The moment the fire was out, sharp and perceptive as Jun Beiyue was, he immediately saw through it — this fire was nothing but a pretext. He thought at once of morale. Throughout the history of warfare, countless formidable armies had been defeated not by the enemy but by their own collapsing morale — especially during standoffs between two armies, when it happened most often.
Hearing Jun Beiyue press the question again and again, General White Tiger quickly understood where the true crux of the matter lay.
He hurriedly joined in the questioning. “Mengmeng, think carefully, think it through properly. Have you perhaps forgotten something? How could rice possibly catch fire on its own? Think hard — did you really not see anything?”
Everyone’s attention was fixed on Bai Mengmeng, waiting for her answer.
If she said yes, then the matter would become clear.
If she said no, then this incident would inevitably grow more and more mysterious as it spread.
The key lay with Bai Mengmeng. General White Tiger had already put it to her so directly — she should have understood. And yet, she deliberately pretended not to understand, thinking hard, seemingly deep in thought, glancing now and then at Jun Beiyue, then at General White Tiger, a trace of cunning hidden deep in her eyes.
She had worked so hard to engineer this scheme to draw Jun Beiyue’s attention — how could she possibly let it go so easily?
She had no intention of helping the Empress of Eastern Qin in any real sense, but she also didn’t want the Empress exposing her betrayal.
What she wanted was to deceive the Empress while simultaneously drawing closer to Jun Beiyue, to win this man’s admiration.
Ever since Han Ziqing had first arrived at the northern frontier and been granted the title of Empress of the North, Bai Mengmeng had begun studying her.
She truly could not understand what that dull, boring little girl had that could possibly catch Jun Beiyue’s eye.
It was probably nothing more than the fact that Han Ziqing was a bit different from ordinary women — she knew martial arts, was proud and unyielding, not delicate or fragile — and that alone had won her Jun Beiyue’s admiration.
All of that, Bai Mengmeng possessed as well. And what she had, Han Ziqing might not necessarily have.
She was certain that once Jun Beiyue slowly came to know the real her, he would come to admire her even more than he admired Han Ziqing.
As everyone waited in tense anticipation, Bai Mengmeng was extremely decisive and direct. “No! Prince Yao, Father, I swear on my life — I saw nothing at all!”
This firm declaration left Jun Beiyue with two choices: either treat this as an unsolved mystery and spend time and effort investigating it, or suspect that she herself had set the fire, and detain and interrogate her.
It had to be admitted — Jun Beiyue rarely encountered such a thorny problem. Neither choice was a good one.
Jun Beiyue’s breathing had clearly grown heavier, and even in the dead of winter, General White Tiger was sweating with anxiety. Of course, even in this situation, not once did the thought of suspecting Bai Mengmeng cross his mind.
Just as the officers and soldiers said, Bai Mengmeng represented him — not through privilege, but through her very identity as a representation of him.
How could he set a fire? How could Bai Mengmeng possibly set a fire?
He believed with certainty that someone had set the fire, and that Bai Mengmeng simply hadn’t seen it. Perhaps it truly was an accident. But regardless, right now, what was needed was Bai Mengmeng’s lie.
“Mengmeng, think again, carefully!” General White Tiger tried once more to hint at what she should say.
Just as Bai Mengmeng was about to speak, Jun Beiyue cut her off. “Someone — open a formal investigation. Find the true culprit behind this fire as swiftly as possible!”
Jun Beiyue already had a clear picture in his mind. He had no wish to give Bai Mengmeng another chance to keep denying anything. He didn’t even use the words “inside traitor” — he used only the term “true culprit.”
Because if it truly was an inside traitor, then until that person was found, the army would remain just as unsettled regardless.
He had to admit — this little girl, Bai Mengmeng, had no small amount of ability, no small amount of cunning.
In all these years, he had rarely encountered such a clever, troublesome woman.
With Jun Beiyue’s order given, what more could General White Tiger say? He could only hurry to take Bai Mengmeng away, instructing her to properly make amends during the course of the investigation.
But then, unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue said flatly, “General White Tiger, Imperial Physician Gu is returning to the capital, and this prince’s camp happens to be short a pair of hands. I’ll be borrowing your daughter for a while — you don’t mind, do you?”
The moment he said this, General White Tiger was stunned for a moment, then immediately dropped back to his knees. Though he didn’t suspect Mengmeng, that didn’t mean the prince didn’t suspect her!
Yet he never imagined that not only did the prince not suspect her — he wanted to keep Mengmeng at his side to attend him!
This was an honor beyond all imagining!
Though General White Tiger held Princess Yao in the deepest respect, he had also secretly hoped that Mengmeng might one day win the prince’s favor and become a secondary consort.
After all, in his mind, having multiple wives was nothing extraordinary at all.
And Mengmeng’s straightforward, candid nature — she spoke and acted so directly — surely she’d get along well with Princess Yao!
“This is Mengmeng’s honor — thank you, my lord!” General White Tiger said, overwhelmed with gratitude, pulling Bai Mengmeng down to kowtow three times. A flicker of displeasure crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes, though he still betrayed nothing.
Keeping Bai Mengmeng close had absolutely nothing to do with wanting her attendance — he had no such habit. He simply wanted to keep her under watch. Until the truth was uncovered, leaving this woman loose within the army was far too dangerous.
Bai Mengmeng was equally overcome with gratitude, nearly moved to tears of joy, and in a display of pure innocence, hastened to promise, “This servant will attend my lord faithfully, staying by my lord’s side at all times, ready at your beck and call, until my lord is fully satisfied!”
Words like “attend faithfully” and “fully satisfied,” spoken in such a coquettish voice, carried an entirely different meaning to the ears of men.
General White Tiger didn’t mind at all — in fact, he was practically hoping Mengmeng would swiftly become his lord’s woman.
The displeasure knitting Jun Beiyue’s brow only grew more pronounced.
He’d had it all carefully calculated — Eastern Qin wouldn’t move for the time being, giving him a chance to slip away and see Ziqing. But now this whole enormous mess had erupted, and he absolutely could not leave. He would have to stay on guard every moment now.
He fixed Bai Mengmeng with a cold stare, his dark eyes deep as the sea, as if they could see straight through her in an instant. Bai Mengmeng, for her part, looked the picture of pitiful innocence, yet boldly met his scrutinizing gaze, as if offering herself up entirely for his inspection.
Though Jun Beiyue hadn’t handled the matter perfectly, he had minimized the damage as much as possible.
Before long, everyone had withdrawn, leaving only Jun Beiyue and Bai Mengmeng in the empty tent.
By now, it was nearly noon.
A flicker of satisfaction passed through Bai Mengmeng’s eyes — this was exactly the moment she had wanted.
“My lord, you haven’t slept all night. Shall this servant attend you to rest?” she asked softly.
Jun Beiyue replied coldly, “Stand guard outside the tent. Without this prince’s order, no one is to enter, and you are not to leave.”
With that, he lifted the curtain to head into the study. Bai Mengmeng smiled faintly, saying nothing. A minor rebuff like this was nothing she couldn’t endure — how else did she expect to get close to Jun Beiyue?
That whole day, Bai Mengmeng behaved with perfect restraint, obediently waiting outside the tent, watching officers, scouts, and guards come and go, maintaining a smile throughout.
The entire day passed, and Jun Beiyue paid her no attention whatsoever, nor did she try to disturb him.
Until night fell…