“Your highness, the consort's sacrifice did not go in vain. Her death confirms your speculation. Your father, his highness Xuanwu, is indeed a transmigrator. And he will go to any lengths to erase all traces of his secret, even if it means slaughtering the members of the royal family!"

Terror and despair were two intense emotions that often visited the human heart hand in hand, forcing them to take radical decisions in search of hope. However, the speaker did not have the authority to make any decisions here. He was, after all, a mere spy. 

He had to kneel on the mahogany floor, keep his gaze glued to the wide staircase in front of him, recount the secret details of the consort's death, and hope for his master, Princess Longxia, to decide the fate of the beheaded Bai clan. 

Cold bursts of wind seeped into the massive chamber through towering windows, and the miniature suns revolving around the chamber from outside seemed to dim in harmony with the situation. 

Occupying the featureless wooden throne on top of the golden staircase, Princess Longxia stroked the pitch-black sleeves of her blood-red ruqun with a blank expression on her youthful, but sickly pale face. Rays of the artificial sunlight and shadows of the dark night took their turns dancing over her pensive countenance. 

To the spy, her silence was deafening, in a way. The princess was not known for being a reserved character, not even inside the royal palace.

Several times, he considered asking for directions, any order to guide him to his next task, whatever was needed to protect the princess and her mother's clan, but his heaving lungs could not force out those words. 

When he sent pleading glances at the old advisor who knelt by his side, he only received a brief signal to remain patient. When he looked towards the faceless guardians behind the throne, he could only interpret that they were doing the same thing.

If she did not take action soon...

In the end, Princess Longxia began to speak, much to his relief. 

“My mother gifted me a beautiful blackmoon tigress on my seventh birthday. My fascination with that selfish pet lasted for two weeks, and I stopped caring for it. Just before my eighth birthday, that tigress gave birth to three adorable cubs, which revived my interest in such pets. Do you know what the fate of those three cubs was?”

“...No, your highness.”

The spy shook his head, a little confused, but curious to understand how this story had any relevance to the predicament she was in.

“The neglected, sometimes perhaps abused tigress caught the scent of other humans, me and my maids, to be exact, on its newborns. We wore strong perfumes that day to celebrate the occasion. It seemed to have driven its instincts feral. It tried to break each of their delicate necks when we allowed it to get close to the cubs after recovery. Out of three, one survived... for a while, before dying from the lack of proper care and its weaknesses. Are you wondering why I brought this up now?"

The spy's face paled. The princess must have noticed his fidgeting throughout the story. Her lazy, demure tone had suddenly jumped to its usual sharp wavelength by the end of it.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Spies who lack intelligence are such a paradox,” Princess Longxia said, almost cracking a mocking smile. “So useful and useless at the same time. No wonder it requires training from birth, tsk, tsk."

“Forgive my incapability, your highness,” the spy said in a neutral tone. He was not offended by her jab. He wasn’t capable of taking offense either, truth be told.

“Then I will explain it to you. Consider it my gift, albeit one you will hold only temporarily,” the princess said, sending tremors through his mind. 

Had she already made her decision? What was she going to do?

“My father, King Xuanwu's character, often reminds me of that tigress, and my aunt's death at his hands has cemented that notion. Just as I grew bored with the pets, I grew up finding his existence an annoyance. They are both helpless in front of their core nature, instincts instilled in them since their birth, shaped by reality. To a transmigrator, nothing truly matters as much as their own interests, and nothing is a bigger offense than having these interests be tainted by another. Just like the cat, his claws shall be forced to move by his instincts for survival, his past, and his hopes for a better future. His claws shall come for me, the child on whom a threatening scent lingers now."

The princess suddenly rose to her feet and stepped down the stairs gracefully, her voluminous black outer robe unfurling behind her in the gentle wind, like a peacock's blood-soaked tail whispering to the floor. Half of her body was soaked in the dark, while the other half exuded a deathly pale brightness under the light from the nearest window.

“I could ward off his claws myself, but would I survive what follows? I'd perhaps share the same fate as the last cub, exposed to a merciless, blind world with so many glaring weaknesses.”

Immediately, the six faceless guardians in the chamber kneeled down and shouted in unison, “Order us, your highness, and we shall initiate the first phase of your rebellion plan right now! Your safety is of paramount importance!”

The princess came to a stop at the foot of the staircase, right in front of the kneeling spy. The chilling wind blowing across the chamber seemed to freeze. Her loose outer robe fell down and embraced her form, hiding the red color inside, calm as an ocean before a storm.

“How can a rebellion see success when the rebels are surrounded from all directions by an army that has yet to see a defeat over two centuries? This isn't the right time. Don't delude yourselves!"

“Do we have any choice left, your highness?” Old advisor Su said bitterly, raising a face wet with tears.

“Of course, we do." Her reply left everyone a little stunned. 

“To defeat a transmigrator, we will seek out the help of a transmigrator!"

“...The expelled royal preceptor?!" The advisor gasped as he realized who she was referring to. “We don't even know if he's alive! Contacting him is no different from declaring your intention to rebel, your highness. You will be arrested before our men can track down which island he has been expelled to.”

“I know. I'll be going there myself anyway. So go and prepare the Phoenix Palace. The flight must begin before dawn."

The echoes of her command had barely died down when she added another order, directed at the advisor. “And wipe all memories of this meeting clean. That includes the spies, the middlemen, and even the guardian soldiers here. This knowledge is itself a calamity bringer. Only my soul is powerful enough to mask my knowledge from the King's Oracle.”

“Your highness, this secret is too precious. I am afraid not all of our helpers shall agree to the let go of this knowledge,” Advisor Lu said in a low tone.

“Then kill them. When have I, Bai Longxia, tolerated anyone who can jeopardize the safety of myself and my people? The blood of Xuanwu still runs within my body, no matter how much I detest that reality. Mercifulness and flexibility did not allow me to thrive for 68 years on this throne.”

As she marched towards the exit of the chamber, Advisor Lu asked with a weary voice, “How are you planning to convince the Royal Preceptor to return from exile, your highness?"

The princess paused, turned her neck slightly, revealing the shadow of a joyless smile.

“He owes our clan a marital tie. And it is high time this old woman took a taste of a conjugal bond, hahaha!”