∘―o―∘

The next morning, after the reports Feng Huixin and Wei Xiang had sent to the Heavenly Emperor were finished being processed, the heavenly court was called to session once again. The negotiations had already reached the final stages of planning and were brought to a temporary halt. The matter of exchanges was also put aside and Feng Huixin used the shadows to quickly return to the capital of Heaven while bringing along a few other people as instructed by the Heavenly Emperor.

Currently in the throne room, the four members of the Feng household stood to one side while the Wu Jin royal family was situated on the other side. After being branded as criminals, several members of the royal family were kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed, their wrists and ankles shackled while an officer of judgment stood beside them vigilantly.

First Prince Yang Yehuo was charged with the s.e.xual a.s.sault of Feng Huixin and many other servants in the Wu Jin royal palace. His severe injury to the pelvic area had already been healed within a few hours by using copious amounts of medicine, and it still hurt him terribly. However, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear with it to attend the heavenly court now. Kneeling opposite to the Feng household as he was, Yang Yehuo didn't even dare to lift his head to look at Feng Huixin in the fear of remembering the brutal pain of the other man's knee driving itself between his legs just yesterday.

The Second Prince Yang Xuehua who was kneeling beside him was charged with a.s.sociating with an underground organization, theft of sensitive materials, and accessory to murder and the potential loss of life that would have occurred if that demonic being had really been set free, among various other things. His expression was strangely serene and unreadable. To say that his family had been shocked upon hearing that he was a spy from the Dark Lotus was an understatement. But in the present situation, they had no choice but to put aside this matter to digest later.

Fourth Prince Yang Baoyu was charged with attempted murder of Feng Qinghe and violence against an officer on duty while being taken into custody. Though his head was bowed, the veins in his neck and wrists stood out prominently as if he was barely managing to hold himself still. Bitter hatred and caustic rage burned within him as thoughts of how he had been outwitted and trapped by that Feng Qinghe kept spinning in his mind. But Yang Baoyu was determined to bide his time and use this opportunity given to him by his father to expose that wily man's trickery for all to see!

Of the Wu Jin royal family present in the throne room currently, Yang Lingyun, the king of Wu Jin, was the only one standing. Even Yang Jian, the royal siblings' cousin, had been apprehended for his attempt to make the bald man a.s.sault Feng Huixin in the carriage while they were heading to Wu Jin. The bald man would've also been present were it not for his severe injuries that rendered him unable to move at the moment. Meanwhile, without any charges against her, Princess Yang Ruanyu was left back in Wu Jin to manage the royal court.

The reason for everyone's presence here in the throne room was because Yang Lingyun had asked for an open trial in the heavenly court and in front of the Heavenly Emperor. He desperately wanted to find some way out of this situation, and he theorized that since the Feng household must have used some sort of sneaky methods to get the Wu Jin royal family in this state, if he could just get them to spill their schemes out in the open, even if his family ended up being condemned, he could at least smear tar on the Feng household's name and drag them down as well. And what better place to do that than in the throne room where no one could speak lies?

"Your Majesty, I seek justice for my children!" Yang Lingyun declared self-righteously while looking at the Heavenly Emperor with burning eyes.

The watching members of the heavenly court merely gazed at him with pity. This King of Wu Jin might think that he could trip up the Feng household, but they knew better. They were just waiting here out of curiosity to see what type of a show would be put on by both sides.

The Heavenly Emperor sighed and spoke, "Then we shall address the cases one by one without delay. First Prince, do you have any objections with the charges that have been placed against you that you wish to address in a trial here? I will warn you that if any of the accused wastes the time of the heavenly court, they will be judged with a harsher statement. Think carefully before you answer, First Prince."

Yang Yehuo gulped, not even daring to lift up his head to meet the Heavenly Emperor's weighty gaze. Sweating silently, he wracked his brains trying to make a choice. Though his father had rea.s.sured him that he would try to get him out if he pleaded for a trial in the heavenly court…after all these years of being treated like he was less than his younger brother Yang Baoyu, Yang Yehuo really had lost his faith in his father's care for him. If it meant saving Yang Baoyu, he knew that he would be sacrificed without even a thought. And if this failed, wouldn't he be the one to bear the extra punishment?

Gritting his teeth, Yang Yehuo finally lifted his head and forced out, "N-No, I don't need a trial." Since he couldn't lie here anyway, the truth would be easily exposed, so it was better to admit defeat and choose the lesser evil.

Yang Lingyun clenched his fists. This stupid son! Did he have to ruin his plans so easily?! In truth, Yang Lingyun had requested for these trials just to pull out the Feng household's schemes and make them show their true colors as revenge. He didn't think he would be able to save his two older sons anyway. He had already decided to focus his efforts on vengeance against the Feng household and to help Yang Baoyu out of his sentence. He didn't care what happened to his other two sons. As for his nephew Yang Jian, he didn't even enter his mind.

On the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor nodded solemnly. "A wise choice, First Prince. Now what option does the Second Prince pick? Do you feel that you have been accused unfairly?"

Yang Xuehua looked up, his usually arrogant face calm. He saw his father try to send him signals telling him to nod, but he ignored him. He could easily see what Yang Lingyun was plotting and wanted no part of it. Instead, Yang Xuehua's eyes directly met Feng Huixin's on the opposite side, holding the other man's gaze that showed encouragement. Smiling softly, Yang Xuehua said in a clear voice, "No, I am satisfied with the way I have been judged. I am willing to answer everything that will be asked of me and am prepared to accept my punishment."

Feng Huixin's eyes slightly widened. Then his blank expression warmed slightly, approval in his gaze. Seeing it, Yang Xuehua felt that he had made the right choice. He smiled wider and bowed his head again, not bothering to look at his father's ugly expression.

Yang Lingyun wanted to smack these disobedient sons of his! These dim-witted, ungrateful wretches! But at least he still had his Yu-er. He had always lived up to his expectations and listened to him as a filial son should. As long as he could somehow get his youngest child out of this mess, he would be happy.

Seated on the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor nodded to acknowledge Yang Xuehua's words. Turning to Yang Baoyu, he asked, "What does the Fourth Prince choose? Will you also cede your right to a trial in the heavenly court?"

Yang Baoyu looked up and glared at Qinghe while spitting out, "No! I feel that I have been treated very unfairly by the Feng household and Feng Qinghe in particular! I demand that he be judged as well for seducing me into eating something toxic and luring me into a trap to make me violent!"

Yang Lingyun breathed a sigh in relief and commended Yang Baoyu in his heart for at least following the script.

Meanwhile, Qinghe raised his brows in genuine surprise. What was wrong with this prince? Though he had indeed acted weak in an attempt to seduce Yang Baoyu in the beginning, he definitely hadn't been doing that when the prince ate that petal! Of course, as someone who wasn't able to judge a person's beauty from their facial features, Qinghe didn't understand the concept of s.e.xual appeal based only on someone's appearance and how Yang Baoyu had been considering his drunken beauty seductive from beginning to end.

Looking at his little lover's confused expression, Wei Xiang had to force down his chuckles while Feng Chunyi shook her head amusedly. Her son was really too weird to not understand his own allure. Ah, how innocent he was! Feng Huixin merely narrowed his eyes. After being told of all the things this Fourth Prince Yang had done, he really was very displeased.

Hearing Yang Baoyu's accusations, the Heavenly Emperor remained calm and simply nodded. "Very well, then Fourth Prince, please defend against all the allegations against you and state the reasons why you blame Deity Feng. Remember that only what you consider truth will be able to be spoken in these halls."

Yang Baoyu stayed silent for a minute, then took in a deep breath and let it out. "I can't defend against any allegations without revealing how I have been schemed against by that Feng Qinghe and his lover. I would like to speak about the events that ended up with me like this from my point of view."

The Heavenly Emperor tapped a finger against his armrest in thought before finally saying, "Then Fourth Prince, you may recite the events as you remember. If Deity Feng or anyone has an explanation to give or objection to make in between, they are allowed to raise their hand and state their case."

Yang Baoyu and Qinghe nodded to indicate that they agreed.

The Heavenly Emperor turned to look at Yang Baoyu and said, "Then please begin."

Yang Baoyu nervously licked his lips and started speaking, "Their plot began the moment we met in the Feng residence. They were acting like they weren't close, and Feng Qinghe in particular acted the role of a scorned lover perfectly. Why would he do that if not for nefarious purposes?"

Qinghe coughed and raised his hand to show that he had something to say. Pressing his lips together discontentedly, Yang Baoyu stopped speaking. In an amused voice, Qinghe observed, "It seems that you are ignoring how you attempted to break into the egg chamber just before that, but let's put that aside for now. Fourth Prince Yang, why do you think that the way my lover and I acted with each other was nefarious and aimed at you? Are you perhaps not familiar with the term 'roleplay'?"

Chuckles and laughter sounded from the watching courtiers. This Feng Qinghe was really too bold! Meanwhile, Yang Baoyu had gone red in anger and embarra.s.sment, not realizing that Qinghe had merely replied to a question with a question without really answering it. He had just skirted around the truth.

Not wanting to give Yang Baoyu time to think and figure it out, Wei Xiang joined in with his own half-truths, "Yes, my little lover and I partake in it quite often. However, we weren't aware that Fourth Prince Yang was clueless enough to not understand."

Yang Baoyu had veins bulging out of his forehead in anger while his lips peeled back to show his gritted teeth. Feeling worried that his son would end up doing something rash, Yang Lingyun patted his shoulder and advised, "Yu-er, ignore them and just move on to the next one. Don't let them provoke you."

Yang Baoyu gave a tight nod to his father and took in deep breaths to calm himself. As long as things went his way, he was usually very composed. But the moment he felt uncertain or insulted, his anger would explode. Knowing this about himself, Yang Baoyu tried very hard to force down his rage and spoke in a taut voice, "Even if we put that aside, how do you plan to explain the series of events that followed? You lured me into the garden and pretended to be drunk, then acted seductive so that I'd be tempted into eating that yellow flower petal off of you. Wasn't all that deliberate?!"

Qinghe raised his eyebrows. It seemed that this prince really believed what he was saying to be able to speak it out loud in the throne room like this. Lifting a hand to indicate that he wanted to speak, Qinghe began, "I did not lure you into the garden. I was merely sitting on a bench, drinking wine, and eating my petals in peace. In which way did I lure Fourth Prince Yang?"

Of course, that didn't mean that Qinghe hadn't deliberately let the other man see him entering the garden before he sat on the bench expecting the prince to come and bother him. But he had carefully made sure that he wasn't actively 'luring' the other man just so that he could express his innocence with conviction in the throne room.

And so, after hearing Qinghe's words, though Yang Baoyu opened his mouth, he could say nothing. After all, it wasn't like Qinghe had told him to come in. Now that he thought about it, though Yang Baoyu was sure the other man had purposefully drawn him into the garden, he really couldn't point to any particular incident that could be considered 'luring'.

His eyes growing half-lidded, Qinghe didn't give him time to think things through and continued, "Now, let me address the rest of Fourth Prince Yang's statement. I did not pretend to be drunk. I really did finish those four bottles of wine, so I was drunk. That is the truth. And I do not know why Your Highness would think I seduced you into eating that petal. You came to me and sat beside me uninvited, then showed interest in what I was eating. I specifically stated that it wasn't good for you. After that, you indecently implied how you would like to have s.e.x with me, then touched my cheek and held onto my hand as I tried to forcefully make you let me go. I refused your rude advances by politely pointing out that I had a lover. Your Highness then proceeded to violate my personal s.p.a.ce by picking up a petal that had fallen onto my person with your tongue. I warned you to spit it out, you chewed and swallowed it instead. Now, which part of this const.i.tutes as me seducing you into eating that petal, I wonder? It rather sounds like you s.e.xually hara.s.sing an intoxicated man younger than you by taking advantage of his drunkenness, then digging a pit for yourself by eating something I asked you not to. Yet now Your Highness is blaming me?"

Surprised murmurs arose in the heavenly court as they cast disgusted or mocking gazes at Yang Baoyu. But rather than pity, they instead looked at Qinghe with admiration. They were almost sure that all of that was carefully orchestrated by him fully knowing the impact reciting it in the throne room would have.

Meanwhile, no matter how much Yang Baoyu thought, he couldn't refute a single point Qinghe made. Since Qinghe was clearly able to state that he was drunk, it must be the truth. Yang Baoyu couldn't make a fuss about the other man scheming or seducing him while in such a state, since any argument that a drunken man had been able to plot like that would be laughable. Feeling endlessly frustrated, the prince gritted his teeth once again.

Seeing Yang Baoyu stay silent in the face of thee accusations, Yang Lingyun felt disappointment claw his chest. He had hoped that his son would be able to refute at least some of what that Feng Qinghe said, but it seemed like that hope was futile. Pus.h.i.+ng those thoughts down, he whispered, "That's alright, Yu-er. Just move on to the next bit."

Yang Baoyu felt uncertain. Would he really be able to prove that he was schemed against? It seemed like…that Feng Qinghe really had thought through everything too thoroughly to let him get any foothold. But just thinking of his smug, smiling expression… Yang Baoyu refused to let that man get away with making a fool of him! He was determined to find something that would condemn that hateful person!

Letting out a breath, he once again began, "After that, did you or did you not provoke me in that empty chamber?"

With a smile, Qinghe raised his hand again to indicate that he was going to speak and said, "Are we going to gloss over the situation of the eggs again?"

Yang Baoyu burst out in anger, "What's there to speak about?! It's not like any of the eggs were actually harmed!"

Qinghe c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. "Oh? Then should I have ignored the sight of your happy and vengeful smile as you thought you were breaking apart my beloved children's eggs and crus.h.i.+ng the blameless fetuses within? It might not have been real, but your hateful expression and att.i.tude towards destroying unborn babies was definitely real."

Seeing that his son was only being beaten back again and again by this loathsome Feng Qinghe, Yang Lingyun stepped in. "What proof does Young Lord Feng have that my son didn't already know that everything was an illusion? Either way, he didn't harm anyone. It must only be because you purposefully angered him that he attacked you. You must have provoked him on purpose!"

But Qinghe didn't look cowed in the least. "Pardon me, but am I supposed to grin and bear it when I see a man not only forcefully break into the place where we keep our future children for safety, but also attempt to destroy their eggs? I am only human. Of course I got angry, said harsh things, and started a verbal fight with him. But I did not provoke him physically. I controlled myself from harming him even though I had just seen him happily destroying my children, illusion though they might have been. I never lifted a finger to hurt him, and yet he leapt towards me and tried to kill me. There is no law that says that you are allowed to kill someone just because they were mean to you with words."

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Yang Baoyu bowed his head. He couldn't think of what to say against this, and he really was too tired. No matter what he tried, they all failed against that Feng Qinghe. He was no match for the other man's ability to twist everything to make sense in his favor while not telling a single lie. Maybe…he should just give up.

But Yang Lingyun was not content. "I demand proof! What good are your words without proof! Maybe you just believe what you're saying because you're insane! Maybe you hypnotized yourself before coming so that you will believe your own lies!"

Everyone looked strangely at the king as he threw around wild accusations.

Feng Chunyi harrumphed and said coldly, "Doing things like self-hypnosis would const.i.tute cheating, and any sort of cheating is impossible here. Stop accusing my son if you don't know your s.h.i.+t, you bitter old man."

Yang Lingyun's eyebrows spasmed as he controlled his burning rage. He would not have this! He would not watch his son be silently beaten back! He would deny these people's words till the very end!

Suppressing his urge to shout, Yang Lingyun forced out in a slightly calmer voice, "My previous statement stands. Where is the proof that my son attacked that Feng Qinghe first? How can you be sure that he was trying to kill him and not just spar with him? Maybe that young man himself believes what he is saying, but matters might be different in my son's perspective. Unless I am given irrefutable proof that my Yu-er was the first one to be violent and was trying to kill that person, I will not be satisfied!"

Yang Baoyu looked up at his father with hope. Maybe there really was a way out of this attempted murder charge!

Standing on the opposite side, Qinghe smiled and felt faint appreciation at Yang Lingyun's ability to still be able to refute him with a halfway reasonable sounding argument. But would Qinghe even be Qinghe if he hadn't prepared for something like this already?

His voice calm, he said, "I can provide the proof Your Majesty is asking for. I just hope you will finally be able to accept the truth after seeing it."

Yang Lingyun felt his heart grow cold. He really had proof?!

Not waiting for him to recover from his shock, Qinghe waved a hand and retrieved a large wyvern head made of gold. One of its red eyes was cracked through while the other was whole. Holding it up, Qinghe explained, "Ornaments similar to this were mounted on all the walls of the egg chamber where the incident occurred. For safety purposes, we decided long ago to install one image recording crystal and one sound recording crystal in each of the wyvern heads' eyes. But unfortunately, Fourth Prince Yang's indiscriminate attacks ended up destroying almost all of them. Only this one was left whole except for slight damage to the sound recording crystal, as you can see. If we retrieve the images it captured and whatever sound it was able to record, I'm sure we'll find the proof that His Majesty Yang is seeking."

Yang Lingyun didn't know what to say. If it really had proof…

The Heavenly Emperor spoke, "Very good, then. Deity Feng, please release the recordings for the court to peruse."

Qinghe nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Pointing the golden wyvern head towards the free s.p.a.ce at the center of the throne room, Qinghe activated the spell that would make the recording crystals show its contents. The two eyes of the wyvern glowed a bright red as the s.p.a.ce before it lightened to show a large three-dimensional image of the inside of the hatching chamber. The vantage point was high up in the corner far away from the doorway. Settled in neat rows on the floor, the illusion of eggs was visible. Though the image was of crisp clarity, the crackling of the fire at the edges of the room sounded very blurry and disjointed. But the closer the fire was to the wyvern head, the clearer its sound was as well. This must be the result of the damage in the sound recording crystal. Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened slowly as the figure of Yang Baoyu sneaked in.

In the throne room, Yang Lingyun and the Yang Baoyu of the present looked at the image with tightening expressions.

The Yang Baoyu in the image showed an evil smile and began wreaking havoc, bas.h.i.+ng the eggs with his hammer to break their sh.e.l.ls, then stomping with glee on the pitiful fetuses that slid out to lay helplessly on the floor.

The gazes of the heavenly court as they looked at the Yang Baoyu currently kneeling at the side became saturated with disgust and loathing. Such a heartless and vile person! No wonder that Feng Qinghe had become so angry. Even though they knew that what Yang Baoyu was destroying was only an illusion, they still felt sick in their stomach at the way Yang Baoyu so ruthlessly went about carrying his vengeance on helpless eggs that he thought were real while grinning so happily.

Inside the image, while Yang Baoyu was busy, the door slightly opened as a white-clad figure soundlessly slipped in. Leaning back against the door, Qinghe watched Yang Baoyu going on a rampage with deep eyes. Once Yang Baoyu was done, he suddenly spun around to see Qinghe and said something. They were too far away to hear their exchange, the damaged sound recording crystal only offering blurry voices.

Suddenly, the entire heavenly court jerked as the Qinghe inside the image slammed his wind claws into the wall near him, his wide grin tinged with madness. The courtiers couldn't help but feel cold sweat at how similar he looked to Feng Chunyi right before she went berserk. But surprisingly, the Qinghe in the image slowly reined in his anger and put away his claws.

After speaking for a few moments, Qinghe waved his hand and revealed that everything was an illusion. Yang Baoyu looked furious. After they exchanged more words, Yang Baoyu could very clearly be seen to jump towards Qinghe first, his hammer lifted and aimed to smash into the other person's head. Qinghe dodged nimbly and Yang Baoyu chased, their movements so fast that it appeared to blur. But the watching courtiers could still see that Qinghe only evaded, he never fought back. Witnessing Yang Baoyu insistently chasing him with his hammer, not caring about the walls or the wyvern ornaments he was destroying in the process, it only deepened their impression of the prince as a violent and irrational man.

Soon, seeming to have run out of energy, Qinghe stopped near the only undamaged wyvern head 'coincidentally' and set up a barrier. Yang Baoyu began beating at that barrier while Qinghe only looked amused.

Opening his mouth, the Qinghe in the image suddenly asked, "Why are you so obsessed with reaching me, Fourth Prince Yang? What are you planning to do after you break my barrier? Surely you know that physically harming me will break the law?"

Due to his nearness to the sound recording crystal, his voice was unmistakably clear this time.

The next moment, Yang Baoyu's growling voice answered, "I will crack this barrier like the sh.e.l.l of those eggs and pound you into the ground, then grind you under my boots until you become nothing but meat paste as well! Feng Qinghe, I will kill you! I will obliterate you! You dare try to make a fool of me!"

This was without a doubt a confession of Yang Baoyu's intent to murder Qinghe.

In the image, Qinghe let out a laugh and mocked, "Oh, I didn't try to make a fool of you. You already set yourself up as a fool the moment you decided to target my household."

Hearing this, the people from the heavenly court had complex expressions on their faces. Though it couldn't be used to prove that Feng Qinghe had planned this whole thing, they could still very clearly hear the meaning behind his words. It was a direct warning against trying to scheme against the Feng household. Sure enough, the Feng household was really not something one should anger. Even their youngest member was capable of being so sly and grinding you down methodically like what was being done to Yang Baoyu.

Meanwhile inside the image, Yang Baoyu seemed to have become incensed at Qinghe's words and increased his efforts, managing to crack the barrier. Qinghe's playful voice leisurely called out, "Oh, dear, my barrier has cracked. Whatever shall I do? Seems like I will need a big and strong officer of the law to come and save me from this murderous prince~"

"…" Speechless, the heavenly court could only shake their heads. This Feng Qinghe… he was truly just as incomprehensible, bad-natured, and eccentric as his mother!

The series of events after that showed how Wei Xiang appeared out of the shadows and Yang Baoyu attacking him unprovoked, which then lead to Wei Xiang taking him down and coc.o.o.ning him in his golden strings. Because of the distance, they could only barely hear Wei Xiang formally reciting to Yang Baoyu about how he was now taken into custody and how, after some prodding from Wei Xiang, Yang Baoyu acknowledged that he understood.

Now that all that had finished playing out, in the throne room, Qinghe waved a hand to stop the recording. Turning to the white-faced Yang Lingyun, Qinghe asked, "Well? Is Your Majesty satisfied?"

After everything was shown so clearly, no matter how unwilling he was, even Yang Lingyun couldn't say anything more. Meanwhile, the still-kneeling Yang Baoyu's face twisted as he bowed his head in defeat. They could make no more excuses. He could beg and scream but there was nothing more that could be done. Even if he brought back the previous matters about the toxic flower petal to demand proof and somehow won the argument, it would change nothing, since the most serious allegations of attempted murder and resisting arrest by using violence against an officer of judgment were already proven beyond doubt.

Yang Lingyun's clenched fists trembled as he tried to refute, "N-No, this can't be… There has to be… M-Maybe the recording was altered. Yes, it must be altered! Feng Qinghe what is the proof that you didn't―"

"Enough!" Feng Chunyi shouted, startling Yang Lingyun out of his babbling. "Tampering with evidence would once again be cheating, which is impossible in the throne room of Heaven. Stop trying to find excuses. You are only humiliating yourself, your royal family, and your nation! Just accept your loss with grace. It was your fault for being too greedy and grabbing for more power. Even if you lost your status as a royal, you would still have been able to stay on as a courtier in the heavenly court, so what's the point of you trying to make a political power play by targeting the Feng household?"

Yang Lingyun gritted his teeth, his head bowing and hiding his expression. His body stood taut with strain, but he remained silent.

From the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor gave his verdict, "The Fourth Prince is proven guilty. He will now be made to undergo additional punishment for wasting the court's time. Deity Feng, please submit that recording to the Offices of Judgment to be used as evidence."

Qinghe nodded and handed it over to his father. Feng Huixin solemnly placed the golden wyvern head with the cracked eye into his storage s.p.a.ce.

"Now, there is one more person left," the Heavenly Emperor stated and turned his heavy gaze towards Yang Jian. "Do you also wish for a trial here?"

After seeing just how the Royal Cousin Yang Baoyu he had once feared so much had been whittled down steadily, with even Yang Lingyun being defeated so thoroughly, would someone as cowardly as Yang Jian even dare to lift his head?

Feeling the entire court focusing its sharp gaze on him, Yang Jian shuddered in fear and almost wet himself. He frantically shook his head, "N-N-No!"

The Heavenly Emperor nodded. "Very well, then this issue is concluded. All accused parties are guilty and will be incarcerated as per the law. The Fourth Prince will be penalized additionally. That is all."

The matter was thus declared over.

The court buzzed as discussions began about what just happened. Seeing the sly way Feng Qinghe seemed to have manipulated everything from the beginning, many people expressed their awe. Now, the heavenly court would have more power in their negotiations against Wu Jin. With this incident, the Feng household had also demonstrated its intelligence through Feng Qinghe and its power through Feng Huixin, making everyone gain new respect for the family of four. At the side, the officers began leading away the convicted members of the Wu Jin royal family.

Suddenly, the silent Yang Lingyun burst out, "Not yet! I'm not giving up my son yet! Forget your court, I demand that we use another traditional test! We'll use something even more ancient that the trial of Testing Will through Fire from before! And if we win this time, then you will rescind your accusations and―"

Qinghe interjected, his beautiful face cold and his voice flowing clearly, "Everything that needs to be done is done. We are already finished playing games, Your Majesty. But if you still insist…"

"We will play and win and leave you with a fate far worse than mere defeat and humiliation," Feng Chunyi p.r.o.nounced, her grin eager as her gaze glinted sharply.

With slitted eyes gleaming gold, Wei Xiang's opened his fanged mouth to say, "This time, we will go directly for the kill."

"Do you still wish to challenge the Feng household?" Feng Huixin asked, his back straight and voice steady.

His eyes widening, Yang Lingyun let out an involuntary shudder and stumbled back. Pinned under those four gazes, each piercing in its own way, he felt as if his soul was being crushed. Alarm bells rang in his mind, telling him that if he went against these dangerous beings, losing his life would be least of his worries.

The Heavenly Emperor chose this moment to ask, "Does King Yang have any more objections?"

Yang Lingyun turned away from the Feng household and shook his head. "No. I… There's nothing else I have to say."

In a ringing voice, the Heavenly Emperor declared, "Then court is now dismissed."

Hearing this, people began to make their way out in groups, still talking about the happenings today. Some walked towards the Throne and the Heavenly Emperor seated on it to discuss important things. The Feng household started moving towards the open doors leading out of the throne room. On the way, they saw a dispirited Yang Lingyun. His shoulders were hunched, his figure seeming very pitiful and fragile. His eyes had turned dull while his face bore a lost expression. Overnight, almost his entire family was sent off to prison. The only one left was his daughter. But since he hadn't bothered educating anyone other than Yang Baoyu, he didn't know what use she would be. Here he had come to gain something for himself and his nation, but he had instead ended up losing even more than he'd hoped to gain.

As the Feng household pa.s.sed by Yang Lingyun, they heard him mutter, his voice trembling and weak, "…I'm such a failure of a king…"

Unexpectedly, Feng Huixin stopped and replied, "No, the very fact that you support the merging of your nation with Heaven to prevent your people's further decline is the proof of you being a good king. You are instead a failure of a father. If you had educated and loved your children equally as you should have, this would not have happened."

Yang Lingyun jerked his head up, his startled gaze meeting Feng Huixin's deep one.

Not waiting for him to say anything, Feng Huixin turned away and kept walking, his family following behind. They were not the kind to kick a person when they were down, so there was no mockery or smugness in their faces as they silently moved on. Unless someone stepped in their path to make trouble on purpose, what need was there to go out of their way to brandish their power?

And so, with neither pride nor humility in their features, they calmly made their way home.

...

As soon as the family of four stepped into the Feng residence, they directly made their way to the new egg chamber. Rather than being accessible through a door, this new chamber could instead only be entered through a hidden formation drawn in an una.s.suming corner of the house. The protections here were also manifold than in the previous one.

Walking into the chamber with quick steps, the four people immediately set out hugging, patting, crooning, and otherwise lavis.h.i.+ng affections on the eggs. After having just seen the sight of Yang Baoyu gleefully destroying these eggs, they all needed to rea.s.sure themselves that the wyvern eggs were indeed whole and safe.

Once their restless hearts had calmed again, they retired to their respective rooms to change into simpler and more comfortable clothing, then set about preparing to eat lunch. It had been more than a day since the family got together, so they planned to make up for it. After Wei Xiang made lunch and the family of four polished off their plates and bowls, Qinghe declared that they would all now a.s.sist him in making sweets.

And that's what they were doing now.

On one side of the table, Qinghe and Wei Xiang sat. Wei Xiang was put in charge of looking after the bottles and jars of ingredients while also taking care of a large vessel of sugar and milk that was slowly condensing. The vessel was placed on an impromptu stovetop that Qinghe fas.h.i.+oned with a campfire talisman as usual. Meanwhile, Qinghe had little bowls of the condensed milk waiting in front of him. He added combinations of flavoring into each one and had Feng Huixin taste it to choose the one he most liked. After hearing during lunch just now about how his father had finished all the sweets he'd boxed for him, Qinghe had felt excessively happy and wanted to make his father another box with more flavors, hence the current situation.

Directly opposite Qinghe was Feng Huixin, patiently waiting to fulfill his role as the flavor tester. Beside him was a frowning Feng Chunyi, slowly picking mint leaves from fresh stalks with nimble fingers. Below the table, her legs swung in a quick rhythm to vent her need to be active and spend her excess energy. Puffing her cheeks, Feng Chunyi expressed her dissatisfaction petulantly, "Why do I have to do this boring task? Anyone can pick these leaves. I want to do something more exciting!"

Without lifting his head, Qinghe chuckled and replied, "Mother, that's what you said when I asked you to look after the ingredients too. Isn't that why you and Xiang switched places?"

Feng Chunyi pouted and slumped down into the table, her cheek buried in the pile of lush mint stalks. "But all this is so boring! I want to eat sweets, but making them isn't fun at all!"

Wei Xiang laughed and reminded, "But Mother-in-law, if we exclude you and start working on the sweets by ourselves, you'll feel left behind and start complaining again anyway, won't you?"

Just as Feng Chunyi wanted to open her mouth to refute, she spotted something wiggling on her face from the corner of her eyes. She suddenly straightened and peered down at her nose with crossed eyes. In a misleadingly calm voice, she stated, "There's a worm on my nose. There's a f.u.c.king worm on my nose. If someone doesn't get it off right this second, I'm going to smush this little piece of s.h.i.+t and take my revenge on the world for all this boredom."

Qinghe hurriedly spoke, "No, Mother, don't do anything ras.h.!.+ Xiang, can you pick it up?"

While he continued stirring the vessel of condensing milk, Wei Xiang extended out a single golden string and carefully wrapped it around the small green worm, then lifted it up and to the side so that it wouldn't be over any of the food. "Where do you want me to put this, love?"

Qinghe searched around in his storage s.p.a.ce and brought out an empty gla.s.s jar. "Here, put it inside."

After Wei Xiang deposited the worm into the gla.s.s jar, Qinghe dropped a few mint leaves into it to keep the worm comfortably occupied. Then keeping it open to allow air to pa.s.s, he put the jar in a clear place on the table. With an innocent expression, Qinghe said, "I'll release the worm outside later."

Wei Xiang shook his head and chuckled while Feng Chunyi snorted in disbelief. "Yeah, right. As if you won't add it to your little insect kingdom in the garden, feed it weird stuff, and play with it like a gleeful kid."

Qinghe turned his face away and said lightly, "I have no idea what you mean, Mother. Ah, I wonder which flavors I should combine this time. Maybe some honey and peach?"

Feng Chunyi huffed, then grinned evilly, "Oh? You don't know what I'm talking about, son of mine? Then maybe I should just go right now and destroy that insect sanctuary you oh-so-sneakily constructed right inside my garden. Those stupid insects have been eating my poor plants, and destroying them will at least be more entertaining than picking leaves."

His head shooting up at that threat, Qinghe glared at her. "Mother! Don't be mean to my insects!"

Feng Chunyi laughed delightedly and leaned into the silent Feng Huixin beside her before saying with playfulness, "Ah-Xin, look at your son! He's so disobedient towards his own mother, even calling me mean! Is this how you raised him, hmm?"

Feng Huixin's gaze turned amused. "He's perfect as he is. Chunyi, stop making trouble."

But Feng Chunyi hugged her husband tight and wriggled her whole body while protesting, "No! I don't wanna stop! Ah-Xin, we should punish that bratty son of ours for talking back to this great heavenly general for my entertainme― ehem, I mean to teach him good manners. I mean, he doesn't respect me like his elder at all! Tell me, how should we punish him?"

Qinghe merely laughed and rolled his eyes at his mother's silliness. "I will treat you like my elder if you stop behaving like a child, Mother."

Feng Chunyi puffed her cheeks. "See? Ah-Xin, you have to punish him for me!"

Feng Huixin shook his head and patted his wife on her head affectionately. "Chunyi, wouldn't you rather I reward you for being good instead?"

Perking up, Feng Chunyi asked eagerly, "What type of reward? Is it an alcohol-related reward or an 'I won't be able to get out of bed the next day' type of reward?"

Feng Huixin coughed. "Which one would you like?"

Grinning happily, Feng Chunyi declared without hesitation, "The latter type, of course! Come, Ah-Xin, let's leave the kids to pluck leaves and stir pots. We can go and have fun in our bedroom the way adults do."

Bothe Qinghe's and Wei Xiang's lips twitched, but they deigned to say nothing. It was better to let Feng Huixin deal with Feng Chunyi's ridiculousness.

Sure enough, Feng Huixin said, "Chunyi, you can only have your reward if you be good, remember?"

"Eh? Th-Then what should I do to be considered good?" Feng Chunyi tilted her head and asked confusedly.

With suppressed humor in his gaze, Feng Huixin solemnly stated, "You have to finish plucking as many leaves as our son wants."

Qinghe chuckled gleefully while Feng Chunyi pouted. "Ah-Xin, that's not fair! I wanted to punish him and here you twisted it all around to make me reward him instead!" But despite her mouth complaining like that, her fingers had already begun working on the mint stems to divulge them of their leaves.

Feng Huixin lifted a hand to brush it tenderly against his wife's puffed cheeks. As his ears slowly reddened in embarra.s.sment at what he was about to say, he spoke in a low voice, "If you are good, then you can be the one to pick what we do tonight in bed."

Feng Chunyi's eyes seemed to glow after hearing that. "He he he~ You better not regret it, Ah-Xin! For the sake of tonight, I will definitely pluck all these stupid leaves until these stems turn bald!"

Qinghe shook his head with a smile at his mother's ridiculousness and swept back a loose lock of hair from his face. As he carefully poured a little bit of peach puree into the condensed milk in one of the little bowls, he pondered over how even his restrained father became brazen when it came to his wife and how even his willful mother became acquiescent when it came to her husband. Mixing the puree into the condensed milk, he decided that his parents were truly suited to each other.

Suddenly, Qinghe felt Wei Xiang leaning towards him and looked up. "Xiang?"

Wei Xiang extended his warm tongue and carefully licked his cheek. Qinghe felt his face growing hot as the pleasant sensation spread over his skin before languidly sinking underneath. Warmth suffused him. "X-Xiang!"

Chuckling merrily, Wei Xiang said, "A little bit of the condensed milk seemed to have gotten onto your face when you brushed back your hair, so I simply chose to remove it without wasting it. And because it was on my little lover, it tasted especially sweet and delicious."

Qinghe blushed harder. His lover was really unfair! Then slowly lifting his fingers, he deliberately brushed some of the condensed milk on them onto his other cheek as well. Blinking up with both bashfulness and mischievousness, he pointed to the smear on his cheek. "Xiang, there's some here too."

His eyes gleaming at the invitation, Wei Xiang happily dipped his head to thoroughly lap it up as well, taking far more time than necessary to Qinghe's delight. As they both finally separated, the couple had satisfied expressions.

Feng Chunyi stewed in envy at how her sons were having fun with each other. She then peeked to the side at her own husband with a.s.sessing eyes. Hmm, maybe she could pretend there was something on his lips too and…

Before she could realize her scheme for sneaking in a kiss, Wei Xiang spoke out, "Master, the matter this time was really troublesome. Do you need my help with filing the reports?"

Feng Huixin shook his head. "I already finished writing most of it yesterday, since I had nothing else to do while staying in the Wu Jin palace after the incident at the cave. I should be able to complete the rest this evening and send it for review."

Wei Xiang nodded. "Then let me help you with the clean-up at least. I have to say though that it's very convenient that you were able to deal with the Dark Lotus and that demonic being before Wu Jin finished merging with us. If the Dark Lotus had more time, they might have been able to hide everything away and make things difficult for us when we set out to take care of them later."

"I was lucky," Feng Huixin simply said.

Meanwhile, Qinghe had finished mixing all the flavorings he wanted to add and stood up. Dipping the end of a chopstick and swirling it inside the small bowl to gather the flavored condensed milk on it, he bent over the table and extended the chopstick towards Feng Huixin. "Father, tell me how this one tastes. Now say ahh…"

Feng Huixin's eyes warmed with a smile as he parted his lips to carefully take the end of the offered chopstick into his mouth. After a moment, he observed, "It tastes very good, but there seems to be a bit too much honey this time."

Qinghe widened his eyes. "Ah! I think I forgot I added it once and ended up adding it a second time." Then, showing a smile towards his father, he said, "I'll fix it in a minute and make another sample, then I'll ask your opinion again."

Feng Huixin nodded, his expression softening.

Beside him, Feng Chunyi's eyes brightened as she spotted some of the sample sweet still stuck to the corner of Feng Huixin's mouth. Aha, an opportunity! Reaching out an arm to pull her startled husband towards her, Feng Chunyi slowly licked away the smear of sweetness, then unabashedly began suckling Feng Huixin's lips. Her eyes closed in bliss at how sweet he tasted.

After the initial surprise, Feng Huixin started partic.i.p.ating as well. His palm rose to cup the back of his wife's head and pull her closer. His lips opened before he extended a tongue to push into his Chunyi's mouth. Feng Chunyi eagerly sucked at it, savoring the lingering milky sweetness mixed with her husband's own flavor. Hmm, tasty…

On the other side of the table, Qinghe and Wei Xiang shook their heads with helplessness and amus.e.m.e.nt even as they continued what they were doing.

Bright sunlight poured in through the windows, vividly illuminating the scene of the Feng family spending their day with happiness and contentment as usual.