Once they passed through the southern gate of Da Zhou, they were back on the territory of Jun Beiyue and Ziqing themselves, and the restrictions on them eased considerably.
And yet they only rested for a short while before setting off again. Word had come from Western Jing that Western Chu had surrendered — the war was over, and both sides were now waiting to sign the treaty of defeat.
Letter after letter, written in the Western Chu emperor’s own hand, arrived one after another on Emperor Tianhui’s desk, all of them condemnations and protests. Jun Beiyue used the excuse of being far away in Nanzhao to delay dealing with the matter. Though Emperor Tianhui was a puppet ruler, he was still an emperor in name, and he had his pride to consider. Under the Western Chu emperor’s repeated pressing, he finally pushed the Second Prince — who had opened the gates of the Three Western Cities — right into the eye of the storm.
As for the current Da Zhou court, with Consort Yiqing stirring up trouble, it was in complete chaos.
Inside the carriage, Ziqing looked over letter after letter from Prince Baxian, laughing with delight.
“What method did this White Tiger General use to get the Second Prince to open the city gates? He’s no fool.”
“The Western Jing army pretended to launch a sneak attack on the Three Western Cities. The Second Prince was eager to win military merit, so the White Tiger General simply gave him a little push,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold smile.
Ziqing understood at once. The Western Jing army had feigned an assault on the Three Western Cities, and the Second Prince was bound to strike back — first, to win merit for himself, and second, to use it to claim credit in front of Chu Tiange. Two birds with one stone. Naturally, he would fight the White Tiger General for control.
The White Tiger General was a subordinate, while Jun Beichen was the lofty Second Prince, so of course the general yielded to him. All it took was a little maneuvering behind the scenes, and the Second Prince would be led to utter defeat — it was only a matter of time before the city gates were opened.
“What a clever scheme!” Ziqing admired it. The result meant Jun Beiyue could wash his hands of the whole affair completely clean, and even the White Tiger General could shift all the blame away — everything would fall squarely on Jun Beichen’s shoulders alone.
Western Chu wanted him handed over, and handing Jun Beichen over would only be right and proper. And the reason Jun Beiyue was traveling day and night was all for Consort Yiqing.
“Has Consort Yiqing come begging yet?” That was what Ziqing cared about most. Consort Yiqing was no fool — to protect Jun Beichen, there was no one to turn to but Jun Beiyue.
If she had any sense, she wouldn’t even need Jun Beiyue to force her — she would obediently offer up the secret of the Charm Incense in exchange. After all, that drug wasn’t something one could simply obtain on a whim.
If Consort Yiqing could get her hands on the Charm Incense, then at the very least, she must know something about it.
“It’s only a matter of time before she comes to beg. Ouyang Chi has been watching her closely,” Jun Beiyue said calmly. He wasn’t worried that Consort Yiqing wouldn’t come — what he feared most was that she would be silenced first.
Ziqing understood, and picked up the score for Lishang to keep studying. These past few days, she had spent nearly every spare moment poring over the score. Now that she knew where the missing sections were, she could make more or less educated guesses about the missing notes. Even though her chances of guessing correctly were slim, she refused to give up.
Watching how serious she looked, the corners of Jun Beiyue’s lips curved up without him meaning them to. Liking someone really was this simple — he didn’t need to do anything at all; just looking at her made him happy.
He didn’t disturb her further, and went to sit outside instead. Outside, riding alongside on horseback, Situ Haonan was still puzzling over things. Yelu Qianqian had simply left just like that — said goodbye, and then truly set off on her way!
He’d originally thought the girl would cling and pester him at least a little, or at the very least ask him to see her off to the harbor again, the way she had last time.
But instead — she hadn’t done anything of the sort!
The moment he saw Jun Beiyue come out, Situ Haonan hurried to ask, “Beiyue, where’s the peace settlement between Western Jing and Western Chu going to take place this time?”
On the continent of Longyuan, no matter what kind of war was fought, once one side admitted defeat, a treaty would always be drawn up — just as it had been between Da Zhou and Western Chu the last time.
There would be all sorts of clauses — terms of compensation, punitive measures, and so on.
Sometimes envoys were sent to sign on the ruler’s behalf, which was the more common kind of peace conference — a confidential affair involving only the two envoys. Other times, the rulers themselves would meet face to face, which made for a grand occasion, complete with a banquet where all the terms would be made public.
“Right in the Three Western Cities. This prince will be going to serve as witness,” Jun Beiyue said with a smile.
Situ Haonan wore an expression that all but said “I knew it.” If Jun Beiyue himself were going, then surely both rulers would be present in person.
Situ Haonan thought it over, then added, “I’ve never seen a grand occasion like that before. Bring your brother along! I promise not to embarrass you.”
Jun Beiyue gave him a meaningful look, and before he could even nod, Situ Haonan hurriedly explained, “I’m just going to take a look, that’s all!”
Jun Beiyue said nothing, simply nodded, then leapt onto his horse and rode to guard the right front of the carriage.
With Jun Beiyue — the top internal-strength master of the Gu clan — on the right, and Situ Haonan — the top martial artist of the Longyuan world — on the left, Ziqing was practically the safest woman in the entire world.
No one would dare so much as approach her carriage.
Only after the procession had traveled far into the distance did a figure slip out from the woods beside the road — purple robes, silver hair, drifting like an immortal. It was none other than Xuanyuan Lige.
It had been a long time since anyone had seen him. He still looked just as thin and frail, his complexion still just as pale.
This time, he hadn’t come looking for Ziqing, but for Shiliang.
Once he discovered that Wuzheng was a fake, he’d known at once that Shiliang’s cover had been blown. And yet, having chased all the way here, he still hadn’t found a trace of Shiliang — clearly, Shiliang hadn’t returned with the others.
With Consort Yiqing’s help, he’d managed to determine that there was no record of Shiliang having left through the northern gate of Nanzhao. Thinking it over, could it be that Shiliang had truly been left behind in Nanzhao?
Xuanyuan Lige could never have imagined that someone could snatch a person away right under Jun Beiyue’s nose. He simply couldn’t figure out why Jun Beiyue would have left Shiliang behind in Nanzhao — and if left behind in Nanzhao, then left behind where, exactly?
Just as he was hesitating over whether to keep following, an old nanny arrived.
“Young master, this is the score that Siyu wrote out from memory — two copies in total.” The old nanny respectfully presented it with both hands. Her surname was Qin, and she was the very nanny who had raised Xuanyuan Lige from childhood.
Xuanyuan Lige took it at once and looked it over. After a quick glance, his expression changed drastically. Lishang had been with him for so long — even if he couldn’t play it himself, he had long since studied the entire score inside and out.
“That symbol again!” Xuanyuan Lige frowned. Even his mother, the empress, had always assumed he knew the meaning of that emblem — but no one knew that he had only ever seen it once, on Ziqing’s face.
That woman’s face — he was probably the only one who had ever seen it.
Seeing her young master troubled, Nanny Qin spoke up out of turn. “Young master, what emblem is it?”
Xuanyuan Lige said nothing, only casually spread the score open for Nanny Qin to see. The score was covered in a mass of ancient musical notation, with a single emblem mixed in among it. Nanny Qin couldn’t make sense of any of it. “Young master, what does all of this mean?”
“This — when I first saw it, I wasn’t even certain it was an emblem. I was only testing the waters. I never expected it would actually turn up in a musical score,” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly, pointing out the one and only emblem.
Nanny Qin looked closer, and found herself frowning right along with Xuanyuan Lige. He quickly folded the score away. “Let’s go. Mother must be looking for me by now.”
But who would have expected the old nanny to say, with great seriousness, “Young master, this old servant has seen this pattern before!”