Chapter 60 The Lost Red Pearl Causes Trouble

At this moment, Feng Xin, who was kneeling behind Xie Lian, spoke in a deep voice, "His Highness did mention it the day before yesterday."

Everyone looked at him, and Feng Xin continued, "Recently, His Highness has been pondering over the arrangements for the Lantern Festival. Yesterday, he suddenly had an idea to jump from the city tower, descending like a deity, without changing any other arrangements. But at that time, His Highness was still revising the ceremony process and couldn't leave, so he asked Mu Qing to inform the national teacher and see if this plan was feasible."

He raised his head, a hint of anger in his eyes, and said, "Mu Qing came back and told His Highness that he had informed the national teacher, so His Highness thought the national teacher had agreed and went ahead with it today. Who would have thought the national teacher knew nothing and nearly ruined everything?"

Everyone exchanged glances. The national teacher asked, "Did anyone hear about this?"

The other three deputy national teachers shook their heads, all saying they hadn't. The national teacher turned to Mu Qing, his face changing from worry to anger, and said, "Mu Qing, are you deliberately withholding information?"

His words and expression clearly indicated he believed Mu Qing was causing trouble. Xie Lian glanced at the thin young man kneeling silently beside him, thought for a moment, and said, "National teacher, I think there might be some misunderstanding here."

Hearing this, Mu Qing slowly looked at him, his eyes dark. Xie Lian said, "If someone deliberately hides information, the truth will come out when questioned, and no one will escape responsibility. Mu Qing is not short-sighted or foolish enough to take such a risk. Besides, what benefit would it be for a Divine Harmony Warrior to be absent, leaving the stage to demons and martial warriors? I hope the national teacher will listen to his explanation before drawing conclusions."

After speaking, he turned his head and said, "Mu Qing, explain what happened."

Mu Qing lowered his eyes and said softly, "I did mention what His Highness asked me to yesterday."

The national teacher frowned and said, "Did you say it or not? We don't know. When did you say it?"

Mu Qing replied, "Yesterday, half an hour after the evening lesson, when the four national teachers were resting at the Four Symbols Palace, I reported it from outside the window."

The national teacher turned to his colleagues, puzzled, and asked, "After the evening lesson yesterday? What were we doing then?"

As soon as he asked, he remembered, and his face turned a bit awkwardly green. The three deputy national teachers coughed a few times and mumbled, "We weren't doing much. Just... resting, that's all."

Seeing the national teachers' evasive responses, everyone immediately understood.

In Huangji Temple, everyone was supposed to be cultivating quietly, with little room for entertainment. However, one of the few small pleasures allowed was playing cards, which was very popular. The national teachers, having been cooped up in the temple for so long, were deeply addicted. Once they started playing cards, they would become completely absorbed, oblivious to any outside sounds. If Mu Qing happened to report during that time, how much could have been heard?

One deputy national teacher said, "Oh, maybe there were too many people, and the voice was too low, so we didn't hear it clearly. Yes, we didn't hear it clearly."

The national teacher, still suspicious, asked, "Did you really go to the Four Symbols Palace yesterday?"

Mu Qing said, "Absolutely." To prove it, he described the clothing, appearance, and accent of the guard outside the door, without missing a detail. The national teacher had to believe him and frowned, "Since you went to the Four Symbols Palace, why didn't you ask the guard to report, or go inside to explain in detail, instead of shouting from outside the window? Why didn't you confirm if we heard you?"

Mu Qing replied softly, "I did try. I politely asked the senior brother guarding the door, but for some reason, he insisted on making things difficult for me, refusing to let me in or pass on the message, even mocking and driving me away."

After a pause, he added, "I had no other choice but to go to the other side of the Four Symbols Palace and report from outside the window. After I finished speaking, I vaguely heard a national teacher shout 'Got it, leave,' so I thought they agreed with His Highness's idea and left."

The national teachers remained silent.

When they were engrossed in playing cards, how could they hear what someone was saying outside? They would shout "Got it" to anything, without even knowing where the sound came from!

Xie Lian frowned and asked, "Is there really such a thing? Which disciple was so bold as to be so rude to someone I sent?"

Although Xie Lian usually got along well with everyone at Huangji Temple and never put on airs, he was still the crown prince, and even while kneeling before the deity, he showed no humility. His sudden seriousness was intimidating, and everyone fell silent, while the national teachers' expressions became somewhat awkward.

Xie Lian asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this when you returned yesterday?"

Mu Qing turned, knelt, and bowed to him, saying calmly, "Crown Prince, please don't pursue that senior brother. I didn't mention it yesterday because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It wasn't a big issue, and if you intervened for me, it would harm the harmony among fellow disciples."

Xie Lian disagreed, saying, "What kind of harmony is this? Is it harmony to bully fellow disciples and use them as punching bags?"

Hearing this, the national teachers' expressions became even more awkward.

The root of the problem was that the national teachers didn't like Mu Qing.

Because they didn't like him, the disciples serving them naturally understood their feelings. Moreover, Mu Qing wasn't particularly likable, so it was common for fellow disciples to make things difficult for him. This precious disciple wasn't intentionally mocking them, but it did sting a bit.

Mu Qing kept retreating in his words, but Feng Xin couldn't stand it anymore. He suddenly said, "It wasn't a big deal, but you made it so complicated. If you had just told the guard you were there on the Crown Prince's orders, would he have dared not to report it? And today, when the national teacher asked where the Crown Prince was, why did you answer so vaguely? Couldn't you just say he was waiting on the city tower for the procession to start?"

Mu Qing calmly and clearly countered, "I assumed the national teacher already knew, so I was momentarily stunned when he suddenly asked. But I immediately told the national teacher that the Crown Prince had instructed not to worry, that everything should proceed as usual, and he would arrive shortly. The Crown Prince wasn't present, but many people heard it. How was it deliberate or vague?"

Feng Xin glared at him. But thinking back, Mu Qing did say that, and the national teacher, in his anxiety, didn't dare to proceed hastily. There wasn't enough evidence to prove Mu Qing had ill intentions. At this point, Xie Lian said, "Alright, alright. It was just a misunderstanding, a stroke of bad luck. Let's not argue anymore."

Feng Xin looked very unhappy, but due to the setting, he didn't dare to make a fuss in the Divine Martial Hall and said nothing further. The national teacher didn't want to dwell on the issue either, as they had also been at fault for playing cards. He waved his hand and said, "Let's discuss it later and come up with a solution to fix it. You three, go take off your clothes and do what you need to do."

Xie Lian bowed slightly and immediately stood up. Feng Xin and Mu Qing knelt and bowed again before rising to follow Xie Lian out. As Xie Lian stepped over the threshold, he heard the national teacher call from behind, "Crown Prince."

Xie Lian turned back. The national teacher said, "Today, the king and queen asked about you a lot. If you have time in the next few days, go see them."

Xie Lian smiled and said, "I understand."

Leaving the Divine Martial Hall, the three of them crossed a large area of mountains and returned to the Divine Joy Palace, specially built for the Crown Prince. Only then did Xie Lian begin to remove the ceremonial attire.

As mentioned earlier, during the Lantern Festival, the attire of the Divine Harmony Warrior was strictly regulated, with every item having its own symbolic meaning. The outer garment was white, symbolizing "purity"; the inner garment was red, symbolizing "legitimacy"; the gold crown symbolized "royalty" and "wealth"; the white feather in the bosom symbolized "wings to the heavens"; and the flowing ribbons on the sleeves symbolized "carrying all beings." Each piece had its own significance.

As one might imagine, this attire was incredibly complex to put on and take off. However, as the Crown Prince, Xie Lian didn't need to do everything himself. He simply stood in the room filled with cool incense, arms outstretched, chatting with Feng Xin while waiting for Mu Qing, his close attendant, to help him remove the layers of Divine Harmony attire.

The white robe of the Divine Harmony attire was of excellent quality, with fine texture and intricately embroidered pale gold patterns on the edges, luxurious yet not extravagant. Compared to the black martial attire of the demons, it was a world of difference. Mu Qing, still in his own dark martial attire, held Xie Lian's removed Divine Harmony robe, his fingers twitching slightly as he brushed over the white fabric.

Nearby, Xie Lian, having removed the gold crown from his hair, let his long hair down, sat on the sandalwood bed, kicked off his white boots, and waited for someone to bring him new clothes. After a while, seeing Mu Qing not moving, he tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mu Qing quickly returned to his senses and said, "Your Highness, it seems the Divine Harmony robe is a bit dirty."

Xie Lian made a sound of surprise and said, "Bring it over, let me see."

Sure enough, there were two small black handprints on the snow-white martial robe. Xie Lian glanced at them and said, "It must have been that little kid who fell from the sky. I remember he was holding onto my clothes and wouldn't let go. That child had bandages on his face; I wonder if he fell or something. Feng Xin, did you check on him?"

Feng Xin was wrapping up the ceremonial sword and the horse-slaying saber, grumbling, "No, I didn't. I took him out of the palace, as you said, to check his face, but he kicked my knee, and it hurt."

Xie Lian laughed, lying on the bed, pointing at him, "You must have scared him. Otherwise, why didn't he kick me, only you?"

Feng Xin said, "No! That little brat seemed possessed and ran off in no time. Otherwise, I'd have swung him around to scare him into crying."

Mu Qing turned over the Divine Harmony robe and said, "That kid must have been a beggar, too dirty, grabbed it once, and it turned black like this. Your Highness, isn't the Divine Harmony robe supposed to stay clean? I heard it's a bad omen if it gets dirty."

Xie Lian lay back on the sandalwood bed, casually picked up a book from the bedside, covering the lower half of his face, and said, "Circling the city three times, making history, the omen is already very good. If it's dirty, it's dirty. Just wash it."

After a pause, Mu Qing said softly, "I'll be careful when I wash it."

Xie Lian flipped through the book, which happened to open to a page with sword techniques. Remembering the fierce sparring on the stage today, he chuckled and said, "Mu Qing, you did well on stage today."

Mu Qing's shoulders tensed slightly.

Xie Lian continued, "I only realized today that you're better with a sword than a knife."

Mu Qing's expression relaxed, and he turned with a slight smile, saying, "Really?"

Xie Lian said, "Yes! But you seemed a bit rushed. Using a knife is different from using a sword, you see..."

When it came to martial arts, Xie Lian became enthusiastic, more absorbed than the national teachers playing cards. He jumped off the bed without putting on shoes, using his hand as a knife to demonstrate on the spot. Initially, Mu Qing's expression was complicated, but after Xie Lian demonstrated for a while, he began to watch seriously. Feng Xin, however, waved the wrapped horse-slaying saber, driving Xie Lian back onto the bed, shouting, "If you're going to spar, put on your shoes! You're the Crown Prince, with your hair down and barefoot, what does that look like?"

Xie Lian, in the middle of his demonstration, was forced back onto the bed, reluctantly saying, "Got it!" As he spoke, he gathered his long hair, preparing to tie it up and continue explaining to Mu Qing. Suddenly, he frowned and said, "That's strange."

Feng Xin asked, "What's wrong?"