In the great camp there were two seats of honor, arranged left and right, and Ziqing and the Emperor of Xichu each took one!
Ziqing sat as a princess consort, while the Emperor of Xichu sat as a sovereign, and yet Ziqing had once again gained the upper hand in precedence.
The Emperor of Xichu was well aware of it, of course, but he had already been beaten down enough that he no longer cared to argue over such trifles with Han Ziqing.
He settled into his seat with easy composure. This was his one chance at revenge — to get Jun Beichen into his hands!
According to the customs of the Longyuan Continent, anyone who violated a peace accord had to be handed over to the other party for punishment.
“Father, once we have Jun Beichen, we will surely have our revenge!”
On this journey, Chu Tiange cared nothing at all for the outcome of the treaty with Xijing; his entire mind was fixed on Jun Beichen.
To the victor go the spoils — whatever demands the Emperor of Xijing made, Xichu had no grounds to refuse. But Jun Beichen, him he was determined to seize no matter what.
The secret in Consort Yi’s hands could not be pried loose no matter how he threatened or enticed her — but her greatest weakness was Jun Beichen. If he brought Jun Beichen back to Xichu, would Consort Yi not come crawling to him of her own accord?
And whatever secret Consort Yi held was as good as holding Han Ziqing’s very life in his hands!
If before this Chu Tiange had never been able to find Jun Beiyue’s most fatal weakness, now he had found it — a woman. Han Ziqing.
A flicker of malice crossed the eyes of the Emperor of Xichu. “This matter does not need your interference.”
However one looked at it, Jun Beichen was a prince of the Da Zhou imperial house. Today Jun Beiyue had humiliated him so thoroughly that he was determined to return the humiliation in kind, and Jun Beichen was the perfect hostage.
He had no shortage of ways to strip the Da Zhou imperial house of every shred of face.
Striking at the face of the Da Zhou imperial house would be far more satisfying than striking directly at Jun Beiyue’s — he wanted every noble, every soldier, every commoner of Da Zhou to see with their own eyes that Jun Beiyue was no god to them. Jun Beiyue could not even protect the honor of his own imperial family!
“Father, do not act rashly. Jun Beichen is far too useful — this must be planned carefully!” Chu Tiange hastened to advise.
“Heh, I know full well what little scheme you’re turning over in that head of yours. Don’t worry, I know when to hold back.”
…
Father and son put their heads together, discussing how to deal with Jun Beichen. Naturally they both knew perfectly well that Jun Beichen had been pushed forward by Jun Beiyue to take the blame in his place — and precisely because of that, it had never even occurred to them to doubt it. They were entirely certain that Jun Beiyue would hand Jun Beichen over.
Ziqing sneered inwardly. It wasn’t only this father and son who believed Jun Beiyue would surrender Jun Beichen — even Consort Yi believed it, which was exactly why she had gone to beg them.
But Jun Beiyue had not the slightest intention of giving up Jun Beichen, and neither did Ziqing.
“Emperor of Xichu, I imagine General Baihu has already explained the full course of events to you.” Ziqing spoke evenly, with Situ Haonan standing behind her, rubbing his nose as though turning something over in his mind.
“Heh, and you think one tidy explanation is enough to send me packing? Princess Yao, you know perfectly well the peace accord is the highest law of the Longyuan Continent. This treaty between Xichu and Da Zhou was signed personally by you and my Xichu’s Princess Imperial. If you do not hand over today the one who opened the gate without authorization, you will pay the price for it — you will come back to Xichu with me!”
The Emperor of Xichu spoke coldly, deliberately avoiding naming Jun Beichen outright. A cold sneer flickered across his face as he waited for Han Ziqing to bring the name up herself.
“Rest easy, Emperor of Xichu. The one who opened the gate without authorization is already waiting outside. This princess consort will hand him over to you, to deal with as you see fit! Whatever happens, this princess consort will not utter a single word of complaint!” Ziqing spoke just as earnestly.
Chu Tiange sneered inwardly — Han Ziqing, you must despise Consort Yi and Jun Beichen to the bone, of course you’d hand him over to us without a second thought!
“Bring in the prisoner!” Ziqing commanded sharply.
The Emperor of Xichu and Chu Tiange exchanged a glance, an unspoken understanding passing between them — this was the greatest gain of their entire journey, and it would mark the beginning of washing away their disgrace!
But when the prisoner was brought in, the Emperor of Xichu and Chu Tiange were struck utterly dumbfounded on the spot.
How could this be… how could this possibly be!
Two men had been brought in. One was an old man dressed in prisoner’s garb. The other was Jun Beichen himself — worthy indeed of his imperial blood, clad head to toe in silvery-white armor, magnificent and commanding.
He was not the prisoner at all — he had personally escorted the prisoner in!
“What is the meaning of this?” Chu Tiange blurted out.
Jun Beichen paid him no attention at all. He pushed the man forward to the center of the room, then withdrew to stand behind Ziqing. Situ Haonan glanced at him once, shrugged, and went back to his own musings.
“What is the meaning of what? What exactly is Prince Xiang trying to ask? This princess consort doesn’t follow.” Ziqing’s tone was mild, seemingly reasonable on the surface but in truth thick with contempt — enough that Chu Tiange could no longer hold himself back. “The one who opened the gate without authorization was Jun Beichen. Could it be that Princess Yao intends to shield him and twist the law in his favor?”
At those words, a flash of hatred crossed Jun Beichen’s eyes. To think that he and his mother had been so utterly loyal and devoted to Chu Tiange, and yet at a moment like this, Chu Tiange had no intention of helping him at all — he wanted to pursue his guilt instead!
If Chu Tiange had truly meant it, he should have been scheming to clear his name, to let him remain safely in Da Zhou. But instead, here he was, determined to press the charge.
He knew full well that once someone was condemned as a violator of the peace accord, they would never again be able to hold their head up anywhere on the Longyuan Continent. That charge would follow him for the rest of his life — wherever he went, everyone would look down on him, everyone would shun him.
Chu Tiange knew perfectly well he had been framed by Jun Beiyue, and yet he still treated him this way. A man like that — what more could he possibly expect from him?
He had once promised to help him seize the throne of Da Zhou. Thinking it over now, it had all been nothing but being used — every promise before this had been nothing but empty words.
“Who told you that the one who opened the gate without authorization was our Second Prince?” Ziqing shot back.
The question left Chu Tiange with nothing to say. General Baihu’s letter had only explained that someone had betrayed them and secretly opened the gates of West Third City — and the rumor circulating through the army was merely that it had been Jun Beichen who gave the order to open the gate.
But thinking it over carefully — neither Jun Beiyue nor the White Tiger Army had ever publicly announced Jun Beichen’s guilt at all!
“Then who is he? Han Ziqing, don’t you dare tell me that some lowly foot soldier could open the gates of West Third City!” the Emperor of Xichu roared in fury.
“He is an adjutant serving beside General Baihu, who has followed General Baihu faithfully for many years. This princess consort never imagined he would steal the Second Prince’s token, impersonate him, and open the gate! This man’s crime is monstrous! Now, this princess consort hands him over to you — deal with him however you see fit!”
Ziqing said this with an air of perfect solemnity, utterly righteous, which only infuriated the Emperor of Xichu and Chu Tiange all the more.
“Han Ziqing, you! Bending the law for your own ends, shielding the true culprit — you just pick some random man and call him an adjutant? Do you take me for a man who has never commanded troops? Are you not afraid of being scorned by the whole world?” The Emperor of Xichu was so furious the veins stood out on his neck; he very nearly leapt from his seat.
“Justice lives in the hearts of the people. This princess consort’s conscience is clear and fears no shadows — let the world judge my deeds and my faults as it will.” Ziqing spoke evenly. She had never cared much for others’ opinions to begin with, and all the more so now — the whole world currently believed that she and Jun Beiyue had framed Jun Beichen, and yet here she was releasing him instead. The world would hardly find fault with her for that. What did she have to fear?
“You! I will not lower myself to bandy words with a mere woman. I demand to see Jun Beiyue — bring Jun Beiyue here!” The Emperor of Xichu suddenly slammed the table and rose to his feet!