99: Chapter 99 Elders Question Impure Bloodline!

As soon as these words were spoken...

The laughter and chatter within a ten-table radius instantly vanished.

It was replaced by an eerie silence.

Countless gazes focused on them simultaneously.

Chu Wanqing's smile completely froze on her face.

"Third Elder, what did you say?"

Chu Canglan waved his hand, feigning drunkenness.

"Ah, I can't say for sure myself, I just feel that..."

"Before, your Bloodline aura was incredibly pure, and your Imperial Phoenix might was vast and unstoppable."

"But now... I just feel it's not as pure as it used to be."

"Maybe I've had too much to drink and my senses are off, hehe."

He laughed with a naive, endearing look.

But every word he spoke was like a needle.

They didn't prick deeply, but they hit the most sensitive spot.

Impure Bloodline.

These four words were a massive insult to any child of an Imperial Clan.

Let alone for an Imperial Daughter.

The surrounding Elders looked at each other.

Some frowned, some whispered, and some were lost in thought.

Chu Wanqing's face turned pale bit by bit.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute him.

But for a moment, she didn't even know where to start.

How could her Bloodline be impure?

She was Chu Chengdao's biological daughter, possessed the Innate Emperor Phoenix Holy Body, and her Bloodline was noble beyond reproach.

How could it be impure?

However, the Third Elder's attitude of casually mentioning it as if by accident made the matter seem even more credible.

If he were truly making a malicious slander, he should have questioned her with righteous indignation.

Instead, he used a tone that suggested, 'I'm not sure either, it might just be my imagination.'

This kind of understatement was particularly piercing.

This actually caused the people present to start murmuring.

Was there really a problem?

The atmosphere became very subtle.

Just then.

An anxious voice broke the silence.

"Third Elder!"

Chu Ningshuang stepped forward quickly, her face displeased.

"You've had too much to drink!"

She stood in front of Chu Wanqing, looking at her with a face full of heartache.

Then she turned to Chu Canglan, her tone severe.

"Third Elder, today is my sister's victory banquet, how can you say such things!"

"My sister is a natural genius, her Innate Emperor Phoenix Holy Body is unparalleled in the world, how could her Bloodline be impure?"

"If such words get out, wouldn't it make outsiders laugh at our Chu family?"

She spoke with righteous conviction, every word defending Chu Wanqing.

But after she finished speaking.

The four words "impure Bloodline" were driven even deeper into the minds of everyone present.

This was Chu Ningshuang's method.

In the name of protection, she was actually spreading the rumor.

The more she emphasized that it couldn't be impure...

The more she reminded everyone...

That someone thought it was impure!

After being scolded by her, Chu Canglan quickly waved his hands.

"Fine, fine, fine, it was my big mouth."

"Imperial Daughter, please don't take offense. This old man was talking nonsense after drinking too much. I'll penalize myself with three cups later."

He laughed it off and retreated.

As he returned to his seat, he inadvertently glanced at Chu Ningshuang.

It was very brief.

Less than a breath.

But the understanding in the depths of their eyes was hidden without a flaw.

Chu Ningshuang turned around and took Chu Wanqing's hand.

"Sister, don't take it to heart."

"The Third Elder is just a drunkard; he dares to say anything when he's had too much."

"Who in the entire Chu family doesn't know how pure your Bloodline is? Ignore him."

Chu Wanqing forced a smile.

"Mhm, I'm fine."

She said she was fine.

But the fingers holding her wine cup tightened slightly.

For the rest of the banquet, she was somewhat absent-minded.

Although she was still smiling and clinking glasses with others...

She always felt that the way some people looked at her had changed.

It wasn't the pure admiration and congratulations from before.

Instead, there was a hint of scrutiny.

A hint of investigation.

A hint of something indescribable.

It was as if something unclean had grown on her body.

This feeling made her very uncomfortable.

Very uncomfortable indeed.

At the head table, Chu Chengdao's expression darkened.

He gave Chu Canglan a cold sweep of his gaze.

The Third Elder.

A slip of the tongue while drunk?

He had been the Family Head for ten thousand years; what kind of scene had he not witnessed?

Would a Quasi-Emperor level Elder speak so recklessly just because he had a few drinks?

Hmph, who was he trying to fool!

"Third Elder."

Chu Chengdao spoke; his voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight of imperial might that silenced everyone.

"You are drunk."

"Go back and rest."

These two sentences were spoken very calmly.

But everyone could hear the underlying meaning.

Get out!

Chu Canglan shrank his neck and slunk away dejectedly.

Chu Chengdao looked around the hall, his voice turning several degrees colder.

"Wanqing's Bloodline needs no questioning from anyone."

"This matter ends here."

"Whoever dares to discuss this further, do not blame this seat for being merciless."

The hall instantly became dead silent.

After a moment, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

But everyone knew.

The flavor of this banquet had already changed.

Chu Wanqing sat in her seat, holding her wine cup without drinking.

The Imperial Wine in the cup reflected the light of the glazed lamps.

It swayed back and forth.

Just like her current mood, unable to settle down.

She thought of Lin Yi.

If he were here...

The Third Elder probably wouldn't have even been able to utter that sentence.

"Brother Lin Yi..."

She whispered his name silently.

The sound was extremely low, so low that only she could hear it.

The banquet ended amidst a surface-level display of peace and prosperity.

The guests dispersed.

The lights were extinguished one by one.

The Chu Family's Main Peak fell back into darkness.

Chu Wanqing carried the imperial zither back to her palace.

She didn't play the zither.

Nor did she hum a song.

She leaned by the window, looking at the night sky over the Chu family.

The moonlight was bright.

But in her heart, a dark cloud had emerged.

This dark cloud wasn't large; it was very small.

So small that she herself couldn't explain exactly what it was.

It was just a faint, dull sense of unease.

Like the dampness and heaviness that fills the air before a storm.

She hugged the imperial zither a little tighter.

"It's nothing! It's just that the Third Elder drank too much."

She told herself so.

The moonlight from the window shone on her face.

Half in light, half in shadow.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Chu Family's Main Peak.

Inside a dark pavilion.

Chu Ningshuang pushed open the door and walked in.

There were no lights in the pavilion.

Only moonlight leaked in through the cracks in the window, cutting pale patches of light on the floor.

A figure in black was already waiting inside.

"Did you bring the item?"

Chu Ningshuang's voice returned to its cold sharpness.

The gentle and lovely mask she wore at the banquet was completely torn off the moment the door closed.

The figure in black took out a pitch-black jade box.

"Young Miss Ningshuang, this is the Erosion Yin Blood Curse left behind by Wang Teng."

"As long as this object is used as a medium and activated during the Clan Meeting, it can temporarily pollute Chu Wanqing's Bloodline aura."

"When the xuantian mirror is used for inspection at that time, the result will be ironclad proof."

"Even if a Quasi-Emperor personally senses it, they won't be able to distinguish truth from falsehood."

Chu Ningshuang reached out and opened the jade box.

Inside the box lay a pitch-black rune the size of a fingernail.

Dark red patterns flowed on the surface of the rune, looking as if they were constantly squirming.

It looked extremely disgusting.

But as Chu Ningshuang looked at it, the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

She extended two fingers and gently pinched the rune.

"Very good."

"Erosion Yin Blood Curse..."

"Although Wang Teng is dead, the things he left behind aren't entirely worthless."

The figure in black lowered his head and hesitated for a moment.

"However, there is one thing I need to remind you."

"That boy Lin Yi cannot be underestimated. In Imperial Fall Valley, both Wang Teng and the Wang family Old Ancestor fell by his hands."

"You need to act quickly and settle everything before he arrives!"

Chu Ningshuang tucked the blood curse into her robes.

"I know!"

"This time, I am certain of victory!"