FID – Chapter 799

Chapter 799: The Declaration of War

“Feng Qingbai, the thing is still in our residence, right? Xiaoqi has already left, but the item hasn’t been returned to him yet!” Liu Yusheng pulled at the corner of her mouth. 

“It doesn’t matter. If he wants it, he’ll ask for it. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t want it.”

“…” That bandit-like attitude really suited Feng Qingbai!

The other two, who had already recovered from their shock, climbed up and sat back down on their chairs.

Qian Wanjin said, “It’s actually better for him not to take it back, considering his current situation. The jade seal is safer in the King’s Manor. Think about it, Dongyue is searching for those two everywhere. If they’re caught, having the jade seal on them would be like handing it over. It’s better to give it to you and Feng Qingbai.”

“Between Yan Rongwei and His Highness, he chose to trust His Highness. If he’s fortunate enough to win in the struggle for power one day, His Highness will certainly return the jade seal,” Shi Xianrou added.

“That’s true.” Liu Yusheng was absolutely confident in her man’s character. Anyone who said otherwise clearly had problems themselves. “But when Xiao Qi was in the capital, his movements were already very secretive. How did traces of him get leaked? How did Dongyue find out and use this excuse to start a rebellion?”

Feng Qingbai curved his lips. “There’s no wall in this world that doesn’t leak. Someone wants to cause trouble for me.”

“Cause trouble for you? This matter has already implicated the safety of all of Nanling. That person is willing to ignore all this just to make trouble for you?”

“Perhaps.”

The four of them fell into silence.

If this was true, then that person must hate Feng Qingbai to the extreme.

Even, to the point of hating the entire Nanling.

A day and a half later, the passenger ship arrived at the capital as scheduled.

Qian Wanjin and Shi Xianrou both had matters to attend to, so the two parties parted ways at the city gate.

After returning to the King’s Manor, Liu Yusheng immediately clung to Feng Qingbai and asked him to take out the imperial jade seal. She examined it for a long while, turning it over and over before finally handing it back to Feng Qingbai.

“So this is what the Imperial Jade Seal looks like,” she said, having gained some new knowledge. She was surprised that the bottom even had a small mechanism cleverly hidden as a disguise.

After putting the jade seal away, Feng Qingbai pulled the woman into his arms and gave her a light squeeze. “All the countries in the continent have their own guardian beasts. The jade seal is carved with the form of the guardian beast, and each country has its own different one. Dongyue has the Qilin, Xiliang has the Xuanwu(Black Tortoise), Beicang has the White Tiger (Baihu), and Nanling has the Vermilion Bird (Zhuque).”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Just to broaden your horizons. The next time we encounter it, you won’t treat it like an ordinary jade stone and carelessly place it around,” the man smiled.

Liu Yusheng gave him a big eye-roll.

Was he joking? The Imperial Jade Seal of each country wasn’t something an ordinary person could see whenever they wanted.

The jade seal was kept in the palace, carefully revered and protected.

It was just past noon. After lunch, and after coaxing the woman to take a nap, Feng Qingbai immediately headed toward the palace.

Things were unusual, but after returning to the capital, everything appeared calm.

Someone was deliberately covering up the truth.

When he arrived at the Imperial Study, voices could be heard from inside.

Pushing the door open, besides Feng Mohan sitting inside, surprisingly, Qin Xiao was also present.

Seeing this person, Feng Qingbai immediately narrowed his eyes.

“Imperial Uncle, you’re back!” Feng Mohan stood up in surprise and delight. “When did you arrive? Why didn’t you have someone inform me so I could come to welcome you!”

Qin Xiao also stood up and cupped his hands in greeting. “This old man greets Your Highness.”

“No need for formalities, General. It is rare to see you here. Might there be some important state matter at hand?”

“Imperial Uncle, you’ve come back at just the right time. There is indeed a major issue. I was just discussing it with General Qin,” Feng Mohan said as he stepped forward, tugging at Feng Qingbai’s sleeve to pull him to the imperial desk. He handed him a document spread out on the table. “Look, this is the declaration of war sent from Dongyue — they’ve gone too far!”

After reading through the war letter, its contents were no different from the secret report he had previously received.

Dongyue was certain that Nanling was harboring Yan Qi, and they were using the threat of war to force them to hand him over.

“This declaration of war was submitted during the morning court session. The entire court of civil and military officials has been discussing it all morning. As for Dongyue’s accusation, we of Nanling are completely baffled — one could say we’ve suffered a calamity out of nowhere. I wonder if the Prince has any insights?” Qin Xiao asked.

The gaze falling on Feng Qingbai was extremely sharp.

“They accuse our Nanling of harboring Dongyue’s traitorous fugitive! Utterly absurd! I haven’t even seen a shadow of that traitor — how could there be any talk of sheltering him? ‘Give a dog a bad name and hang him’ — they are clearly just looking for trouble!” Feng Mohan’s expression was cold and stern as he stared intently at Feng Qingbai. “Imperial Uncle, I discussed with General Qin earlier — since they’ve come knocking at our door, we should go to war! What do you think?”

Setting the war letter down, Feng Qingbai swept his gaze across the two of them. “Since they claim with such certainty that Nanling is harboring someone, they must have evidence. Where is the evidence?”

Without evidence, to initiate a war would mean having no just cause, which would invite condemnation and retaliation from the surrounding major powers.

The new emperor of Dongyue had only just ascended the throne — first, his foundation was still unstable; second, without the Imperial Seal, his legitimacy remained questionable. At a time like this, he most needed the support of other nations and would certainly not commit the folly of offending them all at once.

Faced with his question, Feng Mohan fell into an uncharacteristic silence.

Qin Xiao, meanwhile, remained unreadable.

“Your Majesty?” Feng Qingbai’s gaze darkened.

“Dongyue is a petty and unscrupulous nation. They want to disrupt our Nanling’s order and stability — even without evidence, they’ll fabricate an excuse at will. If we back down, wouldn’t other nations see it as us being afraid of Dongyue? Afraid of a newly enthroned young emperor?” Feng Mohan sneered coldly. “Yan Rongwei wants to sharpen his blade on Nanling to establish his imperial prestige — I’ll make him taste what it feels like to fall flat on his face!”

“I asked you — where is the evidence?” Feng Qingbai’s voice had turned noticeably colder.

“Your Highness, allow me to explain,” Qin Xiao spoke as he pulled out a stack of dossiers beside him and handed them to Feng Qingbai. “These are the pieces of evidence presented by Dongyue. There are numerous eyewitness testimonies proving that, not long ago, the Princess Consort treated a pair of master and servant in the capital. When you traveled to Xinghua Village in Yunzhou to attend a wedding banquet, that pair also accompanied you. Those two are precisely members of Dongyue’s royal family who fled to Nanling — the Seventh Prince of Dongyue, Yan Rongjin. When he escaped, he took with him Dongyue’s Imperial Jade Seal, which has left the new emperor of Dongyue seething with rage. If they do not retrieve the Imperial Jade Seal, they will by no means let this go.”

Because the Imperial Jade Seal was of paramount importance.

Without the seal, even though Yan Rongwei had ascended the throne, his claim lacked legitimacy and left him vulnerable to criticism.

Only by reclaiming the seal would he be recognized as the rightful ruler by the people of Dongyue. It would also give him the authority and credibility necessary when establishing diplomatic relations with neighboring nations.

For great powers, rightful succession and legitimacy mattered greatly.

Feng Qingbai slowly flipped through the stack of dossiers one by one. His movements were calm and unhurried — neither agitated nor angry — revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.

“Imperial Uncle, we don’t need to bother with that so-called evidence. To pin such a crime on a woman is an insult to our Nanling dynasty — as if we have no one capable of defending us!” Feng Mohan’s gaze burned with fury. “I’ve already discussed it with General Qin. When the time comes, he will lead the troops into battle. Our Nanling will not lose. We absolutely will not allow defeat!”

“Calm yourself.” Tossing the stack of documents onto the desk, Feng Qingbai’s expression remained indifferent. “Dongyue has stationed troops at the border and their morale is high. Engaging them in battle now would not be advantageous for our nation. In the next few days, make preparations — I will personally travel to the border to request a meeting with the emperor of Dongyue.”

“Imperial Uncle!”