The journey from the beastfolk hunting grounds back to the capital took only a single night at full gallop; even traveling leisurely, three days at most wouldn’t be excessive.

Naturally, Ziqing hoped it would take as long as possible. The day after tomorrow was the Prince of Nanzhao’s grand wedding ceremony, and Jun Beiyue was certain to arrive before then!

Originally, she could have felt completely at ease—by the time they returned from the hunt, Jun Beiyue would likely have already returned as well!

But now, with such a major incident having occurred at the beastfolk hunting grounds, one that had nearly resulted in a death, even setting aside whether the Empress of Eastern Qin and the Second Beast Young Master had been scheming against Jun Beiyue, propriety alone demanded that he make an appearance now.

The beastfolk clan leader had arranged a carriage for them, and the horses were clearly beasts tamed by the beastfolk themselves, requiring no driver at all to guide them—running with such steady, blistering speed that Ziqing had no reason at all to refuse.

At this pace, they would likely reach the capital by tonight. And when they arrived, if Jun Beiyue still couldn’t be found, what then?

Ziqing leaned against a tall pillow, brows knitted tight. Hongyi, too, understood the gravity of the situation, silently resenting the possibility that His Highness might be delayed because of Shiliang.

If her mistress found out, how worried would she be!

Suddenly, Ziqing spoke up sharply. “Hongyi, let’s assume His Highness won’t be able to make it back. Help me think of a way to handle this!”

Baili Weisheng was currently riding in the beastfolk clan leader’s carriage—he’d been the very first to ask about Jun Beiyue. Ziqing understood that if he’d intended to help smooth things over, he wouldn’t have brought up Jun Beiyue on his own. Asking for his help now would likely be futile.

She had a persistent feeling that whatever help Baili Weisheng offered was meant for her, not for Jun Beiyue.

This was precisely why Ziqing had never fully trusted him.

How much did Baili Weisheng actually know about her origins?

Was he, too, here because of her background?

At that thought, Ziqing’s brows furrowed even deeper, and Hongyi’s heart ached watching her—she’d rarely seen her mistress look so troubled and anxious.

“My lady, His Highness—you don’t need to worry about him! What could His Highness possibly not handle? You’ve been exhausted for days now—please, just relax and rest!”

Hongyi urged, her heart entirely on her mistress’s side. She privately thought that if His Highness had truly been discovered sneaking off to the Poison Den, well, he’d have deserved whatever came of it.

Who told him to focus on bringing Shiliang along, leaving the Princess Consort here alone to be bullied? If Baili Weisheng hadn’t shown up in time at the hunting grounds, the Princess Consort could have jumped into the Eastern Sea and still never washed away suspicion!

Hearing Hongyi say this, Ziqing merely glanced at her once and said nothing more, simply assuming this girl didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation.

But Hongyi continued, “My lady, truly—if His Highness can just abandon you to go off to the Poison Den on his own, surely he can handle his own affairs too, can’t he? Making you clean up the mess afterward, what does that even—”

Hongyi never finished her sentence, because Ziqing’s pale little face had darkened instantly.

The man she loved, she understood better than anyone. She would never allow anyone to gossip behind his back, let alone criticize him to her face!

She had told Jun Beiyue about the Second Beast Young Master’s hunting invitation, and Jun Beiyue had flatly refused, insisting that while he was away, she should preferably not leave the residence at all, staying obediently within the envoy’s compound.

Everything that had happened at the hunting grounds had all been her own fault, for not listening, for softening her heart over Yelu Qianqian.

What did it matter whether Jun Beiyue was present or not?

He wasn’t a god, after all, nor was he Yingzi—how could he possibly be by her side every single moment? He hadn’t even gone off to handle his own business, but to help cure her poison!

According to Jun Beiyue’s arrangements, as long as she’d stayed obediently within the envoy’s compound, none of this trouble would have arisen at all!

The Prince of Nanzhao, occupied entirely with the matter of Chu Feiyan, would absolutely not have gone looking for him, and aside from the Prince of Nanzhao himself, whoever else wished to see Jun Beiyue, he could simply decline without consequence.

But now, with such a major incident having occurred at the hunting grounds, Jun Beiyue had no choice but to show himself, and the Prince of Nanzhao would certainly demand his presence as well.

This was precisely what worried Ziqing the most.

If she couldn’t navigate this crisis successfully, it would mean she’d been disobedient, that she’d harmed Jun Beiyue, ruined all the careful planning he’d worked so hard to build.

Ziqing offered no explanation, simply glaring hard at Hongyi, her small hand pressing against the window frame, gripping tighter and tighter.

What could she possibly do?

Would Jun Beiyue make it back tonight?

The convoy grew faster and faster. At the front, leading the way, the Second Beast Young Master lounged indolently in his carriage, idly flicking his long whip back and forth, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his lips.

Failing at the hunting grounds hardly mattered—once they returned to the capital, the real excitement was only just beginning!

“Faster, horses… faster still, better yet if we make it back before nightfall!” he said softly, the curve of his lips twisted with malice to the extreme.

His gentle voice was so soft, yet every single horse somehow heard it perfectly, and instantly the entire convoy surged forward at breakneck speed—while those inside the carriages remained entirely unaware.

In the carriage just ahead of Ziqing’s, the Empress of Eastern Qin and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi sat sipping tea at their leisure. It had to be said, the way mother and daughter’s faces curved into identical, sinister smiles made them seem cut from the very same cloth.

“Mother, this Second Beast Young Master really is reliable, isn’t he!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said in a low voice.

The Empress of Eastern Qin was utterly dismissive. “Reliable? If it weren’t for me, what could he possibly accomplish? This time at the hunting grounds, with every advantage of timing, terrain, and circumstance on his side, he still managed to let a Baili Weisheng pop up out of that python valley. Reliable, my foot.”

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi fell silent, somewhat put out. The Empress of Eastern Qin gave a cold huff, then lowered her voice as well. “Are you certain everything’s been handled properly?”

“Certain. That girl Shiliang is absolutely reliable—Mother, you can rest assured,” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi answered quickly.

“Is that so? Then tell me, exactly how reliable is she? Jun Beiyue is no fool to be trifled with!” the Empress of Eastern Qin asked seriously.

“Mother, don’t worry. I guarantee, even if Shiliang were to die, she would never betray us!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said, handing over a letter to the Empress—one that detailed, in full, everything that had happened between Shiliang and Jun Beiyue up until now. The Empress of Eastern Qin nodded repeatedly, thoroughly satisfied. “This girl must have been trained up by your brother, I’d wager!”

Such a clever girl, and one connected to the matter of the Isolated Isle, no less—she refused to believe Xuanyuan Zhaoxi had orchestrated this entirely on her own. This had to be that boy Lige’s handiwork.

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi hurried to flatter her. “Mother, my brother’s had such a fine asset sitting idle in his hands all this time, doing nothing with her. I merely borrowed her and put her to good use, didn’t I?”

“Heh, and these past few days, how much have you managed to dig out of him?” the Empress asked again. Using the demonic zither to threaten Xuanyuan Lige—there was plenty that could be extracted that way!

“Mother, Brother actually knows quite a lot. He’s likely been keeping tabs on Han Ziqing for a long while now,” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said with a smile. Her mother had always possessed formidable skill, and now, with Xuanyuan Lige’s intelligence added to the mix, this trip to Nanzhao was truly like adding wings to a tiger!

She could hardly wait to see just how Han Ziqing would meet her end here in Nanzhao.