“Why didn’t you report this to me when you returned yesterday?” Xie Lian asked.
Mu Qing turned around while still kneeling, and prostrated, his voice quiet. “Your Highness, there’s no need to look further into the matter with that shixiong. I didn’t say anything after returning yesterday simply because I don’t want to make this into a big deal. In any case, it’s nothing major. If Your Highness was to defend me openly, it would hurt the camaraderie between everyone.”
Xie Lian disagreed, sounding upset. “What ‘camaraderie’ are you talking about? The kind of camaraderie that’s used to abuse others?”
Hearing this, the State Preceptors sitting on the side looked even more agitated. At the end of the day, something like this happened because the State Preceptors disliked Mu Qing. When they were displeased, the trainee attendants naturally followed their lead—not to mention that Mu Qing himself simply wasn’t very likable. So, not only did fellow trainees avoid helping him, they went out of their way to make things difficult for him at every turn.
Of course, their high and mighty disciple wasn’t trying to ridicule them on purpose, but he certainly did take a jab.
Mu Qing was continuously making concessions in his story, but Feng Xin couldn’t listen for another minute and suddenly interjected.
“It really was nothing major, but you had to go and make it complicated. If you had told the trainee at the door that you came to deliver a message at His Highness’s command, would he still have the gall to block your way? Also, right before we departed today, the State Preceptor asked you where His Highness went. Why did you answer so vaguely? Could you not have said clearly that His Highness was on top of the tower waiting for the procession to start?”
Mu Qing immediately argued back, calm and steady, “I thought the State Preceptor already knew and didn’t expect to be asked that question, so I was confused. But right after, I told the State Preceptor that His Highness had already said not to worry, that the procession could start without delay as planned, and that His Highness would be back promptly. His Highness might not have been there at the time, but there were many at the scene who heard me, so how can you say I did this intentionally? Or that I was being vague?”
Feng Xin stared at him angrily. But if he thought about it carefully, Mu Qing did in fact say all that—the problem was that the State Preceptor was too anxious and didn’t want to make hasty decisions. If he was going to pick at faults, there really wasn’t enough evidence to prove anything.
Just then, Xie Lian spoke up again. “All right, all right. It was all just an untimely mistake, a misunderstanding. Let’s count it as bad luck, so stop fighting.”
Feng Xin looked extremely displeased, but mindful of his position, he dared not be clamorous in the Palace of Divine Might and stopped talking. The State Preceptor didn’t want to pursue this topic anymore either. After all, if they must get to the heart of the topic, wasn’t he at fault too for being too engrossed in card games? Thus, he simply waved and sighed.
“Let’s talk about that later, and we shall put our heads together and think of a way to see how this situation can be salvaged. The three of you are dismissed; go remove your costumes and do whatever else you must.”
Xie Lian bowed and rose to his feet immediately. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both properly kowtowed once before rising, following Xie Lian, who was about to leave. Xie Lian had one foot over the threshold when he heard the State Preceptor speak up again.
“Your Highness.”
Xie Lian turned his head.
“Both His Majesty the King and Her Ladyship the Queen asked after you today. If you have time in the next few days, go and see them,” the State Preceptor said.
Xie Lian grinned. “This disciple understands.”
After leaving the Palace of Divine Might, the three of them traversed a large portion of the summit and returned to the training hall built especially for the crown prince: the Palace of Xianle. There, Xie Lian could finally remove his ceremonial garb.
As mentioned before, for the Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession, the ceremonial attire of the God-Pleasing Martial Warrior was exceedingly strict in every detail. Each accessory and fold had meaning and could never be mismanaged. For example, the outer robe was white, symbolizing divine purity. The inner robes were red, symbolizing canonical tradition. The golden crown that fastened the hair symbolized imperial power and wealth, and the white plumes folded away by the heart symbolized the flight to ascension. Loose corded ribbons along the sleeves symbolized his duties to carry the common people. And so on, and so on.