Curiosity of Rage
Summer came.
Beiyue has a strict schedule.
After breakfast is Literacy, Arithmetic, Law, and Martial Arts Education. After lunch is 'Training From Hell' while cultivating, and after dinner is Swordsmanship Training. On weekends, were Manners and Etiquette Lessons for Dongling, and they study known herbs and elixirs together.
They eat a heavy breakfast and light lunch, comprising of meat and vegetables, then a dinner of seafood and fruit, the meals all have healthy spices for health and medicinal benefits other than an extra flavor kick to make a balanced diet.
That, and they consume pills to get better, to gain strong bones, dense muscles without having to be muscular, and formidable organs. However, they avoid the skin care when 'it's enough' to make it believable that they're still poor, so Dongling couldn't have lily-white skin just yet. They did spoil their hair, at least.
Two seasons came and went, that two girls gained some height and flesh into their skinny selves. Beiyue's face no longer looked gaunt and sunken with dark rings around her eyes.
Dongling who was eleven has just turned twelve. Puberty came for her in the form of beauty. From the elixirs she consumed, she felt the feeling of her face being re-arranged and sculpted by thousands of tiny hands for two seasons, that she now has the beauty her bloodline can afford her being a commoner, so she has a 'pretty face'. But among all commoners in Linhua, particularly that of servants, she was the best-looking 'pretty face' or common beauty. Her teeth also suffered the same way that all her childhood teeth fell out and adult teeth grew in, nice, pearly-white and straight! Her teeth falling out was a mortifying experience since she bled a lot from the gums a lot. So did Beiyue actually.
The mean girls in the estate have crooked, discolored ugly teeth. Sadly, the Xiao sisters have perfect dentals too. Oh well, but at least, inferior to Beiyue in looks. Royalty and Aristocracy have several centuries of breeding beauty into their blood, marrying only beauties. Xiao's Concubines were just plain 'pretty faces' and that's it.
The reason for their beauty was the pills that allow them to keep their youth, and getting lily-white skin. But that doesn't hide their being plain janes as westerners put it in Beiyue's eyes.
No Elixir on earth, will deny the truth.
School has begun.
Lingyang School opened.
However, for the children of Xiao, all is not well since their illness caused them degrees of weakness...and ugliness.
Xiao Yun who's a thirteen year old 2-star Summoner has ki the equivalent of a Gold Class Warrior. However, her Ice Element was to her detriment with the illness that spread in the estate.
Xiao Zhongqi, the eldest son in the family who's sixteen this year who's a Silver Class C was equal to her in symptoms.
Then the family weakest cultivators in Xiao Ling who's seventeen, Xiao Zhonglei who's twelve and Xiao Rou who's ten - a few months younger than Beiyue, were bedridden and unable to physically hone their bodies in martial arts.
Xiao Yuancheng was frustrated hence at what's going on.
His wives are ill and bedridden, wasting away in bed and at a loss they look like living corpses now. His servants are also ill as well and too weak to get working! Some even died!
"I should have arranged that brat's accident when I had the chance!" he thought angrily, thinking of his third useless daughter. He too, was ill. But can get by with his cultivation. Sure she's useful for money, but when she dies, the income from Qinghe and Miyang is no longer accessible as Emperor hated him for his stunt years ago that as much as he hates to admit it, the trash was useful for one thing! He kept her alive just so his other children can cultivate! Cultivation is expensive and when they rise enough, its time to arrange that wretch's accident. Her illness was actually contagious!
However, would they even have a future now?
His children drastically lost weight, sunken-looking with dark rings around their eyes.
He was no different.
Who on earth will marry them now? They look like corpses!
But what's done is done. Her money gave them the damn disease too. He'll make the most of it and kill that little shit, as soon as they get a doctor who can treat them!
xxx
In Lingyang School...
A lot of people gasped.
The carriage of Xiao stopped at their usual place in the parking lot, but a lot of people stared at Xiao Zhongqi and Xiao Yun in horror and ran away in fear of contagion.
Everyone in the city knows that Huang Beiyue's illness spread to the entire mansion of Princess Royal!
"I'm supposed to score a handsome nobleman...but who'll marry me now?!" Xiao Yun had to hold back her anger and frustration.
She was aware of what's truly going on. She's in cahoots with her mother after all.
But given their symptoms, how could they have known, that exposure to it by keeping that bitch sick will get them sick too! The fumes of the poison got them too and spread all over the mansion!
AND THERE'S NO CURE!
She's ugly, like a living corpse instead of the blossoming beauty she was! And she won't live long, either!
Her mother was in tears that 'they' ensured they won't live long to enjoy their fortune, and how!
To shut them up to hide their crime maybe?!
That can only be it!
This isn't faaaair!
xxx
'Euurrrggghhh...'
Princess Huang Yingye, age twelve and just started her year in Lingyang School cringed. Beside her was her older blood brother Zhanye who is fourteen.
'Gosh, is her illness that contagious that her whole family is affected?' Yingye wondered to her brother who just frowned.
'If it was, our Imperial Army would've been done for by now, so I doubt it.' said Huang Zhanye, the Crown Prince. 'Prince Consort is a Duwei in the army and nobody there's gotten sick yet. Something's going on.'
'...how about we go check?' Yingye suggested. 'We can't go by ourselves or we'll get in trouble without Prince Xiaoyao around.'
That got Zhanye frowning.
When Princess Royal died, he left the country in grief and anger.
Without him around, everyone's cultivation came to a halt, as its competition for the remaining cultivational pills now. Naturally, those who can afford it, bought all they could.
Thank goodness for royal privileges.
However, he is also everyone's source of medicine above Grade 6 pills.
The most Pharmacists in Linhua can make, are up to Grade 5-class pills only, being Mystic-Ranked. The only Heaven-Class Pharmacist here, is Prince Xiaoyao.
And nobody can cure the whole Xiao Estate!
xxx
Linghuo found himself on a mission. He was a spirit beast, a flaming falcon.
As a spirit beast, he cannot be affected by what ails mortals.
So his master Zhanye sent him to spy in the Xiao Estate that morning and suppress his presence.
His task is to look for Princess Huang Beiyue and see her situation.
He searched everywhere, but no princess? Not even in the dungeons? Wait, there are also other empty buildings there...
And he found her.
In Flowing Cloud Pavilion, a rundown shack with a yard of weeds!
She wears simple clothes with her hair down and teaching a girl literacy!
And she doesn't look sick...in fact, she's healthy, albeit skinny.
He flew back to Lingyang School to report to his master's father, the Royal Emperor because master is in class. He cannot get a report right now...
'Your majesty~!' Linghuo flew into the Emperor's Office.
'Oh Linghuo! Did Zhanye need anything?' the Emperor gently greeted his son's spirit beast.
'It started like this, Master and Princess saw how bad off Childe Xiao and Miss Xiao is in illness yet they still attended school. Princess Yingye was worried about Princess Beiyue so master sent me to look since mortal stuff doesn't affect me anyway~' Linghuo began. 'But for a princess, Princess Beiyue lives in a shack!'
Beat.
The Emperor got really angry.
'WHAT?!' the Emperor roared, startling his aides and the summon. 'ELABORATE!'
'I found her in the most remote place in Princess Royal's estate, a rundown decrepit shack called Flowing Cloud Pavilion. She dresses in cheap clothes and teaching another girl how to read and write. Her hair is also down. Wearing an unusual fashion too. Her skirt is a little too tight and narrow. Maybe she made do with what she's got?' said Linghuo. 'I snuck into the shack and...she really lives there.'
The Emperor's anger is so palpable the aides waited for the bomb to explode.
'I want to see this for myself!' the Emperor started walking towards the door. 'Lead me there when we get to the estate!'
'Yes your majesty!'
'Your majesty please wait! You can't go out without a bodyguard!' the frantic aides reminded him.
The reveal that the Princess is forced into a shack and wearing cheap clothes would naturally anger the Emperor.
And servants seeing the angry Emperor go out got them wondering why he went out personally and looked ready to kill someone.