At the border between Xichu and the Xiongnu — who could possibly have moved even before Jun Beiyue?

It could only be Xuanyuan Lige!

Ziqing caught his meaning at once! This man was forever the sparrow lurking behind the mantis.

“Lishang — just how much does he actually know?”

That was the question Ziqing most wanted answered. Just how much of Lishang’s secrets did Xuanyuan Lige actually know? Ever since Lishang had come into her hands, had everything all along been circling around Lishang — with everything already firmly within Xuanyuan Lige’s control?

Though Xuanyuan Lige had said more than once that his gift of Lishang had been a simple, unconditional gift, Ziqing simply didn’t believe it.

“This totem wasn’t drawn by Consort Yi’s hand — it could only have come from his. And whatever lies in the ancient music cave is likely exactly what he’s been searching for all along.”

Jun Beiyue gave a cold smile. He knew perfectly well that the Empress of Dongqin had been played by Xuanyuan Lige. But he simply enjoyed turning the tables — going to Liuxian Island, he wanted to see exactly what tricks Xuanyuan Lige still had up his sleeve.

Regarding this totem, Jun Beiyue had asked Consort Yi about it, and Ziqing had privately asked around too — the person who had painted this totem on the Prince Yao estate’s carriage back then had definitely not been one of Consort Yi’s people.

In other words, at the time, only Xuanyuan Lige could have done it! And to this day, this totem had only ever appeared in Nanzhao’s ancient music cave.

How had Xuanyuan Lige come to know of this totem’s existence?

Thinking of this, Ziqing looked at Jun Beiyue’s cold, handsome profile, and unconsciously reached up to lightly touch her own cheek.

The longest period she had ever spent unconscious, entirely unaware of the world — that time had been spent in Xuanyuan Lige’s hands! Call it paranoia, call it overthinking, but had Xuanyuan Lige perhaps learned of that totem from her own cheek?

Should she tell Jun Beiyue about this totem, or not?

She was so afraid — afraid that when this man kissed her cheek, he might think of something so disgusting. So afraid that even when he simply looked at her, he might be reminded of what lay on her face!

To tell, or not to tell!

She was still hesitating, even now!

Everyone in the world loved beauty, and she loved it too. She hoped that, as Jun Beiyue’s woman, even if she couldn’t claim to be a beauty that toppled kingdoms, at the very least she wouldn’t fall short of ordinary women — she wanted to bring honor to her husband’s name too!

Ziqing’s mind had drifted off, and Jun Beiyue had no way of guessing her thoughts, entirely absorbed in the map.

“This place — save it for last! The Xiongnu are absolutely no easy foe.”

His slender fingers tapped the map three times, heavily. Ziqing knew this was where they would eventually meet Xuanyuan Lige head-on.

Ziqing came back to herself and once again pushed the matter to the back of her mind for the time being. She figured it wouldn’t have too great an impact for now — she would wait, think it over, and decide how best to bring it up with him.

She smiled faintly, resting her finger on Liuxian Island on the map. “So right now you want… this place?”

Since this man had already declared he wanted both a woman and the whole world, then while searching for the secret of the Lonely Island, he’d probably end up claiming whatever territory he passed through along the way, wouldn’t he?

“Exactly this place — our second stretch of territory, after Da Zhou!” Jun Beiyue said, a confident, wicked smile spreading across his face.

Ziqing couldn’t help imagining that, one day, on this very map, Jun Beiyue’s finger would point toward Xichu, Dongqin, Xijing, Nanzhao — even Xiliang.

Thinking of this, Ziqing felt her blood stir with excitement despite herself!

If this man had given up his ambition, given up the whole world, for her sake, Ziqing would surely have looked down on him for it.

Thankfully, he never gave her reason to look down on him — instead, he let her walk alongside him, sharing his hopes, his ambitions, sharing that same rush of excitement!

“No more waiting — let’s go to Liuxian Island now!” Ziqing pressed her hand down on Liuxian Island on the map, a cold, wicked smile curving at her lips as well.

Gu Shi — Han Ziqing was coming back!

As things stood now, Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen had been expelled back to the Jiang family, Gu Suying had been branded with the character for “slave” on her face and reduced to the lowest of the low on Liuxian Island, and Madam Gu had lost her position as first lady of the house. The Gu clan ought to be considerably more peaceful by now.

Ziqing had never originally set out to claim the Gu clan for herself, but circumstances had forced her hand, leaving her no choice but to fight for it. And now that she had won it, she was determined to see the Gu clan flourish gloriously under her and Jun Beiyue’s hands, dominating Liuxian Island for a thousand generations to come.

Seeing Ziqing so excited, Jun Beiyue wasted no more time. He gave General Baihu instructions for military affairs, and the two of them set off for the harbor at once…

In the twelfth lunar month, the northern half of central Da Zhou lay under a blanket of ice and snow, while Liuxian Island’s climate remained much like Nanzhao’s — warm and pleasant all year round.

The journey went smoothly, and within some ten days they arrived at Liuxian Island. The moment they set foot on the island, they were greeted by the faint, refreshing scent of lavender. Ziqing stretched lazily, and without even waiting for Jun Beiyue’s hand, leapt down from the gangplank in a few quick steps.

Unlike their last visit, this time the Gu clan’s guards had been waiting a good while, with a fine carriage already prepared.

Anyone who understood Liuxian Island only needed to linger a moment at this particular harbor to know it — because this very harbor was a direct reflection of the balance of power on Liuxian Island.

At the harbor, the same three houses still dominated — Gu, Bai, and Yu — with every other clan pushed to the margins. For the time being, at least, Liuxian Island remained quite stable.

Ziqing swept a glance around and was about to board the carriage with Jun Beiyue when a beggar suddenly darted across their path — had Ziqing not dodged quickly, she would very nearly have been struck!

The beggar’s hair was disheveled, clothes ragged and filthy — impossible to make out any features at all, let alone tell whether it was a man or a woman.

She held out a broken bowl, begging alms from Ziqing.

Having once been a beggar herself, Ziqing felt an innate pity toward beggars, and gave her a silver ingot. The beggar, seeing the silver, reached out at once to snatch it, as though afraid Ziqing might change her mind!

And it was precisely this movement that let sharp-eyed Ziqing catch a glimpse of her gender — that hand was unmistakably a woman’s.

A flicker of suspicion crossed Ziqing’s mind, and she reached at once to grab that hand — but the beggar spun around and bolted. Ziqing moved to give chase, but Jun Beiyue was already ahead of her, landing in a single leap to block the beggar’s path!

The beggar suddenly flung back her tangled, drooping hair, and upon seeing that it was Jun Beiyue who blocked her way, immediately turned to look back at the one who had given her the silver moments earlier — and sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. It was her — Han Ziqing!

Ziqing, too, was faintly startled — she hadn’t expected this person to truly be Gu Suying. Even disheveled and filthy as she now was, utterly unlike her former self, the character “slave” branded onto her forehead was unmistakable at a single glance.

On Liuxian Island, anyone cast out of their family by the head of the house would fall to the very lowest rung of society — no one would take them in, no one would show them pity. And once branded with the character for “slave,” they became the lowest of the low across the entire Longyuan Continent, despised by all.

Whether on Liuxian Island or across the whole of the Longyuan Continent, there was no possibility of Gu Suying ever rising again.

Ziqing had never expected that, by some twist of fate, the moment she returned to Liuxian Island she would run straight into this enemy of hers.

Because no one showed her any pity, Gu Suying never dared face anyone directly — she always kept her head bowed while begging. Who would have guessed she’d run straight into Han Ziqing and the others?

Gu Suying stared at Ziqing, and if the fury in her eyes could have burst forth as flame, it surely would have burned Ziqing down to nothing but bone.

She hurled the silver ingot furiously at Ziqing, then, not daring to linger any longer, turned and fled.