"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."

Chu Qing clutched his chest, wracked by a violent coughing fit. When it subsided, he was left half-slumped over the table, his face flushed red from the exertion.

"Fifth Brother, are you alright?" Chu Yue asked, turning to look at him.

"Cough, cough..."

Chu Qing dissolved into another coughing fit.

"Seventh Princess, it’s time for the Prince to take his medicine," a guard said as he helped Chu Qing up.

Chu Qing was gasping for air, his entire body leaning heavily on the guard. His eyes looked as if he couldn’t even keep them open.

Seeing this, how could Chu Yue not understand? She gritted her teeth and ordered, "Escort the Fifth Prince back to the inn."

"Yes."

"Cough, cough, cough... Imperial... Imperial Sister... I’ll... I’ll leave everything... to you... Cough, cough, cough... PTAH..." The Fifth Prince, weak and unsteady, turned back at the doorway. He managed to sputter out a fragmented sentence before coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

The guards cried out in alarm. The two of them supported him and quickly exited.

As Chu Qing spat out that mouthful of blood, the corner of everyone’s mouth in the room twitched.

This was especially true for Chu Yue and Qin Huai, whose faces couldn’t have gotten any darker.

Only Ye Qianning knew the truth. His illness was real, but the blood was fake. ’Chu Qing is likely addicted to some kind of drug,’ she thought, ’that’s why he’s so weak.’

’He’s not sick enough to be coughing up blood. He just doesn’t want to clean up this mess.’

On the surface, Chu Qing was the head of the East Shu delegation, but the one secretly in charge was Chu Yue. The Prince was just a figurehead.

Ye Qianning sat down next to Helian Chen again. This time, her posture was ramrod straight and her expression was serious, making her look both comical and cute.

Helian Chen tilted his head to speak to her, but she just gave him a prim glance. Her act caught Helian Chen by surprise for a moment, and then he broke into a silly laugh.

His laughter earned him another eye-roll from Ye Qianning, but instead of toning it down, he only laughed louder.

Prince Yu sighed inwardly, his face scrunched up. He felt like he was on the verge of tears.

’I must be cursed,’ he lamented. ’Nothing good ever happens when I have to deal with envoys from other nations. Xi Yan’s standards are too high; cooperation is impossible. They’ve always looked down on Nanyuan.’

’East Shu is even less of a consideration. Their borders are also coastal, and they’re the farthest from Nanyuan. We don’t even have merchants who trade with East Shu.’

’We never wanted to deal with them in the first place, but they just had to drag us into their little conspiracies to use as a shield. How could I not be furious?’

"Miss Xiang, you seem to know a great deal for someone so young," Xiliu Yuan remarked out of the blue.

Hearing this, Ye Qianning immediately adjusted her posture, mimicking his refined air as she replied, "A passable amount."

...

The corners of Xiliu Yuan’s lips curved up slightly.

Ye Qianning kept a straight face as she met his faint, teasing smile. ’When he grows up, I wonder how many women’s hearts he’ll break,’ she thought. ’Even at his age, a single smile is deadly.’

A knock sounded at the door. "Princess, the Third Prince of Beili has arrived."

Chu Yue knew that her plans were ruined. Deciding to just let things fall apart, she said, "Show the Third Prince in."

Shortly after, Sang Yan, dressed in fine silks and a jade belt, walked in. He paused briefly upon seeing the assembled group, then smiled. "The little lass had someone invite this prince to discuss matters of state. I thought she was just playing around, but it seems all the esteemed envoys are present."

"Third Prince, please have a seat," Chu Yue said with a smile.

Sang Yan’s eyes swept across the room before he walked over and sat down in the seat next to Ye Qianning. He nodded toward Xiliu Yuan after taking his seat. "Many things have happened in the Capital City recently. I’m afraid it must have been alarming for all you envoys."

"I was planning to host a banquet in a couple of days to entertain all the envoys and express my apologies. I never imagined that I would be the one invited to a banquet by an envoy today. This prince is truly ashamed for having failed to fulfill the duties of a host." As Sang Yan spoke, he picked up a wine cup, filled it, and raised it. "This prince will drink three cups as a penalty."