Fu Lingchuan’s gaze sharpened slightly: “If Long Le accepts his gifts, will she also accept his feelings?”

She shrugged: “That depends on his performance.”

She had the freedom to choose her spouse and could naturally enjoy being pursued by men. Fu Lingchuan showed a contemplative expression: “I thought you disliked Zhao Yun, otherwise why would you have tried every means to reject him in Taiping City?”

A smile curled at Feng Miaojun’s lips: “I detest being coerced. In Taiping City, the King of Yan wanted to use Zhao Yun to trap me, but I refused to grant them their wish. Now, however, Zhao Yun stands on my territory, behaving quite gentlemanly. He doesn’t seem as detestable anymore.”

Her eyes sparkled with the vivacity of a young woman in her prime. Fu Lingchuan stared at her intently, thinking that she was at the age when the heart began to stir. Zhao Yun was handsome, gentle, and not arrogant. Moreover, as a prince of the world’s strongest nation, both his appearance and status made him highly compatible with Long Le—they were both golden nobility in the eyes of women.

For Long Le to be attracted to him seemed quite natural.

Of course, he also detected the double meaning in Feng Miaojun’s words. The King of Yan wanted to use Zhao Yun to trap her in Taiping City, so she detested Zhao Yun; now that he, Fu Lingchuan, had trapped her in a powerless royal position, would she detest him as well?

Thinking of this, he felt a constriction in his heart: “Long Le, be cautious! Zhao Yun’s proposal, apart from being drawn to your incomparable beauty, also covets New Xia.” A Yan prince marrying the Queen would gain both the person and the country. He didn’t believe Feng Miaojun couldn’t see through this.

“Do you think I don’t understand his calculations? Cousin, are you treating me like a seven-year-old child?” Feng Miaojun let out a giggling laugh. “Who says that when discussing love and romance, there can’t be intertwined interests? If I like him, then an alliance between Yan and New Xia would be a strong partnership, making everyone happy.”

Pure, unblemished love certainly existed in the world. What young woman didn’t yearn for or envy it? But she understood that from the moment she accepted the New Xia throne, such good fortune had passed her by.

It was difficult to have the best of both worlds; gain inevitably came with loss.

Fu Lingchuan was left speechless.

She peered at Fu Lingchuan, her eyes bright: “Can cousin truly say that you only harbor loyalty and protection toward me, without any other considerations?”

People like Fu Lingchuan and Zhao Yun, even if they admired or were fond of her, would undoubtedly place their interests first.

Fu Lingchuan spoke earnestly: “I do have selfish motives, but if Long Le would marry me, I, Fu Lingchuan, dare to swear that I will remain faithful and ensure you live peacefully and without worry for the rest of your life.”

His expression was solemn, and Feng Miaojun could see the affection blooming in his eyes, which moved her. After some thought, she said: “I am most fond of ancient manuscripts, secret histories, and especially techniques or histories related to Celestial Demons.”

She was… Fu Lingchuan’s eyes brightened, and even the smile on his lips became more gentle: “Very well!”

After he left, Feng Miaojun continued reading. Seeing no one around, the liquid metal spirit that had transformed into an earring whispered beside her ear: “Fu Lingchuan is also pursuing Mistress!”

She made a sound of acknowledgment without even lifting her eyelids.

White Board grew anxious: “Mistress, you cannot give him a chance!”

“Why not?”

“This man harbors ill intentions!” It disliked Fu Lingchuan. “He once had murderous thoughts toward you!”

“Yesterday’s events are like yesterday’s deaths.” Feng Miaojun responded absent-mindedly. “Now I am a sovereign; he can’t protect me enough.”

“What about Master? Which one do you currently favor—the Yan Prince, Fu Lingchuan, or Lord Yun Ya?”

She responded decisively: “I don’t like any of them.”

White Board: “…”

“You—you and Lord Yun Ya…” it stammered, “have exceptional chemistry.” Anyone could see they were a pair.

Feng Miaojun gave a light scoff: “The chemistry between master and servant?” That strange harmony had indeed appeared when they traveled together; however, her status had been completely overturned. The days of the past? Well, perhaps they could never return.

“Does he harbor good intentions toward me?” she countered the liquid metal spirit. “Has he never had murderous thoughts toward me?” Yun Ya was a person with an extremely strong purpose; before he revealed his fangs, no one knew what he truly intended. Had he come to Wusei City revealing his true face just to show sincerity to her?

She dared not believe it, especially after witnessing him employ so many schemes.

Besides, how was Yun Ya any better than Fu Lingchuan? In Caixing City and on the escort road to Yao Kingdom, Yun Ya had killed two of her body doubles.

White Board was speechless, only able to silently shed tears of sympathy for Yun Ya in its heart.

Feng Miaojun, however, was calculating in her mind. It seemed Zhao Yun had abandoned his plan to harm her and instead chose to show goodwill, seeking the Queen’s favor. This was indeed the wisest approach.

What kind of restriction had the King of Yan placed on the false Princess Long Le? Methods to control a person were generally limited to curses, divine powers, poisons, or worm arts. Since he could generously offer the Jin Zhi Yu Lu elixir, it seemed what was planted in Fei Yuan wasn’t a curse, which left divine powers, poisons, and worm arts as the three remaining options.

Coincidentally, all three required proximity to implement. By staying vigilant and maintaining an appropriate distance from Zhao Yun, she should remain relatively safe.

If Zhao Yun were intelligent, he would abandon such underhanded plans; otherwise, failure would mean losing more than he gained.

The Wei delegation had not yet left either.

Xu Guangxiang naturally didn’t want to linger in Wusei City for even a second, but the “chief envoy” of Wei had no intention of returning home.

This man had rarely followed proper diplomatic channels to request an audience with the Queen but with the royal court controlled by Fu Lingchuan, his six or seven consecutive requests only made it halfway before inexplicably ending, never reaching Feng Miaojun.

The responses Yun Ya received always stated that Her Majesty was “busy” or “fatigued”—in short, she had no time to receive him.

Xu Guangxiang couldn’t help saying: “She is so arrogant; why does my lord still bother with her? We might as well depart and return to assist the King with his concerns.” This was the first time she had seen Yun Ya receive so many rejections from a woman; she was jealous enough that her eyes nearly turned red.

Yun Ya, however, remained composed: “It’s fine. How could thawing relations between Wei and Xia be so simple?”

Was he only trying to ease relations between Wei and New Xia? Xu Guangxiang secretly gnashed her teeth. He probably wanted to warm up his relationship with An’an!

Did Feng Miaojun truly not know about Yun Ya’s rejected meeting requests?

No, she knew everything.

Even though the servants around her were Fu Lingchuan’s people, she still had confidants like Chen Dachang active in the palace, constantly relaying various rumors to her.

The Wei envoy seeking an audience with the sovereign, and being rejected six times in succession—such matters couldn’t be concealed. Every evening, Chen Dachang would report to her once.

Feng Miaojun always listened with a smile, saying “I understand.”

And then, there was nothing more.