Those three words of challenge—”What business is it of yours”—sent Ziqing sinking heavily down, while at the same moment, the little princess, startled, burst into tears with a loud wail.
Hongyi hurried forward to carry the little princess away, and started to say a few words of comfort before leaving, but seeing the mistress’s towering rage, she didn’t dare say anything and hurried off instead.
Soon, only the three of them remained in the room.
Ziqing said nothing at all, Jun Buli kept taking deep breaths, and Jun Beiyue’s face had darkened too. The room fell into a terrifying silence.
Jun Buli said nothing more, but that single challenge alone was more than enough to spark an irreparable quarrel.
After a good while, Jun Beiyue finally rose and walked over, about to speak, when Ziqing raised a hand to stop him.
“Consort Li is in the dungeon. Take her away immediately… from now on, she is never to set foot in Prince Yao’s manor again, or else… she will be killed without mercy!”
Ziqing’s voice was ice-cold. As she spoke, she raised her hand to stop Jun Beiyue, pulling him down to sit beside her, bearing together with him the accusing glare their son had leveled at them all this while.
The matter of kicking down the door, planting a spy, replacing the palace guards—none of it needed to be discussed further.
By allowing him to take Consort Li away, Ziqing was tacitly acknowledging everything—and at the same time, tacitly accepting that he had removed all her informants too.
Jun Buli had no intention of pressing the matter further either. He clasped his hands and bowed. “Thank you, Mother, for granting this.”
With that, he turned to leave.
But he’d only taken a few steps when he heard Ziqing speak again behind him. “Little Bear, in a few more months you’ll turn seventeen. You’ve grown up now… your affairs…”
Ziqing didn’t choke up, but she paused for a long moment before continuing, “Your affairs—Mommy won’t interfere in them anymore from now on… You… go on.”
Jun Buli stopped in his tracks, facing his parents. In truth, his eyes had already welled up with tears, but he never let them fall. He resolutely took a step forward, waved a hand, and without turning back, left them with just two words: “Don’t worry.”
Leaving Ziqing’s courtyard, Jun Buli headed straight for the dungeon.
If he remembered correctly, if Consort Li didn’t feed on blood tonight, her condition would flare up. No matter what method it took, he had to take her away tonight—he couldn’t afford to delay even a single day!
That was why he’d had to be so harsh with Mother.
In truth, he’d always known this day would come eventually—he simply hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon.
He knew that only by pushing things to this point would Mother truly let go, and only then would Consort Li truly be safe.
He didn’t want Mother to know that he was a monster, a monster capable of biting people to pieces. He never, ever wanted her to know.
Walking alone in silence through the gloomy dungeon, his footsteps echoing through the empty corridor, Consort Li recognized his footsteps the instant they reached the end of the hall.
She leaned against the iron bars with perfect composure, like a seductive frontier beauty, showing not the slightest hint of distress at being imprisoned—she’d been counting the days, certain Jun Buli wouldn’t dare not come.
Seeing him approach, she cast him a seductive glance, her inviting warmth stirring all sorts of thoughts. But Jun Buli didn’t come closer, stopping instead in the darkness, and with a flick of his sleeve, effortlessly broke through all her restraints.
Once free, Consort Li fluttered toward him like a butterfly, delighted, moving to embrace him. But Jun Buli vanished into thin air, reappearing deep in the corridor, leaving her with only two words: “Back to the palace.”
Yet in the blink of an eye, Consort Li had somehow appeared behind him too, suddenly wrapping her arms around him from behind, cooing, “I’m hungry. Take me for a picnic before we go back?”
Jun Buli suddenly exploded with fury, wrenching her arms off him, then seizing her by the throat, warning coldly, “From now on, you are never to set foot in Prince Yao’s manor again, or else… I will personally destroy you!”
A complicated flicker crossed Consort Li’s eyes, but it vanished quickly, and she laughed cheerfully again. “Your Majesty, I genuinely came to discuss an urgent matter with you, and yet you wouldn’t even acknowledge me.”
Jun Buli didn’t answer, continuing forward. He hadn’t gone far when he saw Situ Jing’er approaching from the opposite direction, a bundle on her back.
Jun Buli had already forgotten the earlier incident. Seeing her traveling attire, he merely glanced at her once before continuing on with Consort Li.
He was in a foul mood, hardly in any state to bother with a little girl.
Once they’d passed, Situ Jing’er stopped and turned to look back, and at the same moment, Consort Li turned to look at her too, shooting her a hollow, provocative smile.
“Boring!” Situ Jing’er tossed out coldly, then went off to say goodbye to Meng Duo’er and Ziqing.
She didn’t like this rude young master one bit—staying any longer, she might just wear out her welcome. She’d better take Sister Duo’er back to Xijing to have some fun instead!
Jun Buli personally escorted Consort Li back to the palace, and she followed along obediently, causing no further trouble.
Consort Li, unlike anyone else, immediately caught the scent of blood in the air the moment she returned to her quarters.
“Fresh from last night, and you wasted it? Not even saving me any,” she said with a smile to Jun Buli. She knew exactly what he’d been up to the previous night, when she hadn’t been around.
Jun Buli personally brought over a large bowl of blood and set it on the table without answering her.
“Duck blood!” Consort Li’s expression darkened. “You’ve gone too far! Enjoying yourself while treating me like this!”
Slap!
Jun Buli slammed his hand down hard on the table. Her words had clearly grated on him.
Consort Li flinched, startled, and sat down sulkily, staring at the large bowl of nearly-congealed duck blood. Though thoroughly displeased, she had no choice but to make do. Rather than drinking it, she leaned in and sucked at the edge of the bowl. Before long, the entire bowl of duck blood was drained completely.
Only then did Jun Buli turn to look at her, asking coldly, “What did you want to see me about that day?”
Consort Li smiled. “It’s been so many days now, no point asking anymore.”
This was clearly her way of stringing him along, but Jun Buli had little curiosity about her to begin with. He didn’t press further, simply asking coldly, “Could you tone down your conduct in the palace a little?”
Consort Li was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Keep a low profile. Stop stirring up trouble for no reason. Arrogance, domineering behavior, bullying the weak—that’s no way for a proper consort to carry herself,” Jun Buli said.
Consort Li froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Jun Buli, I’ve been putting on an act this whole time. I’m sick of keeping it up—I’m done playing along! This is just who I am by nature. So what if I bully the weak? Whose fault is it that they’re born weak? If they don’t want to be bullied, they should work harder to claw their way up to the imperial bed!”
At these words, Jun Buli’s gaze suddenly turned icy, and Consort Li immediately clamped her mouth shut, covering it with her hand, only then realizing she’d apparently crossed some line with him.
“Say that again.” As Jun Buli spoke, his teeth were audibly clenching. Consort Li wasn’t afraid of being bitten—but that didn’t mean Jun Buli couldn’t bite her until she wished she were dead.
Watching his eyes grow colder and more sinister, she couldn’t help a shiver running down her spine, and quickly changed the subject. “That day, I really did have something urgent to tell you—there’s news from the vampire clan!”
“The vampire clan?” Jun Buli was mildly startled.