In the duration of many generations, the Yuan family expanded its control over the country's military forces. Particularly noteworthy was Yuan Chuan, Yuan Rong's grandfather, who was once a Lieutenant General and held the position at the age of 55. He was proclaimed to be a genius in military warfare and combat skills.
Yuan Rong took after his grandfather and became the next head of the main branch amongst his three brothers, who had mediocre talents in comparison. Sons from the Yuan family were expected to train from a young age in combat skills, which Yuan Rong excelled at. He became a Colonial whilst his brothers remained at the rank of Major. From then on, he continued to progress until he eventually became a Major General, one rank below that of his grandfather's.
Yuan Rong settled down one day and his wife gave birth to 5 children over the years, three boys and two girls. The eldest son, Yuan Guang, became the next head as a result of his accomplishments in achieving the Colonial Commandment rank and saving the Prime Minister from a terrorist attack. Yuan Guang's wife, Yang He, came from a wealthy family and after a year, gave birth to a boy and girl. Yuan Xue was expected to become the next head of the family as he was the only son of Yuan Guang. That is until Yuan Min appeared.
20 years ago, a year after Madam Yuan's pregnancy, Yuan Guang was met with a mishap. He was injected with a strong aphrodisiac by his enemies, who then forced a young woman upon him. The young woman was the unwilling Huang Biyu, mother of Yuan Min, who was threatened using her sick father as leverage. The enemies thought to use Huang Biyu as a double agent but the plan backfired because of a certain person. After Huang Biyu gave birth to a son, Yuan Min, Yuan Guang never married her because of his guilt towards his wife, but kept her by his side to protect her reputation. After years of companionship, Yuan Guang couldn't help but fell in love with Huang Biyu's kindness and strong will.
However, Yuan Min deeply resented his mother. He was born as an illegitimate son and thus, was looked down upon by society. From a young age, he shunned his own mother and made plans to grow closer to Madam Yuan to improve his status.
At the same time, Yuan Xue and Yuan Chang grew up in the care of their distant mother. Some years later, Yuan Chang was sent to a boarding school, and Yuan Xue watched on as his own mother showed more affection to Yuan Min than she ever did to him.
There were many rumors surrounding Madam Yuan's strange behavior. Some theorized that Yuan Xue might not have been her real son, however, DNA tests proved otherwise. Others said that Madam Yuan was jealous of Huang Biyu, so she intentionally formed a connection with her son to get revenge, but forgot to care for her own in the process. The bottom-line was that Madam Yuan had a strange hatred for her blood and flesh.
Yuan Xue suffered abandonment issues as a result of his mother's neglect. One day, he followed his father to Huang Biyu's home and found solace with Huang Biyu, who provided him with the love and care a real mother would give. When she turned 20, Yuan Chang returned as the Eldest Miss, only to discover the bloody fight for the seat of the next head was well underway.
Yuan Xing's father, Yuan Heng, was the third child of Yuan Ji, Yuan Guang's youngest brother, but because he was illegitimate and had no shocking accomplishments to speak of, no one recognized his existence. His marriage to a foreign woman with no meaningful background further isolated him from his family and he chose to live away from the family home.
Yuan Xue was taken with Yuan Xing at first sight. Not because he was romantically interested in her or anything, quite the opposite actually. Because of his upbringing, Yuan Xue had no one to talk to you since his cousins liked to ridicule him alongside Yuan Min, so oddly enough, Yuan Xing presented an opportunity. Another chance to make things different and to be a better self.
He took Yuan Xing under his wing and fully immersed himself in his role as her protective older brother. When Yuan Chang came back around the same time, he also made it his job to protect his beloved younger sisters and make sure no harm came their way.
This fierce protectiveness turned aggressive when he saw how they were treated by other Yuan family members, and for the first time in his life, Yuan Xue had a goal. He was never really interested in it before, but to protect his adorable and 'fragile' sisters, Yuan Xue needed power, and the only way to do that would be to become the next head.
Yuan Xue began to converse with Yuan Xing after they left their Grandfather's quarters.
"There's going to be another party next week. All relatives from the top families in Imperial were invited. You could bet those snakes will use this event against us." His worried eyes flickered across my face.
She smirked. "They could try. The winner is yet to be determined. Why should we be worried about a dog's schemes when it can never match a true predator? Don't worry about it too much, Brother Xue. All is according to plan. "