The Next Of Phoenix
Chapter 9. Fang Family

Xiao Mingyui walked out of Wu Zeyuan Palace, from a distance he saw Bingbing running very fast towards him.

"Your majesty! Aiya! My heart was shocked!" Bingbing. As their distance grew closer, Xiao Mingyui realized that Bingbing's eyes were flushed red as if they were crying. It seemed that the woman was very worried about him.

"I waited a long time in the hills, suspicious and decided to check your condition. But I see neither you nor the Crown Prince except this sword and hairpick of yours." Bingbing gave Huang Mingxiang's heritage white jade hairpin to Xiao Mingyui.

Xiao Mingyui smiled, then took the white jade hair pin. His left hand moved to gently wipe Bingbing's head. "I'm doing fine. Thank you so much for worrying about me."

Bingbing snorted thinly. "Why should your Majesty thank you? To serve and care for you is my duty. I have a life and death agreement with the late Xiao Wangye and Xiao Wangfei!"

Xiao Mingyui chuckled. "Alright, Bingbing. I see, you always say the same sentence every time you cry for me."

A warm smile appeared on Xiao Mingyui's face, Bingbing was a figure that was also very important to Xiao Mingyui. The two of them had been friends since childhood, Bingbing had always accompanied and served him very well.

"Why did you drown? Aren't you good at swimming even when wearing long hanfu?" bingbing asked after noticing the awkwardness on the news she had received from the Palace maids.

Xiao Mingyui chuckled, then poked at Bingbing's nose shaft. "Consecret. Bingbing, shouldn't we be back soon now? The sky is really dark."

Bingbing's attention was distracted, the woman quickly looked up and was shocked. "Aiya! Damn right! Come on, your highness!"

Xiao Mingyui and Bingbing immediately walked towards Xiao Wangfu's horse carriage, along the way there was no conversation whatsoever. Xiao Mingyui dissolved in his own mind. Recalling the incident earlier, when Xiao Jiwang agreed to their matchmaking plan. In just a matter of months after the decree was passed down, she would officially marry Xiao Jiwang.

Palace ... Harp ... Politics ... Family ....

All of it mixed into one filled his head.

Meanwhile in the Emperor's study, Wu Zeyuan and Xiao Jihuang were discussing as if there was no stopping.

"The boy himself said that he wanted to marry Jiwang. Your Majesty, will this be granted? Although the truth .. I'm a little worried." Wu Zeyuan frowned, he sat right beside her husband while grinding ink for Xiao Jihuang.

Xiao Jihuang paused her writing activity, placed the brush on the table and took a deep breath. "Their personalities are very different, but .. isn't this a story that has happened before?" At the end of the sentence, Xiao Jiwang's eyes glanced at Wu Zeyuan.

Wu Zeyuan fell silent, then became aware of Xiao Jihuang's intentions. The woman nodded briefly once, not answering anything.

Xiao Jihuang looked straight ahead again, then smiled faintly. "Formerly Huang Mingxiang married Xiao Wangye due to a trap and without love. But the woman optimistically loved Xiao Wangye for the sake of survival. In fact, the woman managed to turn Xiao Wangye's hard heart into a little soft."

Wu Zeyuan lowered his head, then slowly leaned right on her husband's shoulder and nodded slowly. The woman's lips smiled, she recalled the beginning of her and Huang Mingxiang being close.

Xiao Jihuang turned her head towards the window, her eyes looking at the very dark night sky. "But now, that destiny has returned and befallen his daughter. Xiao Mingyui, the burden of the woman was many times heavier than her mother used to be. Here, the boy not only survives for himself, but also his family. He held out for his younger brother, the citizen Xiao Wangfu, the five hundred thousand troops of Xiao Wangye, and the millions of people of the Eastern Empire. Because if the five hundred thousand troops change hands wrongly, then millions of our people will be affected. Great war, it's likely to happen here."

Wu Zeyuan looked up, his eyes looking worried. "Your highness, what--"

"Xiao Mingyui doesn't love the Crown Prince," Xiao Jihuang cut off, then paused and continued,"But that doesn't mean he has bad intentions for the Crown Prince. He was trying to find new strength to help him protect Xiao Wangfu and himself, just like the story of the late Huang Mingxiang used to be."

The look on Wu Zeyuan's face looked very sad. "The boy had a very heavy burden, what a pity. Your Majesty, if we bless them, will they love each other and our Son be a little soft?"

Xiao Jihuang shrugged both of her shoulders briefly. "Nobody knows, but certainly only two possibilities."

Xiao Jihuang nodded briefly. "They either love or they kill. After all, Xiao Jiwang and Xiao Mingyui had personalities that were almost equally stubborn. Each of them had a cold mind and heart, the difference was that Xiao Mingyui was a calm polar ice. Xiao Jiwang is polar ice in a storm."

Wu Zeyuan grew quieter, he pondered on her husband's words.

Elsewhere, Xiao Jiwang, the man was soaking in his private bath. Warm water vapor filled the room, the man's eyesight looking blank yet sharp. His head was thinking of something complicated.

"Your highness, your dinner is ready, General Shu has also been waiting for you in the study." Xiao Jiwang's personal guard, Chen Qi as usual reported from behind the door of the bath room.

Xiao Jiwang took a quick glance, then immediately got up and walked out of the bath without wearing a piece of cloth. The man pulled the thick plain white colored clothes hanging there, finished wearing them properly, the man walked out of the room.

When he saw Chen Qi, the man was thrusting silver needles into Xiao Jiwang's dinner bowl one by one. Upon completion, Chen Qi showed the appearance of a needle that changed color to black.

"Everything contains poison, your honor."

Xiao Jiwang smiled coldly, then walked past Chen Qi towards his study while saying, "Buy another meal outside as usual, I will eat it after I finish meeting General Shu."

"Good."

Arriving at the study, General Shu immediately bowed towards Xiao Jiwang to convey his greetings. "This branch, greet the noble Crown Prince."

Xiao Jiwang passed General Shu just like that while nodding briefly, then immediately took a comfortable sitting position in his chair. The man then looked at General Shu with his sharp eagle eyes.

"Your Majesty, are you sure of the contents of the letter?" general Shu asked directly as soon as Xiao Jiwang looked at him.

Two hours earlier, he had received a letter from Xiao Jiwang that there would be a change of plans. They would no longer harass Xiao Wangfu, but instead, supported Xiao Wangfu by marrying their eldest Princess, Princess Xiao Mingyui.

Xiao Jiwang shook his head properly. "The emperor has not formally passed down his decree, but. And ... This time I can't just rebel like usual for reasons you don't need to know." Xiao Jiwang did not want General Shu to know that the reason was the ridiculous promise he made to Xiao Mingyui this afternoon.

"But, your highness. If you are married to Princess Mingyui, it is likely that the Fang family will bite you even more. Although indeed your strength will increase, but .. seems to add to the problem is also not so good."General Shu frowned worriedly. He is the General in charge of the Capital's security forces. He was only three years older than Xiao Jiwang. If the current Xiao Jiwang was only 16 years old, then General Shu was a 19-year-old young General. And right the day after tomorrow, Xiao Jiwang is officially 17 years old. It was at this age that he was already considered worthy to succeed the throne of Xiao Jihuang if the man died suddenly. The officials and the people will not worry, because they have a mature successor to the throne.

Xiao Jiwang nodded his head, then chuckled slightly. He really felt funny about the conflict going on in the Capital City at the moment.

The Fang Family was the family of the late Huang Mingxiang's mother, Xiao Wangfei before. Ever since Huang Mingxiang succeeded in becoming Xiao Wangfei and his aunt Huangtaihou or Emperor Xiao Jihuang, Fang's surname soared. Slowly but surely, the Fang clan managed to occupy the position of the third most powerful family in the Empire in place of the Wu family.

Everything was going fine at first, until the moment one by one the senior rulers of the Empire fell, the Fang family that had been led by the new head of the family began to show its fangs.

After the death of the late Huangtaihou, Chen Taifei the Great, then Xiao Wangfei, the Fang family gradually changed. In silence, the Fang family tried to reach an even higher position. The Fang Family also began to show his obsession towards Xiao Wangfu's forces after Xiao Wangye died.

Before officially becoming Xiao Wangfu's opponent, the Fang family had previously been opponents of Xiao Jiwang's position. They did not agree to Xiao Jiwang becoming the Crown Prince on the grounds of his mother's status who was only a 'Guifei'. This made the Wu family offended and angry, because the status of 'Guifei' should not be underestimated. 'Guifei' was also the status of an Imperial consort although it was still under the Imperial consort's title of 'Huanghou'.

"It seems like Fang's crazy family wants to follow the footsteps of the old Rong family, huh?" xiao Jiwang said, then chuckled again.

General Shu sighed furiously, his head shaking softly. "I really don't understand what makes the Fang family such a savage. Wasn't the Fang family the origin of the family of the late Huangtaihou and Xiao Wangfei? Why are they trying to bite you and Xiao Wangfu now?"

Xiao Jiwang leaned his back against the chair, then raised both his shoulders indifferently. "No one knew, Fang Jichang was basically a crazy man. Whatever the reason, the Fang family did deserve to die. Too often bothered they really test my patience."