After an hour, we headed up to see the preceptor. They were in the palace pavilion. I told both Mu Qing and Feng Xin not to kneel for what I was about to do. Xie Lian knew what I was about to do. and he just gave me a slumpy look every time we made eye contact. We made it up to the Martial Deity summit and inside the great martial hall. Clouds of incense filled the air. a pleasant welcome. The boys were about to kneel, but I stopped them. Haoyu and Pyua sat in the back corner with a good view of what was about to go down. the preceptor, and three deputy preceptors sat by the wall and just watched the others behind me. The preceptor heaved a sigh as a sign of surrender. He picked up my brother's mask before speaking.
"Your Highness, Your Highness." he set the mask down again, and turned to us.
"Both are Present." i said as i stood with my back straight. I gave a little smile. The preceptor looked pained with my smile and me refusing to let the boys kneel.
"Do you know that in the history of Xianle, having held so many lantern festival Heavenly Ceremonial Processions, never once did the grand stage only circle the capital three times. thrice. Thrice!"
I know that since ancient times, Xianle's parade has always gone around the kingdom at least five or so times. at most sixteen or fifteen times. Every decoration and dress piece had a meaning. To have the grand stage only make three rounds means only three years of protection, much like the previous ceremonies. It saves us money and isn't the best when we will at most only get three years of protection. but a life was saved. and that's all that matters. I know what the mask my brother wore signifies. but it isn't worth a life. Besides, my brother and I will ascend with our hard work and effort in cultivation. I could tell that the state preceptor was both disappointed and furious.
"The God-Pleasing Martial Warriors of the past circled the capital at minimum five times, at most fifteen or sixteen times. You? You can do fifty with your eyes closed! A hundred even! But you killed yourself dead at three – why didn't you just kill me, your master, first??? Now look at you. Our dear Highness The Crown Prince is going to go down history, dragging me along with you!"
How was I the only person willing to speak?
"So, you are saying that my older brother is to blame for saving a child? why don't you look at it this way. if that little boy did in fact fall, and no one caught him, spilling blood on the procession, wouldn't that be just as bad? The parade would have stopped, and it would have cost so much more than just the parade itself. Let's just call this a pleasant end and an accident."
The state preceptors all had blank faces. My brother's teacher took a moment to get his words out.
"You child! With so many royal guards on site, anyone could've caught him! Even if the catch is off and he breaks an arm, he wouldn't die. You could've just marched forward a few steps, perform a little flashier, and everyone would forget whatever had fallen and move on."
"I beg your old ass is pardon?" I shrieked at him. My brother had to hold me back while he spoke to the preceptor, who had a pale face and barely any idea what was happening.
"State preceptor, you understand as well as I. Under those circumstances, no one else but sister and i could have reacted as fast, and there was no split second sister could've caught him without injuries. Let him fall, there'd be one dead. Catch him, and there'd possibly be two dead." His words were confident and self-assured. I took a deep breath and calmed down. I recovered my composure and schooled my face. The state preceptor knew what my brother was saying was correct. so he couldn't argue back. I waited for him to say more when I knew brother and I were in the right. After all, Xie Lian is his most precious disciple.
"Another thing!" he went off again. I rolled my eyes as I blinked. He is really trying to find something to scold us about, huh?
"This disciple is listening." my older brother has a heart as pure as the Xianle treasury.
"You did well today on stage." state Preceptor said. "But no matter how well you performed, you can't just suddenly change things up right before the start without a word of warning. Both majesties were terrified by your act today. Do you know what would happen if we miss the fortuitous hour? And princess Mei, what would have happened if you ended up missing a key element when joining the parade without anyone being informed?"
Xie Lian knitted his long brows, looking puzzled. I looked at the state preceptor with the same look and made an off-putting noise. "Preceptor, in regards to this, haven't we already asked for your permission before today?"
"I sent a messenger to inform you a while ago that my mother had given me her blessing to add something to the parade." I asked him, and with the other two sitting in the corner, they both gave off a noise.
"You've asked already? Before today? When?" the state preceptor asked as i shifted my weight on to my right foot and perched my right hand on my hip.
"Mu Qing?" Xie Lian asked Bewildered.
"Didn't you send the message to them?" I turned to him too and asked. Then I had a thought and looked to the deputy preceptors. My brows tugged down to a slanted point, and my eyes narrowed with a dark shadow surrounding my body. I shifted to a proper standing point and crossed my arms. Someone wasn't listening to Mu Qing, which caused a mess. "Did no one listen to Qing Qing?"