Silver Prince

SP :; 6

Mu Liu drops his smile, leaning forward and realising his son wasn't about to have a father-son heart to heart talk. "Er'zi, you've been disobeying me." Tone was calm yet sharp, punctuating his words with an arch brow.

If Mu Qing says he haven't been disobeying him, he'd only recieve coarse punishment. But if he says he did disobey him, arrogance will burst higher than authority resulting in a petty disagreement. And so, he solely nodded mutely, lips pursed into a flat line. Mu Liu narrowed his eyes, putting his cup of half-drunken tea on the small table beside his chair before resting both his elbows on each side rail and clasping his hands below his chin. "How long has this been going on?"

"A month."

The king arches his brow higher.

"...Years."

"Mu Qing." He shakes his head in sheer disappointment. "I gave you permission to cultivate at an extremely early age and this is what you gi-"

"Before you-!" Mu Qing starts, hesitating as he shoots his mother a distressed glance. "Before you put me into a confinement. Fu'qin, it's not something terrible that can put me into harms way. I don't indulge myself into situations I know that could give both you and I trouble. I know my limits and there was never a law that prohibits anyone from leaving the kingdom nor did Guoshi restricted me from leaving after my prosaic day-to-day cultivation." He belabores, hands clasped behind him as he schools his face.

Mu Liu seemed to be contemplating his decisions. Resting both arms on the side rails and straightening his posture. A moment of deafening silence passed by and Mu Qing almost thought he said the wrong things until the king finally nodded. "Er'zi, I had not intended to put you into confinement. I understand-" The silverette unnoticeably lit up. "-But you also need to apprehend that you still left without our knowledge."

With that, Mu Qing already knew what the king had meant from those words alone. It was words that he was conversant with. How could he forget? He loathed those words whenever it left his father's mouth directly towards him ever since he was young. "Fu'qin, I'm seventeen."

"Er'zi, rules." Mu Liu replies, leaving no room for further arguments with the angry tone he used.

But because Mu Qing was hard-headed and prideful, he wasn't going to back down that easily. Shaking his head with a scowl, he moves back two steps. "I am not going to-"

Mu Liu was clearly not having it. Slamming his hand on the table causing all the glass cups to go smashing on the floor that had some of the tea splashing on the two standing on the side and to Mu Qing's clothes. "I am the king. You. Listen. To me." He censures, voice low but vehement.

The silverette glances once again at his now perturbed mother. He knew the queen was always so distraught whenever his husband or his son gets into a heated disagreement, and Mu Qing hated it.

Gritting his teeth and resisting the impulse to roll his eyes, he got to both his knees. Unclenching his fists and placing his palms on the carpeted floor, making sure not accidentally bash his hands to it from the bubbling rage inside him, he lowers his body. Kowtowing twice before standing up again, not even bothering to dust himself off, he looks dead on his father's eyes. "I'll give insights of everything in the further segments." He compels, forcing to soften his glare not infuriate him any further lest he asks for something worse.

The king somewhat looked pleased, leaning back on his throne he nods. "For your safety-" He beckons the man beside Chin Wei. The man - seemingly of only at his teens - came marching forward infront of the both of them. "I'll give you an imperial guard."

To this, Mu Qing furrows his eyebrows in complete annoyance. "Your majesty, I don't think I'll be needing a guard following me around."

"You're leaving our domain. We don't know what's out there - this is Lan Wuxiu, brother of Lan Wexian." He gestures at the man beside his own personal attendant. "Been perfectly trained and is well-mannered." He smiles, observing the teenager as if it was his working invention.