Poison Genius Consort

y planned to steal the fish and sell them to the Tianning disaster regions.
Besides competing with your lordship for the fisheyes, he even verbally humiliated Tianning.
For the sake of preserving our Tianning’s honor, General Baili mobilized his forces to surround the island.
Their full force was shown to awe Northern Li!” It was rare for Long Feiye to speak such pretentious, highfalutin words.
When he was finished, he even added, “As your lordship sees it, General Baili has rendered great meritorious service for this deed and deserves commendation.”

Han Yunxi couldn’t help but feel like something was off as she listened on the side.
Aside from Long Tianmo and Mu Qingwu, everyone else felt the same way.
It was getting harder and harder to guess His Highness Duke of Qin’s intentions.
But Emperor Tianhui merely stroked his beard and smiled coldly in his heart.
The last chip in his hand had finally come into effect.

The news of Jun Yixie assaulting Han Yunxi hadn’t been publicized, so very few people knew of the fact.
He had only heard it from rumors flying on Northern Li’s side.
Long Feiye had phrased the situation that way precisely because he didn’t want the incident exposed.
Thus, he gave General Baili a perfectly justifiable and proper reason. Just then, he was claiming how he doesn’t interfere in state matters, but now he’s assessing General Baili’s deeds.

In other words, Long Feiye’s true terms are to keep the details of Han Yunxi’s assault a secret!

Emperor Tianhui suddenly found himself in a much better mood.
At last, he found a breakthrough in these matters.
“The Duke of Qin’s words are sound.
But how long is General Baili planning to uphold his threat? There are already movements from the Three-Way Battlefield.
Has General Baili made any plans to fight?” Emperor Tianhui’s greatest fear was General Baili’s troops might not be available if they chose to surround Fishery Island when war broke out.
If General Baili could make a surprise attack on Northern Li from the coast with his principal force, then the bulk of the war would fall on Long Feiye’s forces instead of his own!

Now that Long Feiye had revealed his weakness—to protect Han Yunxi and his own reputation—he would have to pay the price!

Long Feiye replied, “General Baili’s thoughts are unclear to chendi as well.
Your Majesty, why don’t you ask him directly?”

Emperor Tianhui’s eyes turned shrewd. Duke of Qin, ah, Duke of Qin, you control everything from the palm of your hand, yet you’re still trying to avoid getting involved.
But now that you’ve shown your weak point, Zhen won’t let you off so easily!

“Alright! Zhen will ask him thoroughly,” Emperor Tianhui said coldly.
What was supposed to be a tense military meeting ended just like that.
A few of the officials were left at a loss for what had happened.

Long Tianmo stayed behind to ask, “Imperial father, are you planning to fight for real?”

Emperor Tianhui waved a hand and didn’t reply, indicating that he should leave.

The next day, Emperor Tianhui proclaimed an imperial edict praising the Baili Navy for protecting Tianning’s honor.
Immediately after that, General Baili promised that the navy would immediately face Northern Li forces at the coastline and force them to withdraw should battle break out at the Three-Way Battlefield.
Emperor Tianhui rejoiced and granted him permission.
By now, Long Tianmo and Mu Qingwu fully understood what was going on as well.

“Qingwu, who do you think won this time, imperial father or Imperial Qin Uncle?” Long Tianmo asked.

Northern Li’s sea forces were extremely weak, thus showcasing the worth of Tianning’s own navy.
As soon as the Tianning navy really made a move, Northern Li would either have to stop fighting or shift their main forces to the eastern coast to prevent a disastrous defeat.
Of course, they wouldn’t gain any major advantages, either.

“Perhaps His Majesty?” Mu Qingwu intoned.
The incident at Fishery Island had offended Northern Li, but the Duke of Qin had full power to throw the mess in Emperor Tianhui’s hands.
Instead, he’d yielded a step for the sake of Han Yunxi’s honor.

Mu Qingwu shook his head with a smile. But what kind of yield was that? Nobody could tell he was taking a step back at all! Unless they knew the truth behind the actions, those various ministers and officials of the court would probably remain lost.

“But wouldn’t Jun Yixie have been trapped for nothing once the fighting starts?” Mu Qingwu said, somewhat unresigned.

“Judging from Northern Li’s attitude, a war is inevitable… Does Imperial Qin Uncle have no choice but to let him off?” Long Tianmo muttered to himself.
Although he knew the ins and outs of the situation, he still felt some regrets.

When Han Yunxi got the latest updates, she ran into Long Feiye’s study and stood in front of him to stare.
Long Feiye leisurely rolled up his volume of the Annals of the Seven Noble Families so that the title was covered from sight, then placed it on the side.

“Did something happen?” he asked mildly.

Han Yunxi looked at him for a long time before she spoke.
“Long Feiye, you’re too black-bellied!”

Long Feiye immediately creased his brows.
Nobody in the world dared to curse him to his face; this woman was probably the first one.
Han Yunxi completely ignored his unhappy expression and said, “You’re certain that Northern Li won’t go to war, so you let General Baili give his promise to Tianhui.
You looked like you were yielding a step, but you’re setting up to trick Tianhui again!”

Han Yunxi had been puzzling over Long Feiye’s motives ever since they returned from the palace that night.
Now she finally understood what was going on.
This man was simply an expert amongst experts.
If he hadn’t been too young while Emperor Tianhui was fighting for the throne, he would’ve played the poor man to death long ago.
Emperor Tianhui would never have gotten a chance for the throne at all.
As long as Northern Li never went to war, the Baili Navy could keep surrounding Fishery Island with full justification.

Long Feiye saw Han Yunxi’s agitated expression and mistook it for fury.
He gave a light sigh and said, “Your lordship is doing everything for your sake, after all.”

Chendi (臣弟) – similar to chenqie, but a humble form of self-address for males equivalent to ‘your younger brother.’