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"What do you think?"

Chen Baiye looked at his eldest son....

"I feel that they are not certain...."

Chen Baiye nodded in satisfaction, "Indeed, they are not certain, especially that Chen Qing."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dailang nodded. Inside the barrier, the spiritual energy was chaotic, which seemed to be Shen Qi’s work to prevent eavesdropping, but in reality, it was to protect that Chen Qing!

"Your observational skills are still so meticulous!

" Chen Baiye was even more satisfied, "You don’t have the alertness and courage of your younger brother, but you have the steadiness and observational skills that a family head should possess.

This is very important, and it is why I have always considered you as the future heir of the third branch. "

"Father, you flatter me."

"I am not flattering you. In fact, the point you mentioned, I had already noticed it this morning. When Chen Qing was with that woman, the surrounding spiritual energy was always in a state of chaos. It must have been that woman’s doing.

I found it strange at the time, but now it doesn’t seem very strange after all.

There’s something wrong with that Chen Qing. ..!"

"Didn’t you say that woman disappeared afterward, father?"

"She did disappear, but the force that made that woman disappear caused an even greater disturbance in the surrounding spiritual field. Therefore, at that time, everyone failed to notice Chen Qing’s condition.

I also didn’t pay attention to it at that moment because everyone was focused on that woman who suddenly burst out and then disappeared. "

"I see..." Chen Dailang nodded, "Then, father, what do you think is the situation?"

"I believe..." Chen Baiye said somberly, "This Chen Qing... is a fake!!"

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"Your Highness, this is simply fantastic!"

Within the harem, beside Princess Siao Mingxue, the palace maid who had always been by her side excitedly peeled fruit and said, "I always knew, Your Highness, that you would have this fortune!"

"What fortune?" Siao Mingxue, looking outside, showed no hint of happiness on her face.

"Your Highness, you have inherited such a noble bloodline. Now the Empress Dowager has personally come out to protect you. You no longer have to worry about the Southern Barbarians..."

"Is it that simple?" Siao Mingxue looked outside gloomily, with a bitter smile.

Being able to awaken the Golden Crow Bloodline was something she had never expected, but she did not believe it would change her destiny. If the matriarch of the Siao Family still had control, would her aunt have had to resort to such risky methods to accumulate power?

A day had passed since the news of her awakening the Golden Crow Bloodline, and had her father the Emperor come to see her even once?

He simply did not care. The news of the Crown Prince’s death had come long ago, and he had paid no attention to it. Her father, it seemed, had long ceased to care about the Siao Family and any bloodline...

"Your Highness, what else are you worried about?" the palace maid said with a smile, "Today I heard that the King of Qin himself has come and declared in the great hall that he will definitely take you as his bride and return to Jiangnan!"

"Is that so?" Siao Mingxue still could not be happy.

Indeed, the King of Qin’s words in the palace sounded like those of a man of iron, but for some reason, she felt that something was off.

After awakening the Golden Crow Bloodline, she became highly sensitive to her surroundings.

She could feel that Chen Qing... had not looked at her once from the beginning to the end.

Completely different from that scholar from those years ago.

Was it because he had become the King of Qin that his heart had changed, or...

No!

A cold light flickered in Siao Mingxue’s eyes: That was not Chen Qing at all!

"Is Princess Ming Xue here?"

Outside the hall, the voice of an old granny rang out. With no palace maids guarding the door of the princess’s quarters, visitors had to shout for themselves instead of being announced by servants.

"I am here!" The palace maid excitedly replied, quickly standing up to go out: "Your Highness, that’s Granny Ho from the Empress Dowager’s side. She must be calling for you."

Siao Mingxue gave a slight nod, but didn’t seem very interested.

"Your Highness... the Empress Dowager invites you over." At this moment, the old granny faced Siao Mingxue with great respect, a complete change from her previous attitude. This made the palace maid, who had been servile at first, now feel utterly triumphant.

She had indeed made the right bet. Now, would the other palace maids dare to laugh at her?

The matter of Siao Mingxue had not yet spread through the palace; otherwise, those servants would have probably swarmed over to offer their services.

But she was not worried. It was easy to add flowers to the brocade but difficult to send coal in the snow, and she had started investing when the princess was at her most helpless and vulnerable.

"Alright..." Siao Mingxue did not refuse.

She did not think the old Empress Dowager could do anything for her, but seeing her could do no harm.

At present, her situation was not good. Her father did not value her bloodline, and the one who vowed to take her back to Jiangnan was a fraud.

She could only look for an opportunity to escape on her own.

Perhaps the energy of the Empress Dowager could be utilized.

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"Come here, let me have a look at you!"

Inside the Cining Palace, the old Empress Dowager seemed quite excited, a stark contrast to her usual indifference when meeting the Emperor’s children, making Siao Mingxue reflect in her heart.

This world really is pragmatic, showing completely different faces when it aligns with others’ interests compared to when it doesn’t. Could that scholar... be the same?

Siao Mingxue stood passively like a puppet under the Empress Dowager’s control, but the Empress Dowager grew increasingly fond of this girl with golden pupils, her eyes squinting into slits...

"Excellent!" said the Empress Dowager as she pulled Siao Mingxue to sit down. "Heaven has not forsaken our Siao Family!"

"The Empress Dowager jests," Siao Mingxue responded indifferently. "With the Emperor in the prime of life, even without me, the Siao family’s lineage would not end."

"In the prime of life? Hehehe..." The Empress Dowager glanced around, and the four grannies nodded, each taking up positions around the room. A protective barrier enveloped them the next moment.

Siao Mingxue furrowed her brows. Could this be the makings of a secret plot?

She didn’t believe that, within the Imperial Palace, the Empress Dowager could outmatch the Emperor!

"Your father ascended to power by cooperating with certain entities, and today is no different..." the Empress Dowager spoke softly as she gazed outside. "You must know this by now, right?"

Siao Mingxue was silent for a moment before asking, "Does the Empress Dowager know what those entities are?"

"Not very clearly... but they should be related to the ancient past!"

"The ancient past?" Siao Mingxue’s heart leaped. She had occasionally heard this term but never discussed it in depth with anyone.

"The so-called ancient past refers to the demon forces that once ruled the world.

Their power was unbelievably immense, but their exit was not due to the revolt of the Human Race; rather, they receded on their own.

Hence, when it comes to ancient forces, some families with long lineages are terrified, and there are even some that secretly worship these ancient demons in the dark! "

"Aren’t demons supposed to eat humans?" asked Siao Mingxue with a frown.

"As long as they don’t eat us, what does it matter to us if they eat humans? That’s what those sycophantic families think!"

Siao Mingxue: "...."

"Our Martial Family rose to power in recent centuries, initially through the sacrifice to demons, even shamefully offering up our bodies.

Whatever abhorrent acts those creatures wanted, we had to comply—whether human flesh or our bodies—regardless of gender.

If a demon desired so, even your most beloved child had to be surrendered! "

"Then what happened?" Siao Mingxue, rarely privy to such information, was naturally interested.

"Then some incidents occurred. Among the men and women sacrificed, some women became pregnant. Initially, the offspring of half-demon, half-human lineage were loathed and despised within these families, but they dared not kill them outright. As time passed, a new opportunity was discovered!"

"A new opportunity?"

"Yes, that’s the hybrid of human and demon blood. Without the bloodthirsty nature of the demon and without complete demonization, they became beings with the power of demons and the sensibility of humans—a sort of human weapon!"

"This... is the origin of the Martial Family?"

"Indeed," the Empress Dowager nodded. "It’s rather disgraceful, isn’t it? Our power is a result of our ancestors’ sacrifices of beauty and the lineage carried on by their children!"

"But it was a necessary evil!"

"Correct!" The Empress Dowager laughed. "Necessary evils are tolerable.

We can bow temporarily, but we must never bow forever.

Hundreds of years of humiliation paved the way for the rise of a human dynasty.

A thousand years ago, the Martial Family rose to power and drove the demons out of the Central Plains.

Since then, demons have been in the shadows, and our Human Race has ruled over the lands with righteous authority! "

"Short-lived though it was, it indeed was the result of our ancestors’ struggles across generations."

"Therefore!" The Empress Dowager’s expression shifted from joy to coldness. "I absolutely will not allow that insubordinate son to undo it all!!"

"But what can you do?" Siao Mingxue pointedly inquired.

Far from being annoyed by the question, the Empress Dowager smiled and began to stroke Siao Mingxue’s hair, "You really are so much like your aunt—always so composed."

"My aunt?" Siao Mingxue frowned, not particularly fond of her promiscuous aunt.

"I’m old now. Probably too old to discipline that rebellious son. Someone has convinced me, and I’ve decided... to entrust your fate to them."

"Them?" Siao Mingxue was taken aback. Just as she was puzzled, a person she had never expected to see appeared in the Empress Dowager’s chamber.

"You?"