Tang Fei became anxious and said, "You can’t wrong me. What have I done?"
Such words can’t be spoken lightly.
If His Majesty the Emperor heard them, he’d surely castrate me and make me a eunuch...
"Think about it. You’ve only been in New Star for a few days, and you’ve already sent the Yan family father and daughter to prison, and had Shen Qingping from the Shen Family expelled from school and stripped of his student status... Have you done too little?"
Tang Fei smiled bitterly and said, "Can you blame me for that? The Yan family father and daughter brought trouble on themselves. I didn’t provoke anyone, I was just accompanying you around the mall, they came up to us with their little pills trying to frame me, not realizing they’d kick an iron plate. With Princess backing me, how could they succeed?"
Phoenix straightened her chest with a proud look and said, "I certainly can’t cover for you."
"How can you not cover for me? Is it because the size of your underwear isn’t quite right?"
Phoenix gritted her teeth in frustration.
Now he even dares to crack jokes with her—what’s next? Holding hands, hugging, or even lying in the same bed?
Just thinking about it terrified her.
"Alright, alright, just a joke," Tang Fei pleaded quickly, seeing her teeth chattering, genuinely afraid she might pounce on him and take a bite. "Isn’t the atmosphere a bit too tense? I was just trying to lighten the mood... Do you feel more relaxed now?"
"Where’s the tension? It’s all because you talk nonsense," Phoenix retorted.
Tang Fei grinned at Phoenix and asked, "Does your father dislike the Shen Family?"
"How could that be? The Shen Family is full of loyal and stout-hearted people; my father respects them deeply. Now the Shen Family is at the height of power and glory, one could say they’re the Empire’s top family. Why would my father dislike them?"
"Heh heh..." Tang Fei let out a cold laugh.
They say it’s like walking on thin ice to accompany a monarch, that both the thunder and the dew are his grace.
At first glance, it seems like the sovereign of a country is being affectionate and approachable with the Shen Family, but behind the scenes, he’s actually setting them up to fall.
It’s like setting them up as shooting targets or roasting them on a fire.
Phoenix has settled on Xiqi Mountain, and as an Empire Princess, how can the Shen Family possibly handle it?
Even if they could, would others allow the Shen Family to handle it? Would they let the Shen Family dominate on their own?
I use you, but I also keep you in check.
And I’ll have countless eyes watching you...
This is what they call the Emperor’s Mindset.
Suddenly, Tang Fei became curious about Phoenix’s father; what kind of eagle was he?
Thinking about potentially dealing with him in the future sent shivers up his spine.
He was just a lowly mutt, no match for such an opponent.
Phoenix looked seriously at Tang Fei and earnestly instructed, "Tang Fei, you can say these things in front of me, but you must never speak of it elsewhere."
Phoenix was a smart person; she naturally understood what Tang Fei meant.
But while others might say such things, she could not.
Moreover, standing where she did, Tang Fei might say it, but others could not...
One must not overstep their role.
Her father, the ruler of a country, was one of the most powerful people on the planet.
Yet, he had his own troubles and fears...
He knew how to govern the country in the way he excelled at.
Even though she was also studying political economy, the more she learned, the more inscrutable she found it.
Governing a country is easy; managing people’s hearts is difficult.
"I understand," Tang Fei nodded and said, "I only trust you."
He paused, then added, "And Little Fatty."
He added again, "And the old man..."
The smile had yet to completely spread on Phoenix’s face when it suddenly froze; she stared at Tang Fei and queried, "Anyone else?"
"For now, that’s all," Tang Fei said straightforwardly.
He had picked up on Phoenix’s displeasure.
Phoenix looked at Tang Fei and said, "That you could pretend to faint at the last moment took me by surprise, but it was effective. The school thought you were wronged, so Dean Shang compensated you a lot. Of course, the most important thing is... the Shen Family’s attitude towards the incident..."
"If you, as a Medium Grade Qi Imperial, defeated Shen Qingping of the Low Grade Tongyou Realm, and broke their ’Ghostly Despair’ with just a handful of dirt... even if the Shen Family knew they were wrong, they couldn’t swallow their pride..."
"But when you fainted from serious injuries, the nature of the incident changed. It was already against the rules for Shen Qingping of the Low Grade Tongyou Realm to block you, a Medium Grade Qi Imperial."
"Moreover, you fainted from trying to fight off Shen Qingping, and even though both ended up badly hurt... the Shen Family would feel better regarding face-saving..."
"You were injured and thus punished, and these punishments were inflicted by them... They could only blame their own incapable family members; they couldn’t blame you for not dying a more tragic death, could they? If they dared, I wouldn’t be polite to them either..."
Tang Fei nodded and said, "I did consider that. Not just to shut up the Shen Family, but also to silence the others... If I could only choose between face and substance, for now, I could only choose substance."
"Why? You think you don’t have enough face?" Phoenix narrowed her eyes scrutinizing Tang Fei.
"Who wouldn’t want to defeat their opponent with a thunderous blow, then walk out in the open to cheers and applause?"
Phoenix shook her head and said, "As a Medium Grade Qi Imperial challenging the Tongyou Realm, using a handful of dirt to break the Shen Family’s Ultimate Skill ’Ghostly Despair’, and managing a comeback with a lost arm and body covered in wounds, compared to the ending you desired... which version of the story do you think is more captivating?"