“…” Why are you blushing, Feng Miao Jun thought without the energy to mock her. “If he wanted to do something to you, he would have done it already.”

Princess Han Yue’s blush hadn’t faded, but she glared at her and said: “Must you spell it out? Why don’t you tell me why he keeps you by his side, hmm?” She looked Feng Miao Jun up and down, feeling that her friend somehow looked even more radiant after not seeing her for two months, and it seemed like her chest had even grown a bit fuller. “Has he taken a liking to you?”

With such a face and such a figure, was there any man who wouldn’t be moved? Princess Han Yue had always been confident, but she had long known that compared to Feng Miao Jun, she was ultimately a notch below. Had Yun Ya taken a liking to her friend, and that’s why he kept her by his side?

Her thoughts were seen through by Feng Miao Jun, who spread her hands: “Put away your wild imagination. I was taken captive by him in the Cliff Mountain Underground Palace, then fell into a sea of fire. Even Mo Tizhun couldn’t save me. If I hadn’t followed Yun Ya, I would have been reduced to ashes long ago. How could there be the Feng Miao Jun of today?”

She understood that every word they spoke inside the small bottle couldn’t be hidden from Yun Ya, the master of the magical artifact, so naturally, she couldn’t speak ill of him here.

At Cliff Mountain Underground Palace, Mo Tizhun had prioritized saving the princess, abandoning Feng Miao Jun. Princess Han Yue had never forgotten that scene and had felt distressed about it for a long time. Now hearing Feng Miao Jun mention it, her expression improved somewhat, but she still said: “Even so, you shouldn’t betray your sect!”

“Between Mo Tizhun and me, there is only the name of master and disciple, not the substance.” Feng Miao Jun shook her head. “We each took what we needed from the relationship, neither owing the other anything. This relationship was merely a pretense. The King knows this.”

Princess Han Yue opened her mouth, wanting to refute but not knowing where to begin. Feng Miao Jun wasn’t originally from the Kingdom of Yao, and now she had denied the master-disciple relationship with State Preceptor Mo. So she had no real connection to the Kingdom of Yao—how could she be accused of betrayal?

But Princess Han Yue still felt angry. Who exactly was this friend with whom she had got along so well for three years?

The changes that had occurred these days were too many, already exceeding her capacity to bear.

“The King of Yao believed you fled during the wedding ceremony and flew into a rage, threatening to sever the alliance between Yao and Jin. Subsequently, the Wei envoy died unexpectedly, and recently Wei used this as a pretext to invade Yao. The Crown Prince of Yao, Miao Feng Yuan, who would have been your grand uncle-in-law, was suddenly assassinated a few days ago, and the killer has not yet been found.” Feng Miao Jun said all this in one breath and stood up, satisfied to see Princess Han Yue’s expression change from shock to complete stupefaction.

Then she said: “After hearing all this, consider carefully—do you still intend to marry Miao Feng Xian?”

Princess Han Yue had not yet come to her senses and could only nod instinctively.

“Take your time to think about it. I need to go out for a while.”

This series of bombshell revelations left Princess Han Yue dazed and confused, unable to stop her. Feng Miao Jun took one step outside the small bottle and stood before Yun Ya.

The scoundrel sat at the table resting his chin on his hand, clearly waiting for her to come out.

“You did this on purpose!” In her great anger, she even omitted the respectful “you.”

He blinked his eyes. “What do you mean?”

Feng Miao Jun pressed both hands on the table: “You deliberately let me meet Princess Han Yue without any preparation, deliberately making her know I’m one of the kidnappers!”

Yun Ya shrugged: “You’ve been melancholy lately, isn’t it because you miss the Princess? Now I’ve brought her before you, yet you blame me?”

Blame him? Of course! Feng Miao Jun’s fingertips nearly poked holes in the tabletop: “Why did you have to make her resent me?” Yun Ya hadn’t shown his ferocity toward her for so long that she had almost forgotten how vicious and cruel this man’s true nature was. After this incident, there would inevitably be discord between her and Princess Han Yue, and the two could never return to their previous relationship of close friendship without suspicion.

Only then did Yun Ya slowly put away his smile: “You are my attendant, yet you’re close to the Jin Princess and the Yao King’s consort. Anan, one cannot hope to have the best of both worlds.”

Feng Miao Jun bit her teeth, refusing to make a sound. Yun Ya was forcing her to pick a side, and powerfully compelling her to stand on his side, completely severing ties with Princess Han Yue, with Yao, with Jin!

Only by cutting off all her escape routes would she be completely loyal to him!

Yun Ya extended his finger, gently caressing her small, delicate jaw: “In the past, I wouldn’t have needed to go to such trouble; I would simply have eliminated you and Princess Han Yue. But now…” Now, he had created some trouble for himself.

The implication was that he wanted to keep her by his side, which was why he was willing to expend this effort. So should she be tearfully grateful?

Feng Miao Jun’s chest heaved before she suppressed her anger and said softly: “You killed the Wei envoy too, didn’t you?”

Yun Ya was surprised, his peach blossom eyes widening: “What makes you say that?”

Keep pretending, just keep pretending. She instead grew calmer: “Anti-Wei sentiment was running high in Inzi City. Originally, no matter who killed Qi Tian Xing, I wouldn’t have suspected the State Preceptor of Wei. But considering the outcome of this matter, it must have been you!” She paused. “At first I didn’t quite understand why you would provoke a conflict between the Wei envoy and the City Guards at Shun Dong Feng, but now I see it was a deliberate creation of conflict so that once the Wei envoy died, others would immediately suspect the Yao court and the Yao King.”

“As for the death of the Wei envoy, you also provided Yao with a very good motive to act. That is, Princess Han Yue’s escape from the wedding ceremony scene must have had external assistance, and the envoy from the enemy state of Wei would be a major suspect. The Wei envoy was detained by the Yao King for questioning for a long time before being released, only to turn up dead—who wouldn’t think it was the Yao King who had ordered it?”

“This series of combination blows has finally given Wei sufficient reason to attack Yao. You’ve truly devoted your heart and mind to Wei’s cause.”

Previously, Feng Miao Jun hadn’t understood all these twists and turns, but when Wei’s troops were deployed, she suddenly realized everything.

If you can’t understand the process, examine the consequences. After annexing Anxia, Wei had enjoyed years of peace and prosperity, steadily growing in national strength, and had long been prepared for another external expansion. But several months had passed since the Yan-Pu conflict and the destruction of the Cliff Mountain passage, yet Wei had remained inactive—what they lacked was a catalyst for war, a justification to “send in the troops.”

Reasons and excuses are important; a fig leaf is important. No matter how eager the King of Wei was to attack Yao, he needed an explanation to tell his people: that this war was inevitable.

Do not underestimate the importance of “righteousness.” Only by being in the right can one be relentless. If the Wei people knew their country was waging an unjust war, how could they wholeheartedly fight? After all, common people yearn for peace; only those in power harbor ambitions to conquer the Central Plains.

This is called “losing the Way and losing support.” But now, Yun Ya had helped the King of Wei find this breakthrough point. As long as Wei mobilized its people, using shame, anger, and hatred as catalysts, they could ignite their fervor.