Chapter 417: It doesn’t have anything to do with you (1/2)

Chapter 417: It doesn’t have anything to do with you

Mermaids were mystical creatures with fish tails and human bodies, a special species that originated from a combination of humans and fish. They knew how to make jiaoxiao (鲛绡), or shark silk, a type of fabric that remained dry while underwater. Their tears turned into pearls and were considered extremely precious.

Han Yunxi had only heard of such legends from fairy tales. Typically, mermaids live in the sea, though one could sometimes find them in large lakes or rivers. They had strict requirements for water quality. But from what she knew, mermaids and their fish tails were confined to water unless they ate special pills to make their tails go away. Moreover, they couldn’t remain on land for long periods of time.

But there was no difference between the members of the Baili Clan and other humans. They also spent much of their time on land, so what was going on? Did Long Feiye know about this? What about the previous Tianning emperor, who ordered the creation of a navy in the first place? Using members of the Mermaid Clan to create a navy was defying the natural order! The sea was their domain, so no other navy would ever be able to topple them.

When Han Yunxi arrived at Long Feiye’s quarters, the latter put away his copy of Records of the Seven Clans. Actually, Han Yunxi had noticed the old and yellowed volume in Long Feiye’s hands ages ago, but she had no idea what kind of book it was. If she recalled correctly, Long Feiye had been reading this book nonstop since they went to South Ning Prefecture.

Since he had looked so absorbed by its contents, she asked, “What book is that?”

Chu Xifeng gave a start from his perch by the study table. Fortunately, Han Yunxi didn’t notice, or else she definitely would’ve realized that something was off. As Long Feiye’s most trusted guard, he was supposed to be the steady and composed type. A reaction like that was outside his usual norms, though it was usually because he couldn’t keep his cool in front of esteemed wangfei.

Long Feiye remained unruffled as he asked, “Urgent business?”

His two simple words successfully diverted Han Yunxi’s attention. She really had come with pressing news and had no time to care about the book. Instead, she asked him directly, “Do you know that the Baili family is from the Mermaid Clan?”

Long Feiye lost his calm at those words as his hand resting on the table turned visibly stiff. How did this woman figure out such a deep secret? He was certain that no one in the Baili Clan had the guts to tell her!

Seeing his expression, Han Yunxi was convinced. “You’ve known all along!”

“How did you find out?” Long Feiye quickly regained his composure.

“Baili Mingxiang’s blood is very unique. I analyzed it for an entire night before confirming the results,” Han Yunxi replied honestly.

“You can analyze things like that too?” Long Feiye was astonished.

It would have been impossible without the detox system. At most, Han Yunxi would have only noticed something peculiar about Baili Mingxiang’s blood rather than pin her as a mermaid. But records of such things existed within the system itself.

“Your Highness, you’ve long known that the Baili Clan were mermaids, and that’s why you paved the path for a Tianning navy, right?” Han Yunxi asked seriously.

Long Feiye was still a child when Baili Mingxiang first started taking poisons, so it must have been someone else who came up with the idea of raising Beauty’s Blood. In other words, the Baili Clan was set from the start to be Long Feiye’s loyal retainers and source of strength. They had been on his side before the navy ever existed.

“Yes!” Long Feiye didn’t deny it. His mufei had used the Baili Clan as their first chess piece in Tianning, while him becoming Grand Concubine Yi’s son was the second step.

“Your Tang Clan really has grand aspirations!” Han Yunxi couldn’t help but sigh with feeling. It looks like they had their sights on world domination even when the previous Tianning emperor was still sitting on the throne.

Naturally, Han Yunxi had no idea that the Tang Clan were another set of subordinates loyal to Long Feiye. She assumed that they were his strength in the shadows, and the underlying force that had set up the Baili navy for his sake. She couldn’t be blamed for her ignorance, especially when Long Feiye was the one who told her his parents came from the Tang Clan.

But this…was a huge misunderstanding!

A complicated look flitted past Long Feiye’s eyes before it quickly vanished. He showed a rare smile and said, “Is your lordship’s aspirations grand as well?”

Han Yunxi felt that his question sounded odd. Isn’t he the representative of the Tang Clan himself? She recalled Aunt Ru’s words of censure towards Long Feiye. Wasn’t she worried that a femme fatale like me would only hold Long Feiye back? And ruin the big plans of their Tang Clan?

“If your lordship didn’t have grand aspirations, perhaps someone else would be sitting in your place today. Maybe it’d even be Tang Li,” Han Yunxi teased.

Lies and misunderstandings aside, Han Yunxi had thoroughly misread the situation this time. An uneasy Chu Xifeng spoke up when he saw that Long Feiye had no intentions to rectify the mistake. “The Beauty’s Blood is almost complete, right?”