East Splendor Palace was reserved for the most distinguished envoys, and also the most heavily guarded palace of all—yet with Yelu Chenyi’s token in hand, along with her assumed identity as a personal maidservant, East Splendor Palace was, to Yanzi, a place she could enter and leave as she pleased, especially with Jun Beiyue and the others currently absent.

“Miss Rouge, it’s in the inner room. This lowly one suspects that tub must contain a corpse—the smell is truly foul!” A guard reported in a low voice, looking every bit the thief despite being on his own home turf.

The stench of decay was, without question, from the herbal decoction being used to force the corpse-poison out of Han Ziqing’s body. Given the current situation, that Physician Gu’s abilities weren’t up to much after all—he still hadn’t managed to fully expel the corpse-poison!

No wonder Jun Beiyue had said the Princess Consort hadn’t come—she simply couldn’t leave her quarters. And besides, even if the corpse-poison had already been drawn out and she’d woken, she still wouldn’t dare show herself in public!

The dreadful secret hidden behind her face was known only to herself.

If she never spoke of it, Han Ziqing would never again be able to face anyone.

Though she couldn’t have Jun Beiyue for herself just yet, at the very least, she could ensure Han Ziqing never stood beside him as an equal again.

Thinking of this, Yanzi’s spirits lifted considerably. She donned a purple butterfly mask and vanished into the darkness in a single fluid motion.

Yet when she reached the courtyard, she no longer detected any trace of that foul odor.

What was going on?

Yanzi landed atop the roof and, peering through the glazed tiles, could see the entire room’s interior clearly. The large bathing tub sat behind a folding screen—yet within it, there was neither a person nor even a trace of the herbal decoction.

Where had the person gone?

A flicker of suspicion passed through Yanzi’s eyes. She slipped silently through a window and searched the room thoroughly, yet found no trace of Han Ziqing anywhere—not even the faintest lingering scent remained in the air.

Yanzi’s gaze turned suddenly cold as a thought struck her—that item she’d seen Jun Beiyue bringing along earlier, covered in an enormous silk cloth, its contents impossible to identify, though its size differed drastically from the bathing tub.

Could it possibly have been that?

But Jun Beiyue had gone to attend a banquet—surely he wouldn’t have brought Han Ziqing along with him!

She didn’t linger any longer, turning to leave at once. Yet the instant she leapt onto the roof, a sharp arrow shot suddenly from the right, catching her completely off guard—fortunately, she dodged in time, the arrow only grazing her arm!

“Who’s there!” Yanzi demanded coldly.

“So you really are here!” Yingzi appeared, crossbow in hand, and from both sides, streams of dark shadows spread out—all Shadow Guards!

Though this wasn’t technically his master’s own territory, this was still the residence where his master was staying, and he absolutely would not allow anyone to come and go as they pleased!

“Heh heh, so you were waiting for me all along.” Seeing that her presence had been discovered, Yanzi surveyed her surroundings with an air of composure, laughing coldly. “And what exactly were you waiting for me for?”

Yingzi listened intently, trying to memorize her voice, though an experienced ear could tell at once that it had been altered—this woman was remarkably careful, remarkably vigilant.

“Hand over the antidote!” Yingzi said coldly.

“Antidote? What antidote are you talking about?” Yanzi asked with evident interest, not sparing so much as a glance at the Shadow Guards surrounding her.

“Don’t play dumb with me—the disfigurement poison!” The moment Yingzi’s words fell, he immediately loosed a fierce crossbow bolt, and at the same instant, every Shadow Guard around them sprang into action, arrows flying alongside Yingzi’s shadow, bodies moving in perfect unison with the arrows, blades flashing as their forms shifted and blurred, closing in on Yanzi within an instant!

Yet Yanzi was no pushover. She let them close in, and then, in the blink of an eye, vanished entirely!

“Watch out!”

A Shadow Guard suddenly cried out in alarm. Yingzi immediately dodged sideways, but too late—Yanzi’s palm struck him solidly on the right shoulder!

Worse still, Yanzi used the momentum from that very strike against his shoulder to propel herself far, far away in an instant!

“Tell Jun Beiyue when he gets back—his Shadow Guards are pathetically weak. If he’s short on capable people, this young lady would be more than happy to offer her services free of charge! Hahaha!”

With that, she burst into laughter and vanished into the distance.

Though hopelessly outmatched, Yingzi still gave chase, but to no avail—once he’d pursued her clear outside East Splendor Palace, she was nowhere to be found!

Meanwhile, back at the main palace, the evening banquet had already progressed through several rounds of drinks.

The Xijing Emperor sat at the head of the table, with Crown Prince Yelu Chenyi to his left, followed by Princess Yelu Qianqian, and further along, the Xiliang wedding envoy—the very same envoy who had twice traveled as emissary to Nanzhao.

His face was almost entirely obscured by a thick, bushy beard, making it impossible to judge his age accurately—if not for hearing him speak, one might easily mistake him for a man still quite young.

Behind this wedding envoy sat the ministers of Xijing, while Jun Beiyue occupied the first seat to the Xijing Emperor’s right.

This particular seating arrangement was genuinely curious—by all conventional logic, the Xiliang wedding envoy shouldn’t have been seated there at all, but rather behind Jun Beiyue instead!

This banquet, seemingly lively on the surface, was in truth utterly devoid of any real liveliness at all!

Jun Beiyue had never been a man of many words to begin with, and given his current foul mood, getting him to volunteer a single sentence would have been harder than scaling heaven itself. The Xiliang envoy, meanwhile, remained even more tight-lipped—across two separate missions to Nanzhao, he’d spoken fewer than five sentences total.

As for Yelu Chenyi, his face remained utterly silent, head bowed. With his father the emperor present, he was perfectly content not to say a single word either.

Beside him, Yelu Qianqian presented an entirely different picture from her time as envoy to Nanzhao.

Even Situ Haonan found himself genuinely surprised to see her behaving so demurely for once!

Draped in an elegant, flowing black robe, her face veiled behind black gauze, her already snow-white skin appeared all the more delicately beautiful. A single brilliant black gemstone was set at the center of her brow—a subtle yet undeniably luxurious display of understated opulence, entirely unlike the boisterous, tomboyish Yelu Qianqian of before. From a distance, she appeared mysterious and noble, thoroughly befitting her status as a Xijing princess.

Situ Haonan found himself staring, momentarily lost, while at that very moment Yelu Qianqian was gazing back at him too, staring just as dazedly, a hidden sorrow lurking behind her bright eyes.

With everyone so absorbed, who was left to spark conversation, to keep the talk flowing?

And so several rounds of drinks passed, and the singers and dancers performed one number after another.

The Xijing Emperor exchanged a few pleasantries of welcome, described tomorrow’s Sand Worship Ceremony, and then found himself unable to think of anything further to discuss.

In truth, it wasn’t that he couldn’t think of anything—he was burning with curiosity to know exactly what had happened in that naval battle between Da Zhou and Dongqin!

Curious as he was, the Xijing Emperor thought better of it—with Jun Beiyue right here, if he asked and it somehow brought trouble upon himself, what then?

He decided against it, choosing instead to simply watch the performances.

Jun Beiyue never let go of his wine cup. He hadn’t touched a single drop since Ziqing’s disappearance—tonight marked the first time. Cup after cup, could getting drunk actually dissolve his sorrows?

Yet how could he possibly get drunk? He sipped from his cup with an air of indifference to everyone around him, his sharp eyes fixed on something across the hall—though whether he was watching Yelu Qianqian or the Xiliang envoy remained unclear!

Once the performances concluded, the singers and dancers filed out one by one, and the hall gradually fell quiet.

It was at this moment that Jun Beiyue suddenly spoke with a smile. “This prince has heard that Princess Qianqian’s dancing is truly exceptional. I’ve brought along the Wuzheng today especially—would Princess Qianqian do this prince the honor of performing a dance?”

At these words, everyone present was taken aback, even Situ Haonan turning to stare at Jun Beiyue in sheer disbelief.

Where on earth had this fellow’s sudden good mood come from?

What… exactly was he planning?