As soon as she raised her concerns, Zhao Guodong spoke out. Since he didn't know about Huang Liyue protecting Huang Cixi from afar, he thought that he was her sole and only bodyguard. As such, he took this kind of possibility very seriously.
"Young Mistress! Is it just hypothetical or do you seriously think demonic cultivators have infiltrated the Huang residence?"
"For now, it is just hypothetical. But there are indeed strange happenings as of lately. Well... I have explanations for most of them, but... Our elders think that outsiders could never infiltrate us because they are very careful with our bloodline. However they failed to notice what is currently going on in the Wubei Sect. Demonic cultivators could have been easily detected by Spirit Master Xiao, so they completely changed their strategy. They adapted.
"Instead of sending demonic cultivators who already practiced the Evil path, they sent agents to convert orthodox cultivators to their cause. Until they really practice demonic techniques, no one is the wiser. Even Spirit Master Xiao failed to find them out. Do you think that anyone in our residence could outdo her in terms of spiritual senses? Even our matriarch?"
Not only Zhao Guodong but all the other men and Huang Liyue were speechless. Indeed, they did not consider that someone from the Huang family could betray them and join the demonic cultivators. Even though it was hard to swallow, the possibility was not zero. Moreover, they were right in the middle of a conflict about the succession for the matriarch's position. If there was a time to turn anyone traitor, that was now. However, none wanted to imagine such a thing. The Huang family had a grand and prestigious history. The idea that some of its descendants could join forces with people seeing humans as mere expendable tools was sickening.
Sadly, they couldn't declare that it was impossible.
"Do not get so gloomy. As of now, I have seen no indication that some of our own have turned. However, there are more possibilities that some outsiders did. Our family is engaged in many ventures. We cannot be sure of anyone concerning this matter. Yes the Cao family was weaker and way younger than ours, but we should be careful that their disaster doesn't repeat itself, with us this time around."
Her last words acted as a trigger. Everyone realized that they were not as safe as they had thought.
"Ye Zhiyun, I rely on you for this mission. I know how much you despise the Imperial City bureaucrats, but this is essential for me. It's possible that they know even more about the demonic cultivators than both the Wubei Sect and the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. However, be as careful as possible."
Bowing, Ye Zhiyun agreed once more to this mission.
"You can count on me, Young Mistress."
"Fine. Then, I need some quiet to prepare for tomorrow's poetry gathering, and to think about other matters as well."
"Of course."
Ye Zhiyun and Bao Zhong both left the room to leave their mistress alone. Even Zhao Guodong retreated outside of the room. But all his senses were focused on the interior of the room. The only one left was Huang Liyue. She kept observing Huang Cixi with many conflicting emotions. Unfortunately, she had to admit that she herself had neglected the possibility of a family member turning traitor. There had been many strifes within the family, but none escalated to full-out treason. However, the recent activities of both demons and demonic cultivators alike were known to her. And indeed, it was a possibility that seemed more and more plausible the more she thought about it.
-
In another wing of the Huang residence, a young woman was reading many documents. They were reports about various businesses of the Huang family as well as internal conflicts. Among them, a large portion of the reports were about Huang Lü and Huang Cixi.
The woman who was examining them was wearing a gorgeous dress of red, blue and gold. The fabric was a masterpiece covered in embroideries depicting flames, feathers and birds. Her stature was extremely dignified and she truly looked like an empress. Both her eyes were light gray. Very deep in them, a flame could be barely seen. In fact, there were two faint flames orbiting around each other.
Of course, this woman was Huang Si, the main candidate to become the next matriarch.
After she was done, she put the documents back on the table and finally a servant who had been waiting for a while talked.
"Mistress, is it safe to let Huang Lü take care of the problem?"
"Huang Lü knows she has no chance against me. She's competent but too forceful, she lacks... subtlety. Just by me hinting at Huang Cixi, she immediately went to confront her. But this will be a great opportunity. From what I heard, I do not believe in Huang Cixi's weakness for one second. And even then, she would not abandon her ambitions so easily. I can clearly see that she wants to be matriarch. Her dead brothers were a the perfect occasion to get rid of her competition... If only she had stayed in the Wubei Sect longer, I would have ascended to the position without any problem.
"But I won't let a decade of work be ruined by a child. Huang Cixi is a tiger dressed in sheep's clothing. However, when she shows her fangs, Huang Lü will be the one receiving them, not me."
"But, won't it sway some elders to her side?"
"It could. In the end, it's not important. I have enough support among the elders. What I lack right now is a support with the matriarch herself. But very soon, the best opportunity for this will show up. As long as I suppress this girl, it will be fine. Sadly, her grandfather prevents many of my usual methods. Nevertheless, I won't let her ruin my efforts!"
Hang Si paused for an instant and spoke toward an empty spot as though someone invisible was standing there.
"Go watch her tomorrow. I want to know every single detail, no matter how insignificant they might seem. Be especially careful about Fang Shaolong. Huang Cixi has a man in the Major Hall." Even though Ye Zhiyun had tried to conceal it as much as he could, Huang Si had been able to discern who he was working for. But she was the only one who had so far.
-
Eventually, the day of the poetry gathering came.
In the center of Baziyun City stood a gigantic mansion with several wings, gardens and pavilions, Governor Leng's residence. One of the pavilion was a wooden building without any wall giving a fantastic view of the garden. This Divine Feather pavilion was truly enchanting. And the garden around had all the classical structures of the School of Ren Dao philosophy. All around the garden, small streams of water traveled through various elements, circling statues and specially arranged landscapes.
Many servants were actively setting up chairs and tables as well as some fancy food and tea.
While the servants were still busy, two men were talking in the center of the pavilion. One of them was a ordinary middle-aged man with a thin beard. There were only two things interesting about him. The way he talked and expressed himself gave off a powerful charisma. And he was wearing a very famous robe, the uniform of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. This robe was black with some cherry blossoms on it. In fact, he had several of them on him, and on both sides of his chest two had golden petals. This was proof that he was the Major Hall's Hall Master, Fang Shaolong.
The man he was talking to was clearly a scholar. His clothes were extremely fancy and the way he tasted his tea showed his aristocratic manners. Even while talking to a high representative of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, he was not servile at all. But he wasn't arrogant either. Considering Fang Shaolong's attitude, this man was Governor Leng.
Governors were appointed by the Emperor himself. Usually, his ministers chose them according to the local situation of each province, but he was ultimately the one to make the decision. Given the influence of the Huang family, they needed a very powerful man for such a position but also a true politician. It had always been the concern of the Imperial City to both control and mitigate the influence of the noble families while ensuring that they all worked together in harmony.
As such, Governor Leng was a man who preferred to solve the conflicts through politic. Instead of going head-to-head with the Huang family or the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, he was always trying to weave relationships, contracts and alliances to balance out everyone's influence. But he was also a powerful cultivator, having reached 7th-grade Spirit Warrior before turning 200.
He was also a clear practitioner of the School of Ren Dao. Even though this philosophy was subtly permeating the entire kingdom, it was more cultural than philosophical for many. Besides the wellbeing of the humanity as a whole and the individualistic pursuit of knowledge through cultivation, this philosophy was putting a lot of importance on beauty and arts. And Governor Leng had been a long time patron of artists in the Wu Province and even beyond. Moreover, he was quite fond of luxurious goods and artistic masterpieces. And so was his wife.
The content of the discussion between the two men was not very important as it pertained to art and philosophy. This day was not only a poetry gathering but also the occasion to renegotiate some contracts between Baziyun City, and by extension the Wu Province as a whole, with the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. However, neither Governor Leng nor Hall Master Fang wanted to rush things.
After almost an hour, they started talking about various affairs and spent a lot of time on the Xiliang Mines. Even though the ownership of the mines was in the hands of Matriarch Huang Yufeng, the exploitation rights and some specific rights were owned by various individuals and organizations. These mines were essential for the Wu Province and even for the Hongchen Kingdom. Negotiating these rights was extremely difficult and it would likely take hours of discussions despite the two men having stayed in constant contact for several weeks now.
Governor Leng was always afraid of people trying to monopolize the resources. On the other hand, Hall Master Fang was worried about taxes. He had to pay the Huang family for the exploitation rights, the Wu Province, the Imperial City and various investors. This was really tedious business and both men had decided that this poetry gathering would be a good way to appease them during their negotiations.
-
Finally, the sun was at its highest in the sky and people started to arrive in front of the governor's residence. Any form of flight was forbidden in Baziyun City unless extreme circumstances required it. This regulation was not directly aimed at Spirit Warriors, but also at any demonic beast or artifact some cultivator may possess. As such, even members of the Huang family would have to arrive in a cart.
When she arrived, Huang Cixi saw several carts attended by a few servants. This poetry gathering would reunite many members of dignified families but also a few commoners who had illustrated themselves in the art. It often caused tensions, especially among younger people. But the Hongchen Kingdom had a long history of promoting commoners according to their merit. This was especially true for the provinces that bordered the territories of demons as they could feel the existential threat they were under. As such, they were always looking for competent people, no matter their birth. But in calmer provinces, young nobles didn't like this kind of competition.
Among the carts, many were clearly so fancy they could only belong to nobles.
Huang Cixi had decided to arrive in a very modest cart. And the moment she arrived, another man was trying to enter the main gate of the residence. The young lady was sitting quietly in her cart while focusing her mind on the different objectives she had by coming here. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a ruckus just outside her cart.
"Who do you think you are?! You dare block my master?!"
Before she could look at what was going on, she heard several loud noises that sounded like someone getting beat up with a staff. Immediately, she opened the cart and went out.
What she saw enraged her. Bao Zhong had been driving the cart, and now a burly man was proceeding to beating him up for it.
"Stop!"
Huang Cixi ran and put herself between her servant and the aggressor. The moment she did, Zhao Guodong intervened and put his hand on his sword.
"Who... ?!" Finally, the man saw the white hair of Huang Cixi and understood. From her eyes, he could see a deadly glare and became frozen. All around him, a burning sensation stopped all his movements. Huang Liyue was using a very small amount of her spiritual senses to send him a very clear warning.
From the cart this man was driving, a lazy voice came out.
"What's taking so long? Crush this insect and get me inside."
The man with the staff in hand was still unable to answer due to the pressure of Huang Liyue. His cultivation level did not even allow him to understand what was going on. For him and everyone around, he was just frozen from fear after seeing that he had attacked a servant of the Huang family.
Huang Cixi went to inquire about her servant's health. Satisfied that he wasn't hurt, her fury receded a little. But now that she was calm, her eyes were even scarier to the frozen man. She walked up to him and her chilly voice made him quiver.
"Who gave you permission to discipline a servant of my Huang family in front of Governor Leng's residence?"
But before he could answer, the lazy voice from his cart spoke again. This time, the man behind the voice put his head out of a curtain.
"Just break his legs and arms..."
Unfortunately for him, the man behind the lazy voice only saw Huang Cixi once he was done speaking.