“Are you complimenting me or insulting me?” Zhangsun Wuji sat on top of a pillar in a palace hall and chuckled. “Actually, the main issue is that my lady is so worrisome. Everyone can only be more careful.”

“How could this be…” Feng Jingfan suddenly turned back in mid-air. It was obvious that she was skillful, but her inner energy was lacking. After a while, her hair was disheveled, and sweat beads started to form from the extended period of using her inner energy.

Zhangsun Wuji did not bother looking at her, or even replying to her. It was Tang Yi Zhong, that chatterbox, that started rattling off his head. “Your Highness, since the Crown Prince and the rest knew that you are still alive, they definitely had to show you some care and concern. You may be in the Emperor’s palace hall, but you still had to relay the message. The person who was doing this was your personal maid, Ming Ruo, ain’t it? We didn’t even have to look out for anyone else; just her.”

Feng Jingfan flipped in the air, narrowly missing a support pillar that ran across the top of the palace hall. A golden blade chased her relentlessly, cutting off some of her hair in the process. The golden blade, unfortunately, was stopped by the pillar. Thanks to that, Feng Jingfan could escape the blade’s pursue. Unkempt, she landed right in front of Feng Xuan’s couch coldly.

“The whereabouts of that little maid of yours was always under the control of the Crown Prince.” Tang Yi Zhong smiled cheerily. “Didn’t you notice that few decapitated heads that were being brought in just now? Other than those that were planned to be involved in the overthrowing, Ming Ruo was there too. Ah yes, also, those ‘assassins’ that you had especially trained, were there too. Honestly, just saying, compared to the Crown Prince’s prowess in assassination, you are certainly very lacking.

“Thank you very much for helping me remove the trash.” Tang Yi Zhong bowed elegantly, concluding his little speech.

Feng Jingfan stood there without a word. Her hair was a mess from the flying blade, falling down to her shoulders, tousled and ruffled. Some of her shorter hair landed in front of her eyes, covering her gaze. The gentle light source cast a shadow on her, illuminating her expression at the moment—it was no longer an expression of fake gentleness. Rather, it was cold and sinister.

She suddenly moved back.

To Feng Xuan’s side. She grabbed the unfinished imperial decree with one hand and clutched Feng Xuan’s wrist with another. In a stern yet slightly desperate voice, she demanded, “Father, write! Quickly write! Regardless, I am Xuanji’s Empress! I am forever nobler and more dignified than that bastard child!”

Her eyes were bloodshot as she took shallow, rapid breaths. No matter what, she would fight for it one last time!

The palace hall was relatively quiet. Feng Xuan’s sigh shattered the silence as he shoved the imperial degree into her hands. “I’ve already finished writing it,” he replied.

Feng Jingfan suddenly noticed that he no longer panted, and his tone was calm—he no longer sounded sickly or weak. Shocked, she quickly looked down at the imperial decree, and her eyes scanned for the name of the empress:

Feng Fuyao!

Darkness engulfed her vision as she swayed unsteadily. Countless figures seemed to flash by in her vision, attacking her from all directions. In that split second, pain and dizziness struck upon her ruthlessly.

“Feng Fuyao… Who is Feng Fuyao!”

“Your younger sister.” Feng Xuan sat up and calmly tidied his clothes as he crossed his legs. He ran his fingers through his tousled hair, smoothing it out. At this very moment, he was no longer the weakened, useless old man. He was a quiet and honorable man with a graceful smile on his face. Even though he was still pale, his demeanor of an emperor had returned.

Meng Fuyao never once came down from the top of the palace hall. She looked down upon him, unsurprised by his sudden change.

Feng Xuan looked up and smiled at her. Kindly, he waved at her and said warmly, “Fuyao, my daughter. Here, come, let me take a good look at you.”

Meng Fuyao laughed coldly, blatantly ignoring him. She craned her neck back and stared at those oddly shaped beasts. She, from the bottom of her heart, felt that these ugly, weird beasts were a million times better looking than that old man.

Feng Jingfan stumbled backward unsteadily and hit against the couch, yet, unaware of it as though she could not feel pain. With color drained from her face, she shrieked, “Who… who?! Younger sister? Since when did I have a younger sister?!” She whipped her head back and stared at Meng Fuyao’s eyes. In those eyes, the curtains covering the window of her soul were suddenly drawn, revealing the memories from 14 years ago.

The girl from the cupboard that had been staring at her silently from 14 years ago jumped out, overlapping with this cold, sinister woman in front of her.

“It’s you… It’s you!”

Feng Jingfan was finally knocked down by cruel reality. Her last hope was shattered. Her foe was actually her old enemy from 14 years ago! And her father had actually given her the throne!

“Why!? Why!? Why!?” She suddenly turned around and yelled uncontrollably at Feng Xuan.

“Because you lost, it’s as simple as that,” Feng Xuan answered her benevolently, with a lovingly smile. “I am choosing an empress, not a daughter.”

“Was it because you hate me for joining hands with mother and teacher, imprisoning you here and forcing you?” Feng Jingfan watched him in disbelief as she mumbled, “But father, you originally promised to give me the throne. We didn’t do anything to you! Why did you have to do this to me… Why did you do this to me…”

“What did I do to you?” Feng Xuan looked straight at her. “Jingfan, I never once minded that you imprisoned me. In fact, I am pleased that you did that.” Feng Jingfan pointed to the damp, newly written name on the decree. “If you had been able to get rid of Fuyao, the name on the decree would still be yours.”

“You…”

“I told you, I am choosing a leader; one that is truly strong enough to take rein of the empire.” Feng Xuan looked down as he caressed the decree with great care. “My body is no longer able to adequately manage the dynasty. The conflict is deeply rooted. With the princes and princesses busy fighting for the throne, ignoring all the court duties, the political power of Xuanji is weakening day by day. With such a situation, if the new leader is not powerful enough to reform the court and convince others that he or she is worthy of power, Xuanji will definitely fall into a vicious cycle to fighting for the throne. Sooner or later, the weakened Xuanji would fall prey to either the rising Dahan or the covetous Wuji. As the descendant of the Feng family, how can I let our empire fall into the hands of another? So, this throne can only belong to the worthy.”

“So you gave power to your children while spreading the news that you had already chosen a candidate? So you gave them almost equal authority to fight and kill each other on equal grounds? To battle to the death for one to be victorious?” Feng Jingfan’s voice trembled as she yelled, her tone getting colder and colder. “Those are not a horde of beasts fighting for food! Those… those are your children!”

Feng Xuan fell silent. And after a while, he said, “That was how I got to where I am today.”

With the throne as a bait, siblings were pitted against each other. The last winner would be the next emperor, similar to wolves in the wild that had to fight with each other to be respected and to have the authority to rule! Only the one who emerged victorious from the bloodbath could stand above the rest, and the one on top would definitely be the most powerful and cruelest one!

Compared to the country’s survival, in Feng Xuan’s heart, human life and family ties ςεre nothing!

This was the battle for the throne, this was the imperial family!

The entire place fell into absolute silence. This unsettling conversation between a father and a daughter brought chills to everyone’s back on a warm spring night.

Meng Fuyao had long guessed Feng Xuan’s plans. But even so, she still found the composure he had displayed at this moment extremely disturbing. She gently touched the cold bones of Xu Wan she had carried with her, as though wanting to warm herself up with the love her mother had given her, once upon a time.

“Very well… Very well… Very well!” After the dead silence, Feng Jingfan burst out into maniacal, sinister laughter. She laughed with such force that her body shook with every breath, and tears started to drip down her chin, laughing at the ironically laughable acts. “Great! My great daddy! I used to look down upon you, thinking I had you dancing on my palms. I used to scorn you, despise you for your weakness! I felt that you were not fit to be my father… I was wrong! You are worthy! Very worthy of being my father!”

“Jingfan,” Feng Xuan called her gently. “It is never an easy thing being the descendant of Xuanji. Xuanji is the only one, out of all dynasties, where the emperor has no surviving siblings. Have you thought of why?”

Feng Jingfan leaned against the couch for support as she stared dumbly into the air. After a while, she mumbled, “Yeah… But when it’s my turn… I still… didn’t expect that…”

“That’s why I said you are not as good as Fuyao.” Feng Xuan had taught such strategies to his daughter on many occasions. This time round, it was as though he was just guiding Feng Jingfan through on another lesson, patiently elaborating his decision. “Fuyao has a good sense of politics. She has been through the political instability of four countries and excels in such situations. That’s why she makes for a good leader. Or perhaps, she is able to better analyze the situation without emotions as a bystander. You were unable to guess through my plans despite being by my side, yet, she seemed to have seen through it all right from the start.”

“I just want to know, how did you know she was that bastard child?” Feng Jingfan glared at Feng Xuan with a cold smile plastered on her face.

“Don’t speak of your sister like that,” Feng Xuan reprimanded her gently. “Don’t look, don’t upon your father either. In this aspect, your sister is stronger than you, she never once looked down upon me.”

“That’s because I know how perverted and disgusting the Xuanji imperial family actually is.” Meng Fuyao laughed coldly. “Also, let me tell you, if you say another word about ‘sisters’, I will immediately knock off all your teeth,” Meng Fuyao warned him.

“I’ve long known that I had a daughter roaming outside.” Feng Xuan seemed to not have sensed Meng Fuyao’s murderous aura and continued to explain to Feng Jingfan patiently, “I knew she had gone missing when she was 5 and when King Meng became renowned, I investigated her background. It turned out, she’s someone with no background, and what happened to her before she was 5 was all but a mystery. Somehow or another, I was reminded of my missing daughter that was close in age with King Meng. I wondered if they were actually the same person, and to justify this claim, I send out many people to get close to King Meng. All they had to do was to find out her real appearance. Of course, it was an arduous task because this precious daughter of mine seldom appeared in front of another without a mask. But there will definitely be a time when the mask came off and just that once or twice was enough for me to confirm her identity by confirming her portrait with some of the old servants and of course, my own recollection.”