With no other choice left for him, Meng Chen could only tell Lin Xiao about the rumours that he had heard of Xinglan Wang. From his words, Xinglan Wang, named Li Fangming, was the seventh born son of Yinjing Hou, Li Sunxun. Because of the previous Emperor’s grace, after saving the crown prince at that time, their status were elevated from that of high class family to a noble family.
Both the crown prince and Xinglan Wang had become close friend. There was also rumours around that the two had sworn an oath to be sworn brothers at young age but no one were able to confirm it. Growing up together, people could see the two were almost inseparable. At that time, the crown prince’s position was unshakable, and people naturally assumed that once the crown prince ascended the throne, the position of the Military’s Second-in-Command would fall under Xinglan Wang’s hand.
“Unfortunately, two years ago, there was a huge incident and Xinglan Wang was the prime suspect,” when Meng Chen mentioned this, his voice was instinctively lowered as if he didn’t want anyone to over heard him mentioning it.
“What incident?” Lin Xiao asked, tone filled with curiosity.
“…”
“Meng Chen, hurry and tell me before the guards returned. When that happens, you’d be in more trouble because they will definitely report it to the Emperor,” Lin Xiao reminded Meng Chen when the other hesitated.
“Fine! It was said that he had assassinated the previous Emperor!” Meng Chen hissed under his breath. “Apparently, Kuanshe Wangye himself caught him in the act. According to the law, he was supposed to be executed along with his family but he managed to escape. Though his families were caught again, His Majesty instead pardoned them and allowed them to live in the city. But…”
Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow and crossed his arm as he waited for Meng Chen to continue.
“Of course, the rest of the noble families doesn’t like the outcomes. They felt that the Emperor was blinded by affection to Xinglan Wang so they took it upon their own hand to drive them away. Right now, it was said that the Li family is living in-”
“The outer district of the city, where most lower income commoner lives,” Lin Xiao finished for Meng Chen. “For someone who lives lavishly to fall so far down to live in a dilapidated home, it truly is…” Lin Xiao let out a heavy sigh.
He remembered Li Sunxun’s angered expression for a brief moment and quickly shook his head. ‘Forget about him. We’re not related…’ Lin Xiao told himself. Then, he turned his attention back to Meng Chen. “Brother Meng, was there anything else about Xing-”
Lin Xiao didn’t get to finish because he smelled a faint trace of blood but when he looked around, he couldn’t see anyone. So he could only come to the conclusion that one of the shadow guards has returned. And out of all the shadow guards, only one person could carry the smell of blood with them. “An Yi, are you here?” Lin Xiao called out.
At first, there was no response so Lin Xiao thought that it was not the person he thought it was. He was just about to call the second name that came to his mind when he heard a rustle from the tree nearby and An Yi appeared from his hiding spot.
“This slave greets Wangye.”
Lin Xiao thought back to the second shadow guard’s word about him being punished. So out of concern, he couldn’t help to inquire it. “I heard that you were punished… how are you feeling right now?”
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.
“This slave’s injury is not serious. Wangye do not have to worry,” An Yi replied.
‘Would a not serious injury cause you to reek of blood?’ Lin Xiao wanted to retort but felt that it might offend the shadow guard so he refrained. “Since you’re here, His Majesty must’ve heard my request from An Er. Since you’re injured because of me, I—”
“This slave merely did as he is ordered. Protecting Wangye is this slave’s responsibility,” An Yi said in a firm voice.
“… Tbe ub jcv gfra. Kjxf mjgf bo sbeg lcpegs olgra,” Olc Wljb rjlv ab Cc Tl.
“Rb. Llr Zjpfras rjlv—”
“Ccv P rjs sbe ub ajxf mjgf bo sbeg lcpegs jcv gfra. Gb sbe atlcx sbe’ii yf bo jcs tfiq ilxf atlr? Po jcsatlcu vbfr tjqqfc, sbe’ii bcis yf j yegvfc,” Olc Wljb abiv atf batfg.
“But…”
“Listen to me. His Majesty had just shown everyone how much he favoured me just this morning. Do you think anyone would be stupid enough to try and harm me?” Lin Xiao asked.
Lin Xiao’s words carry some truth. No one would be stupid enough to risk their life trying to harm someone that the Emperor had just recently protected. Even so, An Yi is very adamant on not leaving Lin Xiao’s side. So in the end, he could only compromise and allow An Yi to follow him. But under the promise that the shadow guard won’t overwork himself.
“No need to go hiding. Just follow me here. No one will know that you are the shadow guard for His Majesty as long as you act friendly with me,” Lin Xiao said to An Yi. “Hmm… just in case someone asks… maybe we should give you a fake identity,” Lin Xiao murmured softly. “Brother Meng, do you have any idea?”
“Huh? Can’t we just use the name An Yi?” Meng Chen asked back.
“Of course not. That name screams shadow guard wherever they go. How about… Huang Yun?”
“… Then this slave will accept the name Huang Yun. Thanking Wangye for his generosity,” An Yi kowtowed to Lin Xiao.
“Alright. Then there is another thing that you will need to fix… your way of talking. Since your identity is that of my friend, you’ll need to talk to me like one will to their friend,” Lin Xiao told An Yi.
An Yi appeared to be hesitating for a while. And Meng Chen who saw his expression could relate. After all, the person they are interacting with is someone with the title of Wang even though he doesn’t act like one. To actually speak to a wangye on equal ground as someone who are of a lower status is unthinkable.
“… How would Wangye want to be addressed?” An Yi asked after a while.
“How about… you call me Xiao-dage!”
“Brother Lin, is that not too much?” this time, Meng Chen were unable to hold back and keep silent anymore. “What if he’s older than you?”
“Oh, you’re right. Then… you can just call me Brother Lin like how Brother Meng calls me,” Lin Xiao corrected himself. “And I’ll call you Brother Huang. Is that alright?”
“If that is what Wang-” An Yi trailed off when he saw Lin Xiao narrowing his eyes in warnings then quickly amended his sentence. “If that is what Brother Lin wishes then this-… Huang Yun agrees.”
As the shadow guards who were trained from the moment he could ever recall, this was the first time he was forced to play citizens. As the shadow guard of the first rank, he was trained to kill and protect from the shadows along with An Er, An San and An Si. The rest of the shadow guards may disguise themselves as normal people to protect and gather intelligence.
“Since Brother Huang has agreed then you don’t need to cover your face anymore,” Lin Xiao said as he reached out to help remove the half face mask from An Yi’s face.
But before Lin Xiao’s finger could even touch the mask, they heard the sound of someone purposely clearing their throat loudly, making their presence known. Turning their head to the source, Lin Xiao’s face showed a slight hint of uneasiness while the other two poor soul that was with him turned slightly pale the moment their eyes landed on the other’s figure. The two of them kneeled and kowtowed on the ground while Lin Xiao straightened his back.
He was just about to raise his hands in front of him to greet the Emperor when he heard the other speak: “Your shoulder are still injured. No need for courtesy.”
Lin Xiao paused in his action, lowered his hands back to its resting position before lowering his head slightly for a bow. A sign that he did acknowledge the Emperor’s presence.
When Qin Yijun saw this, he couldn’t help the frown that formed on his face. “The three of you may rise,” he said in a calm tone. It was only when Lin Xiao returned to his normal, unrestrained posture did the frown on Qin Yijun’s face relaxed. “Zhen was merely out for a walk, coincidentally Zhen saw you having a conversation with Meng Chen and…”
The shadow guard, An Yi, saw that the Emperor’s gaze was trained at him and he instinctively lowered his head.
Lin Xiao saw this and felt that if he didn’t help An Yi, the poor shadow guard might get into trouble again because of him. So he quickly tried to change the direction of the conversation.
“Lin Xiao always hear that the Emperor is a very busy person, needing to handle the matter of the Empire every single day and solve the problems that ails the citizens. Seeing His Majesty here in a leisure manner, Lin Xiao wonders if what is said was a lie.”
An Yi: …
An Yi was rendered speechless while Meng Chen’s feet had turned cold. His whole body is now covered in sweat as he cursed Lin Xiao in his head. ‘Heaven above, is it too late to pay my respect to my ancestors before I am sent to the chopping block?’ he thought to himself as he waited for the Emperor to decide their fate.
“Although Zhen is called The son of Heaven, in the end, Zhen is still a mortal. Can’t Zhen even have a rest?” Qin Yijun replied with a smile on his face. “And it is almost time for dinner. Coincidentally, you are still within the Palace’s wall. So how about joining Zhen?” he asked.
Though the smile was plastered on the Emperor’s face, Lin Xiao could sense the unhappiness that was emitted. His eyes were still glaring at An Yi and Lin Xiao knew that the young Emperor is not planning on letting it off easily.
“If Your Majesty wished for it, then Lin Xiao will be honoured to accompany Your Majesty. But may Lin Xiao request that Your Majesty extend the invitation to Lin Xiao’s two friends?”
“Friends?”
At this, Qin Yijun finally moved his gaze away from An Yi and looked at Lin Xiao inquisitively. Lin Xiao saw that the Emperor was waiting for him to explain and so, he did.
“Meng Chen is naturally Lin Xiao’s friend. After all, we did trade fists and we did settle our misunderstanding. Now, we are close friend,” Lin Xiao said to Qin Yijun who only hummed in response. “Then, this is Lin Xiao’s new friend, Huang Yun. Your Majesty already knows him, after all… he is the one who ‘saved’ me when I was in trouble just the night before,” he added, making sure to emphasize the fact that he was saved by An Yi.
This was the most that he could do, reminding the Emperor of An Yi’s merit. It was a gamble, after all, though he knew that the Emperor is lenient towards him, he didn’t know to what extent. In a way, he was also using this situation to gauge just how much the Emperor is favouring him.
Qin Yijun on the other hand, stayed quiet for a while. He was contemplating on what to say in response of Lin Xiao’s explanation. Due to the lack of response, Lin Xiao suddenly felt nervous. He wondered if he had finally overstepped his boundaries. He began to think of ways to escape when the Emperor speaks again: “To be your friend, do Zhen also need to save you when you are in trouble?”
A/N: First of all, I apologize for missing updates the last two weeks. On my uncle’s wedding two weeks ago, I got injured during the preparation. And no, there is no trauma injury, just a strained tendons. The doctor suggested I rest my hand for a week, then not overwork them for another 4-6 weeks to monitor it further. I am currently on the 3rd week, and though it doesn’t feel as painful anymore, I still feel discomfort after writing for about 15-30mins. So my writing was slowed down badly lol.
Secondly, I’m hoping to release two chapters that I missed within the next two weeks. Hopefully I’d be able to finish it in time. So in the next two weeks, you may get random updates for the missed chapters!
Sincerely,
Lin Xiaolong
Take care of your hands, Master Author, they are the tools of your work and the means to extend to us your imagination! Don’t worry and focus on healing, we’ll wait for you!!
Thanks for the chapter!!!
Take care of yourself.. Don’t worry about updates.. Thanks a lot for your hard work
You need to take care of yourself first! I hope you have a quickly recovery!
Thx for the update, but don’t put yourself in risk because of that.
Hello Author hope ur doing okay now and get well soon i missed this story i was worried why there was no update love u author 😘😘😘
Thank you for the new chapter! Hope you’ll be alright very soon! 😊
Take care. Thank you for the update