Chapter 5 — Phuong Khoi Cuu Trung

I didn't answer, just slowly scanned the palace maids standing inside the palace. Even though they didn't dare to open their mouths like that stupid woman, in the bottom of their eyes... there was still a glint of disobedience, a look like the tip of a knife hidden under a velvet cover. I raised my eyebrows and laughed softly, my voice as light as silk but carrying a cold murderous aura: "It turns out... there are still so many people who don't like this palace." My finger gently points in the void. Just hearing a "squeak" sound as thin as tearing silk, drops of golden light flashed at the fingertips, the palace maid's throat was immediately torn open, fresh blood sprayed out like crushed peach blossoms. Her eyes widened, her body trembled violently, but before she could scream, she collapsed onto the cold jade floor, lifeless. Fresh blood splattered on Phuong Chau's cheeks, a fishy smell filled the air. Everyone in the palace was stunned on the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt, no one could breathe. Only when the sound of blood dripping onto the stone floor clicked... clicked... rang out, each person woke up, but only had time to kneel down in panic, their foreheads pressed against the floor, their trembling voices merging into one cry in unison: "Your Highness... please calm down!" At this moment, Phuong Chau seemed to be shocked, immediately stood up, her eyes were red, her trembling fingers pointed straight at me, her voice cracked with anger: "Phuong Dao! You are so cruel and cruel! She just said a few true words, but you... took her life?!" She raised her chin high, her voice shrilled, each word was like a nail nailed into the stone floor: "Do you think that because you are the emperor, you can arbitrarily treat people's lives like trash?! Just wait... I will report to the mother! She will not forgive you!" I was too lazy to waste my breath, so I just coldly glanced at her - my cold gaze, like a heavenly sword cutting through the night: "It seems... You still haven't learned the etiquette of the hierarchy." I raised my hand and lightly waved my robe: "Where are you? She dares to be arrogant and drag her out - with a staff of thirty!" This time, no one dared to hesitate, all the palace servants immediately stepped forward, grabbed Phuong Chau who was crying crazily, and forced her to drag her out of the palace door. “Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” The sound of the whip tore through the wind, like a dragon roaring in the abyss, pounded down on her weak body, fresh blood splashed on the jade floor, the mournful cry echoed, as if it wanted to penetrate the nine clouds: "Aaah... save me! Mother! Mother... save me...!!!" Sure enough, Phuong Hau heard the screams and ran in panic. When she saw the scene before her eyes, her face turned pale and her eyes filled with pain. She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress her trembling voice: "Dao Nhi... No matter what... Chau Nhi is also a dutiful daughter raised by the mother herself... You... You respect the mother's love a little, can... forgive her?" I slowly turned my head, smiling like a silver moon on cold snow, but the murderous aura hidden in the bottom of my eyes seemed to freeze every sound. "Okay." I spoke softly, as deep as deep water: "You are bad, it's your fault... If your mother loves you like that -" My lips curled into a cold line, each word falling like a thousand years of broken ice and snow: "Then let the mother do it herself." Phuong Hau was immediately stunned, her pupils twitched as if stabbed by a needle, her eyes looked straight at me in disbelief: "You... You said... You want me... to attack Chau Nhi?" Phuong Chau's whole body trembled, tears blurred her eyes, and she looked up at Phuong Hau with full eyes rescue, shaking my head repeatedly in despair: "Mother... Don't... don't do that... Please..." I gently raised my hand to my chest, pretending to hug my heart full of hurt, my voice was as light as smoke, but contained a hidden needle of poison: "What's wrong... Mother, can't you bear it?" I tilted my head, my smile was as soft as water, but cold as a sword at my neck: "If your mother... is not willing to take action, Dao Nhi... will be very sad." I slowly emphasized each word, lowering my voice to almost a whisper in Phuong Hau's ear: "And once Dao Nhi feels sad... father will want to know the reason." Phuong Hau's face was as pale as ashes, her hand trembled to receive the whip from the maid, her breathing was disordered, her painful eyes looked at Phuong Chau one last time, then - "Whoosh!" The sound of the whip cutting through the wind hit straight on Phuong Chau's skin, a trail of red blood. Second whip. Third whip. Each stroke of the whip seemed to tear her heart, but she never once dared to stop. When the thirty lashes ended, Phuong Hau's whole body trembled, her hands loosened, the whip fell and hit the jade floor. The space is terrifyingly quiet. I was about to speak, when a palace maid rushed in from outside, her face as pale as ashes, she knelt down, her voice trembling: "Little... Your Highness... Outside the palace... Your Highness has arrived!" 6 “See Your Highness!” A palace maid bowed and bowed, her tone both respectful and urgent: "The Dragon King and the Crown Prince of the Dragon clan came to pay their respects and apologize for what happened at the banquet. The royal father is waiting for His Highness to come over." I nodded slightly and walked past Phuong Chau. As I passed by, I deliberately glanced over and my eyes fell on Queen Phuong, who was kneeling next to her, applying her strength to heal her wound. Our eyes met. I raised my eyebrows slightly, curling my lips into a cold, provocative smile. Queen Phuong briefly showed a gloomy look but quickly hid it, just lowered her eyes. I didn't pay any attention, just turned around and walked away, ignoring behind me, a mother and child hugged each other and cried bitterly. One person's body is in pain, the other person's heart is aching. Just for me, I feel extremely comfortable. In the main hall of the Phoenix, my father sat upright on the dragon throne, majestic like a mountain, his aura oppressing the entire arena. In the palace, Dragon King stood bowed, constantly clasping his hands to admit his mistakes. Next to him, Mac Uyen - the crown prince of the Dragon clan who once appeared brilliantly at the banquet with Phuong Chau - now knelt on the ground, his head bowed low, his shoulders trembling slightly, not daring to utter a word. As soon as he saw me entering, Long Vuong immediately stepped forward, his face smiling as if to make peace, his voice extremely humble: "Your Highness! Today's incident is all because of Mac Uyen's disrespect, insulting Your Highness, a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths! I personally broke his legs, as a deterrent!" He waved his hand, and immediately a Dragon Clan guard brought up a gold-encrusted box. As soon as the lid opened, golden light glowed, inside were filled with rare treasures that had been cultivated for thousands of years. "This is a treasure that our Dragon clan has kept for many generations. Please offer it as an apology. We hope that Your Highness will be merciful and not accept Mac Uyen." I stepped in front of the pile of treasures, just glanced around, then raised my head, my eyes were calm, my voice was faint: "Okay, your highness doesn't care anymore. I accept these things. You... can leave." The Great Hall was quiet. Dragon King was stunned for a moment, then felt relieved burden. However, when he was about to say goodbye, he seemed to remember something, hesitated a bit, then opened his mouth to ask: "So... what about the marriage between His Highness and the Crown Prince of the Dragon Clan..." "Of course it still counts!" A female voice carrying joy suddenly rang out from outside the palace. Queen Phuong held Phuong Chau's hand and walked in, her face beaming. Without waiting for anyone to ask, she quickly said: "The marriage between Chau Nhi and Mac Uyen remains the same, has not changed at all, will still proceed as planned!" In an instant, the air in the palace suddenly froze. The smile on Long Vuong's face immediately disappeared, his eyes narrowed, sinking into a gloomy look, his eyes flashed with dissatisfaction and contempt. He slowly turned around, saying each word, his voice like a blade cutting straight into the hall floor: "Queen Phuong... I'm afraid... I misunderstood." He raised his hand and pointed straight at me, each word as heavy as a bronze bell: "The Dragon Clan's wedding, what people talk about... can only be Phuong Dao, the only heir of the Phoenix Clan's Emperor!" Queen Phuong's face was as white as paper, her lips trembled, she almost wanted to say something but it was stuck in her throat. However, the Dragon King was absolutely merciless, the corners of his lips curled up in a cold line, his tone was heavy, as if he was making a judgment: "A pseudo-race of unknown origin, also worthy of marrying into the Dragon Palace, dreaming of becoming crown prince of Dong Hai?" His eyes glanced at Phuong Chau full of contempt, like looking at a small worm trying to turn into a dragon, both pitiful and ridiculous. That sentence was like a sharp blade, directly tearing Phuong Chau's arrogant mask in front of everyone. Her face was pale, her fingertips trembled, her lips moved as if she wanted to explain, but she couldn't say a word. I stood below the steps, lowered my eyes, my hand gently stroked the Phoenix weapon on my waist, the corners of my lips slowly curled up, revealing a cold, bone-chilling smile. The Dragon Clan wants to borrow my blood to break the suppression of Heavenly Dao, reclaim their destiny, and open up the opportunity to give birth to the true Golden Dragon. But Queen Phuong still dreams of marrying Phuong Chau instead of me... How ridiculous. The Dragon King was still kneeling under the palace, pulling Mac Uyen to his side, forcing him to bow his head, then begged in a choked voice: "Your Highness Little! As long as you are willing to marry our Dragon Clan, from now on, the entire Dragon Clan will listen to your command! Whether it is moving mountains and destroying seas or opening treasures, the Dragon Clan absolutely does not dare to have any disrespect!" He saw that I was still silent, immediately gritted his teeth, and changed his way: "If Your Highness doesn't want to leave Ngo Dong Island, that's fine... Mac Uyen can marry into the Phuong clan, as long as you get married, Your Highness doesn't need to leave the clan land even half a step!" I was about to open my mouth to refuse, but my father was one step faster. "No need." The voice was both deep and sharp, like thunder exploding in the void. “Dao Nhi already has an engagement.” The main hall was as quiet as paper. The emperor's father tilted his head to look at me, his eyes were as bright as glass, the corners of his lips curled into a gentle smile, he took my hand and placed it in his palm, his tone was calm, but each word was as if engraved on the bones: "Dao Nhi's marriage is with Hao Duong Than Quan." "What?!" In an instant, the entire main hall seemed to be struck by a thunderbolt. Not only was the Dragon King shocked, even I was stunned on the spot. His father slowly glanced at the Dragon King, smiled faintly, and continued: "Before When his father returned, he had already discussed it with Hao Duong Than Quan. Soon, Dao Nhi's big wedding will be held. At that time, the Dragon Clan can come… to attend the wedding.” “Boom!” Dragon King was originally kneeling, his body seemed to have been drained of all strength, his whole body fell to the ground, cold sweat soaked his collar. This marriage... means that the Dragon Clan no longer has a chance to claim the phoenix blood.