"With the amount of bragging you do, only an idiot would be the one to believe that you always tell the truth," Long Chen alluded to the Snake Monarch
"Honestly, though, you were right about some things. The mustache doesnât suit him, but you went a little too far in insulting the guy," he added as he smiled wryly.
"If you also think he looked ugly, you should have said it. We were doing him a favor by showing him the mirror. He needs to shave! Now because of you, he thinks I was talking nonsense," the Snake Monarch let out as he rolled his eyes.
"Now who will be responsible when heâs killed first in a war because of his ugly mustache? You! Because you didnât want to tell him the truth," he let out in full zeal.
A deep sigh escaped his lips as he sighed, "Sigh, why is this world filled with lies. Why is this Monarch the only one who carries the burden of always telling the truth? Why?"
"This shameless guy will never learn," Long Chen muttered as he rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, donât tell him anything. Donât insult him again. Itâs his wish if he wishes to keep a mustache or not. Youâre no one to complain," he further said.
"Why is this King no one to complain? I can even complain to the Heavenly Emperor, and that old man would listen to me in respect. Moreover, heâs coming in my way of sight. Thatâs where his freedom ends. Heâs making me see his face. Of course, I can complain about things I see," the Snake Monarch answered.
Long Chen opened his lips to answer when he stopped as he heard Xun.
"Do you really think heâll understand? Youâre hitting your head against a wall at the moment."
He couldnât help but agree with Xun. Thatâs the right analogy in this situation, but he still couldnât give up. He couldnât let the Snake Monarch insult the leader of the Royal Guard when he returned.
"It doesnât matter. Iâm warning you. If you mentioned anything about him in front of him, youâd go back, and Iâll never call you out. Moreover, Iâll tell Little Snow to bully you even more," Long Chen said, effectively offering a threat against him.
"You! Donât you dare! Also, she canât bully me! Iâm the monarch! But still, donât tell her," The Snake Monarch responded instantly.
"So you wonât complain about his mustache?â Long Chen asked suspiciously.
The Snake Monarch nodded. "I wonât."
"Thatâs like a good boy," Long Chen muttered as he nodded his head.
After approximately half an hour, the white-haired man returned.
"I talked to His Majesty. He agreed to meet you. Come with me," he told Long Chen.
Long Chen followed behind the man under a lot of watchful gazes.
He was taken inside the Royal Palace with powerful guards surrounding him. He walked casually without seeming even the least bit suspicious. He wasnât here to do something bad, and he needed to show it.
The white-haired man kept looking back at Long Chen occasionally as he brought him to the throne room.
"Behind this door is our Emperor. Let me remind you, though. We have a lot of deadly formations inside. If you try to do anything suspicious, youâll be killed before you even know it. So I suggest you keep mindful of your actions and not give us a reason to kill you accidentally," the white-haired man told Long Chen as he stood before a golden door.
"I will make sure," Long Chen nodded in acknowledgment.
"Thatâs better," the white-haired man said as he pushed the door open, revealing the beautiful interior of the throne room.
Long Chen hadnât even stepped inside, but he could still see the man sitting at the end of the massive room in a throne straight ahead.
Long Chen stepped inside the Throne Room to see more of the place. The room was surrounded by guards at every step. A few formations could also be seen on the roof and on the walls.
Long Chen had some knowledge of the formations and knew that these were attacking formations that had the potential to kill him. He couldnât help but shake his head. These formations seemed to be freshly made only recently.
âLooks like they made all this for me. As expected from a resourceful Empire. Honestly, though, itâs a waste. That formation will activate instantly, but the attack canât harm me. The only formation that can create trouble for me is that. But I should be able to handle that as well as long as Iâm alert,â Long Chen thought as he observed the formations.
"What am I even thinking? Iâm not here to fight,â he suddenly thought as he realized that he didnât need to think of this place as his enemy. It was Mingyuâs home, after all.
It was good to be alert still.
Other than the guards and the Emperor, no one else could be seen here. He had thought that Mingyuâs brother would be here as well. Unfortunately, he didnât see anyone except the Emperor, who wasnât wearing a Royal Guardâs uniform.
Long Chen bowed his head a little as he greeted his father-in-law.
"Greetings to the Emperor."
"I was told that you have some information about Mingyu. Tell me. Where is that girl? Itâs been so long since she left us. I had almost lost hope of ever finding her again. Donât make us wait for even a second more if you know where she is!" the Emperor told Long Chen.
Long Chen could feel a fatherâs worry in the manâs tone, which was to be expected. Mingyu was his only daughter that had gone missing
He could only imagine how worried her father must have been because of her disappearance. All the constant searches wouldnât have given any clue to the man. That feeling could only be imagined as suffocating when you donât know what happened to your only daughter, who was perfectly fine at home until recently.
â He had lost his son and his daughter at once. Fortunately, the gods are on his side. First, his son returned, and now he will meet his daughter,â Long Chen thought as he gazed at the man.
He was happy that Mingyuâs entire family was safe. He was so excited. Within a few moments, Mingyu was going to meet her father. Will she cry? Or will she find it to be a dream? He couldnât help but wonder.
"Thatâs right. Your Majesty, I know about your daughter, but I did lie about one thing," Long Chen said softly.