There was a time in his past life, some weeks after Liu Wenyuan’s death, when Zhang Fengxi ran into Xie Jianyu by coincidence.
At that time, the Crown Prince was rarely seen in the Golden Dragon Palace. He gave a lot of excuses to skip the morning meetings, starting from a massive headache down to a severe illness.
Every time he went missing, his general health was put into question. Was the Crown Prince fit to rule? Or should the Heavenly Realm pick another to succeed the throne?
It was none of Zhang Fengxi’s concern. He was busy colluding with Liu Yichen and putting together his revenge plan.
Xie Jianyu’s doom was as certain as the sunrise and sunset every single day.
On the surface, though, Zhang Fengxi still had to maintain appearance. After all, the Supreme General was supposed to be loyal to not only the Emperor but also the Crown Prince.
"Your Majesty the Crown Prince," Zhang Fengxi gave a perfunctory bow to his superior.
"Supreme General."
Xie Jianyu was pale in the face. He was hulled in a long, thick coat that extended from his chin to his toes, making him look less like a cultivator, and more like a palace mistress.
What a disgrace.
Zhang Fengxi was barely able to hide his contempt for the Crown Prince.
"Has Your Majesty been well?" Zhang Fengxi asked without a single care.
"Yes, thank you."
There was a complicated expression on Xie Jianyu’s face. Zhang Fengxi assumed that it was guilt. Xie Jianyu possibly had trouble sleeping at night. Served him right, for all the horrible things he had done in this life.
Zhang Fengxi could not help but feel happy about Xie Jianyu’s unfavorable circumstances.
"Then, I shall excuse myself. Good day, Your Majesty."
Zhang Fengxi gave another bow. He then walked past Xie Jianyu, but the latter stopped him.
"Wait."
Zhang Fengxi stopped in his track, but he did not bother looking at Xie Jianyu.
Xie Jianyu lowered his gaze for a while before he spoke again in an unnatural voice. His sickness seemed to affect his bearings. He no longer sounded like his usual confident and aloof self.
"Fengxi, there is something I need to tell you."
In response, Zhang Fengxi turned his head and gave Xie Jianyu a cold stare.
"Pardon, Your Majesty. Please refrain from calling me so casually. It is not appropriate," he said with a mocking sneer after a meaningful pause.
When Zhang Fengxi saw pain flicker across Xie Jianyu’s eyes, his heart jumped in glee.
Oh, the pitiful Crown Prince.
His whole life, he was used to having subordinates bow and speak respectfully in front of him. It must be a surprise to receive a different treatment once in a while.
Xie Jianyu regained his composure fairly quickly.
"Oh," was all he had to say afterward. He did not continue with whatever he wanted to tell Zhang Fengxi, and Zhang Fengxi also did not bother to ask what it was.
The two men parted ways just like that and went on with their separate lives.
From then on, Xie Jianyu never called Zhang Fengxi by his name again. He always referred to him as the "Supreme General". The last time he dared to call Zhang Fengxi by using his name was when he lay in Zhang Fengxi’s arms, with the Three Realm Spear embedded into his stomach.
Soon afterward, the Crown Prince breathed his last.
The short trip along the memory lane brought tears to Zhang Fengxi’s eyes.
At present time, the alpha opened his misty eyes and stared at the familiar ceiling of his bedroom.
"Arghhhhh...!!!"
A guttural groan escaped his throat when he tried to move his limbs. It was as if someone beat him so hard that he almost died.
"Zhang Fengxi!"
The one who pushed the door open and barged into the room was none other than his mother, Lady Song.
"You disobedient child!" Lady Song screamed at the top of her lungs. "Your father told you to stay in Longjing Palace and take care of your clan! How could you just go to the Demonic Realm to pick a fight with a Demon King???"
Zhang Fengxi gaped at his mother, and then he groaned again.
"Answer me, or you will be grounded for one month!"
Zhang Fengxi opened his mouth to defend himself, but nothing came out other than more groans.
"That’s it!" Lady Song exploded in anger. "You are grounded for one month!"
"..."
Mother! Zhang Fengxi howled in his head. I am hurt! You are practically bullying me intoahouse arrest!
Thankfully, Zhang Zhiyuan picked the right time to show up.
"My dear, Fengxi is badly hurt. I don’t think that he should be locked up in the palace."
Lady Song fumed. She put both hands at her waist and raised her voice, "So what if he’s hurt? It’s his own fault, isn’t it?"
Zhang Zhiyuan paused for a while as he gaped at his wife. And then he meekly answered, "Well, actually..."
"I don’t want you to keep making excuses for your son! He is grounded!"
"... Fine, ground him."
Zhang Fengxi groaned again. This time it was not due to pain but out of protest.
Lady Song looked her husband up and down.
"And you, where are you going? Why are you dressed so formally?"
Zhang Zhiyuan looked down at his official robe.
"Oh, it’s just... All palace masters gathered at the Golden Dragon Palace to discuss a very important matter."
"What matter? Your son is hurt! What if the Demon Kings decide to attack our palace?"
"Aiyah. Dear, stop being so dramatic. You don’t understand. The First Demon King had done something horrible to the Crown Prince."
Xie Jianyu?
Zhang Fengxi stopped making noise in order to listen better.
Lady Song lowered her voice to a whisper.
"What’s wrong, Dear? Is the Crown Prince badly wounded? Oh, the poor boy."
"Worse," Zhang Zhiyuan said in a dramatic tone. "The First Demon King turned the Crown Prince into an omega."