As Ye Fei said that, his sharp gaze wandered around the room searching for any fluctuating signs in space.
Seeing this, Xi Shen frowned and said, “Vice Head Master Ye Fei, I think we have gone way off topic from what we were supposed to be talking about, and by we I mean you.”
Hearing that, Ye Fei coughed awkwardly and said, “Right, right, second prince, you might not want to admit it, but these are evidence against you that shows your nature to cause trouble.” Ye Fei gestured to the stack of papers as he said that.
Looking at the frowning Xi Shen, he continued and said, “Due to you being the second prince, the Celestial Academy will overlook this incident”
Xi Shen raised his eyebrow upon hearing that.
“And who exactly are you to speak for the Celestial Academy?”
“Oh, don’t get it wrong, I’m only here on orders. That Outer Sect Head Elder Donghuan has been given way too much power. If you hadn’t known before he is a member of the Ming Clan, and I’m sure you know of the precarious relationship they have with your Li Clan.”
Xi Shen nodded his head upon hearing that, and said, “They were the original rulers of the Maple Continent several thousand years ago. But due to the sudden death of their Family Head, the Emperor's youngest brother, and also the Emperor himself, their family suffered a decline and was eventually overthrown by my Li Clan.”
This was somewhat common knowledge among the aristocratic families and the top sects and Academies on the Maple Continent.
Ye Fei then said, “Despite your Li Clan being the rulers of the continent, they are still wary of the seven major clans. If the seven of them ever decide to join forces, then the Royal Family would have a hard time fending them off. The only reason why it probably hasn’t happened yet is due to your father’s cultivation and your brother’s talent and future potential.”
“Why are you telling all this?” Xi Shen asked.
Ye Fei shrugged and said, “Isn’t it obvious? With your father and brother in the picture, the seven major clans are guaranteed to be hesitant to oppose the Li Royal Family. You, on the other hand, the second prince who can’t cultivate, is like a discarded puzzle piece that anyone could pick up and do whatever they want with it. Say, someone could fabricate a story of you capturing young women and taking advantage of them, or you using your status to order a person’s family to be executed for whatever reason.”
Hearing Ye Fei’s words, Xi Shen couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
He understood what Ye Fei was trying to say. Currently, his name among the populace wasn’t in a good light. If word suddenly got out of him caring out heinous acts such as what Ye Fei mentioned, the reputation of the Royal Family would become under fire.
The fact of the matter is he was in a situation where someone could use him as a weak link to attack his clan, specifically his father and brother. Things like the Emperor’s son is so despicable and the Crown Prince’s brother should be punished, would start to become the norm among the people. Eventually, the reputation the Li Royal Family had built up as the rulers of the Maple Continent until now, would crumble. Even the commoners' respect for their rulers would wain, and with a bit of guidance in the right direction that could turn into distrust.
This scenario might seem far-fetched but something like this occurring could likely happen. The fact that someone had manipulated things from the shadows to such a degree that it made the Emperor’s decree for Xi Shen to enter the Celestial Academy sound like an abuse of power, and he should be removed from his position as Emperor. Though such thoughts were eventually stomped out, it goes to show that with a little bit of distrust in people's hearts, they could be easily tricked into thinking anything.
Ye Fei few simple words were made with these thoughts in mind.
He was basically giving Xi Shen a warning to keep out of trouble, else the people in the shadows could use it against his clan. And the fact that he casually mention that the Outer Sect Head Elder had too much power, was to inform him that the Ming Clan, who would want nothing more than to ruin the Royal Family’s reputation, had a certain amount of power within the Academy to appoint one of their members as the Outer Sect Elder.
Xi Shen even suspected that Ye Fei mention the seven sects teaming up, to hint at the fact that he had more than one enemy lurking around within the Celestial Academy.
But one thing that confused Xi Shen was why Ye Fei went out of his way to give him a warning.
“You said you were on orders, who’s?”
Hearing Xi Shen’s question, Ye Fei gave him a mysterious smile and said, ”Who do you think?”
‘The Sword Pavilion Head Master? But why would she help me? I have no relation to her, and from my knowledge neither did she with my clan… wait, does she?’
As Xi Shen was thinking to himself, Ye Fei waved his hand and collect all the reports. After which he got up and then said to Xi Shen, “From now on this is your home in the Celestial Academy.”
Ye Fei then headed towards the exit upon saying that.
Stunned by this sudden revelation, Xi Shen quickly got up and said, “Wait, what? Is she planning to keep me as a prisoner in the Academy?!”
This place might seem alright to anyone, but to Xi Shen, he immediately realized why he was given this place in the Inner Sect, and on the Sword Pavilion mountain no less.
Without turning around Ye Fei said, “Of course not, why would the kind and generous Head Master keep you as a prisoner on her Sword Pavilion mountain? Oh, I all most forgot..”
Ye Fei paused as he was about to exit the door, “…For your protection, she has allowed you to become a member of the Sword Pavilion to ward of anyone who might try something against you. She also left a message for you, ‘Stay out of trouble or else.”
After saying that Ye Fei waved as he went through the door and said, “Well, goodbye second prince, your new uniform of the Sword Pavilion should arrive soon, and as a new member of the Sword Pavilion, you get to choose a cultivation method and Sword Manual from our Techniques Library, though I'm not sure if that will be useful to you...”
‘Slam!’
The door echo as Ye Fei Slammed it shut.
Xi Shen could only stare on dumbfounded at the events that just played out.
“Who is this person, and why is she helping me? She had even gone against the Academy’s Leader, who I heard is also her father, to promote me to an Inner Disciple.”
As Xi Shen mumbled those words under his breath, a cat meowing suddenly echoed in the main room.
Turning his head to the left, the standing Xi Shen looked down at the table to see his chubby brown pet cat, licking away at the spirit herb tea on the table.
Frowning, Xi Shen’s hand shot out at the chubby cat and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. Raising the brown cat to eye level, Xi Shen began scolding the cat.
“Bad Tai! How many times have I told you to stop eating and drinking daddy’s things?!! It's because of that bad habit of yours, that you snuck into my storage ring and drank half my Spirit Wine. Look at you, it's been eight months and you’re still fat from the excessive Spiritual Qi.”
As Xi Shen scolded the chubby brown cat, the only thing he got in response was a hiss.
Hearing the hiss, Xi Shen’s eyes became bloodshot as he said, “What do you mean it’s my fault you drank me spirit wine!! Do you know how hard it was to sneak into the treasury to steal that Spirit Wine?!!”
The chubby brown cat name Tai hiss again.
After that, Xi Shen rolled his eyes and said, “So what if you helped me, didn’t I give you your portions of the Spirit Wine?”
Tai then started flaying around while hissing multiple times.
Xi Shen scuffed at that and said, “What do you mean it wasn’t enough? And don't forget you were the one that led that idiot brother of mine to my hiding place three months ago."
"Meow, Meow."
Upon hearing that, Xi Shen said, "Little Snow has nothing to do with it, you're the one who probably decided to lead my brother to me, she was only following along."
Letting out a sigh, Xi Shen then said, "You know what, forget about it…”
After saying that, Xi Shen casually tossed Tai over his shoulders. Before the cat Tai could hit the ground, the space around it seemed to warp, after which it vanished too then reappear on the table again, licking away at the spirit herb tea.
Seeing this, Xi Shen couldn’t be bothered any further as he walked out of the mansion to the front yard.
Standing outside looking up at the sky, Xi Shen suddenly frowned as he said, “I feel like I’m forgetting something… huh, that’s strange what could I be forgetting?”
*******
Hey there my lovely readers!! Remember to vote and leave a review if you enjoy the book so far. You'd be helping this novel big time!!
See ya!! ~waves gb~
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freew𝒆(b)novel.c(o)m Only