Chapter 16: Father-Son Relationship
Three days later in the morning, Zhao Yuan returned to Tianji Pavilion.

They thought that Zhao Yuan would bring earth-shattering bad news to Tianji Pavilion after his return, but Liu Xunyi and his companions waited for a whole day and nothing happened. This made Liu Xunyi and his companions, who had already prepared for the worst, feel uneasy again.

Zhao Yuan came back alone, and no one from the East or West Palace returned to Tianji Pavilion with him. This showed that neither the East nor the West Palace had any intention of causing trouble for Tianji Pavilion. For Liu Xunyi and others, this was somewhat good news, at least better than the situation where the West Palace was siegeing the city.

Liu Xunyi and his companions had gone to Zhao Yuan to ask for information, but were turned away. After Zhao Yuan came back, he locked himself in the study and ordered that no one should disturb him. From his attitude and tone, it seemed that Zhao Yuan was neither happy nor sad, neither annoyed nor angry. Although there was a hint of fatigue and sadness between his brows, he was calm and composed, which made Liu Xunyi and his companions feel a little relieved.

After seeing Zhao Yuan return safely, Liu Xunyi sneaked out of Tianji Pavilion after being turned away, and inquired about Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda, but the result was "missing", and there was no news in the martial arts world in the past few days, which made Liu Xunyi secretly relieved. After all, if there was no news about them in Lin'an, it was probably because they had left. The calmness in the martial arts world meant that the people in the Xianwang Mansion had probably found Luo Ningyu's whereabouts, otherwise the news that the eldest lady of the Xianwang Mansion was missing would definitely cause an uproar in the martial arts world.

Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda escaped from the clutches of the West Mansion safely. As a friend, Liu Xunyi had done his best and put his mind at ease. Although the outsiders' problems were solved, his own problems were becoming more and more urgent. When Liu Xunyi thought of the huge disparity in status between himself and Zhao Xin, a layer of gloom unconsciously enveloped his heart, and he became depressed and unhappy.

Although Zhao Xin had tried to comfort him with kind words that nothing would happen at the moment, as time went by, given Zhao Xin's age, the emperor would have to grant her a marriage sooner or later. When Liu Xunyi thought of this, he felt powerless. Zhao Xin didn't want him to go to the battlefield to make achievements, but if he continued to stay in Tianji Pavilion, he really couldn't see any chance to quickly stand out.

Liu Xunyi was caught in a dilemma.

As the sun was setting, Liu Xunyi was practicing swordplay alone in the courtyard, hoping to relieve his sorrow. But his swordplay was just like his thoughts, disorganized and even a little hasty.

"Master Liu!"

Suddenly, a captain with a golden sword rushed into the courtyard, and Liu Xunyi thrust his sword forward, as fast as lightning and as powerful as thunder. The captain staggered and fell directly on the steps. When the tip of the sword was about to pierce the captain's brow, the tip of the sword shook, and then Liu Xunyi stopped the sword steadily in mid-air. The captain was frightened and sweated all over his face. He swallowed several times in a row, and his mood was just slightly calmed down. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Sir Liu, the marquis wants you to go to the study..."

The afterglow of the setting sun penetrated the paper window, casting dim spots of light on the floor of the study. Zhao Yuan sat behind the desk thoughtfully. On the desk was a piece of white paper with the names of "Liu Xunyi", "Qin Wei", "Qiu Han" and several other guards written on it. At this moment, except for Liu Xunyi's name, the other names had been crossed out by Zhao Yuan.

"Liu Xunyi pays respect to the Marquis."

Outside the study, Liu Xunyi's clear voice sounded quietly, and then with a light cough from Zhao Yuan, Liu Xunyi pushed the door open and walked in.

"My Lord." Liu Xunyi stood three feet away from the desk, staring at Zhao Yuan with a frown on his face, but ignored the names written on the paper. The rules he had developed over the years in Tianji Pavilion were not to say what he shouldn't say, not to ask what he shouldn't ask, and never to look at what he shouldn't look at.

"Xunyi, you're here." Zhao Yuan took a deep breath as if waking up from a dream, waved his hand and pointed to the chair next to him, and said with a smile, "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Lord." Liu Xunyi was puzzled. You know, Zhao Yuan had never given him a seat before, and he always answered while standing. What happened today? Liu Xunyi sat down cautiously. He said he was sitting, but in fact, his butt was just slightly touching the chair.

"Xunyi, I see that you are unhappy these days. Is there something on your mind?" Zhao Yuan asked. His tone was calm but a little kind, just like an ordinary elder caring about his junior.

Liu Xunyi didn't know what Zhao Yuan was up to, and didn't dare to ask, so she could only answer truthfully: "Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from the eyes of the Marquis... But please rest assured, the Marquis, Xunyi will never neglect the mission of Tianji Pavilion because of this."

Zhao Yuan nodded and smiled, "I watched you grow up, I know your personality better than anyone else." As he spoke, Zhao Yuan stretched out his hand to gesture at the edge of the table, and smiled as if reminiscing, "I remember when I first brought you back to Tianji Pavilion, you were not even as tall as this table, hehe..."

"If it weren't for the Marquis's kindness, I'm afraid Xunyi would have starved to death on the streets in the cold winter." Liu Xunyi seemed to recall the scenes of those years and said with sincere gratitude, "Without the Marquis, there would be no Liu Xunyi today. In fact, Xunyi has already regarded the Marquis as her second parent in her heart."

"I know you are filial," Zhao Yuan said, "but you don't have to take it too seriously. After all, your performance in Tianji Pavilion has not disappointed me. You have worked hard for Dongfu for so many years, and I have seen it all. In fact, I was willing to rescue you back then because I saw that you are a martial artist and you are also very loyal. At that time, you and Qin Wei were begging on the street, and you were about to freeze to death or starve to death. At that time, I only wanted to rescue you, but you begged me to take Qin Wei with me, otherwise you would rather freeze to death with him on the street than live alone."

Hearing Zhao Yuan bring up the past, Liu Xunyi smiled nonchalantly and said, "Qin Wei did not disappoint the Marquis, and these are all things of the past. I didn't expect the Marquis to remember them so clearly."

"It is precisely because I remember it clearly that I know how valuable you are." Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Xunyi, I might as well tell you that among all the people in Tianji Pavilion, you have always been the younger generation that I think is most promising. When I retire in the future, the position of Tianji Pavilion Master will definitely be yours." Liu Xunyi was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly knelt on the ground with a "thump", and said to Zhao Yuan in a hurry: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. Xunyi is just a crude warrior. How can I be so kind to you? I can't do this. I absolutely can't do this..."

Zhao Yuan said, "I know what you are worried about. In terms of seniority, you are not the most experienced in Tianji Pavilion, but Tianji Pavilion has never been a place where seniority is the key. Martial arts, intelligence and loyalty are all indispensable. Otherwise, how could Tianji Pavilion be treated so well by the Prime Minister? I know you have always regarded Qiu Han as your elder brother, but he is too extreme in his actions and does not know how to adapt. In terms of potential, you are much better than him."

"My Lord, but..."

"Well, I said all this just to tell you that I have great hopes for you in my heart, and I want you to take this as a warning. Don't let me down." Zhao Yuan waved his hand to interrupt Liu Xunyi's humility and said with a smile, "You can stand up. There is no need to be so panic. After all, I am not asking you to succeed the position of Tianji Pavilion Master right now. Haha..."

Liu Xunyi was nervous. He slowly stood up and sat back on the chair. He looked up at Zhao Yuan and asked in a low voice, "The Marquis didn't come to me just to talk about this, right?"

Zhao Yuan's eyes flashed with approval, and he smiled meaningfully, "Xun Yi, let me ask you something. On the day you said you went to Langyuan in West Lake to drink, did you go anywhere else? In addition to Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda, did you see anyone else?"

Zhao Yuan's words made Liu Xunyi's heart skip a beat. He hesitated and said, "But I don't know... I don't know what the Marquis is talking about..."

"Xunyi, I treat you like my own son. As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. I know exactly what you have done, who you have met, and even what you have been thinking." Zhao Yuan looked at Liu Xunyi with deep eyes. Although he was smiling, Liu Xunyi felt a chill inadvertently. "Qin Wei has always been cunning. It is not surprising that he lied to me, but I don't want you to lie to me too."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi suddenly realized something and said dejectedly, "I dare not lie to you, sir. I actually went to Wangjiang Pavilion to meet... to meet Princess Xinde. In fact, sir, you didn't expose me that day, which was a way of showing mercy to me. How can I lie to you again now?"

Zhao Yuan's expression froze, and he nodded gently, "You really still can't forget her."

"My lord, I am deeply in love with Princess Xinde. I will do my best to help her even if I have to go through fire and water. How could I forget her?" Before Zhao Yuan could finish his words, Liu Xunyi couldn't wait to plead, "Xunyi knows that I am of humble status and shouldn't dream of having anything to do with Princess Xinde. But my love for Princess Xinde is as deep as the sea. I'm afraid I will never forget her in this lifetime. I beg my lord not to... don't force me..." At the end, Liu Xunyi's tone was filled with deep grief.

"Princess Xinde is the daughter of Prince Yu, and Prince Yu has made great military achievements for the Song Dynasty. Therefore, even the emperor cares for and loves Princess Xinde very much. Do you know that there is a huge difference between you and her?" Zhao Yuan frowned and asked in a deep voice.

"Xunyi knows that..." Liu Xunyi replied weakly with a depressed look on his face, "If it was just my wishful thinking, it would be fine, but Princess Xinde also loves me deeply, how can I bear to leave her?"

Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sigh softly upon hearing this, and said, "Xun Yi, let alone that you are just a small guard in the Tianji Pavilion today, even if you are the Pavilion Master, in the eyes of the Emperor, you are just the equivalent of a guard commander. Why do you have to do something when you know it's impossible? If you insist on doing this, it will only make you more miserable when you separate in the end."

Liu Xunyi listened to Zhao Yuan's words with trembling eyes. After hesitating for a long time, he tremblingly said: "My Lord, I, Liu Xunyi, must marry Princess Xinde. For her, I am willing to do anything. Even if I know it is impossible, I will still try..."

"What do you want to say?" Zhao Yuan seemed to hear a clue from Liu Xunyi's words.

"My lord, I..." Liu Xunyi hesitated again. Under the urging of Zhao Yuan's puzzled gaze, Liu Xunyi finally made up his mind. He bent down and knelt on the ground again, knocking his head heavily on the ground, not daring to look Zhao Yuan in the eye.

"My Lord, please forgive Xunyi for being disloyal and unfilial. In order to be worthy of Princess Xinde, Xunyi would like to ask for permission to leave Tianji Pavilion and go to the front of the army to be a lieutenant, fight in the battlefield, and make achievements!"

After days of fruitless thinking, Liu Xunyi finally chose this path in order to be able to be with Zhao Xin legitimately.

……

(End of this chapter)