Seeing Jun Beiyue’s overflowing confidence, Ziqing’s eyes couldn’t help but darken with a flicker of gloom.

Beauty — who didn’t love it? She loved it too, of course.

But beauty was something one was simply born with, a gift from one’s parents — not something that could be sought after or earned through sheer effort.

If, before this, Ziqing had merely enjoyed such things without feeling she absolutely needed them, then now, she found herself hesitating — for no other reason than the man now standing beside her.

A woman adorns herself for the one who delights in her — wasn’t that precisely the meaning behind it all?

A face she herself feared to look at, one she couldn’t bear to see — if Jun Beiyue ever learned of it, ever saw it with his own eyes, she couldn’t even bear to imagine what might happen.

“Ha, aren’t you confident. I’ve heard Da Zhou is the finest place in all of Longyuan for producing beautiful women, and New Year’s Eve at the Da Zhou court is precisely when the most beautiful of them all gather together. Heaven only knows how many lovely ladies will show up this year!”

Situ Haonan, living up fully to his reputation as a dashing playboy, jabbed his fingers together with evident relish, clearly casting doubt on Jun Beiyue’s earlier declaration.

Jun Beiyue shot him a cold glance, declaring with commanding authority, “If this prince says she’s the one, then she’s the one. There is no other, and there will be no other contest after this.”

In this entire room, apart from Ziqing herself, only Situ Haonan dared talk back to Jun Beiyue like this.

Unconvinced, Situ Haonan turned to give Ziqing a thorough, appraising once-over. Ziqing shot him a glare at once, and he backed off immediately. “Stunningly beautiful, exceptional bearing — just missing a little something…”

Jun Beiyue, showing no mercy whatsoever, gave him a light shove that sent him stumbling backward several steps onto the couch. “Push your luck any further, and don’t blame this prince for sending you packing!”

Situ Haonan shrugged sheepishly and finally fell silent. Ziqing hadn’t taken his earlier remark seriously at all — but before long, Jun Beiyue circled back to it, asking seriously, “What exactly did you mean, ‘missing a little something’?”

He cared. Of course he cared. His woman was, in his mind, already the very picture of unmatched beauty, flawless both inside and out — first in his heart above all others.

No matter what contest, what competition, he wanted her to stand head and shoulders above every other flower in the garden, utterly unrivaled.

And besides, ever since word had spread that Ziqing commanded the Tiger Army across the Three Realms, no small number of rumors had begun circulating throughout Da Zhou, painting her as some kind of rough, unrefined tomboy, utterly lacking in feminine grace.

He’d never found the right opportunity to set the record straight on her behalf. Even though she herself didn’t seem to mind, there was simply no reason she should have to endure such misguided gossip and misunderstanding.

Situ Haonan smirked to himself — he knew Jun Beiyue better than anyone. Anything concerning Han Ziqing, he wanted to know every detail of.

“Heh heh, just a little something — our princess consort here isn’t exactly skilled at dressing herself up. She could use just a touch more attention to her appearance — makeup, attire, accessories…”

Situ Haonan rattled off a whole list, and to everyone’s surprise, Jun Beiyue actually listened attentively, committing each point to memory one by one — much to the barely-suppressed amusement of Yingzi and Physician Gu, who stood off to the side stifling their laughter. Ziqing, however, watched from the doorway in the distance, her clear eyes filled with a complicated mixture of emotion.

This man… he really did care so much.

As for her — how could she possibly explain the secret hidden beneath her own face? She had once quietly consulted several renowned physicians about it, and every single one had been powerless to help. This scar would very likely remain with her for the rest of her life.

Just then, a guard hurried in to report. “My lord, my lady — Master Gu asks that you come at once. The Bai clan head has personally come calling with his young master in tow!”

The Bai clan’s visit had already been expected. Jun Beiyue simply acknowledged the news with a single word, in no hurry to go meet them, instead carefully committing every last detail of Situ Haonan’s advice to memory first.

This fellow, after all, practically lived among beautiful women day in and day out — whatever he said on the subject was bound to be reliable.

Jun Beiyue thought to himself — every woman loved to look beautiful, and Ziqing was already beautiful in her own right. Having spent so much of her time traveling constantly by his side, often making do with the same handful of outfits worn over and over, she rarely had the chance to properly rest. He wanted to give her everything more beautiful still, whenever the opportunity arose.

Ziqing said nothing at all, watching silently, waiting, and only after a good while finally left with Jun Beiyue.

“Ha, the only time the palace really comes alive is during the New Year celebrations. I’ll take you to see it when we get there.” Jun Beiyue held Ziqing’s hand as they walked, chatting and laughing along the way, clearly in excellent spirits.

Seeing him so happy, Ziqing didn’t have the heart to dampen his mood, burying her own worries deep inside instead, and quickly changed the subject. “If that purple-clad woman really is a guardian of one of the isolated island’s relics, why would she go out of her way to rescue Xuanyuan Lige?”

“At the very least, it tells us one thing — the two of them know each other,” Jun Beiyue said flatly. He understood perfectly well that Xuanyuan Lige’s every move had always ultimately been aimed at him — whether it was his hidden machinations across Liuxian Island, or his attempt to seize power there in direct opposition to Jun Beiyue himself, everything traced back to him in the end.

The only difference was, Xuanyuan Lige simply knew far, far too much about Ziqing.

As for this mysterious purple-clad woman, aside from the clues Jiao Cha had provided, they still knew virtually nothing about her — but one thing, at least, seemed certain. Ziqing gave a faint smile and said, “She’ll definitely come looking for me again.”

At these words, Jun Beiyue’s grip on her hand suddenly tightened, hard enough that Ziqing winced and looked up at him, her delicate brows knitting together.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous your situation is?” Jun Beiyue said, clearly displeased.

Hearing this, Ziqing lowered her head sheepishly once more. Jun Beiyue sighed inwardly, exasperated — this woman simply never seemed to grasp the concept of danger, or of worry, no matter how many times he tried to impress it upon her.

So far, they hadn’t run into any truly life-threatening peril — but there was simply no telling how many hidden eyes were watching them from the shadows at any given moment.

“From today onward, you’re not leaving my side, not for a single step,” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

“I never really have, anyway…” Ziqing muttered under her breath. Jun Beiyue heard it clearly, and couldn’t help but laugh helplessly, pretending he hadn’t caught it. He fell silent for a long while after that, turning over a particular question in his mind that he’d been wanting to ask for some time now — but in the end, he still couldn’t quite bring himself to voice it.

Where Xuanyuan Lige was concerned, he had never once asked or expected Ziqing to be the one to strike the killing blow — and yet this woman’s own conduct, so clear-eyed and decisive about grudges and gratitude alike, genuinely impressed him.

More often than not, even a man might struggle to display such resolute decisiveness.

The couple continued their leisurely stroll, taking quite a while before finally reaching the reception hall. The Bai clan father and daughter had already grown thoroughly impatient waiting!

Before they’d even stepped through the door, they could already hear Bai Feiyao’s raised voice. “Gu clan head, my father and I have come to pay you a personal visit, and we’ve been made to wait a full hour without so much as a single soul coming to greet us! Is this truly the Gu clan’s idea of proper hospitality? Is this truly the refinement befitting the foremost clan of Liuxian Island?”

“We never considered you guests to begin with — what hospitality is there to speak of?” Ziqing’s voice arrived before she herself did, silencing Bai Feiyao instantly with a single sharp retort. “You— you—”

Ziqing stepped through the doorway, and Bai Feiyao immediately lunged forward, only for the Bai clan head to spring up in alarm and physically restrain her. “Feiyao! Show some manners!”

“Father, she’s clearly doing this on purpose to make things difficult for us — some foremost clan they—”

“Enough! Silence!”

“Father!”

“Get back this instant!”

The Bai clan head erupted furiously on the spot, and only then did Bai Feiyao finally settle down. Jun Beiyue followed in behind Ziqing, quietly taking his seat off to the side.

Unable to wait any longer, the Bai clan head got straight to the point. “Prince Yao, raw materials such as timber and stone have grown extremely scarce across the island of late, and with the Bai clan’s main hall burned to the ground, reconstruction is urgently needed. So… this old one has come today specifically to humbly request the use of the Gu clan’s fleet, to procure timber from beyond the island. The Gu clan head informed us this matter required your personal approval — might Prince Yao be willing to grant us this favor? As for the price, we are, of course, entirely open to negotiation.”

Despite having been at odds with the Gu clan for so long now, and with Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing specifically for over half a year, the Bai clan head had rarely, if ever, had to confront Jun Beiyue quite this directly before.

Thinking back over these past six months, he realized he’d scarcely ever even heard Jun Beiyue speak much at all. Han Ziqing’s formidable reputation, the Bai clan had already learned firsthand — but surely, the Bai clan head reasoned, Prince Yao, being a man after all, would prove somewhat more magnanimous than that fierce woman. He’d already humbled himself enough to come begging in person like this — and besides, this arrangement would benefit the Gu clan’s own fleet as well. Surely he’d be granted at least a decent reception for his trouble.

Jun Beiyue didn’t answer right away, instead regarding the Bai clan head with an expression of distinct, unreadable amusement…