Lady Xian

The Xian Family of Guangzhou and Lady Xian—this was a name one could never avoid.

Ever since the first Lady Xian married Feng Bao and the two families cooperated to control the entire South of the Ranges region, the Xian Family had become an existence in the South of the Ranges second only to the Feng Family.

The title "Lady Xian" had transformed from an honorific for a specific person into a symbolic title.

The two families naturally intermarried for generations; it felt much like the Yelu and Xiao families of the Liao State in the original timeline.

Every generation, the woman who married into the Feng Family became the new Lady Xian. The current Lady Xian was called Xian Ying; she was Feng Pu's second wife and also his former sister-in-law.

Two sisters marrying the same man one after another—this was considered a beautiful story in the South of the Ranges.

However, the cooperation between the two families now seemed to be on the verge of collapse, which was hardly surprising.

The Feng Family had long entrenched itself in the South of the Ranges, sending people to the imperial court for tribute only symbolically each year, and the core members of the family never set foot on the lands of the Central Plains.

On the surface, they were dukes enfeoffed by the imperial court and Military Governor of the Lingnan Circuit, but in reality, they were nothing more than separatist warlords and local emperors.

Having been a local emperor for too long, one naturally wanted to take the next step and remove the "local" part. Feng Pu was that ambitious person; he had clearly discovered the signs of an impending chaotic era.

With the right time and place, Feng Pu's ambition had begun to grow quietly. According to Gao Zhong's intelligence, the troops of the Lingnan Circuit had now expanded to fifty thousand, and these were troops recruited by bypassing the Xian Family.

Since he wanted to be emperor, having a family that shared the world with him was not allowed; they were even the type of people that needed to be eradicated.

Clearly, Feng Pu was not prepared to wait for the Xian Family to grow powerful before acting; instead, he planned to eliminate this future threat before it became too big to control.

"Husband, why did the Xian Family suddenly come to find us?"

"They didn't suddenly come to find us; they have been prepared for a long time. After careful selection, they chose me. You could say it's a precaution."

Gao Yuan revealed a meaningful smile.

"However, they have miscalculated this time. If Feng Pu is a wolf, then I am a fierce tiger—a tiger that eats people without spitting out the bones."

Regarding the Xian Family's intentions, Gao Yuan had guessed about seventy or eighty percent. It was nothing more than feeling that their original backer was no longer reliable and wanting to embrace a new one to maintain the family's glory.

It was a pity that their calculations were destined to fail. Gao Yuan's ambition was even greater than Feng Pu's; he not only wanted to support Zhao Xiyao in taking the world, but also to weaken these Powerful Families as much as possible.

In the history of the Hua Kingdom, regardless of the era, whenever the Powerful Families developed to their peak, the collapse of a dynasty was not far off.

Of course, one had to admit that the Powerful Families had also made great contributions in history. Many Prime Ministers and generals whose names would go down in history came from Powerful Families; after all, they held the best resources.

Gao Yuan didn't think he could change this situation on his own, but trying to delay it as much as possible was worth a shot.

For example, supporting a group of meritorious nobles, small Powerful Families, or even a group of clean officials to rise to power and contend with these large Powerful Families was not a problem.

Take the Ming Dynasty, for example. If the backbone of the meritorious noble group hadn't been completely wiped out by the God of War Zhu Qizhen at the Tumu Fortress, it wouldn't have led to the Donglin Faction becoming dominant and eventually becoming uncontrollable.

Therefore, the art of checks and balances, the way of equilibrium—although emperors of all dynasties hated factional strife, they were addicted to it.

Because it was truly useful.

Coastal Defense City, the back hall of the Prefectural Office. Gao Yuan met the visitor—a person who surprised him.

If he were to evaluate his four women, Zhao Xiyao was beautiful to the extreme, Zheng Wan and Song Yao were gentle and generous, and Mu Qing was lively and cute.

But when it came to the level of seduction, the four of them combined were not as good as the woman in front of him.

This was not a traditional beauty; her face was slightly square, and her lips were slightly thick.

But the seductive aura emanating from her bones could not be blocked at all.

Especially those eyes, which always carried a soul-hooking radiance.

At this moment, two adjectives naturally popped into Gao Yuan's mind:

"Born with a seductive bone, a femme fatale!"

Women are born with a strong defensive mentality towards the opposite sex who approach their men, let alone such a femme fatale.

Mu Qing blocked Gao Yuan directly, like a small beast guarding its food, staring fixedly at the femme fatale in front of her.

"Who are you?"

The woman sitting and leisurely drinking tea smiled lightly.

"Facing such a weak woman like me who has no power to truss a chicken, why does Commandery Duke Gao have to act like he is facing a formidable enemy?"

Looking at the poise of the woman in front of him, Gao Yuan already had some guesses in his heart, and he gently pushed the woman in front of him aside.

"Lady Xian, your arrival is truly a failure on my part to welcome you. Please, sit."

Xian Ying revealed a light smile again.

"Commandery Duke truly has good judgment."

As she spoke, she intentionally or unintentionally cast her gaze toward the wary Mu Qing, revealing a meaningful smile.

"I have something to discuss with the Commandery Duke. Perhaps this lady could..."

"Whatever you want to discuss, just discuss it. Are you afraid I will leak it?"

Seeing Xian Ying's embarrassed look, Gao Yuan knew she still had reservations and could only persuade her with kind words.

Mu Qing was a bit naive, a bit simple, and a bit possessive, but she was definitely not an unreasonable woman.

So, she just glared fiercely at Xian Ying and then left angrily.

Once the room door was closed, Gao Yuan then spoke.

"Alright, everyone is gone. Lady Xian, if you have anything to say, please say it."

Xian Ying and Gao Yuan stared at each other for a while, finally convinced that this man, who was more beautiful than herself, had no desire for her body, and then she spoke.

"I presume the Commandery Duke has already heard about the affairs between the Xian Family and the Feng Family."

"I know a little, but it is all hearsay. I don't know how much of it is credible."

"The Feng Family and the Xian Family have intermarried for generations and have always been an unbreakable in-law relationship; but now Feng Pu's ambition is growing, and he is even suppressing and ostracizing the Xian Family everywhere..."

"So you want to use my hand to get rid of Feng Pu, or rather, to eradicate the Feng Family, right?"

Gao Yuan sipped his tea and continued to ask.

"I just don't know what benefits I can get from this?"

"As long as the Commandery Duke can get rid of the Feng Family, the Xian Family is willing to serve the Commandery Duke as our master and guard the South of the Ranges for you for generations."

"Hahaha, your Xian Family is really calculating well!"

Gao Yuan revealed a contemptuous smile.

"Borrow my hand to get rid of the Feng Family, and then your Xian Family will replace them and continue to be the local emperor of the South of the Ranges."

Gao Yuan couldn't be bothered to waste breath with this woman. He stood up and looked down at Xian Ying.

"Trouble Lady Xian to go back and tell the person in power in your Xian Family: in my place, there is no such thing as listening to orders but not to the imperial summons; all existences that attempt to divide and occupy territory will ultimately be met by the iron hooves of a great army."

"Commandery Duke, stay your step."

Seeing Gao Yuan about to leave, Xian Ying was obviously a bit anxious.

"Commandery Duke, please think twice. Without the support of our Xian Family, I am afraid you will not be able to control the South of the Ranges."

Gao Yuan narrowed his eyes, and there was already a faint killing intent in his eyes.

"Are you threatening me?"

Xian Ying knew she had misspoken and hurriedly tried to remedy it.

"I spoke out of turn in my anxiety. Please, Commandery Duke, do not take offense."

"I don't care whether you spoke out of turn in your anxiety or if that is truly what you think in your heart; I can tell you clearly today: your Xian Family's desire to replace the Feng Family is nothing but wishful thinking. As for what you said about controlling the South of the Ranges, I have my own methods. Anyone who attempts to obstruct me will turn into dust. I hope you will go back and think about it clearly. Do not say you were not warned!"

After speaking, Gao Yuan flicked his sleeves and left.