~~~

    li boqin can only look stunned by xiao fang’s declaration. respect and surprise work together to keep his tongue silent.

    “that is a stupid idea. she’s an emperor. she’ll kill you.”

    liu jin has no such issues.

    “i am not planning on challenging her to a fight!” xiao fang shouts, glaring at him. “i’m not a fool!”

    “eh...” li boqin scratches his beard. “if that is the case, then... how exactly is the young master planning to... challenge her...?”

    if xiao fang dares to show his face in front of his aunt, she’ll kill him on the spot. if he sends a letter of challenge, she’ll pretend she never received it or play along just to find him. if xiao fang spreads his challenge throughout the city, he risks exposing himself. it is hard to take the idea of challenging xiao yifan in anything even slightly resembling a possible light.

    “you buffoons really have a low opinion of me, huh?” xiao fang asks them.

    “i once tricked you into giving me more than a year to prepare myself for a duel. as a result, you lost despite having nearly every possible advantage,” liu jin points out tonelessly. “any opinion i might have on you is one which you worked hard to cultivate.”

    “i was ten, butthead!”

    “and xiao yifan is over a hundred. surely, you can see how you’re in even more danger of being outsmarted by her.”

    xiao fang’s hands twitch in liu jin’s direction, but he manages to control himself.

    “i cannot beat xiao yifan in a fight, at least not in this decade. that much is obvious,” he says, trying to sound reasonable despite having implied something outrageous. “however, i don’t need to. xiao yifan has been suffering several setbacks ever since she took over my sect due to the actions of the divine frozen palace.”

    liu jin looks at li boqin for confirmation. the core disciple quickly nods.

    “it is true,” he says. “lady shao zhilan has repeatedly made branch master xiao yifan lose face. the latest incident took place in the auction last month. she tricked her into buying a completely worthless base for an exorbitant price. it might not seem like much, but...”

    but public humiliation is among the most damaging things one can do to an enemy. the divine frozen palace cannot directly attack xiao yifan due to the protection of the endlessly raging valley, but they can make her look like a fool. incidents like that spread beyond the city walls and gnaw at the confidence and loyalty the other branch masters might feel for her.

    “i just need to tip her over,” xiao fang says. his face is full of vicious eagerness. “i need to show that the xiao sect she has raised is worthless. the crimson cloud tournament is the perfect stage for it.”

    “you’re going to enter as an independent participant,” liu jin realizes, his eyebrows rising slightly.

    usually, only the sects of the crimson cloud empire compete in the tournament, but there are no rules forbidding others from doing so. many independent fighters try their luck every time the tournament comes, often to poor results. in the history of the crimson cloud tournament, only once has an independent fighter made it to the top one hundred.

    “not an independent fighter. an independent team,” xiao fang says, grinning. “li and i will enter as members of the true xiao sect. i already checked the rules. there is nothing stopping me from naming my team whatever i want.”

    liu jin frowns and rubs his chin.

    he wants to object on principle, but the more he thinks about xiao fang’s plan, the more viable it seems. if his team manages to enter the tournament and makes it further than the xiao sect’s chosen delegation, it will be a great blow against xiao yifan, especially due to how things are now.

    after all, the xiao sect is technically no longer within the top one hundred sects of the crimson cloud empire.

    eight years ago, they managed to make it that far due to xiao nan’s brilliant performance, but the current crop of disciples is not as talented. the loss of eastern port city hurt the xiao sect greatly.

    “finally realizing i am not an idiot, huh?” xiao fang taunts him.

    “your plan has some merit,” liu jin admits. “however, it relies on you being stronger than any single representative chosen by xiao yifan. are you?”

    “that’s why i am here!” li boqin says, snapping his fingers before rushing over to his robes, which are bundled in a corner. “i now completely understand why the young master wanted me to bring these.”

    the core disciple takes out a set of documents from his robes and puts them over the bed.

    “as a core disciple, i have access to a great deal of information about the xiao sect, including those chosen to represent us in the crimson cloud tournament,” li boqin says as he presents the files to them. “their names, ages, specialties, and achievements are at your disposal, young master. you should have no trouble outperforming them.”

    liu jin hums, impressed that xiao fang has prepared this well.

    “that just leaves the matter of your challenge,” liu jin says. “no one in the city even knows you exist. if you enter the tournament, you will just be another unknown. you need people to focus on you from the start.”

    “i have taken some steps,” xiao fang says. “many branch masters are unsatisfied with xiao yifan but not enough to declare their support for me. i have convinced a few to watch the crimson cloud tournament. that will help spread the word across the xiao sect, but that is still not enough for what i want... that’s why i need your help.”

    a complicated expression crosses liu jin’s face.

    “i cannot compete for you,” liu jin says. “i have to compete for the eternal flame clan. besides, my reputation would overshadow yours.”

    xiao fang’s eyebrow twitches. “there was absolutely no reason for you to add the last part! besides, i am not asking you to compete with me. you have your own journey. we all do. i have come to accept it... that’s why... i have to do it like this...”

    liu jin’s eyes grow wide as xiao fang drops to one knee in front of him.

    “what are you-”

    “emperor qing jin of the storm dragon empire,” xiao fang says, his face resolute and his voice firm. “i, xiao fang of the xiao sect, ask a favor of you with the goal of building a future alliance between us.”

    “i am sure you would have been a wonderful general, dear,” fu lihau says. “your enemies would have cowered in fear, and their wives and daughters would have offered themselves to you for mercy!”

    not that he’d been allowed to take them, of course.

    xiang rong is hers and only hers, just as she is his and only his.

    “maybe,” xiang rong says. “oh well...”

    he stands up and stretches. she pouts.

    “you are leaving already?”

    “i have to,” xiang rong says, clearly unhappy. “with how busy everything is, i was lucky to get this much time.”

    in fu lihau’s opinion, three hours is not nearly enough xiang rong time! alas, she cannot keep him at her side forever. that will have to wait until after they marry and she is made empress. it is a pity that he cannot use his authority to punish everyone who speaks against him, but her xiang rong knows that will just hurt his reputation further.

    after she bids him farewell, fu lihua walks out to the courtyard. she looks left and right before nodding.

    “you know,” she says casually, “it is pretty rude to spy on others when they are having a private moment.”

    silence follows, then...

    “i did not wish to interrupt you,” a young man says as he walks out of the shadows. he is handsome, if a little scary with those intense red eyes of his. “trust me when i say i have no desire to know of your relationship with the crown prince.”

    “that would make you an oddity in imperial cloud city,” fu lihua says. “i take it you came here to talk to my master? if so, she is not here. you should know that already. her presence is not hard to find.”

    “i am here because she is not,” the young man replies. “if possible, i would like to avoid being face-to-face with someone like her.”

    “oh?” fu lihau smiles, amused. “does that mean you are not worried about showing your face in front of someone like me? am i being looked down on?”

    “at the very least, you are less dangerous than your master,” the young man says. “fu lihau of the divine frozen palace, it is a pleasure to meet you. i am qing jin, emperor of the storm dragon empire.”

    fu lihua’s thin eyebrows rise in surprise.

    “that is quite impressive if true, but i am afraid i cannot just take you at your word.”

    “i came here prepared to prove my identity,” the young emperor says.

    “good enough!” fu lihua claps her hands together. a smile tugs at her lips.

    the emperor stares at her.

    “is it, really?”

    “if i say it is, it is,” fu lihua says, already on her way back inside the mansion, her pink robes fluttering as she moves. “come on! follow me! i have wanted to meet you for a long time! i do not know xiao shuang that well, but she seems like such a sweet girl! it must be awkward because big sister bai wen is her senior but not the first wife. oh well, such things happen sometimes and-”

    “w-what?”

    fu lihau looks back. “did i say something wrong?”

    the emperor’s shocked look is cute. of course, it is not as cute as xiang rong’s.

    “i... lady bai... we are not... it’s not like... that...”

    fu lihau frowns.

    “truly?”

    the emperor nods fervently. “truly.”

    “but she spends so much time in the storm dragon empire!” fu lihau sounds cheated. “i was so sure of it! oh, my elder sister is going to become a spinster! are you sure you aren’t just lying to protect her reputation?”

    “i am entirely sure,” the emperor says. “lady bai wen is a dear friend and ally. nothing more.”

    “well, don’t discount it! please! you never know what might happen in the future! from comfortable silences to palpable tension! from angry mouths to sealed lips! from apathy to obsession!” fu lihau bounces on her feet and mimes a few jabs at the air. “love strikes like an assassin!”

    “...i begin to doubt the wisdom of coming here.”

    fu lihua flashes him a blinding smile.

    “that’s well and good, your majesty! granny zhao says men who know they''re a little dumb make the best husbands!”

    ~~~