Shifting Winds and Treacherous Tides (1)

Everyone stared at the letter with utter disbelief. Who could have guessed—their first child would have a golden tail.

And from the moment they're born, their fate is already sealed—boy or girl, they're destined to be the next emperor!

In the Soaring Phoenix Realm, this is pretty much common knowledge: only the Crown Prince’s kids get golden tails. If a princess marries out, her tail color changes to match her husband’s. But sometimes, two princesses have kids with golden tails—that’s always been a total mystery, an unsolved riddle.

Back then, everyone assumed it was heaven’s blessing or some ancestor’s favor, letting the golden emperor’s symbol continue. But who knew? Turns out that ‘special’ wasn’t random—it was man-made all along.

Turns out, for hundreds of years, the Song Imperial Clan had a secret tradition: every future emperor would feed a drop of their own blood to the Dragon‑Phoenix Jade Seal every day, for forty‑nine days straight. It wasn’t much blood—just a drop—but keeping it up for that long was no joke.

After the forty‑nine days, the Jade Seal is infused with the previous emperor’s blood and spirit. If a boy ascends the throne, no more blood is needed. But if it’s a girl, she has to drip blood too—so the spirit inside the Dragon‑Phoenix Jade Seal flows into her womb when she gets pregnant, guaranteeing her child is born with a golden tail.

Of course, there’s a catch—the mother has to have a golden tail herself. That’s why princesses who become empresses can still pass on the golden tail. And this secret? It’s only ever passed from emperor to emperor, never leaking out.

Looking at the unconscious Ivy, the seven husbands exchanged glances, then just sighed and sat down on the bench in total silence.

Seeing this, Yvonne Li got curious and picked up the letter they’d tossed on the table. Wind, the ever-nosey shadow guard, followed to take a look too.

One glance—and they instantly got it.

"My son is supposed to inherit my poison-doctor legacy—how could he possibly be an emperor?" Lucian Vane sighed, then switched gears: "Oh, whatever! My kid’s just that talented, so maybe a poison-savvy emperor wouldn’t be so bad after all!"

"Oh, please! What kind of emperor spends all day playing with poison instead of governing? People would laugh their heads off! If you ask me, my son isn’t interested in that massive throne at all, but hey, it’s fate—what can you do?" Butterfly Rogue shook his head, even putting on a tragic, helpless face, as if the child really was his.

Adrian Night narrowed his eyes. "A swordsman emperor wouldn’t be bad either. With that kind of skill, no one would dare mess with him." (Translation: That’s obviously my son, thanks.)

"None of you are up to snuff—your kids don’t have the brains for it! Only Liam Willow’s son has what it takes to be emperor," Colin Kerr declared, sticking up for the shy scholar.

Before Caleb Miles could even speak, his abacus started clacking away: "Hold up! If it’s Liam’s kid, sure, he’s talented, but Liam’s way too gentle—the bad ministers would eat him alive! You need someone cunning for the throne. Crunching the numbers, only my son is fit for emperor. He’ll guard the treasury, master martial arts and poison, and—wait, he’ll have to inherit Endless Indulgence Kingdom too? How’s that supposed to work?"

"Can you guys knock it off? Ivy’s still unconscious!" Ethan Chu scolded the group for their shameless self-love.

But deep down, he was thinking: If it really is my son, how could he possibly handle ruling both Chu Kingdom and the Soaring Phoenix Realm? No way. Guess I’ll just have to work harder and make another son for the extra kingdom!

"I’m not fighting over it." Eli Crane smiled, unintentionally playing the nice guy card.

"Why not?" The rest looked confused.

"Because, honestly, how can we even tell whose kid it is? The tail’s completely gold, and apparently for the first three months, baby serpent tails all look the same. Instead of fighting, shouldn’t we figure out how to tell them apart now that tail color’s useless?" Eli Crane pointed out the obvious.

Everyone went quiet. Yeah, the tail was always the dead giveaway—now that it’s golden, you can’t tell anything from a baby’s tail, can you?

So they all dropped the debate. Whatever, they’d just wait for the baby to be born and figure it out then—for now, best to just check on Ivy!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—!" Grand Master Zhang suddenly burst in, breathless.

"What’s got you so worked up?"

"The Crown Prince... Crown Prince Song is about to ascend the throne!" Grand Master Zhang panted.

"What?" Everyone was shocked. Grand Master Zhang’s news was so startling, it even woke Ivy Shen from her faint.

"Ivy!" They all rushed over to check on her.

"I’m fine." Ivy Shen rubbed her belly—the baby inside was still bouncing around, totally unfazed by all the excitement.

"Your Majesty..." Grand Master Zhang called out softly, finally realizing how poorly timed his announcement was—Ivy was supposed to be resting!

"Grand Master Zhang, did you just say Jude Song is about to ascend the throne?" Ivy Shen was stunned. There’s no way they don’t know she’s still alive—so why the big, flashy coronation? What are they up to?

"That’s right—the news just came in this morning. The ceremony’s tomorrow, but today’s just a buffer for everyone. They’ll hold the coronation first thing," Grand Master Zhang explained.

"So fast?" Ivy Shen couldn’t help but doubt.

"How can he be emperor without the Dragon-Phoenix Jade Seal?" Yvonne Li frowned. "Is that old witch really so desperate? Isn’t she worried about backlash?"

"Backlash? If anyone objects, they’ll wipe out their entire clan—nine generations, gone!" Grand Master Zhang spat, disgusted. "How is that any different from a bandit?"

"Wait, you mean if someone objects, they’ll slaughter nine generations of their family?" Yvonne Li was stunned.

"Exactly. Even if the ministers hate it, nobody can ignore the threat to their whole clan."

"So he wants to be a tyrant now?" Ivy Shen muttered, frowning. "Cao Wan’er spent years pretending to be kind—now she’s finally showing her true colors just to make Jude Song emperor?"

"With tactics like that, of course no one will dare argue!" Yvonne Li scoffed. "All that for a throne—shameless!"

"I’ll lead my troops and storm the palace!" Colin Kerr growled.

"Exactly! That throne belongs to Ivy—no one’s allowed to steal it!" Butterfly Rogue chimed in.

"Don’t you dare!" Ivy Shen tried to sit up, and Liam Willow quickly helped her, propping her up with a pillow.

"Ivy, he’s stealing your throne!" Butterfly Rogue blurted out, as if she didn’t know already.

It was the classic case of the eunuch panicking while the emperor stays calm.

"Cao Wan’er obviously knows I’m alive. If she’s still going through with this, her motive is clear—she’s provoking me," Ivy Shen said, narrowing her eyes. "I really underestimated you, Cao Wan’er!"

"All the more reason not to back down!" Butterfly Rogue insisted.

"And what, charge in and get yourself killed?" Ivy Shen shot Butterfly Rogue a look. Whenever he gets emotional, he stops thinking things through.

"But... but are we just supposed to sit here and do nothing?" Butterfly Rogue wilted under Ivy’s warning glare.

"Do nothing?" Ivy Shen smiled slyly. "They’re rushing this coronation because they know I’m alive. If I’m right, Cao Wan’er already knows we’re in Chu Kingdom. She’s holding the ceremony now to make a statement: even with Chu Kingdom backing me, she doesn’t care—she’s warning me not to even dream of the throne."

"But for now, there’s no need for us to make a move. Cao Wan’er’s coronation is all force, no heart—everyone already hates it. Why stir up trouble and make the people resent us, or the ministers turn against us? Besides... Jude Song loves that throne so much, I’ll let him have it. I’ll make sure he’s dethroned before he even warms the seat!" She grinned. "He’ll go down as the shortest-reigning emperor in Serpent Realm history. That’ll sting more than death."

Yvonne Li was the first to laugh: "Exactly! If he’s so desperate to be emperor, let him taste it—he’ll drop his guard. Then we’ll drag him down and roast him in public. That’ll be a scene to remember!" She burst out laughing, already picturing the moment.

*********Scene Break*********

(Author’s Note: By the way, I’ve never shared my QQ before, but this time I’m opening it for loyal readers! If you want to join, write your Hongxiu username and mark yourself as a reader, or I’ll reject you. My QQ: 489650638! I often post baby photos—come have a look if you’re interested~! Mwah~!)