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

“Is Your Highness only interested in the Beauty’s Blood and not the beauty herself?” Han Yunxi joked. Naturally, she was referring to Baili Mingxiang.

Long Feiye replied conscientiously, “Would you like your lordship to show interest?”

Despite their warm banter, the ‘interest’ expressed by both held deeper meanings. When the jests were done, Han Yunxi grew serious again. “Your Highness, Baili Mingixang has worked hard even without meritorious service to her name. It wasn’t easy for her to suffer from childhood up to now.”

Although Han Yunxi kept insisting that she wanted to right a wrong by saving Baili Mingxiang from her poisons, she actually admired the girl and was sympathetic to her plight. At the very least, she’d never seen Baili Mingxiang complain while they were together. When Long Feiye didn’t speak, Han Yunxi continued, “Your Highness, it’d be a loss to your person if such a good girl were to simply lose her life.”

If an ignorant party heard this conversation, they might even start to wonder whether Baili Mingxiang and Long Feiye had some sort of relationship going on. Long Feiye only wanted the Beauty’s Blood and nothing else, but Han Yunxi’s words forced him to ask, “Can’t you save her?”

“Your Highness has never expressed interest in the status of the antidote,” Han Yunxi pressed. Even if it was another subordinate—male or female—in Baili Mingxiang’s place today, Han Yunxi would’ve spoken up for them all the same. For Long Feiye to show such indifference was really too cruel and heartless on his part, right?

But he was precisely that kind of cold and detached man. Han Yunxi’s constant questioning began to irk him, and he said unhappily, “It doesn’t have anything to do with you, so why should your lordship care?”

Urk… Han Yunxi was left speechless.

Long Feiye’s words sounded almost sweet, as if he was trying to get on her good side, but his tone was completely serious and unhappy. Han Yunxi stood in place, at a momentary loss for words. Chu Xifeng simply watched on in disbelief. Who said the Duke of Qin doesn’t know anything about romance or expressing his feelings through honeyed words? This isn’t the first time that it’s happened!

Your Highness Duke of Qin, your slips of the tongue always end up sounding sentimental. Are you sure you’re not doing this on purpose?

Well all right, it was more likely he was just being blunt without realizing how sappy he sounded. Long Feiye arched an eyebrow at Han Yunxi before he murmured, “Just pretend you don’t know anything about the Mermaid Clan. Don’t mention it to the Baili Clan either.”

“Understood,” Han Yunxi had a clear grasp of the situation now. And just like that, both of them forgot about Baili Mingxiang. Han Yunxi next asked, “Your Highness, how is it possible for mermaids to last so long on land?”

“The Baili Clan is a subdivision of the main branch of mermaids. They’re not much different from land-dwelling humans. It’s only after they enter the water that their mermaid side comes to light,” Long Feiye replied honestly.

Han Yunxi nodded her head. To be honest, she didn’t find this revelation too strange, as Cloud Realm Continent was full of strange people and events. Most likely, the Baili Navy will end up as Long Feiye’s greatest source of strength. Mermaids not only made up the seas, but the rivers and lakes as well!

It was only after Han Yunxi left that Long Feiye took out his Records of the Seven Clans again. He casually flipped to a page in the yellowed volume and stopped on two words: Baili! After turning another page, he found extensive descriptions of the Baili Clan, one of the Seven Noble Families of old. Once, they had controlled an extensive navy and held sway over all of Tianning’s waterways. Of course, that was all in the past and part of history now. Even the Records of the Seven Clans made no mention of their existence as mermaids. It was a secret known only to select members of the Baili Clan themsevles.

“Your Highness, esteemed wangfei is really too…” Chu Xifeng didn’t even know what to say. The secret of the Baili Clan was unknown to even the other six Noble Families. How did esteemed wangfei find out? Chu Xifeng’s trailing remark was meant as a word of advice based on the observation that it wasn’t good to hide too much from esteemed wangfei. His Highness had always been a ruthless and decisive man. He could accept and abandon things at will and was willing to win or lose his battles. What was so hard for him to accept? Even if esteemed wangfei found out the truth, what of it? Esteemed wangfei could make her own choice on the matter, couldn’t she?

Chu Xifeng wanted to persuade Long Feiye further, but the latter simply changed the topic. “How is the situation in Northern Li?”

“There’s been a lot of activity at the Three-Way Battlefield, but everything has proceeded as directed in the horse fields. Northern Li’s emperor is only making a fuss for show, but he won’t dare try anything serious,” Chu Xifeng replied.

Emperor Tianhui was currently wishing for the stars and the moon with his unrealistic expectations. He was hoping that Northern Li would start a war, but no decisive actions had happened at the Three-Way Battlefield yet. If not for Tianning’s disadvantageous geographic position, Emperor Tianhui would have ordered Great General Ning to make the first move long ago. For now, he had no choice but to keep waiting.

“When will Chu Qingge arrive?” Long Feiye asked next.

“A party’s already been sent to meet the bride in the west. They’ll arrive in the capital in ten more days,” Chu Xifeng replied.

Long Feiye nodded before instructing, “Remember to give the emperor a grand gift of on the coronation day of his new consort.”

Chu Xifeng smiled and nodded. “Your subordinate understands.”

Once again, Long Feiye picked up Records of the Seven Clans and continued to read. The struggles of Tianning’s imperial court were completely irrelevant to him. He had long established connections in the palace, so it was simply a matter of whether or not he wanted to control things from behind the scenes. For him, the issue of the Seven Noble Families was far more important…

Han Yunxi knew nothing of this. After clarifying the issue with the Baili Clan, she set aside her cares to continue with her experiments. The sample in her hands was already a rudimentary form of Beauty’s Blood, so the detox system could use approximate ratios to infuse the rest of the poisons and create a true Beauty’s Blood. It took less than half a day before the detox system gave her a bottle’s worth of the precious poison. To be precise, something like this could be called “quasi-Beauty’s Blood.”