House of Imperial Court

When Lin Xiao returned to the Xia family residence, it was almost You Shi. He used the same way as when he got out to get back into the household after making sure that there was no one around. Sneaking back into his room undetected, Lin Xiao finally let out a sigh of relief.

Glancing down at the dagger in his hand, he can’t help the sense of familiarity coming to him. “Why do you look so familiar?” Lin Xiao wondered as he took the dagger out of its sheathe. The blade shone as it reflected the light and Lin Xiao could see how well it was crafted. “And… you even have the dragon design. Did your past owner not afraid of the Emperor?” Lin Xiao asked out loud.

After inspecting it for a while, Lin Xiao finally sheathed it back in. “Oh well, you’re mine now,” Lin Xiao said without feeling the slightest remorse that he had cheated a guy 8 pieces of gold for the dagger.

That night, after dinner, Lin Xiao eyed Long YinLian carefully. He saw that the older man received the gifts from Fei YuXing and Xia YuanFeng, but he didn’t see Long YinLian bringing the box that contained his gifts. Feeling suspicious, Lin Xiao waited for Long YinLian to fall asleep before sneaking out.

He had just closed the door to their room when he heard a voice nearby.

“Finally out?”

When Lin Xiao turned his head to the source of the voice, he saw Xia YuanFeng holding a familiar box. “…” Lin Xiao didn’t say anything when he saw Xia YuanFeng. He should’ve known that what Fei YuXing brought home would have to go through him first.

“Martial uncle, about that box…”

“This box?” Xia YuanFeng held the box higher. “Why are you asking about it? Do you have anything to tell me?”

“…” Lin Xiao didn’t answer right away. He stared at Xia YuanFeng while Xia YuanFeng patiently waited for him to answer. After a while, Lin Xiao finally decided to come clean. “I went out earlier.”

“You went out?” Xia YuanFeng asked, but he emphasized more on the ‘went out’ that Lin Xiao was saying.

Lin Xiao also noticed this, so he grits his teeth as he corrected himself. “I sneaked out,” he said, and Xia YuanFeng didn’t say anything else, so Lin Xiao took the silence as a sign for him to continue. “I went to the market to look around. There, I met with sister Fei and she mentioned about buying gifts for Shizun, so I decided to go with her. That box… contains gifts that I got for Shizun. Asking martial uncle to return it to me.”

“I will hand it over if you tell me where you have gone wrong,” Xia YuanFeng simply said as he continued to look at Lin Xiao.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lin Xiao replied, and Xia YuanFeng narrowed his eyes.

“Then we don’t have anything else to discuss about. Tomorrow, I will go and tell Ah’Yin about this.”

As soon as Lin Xiao heard this, his eyes widened, and he quickly rushed over to stop Xia YuanFeng. “Martial uncle, martial uncle! Please wait,” Lin Xiao said as he went to block Xia YuanFeng’s path. “I was wrong for sneaking out. I’m sorry! But… I really cannot help it. Martial uncle, I am used to living freely. There is really no way for me to be able to stay put in one place for a long time…”

Lin Xiao’s explanation would have worked with others but not Xia YuanFeng. The older male continued to stare at Lin Xiao, as if trying to find out if Lin Xiao is truly feeling remorse or not. He could see that Lin Xiao was regretting his decision, but at the same time, he felt that Lin Xiao’s regret was on something different. But since he can’t prove it, he can only sigh.

“Alright. Since you already know where you went wrong. I’ll return this to you,” Xia YuanFeng said as he handed the silk covered box. “But you must promise me that you will tell Ah’Yin the truth. And you must also accept your punishment.”

Lin Xiao who happily took his master’s present had a change of expression as he glanced up at Xia YuanFeng. “Punishment?”

“En. Tomorrow, go to the training hall early and teach YuShen basic martial arts. Ah’Yin did offer to teach YuShen but since he… lost his sight, I think it’ll be better if you’re the one to teach the boy the basics,” Xia YuanFeng said. “That way, you can correct the boy’s posture if he ever made a mistake.”

Lin Xiao didn’t answer for a while, but after thinking about it, he agreed without any objection. “Since I can lower Shizun’s burden, Lin Xiao is willing to take his punishment. Thanking martial uncle for being lenient and not punishing Lin Xiao harshly for his disobedience.”

As Lin Xiao said this, he gave Xia YuanFeng a slight bow to show his respect before finally returning to his room with a light foot.

When he reached the room, Long YinLian was still asleep. Lin Xiao made sure to make as little noise as possible while going over to put his present for his master on a safe place before going to his sleeping area. When he reached his spot, Wang Zan actually woke up from his sleep and saw Lin Xiao getting ready for sleep.

The youngest tiger of the three went over to Lin Xiao and rubbed its head against the male before plopping down right beside Lin Xiao. “What’s wrong? Want to sleep with me tonight?” Lin Xiao asked, and he hugged Wang Zan’s neck playfully. “Come on. Let’s go sleep.”

After Lin Xiao settled down with Wang Zan, it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

The next day, Lin Xiao woke up early and informed Long YinLian of what happened. As he promised Xia YuanFeng, he told Long YinLian how he sneaked out and bought him a gift, though he didn’t tell everything that happened that day.

Long YinLian was not mad, but he still reprimanded Lin Xiao for not listening to his elders. He also agreed that Xia YuanFeng’s punishment for Lin Xiao is too lenient, so he gave another punishment for Lin Xiao. That is, every afternoon after lunch, Lin Xiao has to copy ten sets of ‘Book of proper conducts’ until the time when they are required to attend the court.

Since then, Lin Xiao’s life became even more mundane. Luckily, Xia YuShen is a quick learner, so Lin Xiao actually enjoyed teaching the young boy more than he thought he would be.

Before Lin Xiao could even realize it, the day for their court hearing finally arrived.