Facing Ziqing’s anger and worry, Jun Beiyue seemed considerably more at ease. He handed the little princess to Hongyi and sat down beside Ziqing, gently draping an arm around her shoulders, saying softly, “Didn’t we agree? Our son’s grown up now — let him do as he pleases.”

Perhaps, in Ziqing’s heart, her son truly hadn’t grown up yet.

Having crossed over into this ancient era so long ago, she’d learned early on that sixteen or seventeen already counted as adulthood here — plenty of people already had several children by that age.

Yet in her heart, even if Xiong Bao turned thirty, he’d probably still feel like just a child to her.

Seeing Ziqing say nothing, Jun Beiyue smiled. “What, you’re more reluctant to let go than I am? Wasn’t it you who said we should put him on the throne and go roam the world together?”

Ziqing’s brow furrowed as she looked over, and seeing Jun Beiyue’s teasing expression, she couldn’t help but laugh despite herself.

“As long as he’s doing well, of course I’m at ease. The problem is he’s clearly hiding something from us on purpose!”

“Have you forgotten what he said to you before he went to Nanzhao?” Jun Beiyue asked again.

Ziqing paused for a moment, then recalled Jun Buli’s displeasure from back then — he’d said that having inherited the throne, having taken on the burden of Da Zhou, could he not even have freedom in matters of marriage?

Freedom… this was something every child of the imperial family longed for, and something Ziqing had once considered the greatest tragedy of being born into royalty.

Yet she’d never intended to restrict her son in any way, let alone use ancestral imperial precepts or rigid rules to bind him — she only wished to become someone he could talk to about anything, like a friend.

“Consort Li… has nothing to do with his freedom,” Ziqing said flatly, feeling rather dejected.

“Or is it that you want to be the kind of mother who breaks up young lovers?” Jun Beiyue asked again. In truth, when he’d first chosen Ziqing to be his match, how many people in the world had opposed it?

Those words truly struck home for Ziqing.

Her dissatisfaction with Consort Li had nothing to do with the freedom of an imperial heir — from the perspective of an ordinary family, an everyday household, this truly was the act of a mother breaking up young lovers!

Ziqing looked at Jun Beiyue, feeling as though she wanted to explain so much, yet not knowing how to put it into words. In this moment, she wasn’t even certain anymore whether what she’d been doing was right or wrong.

She no longer had the confidence to believe she was right, yet she didn’t have full conviction that she was wrong either!

“Relax. Trust our son,” Jun Beiyue comforted her.

Watching him remain so calm and at peace, Ziqing truly envied him. But how many mothers in this world could let go as easily as fathers seemed to?

“Milady, the young master has his own fortune. The little princess alone is enough for you to worry about — just let the young master be,” Hongyi advised as well.

Ziqing took the little princess back, laughing helplessly. “Fine, fine. From now on, I won’t concern myself with his marriage anymore. Let him do as he pleases.”

She said this, then thought for a moment and added, “Beiyue, when he comes to demand her back later…”

Jun Beiyue only smiled without answering — this matter, he would handle himself.

At that moment, Jun Buli was already on his way over. Within the palace, he’d still managed to act as though nothing were wrong, but the moment he entered Prince Yao’s residence, his handsome face turned cold, causing the maids and servants who spotted him from afar to hastily make way.

At the entrance to Ziqing’s courtyard, Jun Buli ran straight into Situ Jing’er and Meng Duo’er. The main gate wasn’t open, so people came and went only through the side door. Situ Jing’er was on her way out just as Jun Buli was heading in.

As luck would have it, they both reached the doorway at the same time, and only one of them could yield to let the other pass.

Situ Jing’er, thoughtless as ever — or, in Jun Buli’s words, a scatterbrained girl without a lick of sense — though she found Jun Buli quite tiresome, never truly took it to heart. Running into him now, she still greeted him cheerfully, without any regard for propriety, “Morning, Bear-Buli!”

As she spoke, she was already moving to step aside, but to her surprise, Jun Buli snapped coldly, “Get out of the way!”

The words brought Situ Jing’er, who had been about to step back, to an abrupt halt, the smile frozen on her face.

Meng Duo’er, seeming to sense something was off, hurried to pull Situ Jing’er back, but it was too late. Situ Jing’er spread her arms wide and said coldly, word by word, “And if I don’t move, then what?”

Jun Buli’s eyes narrowed abruptly, and he raised a hand. Situ Jing’er was startled, and Meng Duo’er even more so — surely this fellow wasn’t about to hit her!

Hit a woman?

To their surprise, Jun Buli instead abruptly grabbed Situ Jing’er by the collar, lifting her up as easily as one might pick up a kitten, and after passing through the doorway, released her, letting go without so much as a glance, striding onward on his own.

Situ Jing’er, furious, shouted curses at his retreating back. “Never in my life have I seen someone so rude! Never seen such hospitality toward a guest! Hmph, I’m leaving, and I’m never coming back!”

With that, she truly turned and walked away.

Meng Duo’er could tell this girl was serious this time — she’d clearly just had her warm face pressed against someone else’s cold backside. However thoughtless and scatterbrained this girl might be, she still had her pride!

Situ Jing’er didn’t look back, and Jun Buli acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing either, continuing forward. In Meng Duo’er’s mind, a thought surfaced once again — she always felt that whenever Jun Buli ran into Situ Jing’er, there was still a shadow of his childhood self in him, as though he hadn’t truly grown up yet.

Come to think of it, it was strange indeed — one of them ten years old, the other sixteen or seventeen, running into each other like this. By rights, the older brother should yield, and the little sister should be the unruly one — yet instead, it was the opposite: one precociously mature, the other still childish.

Meng Duo’er had thought more than once — if, someday, out and about somewhere, this elder brother Jun Buli could take Situ Jing’er’s hand and look after her like a real older brother, what a sight that would be!

Truly unimaginable!

Though Meng Duo’er very much wanted to know what was wrong with Jun Buli, she hesitated for a moment before chasing after Situ Jing’er instead.

Meanwhile, inside, a great confrontation had already begun.

The moment Jun Buli entered the room, Ziqing had only just gotten the little princess to sleep. Yet he paid no mind to anything, not even sparing a glance at Jun Beiyue, who sat off to the side drinking tea, and confronted Ziqing directly, demanding coldly, “Do you find this amusing?”

Those words — especially that formal “you” — made Ziqing’s breath catch. For a moment, she didn’t know what to make of it.

She had been waiting for her son to come find her all along, and had already discussed it with Jun Beiyue — when their son came to demand Consort Li’s release, they would smooth things over and send Consort Li back.

But to her surprise, her son’s attitude was like this. Had she underestimated the seriousness of this matter, or had her son overestimated it?

It was only a matter of locking up a consort for a few days — no interrogation, no sentencing, no talk of punishment even mentioned. What was he so anxious about?

If this hadn’t concerned Jun Buli directly, Ziqing might have handled it beautifully. But as it happened, she was dealing with her own most beloved, most cherished son.

Seeing Ziqing stunned into silence, Jun Beiyue spoke up at once. “And what do you mean by this?”

Yet Jun Buli ignored him entirely, still fixed on Ziqing. “It’s just one consort — what business is it of yours? I favor her, I dote on her — what business is that of yours? Even if she has a thousand faults, I like her regardless — that’s my own affair. What business is it of yours?”