Perhaps Jun Beiyue and Ziqing had always been two of a kind, meant to end up together.
At that moment, the two of them, still in each other’s arms, both found themselves gazing at the great map spread across the table.
Ziqing had been thinking about the matter of Xijing for a very long time now. There was no way the truth about Xijing could be kept from Yelu Qianqian forever. If Yelu Qianqian truly turned out to be so heartless as to remain indifferent to it all, wanting only to spend her life with Situ Haonan, then that girl wouldn’t be the kind of person who held a special place in Ziqing’s heart at all.
As for Jun Beiyue—having grown up alongside Situ Haonan his whole life, he understood him best. No matter how spineless Situ Haonan might seem at times, there was absolutely no way he would ever imprison Yelu Qianqian, keep her from returning to Xijing.
All of this had been expected—he simply hadn’t thought it would come so quickly. Just as the northern frontier had settled into a stalemate, the western frontier too was about to face unrest.
“I’ve already got the western frontier army deployed. Convincing the Xijing emperor is the key,” Jun Beiyue finally said quietly.
“No. Convincing Qianqian is the key,” Ziqing said with a helpless smile. Emperors, more than anyone, knew how to set aside personal grudges and weigh the bigger picture—because they were the ones who controlled the whole board, who understood that no grievance, however enormous, could ever outweigh the throne and the nation.
But Qianqian was just a young girl. All she understood was love and hate, affection and enmity. How could she possibly weigh all these other things?
Whether her nation fell or became a vassal state, either was a disgrace to Xijing, and she couldn’t escape her share of blame for either.
Jun Beiyue let out a soft sigh and simply held Ziqing tighter, saying nothing more.
He had always been a man without much feeling—only by remaining unfeeling could he move freely, without hesitation or distraction, through the treachery and grievances of the world, turning the tides at will.
If he had never met this woman, with his skills, how could a mere girl, a mere princess, ever have become the key turning point between two nations, at a time like this?
Looking into Jun Beiyue’s doting, reluctant eyes, Ziqing rose gently on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Jun Beiyue responded, deepening the kiss, capturing her mouth, unrestrained and tender, refusing to let go for a long, long while.
“Half a year. I’ll keep the western frontier safe,” Ziqing vowed!
Jun Beiyue, lips still against hers, made his own promise in return. “Half a year. I’ll take you to Yaoshun Island.”
Sealed with a kiss, bound by a kiss—half a year as their term, their word as their bond!
Only then did Jun Beiyue finally let her go. He knew things were urgent—otherwise, even once Situ Haonan understood everything, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush to leave.
They had to find Yelu Qianqian immediately!
“Let Yingzi go with you.”
“I have my own ‘Reverse Scale’—no weaker than your Shadow Guards!”
Jun Beiyue laughed helplessly. At the very least—”At the very least, I need to know everything that happens to you.”
“Sure, so Yingzi’s there to keep an eye on me!” Ziqing teased.
“You could put it that way!” Jun Beiyue said, entirely serious.
“Mm.” Ziqing didn’t refuse. The two of them had parted many times before, but this time, it was she who was choosing to leave.
It might have seemed sudden, but in truth, it had all been expected from the start.
Half a year—if all went well, with both Xijing and Dongqin becoming vassal states, taking down Xichu afterward would be no great difficulty. Jun Beiyue’s grand ambition to dominate all of Longyuan would, at the very least, be well underway.
Ziqing thought, at least this way, she wouldn’t be holding him back too much, for too long.
Half a year—if all went well, Xijing’s Mingsha Mountain and Dongqin’s Yaoshun Island would both become territories of Da Zhou, free for them to move through as they pleased.
Jun Beiyue thought, at least the matter of the Lonely Isle wouldn’t drag on much longer—at least the secret of Lishang would finally be unraveled.
“Let’s go, or we won’t catch up to Situ Haonan!”
In the end, it was Ziqing who steeled her heart first and let go.
Jun Beiyue’s palm felt oddly tight. He hesitated a moment, then said quietly, “In half a year… let’s have a child.”
Ziqing froze slightly, biting down and saying nothing. The secret of the Lonely Isle still wasn’t fully understood, she still hadn’t found a way to undo her poison-immune constitution—and here this man was, wanting a child!
Half a year from now—wouldn’t that be too soon?
She hadn’t given up hope, but she didn’t quite have the courage for it either.
Yet Jun Beiyue reached out, hooking his little finger toward hers, wanting to seal it with a pinky promise.
He didn’t care about any of that. Even if there was no solution yet, he would create one by sheer will if he had to. This woman was already his, settled—was there really still a need to weigh whether or not to have a child?
“Half a year. It’s a promise!”
Jun Beiyue was utterly sincere—this was both a pact, and his most heartfelt promise to her.
Ziqing gritted her teeth once more, looking into Jun Beiyue’s resolute eyes, and finally found the courage to hook her finger with his. “All right. It’s a promise. Half a year… see you then!”
With that, Ziqing swung up onto her horse, Yingzi already having everything ready.
Jun Beiyue didn’t take a single step forward. He simply raised a hand and waved, smiling faintly at her—a smile so warm.
Ziqing smiled back just as warmly, said “See you” once more, and truly did leave, cracking her whip and riding off at full speed!
Not until her galloping figure had vanished entirely from view did Jun Beiyue finally move, still watching, gazing after her, until Imperial Physician Gu came over and murmured gently, “My lord, you haven’t slept all night. You should rest. There’s much to attend to in the army—please, take care of your health.”
Jun Beiyue came back to himself and nodded, but didn’t hurry off to rest. Instead, he quietly instructed a Shadow Guard, “Send word to Jiao Cha. Have them watch the waters around Yaoshun Island closely. If Baili Weisheng leaves, report back immediately!”
“Yes!” The Shadow Guard took the order and departed. Jun Beiyue paid Imperial Physician Gu little mind, turning instead to head toward the army camp.
Imperial Physician Gu, disgruntled, stared after the direction Ziqing had gone, brow furrowed, expression conflicted.
His lord ignoring him was, without doubt, because these past few days he hadn’t held back from hinting, again and again, at the dangers of the Lonely Isle, at the dangers facing the princess consort.
He’d already exchanged several letters with Prince Baxian, discussing this very matter.
But now, to think that Han Ziqing was heading off to the western frontier—though he didn’t fully understand what was going on, and as a mere physician, he had no right to know, nor any need to—he could still tell, more or less, that Han Ziqing’s trip to the western frontier surely wasn’t about the Lonely Isle, but about the war.
Looked at that way, this woman really could be a great help to his lord.
He’d witnessed Han Ziqing’s skill in commanding troops and waging war himself.
Imperial Physician Gu found himself sighing inwardly—if only Han Ziqing weren’t a survivor of the Lonely Isle, how wonderful that would be.
Within a day, Ziqing had caught up with Situ Haonan. When he’d first set out, he’d raced like a madman—and on the way back, he was, if anything, even more frantic than before.
Only once Ziqing caught up with him did he finally slow down a little.
“If you knew it would come to this, why bother in the first place? And to think you call yourself a man—unable to keep your head at a critical moment. What use are you?” Ziqing said, still indignant on Qianqian’s behalf—that girl was surely even more heartbroken than Situ Haonan right now, and no one even knew where she was.
They had no leads at all, and could only race for the border pass, hoping to catch her in time.
Situ Haonan, thoroughly ashamed, said helplessly, “You really do… really do have a way with things.”
Ziqing smiled faintly. “It’s not about having a way. It’s about not giving up—if you don’t give up, you’ll always find a way eventually!”
After all, she’d dared to face down something as sinister as the Lonely Isle, a constitution as terrifying as the human Gu, without ever giving up. Of course, that courage had been given to her by Jun Beiyue.
“Let’s go! In half a year, I’m going to turn all of Longyuan upside down!” Ziqing said, cracking her whip hard, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its string.