Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 152 : A Race With Time

Chapter 152: Chapter 152 : A Race With Time

"..."

"Father?"

Zhang Zhiyuan held a hand up to silence his son. Then, he lifted a small bell that lay on the table and shook it. A melodious ringing sound poured out of the bell, a sign for any servant or maid to approach the room.

"Your Highness."

"Chang’er, bring me some tea," Zhang Zhiyuan said when the shadow of a maid appeared on the sliding paper door.

"Right away, master," Chang’er replied before she left for the kitchen.

Zhang Zhiyuan refused to talk to his son before he had a few cups of tea to stabilize his nerves.

"Fengxi, are you sure?" was all he managed to say after he found his voice again.

"Father, I swear by..."

"Dear Gods, do not swear. Whatever you swear by, it will only bring our tiger clan extreme misfortune."

"..."

Zhang Zhiyuan groaned into his palms.

"I knew it," he said. "For your information, Fengxi, I never liked Liu Yichen. That man is an opportunist who does not shy from anything to achieve his goals. To think that his omega son would inherit the same abominable trait!"

"I am sorry, Father."

Zhang Zhiyuan sighed.

"Try to see the rainbow at the end of the worst storm. Fengxi, the milk has been spilled. There is no use ruminating about the past. We need to move past this."

"Yes, Father, I agree."

Zhang Zhiyuan pinned his son with a glare.

"You are my son. I oversaw your growth and development from the infancy stage. Naturally, I trust the words of the son I personally raised. Unfortunately, the world might not share my view. Fengxi, what is your plan?"

Zhang Fengxi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his father’s words. Gaining his father’s trust was the first step out of this mess.

"Father, I know that we cannot cancel the wedding until I am able to prove that Liu Wenyuan is not pregnant with my child. Until then, please help me delay it as long as possible."

Zhang Zhiyuan pursed his lips.

"It won’t be long," the palace master pointed out. "Liu Wenyuan is not some unknown omega in the realm. He is a prince of Wuyang Palace. If Wuyang Palace takes note of your plan to dismiss the wedding altogether, Liu Yichen is going to drag you to court."

"Three months. If I cannot resolve this issue within three months, I will accept what’s to come."

Zhang Zhiyuan nodded, "Alright, I will talk to your mother about it. Anything else?"

Zhang Fengxi shook his head. "I need to investigate on my own. I will keep you updated, Father."

Zhang Fengxi cupped his hands, intending to leave, but Zhang Zhiyuan stopped him.

"Wait, Fengxi, are you not forgetting something?"

Zhang Fengxi furrowed his brows.

"Which is?"

"I cannot include your name in the matchmaking proposal. It doesn’t matter whether you truly love the Crown Prince or not. Until you settle the issue with Liu Wenyuan properly, you may not express your wish to marry the Crown Prince."

Zhang Fengxi tightened his fingers into fists.

How could he not realize it sooner?

"If I can’t have you, then no one shall."

This was Liu Wenyuan’s goal all along. He wanted to take away Zhang Fengxi’s chance in pursuing Xie Jianyu.

"I understand."

Zhang Fengxi went out of the palace and ruminated in the back garden. After weighing all the options in his hands, he decided to find a certain person.

Luckily, the person he wished to find was in the Golden Dragon Palace, supervising a regular training session.

"Wu Shenxia, I need your help with something."

Wu Shenxia was mildly surprised to see Zhang Fengxi there.

"Hey, Zhang Fengxi, nice to meet you. What is it?"

"I heard that Juhua Palace is going to propose your name to be the Crown Prince’s husband*."

Wu Shenxia cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"News travel fast. What about it?"

"The other palaces are going to come up with their best alphas in the hope to take the Crown Prince’s hand in marriage. I want you to beat them all."

Wu Shenxia’s smile disappeared. She narrowed her eyes at Zhang Fengxi.

"Zhang Fengxi, this is not a martial art competition."

"It is going to be." Zhang Fengxi was quite confident about his prediction. It was because Xie Jianyu was a through and through sword freak. If he had to live as an omega from now on, he was not going to give himself to someone weaker than him.

Zhang Fengxi wanted to be the one who kept Xie Jianyu safe in this life, but if he could not, then he wanted to make sure that the person Xie Jianyu married cherished him properly.

It would not be that debauched player, Zhou Guiying.

Or someone as weak as Zhang Fenghan.

It had to be someone who was both strong and lived by important moral values.

Wu Shenxia was the best candidate to be Xie Jianyu’s husband.

"You know, I have seen you and the Crown Prince together," Wu Shenxia remarked. "You clearly like him. Why don’t you nominate yourself as his future husband?"

Zhang Fengxi let out a burst of cheerless laughter.

"I can’t," Zhang Fengxi replied. "Liu Wenyuan is supposedly pregnant with my child."

"Aha. And yet, you do not seem to be convinced about the paternity of the child," she said while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Wu Shenxia was one of the few people Zhang Fengxi trusted in his previous life. She was loyal to her family, friends, and comrades. That was why Zhang Fengxi did not hesitate from telling her the truth.

"I never bed him, so how could a child come forth?"

"Ah."

Wu Shenxia whistled.

"Oh, the one trump card that omegas have over alphas -- pregnancy. If you are looking for a way out, you should consult Zhou Guiying."

"..."

------------------

Author’s note :

*In this story, the alphas are collectively referred to as the husbands while the omegas are the wives.