She looked at the tightly closed doors and windows, knowing that even after seeing Princess Hanyu and Mo Tizhun, he wasn’t satisfied and wanted to gather more intelligence. But when Mo Tizhun was comforting Princess Hanyu, wouldn’t he have raised a barrier or formation? If so, how could Yun Ya eavesdrop on their conversation?
Yun Ya tapped the table, and a flat-bellied spider crawled onto the surface.
Feng Miaojun was startled, seeing this spider was as large as a human fist, bright red, with a naturally formed ghost-face pattern on its back. Its six limbs were long and slender, covered with fine, dense bristles. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed, until she suddenly realized it was the Ghost-faced Nest Spider that Yun Ya kept in the dark chamber of his inch-sized bottle!
The reason it was called a Nest Spider wasn’t because it liked to stay in its nest without coming out, but because its seemingly cumbersome abdomen was hollow, convenient for carrying all its offspring inside—it was itself a mobile nest, not even producing egg sacs outside, but directly hatching them within its belly.
It could produce about a hundred baby spiders at once. Feng Miaojun had seen these little creatures, barely larger than ants, with an exceptionally slow growth rate. But now its belly was flat—where had the young spiders gone?
She was usually responsible for feeding and caring for this creature, so she understood its habits. Now, seeing the mother spider appear, she suddenly realized: could Yun Ya be planning to…?
Indeed, the mother spider rubbed its large eyes and suddenly spoke in human language:
“I don’t believe it. Father King has always loved me dearly. He would never order me to marry against my will!”
The sound produced by the mother spider was, of course, completely different from a human voice, sounding like vibrating air with a strange mechanical tone. But Feng Miaojun understood it was mimicking Princess Hanyu.
The Ghost-faced Nest Spider had thousands of sensors all over its body, making it one of the world’s most vibration-sensitive insect species. It could detect the quietest movements and changes in airflow, and even “hear” the propagation of sound.
Sound, after all, is just a type of vibration.
But Mo Tizhun had set up a barrier in the room, so sound couldn’t escape. How could the Ghost-faced Nest Spider hear it?
“Do you recognize the King’s handwriting? Do you recognize the King’s private seal?” This must be Mo Tizhun speaking. “After escaping from Cliff Mountain, the Princess begged me not to inform the Kingdom of Yao and to seek the King’s decision first, which I did. All along this journey, you’ve heard the widespread discussions about the alliance between the two kingdoms. Now that the King’s reply has arrived, what more does the Princess want?”
Hearing these few sentences, both Yun Ya and Feng Miaojun had a sudden realization:
No wonder Mo Tizhun, who had escaped from Cliff Mountain with Princess Hanyu much earlier than Yun Ya and Feng Miaojun, had gone missing afterward, and the Kingdom of Yao couldn’t get any news about Princess Hanyu. It turned out the Princess had thoughts of reneging on the marriage!
Feng Miaojun had known early on that she was unwilling to marry into the Kingdom of Yao but had no choice due to the royal decree. However, with the Cliff Mountain incident as a cover, she could fake her death in the volcano eruption. As long as she didn’t openly appear afterward, everyone would assume Princess Hanyu was no more, and the marriage alliance between Yao and Jin would have to end.
This way, Princess Hanyu would also gain her freedom.
Mo Tizhun probably thought of this too, so he temporarily hid her among the common people, agreeing to send a message asking for the Jin King’s decision. But Princess Hanyu hadn’t anticipated that what she’d been desperately hoping for would be her father’s resolute order:
The wedding will proceed without fail!
Feng Miaojun couldn’t help but sigh. Marrying far away was almost every woman’s nightmare, and Princess Hanyu was no exception. But if she were to renege on the marriage now, the price would be that she could never again openly appear in the Jin royal palace for the rest of her life, never again call the Jin King “Father King” in broad daylight.
She would, like Feng Miaojun, live out her life in anonymity, because Princess Hanyu would no longer exist in this world, just as “Princess Changle” had died early in the palace of Anxia.
With her noble birth, not being able to legitimately marry someone of power and prestige—wouldn’t that also be a great loss?
What Feng Miaojun thought of, Mo Tizhun could also think of, and he asked the same question.
But Princess Hanyu said: “The Cliff Mountain passage has been destroyed, Jin’s reinforcements can’t come through anymore, and the Kingdom of Yao is likely to fall into war. I know Father King doesn’t have high hopes for Yao and doesn’t believe they can defeat Wei, yet he still insists I become the consort of a doomed kingdom?”
Originally, although she was unwilling to marry abroad, she carried a sense of lofty mission, knowing her marriage would strengthen the relationship between the two countries and provide Jin with a powerful ally. But after the Cliff Mountain volcano eruption, the situation had changed drastically. The shortest passage between Jin and Yao had been destroyed. Under these circumstances, what meaning was there in her marriage?
In the end, it would only mean the Prince of Yao gaining a consort. Although the relations between Yao and Jin could become closer, mutual military support had become a luxury.
The Kingdom of Yao was no longer Jin’s ideal ally. Did she still need to make such a sacrifice?
To Princess Hanyu’s angry questioning, Mo Tizhun only asked her one question: “Is the Princess going to defy orders?”
Princess Hanyu could not speak for a long time.
“To the Princess, our King is both sovereign and father. Being sovereign and father, he is first sovereign, then father.” Mo Tizhun paused briefly, then continued, “If the Princess defies the decree, I will have no choice but to immobilize you with mystical arts until the wedding is over.”
Princess Hanyu sobbed in despair: “Why is Father King treating me this way!” From childhood until now, she had been the most beloved of the princes and princesses. The Jin King’s protection of her was never false. She couldn’t understand why he had become so heartless!
Mo Tizhun also knew that this time he had to tear away those sentimental veils and lay bare all the advantages and disadvantages for Princess Hanyu to see clearly, lest she cause more trouble: “Jin and Yao may not be friends, but they cannot be enemies! Princess, your marriage still holds great significance—it can reassure Yao and discourage Wei.”
“But…”
“Moreover, even without the Cliff Mountain underground palace, Yao and Jin can still join hands to resist the enemy.”
At these words, not only did Princess Hanyu suddenly raise her head, but Yun Ya, sitting quietly on the other side of the room, also slightly opened his eyes, emitting a divine light like electricity.
Mo Tizhun hesitated before saying: “The Cliff Mountain passage is indeed the shortest, but there is more than one route from Jin to Yao.”
Princess Hanyu was disappointed: “But taking the southern White Elephant Plain route would add more than two months to the journey…”
“No!” Mo Tizhun interrupted her. “There is another route: bypassing the northern end of the White Elephant Mountain Range, passing through the Chikan Forest, and then entering Yao territory!”
Princess Hanyu was stunned for a good while, seemingly trying to locate these geographical positions in her mind. After a long time, she finally said: “Chikan Forest, that was originally Anxia territory, but now seems to be within… within Wei’s borders?”
Mo Tizhun didn’t respond. Feng Miaojun guessed he had nodded because Princess Hanyu continued: “If our army passes through there and is discovered by Wei, wouldn’t that be tantamount to a declaration of war?”