Feng Miaojun dared not look at him for long, but with her keen mind, she understood even as she lowered her head:

Mo Tizhun was likely thinking of her at this moment.

Thinking of Feng Miaojun, thinking of the real Princess Changle.

If Feng Miaojun were still in Jin’s capital right now, she could be of great use to the Jin King. By revealing her identity as “Princess Changle,” Jin’s forces would have little trouble securing passage through the Chiqian Forest!

Yet in just these short two months, the situation had changed dramatically.

At the same time, the Cliff Mountain passage was destroyed, and Feng Miaojun herself disappeared. The Jin King had momentarily softened his heart to fulfill Princess Hanyue’s request, and thus the good card in his hand suddenly flew away.

Now, whether the “Princess Changle” from Yan Kingdom was real or fake was no longer so important. If Jin wanted passage through the Chiqian Forest, unless…

Feng Miaojun seemed to understand many things all at once.

Wei Xi made a scoffing sound: “In comparison, the Pu Kingdom hostage wasn’t so lucky. Born a man, yet in the end suffering such humiliation before dying—tsk, tsk, truly a disgrace to Pu Kingdom.”

The Pu Kingdom prince had been sent as a hostage to Yan many years ago and had recently died in his mansion, reportedly hanging himself after being unable to bear the humiliation from Marquis Pingyuan.

This kind of scandalous, bloody rumor was always people’s favorite gossip. However, just as everyone was laughing most heartily and crudely, a clear voice suddenly rang out from outside:

“Master Wei should be more careful with his words, lest misfortune spring from his mouth.”

Everyone looked toward the voice to see a man and woman approaching together, with several attendants behind them carefully carrying four cleaned and skinned fat sheep through the crowd.

The woman had a graceful figure with bright eyes and white teeth. She wore an outer coat of peach-red embroidered silver fox fur, with a knee-length pink-white dress underneath, her slender waist cinched with a soft silver belt, making her look quite sprightly.

In the firelight, her cheeks were flushed red as if with rouge—truly a beauty.

She dazzled many onlookers.

The man beside her was a head taller, wearing a well-tailored blue robe with a cloak over it, which accentuated his tall, heroic stature. He had handsome eyebrows, bright eyes, and a perfectly straight nose—truly a man of outstanding appearance.

With this handsome couple’s arrival, the camp seemed to brighten considerably.

Wei Xi, cut off by this man’s words, initially looked displeased, but upon seeing who it was, became somewhat embarrassed: “Princess Changle and Master Fu have arrived.”

A small commotion immediately arose around the campfire. This couple was none other than the subjects of everyone’s recent gossip.

Yun Ya turned his head slightly, noticing his maidservant staring unblinkingly at Princess Changle, and chuckled softly: “I thought you preferred looking at handsome men.”

Feng Miaojun murmured: “She’s truly beautiful.”

“Is she?” Yun Ya had naturally gotten an eyeful of Princess Changle as well, but quietly replied to her, “Not as beautiful as you.”

Feng Miaojun widened her eyes at him, her lips involuntarily curling upward.

The smile was small and fleeting, but Yun Ya caught it and said languidly: “Just stating facts.”

He was simply being objective, with no need for exaggeration.

Yun Ya had seen Feng Miaojun’s true appearance, a beauty that even he could not ignore. Although Princess Changle was beautiful, compared to An’an, she lacked that breathtaking quality. Like a bellflower compared to a peony, lacking that dazzling splendor.

However, this girl was currently disguised as an ordinary maidservant, her flowery, captivating face hidden for many days now. Yun Ya discovered that he actually somewhat missed it.

Fine things, after all, never tire the eye.

Meanwhile, Fu Lingchuan said: “No one present witnessed the death of the Pu Kingdom hostage. To make it a subject of jokes and gossip shows great disrespect to the deceased. If this reaches the ears of the rulers of Pu and Yan Kingdoms, it might bring trouble to Juemingzong.”

Wei Xi had drunk himself slightly tipsy, which was why his speech had become somewhat unrestrained. Now, faced with such righteous pressure, he found himself momentarily unable to respond.

Seeing the sudden silence in the air around them, Fu Lingchuan quickly continued to ease the atmosphere: “So I’ve brought some accompaniments for your wine. These four beach sheep were bought from town, all less than a year and a half old, with very tender meat.” With a wave of his hand, the attendants behind him brought the cleaned sheep to the fire, skillfully skewering them, applying oil, and setting them up to roast.

He spoke truly; these four sheep had been raised to perfect plumpness, feeding on beach grass, making their meat not only tender but also carrying a milky fragrance. After roasting by the fire for just a short while, the enticing aroma wafted out.

A gift to the mouth closes it; with his goodwill, the atmosphere around the campfire quickly heated up again. Someone offered Fu Lingchuan a drink, smiling: “What brings you two here?”

Fu Lingchuan and “Princess Changle” exchanged a glance: “It’s hard to leave one’s homeland. We thought after attending the ceremony in Yao Kingdom, we might take a detour to visit our old country.”

His words were plain, yet they conveyed a sense of longing. The world had not been peaceful for many years, and everyone had experienced the sentiment that things change while people go away. This stirred emotions, and smiles faded somewhat. The person asked again: “You two have been staying in Yan Kingdom these past years. Does this mean Yan Kingdom will support Princess Changle’s restoration?”

This was indeed a question of worldwide concern, and the audience immediately pricked up their ears to hear the answer, including Feng Miaojun.

Fu Lingchuan helped Princess Changle sit down, saying: “Naturally, there is such an intention, otherwise why would the Yan King send us to Yao?”

These words were like a stone thrown into a pond, instantly creating rippling waves. Fu Lingchuan had never hidden his and Princess Changle’s intention to restore their country, and it was for this purpose that they had gone to Yan Kingdom. However, while Yan Kingdom had always expressed encouragement for his request, they had not provided any public actions of support.

Until now, people had finally heard a definite answer from Fu Lingchuan’s mouth.

This was explosive news! A buzz of conversation erupted around them.

Why would the Yan King send Princess Changle as an envoy to the Yao Kingdom? There could only be one reason: to have her negotiate with the Yao and Jin Kingdoms, ideally allying to incite the An Xia region against the Wei Kingdom.

Wei Kingdom’s control over the An Xia region was already unstable; with Princess Changle stirring up trouble, it would surely give them a major headache.

Princess Changle also spoke up, her voice like an oriole’s song: “The Wei Kingdom has committed too many injustices, even invading my An Xia, and will face divine punishment sooner or later. That I could escape the national calamity with my life means Heaven wants me to avenge my country and family!”

This was her first utterance, yet every word carried hatred.

Feng Miaojun looked at her sideways, not understanding the source of her deep resentment. Fu Lingchuan probably didn’t know about the methods used by the An Xia Queen back then, nor that the real Princess Changle was still alive in this world. Interestingly, where had he found this fake princess, and had the Yan King not seen through the deception?

Hmm, that’s not quite right. The authenticity of “Princess Changle” was not important in itself.

Princess Hanyue took a sip of wine and suddenly spoke: “Which country could the Wei Kingdom invade without it being considered an injustice?”

Princess Changle, not expecting to be questioned, was slightly startled, her gaze sweeping over: “What?”

“Princess just said that the Wei Kingdom destroyed An Xia and will face divine punishment,” Princess Hanyue patiently repeated. “So I ask the Princess, toward which country could it turn without facing divine punishment?”