Chapter 102: Stirring Up Discord

The spirit sense that swept across the imperial palace depths brushed over Fish Youwei's body without detecting any abnormality in the Red Blaze Sword or the Little White Bear sealed within the Beast Taming Token. It lingered briefly on the Green Frost Sword before withdrawing, yet it still startled the slumbering spirit of the Red Blaze Sword. The latter roared in utter displeasure: "Fuck your grandmother! How dare you disturb my sleep? I'll never let you kill you, you old bastard!"

The Little White Bear was displeased. Bound by a master-servant contract, it could still hear the Red Blaze Sword spirit's roar echoing through the master's sea of consciousness, and it answered with its own howl: "Did this Bear Lord provoke you?"

"I said nothing to you, you little cub!"

"Bear Lord is a divine beast, you fool!"

"Enough!" Fish Youwei shouted in exasperation, clutching her throbbing temples.

Everyone around her turned to look. The Emperor, who had been watching her intently, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Fish Youwei, do you have anything more to say?"

She was utterly mortified. In a flash of inspiration, Fish Youwei said, "Do you want to return the items your second brother robbed?"

The Emperor had not expected such a question and was taken aback. Instead of answering directly, he countered, "It seems you know very little about the Ten Prefectures Joint Trial."

"That must be surrendered first, then returned in proportion, along with the corresponding rights." Fish Shiyu's voice came from beside her, low and measured.

"Oh? In that case, I have no objections." Fish Youwei shrugged, her childish charm at odds with her actual age putting everyone at ease.

The Emperor's wariness deepened. He feigned a smile. "The Fish family has produced one Fish Shiyu and hidden away another Fish Youwei. What a pity she married into the Ning family; otherwise, my sons could have chosen her freely."

The Fish family's head stiffened once more.

A sovereign of an entire nation resorting to such petty, divisive tactics—he must truly be bored out of his mind. Fish Youwei smiled with mocking sarcasm. "With my elder sister, Fish Ruzangzhu Yuzhu, standing before me, as the younger one, I feel ashamed to show any clumsiness. Naturally, the deeper the concealment, the better. The joke His Majesty plays is not at all amusing."

The Emperor refused to let it go. He smiled faintly. "Since it has made you feel ashamed, I am curious as well—whose family will your elder sister end up with?"

The provocation was so crude, and the word "elder sister" was emphasized so heavily, as if the Ning people might not understand. Fish Youwei cursed inwardly but smiled outwardly. "Easy to seek, hard to find. Rare is a heart-loving lover. My elder sister is no less accomplished than I for having inherited the Green Frost Sword and fulfilling the marriage pact her father promised her. She will naturally choose with utmost care, seeking only what is best for herself. To tell the truth, I too am curious which family she will fall into."

"Easy to seek, hard to find. Rare is a heart-loving lover. A fine line." The Emperor clapped in praise, then added without missing a beat, "It does sound rather reluctant."

*Damn it, still not done?* Fish Youwei's smile widened. "Good line or not, I don't really understand them. That's how the books say, so I simply thought of it. In any case, if my elder sister seeks a heart-loving lover, she will never enter the palace to search."

"Why is that?" The Emperor stubbornly refused to explode on the spot. After all, Fish Youwei's elder sister was the maternal granddaughter of the Imperial Sword Sect's Zong Master, her status no lower than his own sons.

"The records mention a beauty named Jiang Caiping from some unknown dynasty and era, sealed as Mei Fei. She went long without seeing her lord, yet suddenly received a string of pearls from the king's envoys. She returned them untouched and attached a poem: The osmanthus-leaf brows unpainted for long years, remaining makeup and tears smeared across the red gauze. Changmen every day without combing or washing—why seek pearls to console her loneliness?"

Fish Youwei recounted the tale with a grin, then added cheekily, "After reading this, I realized that entering any family does not equate to entering the palace gates. Given my sister's intelligence, she surely will not consider royal sons."

Suddenly realizing the conversation had strayed, the Emperor cursed inwardly, "What a cunning girl," and tried to provoke further. But the Wen family's head, who had been holding back for half the morning, seized the moment to interrupt awkwardly. "May I ask Your Majesty to clarify: is Butcher Xiang alive or dead?"

The Wen family had placed third in the Ten Prefectures Illusion Demon Realm Competition for ten thousand years. Southern Yan Prefecture lay in prosperous Jiangnan, and the Emperor's foul mood combined with a desire to make an example made him unwilling to spare the Wen family's head face. His voice rang out sternly. "Did you not hear what I said earlier?"

The Xiang family's black-faced elder also pressed the issue. "Does the Wen family harbor treasonous intentions as well? Questioning His Majesty on mere hearsay, Wen family's head—you have quite the nerve!"

The Wen family's head faltered. He glanced at Fish Youwei, who remained calm, and inexplicably chose to trust her. He stepped forward, knelt before the Emperor, and kowtowed. "Your Majesty, forgive this minister. I am truly concerned that Butcher Xiang may still be alive, stirring up fresh storms of blood and slaughter."

The heads of every other family and their representatives, including the Fish family's head, knelt with him and said in unison, "Please Your Majesty investigate thoroughly."

Since ascending the throne, the Emperor had always ruled with absolute authority. Today, forced twice by his ministers, even the tips of his hair seemed aflame. He bit down hard, stifling his rage, and spoke with feigned gravity. "The Xiang traitor once slaughtered many imperial family members. Compared to you, I wish even more that he did not fake death to survive. I also believe Fish Youwei speaks no falsehood; we will investigate thoroughly."

This statement was acceptable to all the family heads and representatives, and the matter ended there.

The Emperor had no desire to linger further. Without hesitation, he announced a ranking that shocked everyone: "The Ten Prefectures Joint Trial has concluded. The Fish family ranks first, the Ning family second, and the remaining eight prefectures tied for third."

This ranking broke tradition in the Qian Dynasty. Most people did not know what expression to wear. The Fish family's head only wanted to cry. Although his two grandsons had performed admirably, saving the Fish family from ruin, he had no real interest in anything else.

Fish Shiyu approached without a trace of hesitation and stood before his grandfather and ninth sister, his eyes glistening with tears. Given the Emperor's ruthlessness, wiping out both him and the Xiang disciples would not have been surprising, and he had prepared for the worst. Yet he could not have imagined his ninth sister turning the tide with one brilliant move, the outcome far better than his most optimistic hopes, so good that he felt he was dreaming.

Acknowledging his second brother, Fish Youwei winked playfully. "Second brother, what are you staring at? The Fish family must always recruit soldiers and buy horses. Why not recruit talent right here on the spot?"

"That's what the ninth sister said." Fish Shiyu smiled, then noticed his grandfather secretly wiping tears. He opened his arms and pulled both grandfather and ninth sister close. "The Fish family has us; we will definitely rise."

The Ning Second Grandfather wanted to cry. He had not expected to lose the championship, nor had he imagined both his most beloved grandsons dying in the same trial. Seeing Fish Youwei leaning against the Fish family's head, rage surged through him. He brought up old grievances. "Fish Youwei, why did you not save Jin Chun? You clearly meant to harm him to death!"

"To save someone, one must have the ability to do so." Fish Youwei's face turned ice-cold. The Ning family's refusal to aid the Fish family in its time of need chilled her to the bone. Whether Jin Chun had truly wanted to harm her or not, she no longer cared if the old man had instigated it; she had no patience to humor him.