”

In truth, the secret didn’t lie within the roar of the sea itself, nor was the sound of the waves the secret at all—the true secret lay upon the stone benches by the water’s edge, carved with symbols resembling musical notation!

Those musical symbols were, in fact, a combination of the fairly common “abbreviated notation” and the far rarer “gongche notation” used in ancient scores.

Never mind Xuanyuan Lige—even the members of Prince Yao’s household, and the people of Qinse Valley itself, who had received the gifted qin, could recognize these two notation systems on sight. Yet none of them knew that these two systems were, in fact, a secret code used exclusively by the people of the Lonely Isle. Judging by the craftsmanship of the stone benches, they had unmistakably been carved by someone from the Lonely Isle itself!

It was precisely by recognizing these distinctive craftsmanship traits that the Nanzhao royal family had first discovered this trace, all those years ago.

And yet, even the elders in Nanzhao most knowledgeable about the Lonely Isle had never managed to decipher what this coded sequence actually meant, because the code itself was incomplete!

Miss even a single symbol, and the meaning of the entire sequence would shift entirely, becoming something else altogether!

The Nanzhao royal family had no idea what connection, if any, existed between whoever left these codes and Qinse Valley itself—but at the very least, it was clear the descendants of Qinse Valley knew nothing of this secret themselves.

Qinse Valley would certainly never agree to let the Nanzhao royal family destroy the stone benches, and if the royal family were to press the matter, it would only draw suspicion, like a thief loudly proclaiming his own innocence.

And so, all those years ago, the King of Nanzhao at the time had fabricated a story about a secret hidden within the lake itself, using the pretext that the Merfolk Clan would both guard the secret and protect Qinse Valley from erosion by the seawater, thereby securing the Merfolk Clan’s presence within the Sea Valley.

The Beast Clan Elder wasn’t wrong—even a coded sequence that they themselves couldn’t decipher would bring no real consequences, even if someone happened to notice it.

What was truly alarming, however, was this totem that had now surfaced in Chu Feiyan’s possession—for this totem was, without question, a direct symbol of Lonely Isle lineage itself!

“Could it be that a descendant of the Lonely Isle has emerged, searching to find the isle itself?” the King of Nanzhao murmured softly.

At these words, all three clan elders’ faces filled with visible fear!

“Your Majesty, whatever happens, once Chu Feiyan reaches the royal capital, she absolutely cannot be allowed to leave the harem, not even a single step!” the Medicine Clan Elder said earnestly.

“No, she should be thoroughly interrogated!” the Merfolk Clan Elder immediately proposed!

“Nonsense! She’s a foreign princess. If word of this ever got out, what would become of it? What face would our Nanzhao kingdom have left? By then…” the Beast Clan Elder said angrily.

But the moment the King of Nanzhao turned a cold gaze upon him, he fell silent at once.

“Once she marries into Nanzhao, she becomes Nanzhao’s own. Do you truly think I’d allow word of this to spread? If this item is hers, all the better. If it isn’t—then no matter who it belongs to, I will find out, without fail!” the King of Nanzhao said, his usually gentle eyes suddenly filled with a cold, menacing darkness!

The Lonely Isle could never, under any circumstances, be found—and it absolutely could not be allowed to leave behind any descendants!

The closed-door council continued on, while back at the envoys’ compound, Jun Beiyue had already been gone a full day. Ziqing hadn’t stepped outside even once. The Empress of Dongqin naturally wouldn’t come to disturb her, and Yelu Qianqian, still at odds with her, certainly wouldn’t come either. As for Xiliang, having never had any real dealings with Da Zhou, they were unlikely to visit at all.

Ziqing found herself with a rare stretch of free time, curling up contentedly on her bamboo lounge, poring over the score for an entire day. She was still thirty scrolls away from the climax section she’d heard within the Sea Valley.

No matter how she tried to play it, something felt off. She could produce the notes well enough, but the result felt utterly disconnected from the rest of the piece, as if some crucial beat were missing entirely!

Finally, after practicing it over and over, Ziqing gave up for the moment, skipping past those thirty scrolls entirely and jumping straight to the climax section she’d heard within the Sea Valley.

She read through the score once, then began to play—but as her fingers moved across the strings, her brow gradually furrowed. This piece… how could it sound like this?