The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 54
As soon as Meng Chen’s body hits the ground, the crowd finally snapped out of their stupor. Their gaze landed at Lin Xiao for a while before finally, one of them voiced out their dissatisfaction at the outcome of the match.
“What kind of dirty move was that?! As a man, how could you bear to harm another man’s family jewel?!”
“I was expecting to see something good! I did not expect to witness the event of monkey stealing the peaches!”
“What monkey steals the peaches, ah! That was clearly monkey destroying the peaches!”
More and more guards started to speak up and most of them are of the same content. By now, Long Yinlian understood what happened and he also showed an uncomfortable demeanor.
As the person who was subjected to the guards’ harsh words, Lin Xiao not only felt satisfied, he also sported a haughty expression as he glanced at the people around him. “Feeling unsatisfied? If you do not like the outcome, you can come forward. I’m already all warmed up,” Lin Xiao said, taunting the rest of them. The guards were baited and continued to scold Lin Xiao verbally.
“Enough!” Qin Yijun no longer could stand the way the guards react and decided to intervene. “General Bai, go bring Lin Xiao and his master home. Zhen hopes that you will no longer get side-tracked after this,” Qin Yijun said to Bai Chenyi.
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“This general obeys,” Bai Chenyi bowed at Qin Yijun before he gestured for Lin Xiao to follow him while he helped Long Yinlian.
“As for the rest of you! Since you all appear to be idle, Zhen will be sure to give all of you a proper work!” Qin Yijun addressed the rest of the crowd. He then looked at General Bing with a serious expression. “General Bing, Zhen will leave the disciplining of these guards to you. Until they are done, you are not allowed to go home. Is that understood?”
Bing Dai noticed that the Emperor appears to be angry, and that most of it was directed at him. He wondered if he had done anything wrong but the only thing he could think of is the fact that he allows Lin Xiao to spar with Meng Chen. “Your general understands, Your Majesty.”
“En. Everyone is dismissed. Don’t forget to bring Meng Chen to the infirmary!”
With that, everyone scampered off, unwilling to stay any longer in fear that they might anger the Emperor. On the other hand, Lin Xiao, Long Yinlian and Bai Chenyi had already left the Imperial Palace and is on their way to the Xia family household.
“Lin Xiao… about earlier,” Long Yinlian speaks up after a little hesitation, breaking the silence. “Did you really perform…” he trailed off once again, unable to finish his sentence. Just the thought of it made him uncomfortable. He was taught in the righteous way of swords, so Lin Xiao’s move of stealing peaches was not something he taught.
“Shizun, it was an accident. I really didn’t mean to kick him there,” Lin Xiao lied.
The eyebrows of Long Yinlian furrowed but he didn’t ask more. He felt that Lin Xiao was lying but since he did not see the scene before, he can’t just scold the other. “Alright. If you say so. When we return to Xia family household, there might be few people trying to ask questions about your relationship with the Emperor. Don’t tell them the truth,” Long Yinlian warned.
“I understand. Don’t worry,” Lin Xiao replied. ‘Plus, there is nothing to tell anyway. What relationship? This is the first time I saw the Emperor and I already got onto his bad side,’ Lin Xiao sighed defeatedly.
When they arrived, Lin Xiao noticed the slightly tense atmosphere of the Xia household. Xia Yuanfeng were waiting for them by the entrance, worry plastered on his face. When he saw Long Yinlian arriving, he quickly rushed over and gently held both of Long Yinlian’s shoulder. “Ah’Yin! Are you alright?”
“I’m alright, Feng-ge. You know the Emperor won’t hurt his citizens as long as they don’t do anything wrong,” Long Yinlian replied with a smile. “The Emperor is kind. When Xiao-er passed out, he even had the Imperial Physician came to look at him. Not only that, he also let General Bai accompany us.”
“I see…” Xia Yuanfeng nods his head, but he still couldn’t dispel the worry inside him. Then, he turned to Bai Chenyi with a grateful expression. “General Bai, thank you for escorting Ah’Yin and Xiao-er home.”
“It is my duty,” Bai Chenyi replied. “I will trouble Lord Xia to prepare for my living quarter.”
Xia Yuanfeng sported a confused expression when he heard what Bai Chenyi was saying. He looked at Long Yinlian, then at Lin Xiao, quietly asking him to explain what is happening.
Lin Xiao saw his expression, and only shrugged his shoulder. “His Majesty, the Emperor had ordered him to be our guard,” he informed Xia Yuanfeng in a nonchalant tone.
“That is wrong. His Majesty ordered this general to be ‘your’ bodyguard, Lord Lin,” Bai Chenyi corrected.
Lin Xiao showed a displeased expression before he let out a huff. Then, he went to Long Yinlian’s side and held the older male’s arm. “Shizun, let’s go and rest now. Let martial uncle deal with Bai Chenyi in regards of his living quarter,” Lin Xiao said as he then led Long Yinlian inside, leaving Bai Chenyi and Xia Yuanfeng alone.
The atmosphere between the two became even more awkward. Xia Yuanfeng nervously turned to face Bai Chenyi once more. “Then… General Bai. Please follow me. Though my household cannot be compared to your Bai Mansion, I hope it would still be to your liking.”
“No need to worry much. Just give me a room closest to Lin Xiao’s.”
‘Lin Xiao stays with Ah’Yin and the room closest to them is my room, ah! General Bai, are you asking me to give my room to you?’ Xia Yuanfeng thought in his mind.
“About this matter, General Bai, it would be difficult. Both Ah’Yin and Xiao-er stays in my courtyard and the closest room is the master quarter. So—”
“Then just give me an extra quilt. I will sleep on the floor of the same room as them,” Bai Chenyi replied, not waiting for Xia Yuanfeng to finish.
“But—”
“Are you trying to stop me from executing His Majesty’s order?” Bai Chenyi asked.
Xia Yuanfeng was unable to reply so he could only sigh and then, led Bai Chenyi to his courtyard. On his way, he also asked the servants to prepare an extra quilt for Bai Chenyi’s use.
