"It's truly a pleasant surprise to meet you, Prince Lin Xiao." Lu Jian's father had good impression of Lin Xiao after talking for some time. He nodded to the young prince before him. "I wish you luck."
"Many thanks for your well wishes, Mr. Lu."
Lin Xiao felt a bit exhausted talking with polite speech but he continued to greet others. There were many people whom he didn't know but those who came with good intention would naturally be greeted with him politely. Those who didn't have interest in him didn't even get close to him.
After some time, he glanced over to Princess Lan Yi Hua. "Are you tired?"
"This is nothing."
Banquet like this was not that uncommon for Princess Lan Yi Hua. For her, staying in the same place and acted polite was something that was very common and didn't require much effort. She did act polite to those who were polite to her, but towards others, she had wooden expression.
"It's quite a surprise, though," Princess Lan Yi Hua added at the end of her sentence.
"Yes?"
"There are more polite people who are greeting us than what I expected at first. The nobles in Sun Dragon are much better than the one in Hua Lan Kingdom."
Lin Xiao really wanted to hug Princess Lan Yi Hua right now and soothe her so badly. He could guess that the treatment she got back in Hua Lan Kingdom was bad because the Emperor didn't care for him. Since the Emperor openly didn't favor his daughter, the others clearly didn't show any favor to her at all.
But right now, she was also the wife of a prince. While the prince's position was not that low, he was also quite a genius. Many of them didn't want to make an enemy out of nowhere and since the Emperor himself didn't say anything, they also didn't make any move.
"Hmm?"
As they walked to one corner, Lin Xiao sensed faint pressure. He glanced to the side and saw a middle aged man, whom he quickly recognized as the Emperor due to the sheer pressure he generated, looked at the two of them. The gaze he gave was not friendly at all and Lin Xiao felt Princess Lan Yi Hua tensed up beside him.
"You finally return back, you ungrateful daughter." The man's tone was harsh. Even though they were in front of so many people, it didn't look like he had any intention of showing love nor kindness to the girl.
Princess Lan Yi Hua looked back at the middle aged man, the Emperor, without any fear whatsoever within her gaze. "I never have any plan to return back. Didn't your plan of sending me to Sun Kingdom is simply to sell me away."
"You'll return back and divorce him."
"I won't."
"Do you really think that you can go against me?" As Hua Lan Kingdom Emperor asked, he released a huge amount of pressure from his body. His eyes were looking at his daughter with fury and rage.
Swish!
Faint Qi spread from Lin Xiao, soothing Princess Lan Yi Hua beside him. They were two ranks below the Emperor, but Lin Xiao's Qi characteristic was more than enough to help Princess Lan Yi Hua to calm down considerably.
In the past, she never thought of going against her father so openly. But since things were already like this, why should she be afraid of him?
"Your Majesty, don't you think it's unwise of you to just step up and berate your daughter in public?" Lin Xiao asked in low tone. His tone was dangerous and if things did come to the worst, he didn't mind exchanging some moves.
On the side, Elder Wang and also Prince Lin Yan were also preparing themselves for a fight. They might not be able to match against the Emperor, but it would be much better than nothing at all.
"This is not your business, Young Man. Step away."
"I won't. You're talking rudely to my wife, why can't I talk back to you?" Lin Xiao asked back and looked at the Emperor before him with his clear gaze.
"Wife? If you…"
"Stop it. I'm no longer your daughter. Didn't you already agree that from the moment I step onto Sun Kingdom territory, I would no longer be your daughter?" Princess Lan Yi Hua cut him off. "Don't say that you don't know it at all because I still have the agreement you signed back then. If you have conscience, stay away from my life."
Turning her body around, Princess Lan Yi Hua walked to the door. Lin Xiao walked with her while glancing towards the Emperor with disgust. To think that this man actually threw his daughter away simply because she was not accomplished enough.
Children were not tools for their parents to use.
The Emperor was seething with rage, but he knew that what Princess Lan Yi Hua said was the truth. It was just that, he never told others about that nor released the news in public. Having her reveal that was truly like slapping him in the face.
"Ungrateful daughter!"
"Father, don't be angry." Princess Lan Xiao Yue came closer and hugged her father's hand. "Sister is just saying that in a heat of a moment."
"That's saying in the heat of the moment?"
"Father."
"Your Majesty."
With so many people calming him down, the Emperor finally calmed down. He waved his hand. "Forget it, there's another more important matter for us to attend to."
"Yes." Princess Lan Xiao Yue smiled sweetly.
Hua Lan Kingdom Emperor nodded at his beloved daughter before looking towards Sun Kingdom Emperor as if asking for permission. The two emperors had already talked to each other before this and agreed to marry Princess Lan Xiao Yue to the one who would become the next Emperor.
While it was still unclear who it would be at this point because the three princes were not that powerful enough yet, the distribution of power was already quite clear.
