Unlike Ziqing and Xiong Xiaobao, for Beiyue—who had grown up within the palace since childhood—ascending the throne as emperor was the most natural thing in the world.
He frowned at Xiong Xiaobao and said coldly, “You are my son. This is your responsibility!”
At these words, Ziqing immediately sensed trouble brewing and was about to intervene when Xiong Xiaobao slammed his hand hard on the table, fiercely. “I refuse!”
Jun Beiyue’s brow shot up, and he said sternly, “Jun Buli, you’re no longer a child. I expect you to seriously consider this—”
“I won’t consider it! Daddy, you abandoned the entire realm of Da Zhou selfishly, all to find Mommy’s isolated island—so why can’t I refuse you, for the sake of my own dream?” Xiong Xiaobao demanded seriously.
The question left Jun Beiyue speechless, though fury made him clench his fists tight. At the same time, it left Ziqing utterly stunned.
Neither of them had ever known that this was how their son truly saw things, deep in his heart.
Selfish…
They had never once thought of it as abandoning the realm of Da Zhou.
Even as they’d traveled far and wide searching for the isolated island, they had expanded Da Zhou’s territory the entire way.
And hadn’t they come back, after all?
Even installing a young emperor, wouldn’t Jun Beiyue still govern as regent? They had never once given up—they simply hadn’t had the time to attend to it, and now, they had returned!
They had never intended to dump everything onto Xiong Xiaobao and go off to enjoy their freedom alone!
A son not continuing his father’s trade was one thing for an ordinary family—but Jun Buli’s father’s trade was the affairs of an entire nation!
If he didn’t take it up, who would?
Ziqing felt as though she’d been struck where it hurt most, standing frozen in place, while Jun Beiyue’s mood had clearly darkened. He looked at Xiong Xiaobao coldly, and, surprisingly, didn’t lose his temper further, saying flatly instead, “Go on, leave.”
Had he exploded in anger, perhaps Xiong Xiaobao might have felt somewhat better. But this cold indifference left him inexplicably panicked, and panic quickly turned back into anger.
He’d been holding this in for a long time, never finding the right moment to say it properly.
“Daddy, let’s settle this today!” Xiong Xiaobao’s voice turned cold and sharp, sounding exactly like a carbon copy of Jun Beiyue.
“Your mother needs to rest. Go on, leave first,” Jun Beiyue said flatly again, waving him off.
“I’m going to make this clear today! I will not be emperor. Not now, not when I grow up, not ever! You two can make other arrangements!” Xiong Xiaobao dug in stubbornly.
To his surprise, the moment these words left his mouth, Jun Beiyue erupted into a sudden, unpredictable rage. “Get out!”
Ziqing jumped, startled, and only then snapped back to herself, while Xiong Xiaobao froze as well, tears suddenly welling in his eyes. But he refused to back down, saying coldly, “Once I’m gone, I’m not coming back!”
With that, he turned and stormed out.
Ziqing moved to chase after him, but Jun Beiyue stopped her. He was breathing heavily, clearly suppressing his fury, utterly unable to comprehend how his own son could have used the word “selfish” against him—against his own claim to the throne.
Or perhaps, was that really how the boy truly saw him? How could Jun Beiyue possibly be so selfish as to dump such an enormous burden, such an enormous realm, onto one person alone?
Was this his own failure, or his son’s mistake?
Seeing Jun Beiyue so furious, Ziqing didn’t chase after their son either. She knew Xiong Xiaobao’s temperament well—better to let him cool off; he would come back to apologize eventually.
Meanwhile, as Xiong Xiaobao stormed blindly out of the estate, he ran straight into Baili Weisheng coming the other way.
Baili Weisheng hurriedly stopped him, asking suspiciously, “What trouble have you stirred up this time?”
Xiong Xiaobao, his face dark, ignored Baili Weisheng entirely, shaking off his hand and walking on.
Baili Weisheng, puzzled, followed him the whole way, all the way to the city gates, before he finally sensed something was wrong. Just as Xiong Xiaobao was about to step through the gate, he grabbed hold of him.
“Kid, running away from home isn’t something for someone your age. Whatever’s wrong, come back with me and talk it through properly—I promise I’ll take your side.”
“You made that promise a long time ago,” Xiong Xiaobao said, displeased.
Baili Weisheng started, then blurted out, “Did your father really force you to take the throne?”
Seeing Xiong Xiaobao not answer, Baili Weisheng grew even more surprised. “So, you two had a fight?”
“I’ve said it before—there’s no room for discussion on this matter!” Xiong Xiaobao said coldly.
Baili Weisheng rubbed his nose, at a loss for how to console him. This was something Xiong Xiaobao had brought up with him a long time ago, and had complained about more than once, insisting he’d never take the throne, no matter what—going so far as to enlist Baili Weisheng’s help through both gentle persuasion and outright pressure, asking him to plead his case.
Baili Weisheng had known a confrontation between Jun Beiyue and his son was bound to happen sooner or later, but he hadn’t expected it to come this soon.
He glanced sideways at Xiong Xiaobao and said helplessly, “You little fool, the whole business with Xuanyuan Lige hasn’t even been settled yet—what are you in such a rush for? It’s not like your father’s going to shove you onto the throne this instant.”
“But if that Xuanyuan Lige business really does get settled, he’ll force me straight into the palace!” Xiong Xiaobao retorted.
Baili Weisheng glanced out past the city gate, then studied Xiong Xiaobao. “So, this is…”
“I’m going to Nanzhao!”
Xiong Xiaobao still had the letter tucked away—he’d originally planned to have someone deliver it, but now, he might as well deliver it himself.
“Nanzhao is in chaos right now, with all the tribes at war with each other,” Baili Weisheng warned kindly.
“Good, that’s exactly what I like!” Xiong Xiaobao snorted coldly. He was about to go find Baili Xiaosheng and help her lead the beast tribes to bring Nanzhao under control!
Baili Weisheng’s eyes rolled, and he immediately grinned. “Fine, if that’s what you want, go ahead! I’ll go tell your parents!”
“Just say… just say I…”
Baili Weisheng was a carefree, thoughtless sort of person, but Xiong Xiaobao wasn’t—no matter how angry he was, he still worried about his parents.
“Should I say you’ve ‘gotten lost and aren’t coming back’? ‘Don’t worry, don’t look for me’?” Baili Weisheng asked.
Xiong Xiaobao’s eyes flew wide with fury at once. “Say I’ve gone out to clear my head, and I’m bringing Baili Xiaosheng back with me!”
Xuanyuan Lige’s demonic sound illusion was just an illusion after all—it probably wouldn’t cause much trouble. Better to slip away to Nanzhao and lie low for a while. By the time he came back, Mommy would probably be done with her own business, and Daddy would be focused on state affairs again.
Then, he could sit down and talk it out properly with his father, each of them giving a little ground—maybe there was still hope for this to work out!
Thinking this through, Xiong Xiaobao’s anger cooled considerably, and he began to regret the harsh words he’d spoken in his fit of temper. He turned back to Baili Weisheng with one more instruction. “Uncle Scholar, you… um… pass a message along to my father for me, tell him…”
“Hm?” Baili Weisheng waited.
Xiong Xiaobao stammered for a long moment before finally getting it out. “Tell him I was wrong. When I come back, I’ll kneel before him in person and admit my fault.”
With that, not daring to meet Baili Weisheng’s eyes, he quickly turned away, his small face flushed—whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to say—and dashed off into the distance.
Watching Xiong Xiaobao’s retreating figure, Baili Weisheng chuckled to himself. “Silly kid, you think you can escape that easily?”
He thought that in a few days, once Ziqing had recovered and the matter of Xuanyuan Lige was sorted out, the couple would probably throw themselves back into governing the realm anyway—so this could just count as one last long holiday for Xiong Xiaobao before he formally entered court life.
Only, Baili Weisheng had no way of knowing that the matter of Xuanyuan Lige…