"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress." Silver Consort quickly said, full of gratitude. With Crescent Moon's help, she slowly sat down.
"Master, how are your injuries?" Song Zhijue hurriedly had his subordinates push his cart over to her side.
"It's nothing serious. Thank you for worrying about me, Your Highness." Silver Consort's face was full of happiness—so, Jue'er still cares about me!
"Master, what really happened at the Martial Conference? Your wounds..." Even though she said it was nothing, his instincts told him it couldn't be that simple. Otherwise, she wouldn't have disappeared for over two months.
Hearing this, Silver Consort glanced at the Empress. Getting a nod from Cao Wan'er, she recounted the whole story—but she didn't tell him she was dying. She only said she'd been badly injured and went to the valley to recover.
But even if she didn't say it, she couldn't hide it from Cao Wan'er. The Empress's sharp gaze swept over her; just by looking at Silver Consort's expression and the way she walked, she could tell—her days were numbered.
Honestly, it's a miracle she's lasted this long!
For now, keep her alive. When the time comes, I'll absorb the rest of her inner power—then my cultivation will skyrocket!
Thinking of this, a sly smile slowly crept onto Cao Wan'er's lips.
"Is there really someone in the world who can predict others' martial arts? Does such a master actually exist?" Song Zhijue was stunned by the question.
"That's right, Your Highness. No matter what move I tried, he could predict it. And if he just looked closely, he could name every acupoint in my martial arts. That man is terrifying." Thinking of Eli Crane, Silver Consort shivered. He looked so beautiful, like a fairy from a painting, but the words out of his mouth were downright chilling.
It was like he was some kind of soul-reaper, making you feel like every step you took was heading straight for hell.
"The White clan." Suddenly, Cao Wan'er's cold voice cut through the air, giving everyone goosebumps.
"Mother, what do you mean, the White clan?" Song Zhijue looked at Cao Wan'er, totally confused.
"Centuries ago, the White clan were royals, just like the Liyu Kingdom. They had their own country and tons of people. But for some reason, after a hundred years, no one knows what happened—almost all the White Emperor's kids died young. There was no foul play; the clan was super close, so it wasn't harem drama. Out of twenty kids, if two survived, that was a miracle! And every rare survivor had a special talent: eidetic memory!"
"Eidetic memory?" Song Zhijue frowned, repeating the phrase.
"Exactly. Whatever they saw, they'd never forget. Even if it was a martial arts manual, give them half a cup of tea's time, and they'd memorize the whole thing." Cao Wan'er paused, remembering her father had told her this story.
"Is that why the White clan disappeared?" Song Zhijue seemed to be guessing.
"I'm not totally sure," Cao Wan'er admitted, "but you're probably right. That talent would threaten other countries. If anyone showed off martial arts in front of them, they'd get 'stolen' and used against them. So everyone probably teamed up to wipe out the White clan to protect themselves." She nodded, agreeing with Song Zhijue.
"So, does that mean he's the only descendant left from the White clan?"
"Probably. We haven't heard anything about the White clan for years, but with Silver Consort saying this, I just remembered—maybe that guy really is the last descendant of the White clan." Cao Wan'er narrowed her eyes again. If that was true, things would get tricky. Someone like that could be a huge problem for them.
"Don't worry, Mother. I'll take care of him. A hundred years ago, several countries joined forces to wipe out the White clan because they had so few heirs. Even if they could predict moves, it didn't matter if a hundred people attacked one. Back then, they wiped out the whole clan; now there's just one left—why should we be afraid?" Song Zhijue gave a cold smile, clearly not bothered by the White clan's survivor.
Cao Wan'er nodded, totally agreeing with Song Zhijue. Jue'er thinking this way was exactly what she wanted!
"Still, you need to be careful." Even if they had the advantage, Cao Wan'er wanted him to be cautious—after all, he was her son.
"Don't worry, Mother. I've already got a plan for dealing with the White clan's heir. But first, I need to find out where he is!" Song Zhijue said, already plotting.
"Your Majesty, right now the villains are hiding in the shadows and we're exposed. Shouldn't we figure out where they are first?" Crescent Moon quickly asked.
"Exactly, Mother. We've searched all of Soaring Phoenix, but there's still no sign of them. Where could they be hiding?" Even Song Zhijue was stumped.
Cao Wan'er didn't reply. She just narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows, deep in thought.
This past month, Soaring Phoenix really has been turned upside down. There's no way they could've stayed hidden.
All the smaller countries have been searching too, but there's been zero progress.
The Chu Emperor was suspicious, but he’d already returned home ten days before everything went down…
'Your Majesty, the Chu Emperor and the Crown Princess are super close, you know.'
'The Chu Emperor hasn't been around at all—can't be too careful.'
'Everyone’s locked down the news, too,' the sisters said.
Suddenly, Cao Wan'er remembered what Crescent Moon said last time. She jolted upright and blurted out, "Chu Kingdom!"
"What? Chu Kingdom?" All three people in the room froze.
"That's right. I just thought it over, and the Chu Emperor's actions have always been weird. Lots of people saw him hanging around Soaring Phoenix. Why would an emperor leave his own kingdom to come here?"
"Is it like Crescent Moon said—that the Chu Emperor and Crown Princess are so close, he helped the demon girl on purpose?" Crescent Moon quickly voiced her doubts.
"No," Cao Wan'er thought it through, getting more and more convinced something was off. "If the demon girl burned his sister to death, why would he help her? Something's definitely fishy here."
"Your Majesty, do you mean the Crown Princess wasn't actually burned to death?" Crescent Moon blurted out, even she was shocked by her own words.
"That's totally possible." Cao Wan'er nodded, then continued, "They planned everything from the start, so the Crown Princess might not have been burned. With how close those siblings are, there's no way he'd just disappear if she really died." She smacked her forehead, frustrated. "It's all my fault for thinking the enemy was dead and getting careless. Think about it—which country can challenge Soaring Phoenix? Only Chu Kingdom. That demon girl wants the throne, so she must need a powerful ally. Why would she stupidly burn the Crown Princess? Looks like this was their plan all along. We've been played!"
"So scary," Silver Consort couldn't help saying. She'd always thought the Empress was the best schemer, but never expected someone could outplay even her.
"Mother..." Hearing Cao Wan'er's analysis, Song Zhijue broke into a cold sweat. He'd seriously underestimated the enemy.
Hearing the tremble in his voice, Cao Wan'er's mother-hen instincts kicked in. "Don't worry, Jue'er, Mother has a way to find them."
"Mother."
"If they're hiding in Chu Kingdom, they must be in the palace. Jue'er, get the Imperial Guards ready, and have all the border troops on standby. We're going to catch them off guard!" As long as she had even a shred of doubt, she'd wipe them out. Besides, she'd disliked Chu Kingdom for ages—now was the perfect chance to get rid of them.
"Understood." Song Zhijue nodded quickly.
"Good, get on it. But there's something even more important—now that our enemies have shown up, the throne can't wait any longer. Jue'er, get ready this month—Mother wants you to ascend!"
"Ascend without the Dragon-Phoenix Imperial Seal?" Song Zhijue's eyes lit up at the word 'ascend.'
"Who cares about the Imperial Seal? That's not the issue anymore—we can't wait. If anyone tries to stop you, we'll kill them all. We don't need a benevolent ruler now; we need a tyrant who can shake the world! Demon girl, you asked for this. If you don't want a kind emperor, then you'll get what you wished for. Anyone who opposes you—wipe out their whole clan!"
Cao Wan'er would never let anyone steal what belonged to her son!
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PS: Thanks to Zhu Cao, Guotang, Buleng, Zihan, and 77 for your rewards! I'm so shy, hehe. But someone even threw an egg at me—yikes! Rotten eggs are the worst, I don't want them, please don't give me any, boohoo~!