Mermaids had the tail of a fish and the body of a human. They were known as the spiritual beings of the mermaids and were a special race between humans and fish.
Mermaids produced silk that wouldn't get wet in water. Their tears would turn into pearls, making them extremely precious.
Han Yunxi had learned of the existence of mermaids from myths and legends. Mermaids usually lived in the sea, but they also lived in large lakes and rivers. They had high standards for water quality.
But from what Han Yunxi understood, mermaids had the tail of a fish and the body of a human. They had to take medicine to leave the water, and they couldn't stay for long.
But the Baili Clan was no different from humans. Moreover, they lived on land for a long time. What was going on?
Did Long Fei Ye know about this? Did Tianning's previous emperor, who'd ordered the formation of a navy, know about this? Using mermaids to form a navy was a heaven-defying act! After all, the sea was the mermaids' territory. No powerful navy could contend against them.
By the time Han Yunxi arrived, Long Fei Ye had put away the Annals of the Seven Noble Families in his hands.
Actually, Han Yunxi had long noticed the thick ancient book in Long Fei Ye's hands. Although she didn't know what it was, she recognized its appearance. She remembered that Long Fei Ye had been flipping through this book since he was in South Ning Prefecture.
Seeing him so focused on the book, she asked, "What book is this?"
Chu Xifeng jumped in fright at her words. Fortunately, Han Yunxi hadn't noticed, or else she would have noticed something amiss.
Chu Xifeng was Long Fei Ye's personal bodyguard. He was supposed to be calm and steady, not flustered like this. Normally, he was calm and steady, but he couldn't keep his cool in front of esteemed wangfei.
Long Fei Ye was unperturbed. "Urgent business?" he asked mildly.
His two simple words avoided Han Yunxi's suspicions. Han Yunxi really had come in a hurry, so she didn't ask about the book. Instead, she asked directly, "Did you know that the Baili Clan is a mermaid clan?"
This time, Long Fei Ye could no longer remain calm. His hand on the table clearly stiffened. How did this woman know about such a confidential matter?
He was certain that Baili Mingxiang didn't have the guts to tell her!
Seeing Long Fei Ye's expression, Han Yunxi immediately understood. "You already knew!"
"How did you find out?" Long Fei Ye quickly regained his composure.
"Baili Mingxiang's blood is very special. I analyzed it for a whole night before I could confirm that it was that." Han Yunxi answered honestly.
"You can even analyze this?" Long Fei Ye was very surprised.
Without the Detoxification System, Han Yunxi couldn't analyze it. She could only see that Baili Mingxiang's blood was strange, but she couldn't be sure that it was mermaid blood. However, the Detoxification System had recorded it.
"Your Highness, it's because the Baili Clan is a mermaid clan that you set up a navy in Tianning long ago, right?" Han Yunxi asked seriously.
When Baili Mingxiang started taking poison, Long Fei Ye was still very young. Thus, the one who used Baili Mingxiang to cultivate Beauty's Blood couldn't have been Long Fei Ye, but someone else.
In other words, the Baili Clan had been loyal to Long Fei Ye's side from the start. They hadn't been subdued by Long Fei Ye after forming a navy.
"Yes!" Long Fei Ye didn't deny that the Baili Clan was his mother's first move in Tianning. Him becoming Grand Concubine Yi's son was her second move.
"Your Tang Clan's ambitions are huge!" Han Yunxi couldn't help but sigh with emotion. It looked like the Tang Clan had been scheming for the world since Tianning's previous emperor's reign.
Han Yunxi had no idea that the Tang Clan was also loyal to Long Fei Ye. She simply equated the power behind Long Fei Ye to the Tang Clan and assumed that the Baili Navy was a path paved for Long Fei Ye by the Tang Clan.
She couldn't be blamed for this. After all, Long Fei Ye had told her personally that his parents were both members of the Tang Clan.
This was … a huge misunderstanding!
A complicated look flitted past Long Fei Ye's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He broke into a rare chuckle. "Is your lordship's ambitions big as well?"
Han Yunxi felt that his words were strange. Wasn't this guy the Tang Clan's representative? She recalled the first time she'd met Aunt Ru. Hadn't the woman only criticized her because she was worried that a femme fatale like her would delay Long Fei Ye's progress? Ruin their Tang Clan's plans?
"Your Highness's ambitions aren't big. Perhaps the person sitting here today wouldn't be Your Highness, but Tang Li instead," Han Yunxi teased.
It didn't matter if it was a lie or a misunderstanding. In any case, Han Yunxi had misunderstood.
Chu Xifeng grew uneasy at this, but Long Fei Ye had no intention of explaining himself. Instead, he asked, "The Beauty's Blood should be ready soon, right?"
"Your Highness only cares about the Beauty's Blood and not the beauties?" Han Yunxi was still joking.
Of course, the beauties were referring to Baili Mingxiang.
Long Fei Ye asked back seriously, "You want your lordship to care?"
The two of them spoke ambiguously. This concern was not a concern for the other party, but there was clearly a hidden meaning behind their words.
In the end, Han Yunxi grew serious. "Your Highness, Baili Mingxiang has worked hard even if she didn't have any meritorious service. It wasn't easy for her to endure hardships since she was young."
Although Han Yunxi had always claimed that she'd saved Baili Mingxiang because she didn't want to harm the heavens with her poisons, she both pitied and admired Baili Mingxiang.
At the very least, she'd never heard Baili Mingxiang complain about anything in her interactions with Baili Mingxiang.
When Long Fei Ye didn't speak, Han Yunxi added, "Your Highness, if such a good girl dies like this, it'll be Your Highness's loss."
Anyone who wasn't in the know might assume that Baili Mingxiang had some sort of relationship with Long Fei Ye.
Long Fei Ye only wanted the Beauty's Blood. He didn't care about anything else. Forced by Han Yunxi, he could only ask mildly, "Can't you save her?"
"Has Your Highness never cared whether the antidote was successfully concocted?" Han Yunxi pursued.
Even if it wasn't Baili Mingxiang today, if it were any of Long Fei Ye's subordinates, be it a man or a woman, Han Yunxi would have the same thought.
Wasn't Long Feiye being too heartless and cruel with his indifference?
Long Fei Ye had such an emotionless and cold personality. He was annoyed by Han Yunxi's relentless questioning. He said unhappily, "It's not your business. Why should your lordship care so much?"
Uh …
Han Yunxi was speechless.
Long Fei Ye's words sounded so sweet, as if he was trying to curry favor with her. But his tone was serious and unhappy.
Han Yunxi stood rooted to the spot, unsure of how to reply.
Chu Xifeng's expression was one of disbelief. Who said His Highness Duke of Qin didn't know how to sweet-talk, be romantic, or confess?
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened!
Your Highness Duke of Qin, are you sure you're not doing this on purpose? 'Qin Wanru thought to herself.
Han Yunxi was a little embarrassed by his sweet words, but Long Fei Ye was full of himself.
Fine, he was just being straightforward. Perhaps he didn't know how sweet his words sounded.
He arched a brow at Han Yunxi and said, "Just pretend you don't know about the Mermaid Clan. Don't mention it to the Baili Clan either."
"Understood," Han Yunxi knew what to do.
Just like that, the two of them forgot about Baili Mingxiang. Han Yunxi asked curiously, "Your Highness, how can the Mermaid Clan stay on the water for so long?"
"The Baili Clan is a branch of the Mermaid Clan. They're no different from normal people on land, but they show their mermaid characteristics in the water," Long Fei Ye explained.
Han Yunxi nodded. She didn't find it strange. Cloud Realm Continent had plenty of strange people and strange things to begin with. She thought that the Baili Navy would definitely become Long Fei Ye's most powerful military force.
Mermaids were not only the rulers of the seas, but the masters of the rivers and lakes as well!
After Han Yunxi left, Long Fei Ye took out the Annals of the Seven Noble Families again and flipped to a random page. The yellowed page was empty except for two large characters: "Baili!"
Long Fei Ye flipped to the next page and found a detailed introduction of the Baili Clan. The Baili Clan was one of the Seven Noble Families of the Great Qin Empire and once controlled the Great Qin Navy. They controlled all of Cloud Realm Continent's water systems.
Of course, that was all in the past and history. Even the Annals of the Seven Noble Families had no record of the Baili Clan being the Mermaid Clan. It was a secret that the Baili Clan never told outsiders.
"Your Highness, esteemed wangfei is too …"
Chu Xifeng didn't know what to say. Even the other Six Noble Families didn't know that the Baili Clan was the Mermaid Clan. How did esteemed wangfei find out?
Actually, Chu Xifeng was only trying to persuade him otherwise. Some things couldn't be hidden from esteemed wangfei.
His Highness had always been a decisive and ruthless man. He could pick up and let go, win and lose. What couldn't he take?
Even if esteemed wangfei found out the truth, so what?
Esteemed wangfei had her own choices, didn't she?
Chu Xifeng wanted to coax him further, but Long Fei Ye changed the topic. "How's the situation in Northern Li?"
"There's still a lot of activity at the Three-Way Battlefield, but everything at the horse farms is going according to Your Highness's orders. The Northern Dynasties Emperors are only putting on a show. They won't dare to do anything," Chu Xifeng replied honestly.
Emperor Tianhui was hoping for the stars and the moon, hoping that Northern Li would go to war. Unfortunately, the Three-Way Battlefield hadn't made any real moves despite the ruckus.
Due to the terrain of the Three-Way Battlefield, Emperor Tianhui would've ordered Great General Ning to move out first.
For now, Emperor Tianhui could only wait patiently.
"When will Chu Qingge arrive?" Long Fei Ye asked next.
"The bridal procession has already reached Longxi Prefecture. There'll be another ten or so days before they reach the capital," Chu Xifeng replied.
Long Fei Ye nodded and instructed, "Remember to send His Majesty a big gift on the day of the wedding."
Chu Xifeng smiled and nodded. "This subordinate understands."
Long Fei Ye picked up the Annals of the Seven Noble Families to continue reading. Actually, he didn't care about Tianning's political struggles at all. Over the past few years, he'd set up a trap in Tianning's court to hide the sky with one hand. To him, it was only a matter of whether he wanted to or not.
To him, the matters of the Seven Noble Families were more important …
Han Yunxi had no idea about any of this. After figuring out the situation with the Baili Clan, she set her mind at ease and continued her experiments.
The blood she'd extracted was already an embryonic form of Beauty's Blood, so the detox system could mix the remaining toxins into Baili Mingxiang's blood to create Beauty's Blood.
Less than half a day later, the detox system gave her a small bottle of precious Beauty's Blood. More accurately speaking, it was called "Quasi-Beauty's Blood."
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