Together 2

68. Rejection - 2

In the kingdom, the people kept talking, feeling shocked with the news of an omega entering the knights and the smuggling of green sky chrysanthemum. "Did you hear the news?" "You mean the knights of Yong An? Ya. I can't believe that the imperial knights smuggled poison. Unbelievable." "And they won all the tournaments so far by cheating. We're lucky the third prince and Duke Wang discovered it all." "I wonder what's gonna happen to Lord Xiao." "He's a swordmaster. So they'll probably let him slide." "Are you being serious? Do you know how big of a crime it is to join the knights under a fake identity."

"What if Tang... goes to prison?" One of the knights from Honor said. "Oh please! He's the son of a Duke! What are you worried about? That Tang never thought of us as comrades anyway." Sun Jian said quickly as he picked up his wine. "Then why are you still calling him Tang?" Feng Ming Jing asked before sipping his wine, turning Sun Jian's face red.

"Damn it! I can't help it! He was annoying and irritating... but we trained all the time together." Sun Jian said. "I don't want to admit it, but he worked ten times as hard as I did. He's a great knight! Why is it that us commoners can become knights, but an omega cannot? What kind of a law is that?" Sun Jian shouted and slammed his hand on the table. "Let's go. We have to try doing something too."

***

In the imperial palace, both the princes entered the king's study room. "It's rare for you two to come and seek for me together." Shen Xiao Hai said making his sons sigh. "Father, please give Lord Sean Xiao a chance." Cao Yuchen begged. "Leave." Shen Xiao Hai said. "He saved my life. Even before he was a knight, he never hesitated to defend the weak. And he follows the code of chivalry better than anyone else." "Without Zhan, we could never have uncovered the assassination attempt, or the green sky chrysanthemum smuggling. His skills have been confirmed by the tournament. And doesn't the imperial family owe him a debt?" Shu Hao said, making Shen Xiao Hai grit his teeth.

"I said leave!!" Shen Xiao Hai shouted. "The judgement is mine and mine alone! I will not allow objections, even from a prince!" Shu Hao clenched his fists. "We will leave today. But we will return until you have given him a chance." Saying so, both the princes left the room. Shen Xiao Hai sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It has been so noisy all day all because of a young omega from the Xiao duchy."

A servant entered the room and placed a box full of letters in front of Shen Xiao Hai. "What is this?" The king asked. "These are petitions from the Knights of Honor." Shen Xiao Hai sighed. "Not just Wang and the princes, but now the Knights of Honor as well. So he earned this much support in such a short time. To defend tradition and the law... or to permit this change..." Shen Xiao Hai sighed as he rubbed his forehead before looking through the letters one by one regarding one omega.

***

In the Xiao duchy, that one omega lay flat on the bed. "It feels strange just staying home." Xiao Zhan said as he stared at his ceiling. "I would've been training at this hour." Xiao Zhan sighed as he remembered the king's words.

"So you request for a chance? What a brazen request. According to the law, you should be arrested. But I will hold off on passing the judgement. Until judgement has been passed about this situation, the Young Lord Sean Xiao will be confined to his estate."

Xiao Zhan got up the bed and smiled bitterly. 'Seeing that a week has passed without any news from the palace... things might not be going very well. Still, I don't regret it.' Suddenly, Xiao Zhan heard a knock on the door. "Come in." Yu Bin rushed inside with a bright smile. "Major news master!" He said, making Xiao Zhan jolt up. "Has the palace contacted me?" He asked quickly.

"No master. But..." Yu Bin started, but before he could complete, someone entered the room with a bouquet of blue roses. The silver hairpin held his hair in a proper ponytail this time. His silver mask shone in the sunlight and a bright smile was spread across his plush, pink lips. As usual, he was wearing a black robe, giving off a feeling of a secret guard.

"Yibo!" Xiao Zhan jumped off the bed and rushed towards Wang Yibo, engulfing him in a hug which the latter returned. "I can tell you're bored by your expression." Wang Yibo said as he handed the bouquet of roses to Xiao Zhan. "Isn't that obvious?" Xiao Zhan said with a smile as he took the roses from Wang Yibo and handed them to Yubin.

"But what are you doing here Yibo? Aren't you busy with the clean up?" Xiao Zhan asked. "How can I focus when I haven't seen you for a week?" Wang Yibo said making Xiao Zhan chuckle. The two of them sat at the sofa. "How are things in the palace?" Xiao Zhan asked. "His Majesty placed a gag order on anything related to you."

Xiao Zhan sighed. "Everyone is really... having a hard time because of me. Anyways, how's the situation with the Knights of Yong An?" "Thanks to the third prince's evidence, the chief, vice chief and all those related have confessed. Vice chief He Peng was discovered to have used piercing green on his sword, so he won't be able to avoid a heavy sentence." Wang Yibo said making Xiao Zhan smile. "That's the best news I heard so far."

However, Xiao Zhan's smile melted when he noticed how complicated Wang Yibo's expression was. "What's wrong?" He asked. Wang Yibo hesitated for a while before speaking. "... this feels like a dream. If that sword had so much as grazed you that day... and if I never got to see you again as a result... I never would've been able to forgive myself." Xiao Zhan gently held Wang Yibo's hand. "The same goes for me."

Images of his father, Cao Yuchen, Shu Hao and Wang Yibo's crying face still haunted Xiao Zhan. He never wanted to see that again. Xiao Zhan sat next to Wang Yibo hand leaned against him. "I'm so happy I got to see you again Yibo. I cannot even express it in words." The pain of loosing Wang Yibo even for a few moments killed him. "Zhan..." Wang Yibo whispered as he gently touched Xiao Zhan's cheek. The two of them leaned forward, their lips inches away from each other. They were just about to kiss when... "Zhan! My child!!" Xiao Jianmin burst into the room, shocking both Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo.

Xiao Jianmin was shocked with what he just saw. His son and... Duke Wang were about to kiss? "W-what is this?" Xiao Jianmin asked. "F-father... this is..." Xiao Zhan tried to speak but trailed off. "Your grace..." Wang Yibo also trailed off, unable to speak while Xiao Jianmin exploded. "What... ARE YOU DOING??!!!!"