Chapter 79: Choice
"You have no say in this!" Xiao Wenbo's face darkened, and he said, "Our Xiao family's power is mainly in the West City, and Xujiabao is just outside the West City. We have strong soldiers and horses, and the castle is tall and solid. Once we form an alliance with Xujiabao, we will have a way to retreat.
However, the county city has always been wary of the growing power of forces outside the city, and if Xujiabao is really convicted of raising private soldiers, it would be a serious crime of treason. Our Xiao family is one of the five major families in the county city, and your grandfather once held the seal of the county lieutenant. If it weren't for the Pang family's excessive ambition and constant pressure, we would not have taken this step.
Therefore, it is best to choose Bai Xiuqi. He has a transcendent status and is highly skilled in cultivation techniques. If you follow him and please him, our Xiao family will have a chance to join the Sitianjian and Daomen, and you will also have a chance to recover your cultivation."
"Dad, if grandpa is still in heaven, do you think he would agree with you doing this?" Xiao Qing was silent for a long time after hearing this, and suddenly looked up at Xiao Wenbai and asked.
Xiao Wenbo's body trembled slightly when he heard this, and his expression changed several times. After a long time, he said, "Think about it carefully these days, and by the way, you can slowly transfer the business in your hands to Xiao Liu."
"Qing'er's business was developed through her hard work. Why should we sacrifice her now and hand over her business to Xiao Liu instead of Cheng Rui?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing's mother couldn't help but interrupt angrily again.
"It's my eldest brother who's in charge now, not me. And as his mother, you know Chengrui's abilities best. If he had half the abilities of Xiao Qing, I would take this business over and give it to him." Xiao Wenbai said unhappily.
Xiao Qing felt indescribably sad as she listened to her parents' conversation.
She was once a favored child of heaven, with so many people surrounding her, not to mention the two closest people in front of her.
But what about now? She hasn't been sent away yet, and even her dearest mother 's mind is already focused on the struggle for interests.
"Dad, Mom, it's late and I want to rest." Xiao Qing suppressed the sadness in her heart and spoke to her parents calmly.
"Qing'er!" Xiao Qing's mother then realized that what she had said just now was inappropriate, and she couldn't help but look remorseful.
"Mom, I'm fine, just a little tired." Xiao Qing said lightly.
"In that case, you should go to bed early." Xiao Wenbai nodded, then winked at his wife, and the two left the Qingzhu Building together.
"Miss, why don't we leave Fangqiao City?" Xia Yan said angrily as she watched Xiao Wenbai and his wife leave.
"It's easy for me to leave, but what about my parents and my brother? Ever since my grandfather passed away and my power was lost, the Fourth Branch has actually been suppressed in every aspect of the family, and many of the branch clansmen who depended on us have also distanced themselves from us.
So although I was sad that my father couldn't fight for me, I also understood his situation. Alas, I can't just ignore the kindness of raising me and the love between us!" Xiao Qing sighed deeply, turned around, and two crystal tears fell quietly. Her graceful back was desolate and lonely under the light.
"But Bai Xiuqi is old and extremely licentious; Xu Yuanwu already has many wives, concubines and children, and is very arrogant and overbearing. In his early years, he was a bully in the outer city and was severely punished by you, young lady. If you marry him, your future life..." Xia Yan said with a worried look on her face.
"You go down too." Xiao Qing interrupted.
"Miss!" Xia Yan called out worriedly.
Xiao Qing didn't say anything, but just waved to Xia Yan with his back turned.
"Then I'll go out first. Miss, please call me if you have anything." Seeing this, Xia Yan sighed softly and walked out.
"Grandpa, what should I do?" Xiao Qing sat alone in front of the candlelight, muttering to himself as he stared at the wick, two lines of hot tears falling silently.
She has always been an extremely intelligent woman, so from the day her grandfather was killed and she herself lost her strength, she began to prepare for the future and shifted her focus to business in order to increase her influence and value in the family, with the goal of having her own voice and right to choose as much as possible.
But man proposes, God disposes.
She didn't expect the Xiao family to be so cold and heartless, nor did she expect the Xiao family to fall so quickly and the Pang family to be so insidious and cunning.
According to the customary rules formed by various family forces, the post of county lieutenant of Fangliao County has always been held by the head of the Xiao family. Even if the head of the family passes away, the various forces in Fangliao City will nominate the new head of the Xiao family to serve as county lieutenant.
This was a system for selecting talented people to serve as officials in the Great Qi State from the bottom up, called the Recommendation System, and was generally controlled by local wealthy families.
As a result, as soon as her grandfather died, Pang Qiwei used the excuse that her uncle Xiao Wenchen's strength and prestige were not enough to intimidate the soldiers, and proposed to nominate Yu Hongshan, the head of the Yu family, as the post of county lieutenant.
Although there were occasional conflicts of interest between the Yu family and the Xiao family, they had always been in a collaborative attitude towards external forces.
However, the temptation of the post of county lieutenant offered by the Pang family was too great. The Yu family believed that they were powerful and with the power of the post of county lieutenant, they could compete with the Pang family even if they did not join forces with the Xiao family.
As a result, the Yu family and the Xiao family fell out, and Yu Hongshan got the position of county lieutenant. The position of county assistant he vacated was given to Lin Jinghan, the head of the Lin family. Xiao Wenchen, the successor head of the Xiao family, took on the position of county lieutenant assistant, that is, the deputy of the county lieutenant in charge of the army.
Naturally, Xiao Wenchen was unwilling to be under Yu Hongshan and serve as his deputy, so he used the power that the Xiao family had cultivated in the army over the years to fight openly and secretly with Yu Hongshan. As a result, the two tigers fought each other and suffered losses, which benefited the Pang and Lin families.
The Pang and Lin families took the opportunity to stuff a lot of people into the army, gradually weakening and sidelining Yu Hongshan, while the Xiao family became increasingly declining.
By the time the Yu and Xiao families realized that something was wrong and stepped up their support for the Lu family, they were already at a complete disadvantage.
Looking back to when the Pang family had just settled in the county government, the Yu and Xiao families each had a patriarch who was at the bone refining realm and controlled the army. Even though Pang Qiwei was also a bone refining expert and came from the Pang family, a prominent family in the state capital, and held the position of county governor, he was still a strong dragon that could not defeat a local snake.
But now the situation has reversed. The Pang family has become a fierce dragon crossing the river. The Yu family still has a bone-refining expert in charge, and he also holds the seal of the county lieutenant. They can barely hold on. The situation of the Xiao family is much worse.
However, the Xiao family has been operating in Fangqiao City for generations and has always been strong. They are unwilling to surrender and be driven by others. In desperation, they even think .
Later, one day, Gou Bai Xiuqi, the supreme supervisor of astronomy, accidentally met Xiao Qing at the Xiao family. He was struck by her beauty and expressed his intention to take her as his concubine. The Xiao family then had another idea.
After all, the power outside the city is a double-edged sword. If we really form an alliance, no one knows what the final result will be.
"Grandpa, can I abandon the Xiao family and leave? Or should I live in humiliation for the sake of hundreds of people in the Xiao family?" Xiao Qing stared at the candlelight with lifeless eyes and continued to mutter to himself, feeling unspeakable pain in his heart.
…
“Bang!”
"This evil beast was so cunning that he escaped from here!"
Wuyang Mountain, a valley somewhere.
Xu Pengkun slapped a tree angrily, causing the trunk to crack and snowflakes and branches to fly everywhere.
"Father, how about we cross this valley and expand the search range?" Xu Yuanwu suggested.
Yan'e and the others' expressions changed slightly when they heard this. They all looked at Xu Pengkun with a hint of nervousness in their eyes.
After crossing the valley, you will truly enter the Wuyang Mountain where strange beasts and monsters roam, and the degree of danger will inevitably increase greatly.
“Forget it. Wuyang Mountain is vast and boundless. It’s not easy to search for the injured Eight Desolate Green Python. Besides, we are acting in haste this time. It will be dangerous if we really encounter a powerful monster.” Xu Pengkun’s expression changed for a while, and finally he waved his hand.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, except Xu Yuanwu, who was unwilling and roared to the sky.
The roar echoed in the valley and took a long time to fade away.
"Father, I can't accept this! We spent so much money and resources, and even lost two powerful martial artists and many good fighters, but in the end we only got two defective Nine-transformation Blood Essence Bone Strengthening Secret Pills.
If we could kill the Eight Desolate Jade Python this time, not only would we be able to make up for all the losses, but with the Eight Desolate Jade Python in hand, Xiao Qing would kneel down and beg me, instead of us trying to marry into the Xiao family and form an alliance with them!" On the way back, Xu Yuanwu said to Xu Pengkun with an unwilling look on his face.
Eight years ago, Xu Yuanwu broke through to the Condensed Strength Realm at a young age and became one of the most outstanding young masters in Fangqiao City. He was very proud and successful. However, in the XC area, he was defeated in public by the talented girl Xiao Qing and was severely scolded.
It was precisely because of this that Xu Yuanwu later worked hard and practiced diligently, which allowed him to break through to the Yun Jin realm within just two years. It took him nearly six more years, and at the beginning of this year, at the age of thirty, he broke through to the Hua Jin realm, becoming one of the two Hua Jin martial artists among the six young masters of Fangqiao County.
However, Hua Jin is different from Ning Jin and Yun Jin. The Hua Jin state gives the force more changes and spirituality.
Xiao Qing has always been an indelible shadow in Xu Yuanwu's heart, so after reaching the Hua Jin realm, his mind could not be clear, his strength always lacked the spirituality of change, and his cultivation stagnated.
It can be said that Xiao Qing is the reason for both success and failure!
So a few days ago, after Xu Pengkun and his son understood the reason, they expressed their desire to form an alliance with the Xiao family.
As long as he took Xiao Qing into the room and ravaged her on the bed, the lingering shadow of many years would naturally disappear.
The Xiao family was once a powerful and influential family in the city that could almost overpower the Pang family. Even though the Xu Family Fort was powerful, it was ultimately a force outside the city. The Xiao family was wary of them but also despised and looked down on them.
In the past, the Xiao family would definitely not consider marrying Xiao Qing, an outstanding child who once represented the glory of the Xiao family, to Xu Yuanwu, who already had a wife.
However, the Xiao family is no longer what it used to be, the situation is pressing, and Xiao Qing has no hope of recovering his cultivation, so when Xu Jiabao came to express the idea of a marriage alliance, the Xiao family began to think about it.
However, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. As for the marriage between Xujiabao and Xiao family, it is still Xujiabao's attempt to marry above his station. Everything still depends on the Xiao family's opinion.
"There's nothing to be unwilling about. The world is unpredictable! Xiao Qing was so powerful back then that even your father had to give her some distance when he saw her, let alone you.
But now, she is just an iron-skinned martial artist, and she can't even decide her own marriage. No matter what you say, you are many times stronger than her now. When you marry her, once your worries are gone and you find an opportunity to break through to the Bone Refining Realm, even the entire Xiao family will have to rely on you, the son-in-law!" Xu Pengkun comforted.
"Father is right!" Xu Yuanwu replied, his eyes looking into the distance revealing a sinister and ferocious look.
