Baili Min had planned everything meticulously. He had once asked the National Preceptor to divine his fate, and Xuánhu had given him only a single line in response:
“The Crown Princess will obstruct Your Majesty’s plans.”
Fengguang was Xia Chao’s daughter and had grown up under Baili Min’s watchful eye. It was true that he doted on her—but compared to his grand design, Xia Fengguang was insignificant. Thus, on the day she returned to her natal home, he sent men to ram her with a crazed horse. Unfortunately for him, Fengguang only lost her memories; her life was never in danger.
The National Preceptor advised him again: “As long as the Crown Princess leaves the imperial palace, that will suffice.”
And so Baili Min staged the scene in which he subtly encouraged Fengguang to divorce the Crown Prince. Once she separated from him, Baili Min could grant her the title of Princess, bestow upon her a fiefdom, and arrange a consort for her—forcing her to leave the capital for good.
Later, when Baili Min discovered that the relationship between Song Wuxia and Fengguang was far from ordinary, he changed his plans yet again. Fengguang’s existence could be even more useful, such as using her to threaten Song Wuxia.
What Baili Min never realized was that the National Preceptor’s insistence on keeping Fengguang away from the palace stemmed from his divination showing that no matter what, Baili Min was doomed to die. What Xuánhu sought to prevent was the slaughter of innocents that would follow if Song Wuxia were driven mad by Fengguang’s death.
Baili Min’s plan appeared flawless. He knew Song Wuxia would secretly assign people to protect Fengguang. With them around, Baili Mo would never be able to help him capture her. But if even one or two of those guards came from Nanzhao, matters would become far simpler—after all, those people followed Song Wuxia only because of Bingqing, and Bingqing was in love with him.
He believed everything was perfect—until the moment Fengguang stood before him, safe and unharmed. At that instant, Baili Min understood: his plan had failed.
Yet he could not grasp where he had gone wrong.
Not until Song Wuxia mentioned the National Preceptor.
“Xuánhu betrayed me…”
Song Wuxia’s eyes curved upward in a faint smile. “The National Preceptor has always been loyal to the state, not to you. How can there be betrayal?”
“Xuánhu…” If he had any strength left, Baili Min would have spat those words through clenched teeth.
“You sent countless assassins to kill me, and then conspired with Baili Mo to use Fengguang to threaten me. Baili Min, Baili Min—no matter how intricate your schemes, you still lost in the end.”
Knowing Song Wuxia to be ruthless and fully aware that no father–son bond would spare his life, Baili Min turned a falsely gentle gaze toward Fengguang behind him. “Fengguang… from the time you were little, I have always treated you as my own daughter…”
Fengguang lowered her eyes and stepped farther behind Song Wuxia, refusing to look at the dying man.
Song Wuxia was in excellent spirits. “Don’t waste your breath. In Fengguang’s heart, my place outweighs yours by far.”
Realizing there was no escape, Baili Min shed his hypocritical affection and sneered venomously, “Fengguang, your father is the current Grand Chancellor. You are the Crown Princess of this dynasty. And now you consort with a eunuch, wallowing in disgrace together—aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?”
The smile vanished from Song Wuxia’s face. He covered Fengguang’s eyes with one hand, and with a flick of his sleeve, a five-foot-long silver whip appeared. With a single casual sweep, Baili Min’s right arm was severed.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Baili Min let out a shrill, miserable scream and collapsed to the ground.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152