"He's my guard and I would appreciate it if you would stop barking orders at him. After all, he's many times better than you in every way" Xiao Lan came forward, his voice authoritative and his face calm.
But his eyes held fire and danger which made Noble Lee gulp his saliva in fear.
As soon as the kid had stepped forward everything had gone quiet. After all, who could not recognize the royal coat of arms the kid had or the uncanny resemblance he packed to their prince.
Even the servants could tell that this was someone they could not mess around with. Especially after witnessing the powers, the kid had displayed already. Noble Lee had a slightly different reason for being cautious though.
Since the guard had his head down the whole time he had failed to recognize him yet but how could he act ignorant any longer when the captain was staring at him directly in the face.
"Of course he is your majesty. How can any man of yours be anything less than the best" in front of such Noble Lee had to bow down? The royal family was one thing you never messed with, ever.
"I presume this man here is one of your people? I have a small debt to him so I'll be taking him with me for the time being" Xiao Lan made sure nothing showed up on his face when he looked at Fu Hua.
He needed to act like he had no knowledge of who laid in his guard's arms. That was the only way they could avoid more questions. Besides, something in him did not like the idea of leaving Fu Hua in the hands of Noble Lee.
No one was allowed to punish Fu Hua except Xiao Lan. He was the one who was owed an apology and the one who needed to forgive and forget. Noble Lee needed to keep his head out.
"Your majesty is free to take this prisoner. This servant won't dare to suggest otherwise but your majesty doesn't know how dangerous this slave is. He is a former criminal who betrayed our country. I beg you to let me handle him" Noble Lee had lived in the courts his whole life.
He might not be strong or well-liked, but he was resourceful and had a silver tongue that knew how to flatter the other. This was the way he had operated till now and gained a lot of favours as a result.
This kid might be royalty but he was ultimately a kid. All kids liked to get praises and had short attention spans so if he paid this right, Noble Lee could get his prisoner back and the kid would forget this all soon.
Besides, he could even milk it later with the emperor. He could fabricate a story about how Fu Hua tried to hurt the emperor's cousin and how Noble Lee helped save him. He was sure it would further his relationship with the emperor.
As for the kid, any second he will give Fu Hua back to him and be scared of the danger was had been in. Noble Lee just had to wait for it to register.
"I'm aware who this person is so Noble Lee does not need to bother. I will take him to my cousin and he will see how to punish him appropriately. I'm sure he had more of a right than you over this prisoner anyway" whispers broke out between guards but one glare from the guard captain shut their mouths.
As for Xiao Lan, how could he not see what Noble Lee was planning? The intent was written clearly on the other's face and Xiao Lan was no kid. He had played this game before and he was not one to lose.
"Let's not disturb prince Xiao Lan about small issues now since he hated this prisoner with a passion. I'm sure we can come to a compromise right here and now. There is no need to disturb the prince for such tasks" Noble Lee tried to make his voice sympathetic and soft, but he cursed on the inside.
The audacity of this kid was too much. Should the emperor know that Noble Lee had allowed Fu Hua to be captured and howled to prince Xiao Lan, then Noble Lee would be killed with no questions asked.
The one rule Noble Lee had been given was to keep Fu Hua away from any of his formerly known associates. No one was supposed to know that Fu Hua had not been killed and the name 'Xiao Lan' was at the top of that list.
"It's not for you to decide. I've sent the message to my cousin anyway regarding this situation so he must be expecting us. Let's go, commander Zu, I have a lot of work to finish" Noble Lee looked for more excuses to stop the other from leaving but there was nothing he could fish out.
Before he knew it, the other two were out of the clearing.
The ones left behind did not know how to handle this situation. Noble Lee looked disturbed and the only other person who could have taken this charge was dragged away by the small noble.
"Someone get this palace cleaned up and fast. I need to inform the emperor of this development" Noble Lee wished he could plead ignorance in this case but that was no longer possible.
Not only was this scene happening in the middle of a crowd, but it also involved the captain commander as well as the royal brat. If the emperor got to know from the brat first then Noble Lee would lose all credibility.
He hurried out of the clearing, his steps unsteady but he did his best to take the shortest route. When Noble Lee reached the royal palace, he was sweating buckets and his legs protested.
Still, he dragged his body to the entrance where the guards blocked the common folks. He ignored the long line that was looking to seek the king's advice and marched right to the front.
"Please wait your turn" the guard either did not recognise him or did not respect him enough to allow Noble Lee entry. Whatever face Noble Lee had seemed to be disappearing fast but he could not go back and lick his wounds just yet.
"Tell the emperor that Noble Lee is here with some urgent news about the younger prince and the prisoner" Noble Lee passed a few gold coins to the guard and he was not discreet about the bribery.
"I see, it's an emergency then. I'll go and inform the emperor" the people who had stood in the line for a whole day waiting for their turn looked at the noble in envy and jealousy.
They had wasted their time as well as sanity while standing and waiting for so long and this noble had vaulted all over their effort. The guard who had gone inside to inform the emperor about Nobel Lee looked a little shook when he came out.
"The court is over for today. Everyone can return tomorrow for their turn" there was a huge commotion as cries emerged from the crowd. No one was happy with the decision and they made their dissatisfaction known.
"I'm sorry everyone but that is what the emperor has decided. Something urgent came up all of a sudden that required the emperor's attention. Those who wish to seek the council's help without the king can stay behind and wait their turn" some people left, clearly not happy but many of them stayed.
Council with or without the kid did not matter as long as they did get a solution to their problems.
"So I can go in now?" Noble asked, his impatience showing. He wanted to get this over with and go back home to relax already.
"The emperor asked me to lead you to the back rooms. He wants the meeting's contents to be a secret from everyone else" Noble Lee paled as soon as the back rooms were mentioned. They were the places where no one wanted to ever go if given a choice.
However, this was what the emperor had ordered for Noble Lee to go to so he had no choice.
"Lead the way" the guard passed Noble Lee with an almost sympathetic look but did not offer any help in the matter. After all, it was none of his business and he had far more important things to focus his energy on.
The room he was led toward had nothing special or out of the ordinary to be recognised but somehow Noble Lee felt like the whole atmosphere had changed. He took a deep breath before he entered the room.
"Welcome Noble Lee. I heard my 'cousin' caught you and your party while you were dealing with the demonic array" the emperor had heard. How had he heard these things exactly, Noble Lee did not know but the emperor always seemed to know everything.
"I apologise your highness but I failed to keep up with my task. I will take any punishment you give me" Noble Lee could not help but tremble as he spoke those words and waited for his punishment to come.