Chapter 208 - The Struggle of an Heir

Being the Young Miss of the Xiong family and being the official heir of the Xiong Empire had a great difference.

The first one meant being a member of the main family which held a lot of privileges. As a titled Young Miss, Xiong Zhi could exploit all the benefits the surname Xiong could offer.

However, it was entirely different with being the official heir of the whole Xiong Empire. Not only would she be respected by the whole Xiong family, but she would also hold immense authority way more than when she was simply the Young Miss.

When she was just a Young Miss, she could not decide any major decisions in her life nor could she join the Xiong Empire's business. She might own a share, but as a tool meant to continue the line and give birth to an heir for the Xiong family, her title was more like a vase for display.

Gaining the official heir title symbolized becoming the owner of that place.

This was really unbelievable.

The Xiong family was not like the Tang family which only had females in their lineage, thus, resulting to their heirs being the women of the clan. In the Xiong family, there was no lack of men in other branches, and following the basic tradition of the country, the Xiong family heir should be male. That was why Xiong Zhi's mother was not given the title as the official heir. Her father was instead married into the Xiong family in hopes that the couple would give birth to a baby boy, which would then be titled as the official heir.

However, their child, Xiong Zhi, ended up being a girl. Furthermore, she had no siblings as her parents died early. So, the hope of giving birth to an heir fell to her shoulders. This was the reason why in the past, Guan Gao Huan was chosen by Old Xiong and Master Guan to be married into the Xiong family. With Xiong Zhi's and Guan Gao Huan's marriage, the two families would have an unbreakable alliance wherein both would not lose anything but gain only benefits instead.

One family needed an heir while the other had an expendable heir to give.

It was give and take.

However, before the appointed time of their marriage arrived, Old Xiong died, leaving the Xiong Empire in a mess. Then, tragedy befell onto her.

But now, she was finally given the official heir title of the Xiong Empire. Everything could change. Perhaps, if Xiong Zhi had failed to fulfill the deal with her grandfather, she would have no other choice but to marry Guan Gao Huan, as he was originally the man that her grandfather had chosen.

But from the beginning, since the day she had proposed that deal to her grandfather, Xiong Zhi had set her mind that she would never marry Gao Huan, no matter if she lost or won. That was why she asked for four years' time, for assurance.

With this assurance, in case her grandfather followed the same fate he had in the past life, even if he ended up dead by the time she turned eighteen, with the title of an official heir, Xiong Zhi could go against her original fate. 

She would be able to control her shares. She could buy shares even though she was not yet twenty-three, and she could make decisions for the whole Empire. She would be able to decide over her whole life's matters.

Old Xiong might have put a big responsibility on her, but Xiong Zhi was not daunted by that. She eagerly anticipated the power she would gain to overcome her fate.

From all the gifts she had received today, this one was the greatest and the most valuable to her.

She was left dumbfounded with this pleasant surprise.

Someone started to clap, and the rest of the people began to wake up from their daze and clapped as well.

The visitors were still shocked. It was the first time in the history of the Xiong family that a female descendant was titled as the official heir.

Xiong Zhi steadied her heart and calmly walked to her grandfather. She bowed.

"I can't thank you enough, grandfather."

"Mhm, Zhi'er. There are still quite a few things though that you need to uphold if you want to be a proper heir for the Xiong Empire."

Xiong Zhi nodded. She knew that. There would be a lot of sacrifices for someone to deserve that title. But Xiong Zhi, who was fully prepared for what was about to come, did not mind that. In two years, in no less than two years, the Xiong Empire would be a total mess. 

Remembering those troubled nights, Xiong Zhi stared at her grandfather who was smiling at her. Old Xiong's smile was warm; however, Xiong Zhi could not return that warm smile. Because from the very beginning, from the time she woke up to this second life, she had treated this old man as good as dead. She thought, he was about to die anyway. 

She had grieved for him. She had watched him turn to ashes.

A pang of pain emerged in her heart. Even if she did not want to admit it, he was still her grandfather, and with her grandfather thoughtfully doing things for her today, Xiong Zhi felt more sorrowful. For once, her grandfather acted like a real grandfather to her.

For once, maybe even just for today, she could call him intimately.

Xiong Zhi opened her mouth.

"I know. Thank you for everything, grandpa." Xiong Zhi then took a step closer and hugged him lightly.

Maybe she was moved by today's events, for the weapon that Old Xiong gave to her to overcome her fate felt even more precious. Her grandfather might be the one who had previously brought her demise, but now in this life, he had given her a path of escape.

Xiong Zhi hugged Old Xiong one last time.

If she could change his fate, like how Lu Yin Ze's fate had, maybe her grandfather could have a chance to live longer in this lifetime. If there was a way, Xiong Zhi would like to take it. However, she had no clue how Old Xiong's health suddenly deteriorated, ending with his death.

Old Xiong felt awkward, being hugged by his granddaughter all of the sudden. He had never been intimate with others like this. So he just stood there awkwardly while looking at Butler Zhou, silently asking for help.

Butler Zhou just smiled. Such a precious sight. This was the only time it happened. He wanted to let the grandfather-granddaughter pair spend their time just like this and act like a real family. Even just for today.

***

The party continued warmly as the visitors witnessed the heartwarming hug between the mighty tiger of Xiong and the youngest woman in Asia who held so much power in her hands at such a young age. The visitors were full of envy, but the thought of taking this opportunity to befriend the future legendary female owner of the Xiong family took over. They gathered around Xiong Zhi and extended their congratulatory greetings to her.

It took a long time before all the meet and greet with the birthday celebrant ended.

While nodding and giving small smiles, Xiong Zhi's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of spending time with her Aunt Mai, Uncle Nuen Zai, and little Ryu. And also her friends. Since earlier, she had noticed Song Xuantin waving at her nonstop from her table.

After the greetings from the guests, the people from the various branches of the Xiong family came next.

They approached Xiong Zhi one by one. The people who were most shocked of the sudden news today was probably from the second branch.

Xiong Bilan with his sons, Xiong Cai with his daughters, and Xiong De with his butler, all greeted Xiong Zhi with warm smiles.

(A/n: if you forgot the family tree, which I know of course you do, you can refer at chap 49, there's a family tree and a bit of introduction.)

Xiong Bilan, her first uncle, smiled as if he heard such truly great news.

"I am really happy for you, my niece. You have grown up well. I believe the Xiong Empire will prosper in your hands."

His sons, Xiong Emm and Xiong Fann nodded at the side. Xiong Fann who wore his heart on his sleeve had a gloomy face on, but Xiong Emm wore a kindly face and managed to balance the the atmosphere. One would think that this family was really rooting for Xiong Zhi.

Xiong Zhi looked at them for a while. She bowed lightly.

"I thank first uncle for coming here. I am very happy with your compliments. Please look after me in the future." Xiong Zhi lowered her eyes to the ground so no one could see how cold her eyes were.

Xiong Fann snorted. 'Look after me, my ass. You are still a woman. It will be very difficult for you to handle the Empire.'

As Xiong Fann was about to speak those words, his older brother, Xiong Emm blocked him and spoke kindly to Xiong Zhi.

"Of course. We are family after all. Even though we are mostly staying and managing the company in Canada, we will work hard for the whole Xiong Empire. I am looking forward to working with you in the future, cousin." Xiong Emm used the approach of the familial love.

Xiong Zhi looked up and stared at this man. Between the two, Xiong Zhi actually would rather face the younger brother than this man. Xiong Fann was easy to handle, for he was rude and spoke without caution. In the past, when her grandfather died, these two came to her and tried every possible means to buy her shares.

Xiong Fann had approached her rudely, so she rejected him by ignoring him. In the end though, he had done nothing else aside from harassing Xiong Zhi verbally. On the other hand, this man, Xiong Emm, was akin to Gao Huan. He was cunning and full of schemes. He had almost made her sell her shares. It was a good thing that Linfeng was there and found something odd. She barely escaped his scheme. However, it was not the same with the other shareholders. 

This man, Xiong Emm, would surely be tough to handle when the battle within the Xiong family comes.

Receiving the title of the official family heir seemed like she had finally won. In fact, it was actually just the beginning. All of the people who were eyeing the official heir position would turn their greedy eyes on her. It was just like in the past, but it came earlier than the predestined time in this second lifetime.