Back at the imperial palace at the main hall were morning court was currently in session were two youths that were sitting side by side slightly to the one side on a long intricately carved dais made out of white jade with gold details near the front on a small raised platform who"s height is only second to the connecting larger platform that was a whole three steps higher where a large majestic throne made out of jade with an exquisitely unique color of golden amber with gold and gem detailings where the emperor himself sat.The two youths were none other than Jin Meng Yao and Fan Xian Liang!
Jin Meng Yao was present because his father wants him to take this opportunity to watch and learn the proceedings in court so that when the time comes for him to step down, Jin Meng Yao will have an idea on what to do and not just blunder about blindly.
On the other hand, Fan Xian Liang"s presence was only due to Jin Meng Yao"s insistence and as far as the court ministers could see, Fan Xian Liang was being forced by their prince to attend which clearly reflected on the two young men"s expressions.
All of the various ministers and court officials knew why the two young men where here so they just went ahead and disregarded their presence but some of the more experienced ones couldn"t help but heave an internal sigh at the crown prince"s antics.
"Come on Xian, are you still sulking?" Jin Meng Yao teasingly asked under his breath while giving his friend a small nudge.
"I am not sulking!"
Snickering, Jin Meng Yao retorted happily, "You so are!"
Shooting Jin Meng Yao a dark look, Fan Xian Liang decided to ignore him and let his mind wander to the events that happened in their home the previous night.
Seeing Fan Xian Liang ignoring him, Jin Meng Yao couldn"t help but have an urge to tease his friend even more.
"Are you throwing a tantrum? Is that why you"re ignoring me now?"
Silence...
"Xian..."
Nothing...
"Xian..."
Still nothing...
"Ignoring me isn"t going to help you leave earlier you know." Jin Meng Yao told Fan Xian Liang in a low whisper as he looked at his friend but still he got no response.
In spite of Fan Xian Liang"s lack of reaction, Jin Meng Yao still continued trying to hound Fan Xian Liang covertly while trying to act as inconspicous as possible and yet regardless of his efforts, his father; Emperor Jin Fa Chung still noticed.
Before long, Jin Fa Chung could no longer tolerate his son"s antics that he stopped a court official who was citing a report mid-sentence and barked in a loud voice filled with annoyance, "Jin Meng Yao!"
Instantly, both Jin Meng Yao and Fan Xian Liang"s eyes shot up to look at the emperor with identical looks of surprise while Jin Meng Yao then paled slightly as he realized that his father had discovered that he wasn"t paying attention.
"Yes Father?" Jin Meng Yao asked nervously as he stared at Jin Fa Chung who was seated at the majestic jade throne.
"Are you even paying a slightest bit of attention Meng Yao?"
"Of course! I-"
Narrowing his eyes, Jin Fa Chung directed a piercing stare at his son while letting his aura flare slightly making Jin Meng Yao swallow up what he was going to say.
"Are you sure?" the emperor asked coldly as he stared down at the crown prince while all the officials stayed silent, some feeling a slight chill in their hearts when they felt their emperor"s dominating aura flare up.
Cursing his luck, Jin Meng Yao decided to keep silent to avoid futher angering his father especially when he felt his father; Jin Fa Chung directing his aura to solely focus and pressure him and him alone.
Gritting his teeth, Jin Meng Yao silently endured and while the whole court fell into an uneasy silence, there were only a few ones who kept their cool and remained calm.
Two of them were the father and son; Fan Hui Liang and Fan Xian Liang!
Clearing his throat, Fan Hui Liang waited until he attracted te emperor"s attention and then calmly spoke up as soon as Jin Fa Chung"s eyes landed on him.
"Your Majesty, if you would let this humble servant state his opinion?
With a nod of his head and a small wave of his hand, the emperor gave his a.s.sent, "Go on..."
"Why not just let the two youngsters out first? We can always decide their punishments later after morning court, that way we can focus on the matters we still have at hand."
After Fan Hui Liang spoke, silence first greeted him while Jin Meng Yao felt increasingly nervous with his father"s lack of response.
Finally, after a few moments pa.s.sed, Jin Fa Chung sighed resignedly and then turned to look at both Jin Meng Yao and Fan Xian Liang.
"You two leave for now." the emperor ordered with a flick of his hand.
Quickly, both stood up and then bowed to the emperor"s direction before hastily making their way out of the main hall of the imperial palace.
Once the ma.s.sive door leading to the hall closed behind them, Jin Meng Yao let out relieved sigh while Fan Xian Liang smirked at his unruly friend.
Turning to Fan Xian Liang, Jin Meng Yao said, "I really have to thank your father for saving me back there, if it weren"t forhim,
my father would have probably pressure me with his aura until I coughed out blood!"
"You know you would have deserved that right?"
"Oy! Why would you side with my father on this? What kind of friend are you?" Jin Meng Yao indignantly complained while the two of them slowly made their way to the front gates of the imperial palace out were several eunuchs were waiting for them.
"I"m the responsible one that always has to get us out of trouble that you always land us in." Fan Xian Liang retorted with an exasperated eyeroll.
Affronted, Jin Meng Yao protested, "It"s not like I mean for us to get into trouble."
"Of course you don"t" was Fan Xian Liang"s only response, his voice filled with sarcasm as he shot a meaningful look to his friend who then resorted to mumbling complaints under his breath.
With a shake of his head, Fan Xian Liang turned to the nearest one of the eunuchs and asked, "Can you have someone please go and fetch both mine and the crown prince"s mounts?"
Hearing his request, the eunuch immediately nodded his head respectfully and replied, "Of course Young Master Fan, it shall be done."
"Very good, we"ll for our mounts here then."
As soon as Fan Xian Liang finished speaking, the very same eunuch he spoke to bowed to the two of them before excusing himself and quickly striding off to have their mounts fetched.
Not even half an hour has pa.s.sed when they heard the tell-tale sounds of their mounts being led towards their direction and looking behind them, they could see two very large spirit beasts with saddles and reigns being guided to them.
One was the crown prince"s mount, a Golden Thunderstone Tiger; it"s a large spirit beast that resembled a giant tiger with a black and gold striped patterned coat that gleamed brightly, as if parts of it"s huge muscular body emitted sparks while it moved sinously towards them. It"s large clawed paws digging slightly into the ground with each step and it"s golden cat eyes darted to look around as if studying it"s surroundings.
The other one was the very same spirit beast; the Wind Runner that Fan Hui Zhong had ridden before which he had gifted to his nephew; Fan Xian Liang. It was the spirit beast named Heise; which looked like an extremely large towering horse with charcoal-black antlers and muscular body covered with velvety black fur. It was several times bigger than an ordinary horse and the way it moved was slightly different, it"s limbs moved more fluidly like water and it"s long midnight black hair moved gently as if it was being constantly blown by the wind.
Stepping forward, Jin Meng Yao took the reins of the Golden Thunderstone Tiger and gave it an affectionate scratch behind it"s ears.
"Thundaga, you"ve grown even more since the last time I saw you! Did you take care of little Mei"er while I was away?" Jin Meng Yao playfully asked as he continued scratching and petting his mount who let out satisfied growls and purrs from time to time as it sat down in his haunches in front of the crown prince.
With a shake of his head and a small smile as he stared at his friend, Fan Xian Liang took the reigns to Heise and gave him a small affectionate pat before leading him towards the other two.
"Meng Yao, will you be coming with me or shall I go on ahead?" Fan Xian Liang asked as he gazed at his friend who was engrossed with petting his mount.
"Oh no no... I"ll go with you." Jin Meng Yao responded with a grin before he straightened up and tugged on his mount"s reigns, making it stand up.
"Come on Thundaga, let"s go for a ride around the city today!" Jin Meng Yao said as he pulled himself up into the saddle and gave the Golden Thunderstone Tiger one more pat.
Seeing Jin Meng Yao up on his mount, Fan Xian Liang swiftly swung his body up and settled himself comfortably on Heise"s saddle.
With a flick of his reins, Fan Xian Liang made Heise move to exit the imperial gates with Jin Meng Yao having Thundaga immediately catch up to them.
"Hey Xian, when did you get your new mount? That"s a Wind Runner right?"
"Yes it is... I just got it yesterday to be honest. It was a gift."
Curious to who would give such a rare and expensive mount as a gift, Jin Meng Yao asked, "Who gave it to you then?"
Grinning towards his friend, Fan Xian Liang replied, "Uncle Zhong."
"Oh I see. Your uncle is very generous with giving gifts, I remember when he gave me a gift before, I-"
Just as he was reminiscing, Jin Meng Yao suddenly realized something an he cut himself off in mid-sentence to stare at his friend with wide eyes and a gaping mouth which made Fan Xian Liang burst out into laughter.
"Wait a minute, do you mean to tell me that your uncle; Fan Hui Zhong, my teacher is back?!" Jin Meng Yao exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, he"s back. I"m a.s.suming that father would probably inform the emperor of his return later." Fan Xian Liang replied happily as he urged Heise to go a little faster towards the main streets.
"Then where are we going Xian?! Shouldn"t we be heading back to your home? Why are you going the wrong way?" Jin Meng Yao asked agitatedly as he turned his head to look towards the direction that would lead them to the Lei Palace.
Laughing, Fan Xian Liang replied, "No no... I need to buy some wine first before I go back, eldest brother gave me strict instructions not to go back without a lot of good quality wine."
"Wine? Is it for master?"
"Oh no... It"s not for him, it"s for our cousin." Fan Xian Liang said in reply, his eyes twinkling with humor.
Surprised, Jin Meng Yao asked, "Cousin? You have a new cousin?"
"We do! We only met her yesterday." Fan Xian Liang replied happily.
"Her? You"re cousin"s a girl?"
"Haha, yes she is. In fact, you"ce already seen her before." Fan Xian Liang chortled in amus.e.m.e.nt.
Confused, Jin Meng Yao"s forehead creased and with a lost lool on his face, he asked, "I have? Where?"
"Remember that pair of cultivators we saw camping out a short distance away from us when we were on our way back to the capital?"
"Yes, I remember... don"t tell me that they were-"
"That was them... it was Uncle Zhong and our new cousin, Zhu Xia."