[Songhai Hall]
Consort Feng walked into the main hall followed behind by He Xuan.
She stood still for a moment when they had entered and turned to look at He Xuan.
In the split of a second, her dignified appearance disappeared. She directly removed her shoe and wanted to strike He Xuan. Luckily, He Xuan was quick and dodged in time. She began chasing him round the hall.
"You insolent child! How dare you act so presumptuously? It's fine that you don't care about your own image but can you at least spare me some dignity!"
He Xuan kept on dodging her attacks.
"Mother, I'm your own son and a territorial prince. How can you attack me like this?"
He Xuan was hiding behind her seat and dodging her attacks side to side.
"My son? So you know you're my son? I wasn't aware", she said raising the shoe to hit his head.
Unfortunately, he could not dodge in time. The shoe struck right at his head.
"Ouch!" He Xuan winced loudly as he touched his head. He dramatically fell down.
"My son!" Consort Feng rushed to pick him up.
The servants all watched, bemused. Anytime He Xuan came home, this was the drama they all had to witness.
He Xuan was helped to sit and Consort Feng began blowing on his head.
"It hurts", He Xuan kept wincing.
"Why didn't you dodge? Someone! Get me an ointment!" she ordered.
A maid rushed off to get the ointment.
"You are so childish. Who asked you to make a fuss in front of everyone?" she continued scolding him as she rubbed his head with her hand to prevent swelling.
"I had no other option. Do you really want me to marry her?" He Xuan asked.
"What's wrong with marrying her? From what I see she's perfect for you. You are shameless, undisciplined and lazy while she is dignified, elegant and graceful. You don't even deserve her and yet you are lucky enough to be chosen by her"
He Xuan ducked beneath her arm and quickly moved out of her reach.
He stood away from her at a safe distance, "I don't deserve her? Well, I don't want her in the first place. You'll have to tie me up to get married to her", he said with his hands on his waist.
"You... You think I don't dare tie you up?"
Consort Feng understood her son's only talent was getting on her nerves.
"I do, I really do but that depends on whether you can catch me", he said poking out his face before running off.
"You...." she tried running after him but he had gone far.
"Bye, mother"
She stood with her hands on her waist trying to catch her breath, "wait till I catch you", she muttered before going back to her seat.
Her maid, Ling Long, couldn't help laughing.
"That boy is so annoying", Consort Feng could not help sighing as she drank the water Ling Long served her.
[Channing Palace]
He Yu was reading a scroll while standing next to Lingxi who was seated at the study table.
He paused for a moment thinking of how to start a conversation with her.
"Are you worried?" he asked.
Lingxi was embroidering a handkerchief. The sun had just set.
"Worried?" Lingxi didn't look like it.
"About Qin Yan?" He Yu completed.
"I'm not worried. Qin Yan is capable and can handle anything", Lingxi answered.
He walked up to the table and sat opposite her.
"I've always been curious - how and when did you meet him?" he asked.
He genuinely wanted to know about Lingxi's close relationships to understand her better.
"I first met Qin Yan at three years old. He was an orphan. My birth father brought him back home from the streets. He was often aloof and indifferent. He had a strong sense of duty and never bent or compromised. Father was impressed with him and favored him so much he taught him martial arts. He was a fast learner and mastered many techniques before he turned six. He then became my bodyguard he was like an older brother to me and Sang Xue'er", she paused for a minute before continuing her story, "later, my uncle, Duke Su, was sent to defend the Southeast so he took his wife and Sang Xue'er with him. Unfortunately, disaster struck and my entire family was framed for treason and was massacred. My father helped the both of us escape and entrusted us to our butler. When we finally escaped, we ended up caught and chased by two imperial guards. We thought we were done for, but at the last moment, a young man saved us. I was eight then while Qin Yan was around ten, and he looked around eighteen years old"
He Yu looked at her for a long time. Lingxi looked closely at the handkerchief and carefully made a curve before she went on with her story.
"This young man sent us to meet Mo Qinshan and left. Mo Qinshan later pleaded with the emperor and saved mine and Qin Yan's life. To prevent me from carrying the title of a traitor's daughter, he adopted me and took me as his own daughter. I also gained an older brother, Xiuyan. They both loved me and cared for me deeply", she paused for a minute and looked at He Yu as she continued, "as for Qin Yan - he also wanted to adopt him but he insisted that his only role was to protect me and nothing else. We later went exploring and traveling together", she finished.
He Yu was quiet for a while. How could someone say something like that with a straight face?
Lingxi noticed that he was lost.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
He Yu came back to reality and Lingxi continued her embroidery.
"I was wondering how you could keep a straight face while talking about the injustice done to your family", he said.
Lingxi could not help but let out a short laugh. She found He Yu's expression a bit cute, "all is fair in love and war. Winning and losing are part of life. My father had many enemies and was outsmarted. He lost, such is life"
He Yu stared at her for a long time.
"Why are you staring at me?" she asked.
"I won't let you lose", He Yu said.
Though his tone was tender, he meant every word.
Lingxi stared back at him for a long time before responding, "That's good to hear. I'm good at many things. The one thing I'm not good at is losing"
He Yu smiled at her and she smiled back. There was a short moment of silence as they smiled at each other.
Lingxi broke it, "I am curious. The token you gave Qin Yan, what is it?"
*******
The journey along the way was supposedly going smoothly till they encountered a problem.
Due to the damp muddy roads, two wheels of the carriage had gotten stuck and refused to move.
"What's going on?" He Yan asked after the bump in the carriage he had just experienced and the sudden stillness.
"Reporting to Your Highness - the wheels of the carriage are stuck. We may have to pause our journey for some time", the chief escort, an Imperial guard, Ming'an answered.
He Yan turned to Qin Yan who was seated in the carriage with his arms folded across his sword as usual.
He was totally indifferent to the situation and did not seem to care about anything.
"Guard Qin Yan, how do you think we should handle this situation?" He Yan asked him.
Qin Yan did not answer and He Yan was not happy. It was one thing for Qin Yan not to say anything throughout the journey but it was another for him to keep quiet concerning a problem that affected anyone.
"Guard Qin Yan, I'm talking to you", He Yan said, this time slightly louder.
Qin Yan's gaze shifted to him and he felt a chill on his back. "Why are you staring at me like that? Are you threatening me?" he could not understand the meaning behind Qin Yan's sudden gaze right after he raised his voice at him.
Qin Yan did not bother with him, "I am only responsible for mentoring Your Highness on reaching the Northwest. As for how we get there and your safety, the escort is responsible for that. It is none of my concern"
Qin Yan would not do anything outside his work scope.
He Yan looked at him speechless.