The confidence that’s plastered on Lin Xiao’s face, and paired with his current status, how can Meng Chen say no to him? He could only follow the other while occasionally introducing to Lin Xiao the place that he knows. But, this was actually Meng Chen’s first time to freely walk around the palace. Before this, he only went in and out as per the Emperor’s order and even then, the number of places he goes to was limited. So whenever he couldn’t answer, he could finally feel the extent of authority that Lin Xiao has with the Imperial Edict.
By the time they finished their own self-tour, Meng Chen could already bet that he had already went to places where even his General wasn’t allowed to. He, himself felt overwhelmed. Glancing at Lin Xiao, he saw that the young man had a frown on his face. ‘He already went around the palace and it can be considered once in a lifetime experience. Why does he look like he’s not satisfied?’ Meng Chen wondered.
“His Majesty is really playing it dirty…”
“What do you mean?”
The sentence was said in a very low voice but Meng Chen was able to hear it clearly. So he couldn’t help but voice out his concern. After all, it seems that the Emperor was related.
“Did you know how shameless your Emperor is?”
The moment the sentence left Lin Xiao’s lips, Meng Chen paled and quickly covered both of his ears, fearing that Lin Xiao will say other incriminating words that would get the both of them in trouble.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao only stared at Meng Chen as if he had grown another head on his shoulder. “What is wrong with you?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.
“I…” in a daze, Meng Chen was about to answer obediently when he realised that it wasn’t him who was the problem. “No, it’s not me! It’s you! What is wrong with you?!” Meng Chen asked back. “How do you dare to speak of the Emperor the way you did?”
“I am merely stating the truth,” Lin Xiao replied.
“The truth that can get the both of us killed?!” Meng Chen wanted to cry with how relaxed Lin Xiao was. “What if someone hears and reported it to the Emperor? By tomorrow, everyone will know that the newly appointed Wangye had been executed after not a day passed since his appointment!”
“Brother Meng, your worry are baseless,” Lin Xiao said as he shook his head.
“What do you know, ah?! This is the Imperial Palace. The walls have eyes and ears!”
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.
“I know that,” Lin Xiao replied. “Even now, I think there are few shadow guards around us,” he added. Then, as if trying to prove his point, he called out one person that he knows. “An Yi, are you there?”
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“Olc Wljb, P atlcx atfgf’r rbwfatlcu kgbcu klat sbeg tfjv. Zjsyf sbe rtbeiv ub jcv ufa la mtfmxfv? Tbe rtbeiv xcbk atja atf rtjvbk uejgvr jgf bcis gfrqbcrlyif obg Llr Zjpfras’r rjofas…”
“Whoever is here now, come out.”
Lin Xiao didn’t let Meng Chen finish when he speak again. This time, two shadow guards appeared from their hiding spot. One had been keeping an eye on them from the tree while the other had been hiding behind the walls of the palace.
“This slave has seen Wangye,” the two shadow guards said almost at the same time as they saluted him.
Lin Xiao looked at the two of them. Before this, he could only sense one and had assumed that one of the shadow guards should be An Yi. After all, An Yi’s martial arts seems to be of higher level that Lin Xiao couldn’t sense him. But now, he saw that the other guard is not An Yi at all.
“What are your names?” Lin Xiao asked after taking in their features.
“Your slave here is called An Er,” the guard standing to the left answered.
“This slave is called An Liu,” the other said once his companion has finished his introduction.
Lin Xiao nods his head then started to ask: “Did you hear what was said before?”
The two shadow guard took a quick glance at each other, communicating with their gaze. In the end, since An Er has a higher rank than An Liu, he was the one who did the answering. “Wangye, this slave heard of it clearly.”
Meng Chen, who had been rendered speechless the moment the shadow guards appeared, now had a pale expression. His gaze moved towards Lin Xiao who only glanced at him with a smirk on his face.
“Tell me… was there a third person who is now currently reporting to the Emperor?” Lin Xiao asked. In response, the two guards shook their head and suddenly, Lin Xiao felt that he wanted to give Meng Chen a little scare.
“An Liu,” he called out. “You go and tell His Majesty what happened and ask him what he thinks.”
“Are you serious?!” Meng Chen could not believe his ear. This young man in front of him who had appeared to have gone mad had just decided to send their head to the execution block. But before he could say anything else, An Liu had already disappeared and he assumed that the guard is already on his way to report to the Emperor. “Lin Xiao, you crazy little ancestor! You-!”
“It’s fine. I assure you. I do not know what winds blows into the Emperor’s mind but it seems that no matter what I do, he seems to tolerate it,” Lin Xiao murmured softly. “By the way, Meng Chen… how long has it been since you served the Emperor?”
“Almost a year now,” Meng Chen replied.
“I see. Then… before this, have you ever seen Xinglan Wang?”
“… No. But I heard rumours of him,” Meng Chen replied. He appeared to be wanting to say more but then, he remembered that one of the shadow guards are still around. So in the end, he kept his mouth shut. Besides, who in the Capital doesn’t know that any mentions of Xinglan Wang is a taboo. Say something wrong, and you will find yourself disappearing the next day.
“An Er, where is An Yi?” Lin Xiao asked suddenly.
“Wangye, An Yi is currently going through his punishment.”
“Punishment? What for?”
“For… letting Wangye got injured,” An Er replied after a moment of hesitation.
“Then you go and tell His Majesty to pardon him. If it were not for him, Lin Xiao would probably have received an irreparable damage to his sight,” Lin Xiao told the shadow guard.
“But Wangye! Under the command of His Majesty, at least one of us must be with you at all time!”
“Then you hurry and go then quickly come back. Meng Chen will be with me. There won’t be any harm coming to me. After all, who would dare to cause trouble within the Imperial Palace?”
The shadow guard was still reluctant to do as Lin Xiao told him to. But in the end, he relented when Lin Xiao threatened to complain about his insubordination to the Emperor. Unlike An Yi, An Er does not want to experience the cruel punishment. “Then,” An Er glanced at Meng Chen and gave him a warning glare. “If anything happen to Wangye, I will have your life!”
After that declaration, An Er finally left. Meng Chen, who was suddenly threatened to be killed by the Emperor’s own shadow guard felt a chill going down his back. It wasn’t until he was sure that the guard left did he found the courage to speak. “What in the heaven’s name was that?! Why did he threaten me if something were to happen to you?!”
“That aside! Hurry and tell me about that rumours you heard about Xinglan Wang,” Lin Xiao said in a hurried tone. It seems that he had noticed Meng Chen’s hesitation earlier, which was why he had done his best to send away the shadow guards.
“No! What if there are more shadow guards around you?!” Meng Chen quickly rejected Lin Xiao’s request.
“Rest assured! Didn’t An Er said it earlier? There are no third person! That means there are none other than the two of them!” Lin Xiao told him. “Now hurry and tell me before they return!”
Meng Chen looked around them. They are currently standing in the middle of the road, and there was no one else present. Not even a slave is around which is to be expected since they had just came out of the cold palace earlier. Since no one was in the cold palace, no servant came to take care of it.
“Fine. But please, don’t let His Majesty know what I said…” Meng Chen said to Lin Xiao with a pleading look.
“I promise. And if I ever go back on my word, may the heaven send down lightning to strike me down,” Lin Xiao said and as if trying to assure Meng Chen, he even made an oath about it. Unfortunately, Meng Chen didn’t seem to appreciate it.
“Little Ancestor, ah!! Wangye!! Lin Xiao! You don’t have to make an oath! If the heaven really did send down a lightning to you, then this poor guard’s life would be forfeited!!!”
A/N:
By the time this chapter came out, this author is probably on vacation. In any case, I know this is short but please enjoy them!
Next week may not have a chapter. But once the vacation is over, I’ll be sure to make up for the missing update!
Also, Happy Lunar New Year!
Happy New Year, Author-Laoshi!!
Happy New year 🎉💕
Enjoy the vacation my location is getting ice storms right now
Happy new year our lovely author hehehe🥰😘