In it was a very detailed account of the current warfront, especially the Battle of Liguang where the Imperial Council attacked both the Li Family and the Alzar Kingdom with the Featherwind Sect. The result was that the entire town was destroyed, and everyone was killed, except for a small handful of people. The Imperial Princesses then explained that they would hide the fact they survived, and work together with the Alzar Kingdom to end the war forever. It sounded so outlandish that the woman immediately became suspicious. Was this another one of the prime minister's schemes? The man had been trying to usurp control of the Shui Family for a long time now, going as far as to imprison them indefinitely. She would not put it past him. Not to mention, the prime minister would very selectively choose what news to share to craft a particular image of the war. Therefore, she had no way to verify what happened in Liguang. It was a story. Nothing more.
In the first place, there was no guarantee that she would not give this message to the Imperial Council. They were technically enemies after all. That was the natural outcome. If the Imperial Princesses really were hiding with the Alzar Kingdom, then it would ruin their reputation and legitimacy to the throne. It would only strengthen the Imperial Council's cause. Besides, why would the Alzar Kingdom extend an olive branch to the princesses? They had no reason to help. She had served on the Imperial Council for many years now, so she knew the depths of human depravity. Humans were innately selfish, more so when there were high stakes involved. Had the prime minister not written this message, then the Alzar Kingdom certainly did. Minister Chan snorted inwardly. It was a nice try, but she was not that easy to fool. As she tossed the paper into the fireplace, it burned into ashes and scattered into wind. This matter was over. Or, at least, that was what she thought.
"What's that sweet smell?" Minister Daiyuu covered his nose.
Minister Chan inhaled the warm scent, reminiscent of a citrus fruit. She was pleasantly surprised to discover this was the scent from burning wood from a Cuihong Tree, a rare type of tree found in the western provinces. It was one of her favorite scents that she told almost no one, even to her own brother and father. In fact, there was only one person who knew she liked this smell… Could it be? Her eyes suddenly sparkled. She had already lost hope, thinking that her childhood sweetheart, Imperian Qiang, had died, but if this scent was anything to go by then… he was still alive! It felt like a huge weight lifted off her heart and shoulders. This was the greatest proof possible. She believed the message entirely! Her father looked at her weirdly, prompting her to explain everything that happened. The man felt silent afterwards.
"This is strange," he eventually said.
"What was that?" Minister Chan was so giddy that she heard nothing. She almost felt like dancing on the spot. That was how happy she was.
"This message. Assuming it's true, then what's their goal?"
"Maybe he just wanted to tell me he was alive?" she answered naively.
To which, her father gave a sidelong gaze. "Little Chan, I'm being serious here. Nobody acts without reason. They must have a special goal in mind for contacting us."
"Hmph." Although she knew he was right, she could not help but feel annoyed. Taking on a professional tone, she added, "They want us to betray the Imperial Council. Currently, we're one of the three great powers supporting the Imperial Council. With the Featherwind Sect's inclusion, and the Li Family's alliance, the power balance has shifted to the empire's side. The kingdom will be on the losing foot. Hence, they aim to use the relationship between Imperian Qiang and I to bring the Shui Family to their side."
"But there's no benefit to us. By betraying the Imperial Council, and by extension the entire Xingyuu Empire, we're taking a huge gamble that the Alzar Kingdom will somehow win. However, that doesn't seem likely. What happens if they lose? Our family will be hunted down and killed by our own countrymen. And what happens if they win? I doubt the kingdom will let us survive. It's a lose-lose situation either way. In that case, I think we should-"
"Do nothing again?" She fumed.
"That's right. We shouldn't rock the boat. Let nature takes its course." He closed his eyes and prepared to rest. After all, there was no better security than doing nothing in his mind! Unfortunately, his attitude struck a nerve.
"Stop being such a coward, father! If you had a spine, then we wouldn't be in this mess! The prime minister would have never dared to imprison us!"
"Calm down, Little Chan. You're overreacting."
"I'm overreacting?" Her eyelids twitched. "You're always like this, father. Never self-reflecting. When the time comes to finally decide, but you decided not to… You'll regret it."
"Then so be it." He waved, completely indifferent.
The woman gnashed her teeth. She could not understand how her father could become the patriarch of the Shui Family. It was honestly maddening. Things could not continue like this. She had to take matters into her own hands! Seeing that the rat was still here, presumably waiting to take a message back, she decided to write something without consulting her father. On the surface, her message appeared very superficial and unimportant to trick the Alzar Kingdom or the Imperial Council. She could wash any problem away if they found it first. However, Imperian Qiang would read between the lines and understand it. She was sure of it. After tying the paper to the rat, she gave it a pat and let it scurry off somewhere into a hole. It would probably take two weeks to travel to the Samfeng Province, so she was not in a rush. On the next day though, it reappeared with a new message, dumbfounding her. How could it travel so fast? Was she being tricked? Her suspicions grew.
Of course, how could she know that the Featherwind Sect was involved? The Imperial Princesses had given Elder Unvo a very accurate portrait of Minister Daiyuu and Lady Chan. He then used his ability to scout the entire capital city for their location. Upon finding them, he sent the rat with the message attached. Rats could travel between the walls unhindered, making them suitable for infiltration. No one in the Imperial Court even saw its tail. Once a reply was received, the rat would return to Elder Unvo, who would fly directly to the Yunyun Stronghold in the Samfeng Province. That way, the messages could be transported in under a day. As Minister Chan suspected, this was impossible through conventional means. Regardless, she opened the second message, and the opening sentence made her heart skip. Her brother… Protector Tai Shui had died in Liguang!
It felt like her world stopped. She could not believe it! Although the words stated it, her heart rejected it. She could not accept it! It was impossible! Although her brother was always a rambunctious brat, and their relationship was anything but peaceful, blood ran thicker than water as they say. They would always be brother and sister. Given the choice, she would sacrifice her life in a heartbeat to save him. Family meant everything to her! Her head dropped back, as she stared listlessly into the ceiling. Tears fell from her eyes, as a sea of emotion hit her. She began to sob quietly, as the reality set in.
To be honest, she had a feeling this was going to happen. Prime Minister Pon-Wai had previously mentioned that the Imperial Council would launch a big attack on the Alzar Kingdom, and that the Li Family would soon fall. He must have been hinting about the Battle of Liguang. He hoped that by saying this that he would shake Minister Daiyuu and the Shui Family into joining them. It ultimately failed, but her father was concerned that the Shui Family was going to fall next. Likewise, Minister Chan was concerned about her brother. As Princess Xiuying's Protector, it was inevitable that he would be drawn into battle, especially with his hotheaded personality. She had high faith in his abilities, since he could become a Perception Realm Adept at his young age; however, there was a limit to what a person could do. The Featherwind Sect could transcend all common sense! Furthermore, the Imperial Council would not let one measly Perception Realm stop them. When Minister Chan received the first message, and it did not mention her brother at all, she assumed he was safe and sound. Sadly, what she thought turned out to be false… She did not know what to think anymore.