With everyone kneeling on the ground, Yan Yunning, who remained standing where she was, looked utterly out of place.
Yan Yunning’s scalp prickled with awkwardness. She dipped into a bow — composed and unhurried — toward the Xuan King, the Xuan Queen, and the Elder Princess Xuanzhao Yang.
Before the Xuan King could even open his mouth to bid her rise, Xuan Yanyu had already stepped forward and helped her to her feet.
The Xuan King’s eyes narrowed. He raised his voice toward the crowd kneeling on the ground. “Everyone, rise.”
The handmaids gave a collective start and wobbled to their feet with trembling legs.
“What happened here?” The Xuan King looked toward Wu Guiren.
Wu Guiren’s eyes darted about evasively. “Your… Your Majesty, this subject-consort is quite all right.”
She was genuinely regretting things now. She had not imagined that the second Miss Yan truly had a relationship with the Crown Prince that was anything but ordinary.
“If nothing happened, why did I see you kneeling on the ground?” The Xuan King’s gaze turned cold and steely.
Was this not a blatant affront to his dignity?
What a disgrace — one of his consorts kneeling before a Crown Princess who had not even received her formal investiture yet. Even if she were formally invested, he would not have his consorts kneeling before her.
She had not yet married the Crown Prince, and already she was behaving so brazenly in his Xuan Royal Palace — this was truly beneath any sense of decorum.
Ever since she had put ideas into the Crown Prince’s head about taking no secondary consorts, he had been displeased. Now she had gone and irritated him all the more.
“Your Majesty, this subject-consort noticed that the second Miss Yan had not paid her respects to this subject-consort, so I reprimanded her for lacking manners. But… but the second Miss Yan said it was because the Crown Prince had indulged her so, and then she refused to let the matter drop with this subject-consort.” Wu Guiren recounted this with a slight air of grievance.
She could tell that His Majesty wished to stand up for her.
Xuan Yanyu let out a light laugh. “She does not even need to bow before this Crown Prince — why would she bow before you? Do you consider yourself of higher standing than this Crown Prince?”
Wu Guiren lowered her eyelids and gazed up at the Xuan King with a helpless, delicate expression.
Yan Yunning pressed her lips together and said calmly, “Wu Guiren, at first I did not know your identity. Once I learned it, I was prepared to bow — but you demanded I kneel, and I was unwilling to kneel, so you ordered your handmaids to beat me until I did.”
“I said that I was unfamiliar with the proper etiquette and that a bow would be sufficient. Why did you refuse to let the matter drop? You asked who gave me permission to address you in that questioning tone, and I then said it was the Crown Prince. After that, you inexplicably dropped to your knees in front of me.”
Yan Yunning turned to look at the Xuan King and asked with a smile, “Your Majesty the Xuan King, what manner of etiquette does Wu Guiren’s behaviour represent?”
Xuanzhao Yang raised an eyebrow. This young woman actually dared to question her Imperial Father?
The Xuan King narrowed his eyes at Yan Yunning. The latter, having finished speaking, gave a polite, measured bow of her head.
He had assumed she would stay silent and let the Crown Prince shield her. He had not anticipated this much courage — she had actually dared to question him. She truly had been spoiled by the Crown Prince.
“Why does Imperial Father not answer?” Xuan Yanyu asked with a smile playing at the corners of his eyes.
The Xuan King, having nowhere to direct his frustration, stepped forward and gave Xuan Yanyu a light pat on the shoulder, lamenting once again to himself how utterly lacking in competition this situation was.
Truly lacking in every way — this troublesome young man faced absolutely no rivals. And for all his unruliness, he could not bring himself to actually punish him.
He truly was the most hapless Xuan King of all generations!!!
Yan Yunning pressed her lips together.
Xuan Yanyu: “……”
There was no dust on his shoulder either — no need for Imperial Father to make a special trip over to brush it off.
The Xuan King’s face was stern as he cast a lofty glance down at Wu Guiren. “Did the Yan girl say what she said? You would not let her kneel, so you would have her beaten into kneeling?”
“Your Majesty…… no, it’s all false — the second Miss Yan is making it all up.” There was no confessing to anything at this point.
“No, she said exactly that.” Yan Yunning slipped in a word.
The Xuan King looked toward Yan Yunning. Before he could even open his mouth, Yan Yunning said, “I was the one who was out of line — when I heard Wu Guiren slander me, I got flustered and blurted a word in my own defence. Your Majesty the Xuan King, please carry on.”
She knew that speaking out of turn was improper. Wu Guiren was making false claims, and she could see that the Xuan King was rather displeased that Xuan Yanyu was standing up for her — so to prevent Xuan Yanyu from speaking, she had interjected first.
Xuanzhao Yang pressed her lips together to suppress a smile. A second Xuan Xier had appeared.
The Xuan Queen shot her a reproving glance, and Xuanzhao Yang immediately reined in her amusement.
The Xuan King clenched his fist. What was there left to ask — he had a fairly clear picture of what had happened.
“Eunuch Feng, convey my verbal decree: Wu Guiren is to be demoted to Attending Lady Wu, with six months’ salary forfeited. Since she wished to have the Yan girl beaten into kneeling, she shall also be punished by kneeling for half a day.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.” Eunuch Feng received the verbal decree, waved a hand, and two handmaids stepped forward to take Attending Lady Wu by the arms and drag her off toward her bedchamber.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this subject-consort knows her wrongdoing. Your Highness the Crown Prince……”
“Silence. If a single tear falls, you go to the cold palace.” The Xuan King said with impatience.
Attending Lady Wu closed her mouth. Her eyes glistening with unshed tears, she looked at the Xuan King one last time before allowing the handmaids to drag her away.
It had all been false favour. None of it meant a thing — nothing was more important to His Majesty than the Crown Prince.
“Satisfied?” The Xuan King let out a huff at Xuan Yanyu.
Feeling Xuan Yanyu’s gaze settle on her, Yan Yunning clasped her hands behind her back and secretly pinched the back of his hand. At a moment like this — do not look at her, and do not ask her.
Ye’an and Ye Chen, standing behind Xuan Yanyu, exchanged a glance.
Right. They had seen absolutely nothing.
“Hmm.” Xuan Yanyu rubbed his lower back. “Satisfied.”
The Xuan King’s jaw tightened. Truly insufferable to watch!!!
He hadn’t even been able to bring himself to pinch that little rascal once, and now his defences were crumbling — there was a faint, helpless ache in his heart.
“Set the palanquin for Taiyi Hall.” The Xuan King, too irritated to linger, strode forward — without the slightest concern for whether the Xuan Queen at his side could keep up.
“This servant respectfully sends off His Majesty, the Xuan Queen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Her Royal Highness the Elder Princess, and Her Royal Highness the fifth Princess.”
Yan Yunning discreetly tugged at Xuan Yanyu’s sleeve and dropped her voice low. “Your Highness the Crown Prince — are you going as well?”
She could see that even the Elder Princess and Ranran had followed along.
“I am, and so are you.” Xuan Yanyu took her hand and led her forward.
He had come to find her precisely to take her to the meal. His Imperial Father had simply decided to follow him along. Once his Imperial Father arrived, his Imperial Mother and his Elder Imperial Sister came as well, and then they ran into little Ranran along the way — so the whole party came together.
Yan Yunning put on a strained smile. “Me? What am I going for??”
The man let out a low laugh. “To eat, of course. No need to be nervous.”
Yan Yunning’s lashes trembled. She was going to dine with the Xuan King and the Xuan Queen???
She wanted to refuse!!!
Xuan Yanyu draped one hand over her shoulder and leaned down with languid ease toward her ear, his tone coaxing and honeyed. “Yan Yunning, when we arrive at Taiyi Hall, remember to call them Imperial Father and Imperial Mother.”
Yan Yunning’s eyes darted upward. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, is it appropriate to do so now?”
Xuan Yanyu drew her in a little closer, his gaze soft as he spun his complete fabrication. “Quite appropriate. This is simply the custom in Xuanzhao. Imperial Father was upset just now and walked off precisely because you did not address him as Imperial Father. This is also this Crown Prince’s oversight — I forgot to tell you in advance.”
It was only a matter of a few days early, was it not?
Once Imperial Father issued the decree, she could make the switch.
“Oh.” Yan Yunning suddenly felt an acute pain in her face.
She used to tell herself she would never marry someone from inside a novel. Now she wanted nothing more than to go back and clamp her own mouth shut.
But she had not the slightest sign of being sent back — so she might as well live her life properly with Xuan Yanyu.
Xuan Yanyu curved his lips slightly. “Also — the Elder Princess. Call out to her a few more times when you see her.”
“Why? What kind of custom is that??”
The laughter in the man’s voice was impossible to contain. “Because I say so.”
Even though she could not understand why such a custom existed, Yan Yunning gave a nod. “I understand.”
Xuan Yanyu buried his face against Yan Yunning’s shoulder and could not hold back a laugh.