The king, on the other hand, knitted his brows slightly. “Feng Xin, why are you holding Prince Xiao Jing like a criminal?”
When His Majesty arrived, Feng Xin should’ve bowed in greeting like Mu Qing and all the others, but because he had Qi Rong in hand and couldn’t release him, he was put in an awkward situation.
Xie Lian spoke up. “It was under my command.”
Qi Rong held up his right arm. “Yimu, my arm is broken.”
The queen hadn’t had the chance to sympathize before Xie Lian cut in harshly. “You broke an arm, but what about that child?”
“What child?” the king asked.
“A ten-year-old child,” Xie Lian answered. “Powerless, vulnerable, and frail in stature. Qi Rong sent his subordinates to beat him. If not for the child’s tenacity, he would’ve been beaten to death on the spot!”
Qi Rong looked as if he had just heard a joke, his eyes widening. “A powerless, vulnerable ten-year-old child? Frail? Cousin, you don’t know just how vicious, how savage, how spunky that little non-croaker was; he only pretends to be pathetic in front of you. I called for five or six guys, and they still couldn’t catch the brat. He thrashed and bit them until they were bloodied all over. If he hadn’t angered me so, why else would I have dragged him behind my horse carriage?”
Hearing this, both the king and the queen’s faces fell. Xie Lian drew in a deep breath and shouted, “Enough! Do you think what you’ve done is impressive?!”
Qi Rong wasn’t one to shy away from the limelight. He was so arrogant and ostentatious that there was no way the citizens of the capital hadn’t seen him. And after they saw, there was no reason he wouldn’t become the talk of every dinner-table conversation in the city.
The king gave the queen a look, appearing a little grim. “Take Prince Xiao Jing away. Doctor, see to his arm. The golden carriage will be permanently confiscated. You will be confined to your palace and reflect on your actions for a month without release.”
The guard behind him immediately acknowledged the order and moved forward to take Qi Rong. Only then did Feng Xin let go. Qi Rong, however, no longer cared and humphed.
“Take it, take it. I already knew today would be my last chance to drive it.”
The queen sighed sadly, hearing that he had no remorse or repenting heart. Xie Lian spoke up.
“It would seem that with only a month of detention to reflect, he will still do this again. There needs to be stricter discipline.”
Qi Rong was taken aback and stammered angrily, “Cousin Crown Prince, you…” But then he switched gears. “Fine. I admit it, this time it was my fault. No matter how His Majesty punishes me, Qi Rong has no complaints.” His next words changed the argument’s direction. “But shouldn’t Cousin Crown Prince’s servant also be punished? Yifu, Yimu, my arm was broken by that Feng Xin, you know!”
Hearing this, the king instantly shifted his gaze to Feng Xin, looking outraged. Feng Xin bowed his head, and Mu Qing imperceptibly shuffled two steps away.
The king berated him coldly. “Feng Xin, you are the crown prince’s bodyguard. The crown prince treats you well and regards you highly, but have you forgotten your place? What is this arrogance?! Your duty is to serve His Highness. Is this how you serve him? You dare raise a hand against the crown prince’s cousin, Prince Xiao Jing?”
At those words, Feng Xin was ready to kneel, but Xie Lian stopped him.
“No need to kneel.”
Feng Xin obeyed Xie Lian’s commands first and foremost; even under the king’s orders, his priority was His Highness, and so he instantly straightened again. Seeing this, the king grew even more displeased.
“It’s true that Feng Xin broke Qi Rong’s arm, but the reason was to protect his master,” Xie Lian said. “Besides, Qi Rong was at fault first, not Feng Xin, so why must he kneel?”
“It doesn’t matter,” the king said. “Either way, he has offended Prince Xiao Jing. There’s a difference between masters and servants, a distinction of superior versus inferior. If I, the king, were to make him kneel—or even if I punished him with one hundred lashes—there would be nothing inappropriate about it.”
Although the king wasn’t as affectionate toward Qi Rong as the queen was, Qi Rong was still nevertheless a part of the royal household. He was never to be disobeyed or offended.
Qi Rong knew this very well and said with a sidelong glance, “No need for a flogging punishment. He belongs to Cousin Crown Prince; I don’t want to make things difficult. As long as he breaks his own arm and kowtows before me three times, I can let this go.”