Lin Xiao still doubted the Emperorโs true intention but what else was he supposed to do? Who told the Emperor to be the great Son of Heaven?
โSinceโฆ the game will begin tomorrow, can Lin Xiao look around the palace?โ he asked after a while. Since he agreed, then he may as well get a feel around the palace area so that he wonโt get lost or confused when the time comes.
โYou may,โ Qin Yijun replied with a smile.
โIs there a place that is forbidden?โ Lin Xiao asked once again.
โThere is noneโโ Qin Yijun paused in his sentence before a frown appeared on his face. โNoโฆ there are two places where you are not allowed to go. Liangren Palace and Hua Baihe Palace,โ Qin Yijun told Lin Xiao. โBut donโt worry. The keys wonโt be hidden at those two places.โ
Lin Xiao kept the name of the two locations in his mind before nodding his head. โThen other than those two?โ
โYou are free to visit them. Even if you wish to visit Zhenโs bed-chamber,โ Qin Yijun replied with a playful smirk.
โโฆ Please excuse Lin Xiao, Your Majesty,โ Lin Xiao decided not to comment on it and simply asked to be excused. Qin Yijun also didnโt plan to tease Lin Xiao more in fearing that the other might end up running away before he could accomplish his goal.
Once Lin Xiao had left, Qin Yijun then gestured for the shadow guards to pick the keys. There were six keys, but the guards only took five of it. โAll of you are to hide the keys at Li Fangmingโs favourite spot. Considering you have been accompanying Zhen since young, you would know, right?โ Qin Yijun asked and the shadow guards nods their head. โGood. Now go,โ he ordered and the guards disappeared into the winds, just like how their name is; shadows.
Left alone, Qin Yijun then touched the last key on the table. This key is the key to the innermost iron case. He was responsible to hide this key but he already knew where to hide it. After all, which better place to hide it other than on oneself?
โLi Fangmingโs favouriteโฆ I am also oneโฆ right, Ming-er?โ Qin Yijun murmured softly to himself before he placed the key safely within the hidden pocket inside his robe which is the closest to his chest.
Lin Xiao who didnโt know anything about the Emperorโs little ploy had just reached the entrance of the palace courtyard. It was here that he finally realised that none of the guards and eunuch had actually followed them inside. Out of curiosity, Lin Xiao looked up to the gate and saw the name of the palace written on the plaque. โYuexing Palaceโฆ?โ
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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โDonโt think too much. You are Lin Xiao, not someone elseโฆโ he quietly told himself, as if heโs trying to delude himself. Then, he looked down at his own attire. The more he stared at the lavish and expensive clothes, the more he felt that he is far from himself. If it were not for getting even with the Huang family, he wouldnโt be wearing these clothes, nor would he accept the title of Qing Wang.
โI had no choice. If I didnโt take revenge for the distress they cause Shizun to feel, I wonโt be reconciled. It was either this orโฆโ
Lin Xiaoโs mind went back to the scene of last night. After they left the Huang residence, Lin Xiao naturally went to the Bai residence since that is where Long Yinlian is. He had thought that after the Emperor was done with the matters with Huang family, he would return to the palace. But to his surprise, the Emperor had followed him all the way to Bai residence, causing the members of the Bai family to be nervous the whole night.
It was there that the Emperor suggested to help him get even with the Huang family. He had told Lin Xiao that as long as he wished for it, he could make the Huang family disappear. But Lin Xiaoโs nature is one that likes to take his own revenge and not depend on anyone else in doing his dirty deeds so, he immediately rejected the idea.
For Qin Yijun, it was one of the rare chances where he could help his beloved, so he was unwilling to let Lin Xiao deal with it alone. Fortunately, An Yi had told him about his slip up so he capitalised on that and made the shadow guardโs lie into a reality. Thus, an Imperial Decree was written on the same night, bestowing Lin Xiao with the title of Qing Wang. This way, without the Emperorโs consent, none of the officials of the court can cause harm to Lin Xiao.
The title was given in a rush and there was no ceremony. The only witness is the people whom the Emperor had brought, and the whole members of the Bai family. Originally, the Emperor had told Lin Xiao that he would propose a date for the banquet where he would announce Lin Xiaoโs identity as Qing Wang but it was rejected at once by said Wangye.
It was only a title that he received in order to get back at Huang family. He felt that there was no need for a formality. In addition, he felt that it was too troublesome.
โWangyeโฆโ a hesitant voice calling out to him snapped Lin Xiao out of his thoughts. โIs there anything wrong?โ
Lin Xiao turned his attention to the person who had just called him. It was a familiar face, and not too long ago, the two of them had actually sparred and Lin Xiao, had ruthlessly kicked his family jewel.
โBrother Meng,โ the corner of Lin Xiaoโs lips curved upward, forming a mischievous smirk. โLin Xiao wonders if Brother Mengโs little brother had recovered?โ
The change in Meng Chenโs expression was something that Lin Xiao revelled. His days have been chaotic ever since he got into that carriage with the Emperor. Now, he finally found an outlet. He was expecting Meng Chen to lash out but to his surprise, Meng Chen schooled his displeasure and changed his expression back.
โWangye, please donโt remind Meng Chen of that experience,โ he said in a polite tone.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao couldnโt help but frown. He thought that the other would flare up but instead, Meng Chen merely lowered his head in submission. โIf itโs like thisโฆ I very much prefer the old Meng Chen than this obedientโฆ dog.โ
โMeng Chen,โ Lin Xiao said his name in a serious tone.
โMeng Chen is here, Wangye.โ
โStop with the politeness, itโs disgusting.โ
Meng Chen: โฆ
โI donโt like it when people put on an act. Showing one face at the back and another at the frontโฆ is it so fun being two-faced?โ Lin Xiao asked.
โโฆ How is this being two-faced? I am merely showing respect to my superiorโฆ this is normal.โ
โIt is normal to show respect to someone who kicked your family jewel?โ Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow and sure enough, at the reminder of that particular event, Meng Chenโs face changed again.
โGood, good! Keep it like that! I may have accepted that title of Qing Wang but at the end of the day, I am still Lin Xiao. In front of me, you donโt have to put up that disgusting act of currying favour,โ Lin Xiao told Meng Chen.
โWho wants to curry favour with you?!โ Meng Chen finally exploded.
Finally finding someone that doesnโt treat him like heโs someone else, even if it was Meng Chen, Lin Xiao felt satisfied in his heart. โBrother Meng, just stay like this,โ Lin Xiao said. โYou are better like this. Iโm sure, even if your little brother didnโt make full recovery, youโll still go far in your line of work as long as you stay honest!โ
Of course, Lin Xiao didnโt know much about being a soldier or a guard but since Meng Chen is someone who is placed under Bai Chenyi, honesty must be one of the qualities that are placed as important aside from loyalty. He had been with Bai Chenyi for mere few days and he already could figure out the otherโs character. Loyal to the bone.
Even if he would end up dead, he was sure that Bai Chenyi would still carry out the Emperorโs order without any question. What happened last night was a good example. He couldโve just abandoned Lin Xiao when Huang Zhexian came over to capture him. But Bai Chenyi still tried to protect him and his Shizun. For this, Lin Xiao is grateful for the young general. And since Meng Chen is one of Bai Chenyiโs people, he will try to be more โaccommodatingโ and make sure that this idiot with a single mind wonโt be manipulated.
โSpeaking of whichโฆ Meng Chen, why were you waiting outside and not following us inside?โ Lin Xiao finally couldnโt hold back his curiosity.
โAh, right. Wang-Iโฆ meanโฆโ Meng Chen faked a cough when he saw Lin Xiao glaring at him as he was about to address the other by his title. โBrother Lin, after the event from two years ago, no one else other than the occasional servants who came to clean the palace is allowed to enter without the permission of His Majesty.โ
โAnyone who was found to enter the palace without His Majestyโs permissionโฆ were all executed at once. Inside this palaceโฆ there is one shadow guard that guards the palace.โ
โโฆโ Lin Xiao didnโt know why, but he suddenly felt as if his neck was cold. He lightly touched the back of his neck, then looked up at the plaque again. โLetโs leave. Meng Chen, you follow me and give me a tour around the palace.โ
โI canโt do that. I donโt have the permission to wander around the palace,โ Meng Chen replied.
Lin Xiao merely took out the Imperial Edict that he had received not too long ago and waved it in front of Meng Chen playfully. โWith me around, you now received the Emperorโs grace,โ he said with a smirk.
A/N: To be honest, I am very close to wrapping the arc 1 of this story. If I didn’t have any day job, I could’ve finished it faster but alas, I need the job lol. In any case, if you’d like to donate, you can do so by donating at Ko-Fi or use the button that says “Buy me gold coins to hoard”.
Also, if you choose the second option, you can follow that page and maybe get an occasional update and preview for the omegaverse project!
Finally, thank you very much for sticking with this story! Those who came from wattpad, thank you for following through! Though the story has changed slightly, the plot did not change much so try not to give out spoiler when a certain scene come in the future, okay? This author is begging you
hey it’s me from tapas i found this book on here yay so hi
you know the annoying one that used to say hi all the time?
Hello!! Not annoying at all. For platforms like tapas, more engagement is better! Even if it’s a simple ‘hi’, it helps to push the story upwards even if it’s just slightly ๐
ok thanks for the chapter see you on friday
Thanks for the chapter! I honestly wish for Lin Xiao to get back his memory soon, maybe he’d be happier by reconciling with himself
Memories will slowly return ๐
Aaahh thank u author for this wonderful story ah i wish support u but i don’t have my own money yet soo i can’t wuhuhu๐ญ i really love this one and all the characters and and shizun i hope u give him another love interest rather than that old flame that’s the only thing i hope for cause i think that the guy doesn’t deserve our cute shizun ๐ค
pats it’s okay. As for Shizun’s other love interest… Well… I’ll let you continue reading to find out if there is or if there is not ๐
Is This some kind of hope ๐
I guess its all up to you on how you want to interpret it? I just want to say, I already planned it out long ago ๐
Just crushed all my hopes ๐
How? I only said that I have already planned out what happened a long time ago XD