"Guard Xiao is extremely skilled. I've heard that you're General Xiao's right - hand man, so I specially invited you here to teach these children archery on horseback," Lu Tianxun said politely. "I should have visited your place in person, but I've been swamped with work. Also, I feel quite close to the General's Mansion, so I took the liberty to do this."
"Close?" Xiao Tian held the teacup in his hand and said coldly, "Far from it."
Trying to poach his people and making it sound so high - minded?
Stop getting on familiar terms. Yi Qing is not familiar with you!
Just being a patient, and he even thought he had fallen in love at first sight?
Lu Tianxun wasn't annoyed. He calmly said, "Guard Xiao seems to be in a bad mood today."
"Yi Qing is mine," Xiao Tian said bluntly without beating around the bush.
Lu Tianxun was taken aback. "Did Yi Qing tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Xiao Tian countered. "What did you say to her?"
Both men fell silent.
Lu Tianxun thought that Yi Qing couldn't have said anything. He must have misunderstood just now.
Xiao Tian thought that this bastard Lu Tianxun had actually said something to Yi Qing! He had just been on guard, but unexpectedly, his guess was right!
Smart as they were, they both understood what the other meant.
Lu Tianxun spoke first, with great grace. "A woman marries as her family wishes the first time and can decide for herself the second time. Regarding Yi Qing's matter, she can make her own decision. Brother Xiao, how about we make a gentleman's agreement and compete fairly?"
Xiao Tian thought: Who will compete fairly with you? I'm the one she's going to marry for the first time!
However, he couldn't say that. He just said wooden - faced, "Don't waste your time. You have no chance."
Lu Tianxun said, "If that's really the case, I'll admit defeat. But I won't give up until Yi Qing gets married."
Xiao Tian's face was as gloomy as water. The two parted on bad terms.
Just then, Lu Tianxun was so oblivious that as Xiao Tian was leaving, he still shouted behind him, "Then, Brother Xiao, let's settle the matter of you coming to the academy."
So, after this visit, Xiao Tian only saw his sister being flirted with, gained a "brother" who wanted to compete with him for Yi Qing, and took on this errand. He couldn't have been more miserable.
However, he secretly went to the room where Baozi was studying and watched for a while. Seeing the little guy mingling among much older children without showing any timidity, he finally felt a bit relieved.
If it weren't for Lu Tianxun's talent, he would definitely find a new teacher for Baozi.
After leaving the academy, Xiao Tian felt depressed. After thinking for a while, he headed towards the palace.
After all these days, he wondered if the emperor had gotten over Xue Ci's incident.
The officials in the court seemed to sense something strange from the emperor's cold attitude after the deaths of the imperial noble consort and the eldest prince. Those who had been on good terms with the Xue family also began to wait and see.
"Have you lost all your conscience? Did you vomit it out even for the dogs?" the emperor said snidely as soon as he saw Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian said, "I take my leave!"
"Get back here!" the emperor roared.
Xiao Tian sat down on the chair below. "Feeling better?"
"The green on my forehead probably won't go away for a while," the emperor said self - deprecatingly.
Xiao Tian said, "The person is already dead. Dwelling on it will only make you sad. Why bother?"
"Who can't give advice? You have a wife and children, and the son you never knew about turns out to be your own. What about me?" The emperor couldn't help but compare, and the more he compared, the angrier he got.
Xiao Tian was speechless. "It seems you're better."
"If I'm not better, should I be buried with them? I'm not that stupid. So, why did you come to the palace?"
Xiao Tian thought for a while and said, "It's nothing."
The emperor suddenly became interested when he saw Xiao Tian like this. "No, there must be something, and it must be something that's bothering you. Come on, tell me. Let me have a good laugh."
Xiao Tian didn't want to say it even more.
Was he out of his mind to come and share his feelings with the emperor?
But he couldn't withstand the emperor's persistence. Finally, Xiao Tian said, "I saw Cao Ranran today. I felt a bit strange."
"Who's Cao Ranran? Xiao Tian, are you already in love with someone else so soon? It seems Yi Qing has awakened your inner self?"
Xiao Tian ignored him.
The emperor thought to himself, "Ranran. This name sounds familiar! Ah, I remember. Isn't she your sister?"
Xiao Tian rarely didn't deny his words.
The emperor immediately understood where Xiao Tian's entanglement came from. He said, "Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. It's hard to say who was right and who was wrong in that incident back then. But she's still your mother, and Ranran is still your sister. If you want to recognize them, do it. If not, just support them well like Yi Qing is doing now."
Hearing Yi Qing's name, Xiao Tian's expression softened a lot.
"Xiao Tian, you're living a much more comfortable life than me now."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Tian simply replied with a "Yes" without any modesty. The emperor felt even worse.
He slapped the mountain of memorials on the table and roared, "I should have let you be the emperor back then. I could be living a carefree life as a wealthy and idle person now. Wouldn't that be great?"
As he moved, a stack of memorials fell to the ground with a clatter.
The emperor became even more annoyed. "These stupid memorials are against me. I might as well burn them all!"
Xiao Tian stepped forward to pick up the memorials for him and said, "It would be better if you burned the whole palace."
The emperor was so speechless that he just grunted.
Xiao Tian accidentally glanced at the content of one of the memorials and casually asked, "What's going on in the Southern Border again? Are they sending envoys to the capital?"
The memorial was submitted by the local officials along the way, reporting the itinerary of the Southern Border envoys. According to the date, they should be arriving in the capital soon.
"Who knows?" the emperor said impatiently. "I hope they're not here to take advantage of us. I'm already penniless. It's good enough that I don't attack them. They'd better not come begging."
Xiao Tian said, "Although the Southern Border is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, it's not that destitute. If it weren't for the civil unrest in recent years, it might have been a great threat to us."
The civil unrest in the Southern Border in recent years had provided time for the Central Plains to recuperate.
The emperor sneered contemptuously. "A bunch of idiots."
"Then they're coming to the capital for no reason?" Xiao Tian thought this didn't make sense.
"They said they're going to send a princess to be my concubine," the emperor said. "Do they think my concubines' positions are cabbages? They want to give them to these barbarians so easily."
Xiao Tian silently told himself that the person in front of him was stimulated and not thinking clearly. He shouldn't argue with him.
"Since they're showing goodwill, there's no need to fall out with them," Xiao Tian said. "I just hope they're not pretending to show goodwill. I wonder if the princess they're sending is favored in the Southern Border."
The emperor sneered. "Do they dare to send a fake princess to me? They're tired of living! I'm just in a bad mood and looking for someone to teach a lesson!"
Xiao Tian ignored him. "Send someone to find out their intentions. Better safe than sorry. Moreover, some things in the Southern Border are quite strange. We have to be on guard."