[The Strategy of the Saintess]
"The Ask-Yao Assembly?"
The news sent a shockwave through the room.
Gu Xingyu frowned. "A public interrogation? She intends to... deny the mandate of the Saintess before the entire court?"
"More than just denial," Ye Qixiu's voice was cold. "She intends to use the rite to strip the Five Yao of their credibility and seize control from you."
Luo Ye slammed his hand on the table. "What does she think she's doing? Questioning Heaven's Will? Does she think the Five Yao are prisoners she can just summon for questioning?"
Cang Yuan tilted his head, his lazy tone hiding a sharp edge. "This assembly is nothing but a packaged show trial. If we don't go, we are defying imperial command. If we do go and let her define us as 'testable and controllable,' we are stepping onto her altar."
Lin Lie's gaze darkened. "She's setting a trap, and she expects us to walk right into it."
Si Chengxun stood to the side, his voice steady. "This is her brilliance. She moves no armies, yet by using ancestral rites, she forces the world to doubt the Saintess and the Five Yao. She's pushing you into the eye of a political storm."
"What if we don't show up?" Li Yan asked quietly.
Ye Qixiu shook his head. "Then we fulfill the label of being 'uncontrollable rebels.' We lose the battle of legitimacy before it even starts. Every faction in the realm would have a legal excuse to reject your existence."
"It's a challenge we cannot ignore," Xingyu's voice was clear, her eyes resolute. Everyone turned to look at her. She lowered her gaze for a heartbeat, then looked up with absolute calm. "She wants to put me on a stand? Fine. I will stand before her judgment seat and let her understand—destiny is not something she can erase with a single word."
Sang Qi raised an eyebrow. "You aren't afraid of a trap? In the Ten Thousand Scales Palace, the officials will all be on her side. You might not even get a chance to defend yourself."
"That's why we prepare," Lin Lie stated firmly. "If she sets six questions, we prepare six rebuttals. The Ask-Yao Assembly is a trial, but we will turn it into—the 'Proof of the Yao Manifestation'."
"If we can display our powers or respond correctly," Cang Yuan's eyes flickered, "we might just turn the tables on her."
[The Princess's Obsession]
In the Changle Palace, Si Yirou stood on the jade steps, a secret decree held between her fingers.
"Send the second unit of Secret Guards to Tiandao Ridge," she commanded. "Block the path from the Yao-Nan Manor. They are not to enter the Capital on time. Even if you don't use blades, make them late. Make them lose their credibility."
She looked toward the distant high towers of the Capital. "I am the one best suited to be the Saintess. She stole that title with nothing but a pocket watch. She dares to compete with me?"
Her voice was calm, yet it burned with a fierce obsession—a blade forged for the "Ask-Yao" in three days.
[The Prince's Sorrow]
In the East Pavilion Study, Si Moyan (The Crown Prince) was reviewing documents. A servant rushed in and whispered, "Your Highness, the Eldest Princess has secretly deployed the Secret Guards to Tiandao Ridge to intercept the party from the Yao-Nan Manor."
Moyan's brush paused, the ink bleeding into a dark blotch on the paper.
"By whose authority?" he asked with an undeniable chill.
"An unofficial command... signed with the seal of the Changle Palace."
Moyan closed the scroll and placed the ruined paper into the brazier, watching the flames swallow it. "I thought she only wanted to prove herself. I didn't expect... she would stop people from even walking their path."
He walked to the window, staring at the silhouettes of the distant mountains. "Gu Xingyu... that name is appearing more and more frequently. The Five Yao, Imperial Uncle... everyone is guarding her. What kind of person is this unseen Saintess?"
His tone was analytical, yet tinged with a faint sadness. "But I am not worried about whether she enters the city. I am worried that—Yirou has stepped onto a path of no return."
"She was the brightest, most pure child I knew," he whispered to the empty room. "When she was young, she told me: 'If I can stand in the court one day, I will make the Yao-world a better place.' Now, she chooses to keep people out just because they threaten her position."
"She isn't evil. She has simply forgotten that when you lose your original intent, intelligence becomes a blade that wounds both others and yourself."
He looked toward the inner hall, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I can stand against the world if her heart is right. But now... I don't know how to pull her back. If the day comes when her obsession is absolute... will I have to be the one to stop her personally?"