PFC Chapter 109 The Past of the Dongfang Family
Chapter 109 The Past of the Dongfang Family
Xie Yan took a breath, suppressing the urge to kick Chu Ling out, and then tried her best to get away from that place.
He changed the subject, asking, "Your Highness, aren't you curious about what I did tonight?"
Chu Ling gave him a deep look, and then, quite cooperatively, asked, "So what did you do tonight?"
"I went and chatted with Miss Dongfang about some intimate things that young ladies talk about in their private quarters."
Chu Ling: ...A girl? Who and who?
Seeing that Chu Ling seemed interested, Xie Yan coaxed him gently, "Your Highness, put me down, and I'll tell you some gossip about the Dongfang family, how about it?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ling pondered for a moment, then chuckled twice above Xie Yan's head.
Xie Yan's face, pressed against his chest, trembled twice with laughter, and then Chu Ling said, "Then you choose, whether you say it on my body or under me."
Xie Yan: ...At least a typical multiple-choice question has three options.
"Ok?"
Chu Ling raised an eyebrow, patted Xie Yan's back, and said, "If you can't choose, do you need me to help you choose? Or how about the one below?"
Xie Yan immediately refused: "...I think it's fine to talk to you while lying on top of you."
Chu Ling put his hand back on Xie Yan and nodded, saying, "Then you can speak."
Xie Yan: ...Wait, I think I've been tricked again.
Seeing that Chu Ling showed no intention of putting him down, Xie Yan took a deep breath, resignedly lay down on Chu Ling, and said, "Does Your Highness know why Dongfang Shuo, despite being the leader of the martial arts alliance, has not taught his daughter any martial arts?"
Chu Ling readily guessed, "...Could it be because he favors sons over daughters?"
Xie Yan shook her head against his chest, bringing a ticklish sensation.
"No, that's not true. Dongfang Shuo dotes on his children, and he also had an older sister who was skilled in martial arts before Dongfang Su."
Chu Ling frowned, reaching out to touch Xie Yan's head as he asked in confusion, "Dongfang Shuo has other children? I don't think I've ever heard of them?"
Xie Yan was in the middle of talking and didn't pay much attention to his actions. "Dongfang Shuo had two sons and two daughters, but apart from his adopted son Xiang Qingsheng and his youngest daughter Dongfang Su, the other three have all passed away."
Chu Ling paused for a moment.
"The other three siblings have been learning martial arts from Dongfang Shuo since childhood, and at a young age they are already rare masters in the martial arts world."
"The three siblings were young and spirited, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses. They roamed the martial arts world, upholding justice and making a name for themselves."
"But because of this, I offended a lot of people in the martial arts world."
"Later, during an outing, the three siblings were ambushed by their enemies and all of them were killed."
"When the news of the deaths of her three children arrived, it coincided with Madam Dongfang's delivery. Upon hearing this tragic news, Madam Dongfang was devastated. After giving birth to Dongfang Su, she herself collapsed and died."
"After that, Dongfang Shuo felt that martial arts had ruined his family. He never remarried and raised Dongfang Su alone."
"And in order to prevent her from following in the footsteps of her older siblings, over the years, not only has she not learned any martial arts, but she has also rarely been allowed to step out of the house."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ling also fell silent.
After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "So, that's why he wants to marry his daughter to the next leader of the martial arts alliance."
After all, as the leader of the martial arts alliance, Dongfang Shuo has many enemies. Once he steps down, someone might come knocking on his door.
Marrying his daughter to the next leader of the martial arts alliance would at least ensure her protection.
Xie Yan nodded, and suddenly said in the silence, "But what Dongfang Shuo didn't know was that his three children were not killed by his enemies."
"Not an enemy?"
Chu Ling pondered for a moment, then found the answer in Xie Yan's words, and said with slight hesitation, "Could it be... Fengyun Tower?"
Xie Yan nodded again. "I saw it in the files room of Fengyun Tower three years ago. That incident was not a business that someone hired."
"In fact, it was the Lord himself who ordered the gathering of men to surround and kill the three people."
Chu Ling frowned again. "Was this done by the Lord of Fengyun Tower? Why would he do such a thing?"
Could it be that he has some grudge against the Dongfang family?
"Because the owner of Fengyun Tower also has the surname Dongfang."
In fact, it's not just this current leader; going back several generations, all the previous leaders came from the Dongfang family.
However, this was not because the Dongfang family was unwilling to relinquish power, but because the members of their family all possessed extremely high martial arts talent, and their family's swordsmanship was virtually unmatched in the martial arts world.
The position of leader of the alliance has always been earned by the Dongfang family through sheer strength.
Decades ago, the Dongfang family produced two martial arts prodigies.
One was Dongfang Shuo, the son of the then-leader of the alliance, and the other was Dongfang Yuan, the son of the leader's younger brother.
These two cousins grew up together, practiced martial arts together, and later roamed the martial arts world together, developing a very deep bond.
Although both of them are martial arts prodigies, one of them is always slightly better.
That person was Dongfang Yuan.
Whether it was learning sword techniques or mental cultivation methods, Dongfang Yuan was always the first to comprehend and master them compared to Dongfang Shuo.
Even Dongfang Shuo's father, the then-leader of the martial arts alliance, said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next leader of the martial arts alliance would undoubtedly be Dongfang Yuan.
Almost everyone, including Dongfang Yuan himself, felt that the position of alliance leader was within their grasp.
Dongfang Shuo had no objection at the time. He knew that his talent was not as good as Dongfang Yuan's, and he generously congratulated him.
However, no one expected that during the election for the leader of the martial arts alliance, Dongfang Shuo would have a sudden enlightenment at the last moment, knocking Dongfang Yuan off the stage with a single strike and successfully becoming the next leader of the martial arts alliance.
After that conference, Dongfang Yuan left the Dongfang family and disappeared from the martial arts world.
Over the years, Dongfang Shuo had searched for his whereabouts both openly and secretly, but he never found him alive or dead.
Unexpectedly, this person went into hiding and became the infamous owner of Fengyun Tower.
Chu Ling seemed to understand something, and said, "So he sent people to ambush and kill Dongfang Shuo's children to avenge the fact that Dongfang Shuo had taken away his position as leader of the alliance back then?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yan scoffed, "Hmph, that old beast is narrow-minded and has always held a grudge. He always believed that Dongfang Shuo got that position by cheating and his father's favoritism."
"Since he dared not challenge Dongfang Shuo to another duel, he set his sights on Dongfang Shuo's children. He deliberately waited until Dongfang's wife was about to give birth before sending someone to deliver the message, which caused her to die in childbirth."
"It was all so that Dongfang Shuo could experience the pain he felt when he lost his position as leader of the alliance."
After listening, Chu Ling was at a loss for words.
He could only sigh softly and say, "He really is a beast."