The room fell silent, Jun Beiyue and Ziqing locked eyes, neither saying a word.

Facing Jun Beiyue’s pointed question, his direct gaze, Ziqing remained perfectly calm, saying nothing for a long, long while. Even someone as sharp as Jun Beiyue couldn’t read anything from those clear, bright eyes of hers — what was she truly thinking at this moment, how did she really feel about all this?

What he’d said wasn’t wrong. Her concern for her maid did seem to outweigh her concern for her own husband.

Otherwise, how could she possibly remain so composed in the face of Bai Mengmeng’s situation?

He’d expected her to be agitated, upset, angry — but instead, she’d simply nodded along calmly, “mm-hm, mm-hm,” listening to the whole story without any visible reaction at all.

Yet the matter of Hongyi had genuinely enraged her.

This kind of attitude — he truly, truly disliked it.

Ziqing said nothing. Jun Beiyue drew a deep breath, and after a long moment, repeated himself. “What do you think about what I just said?”

Ziqing still said nothing, simply looking at him with an air of pure innocence.

“Answer me!” It was clear this man’s temper wasn’t exactly gentle when it came to certain matters.

Only then did Ziqing finally speak up, somewhat timidly. “Then… then… then what do you think I should do?”

The words hit Jun Beiyue like a punch straight to the chest.

What was she supposed to do?

Was he seriously demanding that this woman get jealous? What kind of nonsense was that?

Jun Beiyue’s breathing grew faster, heavier, restrained, unable to let it out.

Meanwhile, a flash of mischief crossed Ziqing’s eyes, blinking innocently at him before adding, quite seriously, “So tell me… what should I do?”

“You!” Jun Beiyue choked with frustration.

He wasn’t a particularly patient man, but he was absolutely someone who could keep his composure without showing it. Yet, faced with this woman, he’d completely broken character in an instant.

Seeing Jun Beiyue looking nearly ready to lose his mind, Ziqing suddenly burst out laughing, and then dissolved into full, delighted giggling.

Making Jun Beiyue this genuinely irritated, over something she herself should have been jealous and upset about — that was, without a doubt, quite the feat on her part.

Seeing Ziqing laugh, Jun Beiyue finally caught on — he’d been played, completely and thoroughly played.

As she laughed, watching his flustered, undignified expression, she felt, in that moment, that Prince Yao was truly, genuinely human — the man beside her wasn’t some deity, wasn’t some untouchable, unreachable figure after all.

Laughing, she watched him stride toward her with mounting fury, practically able to see smoke billowing from his nostrils — but she wasn’t afraid.

She abruptly held her breath and sank down into the water.

“Playing games with me, is it!”

Jun Beiyue drawled the words out deliberately, his powerful arm scooping down and hauling Ziqing straight out of the water in one motion, his other hand grabbing a long robe and wrapping her snugly in it, pulling her into his arms.

Ziqing showed not the faintest trace of fear, curling against him like a languid cat, nuzzling around his brow and nose, then pressing close against his neck and chest to breathe him in, before cupping his face with her hands and laughing, “Quick, quick, bring me the tools!”

“What tools?” Jun Beiyue asked, his voice cold.

Ziqing leaned in again, breathing him in, and laughed. “You smell so strongly of gunpowder — obviously, tools for making gunpowder. You need to keep that up. I’ve been running low on gunpowder lately!”

At this, the “gunpowder” in Jun Beiyue’s expression grew even more pronounced.

“Oh, so you want to joke around with this prince, do you! Let’s see how I’ll deal with you!”

He said this darkly, spun Ziqing around a few times, and pressed her down onto the bed, looming over her, staring down with an air of exaggerated menace!

She had to admit — when this man turned fierce, he became genuinely cold, genuinely terrifying, enough to make even the King of Hell think twice.

But Ziqing simply wasn’t afraid — if anything, she found him even more masculine, even more dashing, when he turned fierce like this than when he didn’t.

She cupped his sharply defined, rugged, handsome face in her hands, staring, smiling, laughing, until gradually she quieted.

And even when Jun Beiyue was truly, genuinely angry, the moment he saw this woman’s smile, so happy, so wholehearted, whatever fury he’d been holding would vanish in an instant, no matter how great it had been.

Their faces nearly touching, both fell quiet, and only then did she feel his warm breath brushing gently against her face, her chest rising and falling unevenly, pressed right against his own.

“Stirring up this prince’s fury — that’s quite serious,” he murmured low.

“I’m jealous, I mind. Go back to the northern steppe right now and kill Bai Mengmeng with one stroke of the blade! Bring her head back to me — otherwise, I’ll never forgive you, not even in death!” Ziqing said, pretending to be deadly serious, delivering each word like a warning.

“Done!” Jun Beiyue said without a moment’s hesitation, actually turning to leave!

This woman had no idea — the moment she gave the word, even if it meant enraging General Bai Hu himself, he’d throw everything aside without a second thought.

If she truly, earnestly asked it of him, he would carry it out, without question.

Even if she truly became, in the eyes of the world, a bringer of ruin, he would tell every soul in the realm — so what if she was? He was the one who’d spoiled her into becoming that way.

But Ziqing wasn’t that kind of woman.

Seeing Jun Beiyue actually about to leave, she grabbed hold of him at once. “I was joking!”

Jun Beiyue looked at her, suddenly breaking free of her grip. Ziqing flipped over at once, not even bothering with the robe slipping off her shoulder, spreading her arms wide to block his path. “It’s not that I don’t care — it’s that there’s no need for me to care! I trust you! And I trust myself, too!”

Of course she cared — but she trusted this man wouldn’t disappoint her. On matters like this, there was no need for her to worry.

She also believed, firmly believed, that she could hold his heart — especially after the secret behind her face had finally come to light, everything that had happened since had only given her all the more confidence.

“What’s mine is mine. What isn’t mine will never, ever be mine,” Ziqing said, not bothering to elaborate further. She simply stepped closer, pointed at Jun Beiyue’s chest, and said with utter seriousness, “You. You’re mine.”

A few simple words — but they said everything that needed saying. No need for jealousy, no need for tears, no need for angry accusations.

“You. You’re mine.”

That sentence alone was enough — it was, in itself, the strongest possible answer she could give him.

Jun Beiyue understood.

He smiled, and in one swift motion, pulled Ziqing into his arms, turning to press her down onto the bed, his kiss following close behind, capturing her lips as he told her, “Not even a fairy descended from the ninth heaven could catch this prince’s eye.”

He took her hand and pressed it firmly against his own heart, saying earnestly, “This life, this heart, this man — for the rest of your days, you’ll never be able to shake me off.”

Ziqing smiled broadly. “This life, this heart, this man — if one day they ever betrayed me, I would…”

“Kill him with one stroke of the blade. Hit harder this time, not like last time,” Jun Beiyue finished for her, equally generous with his smile. Last time, back at the Court of Judicial Review, if she’d struck with just a little more force, he’d have died right there under her blade.

“Fine, it’s a deal — I’ll make sure to strike right on the same old wound!” With that, Ziqing suddenly dipped her head down and, through the thin fabric of his robe, bit down hard right over Jun Beiyue’s heart.

Jun Beiyue tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling, a warm smile spreading across his lips, the sharp, real pain in his chest strangely vivid, strangely comforting.

“Woman. Tomorrow… we part ways,” he finally said.

At these words, Ziqing bit down even harder. “You don’t have to kill Bai Mengmeng. But you’re never allowed to see her again — not even a glance, not once.”

Any man who dared covet him — she’d let Bai Mengmeng live on well enough, but she would never, ever let her lay eyes on Jun Beiyue again.

“Understood!” Jun Beiyue promised solemnly.