That night, the main palace of Akebaqu blazed with lights, a scene of lively splendor!

A sumptuous feast, breathtakingly beautiful singers and dancers—everything stood ready, waiting only for the guests to arrive.

At this moment, only Yelu Chenyi remained within the palace, sitting silently amid all the bustling grandeur, appearing all the more isolated for it.

He sat with his head bowed, ten small maps of Mingsha Mountain spread out before him. These maps bore no markings of the Sand Worship Ceremony’s arrangements, but rather a great many scattered dots and symbols—no one could tell exactly what he was studying so intently!

“What are you looking at? You’ve studied that thing for years without finding anything.” Yanzi said with a smile, walking over. She knew this man far too well—so well that she felt only admiration for him, never romantic affection.

She settled herself beside Yelu Chenyi, leaning against his broad shoulder with easy familiarity. Recalling how Yelu Qianqian had suspected some illicit affair between them, she couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Naturally, she would never breathe a word of her and Yelu Qianqian’s secret to this man!

This man was fine in every respect—save for one single flaw: he doted far too much on his little sister.

In his entire life, aside from scheming to have the Xiliang Crown Prince fall for Yelu Qianqian and marry her off to secure Xijing’s western frontier, he’d never once done anything to hurt her, whether great or small!

Yelu Chenyi paid no attention whatsoever to Yanzi’s affectionate gesture, remaining entirely absorbed in the maps.

“Did Han Ziqing really not come?” Yanzi asked, feigning casualness.

“They brought along a large bathing tub, and the scent of medicinal herbs has been leaking out ever since. She’s probably soaking in it.” Yelu Chenyi said flatly.

Yanzi immediately sat up straight, her phoenix eyes narrowing coldly. “So what if the corpse-poison can be driven out? Her face will never recover! Even if she came, she’d be far too unpresentable to be seen!”

“What exactly is he here for?” Yelu Chenyi said, slowly folding away the maps—maps that only Yanzi herself had ever likely laid eyes on.

“For revenge, of course. Looking for you… and looking for me too!” Yanzi said, bursting into laughter of her own accord. “Do you think he’ll actually manage to find me?”

Regarding Jun Beiyue’s arrival, Yanzi, normally so cautious, seemed genuinely full of confidence.

“What, your beloved arrives, and you’re this careless about it?” Yelu Chenyi asked disdainfully, turning to look at her, his expression entirely serious.

Under his gaze, Yanzi found herself sobering as well. “I’m simply pleased, that’s all—not underestimating him in the slightest. Whatever form his revenge takes, there can be only one outcome: once he arrives, he won’t be leaving again. My Mingsha Den has been lacking a master of the house for far too long.”

They both knew perfectly well that Jun Beiyue had come seeking revenge!

The only question was, exactly how did he intend to exact it?

He’d set aside the negotiation appointment with the Dongqin Empress entirely, ignored Nanzhao’s suspicions, and traveled all this way to Xijing!

That alone was troubling enough, but what baffled them most was that this man had come utterly alone, single-handedly, with not the slightest stir along Xijing’s borders.

Where did he possibly find the confidence to exact revenge right within Xijing’s own capital?

Yanzi gazed silently out toward the door, letting out a faint sigh, no longer daring to joke.

They had once speculated that Jun Beiyue, driven to fury for the sake of his beloved, might march his armies here and lay everything bare, forcing Xijing to hand over the Crown Prince, to hand over her.

Yet so far, aside from increasingly absurd rumors spreading further and further, the world had actually remained remarkably peaceful!

They’d even prepared themselves for the possibility of war—once Jun Beiyue concentrated his forces in the west, both Dongqin to the north and Xichu would surely take action, and as for Nanzhao, since Jun Beiyue had so far given no account of himself, Nanzhao too would inevitably apply pressure.

The moment Jun Beiyue mobilized his troops, the entire realm would inevitably descend into chaos!

Yet they had overlooked one crucial point—the exact opposite held true as well: so long as Jun Beiyue didn’t mobilize his troops, Longyuan would never fall into chaos at all.

Da Zhou’s Tiger Army alone was more than sufficient to secure the northern front. So long as that northern front remained stable, Xichu—having only just suffered a devastating defeat and gravely weakened—would never dare mobilize its own forces lightly. As for Dongqin, even with their princess taken captive, even with Jun Beiyue ignoring the Dongqin Empress’s sweeping declarations to the world, what could she possibly do to him?

Across the entire Longyuan continent, Dongqin’s land forces ranked among the very weakest. Dongqin’s naval strength, meanwhile, wasn’t genuinely powerful in absolute terms—it merely appeared strong because, aside from Nanzhao, no other nation had bothered building up a navy at all.

Across the entire continent, Dongqin was, in fact, the nation least willing to initiate open warfare! Otherwise, Xuanyuan Lige would never have staked everything on the single outcome of Jun Beiyue’s death and Da Zhou descending into chaos.

As for Nanzhao—setting aside entirely whether it had truly been the merfolk who’d helped Jun Beiyue, even assuming some settlement were reached, Nanzhao’s pressure on Da Zhou wouldn’t necessarily manifest as outright war either!

The Nanzhao royal house had always adhered to a conservative policy, and there were countless ways to apply pressure short of war.

So long as Jun Beiyue didn’t mobilize his troops, so long as Da Zhou remained stable, no one in the entire realm would dare start a war, no one would dare stir up chaos!

This was, perhaps, the very truth Xuanyuan Lige had grasped earliest of all!

Which was precisely why his single, unwavering goal had always been to kill Jun Beiyue!

Only now did Yanzi finally understand fully, unable to suppress a burst of laughter. “Heh heh, the man this young lady set her sights on has already become a hegemon in his own right, without even realizing it!”

He didn’t contend for power, and so the entire world simply revolved around him.

But what if he ever did contend for it?

Yanzi refused to dwell on that thought too deeply—she would never grant Jun Beiyue the opportunity to seize such power in the first place.

This world was hers to claim!

“Whatever form his revenge takes, all we need to do is strike first!” The Sand Worship Ceremony was the perfect opportunity! Yanzi said, malice flickering repeatedly through her eyes. Ever since Yelu Qianqian had come to her seeking help, she’d already begun calculating her own scheme.

Yelu Chenyi didn’t answer right away, remaining silent, his gaze still fixed on the doorway. Jun Beiyue and the Xiliang envoy should be arriving soon.

Hearing the ceremonial music begin, Yanzi rose to leave.

Just then, Yelu Chenyi finally spoke, his voice flat. “Remember—keep this feud of yours from touching Xijing.”

Xijing, at least for now, couldn’t afford to provoke Da Zhou.

“Understood.” Yanzi nodded and withdrew silently, without a trace.

Meanwhile, Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan were already just outside the entrance, several guards trailing behind them, evidently carrying some kind of gift covered by an enormous silk cloth—large enough to tell it was something substantial, though impossible to guess what exactly it was!

She recalled now that his letter had indeed mentioned bringing a grand gift for Xijing.

Yanzi paid it little attention. She had to admit, no matter how composed she normally remained, the moment she laid eyes on Jun Beiyue, she found herself utterly unable to look away, staring dazedly, wanting just one more glance, as though she might never see him again if she looked away even for a moment.

He was so handsome—handsome enough that she longed to reach out and trace the striking line of his brow, his high, straight nose, his sensual lips.

He was so cold, radiating a lethal, mysterious aura from every inch of him, and though she knew full well she was a moth drawn to flame, she still wanted nothing more than to draw closer, to understand him.

“Han Ziqing, I could kill you.” Yanzi murmured to herself, and in a flash, her figure vanished, heading toward East Splendor Palace.

At that moment, just as Jun Beiyue was about to step through the entrance, the Xiliang wedding envoy approached from the side.

It was none other than that heavily bearded lord who’d traveled as envoy to Nanzhao, his thick beard obscuring his features entirely, making it impossible to guess his true age.

The moment he saw Jun Beiyue, he immediately clasped his hands and bowed. “Prince Yao!”

Jun Beiyue returned the courtesy politely, and the two walked in together…