When Han Yunxi told Ning Cheng how Jun Yixie had assaulted her, Ning Cheng simply sat there for a long time without speaking.
“Hitting the spot” was a very apt saying that described getting something with half the effort if done well, and ruining the whole plate if done poorly. Han Yunxi’s “spot” was right on the dot, so she simply let Ning Cheng brood without saying any more. Of course, she’d answer any questions he wanted to ask.
Finally, Ning Cheng said, “Jun Yixie never told me something as big as this! Why?”
Han Yunxi laughed coldly. “So he was afraid to own up that he violated me. Alright, then. But since I know you’re anxious to track down the Shadow Clan, I should give you a heads up, right? Back then, I thought Gu Beiyue was protecting me for the sake of the poison beast, but now that idea is laughable. As a descendant of the Shadow Clan, why would he need the poison beast? He’s not skilled in poisons like Jun Yixie or capable of fighting the beast one on one.”
Ning Cheng nodded before he suddenly asked, “Was there anything else?”
Han Yunxi almost didn’t catch him. “What?”
“Princess suspects Jun Yixie, right? Besides this incident, is there anything else that makes you question him?” Ning Cheng asked seriously.
Han Yunxi was rather surprised. She suddenly realized that Ning Cheng was smarter than she gave him credit for. But that made sense. He was the tycoon behind the scenes of Cloud Realm Trade Consortium and the head of the Ning Clan. Meanwhile, he also acted as Tianning’s prince regent, which meant he did business, led troops, and played politics all at the same time. He was simply a talent without borders! If he wasn’t intelligent, then how could he make it so far? She recalled how he’d tricked the Nether Clan’s Chu family, then got the best of Long Feiye to snatch Tianning Country’s seat of power. Long Feiye had held quite the grudge against him for that.
Since he’s been as docile and meek as a lamb these days, I almost forgot that he’s actually a vicious wolf!
Originally, she planned to hide the incident with the dark-robed assassin and have Ning Cheng uncover it himself. Now she changed her mind. When faced with an intelligent mind, it was better to get straight to the point instead of running circles around him. After all, his current attitude was very sincere and frank. If Han Yunxi kept hiding things, it’d only make her seem more suspicious.
She said, “Ning Cheng, I don’t suspect him--I’m certain that he harbors evil intentions! Jun Yixie didn’t say anything because he probably doesn’t like you finding the Shadow Clan. You all know how the Shadow Clan was all but exterminated in the past. In truth, they were simply bodyguards with no real strength to stand on their own. In terms of supporting the revival of our West Qin, they lack both manpower and wealth. Why would Jun Yixie fear Gu Beiyue?”
Seeing Ning Cheng ponder the problem, Han Yunxi continued to speak. “Ning Cheng, the Shadow Clan’s existence only concerns my personal safety. He doesn’t want you to find the Shadow Clan because he doesn’t want me, Han Yunxi, to live well!”
“He dares!” Ning Cheng hissed.
Following his train of thought, Han Yunxi went on, “Of course, there’s another possibility, and that is that Gu Beiyue has something against Jun Yixie that makes him afraid to speak out.”
Ning Cheng nodded along, but he didn’t believe Han Yunxi completely. AFter all, Han Yunxi wasn’t giving him a clear verdict, but two possible answers. They could only find the truth after finding Gu Beiyue! Between the Wind and Shadow Clans, Ning Cheng definitely trusted the latter more!
“Princess, where is Gu Beiyue staying in seclusion in Medical City?” Ning Cheng asked seriously.
Han Yunxi only smiled bitterly without a word.
“Princess…” Ning Cheng grew uneasy.
“The same night Long Feiye called out his troops, Gu Beiyue was attacked by an assassin. He fell off the tallest cliff in the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds. They went down to look for him for ages, but they never found him,” Han Yunxi said simply.
Ning Cheng froze.
Han Yunxi told him about everything that happened that night except for the dark-robed assassin’s use of Celestial Mountain swordplay skills. She couldn’t mention that even if she died; otherwise, Ning Cheng would suspect both her pretext and her stance! Ning Cheng treated Long Feiye as his absolute enemy. He would trust anyone in the world except for him!
“So you suspect the assassin to be a member of the Poison Sect?” Ning Cheng asked.
“It has to be someone from the Poison Sect, and even from the main bloodline. Otherwise, they couldn’t have gotten rid of my poison so quickly,” Han Yunxi was certain.
Ning Cheng knitted his forehead even more tightly. When Han Yunxi caught a glimpse of him by accident, she suddenly thought that she was looking at Long Feiye knitting his brows instead. She hastily looked away and laughed silently at herself. It was only an illusion from missing that man too much.
“Poison Sect bloodline, so the princess’s…” Ning Cheng was rather floored.
“If it’s not my father, then it has to be one of my elders. Why won’t he acknowledge me? Why did he want to kill Gu Beiyue? It’s simply biting the hand that feeds him! Gu Beiyue was the only reason the Poison Sect was absolved of its crimes!” Han Yunxi huffed.
“Why does it have to be an elder?” Ning Cheng questioned. “It could be someone from Jun Yixie’s generation.”
“Because that person could very well be Jun Yixie’s master!” Han Yunxi explained immediately. “I expect Ning Nuo knows very well about Jun Yixie being trapped on Fishery Island.” Next, she elaborated on the poison mist that had surrounded the island and her own battle against the poison master in the maze pathway, thus spearheading the blame onto the Wind Clan.
Ning Cheng abruptly rose to his feet, flames of rage dancing in his eyes. After knowing this much, he’d be an idiot if he couldn’t figure it out.
Jun Yixie isn’t a member of the Wind Clan, but just a representative!
Sensing the favorable turn of events, Han Yunxi quickly reminded him, “Ning Cheng, when the Nether Clan’s Chu Family spread word that they were reviving West Qin, your Di Clan already knew they held ulterior motives. Wouldn’t the Wind Clan have known as well? Why didn’t they reveal themselves then?”
“Why wait until Long Feiye dispatched his troops? What’s more, my status was publicized as soon as Long Feiye raised his army. Who could have done it?” Han Yunxi added.
“Jun Yixie’s master is your father, he knows your identity…” But Ning Cheng immediately denied his claims. “He knows Lady Tianxin’s identity, which was why he knew yours as well! He’s known you’re the West Qin princess ever since you were born!”
Han Yunxi had never felt so positive about Ning Cheng until this instant. She nodded her head with emotion.
“He hid it all these years, then revealed it to the public without acknowledging you himself. Such evil intentions…” Ning Cheng’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he turned vicious. This once again reminded Han Yunxi that the man before him wasn’t some soft hearted lamb, but a wild wolf who could bite someone to death. For the first time, she rejoiced over Ning Cheng’s loyalty to West Qin and his trust in her. Otherwise, who knows how much work she’d put in trying to expose the Wind Clan’s lies. Although she didn’t mind such work, she simply couldn’t afford to waste time. She looked at Chu Qingge’s thin, sickly body on the ground and felt a flash of gratitude for the woman who had given her a chance to convince Ning Cheng to her side.
Ning Cheng paced around the room before coming to a decision. “Princess, Tianning has long fallen under this subordinate’s thumb. This subordinate will hang up West Qin’s flags tomorrow. We won’t enter the barracks, but stay in the palace and wait for Bai Yuqiao to pay a formal visit.”
No matter what, he couldn’t allow Bai Yuqiao to remain within the army any longer. Heaven knows what her intentions were.
“You should get the imperial jade seal in hand before hanging out those flags,” Han Yunxi remarked.
“As long as princess is present, it’s no big matter,” Ning Cheng replied. Of course, he had no idea that these actions had heavenly ramifications for Han Yunxi herself. As soon as the West Qin flags went up to officialize her status as West Qin princess, they’d use her name to command the Di Clan and Wind Clan against Long Feiye. How would he see her then?
Han Yunxi remembered very clearly that Long Feiye once asked her if she’d hate East Qin and want to revive her country if she was the West Qin princess. Back then, she’d answered yes with certainty. Once the two sides really started fighting, would she have a chance to ask her question back to him? No matter what, Han Yunxi had to stop Ning Cheng from raising the flags. It was impossible to see Long Feiye now, but she had to find someone trustworthy enough to pass on her question to him. She began to grow nervous as she thought. Just what kind of excuse would be enough to convince Ning Cheng?
Finally, she happened upon an ingenious idea. Letting Ning Cheng sit, she lowered her voice to speak. Ning Cheng listened to the end before giving her a thumbs up. “Lofty! Truly high level, this subordinate is in esteem!”
Han Yunxi finally exhaled in relief. She thought her move was quite brilliant as well. If not for the pressing circumstances, she might not have thought of it at all. Soon enough, I’ll finally get to meet “Han Yunxi’s” birth father!
That very day, Ning Cheng buried Chu Qingge with full honors as per Han Yunxi’s request, then delivered the young emperor, who had yet to reach three years old, off to the medical academy.
“Princess, the medical academy is under Long Feiye’s control. This is an improper move,” Ning Cheng told Han Yunxi.
“What does this have to do with him? Medical City sealed its gates to search for me because I was a medical academy elder and the head of the Poison Sect. It’s likely Long Feiye can still order about Department Head Jue because he denies my status and is misleading him.” As Han Yunxi spoke, she purposely put on a cold smile. “When the day comes that I acknowledge my identity, Medical City will stop giving Long Feiye face.”
Ning Cheng looked at Han Yunxi, then recalled her previous warning. Eventually, he believed in her words.
“You don’t need to send away the child under your name. Just use the title of Tianning’s imperial clan to deliver him,” Han Yunxi sighed. “Medical City has responsibility for his state, so they won’t refuse him. In the end, he’s a pitiful child. There’s no need to make him attend the funeral.”
“Alright,” Ning Cheng agreed easily.
Han Yunxi disguised herself as a court lady and went to join in Chu Qingge’s funeral personally. Once it was finished, Ning Cheng gave Bai Yuqiao a secret message. It didn’t say whether he’d gotten Han Yunxi, only that she should bring West Qin’s imperial jade seal to the capital city. Han Yunxi couldn’t sit still in her rooms and decided to take a risk in the end. As soon as she emerged from her chambers, the attendants bowed respectfully in greeting.
“Your Royal Highness, where would you like to go?”
Compared to her time at Medical City, Ning Cheng had lowered most of his guard against her. This could all be attributed to Han Yunxi’s vicious vow. All of the guards by her side were for her own protection, rather than to keep an eye on her. Han Yunxi had chances to escape, but she didn’t need to. No place was safer than Ning Cheng’s side right now. She had no idea what Long Feiye was thinking right now, so it was even possible that running to his side might lead to death instead. Thinking up to here, she broke into a bitter smile. It was even impossible to ask him her question face to face and eye to eye.
“I want to see that little emperor. Find someone to lead the way,” Han Yunxi replied.
“He’s by Grand Concubine Ning’s side. This subordinate will take you right away,” the attendant was very proactive.
A crafty gleam shone in Han Yunxi’s eyes before she pretended to ask casually, “He’s being sent off tomorrow. Have they finished preparing his luggage?”