With those words from Jun Beiyue, the seat of honor suddenly took on an entirely different meaning. This head seat, facing south from the north, represented both the throne of Da Zhou and the throne of Western Chu — but it had nothing whatsoever to do with Western Jing!

The Western Jing emperor laughed heartily. “Prince Yao, in that case, this one shall simply seat himself without waiting for an invitation!”

With that, he lifted his robes with easy confidence and sat down at Jun Beiyue’s right side — the position that corresponded precisely to the direction of his own Western Jing throne.

This seat had been specially prepared for him by Jun Beiyue all along!

It was, in effect, a seat of honor in its own right — one that placed him on equal footing with Jun Beiyue, at the very least ensuring Jun Beiyue gained no advantage over him.

The Western Chu emperor, however, was in an entirely different position. No matter how he chose to sit, unless Jun Beiyue himself yielded the seat, he would remain a rank below — not only beneath Jun Beiyue, but beneath Western Jing as well!

The Western Chu emperor clenched his fists, nearly exploding with rage. “Jun Beiyue, you’re nothing but a mere prince — you have no right to that seat!”

“Whether I have the right or not is Da Zhou’s own imperial family business, not something you’re entitled to comment on. Mind yourself,” Jun Beiyue answered, more brusquely still.

“You!” The Western Chu emperor choked with fury. He’d originally planned to settle his score with Jun Beiyue after the negotiations concluded, but he could no longer hold himself back. He glared furiously at Han Ziqing instead, saying coldly, “It was Prince Yao’s consort who signed a treaty of peace with my Western Chu princess — mutual non-aggression, mutual non-hostility. Why, then, was that promise broken, and the gates of the Three Western Cities opened?”

Ziqing had originally intended to follow Situ Haonan’s example and simply listen without speaking, to broaden her horizons a little — but as it turned out, the Western Chu emperor had precious little worth learning from at all.

Since he clearly wasn’t going to be courteous, Ziqing certainly wasn’t about to be courteous in return either. She smiled and said, “Western Chu emperor, hasn’t the White Tiger General already sent over a detailed letter explaining this whole misunderstanding? If there’s still something you don’t understand, this princess consort will be happy to explain it to you in person tomorrow. For now, might I trouble you to show a little respect for the Western Jing emperor — this is his negotiation to conduct, and I’m only here alongside Prince Yao to serve as witness for the two of you. Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand first.”

Ziqing’s words delighted the Western Jing emperor immensely. Seeing the Western Chu emperor’s darkened expression only made the old man happier still, and he hurriedly said, “Princess Consort of Yao, please, do sit. We’re grateful for your trouble today!”

“Not at all,” Ziqing replied with a smile. Whatever the Western Chu emperor’s failings, though he’d been unable to protect Yelu Qianqian and had been forced to marry her off far away, he had nonetheless managed to raise such a pure, innocent princess within the corrupting depths of a harem — and for that, Ziqing genuinely admired him.

Ziqing didn’t sit down right away, but instead politely invited Yelu Chenyi and Dugu to join them. “Crown Prince of Western Chu, General Dugu, please, have a seat!”

Wait — that should be corrected. Given the context, “Western Chu太子” in this passage actually refers to Yelu Chenyi, the crown prince of Western Jing (寫作错误已在原文中出现,应为西荆太子). I’ll correct this in the final translation.

The crown prince of Western Jing merely nodded, sitting down with an expressionless face, while General Dugu insisted that Ziqing be seated first. After an exchange of courtesies, everyone finally took their seats. Aside from Situ Haonan, who remained standing beside Jun Beiyue, the only other people left standing were those from Western Chu — representing, in full, both the Western Chu emperor and Prince Xiang.

They had only two choices left: sit down, and rank below everyone else, or remain standing, and rank below everyone twice over.

Of course, there was technically a third option — to simply leave. But if they left, it would mean the peace negotiations had failed, rendering their earlier humble surrender utterly meaningless. Western Jing’s wild wolf army would resume its advance, and by then, “ranking below” would be the least of their concerns — Western Chu’s very throne itself would be at risk.

Under the watchful eyes of both Jun Beiyue and the Western Jing emperor, the Western Chu emperor had no choice but to force down his anger, sweeping his sleeves aside as he sat down beside Jun Beiyue!

Seeing him finally seated, the Western Jing emperor immediately shot Jun Beiyue a look of open admiration — this single victory was, in his eyes, even more impressive than anything achieved on the battlefield.

Jun Beiyue returned the look with a faint smile. The Western Chu emperor, watching this exchange, was nearly apoplectic with rage, silently vowing that today’s humiliation would be repaid twofold.

At last, everyone was seated. Jun Beiyue raised his cup, exchanging the necessary pleasantries, though as for the actual content of the negotiations, he had no intention of interfering.

The Western Chu emperor was as cunning as a wolf, and so was the Western Jing emperor — clashes of interest across the negotiating table were inevitable, the atmosphere alternating between open hostility and undercurrents of tension.

Though Jun Beiyue had already dealt the Western Chu emperor two humiliating blows, he still conducted himself with great composure, refraining from interfering in the negotiations between the two sides, serving purely as witness.

This, more than anything, earned him the Western Jing emperor’s deep admiration!

Because Jun Beiyue wasn’t merely acting as an impartial witness — he was also the true power behind Da Zhou, and at the negotiating table, he could easily have pushed for terms favorable to his own nation.

And yet, he never once spoke up!

The negotiations dragged on through the entire night. Chu Tiange interjected several times, only to be reprimanded repeatedly by the Western Jing emperor, while the Western Jing crown prince never said a single word, observing everyone just as intently as Jun Beiyue did.

Ziqing thought to herself — this man really was rather interesting.

Not until the early hours of the following morning did the negotiations finally reach an agreement: Western Chu would compensate Western Jing for all wartime losses, to be paid off in full within five years, and would cede its three northern cities. The treaty was personally drafted by Jun Beiyue, and once both sides had affixed their seals, it would take effect — drawn up in triplicate, with each of the three parties retaining a copy.

The Western Chu emperor looked over the treaty, then finally rose to his feet. War was cruel like this — to the victor go the spoils, and the defeated bear the shame.

He fixed Jun Beiyue with a cold stare, and everyone present understood perfectly well that this entire outcome — victor and vanquished alike — had been orchestrated by Jun Beiyue’s own hand from start to finish.

The Western Chu emperor took a deep breath and said coldly, “Jun Beiyue, now — don’t you think you owe this ruler an explanation?”

“Western Chu emperor, this princess consort has already mentioned this matter just now. If you still don’t trust Da Zhou, she’ll personally give you a full explanation shortly.” Jun Beiyue paused, then continued, “You’ve already been defeated — there’s no need to rush this particular matter, is there?”

With these words, it was as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over the Western Chu emperor’s raging fury, dousing it instantly.

The Western Chu emperor had come demanding an explanation with fierce determination, only to find that Jun Beiyue wasn’t the least bit concerned, treating the whole matter as though it hardly mattered at all — leaving the Western Chu emperor at an utter loss.

He simply stood there, torn between fury and humiliation, unable to find any words at all.

Jun Beiyue rose to his feet instead, turning to the Western Jing emperor with a smile. “Your Majesty Zude, this way, please. This prince has arranged a quiet little retreat, and would be honored if you’d join him for a private drink together — if you’d do me the honor.”

“For Prince Yao to extend such a personal invitation is an honor for all of Western Jing. Ha, after you, Prince Yao!” The Western Jing emperor was overjoyed — not only had he earned Jun Beiyue’s respect, but he’d also gotten to show off his standing right in front of the Western Chu emperor.

Ziqing couldn’t help but privately marvel at just how shameless and unscrupulous this man truly was — deliberately humiliating Western Chu just to flatter Western Jing!

Of course, Ziqing understood full well that Jun Beiyue’s real motive was to secure an invitation to next year’s ceremony at Mingsha Mountain.

Left completely out in the cold, the Western Chu emperor watched as Jun Beiyue and the Western Jing emperor walked off together, laughing and chatting — humiliation, disappointment, and fury all welling up inside him at once!

Despite his utter contempt for Jun Beiyue, in this moment, he found himself almost wishing he could rush over and join them instead.

To have brought a lofty emperor this low — one had to admit, Jun Beiyue was simply ruthless.

Ziqing smiled faintly, then finally spoke. “Western Chu emperor, come with me. I’ll give you your explanation.”