The vast hall now held only Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, the silence between them profound.
Ziqing timidly raised her head to meet his gaze, only to immediately look away the moment their eyes met, as though genuinely frightened.
Jun Beiyue’s expression remained cold, and without warning he demanded furiously, “Do you have any idea what kind of consequences could follow if word reached the Emperor’s ears that the dignified Princess Consort of Prince Yao had vanished entirely overnight, her whereabouts completely unknown?”
Ziqing flinched, immediately lowering her head again, kneeling in trembling silence, not daring to say a word.
Jun Beiyue, still visibly fuming, glared at her furiously, demanding again, “Where did you go last night?”
“This concubine grew tired walking along Vermilion Bird Avenue, and stopped to rest at a teahouse. I simply grew too exhausted to make my way back,” Ziqing answered timidly.
Jun Beiyue snorted coldly. “Who was attending you? Did you bring any guards along at all?”
Ziqing drew in a sharp breath—could this man truly intend to investigate every last detail so thoroughly?
“It was… it was just this concubine alone. This concubine had no one else with her at the time,” Ziqing answered timidly once more.
“What! Han Ziqing, you—! Just what exactly do you think being Prince Yao’s Consort means? This prince told you long ago that Prince Yao’s residence has its own household rules, and the Princess Consort has her own set of rules to follow as well—have you simply been treating all of it as meaningless noise this entire time?”
Had Jun Beiyue ever scolded anyone quite this thoroughly before? Normally, the moment anyone erred even slightly, punishment followed immediately, with no need for explanations at all—this was, in fact, the very first time he’d ever scolded anyone at such length.
Watching her kneel there, head bowed, trembling with apparent fear, he nearly found himself unable to suppress a laugh.
And yet, hidden beneath Ziqing’s lowered eyes lay unmistakable displeasure, even as she continued playing the part of the pleading supplicant perfectly. “This concubine acknowledges her fault… Your Highness, please forgive this concubine’s transgression! This concubine was so disoriented after her time at the Court of Judicial Review that she simply couldn’t regain her composure the moment she was released, and made such a grave mistake as a result. Please, Your Highness, forgive this concubine!”
“Forgive you? Do you have any idea this prince mobilized the entire household’s manpower last night searching for you? If this prince doesn’t punish you now, how could this prince possibly command respect among the household staff? How could this prince ever entrust you with managing the household’s affairs in the future?” Jun Beiyue demanded, clearly displeased.
Ziqing lifted her head, her eyes wide and glistening with tears, gazing up at him with an utterly pitiable expression, pleading, “Your Highness, this concubine has only just joined Prince Yao’s residence, only just been formally conferred her title—she genuinely doesn’t yet understand the household’s rules, nor the rules expected of a princess consort. As the saying goes, ignorance is no crime—might Your Highness show some leniency, and forgive this concubine just this once?”
Jun Beiyue studied her carefully, his handsome brow furrowing. “Ignorance is no crime?”
“Precisely so… Your Highness. This concubine grew up her entire life within the Han residence, familiar only with the Han household’s own rules…” Ziqing said timidly, inwardly laughing to herself—let’s see him try to argue against that logic.
Unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue suddenly slammed his palm down on the table. “Someone! Bring brush and ink!”
Ziqing found herself puzzled. Jun Beiyue then proceeded to write furiously for a moment, before presenting the finished document directly before her—three household rules, written in stark black ink on white paper!
Rule One: Prince Yao’s word is absolute command, to be obeyed unconditionally.
Rule Two: All whereabouts must be reported to Prince Yao, without exception.
Rule Three: Violation shall be punished through the fulfillment of marital duties.
Ziqing read through each rule with perfect composure, until her eyes landed on the words “fulfillment of marital duties”—at which point her expression darkened sharply, a flicker of cold displeasure crossing her gaze.
What exactly did this man mean by such “physical compensation”? They were, after all, already husband and wife—engaging in marital relations between them would be entirely natural and expected regardless. She had no real leverage against him on that front—so why had he deliberately written such a rule into their household code at all? Wasn’t this, if anything, a rather elaborate way to fulfill a marital obligation he otherwise had no intention of engaging in, all under the guise of “punishment”? Wasn’t this, in effect, an insult to her?
Never mind the people of this ancient era—even in the modern, enlightened world thousands of years in the future, any man alive would harbor certain particular sensitivities, would care deeply about such matters.
Surely he cared about it too!
Because of his ongoing feud with Emperor Tianhui, because of his contempt for Han Xi’er, because of his own momentary whim, because her obedient, unassuming demeanor made her the most convenient choice for Princess Consort—he had married her purely to serve as a mere decorative fixture.
How could he possibly ever genuinely regard her as a true wife?
Staring at those words, “fulfillment of marital duties,” Ziqing found herself recalling his once-proud, domineering declaration made before the entire court, and her heart grew colder still.
She accepted the written document with both hands, respectfully. “This concubine will remember it well.”
“Good, as long as you remember. This time, given that ignorance excuses your fault, this prince shall let the matter rest. Should there be a next time, however, don’t blame this prince for showing no further mercy,” Jun Beiyue said coldly.
Ziqing genuinely wanted to ask him directly—exactly how did he intend to show “no further mercy”? Exactly what did he intend by “physical compensation”?
Yet in the end, she held her tongue. The wisest course of action, she knew, was to avoid provoking this man any further—after all, he likely wouldn’t remain at the residence, or even in the capital, for very long regardless.
With Prince Yao’s residence as her backing now secured, once this man departed, what could possibly prove difficult for her to manage on her own?
“This concubine will remember it well.” She remained just as demure and obedient as ever, gentle and meek as a little white rabbit, entirely at his disposal, seemingly eager to please him in every way.
Only then did Jun Beiyue seem satisfied, and he made no further difficulties for Ziqing, simply instructing her to prepare herself, as they were to head to the palace together to formally give thanks for the conferment.
With Prince Yao’s special privileges, their carriage rolled smoothly through the palace gates. Inside the carriage, Jun Beiyue rested his head on one hand, dozing lightly, while Ziqing sat obediently beside him, head lowered, utterly silent.
The carriage gradually came to a stop, and only then did she finally look up—only to find herself immediately caught in Jun Beiyue’s scrutinizing gaze. In that instant, without even thinking, she immediately looked away. Jun Beiyue, too, seemed momentarily startled, immediately averting his own gaze as well, and for a brief, silent moment, the awkwardness between them was palpable.
She thought to herself—wasn’t he supposed to be asleep? How long had he been watching her like that? What exactly was there to look at, anyway?
He frowned, coughing lightly a few times, saying flatly, “Let’s get out.”
She murmured a soft “Mm,” and quickly climbed down from the carriage, head lowered.
He walked ahead, and she followed close behind, the entire walk to the imperial study passing in complete silence.
The moment they entered, they found Emperor Tianhui seated alone beside his chessboard, deep in contemplation.
Jun Beiyue and Ziqing both knelt together, performing the formal ceremony of thanks to Emperor Tianhui for the conferment. The Emperor’s mood seemed rather pleased, and he quickly bid them rise.
“Heh, Ziqing, did you blame Fourth Son for his absence yesterday? Not showing his face at all, nearly leading this Emperor to wrongly accuse this daughter-in-law of mine!” Emperor Tianhui teased.
“The prince knew Your Majesty possesses such keen and thorough judgment that he would never wrongly accuse Ziqing—that is precisely why he felt no need to attend,” Ziqing answered obediently.
Those who enjoyed flattery, after all, remained the vast majority of people. Hearing Ziqing’s response, Emperor Tianhui’s mood brightened considerably further, seemingly genuinely quite pleased with this particular daughter-in-law after all, laughing as he said, “Fourth Son, it seems this Emperor was right to let you choose your own consort after all—just look at how delightfully pleasing this one turned out to be!”
Jun Beiyue, seemingly uninterested in such insincere flattery and idle pleasantries, said flatly instead, “Father Emperor, might your son ask whether the Chu envoy has once again postponed the timing of his visit? Will the autumn hunt still proceed as scheduled?”
A complicated flicker crossed Emperor Tianhui’s eyes. “Ziqing, I believe this is your very first time visiting the palace, isn’t it?”
“After Consort Yi summoned this concubine to Yiqing Palace for tea that first night, having entered the palace so hastily, this concubine never did get the chance to properly look around,” Ziqing answered—she understood perfectly well that Emperor Tianhui was simply trying to find an excuse to send her away.
Emperor Tianhui laughed heartily. “Someone, escort the Princess Consort of Prince Yao around the imperial garden—see that she’s well attended to!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Ziqing was more than happy to leave, glancing obediently at Jun Beiyue before departing alongside the eunuch.
She had heard Hongyi mention the autumn hunt and the Chu envoy’s visit several times already, and found herself curious about exactly who this Chu envoy might be, that Emperor Tianhui would react with such visible tension, as though bracing for a formidable threat.