Good news?

The Empress of Dong Qin hadn’t been waiting for Jun Beiyao for just a day or two. Back then, she had gone to considerable lengths and expense to send Jun Beiyao to the Xiongnu in the first place!

The Xiongnu and Dong Qin, like all nations dealing with one another, were both enemies and allies at once.

Only, even now, after the two nations had begun cooperating, the Empress of Dong Qin still hadn’t so much as met the Xiongnu emperor in person — everything had been conducted through letters, at most through the exchange of a few envoys!

The rulers themselves had never once communicated directly!

Exchanges between envoys could only settle minor matters, which meant that in truth, there had never been much deep or clearly defined cooperation between the two nations at all!

Working with the Xiongnu was, without question, like sleeping with a tiger — cooperation in this very moment could easily turn to betrayal in the next. This was an enormously significant campaign, yet the Xiongnu had shown very little genuine sincerity, offering only verbal agreements!

How could the Empress of Dong Qin possibly feel at ease!

“What good news, tell me,” the Empress said with a smile, finally regaining her composure, stepping down from the watchtower one step at a time.

Jun Beiyao hurried to follow. No one knew exactly what he had gone through during his time among the Xiongnu, but both his mannerisms and his tone had grown increasingly servile — anyone unfamiliar with him would never guess this man had once been Da Zhou’s honored Seventh Prince.

“Your Majesty, guess who I’ve brought back?” Jun Beiyao said, his face wearing a flattering smile.

The Empress of Dong Qin said nothing, hurrying back down to level ground, then finally spoke with delight. “The Xiongnu emperor?”

This was exactly what she had hoped for most — if the Xiongnu emperor himself was willing to meet her personally, that alone would prove sufficient sincerity from the Xiongnu, and this deal would surely be brought to completion!

After all, she too was a sovereign ruler of her own nation. In the history of Great Qin, there had been several generations where even Xiongnu emperors had once bowed as vassals to Great Qin. Though Dong Qin now lived in a diminished corner of the world, the bloodline of the Great Qin imperial house still gave the Empress of Dong Qin a sense of lofty, noble pride!

She was, after all, a ruler of a nation — surely whoever came to meet her had to be the Xiongnu’s supreme ruler himself, one way or another!

Hearing this, a flash of contempt crossed Jun Beiyao’s eyes, though his flattering, obsequious smile never wavered. “Your Majesty, the person I’ve brought back this time is far more important than the Xiongnu emperor!”

“Who?” The Empress of Dong Qin’s brow furrowed sharply, utterly puzzled. Who could possibly be more important than the Xiongnu emperor?

Jun Beiyao, looking mysterious, leaned in close to the Empress’s ear and quietly uttered five words that left her utterly stunned. “Minhan Mude’er!”

“Exactly right!”

Jun Beiyao spoke with immense pride. Minhan Mude’er was a member of the Xiongnu royal family, the crown prince set to inherit the throne within just a few years!

This crown prince’s ambition and cunning far surpassed those of the aging Xiongnu emperor — after all, the old Xiongnu emperor was elderly now, while this young crown prince was learned and shrewd, well-versed in Central Plains writing and culture!

Communicating with this crown prince would undoubtedly go far more smoothly than dealing with the old emperor!

“You actually managed to bring Minhan Mude’er here, ha.” The Empress of Dong Qin gave Jun Beiyao a cold smile. This truly exceeded her expectations — as she understood it, this crown prince had never been particularly inclined toward cooperation with Dong Qin, favoring instead an attack launched from Xichu!

Jun Beiyao felt a flicker of guilt but still met the Empress’s gaze directly, smiling. “Your Majesty, people change according to circumstance — that’s something you’ve often said yourself, isn’t it?”

Though the Empress of Dong Qin remained suspicious, she was nonetheless delighted, and looked Jun Beiyao over several more times before asking, “Where is he?”

“At a relay station a hundred miles to the rear, Your Majesty, please, this way!” Jun Beiyao said with great joy, bowing respectfully in invitation. No one knew what exactly he had endured among the Xiongnu, nor how he had crawled, covered in blood, to Minhan Mude’er’s side. He himself had forgotten most of it — the only thing he would forever remember was that he had come back to take revenge. Jun Beiyue, Han Ziqing — just you wait!

The Empress of Dong Qin wasted no time, riding swiftly all the way to the relay station.

The moment she dismounted, she saw that the station, which should have been guarded by Dong Qin’s own soldiers, was now filled instead with Xiongnu slaves — each one tall, powerfully built, dark-skinned, wearing nothing but shorts and vests, iron rings fastened through their right nostrils as symbols of their slave status.

And right beside them, several Dong Qin guards lay dead, cut down by broadswords, their deaths utterly gruesome.

A flash of fury crossed the Empress’s eyes, but she understood clearly — this was simply the Xiongnu’s characteristic savagery.

“Your Majesty, I already warned them not to provoke any conflict with these people, but this relay station’s…”

The Empress waved her hand, signaling him to stop, and strode forward into the building!

The moment she stepped inside, she found the entire relay station given over to drinking and debauchery, nothing short of a brothel!

Who knew where they had abducted these women from — each Xiongnu man had women draped over both arms, drinking merrily away!

The Empress’s arrival seemed to make no impression on them whatsoever — not a single person even bothered to glance her way.

Even with all her patience, the Empress’s eyes gradually turned icy as she surveyed the room. There were roughly a dozen people in this room, and judging by their attire, they were all high-ranking guards.

“Where is your master?” the Empress suddenly demanded furiously. She had known the Xiongnu were arrogant, but she never imagined they would be this brazenly insolent!

At these words, the entire room fell silent. But the Xiongnu guards merely glanced at her once before returning to their drinking, ignoring her completely.

The Empress’s hands clenched into fists from fury, and she was just about to erupt in anger when, from behind her, an arrogant, untamed voice suddenly spoke up. “A good dog doesn’t block the road — move aside!”

What!

A good dog doesn’t block the road?

Enraged, the Empress spun around sharply, and saw a tall, sturdily built young man, dark-skinned and remarkably handsome, no more than twenty years old, dressed in wolf pelts. Young as he was, his entire body radiated a commanding presence far beyond his years.

This boy must be Minhan Mude’er — how insufferably arrogant indeed!

“I am Xuanyuan Qingcheng, Empress of Dong Qin!” the Empress announced, practically grinding out each word through clenched teeth.

But Minhan Mude’er’s reaction nearly made her cough up blood. “Oh… so you’re that old empress from Dong Qin! Ha, pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you!”

The Empress was on the verge of exploding when Jun Beiyao hurried to hold her back, whispering, “Your Majesty, the affairs of state matter most!”

The Empress took several more deep breaths. From the moment she had decided she would rather sleep with a tiger than surrender to Da Zhou, she should have known a day like this would come.

She drew several more deep breaths, finally calming herself, and forced a smile onto her face. “Prince Minhan, the situation is urgent — I’ve just received new intelligence… might we speak somewhere more private?”

The Empress genuinely couldn’t stand watching this group of Xiongnu guards indulge in such shameless debauchery — it was nothing short of an insult to Dong Qin!

“Ha, we’re already here in your Dong Qin territory — do we still need somewhere more ‘private’?” Minhan Mude’er showed her no courtesy whatsoever, strolling casually past the Empress of Dong Qin and sprawling lazily into a pile of soft cushions among the women. Not satisfied even with that, he roughly shoved one of the women aside to lean against, treating her like a pillow, before finally settling comfortably, raising an eyebrow toward the Empress with the unmistakable air of a master of the house. “Your Majesty, why don’t you sit too!”