After the round-table meeting ended, Xi Qingqing walked everyone to the door.
She stood there for a long time, watching them leave, without moving.
Xue Xi said in admiration,
“Your Highness is amazing. In just half an hour, you managed to win all of them over.”
Xi Qingqing glanced at him but said nothing.
A calm voice came from behind her.
“Your Highness, do you regret not delivering the invitation letters yourself?”
She turned her head. Mo Fuqing was standing there, holding a chubby white baby in his arms. His expression was calm.
After a moment of silence, she said,
“Yes.”
She had seen too much human cruelty. She believed that anyone with even a little power must be vicious, someone who needed to be controlled with schemes and pressure.
That was why she let Mo Fuqing send the invitations—to create an image of authority and distance.
She never expected that some people only wanted one thing: to stay alive.
In this highly advanced, technology-driven world, they were willing to give up their power just so others could survive.
This world seemed purer than the apocalypse she came from.
Her way of thinking needed to change.
She sighed, pulled back her emotions, and frowned at the baby in Mo Fuqing’s arms.
“What is this?” she asked.
“An apology,” Mo Fuqing said calmly.
He slapped the baby’s bottom with a sharp smack.
The baby held its breath, its eyes turning red.
Xi Qingqing didn’t recognize him, but Xue Xi did.
“Isn’t this the leader of those little snakes? The one who tried to crawl in through the window to bite me? When I noticed him, he ran away!”
Then Xi Qingqing understood.
This was a snake with a human body and a snake head.
The baby glared at her, still holding his breath.
Mo Fuqing said coldly,
“There is only one female here. Who do you think saved your life? If you keep acting recklessly, I don’t mind throwing you out. The snake clan has lost many already. One more doesn’t matter.”
Xue Xi quickly added,
“Don’t throw him out! Don’t! He can be used to make a bag for the female master. Snake-skin bags are very fashionable!”
Xi Qingqing: “……”
After being scared by the two of them, the baby’s face turned green.
“I’m sorry,” the baby said seriously.
“I won’t scare you again.”
“It’s fine,” Xi Qingqing replied.
“Even if you scare me, it’s fine. That way, I can get another snake-skin bag.”
The baby’s eyes widened.
He suddenly realized—
She was the most terrifying person of all.
He couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Waaa!”
He burst into tears.
Ming Qing stood among the new generation of young generals, waiting to be summoned to the Empress’s council.
Long ago, the Beastblade Continent was divided among different races and nations. Each country ruled its own people and tried to invade others.
That changed when the Gray Wolf Clan attacked the Lop-Eared Rabbit Clan.
When the rabbits were killed, black mist rose from their bodies and entered the wolves who fed on them.
That night, an unknown source of corruption spread.
In just half a month, it destroyed nine nearby nations.
Panic followed.
“Everyone, thank you for waiting. The Empress invites you inside to discuss important matters.”
The speaker was Aunt Fang, the Empress’s close personal attendant. She had once been badly injured on the battlefield and was deeply trusted.
As Ming Qing passed her, Aunt Fang smiled at her.
Ming Qing didn’t understand why.
She followed the others into the council hall.
She had been here many times before.
But every time she faced the Empress—sitting high in the center, resting her chin on her hand and looking down—Ming Qing still had to struggle to suppress the urge to kneel in submission.
Every Empress had fought her way to the throne, killing her own kin if necessary.
This one was no different.
She was like a distant moon—only to be worshipped and obeyed.
Ming Qing noticed Princess Anning sitting a few seats away from the Empress.
The meeting began.
They discussed the corrupted regions.
Princess Anning again suggested that corruption had plagued the continent for nearly a thousand years, and purification alone was not enough. The infected must be killed on the spot, without mercy.
The Empress did not comment.
Instead, she changed the topic.
“One month ago, Xi Qingqing was released from prison.”
The room went silent.
The Empress tapped the table lightly.
“She is my daughter, yet she is arrogant and lawless. Some have submitted petitions asking to strip her of her title. To the people, she is useless. To the court, she brings only disgrace.”
“She does not deserve to be a princess.”
Many people instinctively looked at Princess Anning.
She was Xi Qingqing’s greatest victim.
Yet Anning showed no joy, only a gentle smile.
Ming Qing noticed that when the Empress spoke, Anning’s fingers tightened slightly.
Then the Empress raised her eyes.
“However, yesterday I received a report from Qingshui Town. It said that Xi Qingqing purified 169 beastfolk.”
Not one.
One hundred and sixty-nine.
The room erupted in disbelief, followed by laughter.
Someone sneered,
“If it were one person, maybe I’d believe it. But 169? Even General Yan Shuang couldn’t do that.”
“She clearly doesn’t know her limits.”
The Empress raised her hand. Silence fell.
She asked calmly,
“Anning, do you think this is true or false?”
Across the crowd, Ming Qing saw Anning slowly relax her hand.
Anning stood gracefully and said with a smile,
“She should be given a chance to be investigated. If this is true, then she is the most worthy of the title of princess.”
Someone beside her whispered,
“She’s only better than you because her mother is the Empress.”
Anning shook her head.
“I am merely Her Majesty’s subject.”
The Empress studied Anning carefully.
Then she spoke loudly,
“In that case, let Ming Qing go to Qingshui Town.”
Ming Qing was startled but immediately stood and bowed.
The Empress said,
“Princess Anning is kind and merciful. This is both her strength and her weakness. If Xi Qingqing causes trouble, and Anning tells you to smooth things over, do not listen. Report directly to me.”
Anning’s hand tightened.
Ming Qing did not fully understand the deeper meaning.
She only knew one thing—
This mission required loyalty to the Empress above all else.
“Yes!”
Ming Qing answered firmly.