Above the Galaxy
Chapter 375 - 242, The Bigger the Storm, the Pricier the Fish!

Chapter 375: Chapter 242, The Bigger the Storm, the Pricier the Fish!

"This is not a question of marriage, but a question of life and death."

Zhong Tianque said that ever since he was little, the person he doted on the most was his younger sister. Whatever she liked, he would always find a way to get it for her...

It sounded like he was hinting to Tang Fei that as long as you do your job well, I will treat you as an ’item’ to be given to my sister in the future.

But who knew whether this was a test?

Testing Tang Fei’s feelings for Phoenix, testing whether Tang Fei truly wanted to become his brother-in-law...

If Tang Fei showed an overly grateful and excited demeanor, perhaps he would turn around and have Tang Fei dragged out and beheaded.

To accompany a king was like accompanying a tiger, and the Crown Prince was also a king.

When those from the royal family speak, not even a punctuation mark can be believed.

Of course, at the end of the day, it was because there was absolutely no trust between Tang Fei and Zhong Tianque.

And Tang Fei himself was not so important as to compel Zhong Tianque to use his own sister as leverage in exchange.

If it were Shen Xinglan, perhaps Zhong Tianque would have readily agreed.

After all, standing behind Shen Xinglan was the Shen Family, the leader of the nine major families.

With the support of Shen Xinglan, wasn’t that equivalent to having the support of the Shen Family?

However, the relationship between the royal family and the nine major families was intricately complex. Tang Fei, who was not part of the game, was still unable to perceive the underlying currents.

Zhong Tianque personally escorted Tang Fei to the entrance of the courtyard. As the courtyard doors closed, a bald man in Grey Robe came over and, after respectfully bowing to Zhong Tianque, he spoke up, "Your Highness, why do you value Tang Fei so much?"

"Didn’t Mr. Qian say it before? This man just arrived at New Star, rootless and helpless. Although he has a good relationship with Phoenix, after all, Phoenix is just a girl. He is an ambitious fellow, and what he wants, Phoenix might not be able to give..."

"So, I am his best option for allegiance. Similarly, I need someone of a clean identity to do my bidding."

"The nine major families are deeply rooted, with countless loyal followers; I wouldn’t want a spy from one of the nine major families beside me..."

"Compared to them, he is indeed quite clean," Qian Taian nodded and said, "A refugee from the Old Land, if he hadn’t happened to save the Princess, he would probably never have had the chance to step into New Star... To say that he is a spy for any family is just a fantasy, simply impossible."

"However, being rootless and helpless, he has fewer cards to rely on. He might need Your Highness to cultivate him more."

"I am not afraid of his lowly birth; I am only afraid that he lacks ability," Zhong Tianque declared proudly, "When I am handling the power of the world, am I supposed to fear that I won’t be able to accommodate a talented young man?"

"Your Highness, the darkness before dawn is the most dangerous, with countless heroes falling at the last step before success. We must exercise the utmost caution," Qian Taian reminded in a grave tone.

"Mr. Qian’s education is much appreciated," Zhong Tianque bowed deeply to Qian Taian, gratefully saying, "With Mr. Qian here, I can certainly maintain a vigilant heart at all times."

"I dare not educate Your Highness, but as someone close to Your Highness, giving frank advice is my duty. If I were to keep silent and only speak pleasing words, then I would fail Your Highness’s trust."

"This is true. We are both teachers and friends; what words cannot be spoken directly to one another?" Zhong Tianque spoke, reassuring his trusted advisor before him.

Qian Taian bowed and then looked at Zhong Tianque, saying, "Your Highness draws Tang Fei to your side; on the one hand, you value his talents, and on the other hand, you wish for him to solve a matter of concern for you?"

Zhong Tianque gazed solemnly at Qian Taian, asking, "Mr. Qian, what do you think?"

"To my knowledge, Tang Fei indeed has a poor relationship with that side, but just relying on that to make him do such a perilous deed, I fear he would refuse."

"Then we’ll just have to apply more pressure. Under enough pressure, he won’t have any other choice."

"To employ both kindness and severity is the best strategy."

"Of course," Zhong Tianque nodded, saying, "The more kindness I show him from my side, the more the outside world will believe he is our man. When they make their move, they will be less merciful..."

"If Your Highness lends him a hand at the critical moment, how could he not be wholeheartedly devoted to serving Your Highness?"

"The younger brother is becoming more and more presumptuous. Today he publicly embarrassed me, giving no respect to my position as Crown Prince," Zhong Tianque’s face turned cold as ice as he spoke with a heavy voice, "After the last time they did such a thing, I endured and pretended as if nothing had happened."

"But now, he actually had the audacity to overturn the table in front of everyone... This way, who doesn’t know about the discord between us brothers? Fraternal strife is a scandal. Whose loss would be greater when such a scandal spreads?"

"Have you considered why he chose such a time to reveal the conflict between you two?"

Zhong Tianque’s eyes turned frosty as he said sharply, "Is he signaling, waiting for people to rally to him?"

Qian Taian nodded and said, "Although Your Highness is Crown Prince, and the current King trusts you deeply, entrusting you with military and state affairs..."

"Yet, the King has only two sons and one daughter. If something unexpected were to truly happen to Your Highness, or another scandal like last time were to occur... who would the grand crown fall upon, that is still an unknown."

"So, with three hundred percent profit, they would dare any crime and commit any sin. For the glory of the Dragon, the profit is far beyond three hundred percent," Zhong Tianque scoffed. "I’m afraid that after today’s incident spreads, there will be many crafty scoundrels seeking him out, right?"

"This is inevitable," Qian Taian nodded and said, "However, Your Highness need not panic. The great momentum is currently on our side. As long as we do not make wrong moves or take the wrong path, they will not be able to shake our rightful position as Crown Prince."

"I understand," Zhong Tianque nodded and said, "Have someone closely observe that side and see who is contacting them."

"Yes," Qian Taian replied.

"But there is no need to rush," Zhong Tianque gazed upwards as the sky once again began to drift with feather-like fine snow. "In my position, the more I do, the more mistakes there will be. If I do nothing, that too is a compounded mistake."

"We don’t need to resort to that step unless absolutely necessary. Your Highness, relax your mind."

-----

Zhong Tianyi walked ahead, with Yu Huoshui following behind.

Silence enveloped them the entire way until they returned to Zhong Tianyi’s villa courtyard. Then, Yu Huoshui finally broke the silence and asked, "Second Brother, why did you turn against them in public? Wasn’t that a bit too hasty?"

"Hasty?" A mocking smile appeared on the corner of Zhong Tianyi’s mouth as he said, "With every passing day, he draws one step closer to that position. The longer we wait, the more secure his crown becomes on his head."

"When he firmly takes his seat, will we have any chances left? By that time, no matter what we do, it will be too late."

"But in this way, haven’t you just exposed the discord between you and the Crown Prince? How will people view this from the outside? And... what about my brother-in-law? How will he see it?"

Zhong Tianyi looked at Yu Huoshui and countered with a question, "What do you think they will think?"

Yu Huoshui paused for a moment, then said, "They will think you have a desire to usurp the heir."

"Is that a bad thing?" Zhong Tianyi asked aloud.

"Isn’t that too dangerous?"

"Dangerous?" Zhong Tianyi looked at Yu Huoshui with a cold laugh. "You still don’t understand the royal family, do you? The real danger is when he says nothing, does nothing, and acts as if all is well."

"After the last incident was exposed, Father handed over the authority for the trial and handling to Chen Fenglei and my elder brother... They killed all the participants and those in the know, and then acted as if the event never happened."

Zhong Tianyi looked at Yu Huoshui and asked, "Do you think my elder brother, with his magnanimity, could accept such a thing? Does he want to live his life under the label of ’Diarrhea Prince’?"

"No..." Yu Huoshui replied softly.

"Exactly, he won’t. Among us siblings, the truly magnanimous person is Phoenix, but it’s a pity she is a daughter..."

"My elder brother wants to learn everything from Father, his way of doing things, his administrative ideas, but sadly, he has not learned Father’s breadth of mind..."

"Now he remains silent because he is just the Crown Prince. If he were to strike down his own brothers with a heavy hand, it would only shock the outside world and damage his own reputation and image."

"Once he ascends to the throne and his power is stable, could he tolerate a brother who stabbed him in the back at a critical moment? Will I be confined or exiled to some forsaken place to live out my days?"

"Even if they send me to the Old Land, I wouldn’t be at all surprised... I would rather die than live such a life."

"So, I have to take a gamble... for myself and for all of you who have supported me all this time."

"Second Brother..."

Zhong Tianyi looked at Yu Huoshui and said sternly, "Now that the banner is raised, we need to be ready to face all the attacks and challenges."

"The most important thing is to think about how to deal with my brother-in-law," Yu Huoshui reminded.

"As for Father..." Zhong Tianyi pondered for a moment, then said, "Since the matter started because of Tang Fei, naturally, he should bear the responsibility. Who told him to be more likable?"

"It should be so," Yu Huoshui said harshly.

Thinking of Tang Fei filled him with a visceral urge to tear him limb from limb.

During the Bai Lu recruitment drive, he was caught off guard and killed by Tang Fei, cutting off his own path to the academy and becoming the butt of jokes among many.

Today, Tang Fei had purposely provoked him again, giving no face to himself as royal family and a member of the nine major families of the Yu Family.

The arrogance of this man knew no bounds.

One day, he would let him know that New Star wasn’t a place just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could stick around.

-------

Tang Fei was unaware of the conspiracies and schemes of the Zhong Tianyi brothers against him; it would have been a serious problem if they had not targeted him.

How could one accomplish anything without paying a price?

Greater the storm, the pricier the fish.

The biggest gain today was Zhong Tianyi flipping the table, not pretending anymore, laying his cards on the table – he was interested in that position, too.

The old man had long awaited this development; turmoil within the Royal Family was just the first phase of their plan.

When the struggle between the two brothers escalated to fierce combat, that would be their moment to reap the fruits of victory.

Blood debts must be repaid in blood.

The Zhong Royal Family must pay a hefty price for their evil, bloody deeds.

The old man had waited far, far too long for this day...

But what about Phoenix?

Where would Phoenix go when that time came?

As Tang Fei pondered this in his mind, he was brought to the doorstep of the Phoenix Pavilion by Zhong Tianque’s guards.

Phoenix looked solemn, filled with worried doubts.

Seeing Tang Fei who had just walked in, she took his hand and said, "Tang Fei, your situation is very dangerous now."