Retired Villainess Transmigrates into a Cannon Fodder

The Strongest Fox-Demon (88)

After Li Yufeng once again attacked Prince Qi, Prince Qi publicly questioned him in the court hall, “Imperial Brother, throughout the ages, only one person, your noble consort, has been able to subdue a plague without a single casualty. May we know whom Imperial Sister-in-law learned her skills from and how she did it? Otherwise…Is imperial Sister-in-law originally not a mortal and is instead a demon?”

Some ministers gasped, unable to believe that Prince Qi abandoned all pretenses of cordiality with Li Yufeng right there and then in the court hall. He even accused Chu Xiang of being a demon. Chu Xiang was now the Celestial Maiden known to everyone in the country. If she was proven to be a demon, what kind of trouble would ensue?

Even the Emperor squinted his eyes and subconsciously clenched his hand that was holding the armrest of his throne. Despite this, Li Yufeng was not the least bit nervous. He said, “Second Brother, you must have been trapped in the capital for a long time and so you have no idea how vast the world is, or how legendary things are out there. Your Imperial Sister-in-law saved people and provided relief to the disaster victims, but as a member of the royal family, you’re not showing the slightest sense of gratitude. Instead, you are questioning her. Second Brother, what is your intention?”

Prince Qi retorted coldly, “Imperial Brother, stop diverting the topic. Do you not dare answer frankly? Is it because Imperial Sister-in-law is indeed a demon?”

Li Yufeng chuckled. “So what if she is? So what if she’s not?”

Prince Qi was enraged by his roguish reaction. He stepped forward and snapped in a fury, “If she is not one of us, her intention must be different. If she is a demon, then anybody has the right to sentence her to death.”

“Oh?” Li Yufeng responded as if he heard something funny and laughed out loud. “Did you all hear that? Prince Qi’s standard of judging others is not based on right and wrong, but only on the basis of one’s origin. The number of people saved by this Prince’s consort is inexhaustible. However, if it can be wiped out by Prince Qi’s words, who would be willing to provide disaster relief and rescue in the future?”

Li Yufeng walked to Prince Qi’s front and looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Those who are not of our race have different hearts. What about the people who have gone to other countries after every war in history? Do they harbor different thoughts? Should they all be killed? What about tolerating them? Then again, why do mortals and demons have to be so hostile? Could it be that there are no good demons and there are no miscreants among mortals?”

Many ministers whispered in each other’s ears, and some actually thought that what he said made sense. Although it sounded strange, it was true. Hasn’t there been a lot of good demons doing good deeds among the mortals? Speaking of which, those demons were all under Chu Xiang’s command!

Li Yufeng spoke in such a circle and also personally took a stand for the demons. In fact, he basically acquiesced that Chu Xiang was a demon, but he didn’t spell it out himself. The ministers who stood on the Throne Room were all mortals and figured out Chu Xiang’s identity with a snap. The impact on them was considerable. How could Chuxiang be a demon? How could Prince Xiao Yao’s consort be a demon? How could the Celestial Maiden who achieved immeasurable good deeds be a demon?!

Prince Qi said grimly, “Imperial Father, how can the royal family allow the existence of demons? This will cause chaos in the world. For them, human disasters are probably just a trivial matter that can be solved with a flip of a hand. Demons’ magical arts are unfathomable. If one day they are unhappy and want to destroy our race, how can we resist?”

Li Yufeng asked curiously, “Even if demons reside in the mountains and rarely come out, one day they will be unhappy and come to kill you. Will you be able to resist then?”

“Imperial Brother!” His question rendered Prince Qi speechless. The anger in his heart kept bubbling out. He gritted his teeth and said, “In order to prevent the demons from making trouble, we should ask Daoist masters and monks to exterminate them. In this way, there will naturally be no crisis.”

Li Yufeng laughed: “So that’s what you think. Isn’t it self-contradictory? First, you said that you fear the demons will exterminate the mortal race if they are kept. And now, you’re proposing that we take the initiative to destroy them when they haven’t made a move towards that direction. Who exactly is the strong, and who is the weak? If the mortal race is strong, do you need to be afraid? If the demon race is strong, then won’t you be courting death if you take the initiative to provoke them?”

Prince Qi was once again questioned. Li Yufeng did not give him a chance to speak this time. He clasped his fists toward the Emperor and said, “Imperial Father, news has come from the south that there are abnormalities in the river waters, as if there is going to be another flood. Chu Xiang has already departed for the disaster area. As for Second Brother’s worries, let’s wait until her return from carrying out relief operations. This Prince believes that Your Majesty can weigh what’s more important, right? Or do you have a better person who can ensure the prevention of the impending disaster? Or Second Brother, do you have someone under your command that we can use?”

These words were really like dozens of slaps on Prince Qi’s face. How many of his subordinates have been found questionable recently? Disaster relief operations, what a joke! He was the one who concealed the disaster in the first place, and even his cousin was sent to jail, so what kind of assistance could he provide?

Besides, Chu Xiang was not even in the capital. What was the point of them arguing here? Li Youfeng said Chu Xiang personally went to conduct relief operations and also added that a flood was expected in the south. The ministers were torn whether to believe it. However, if there was indeed going to be a flood, then the relief operations of those demons led by Chu Xiang … seemed better than ministers like them could do…

Although it didn’t seem right to think so, the facts of the past few months had proven that the demons led by Chu Xiang never did anything bad. Instead, they had been helping the court. In the face of another disaster, they should wait until then, right?

Prince Qi cut off all means of retreat and declared war against Li Yufeng. Against all his expectations, however, the results were nondescript. The Emperor didn’t speak, so among the high-ranking ministers, who would dare to be the first to provoke the demons?