Crown Prince, Yun Ling, and their companions were led by the fourth prince into the center of the garden where a golden, circular table with a beautiful design was located. Around the table were three chairs, one of which was already occupied by no other than Yu Shan.
"Crown Prince, Yun Ling," Yu Shan stood up to greet the two.
The crown prince didn't say anything, only choosing to nod at him, acknowledging his presence. Towards this, Yu Shan didn't feel anything. He was long used to the crown prince's behavior. They weren't friends but they've known each other for a long time now, including Yun Ling.
"You're as early as always, Yu Shan," Yun Ling said.
"It's etiquette, Yun Ling," Yu Shan calmly responded. He turned towards Yun Xia and Yue Dongmei, then asked him, "and who are they?"
"My daughter and... well, I think you already have an idea," Yun Ling vaguely said with a knowing smile as he briefly glanced at Yue Dongmei.
Yu Shan raised a brow at that. He already knew that the little girl was Yun Ling's daughter, after all, he was there when Yun Yi first told Yun Ling he had a daughter. The girl also bears a resemblance to Yun Ling especially regarding their appearance so it wasn't hard to put two and two together. About Yue Dongmei however, he did not know of her beforehand so when he heard what Yun Ling said and saw his strange smile, Yu Shan instantly thought, 'So this is the mother of Yun Ling's daughter?'
After reaching his own conclusion, he faced Yun Xia and Yue Dongmei once again and greeted them, "Hello, nice to meet you two. My name is Yu Shan. You two are?"
"Yun Xia," Yun Xia shyly said as she stood beside her father. Yu Shan smiled when he heard her response. What an adorable girl.
"I'm Yue Dongmei, it's nice to meet you as well," Yue Dongmei stoically introduced herself as she returned the greeting.
While Yu Shan was greeting his daughter and her caretaker, Yun Ling turned towards the fourth prince and asked, "Fourth Prince, can I bother some of your men to get us some chairs? As you can see, there's not enough for all of us."
"Very well," The fourth prince coldly said. He looked towards one of his men and ordered. "You heard Brother Yun Ling, go get them some chairs."
One of the fourth prince's men nodded and left right away. Not long after, he returned bringing four chairs being stacked together with him.
"Much thanks, Fourth Prince," Yun Ling said with a grateful smile as the fourth prince's men placed the chairs around the table.
"It's nothing much," The fourth prince stiffly said. After exchanging a few more words with Yu Shan, Yun Ling, and Crown Prince, the fourth prince left right after followed by his men.
Yun Ling let out a scoff when the fourth prince left. He had no idea why the fourth prince had some ill intentions towards him but he wasn't going to let that slide. He had no interactions with the fourth prince beforehand so there should've been no hatred between them or anything of the like. Despite that, Yun Ling noticed the malice the fourth prince had towards him when he approached him. The only reason Yun Ling could think of why the fourth prince was targeting him was probably due to politics.
'This is why I hate politics,' Yun Ling thought with a click of his tongue.
Shaking those thoughts out of his mind, Yun Ling made Yun Xia and Yue Dongmei sit by his side first before sitting right after. Yu Shan also went back to his seat after the fourth prince left while the crown prince had long since made himself comfortable in his seat even while the fourth prince was still with them before.
There were still two vacant chairs for the two guards but they didn't sit. Instead, they remained standing a few meters behind the crown prince, looking very intimidating.
"What are you two doing? Sit," The crown prince looked at the two and said.
"We dare not, Your Highness," The two guards simultaneously answered.
The crown prince frowned. "Less nonsense and just sit. This is a banquet meant for the participants of the Golden Dragon Election. I didn't come here tonight as the crown prince but as a competitor. You two might be my personal guards but both of you are fellow competitors as well, so for tonight, treat me as you would any of the other participants of the Golden Dragon Election."
The two hesitated for a bit. Even though the crown prince said it like that, there was no way they were going to treat him that way ever. They were about to refuse once again but when they saw the crown prince's look that was implying that he wouldn't take no for an answer, they could only oblige.
Yu Shan eyed the two personal guards curiously. He couldn't see their faces since they were both clad in full metal armor but he could feel that these two were quite strong. Perhaps, even he would have a hard time fighting any of them.
"Crown Prince, they are going to participate in the Golden Dragon Election as well?" Yu Shan asked the crown prince.
The crown prince turned towards him and smiled. He partly knew the reason why Yu Shan asked him that question. The crown prince really couldn't blame him. If he was in Yu Shan's position, he would probably do the same, and ask out of curiosity. With that said, the crown prince simply answered, "They are."
"Oh?" Yu Shan was a bit surprised. Although he already heard the crown prince say it before, after hearing it again, he couldn't help but be surprised a little.
The fact that they were going to participate in the Golden Dragon Election meant that these two were only thirty years old or even younger. When Yu Shan first saw them, he originally thought that they were more than fifty years old or something because of how strong they were just from what he felt from them alone. To think that they were not that much older than him but already this strong only shows that these two had talents comparable to him, Crown Prince, and Yun Ling. It was quite hard to believe. There was probably something more to this.
Yu Shan looked at Yun Ling to see his reaction to this fact. He was a bit disappointed to see him act nonchalantly but wasn't really surprised. Yun Ling's eyes were very special so he probably already knew that from just a glance.
After looking at Yun Ling, he turned his attention towards the woman beside him, Yue Dongmei. He could feel that this woman was strong as well.