The Empress of Dongqin could hardly bring herself to lower her pride and explain herself directly to Jun Beiyue. She cast a cold glance around the room, her gaze finally settling on the King of Nanzhao. “Your Majesty, this matter—this one truly owes you an apology. This one was thinking of your interests, not wishing for any incident to occur within your envoys’ compound, so… upon hearing there was an assassin, this one acted impulsively without thinking it through, and rushed in without seeing clearly.”

There wasn’t a trace of genuine remorse in that apology—Ziqing found it thoroughly distasteful upon hearing it, and was about to speak up when Yelu Qianqian beat her to it. “Didn’t you see the assassin had already been thrown out? Prince Yao is more than capable of handling a mere assassin—why would you possibly need to worry about that!”

The Empress of Dongqin ground her teeth in fury, yet forced herself to explain further. “It was a moment of impulse—I didn’t look carefully.”

At this, Yelu Qianqian brightened with delight, letting out three exaggerated gasps of astonishment. “Empress of Dongqin, since when have you cared so deeply about Prince Yao’s safety? So you’re saying you were so worried about Prince Yao’s wellbeing that you rushed into his room to help him catch the assassin yourself?”

At these words, quite a few people present couldn’t help but laugh. If this story ever got out, the entire continent of Longyuan would surely be roaring with laughter over it.

A joke like this was on par with claiming Chu Feiyan had rushed to save Han Ziqing from an assassination attempt—utterly absurd, beyond belief!

Amid the barely suppressed snickering, the Empress of Dongqin’s fury nearly boiled over entirely. Finally, she snapped, “Yelu Qianqian, hold your tongue!”

“How rare—if you weren’t worried about him, then why did you barge into someone else’s room? Truly…” Yelu Qianqian paused deliberately before finishing, “…how rude!”

“You be quiet—this isn’t your place to speak!” the Empress of Dongqin snapped sharply.

The King of Nanzhao, seeing Yelu Qianqian stirring up trouble as always, hastily intervened. “Now, now, Princess Qianqian, let’s hear Her Majesty’s explanation first, shall we?”

Yelu Qianqian shrugged, her expression suggesting complete indifference.

The Empress of Dongqin, naturally needing to make her explanation clear, continued at once. “Your Majesty, I’ve already stated it plainly—I was concerned for the safety of the envoys’ compound, and for the sake of Nanzhao’s reputation as a gracious host. In my haste, I failed to assess the situation properly. If this has caused you any trouble, I do hope you’ll forgive me.”

Ziqing suppressed a laugh inwardly—this woman truly was a formidable empress in her own right, capable of spinning pure fabrication into something that sounded almost reasonable with such practiced ease. The way she’d twisted her words made it seem as though she’d genuinely explained herself satisfactorily.

Ziqing had already anticipated the King of Nanzhao’s every concern, and sure enough, just as she’d expected, the King clearly intended to smooth things over and minimize the incident, exclaiming with evident relief, “Ah, what a misunderstanding, truly a misunderstanding! Her Majesty’s intentions were well-meaning after all.”

At these words, however, Jun Beiyue spoke up, addressing the King of Nanzhao directly. “Your Majesty, and when might this King receive an explanation as well?”

The apology just given had been the Empress of Dongqin’s explanation to the King of Nanzhao—but no one had yet offered Jun Beiyue anything at all!

The Empress of Dongqin had gone through such an elaborate performance, and while it might satisfy the King of Nanzhao, it certainly wouldn’t satisfy Jun Beiyue!

“Her Majesty has already explained herself and expressed her apologies. Worthy brother, don’t you think… perhaps this matter…” The King of Nanzhao trailed off deliberately, clearly hoping Jun Beiyue would let the matter drop as a personal favor to him!

But Jun Beiyue had no intention of sparing anyone’s dignity at this point. He said coldly, “Was that apology directed at this King? Because this King felt not the slightest trace of remorse in it whatsoever!”

At these words, the Empress of Dongqin’s fists clenched abruptly, fury surging through her entire body, nearly erupting from her very nostrils. What nerve this Jun Beiyue had, demanding she apologize to him directly, face to face!

He was asking far too much—absolutely not, not a chance!

The King of Nanzhao understood Jun Beiyue’s character well enough by now to have expected exactly this outcome. Jun Beiyue had already refused to show him any deference, humiliating him in front of everyone present—there was no way he’d be willing to further debase himself by apologizing to the Empress of Dongqin on her behalf!

At this point, there was nothing left to do but push the Empress of Dongqin forward to face this herself!

He drew a deep breath and said seriously, “Your Majesty, it seems Prince Yao still suspects you of the assassination attempt. You’d best clarify matters directly with Prince Yao yourself… This King’s guest compound is simply too modest to accommodate such grand affairs.”

Having spoken so plainly, the King of Nanzhao’s underlying threat was unmistakable to the Empress of Dongqin!

Either offer Jun Beiyue a proper, sincere apology, or leave Nanzhao entirely!

One single misstep, truly. Had it been anyone else—even Xuanyuan Zhaoxi herself who’d burst into that room—there would have been room to maneuver, some clever excuse to fall back on. But it had to be her, personally!

Now, no one could help her, no one could take her place!

The standoff hung heavy in the air. Jun Beiyue regarded her with cold disdain, Ziqing’s face composed and distant, the couple finally turning their full attention directly onto the Empress of Dongqin!

Ziqing knew Jun Beiyue would never back down—he’d settle even the score from the hunting grounds incident, given the chance.

An open breach with Nanzhao was something to be avoided at all costs unless absolutely necessary—especially now, with the Empress of Dongqin still scheming against Han Ziqing’s very identity. She had no choice but to swallow her pride entirely. Drawing a deep breath, she finally met Jun Beiyue’s gaze directly. “Prince Yao, this one… trespassed into your quarters by mistake. Please… forgive this one!”

“By mistake? This King distinctly recalls Young Master Situ blocking the door. How exactly does Your Majesty define ‘by mistake’?” Jun Beiyue shot back coldly. As expected, this man had never been one to show mercy.

“We all saw it happen—it wasn’t just Situ Haonan blocking her, all of us tried to stop her! We told her Prince Yao’s illness was contagious, we told her the assassin was no match for Prince Yao at all!” Yingzi immediately spoke up.

“This one… this one was concerned for the safety of the envoys’ compound, worried the assassin might escape,” the Empress of Dongqin explained again.

“A mere assassin—does Your Majesty truly believe this King incapable of handling him?” Jun Beiyue pressed further.

“This one… this one…” Even the Empress of Dongqin, normally so quick-witted, now found herself forced to weigh every single word with the utmost caution. “Prince Yao is currently ill with a cold—this one worried Prince Yao might not be able to handle it properly.”

“Ah… I see, so that’s the reasoning!” Jun Beiyue said, feigning sudden understanding, then continued, “But wasn’t the assassin already thrown out by the time you charged in?”

Never in her entire life had the Empress of Dongqin felt so utterly humiliated—a sovereign ruler of her standing, reduced to being interrogated like this!

She drew several deep breaths in succession. “Prince Yao, a real man ought to show some magnanimity. This one has already apologized—if you insist on picking apart every last detail, isn’t that rather petty and pointless?”

Ziqing immediately laughed. “Your Majesty, apologizing might seem like a trivial matter to you—tossed off so casually, twice already—but to our Prince, it has always been a matter of the utmost seriousness, one that deserves to be examined thoroughly and clearly. Until we understand it fully, we simply cannot accept such an apology!”

Trivial? This was Xuanyuan Qingcheng, a woman who had reigned unchecked her entire life—when had she ever had to say “forgive me” to anyone? And now, trivial!

The Empress of Dongqin nearly choked on Ziqing’s words, so furious she could have spat blood, yet unable to offer any rebuttal. After several deep breaths, she finally forced the words out. “This one! This one acted too hastily just now, without seeing clearly. Seeing the door open, this one rushed straight in without thinking, disturbing Prince Yao in a moment of impulsiveness… please, Prince Yao… forgive this one!”