Another two weeks passed by, in which Xie Lian kept practicing his expression management while making sure his dancing didn't suffer from the distraction it created. It was difficult, but he was starting to get the hang of it. At least he thought so, because Miss Fang criticised him less and less frequently.

He had also started wearing his dancer's clothes daily, in an attempt to try and get used to not being covered decently. It was working moderately well; he still wasn't exactly comfortable wearing these revealing outfits, but he also wasn't embarrassed anymore.

The days he didn't practice by himself were the ones when Banyue decided to forego visiting the king in favor of learning more self defence, which she was also starting to get much better at.

Today was one of the days he practiced by himself, or he would have, but since it was exceptionally hot today, Xie Lian starfished in the shade of the pavillon instead. He was sweating, despite wearing such revealing clothes and not doing anything. He closed his eyes, imagining he was still the prince of Xian Le, and could just sit on his small throne, next to his parents, and enjoy getting fanned. Maybe if he imagined it hard enough, he could deceive himself into actually feeling a breeze?

Xie Lian was pulled out of his daydreaming by the gates being thrown open, and Banyue's cries for him. He jumped up immediately, thinking that maybe those bullies had gotten the better of her again after all, but he was surprised to see her dragging someone else in behind her. From what he could tell at first glance, it was a boy, probably one or two years older than Banyue, with a rather bloody face at the moment.

"What happened?", he asked while already hurrying over to them.

"Xie-gege! Pei Su is my friend, can you teach him how to fight back against the bullies, too?", she asked somewhat desperately, without any sort of preamble.

When did you make another friend?, Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder.

"Of course, of course. But Banyue… why did you bring him here? He obviously needs medical attention first", he explained, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this child's antics.

So in the end, Xie Lian ended up carrying yet another bloody child into the infirmary, and of course Shi QingXuan couldn't let it go just like that.

"Again?!", he exclaimed, when he saw Xie Lian stepping through the door. "You know, I'm starting to think your only hobby is to pick injured kids off the ground. Or are you using them to have an excuse to come and see me? I promise, you don't need to go to such lengths for that."

Xie Lian was a bit amused, but didn't show it.

"Don't you have more pressing matters to tend to?", he asked, and nodded at the child in his arms.

"Yes, yes, I'm already getting to it, I'm just trying to lighten the mood, jeez", he said while plucking the child out of Xie Lian's grasp, and then disappearing to another room.

Xie Lian didn't follow this time, because he didn't know the kid, and instead used the time to interrogate Banyue.

"So, you have a new friend?"

She looked at him sheepishly before she started explaining.

"When I still lived in the main palace I met him from time to time, because he's an errand boy for King Hua. It's… true that we never played with each other and never had the time to talk much, but… he's always been nice to me! I'm sure those bullies went to him when they realised I got stronger than them", she speculated with a heavy frown, a look rather disconcerting to see on a young child.

"They might have. But don't worry, Banyue, I promise to help him, too. You two can practice together, hm? King Hua just has to allow him the time off to come to our quarters when we're not practicing with Miss Fang", Xie Lian explained.

"I'm sure King Hua will allow it", Banyue said, full of conviction.

Xie Lian just smiled, not quite as optimistic about that.

It didn't take very long before Shi QingXuan came out of that room again, followed by a cleaned up boy, who really couldn't be much older than Banyue, Xie Lian confirmed for himself.

"He's completely fine, just a little worse for the wear, but nothing a good night's sleep can't fix. The only thing bleeding was his nose, but it's not broken, so no worries", Shi QingXuan explained quite happily.

"I'm sorry about the trouble, Senior General Xie", the little boy said, giving Xie Lian quite a shock.

"General?", Banyue asked, seeming rather confused.

"Mn. Senior General Pei has files in his office with portraits of all notable Generals and Officers of the neighbouring countries, so that he can identify them on sight. Senior General Xie is one of only three portraits he has on his wall instead. He said those are the ones he respects the most. It would be an honour if I could learn a bit of martial arts from you", Pei Su said, and Xie Lian didn't quite know how to feel.

"Of course I can teach you. But I'm surprised that General Pei wouldn't teach you himself", Xie Lian admitted.

Xie Lian had heard of General Pei of course. He had never met the man himself, but he was famous for his skills on the battlefield, and infamous for his uncountable romantic entanglements with beautiful women of all dynamics. Still, the man was one of the pillars of WuYong, and extremely loyal to the king.

"He thinks I'm better at strategy than fighting, so he wants to ask for His Majesty's approval for me to take suitable lessons for it, but I think he keeps… getting distracted", the boy grimaced, though he was quick to get his expression back under control.

"I see", Xie Lian sighed. It was entirely plausible. "Anyway, are you sure you're okay? You're not dizzy or anything?", he wanted to make sure.

Pei Su shook his head.

"I'm not dizzy. I feel fine. My nose just hurts a bit. Can we start training today?", the boy asked, causing Xie Lian to feel rather taken aback. He wasn't sure if he believed that the boy was completely fine, given his state not an hour ago.

"I'm afraid we won't have time for practice today", Xie Lian said. "Dance practice will start soon, and we actually need to hurry just to make it back in time. So how about you come visit us tomorrow, and I'll start teaching you then?"

Pei Su looked disappointed, but nodded obediently.

Xie Lian hadn't lied however, and they were indeed late for afternoon practice. Miss Fang scolded them, but luckily didn't dish out any punishment, after Xie Lian had explained the reason for their late arrival.

The next day, Pei Su did indeed show up just after lunch.

Since Xie Lian now had two disciples on different skill levels, training them became a bit more challenging for him, but also much more fun, in a way. He had Banyue repeat the things he'd already taught her over the past few weeks, while he explained the very basics to Pei Su, and mostly focused on correcting his posture.

He was in the middle of showing Pei Su how to disarm an attacker, when he saw something dark in the corner of his eye, and whirled around to face it.

However, he was surprised to see that the figure standing in the gate was none other than His Majesty himself.

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Y- Your Majesty-", Xie Lian stuttered. He couldn't help but feel like he was caught red handed, doing something he shouldn't.

The king kept standing there, and only tilted his head to the side, as if confused, though his sharp eye glinted with unconcealed interest. There was also clearly amusement in the look he gave him however, so Xie Lian hoped he would get out of the situation unscathed. He had no idea if teaching children how to fight was something this king didn't like to see, or if it was acceptable. The fact that Banyue and Pei Su froze up next to him as well didn't exactly reassure him.

"Well, this is curious", the king said after a very long moment of silence, and started walking towards them.

"King Hua… please don't be mad", Banyue said with what must've been all of her courage.

"Where do you see me being mad?", the king shot back, and fixed his eye on Pei Su. "In fact, I was worried my errand boy had been kidnapped."

"Then why did His Majesty seek out the dancer's quarters?", Xie Lian blurted out.

The king still seemed to be amused.

"Because a birdie told me he was last seen around this area, and I highly doubt he'd visit my harem. But it turns out I was right, didn't it? I had an inkling that this gege kidnapped not only little Banyue, but also little Pei. If this gege is trying to start a revolutionary army, I'd suggest recruiting CuoCuo as well. I'm sure he'll be a formidable soldier under gege's guidance some day."

"CuoCuo?", Xie Lian couldn't help but ask dumbly. How had he ended up being charged with treason?!

"He's the son of General Nan Yang", Banyue whispered.

"He's 2 months old", Pei Su added.

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He hoped the king was joking, and eventually decided to try and laugh. It sounded incredibly forced.

"Y-Your Majesty must be joking", Xie Lian stammered, and was about to clarify that of course he wasn't trying to rebel, when the king huffed in a way that could be interpreted as a laugh.

"Of course I'm joking. But I'd still like to know why this is necessary", the king said decisively, and stepped into the pavillon.

His presence in close quarters like this was almost overwhelming, Xie Lian realised.

"So? Who'll tell me?", the king prompted, and raised an eyebrow.

"I offered to teach Banyue some self defence, in case she got assaulted some day", Xie Lian said, talking to the floor before the king's feet. He thought it was better to look demure in this situation.

"Just because?", the king inquired.

Xie Lian didn't want to lie to the king, but he also didn't want to break his promise to Banyue.

"No…", he eventually said, but didn't elaborate.

Instead of pestering Xie Lian with more questions, the king turned to look at Banyue.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Banyue?", he asked her.

"No…", she said after a pause, mimicking Xie Lian.

The king blinked, and looked back at Xie Lian.

"This gege seems to be a bad influence on my friend. She even stopped telling me her secrets. I guess she doesn't see me as her friend anymore", the king complained, and Xie Lian once again didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He recognised a bullying strategy when he saw one, but he couldn't believe this was what the king resorted to.

"No!", Banyue exclaimed, completely falling into his trap. "You're still my best friend! I just didn't want to worry you with that stuff because I know you're already very busy!"

"What stuff?", the king asked, much more patiently than Xie Lian had initially thought him to be capable of.

Banyue shuffled from one feet to the other, visibly uncomfortable. The king didn't push her, and just kept waiting, until she eventually cracked.

"Xie-gege saw me getting bullied, that's why he wanted me to help defend myself against them… I asked him not to tell you", she mumbled the last part.

The king's eye narrowed.

"Oh? And who bullied you?"

"Just some kids…", Banyue mumbled once more, unable to look the king in his eye.

The king waited for a while, but eventually sighed, and turned his attention to Pei Su.

"And you were also getting bullied?", he asked, though it didn't sound like a question, and more like a statement.

"Yes, Your Majesty", Pei Su said, his head lowered.

"And both of you decided to ask for help from this gege, who you've known for just a few weeks… instead of coming to me directly, because you thought I was too busy to deal with that?", he asked, crossing his arms. He didn't look amused anymore.

"That, and because I didn't want those kids to die yet", Banyue said under her breath, but the king had clearly heard her, and barked out a loud laugh. It didn't sound like a nice laugh either.

"I see. But surely little Pei could have let me known about his new hobby?", the king asked, to which Pei Su's face lost all colour.

"Y-Your Majesty, I couldn't find you yesterday evening and placed a note on the desk in your office-"

"Ah, that explains it. I have yet to be in the office today."

If Xie Lian was honest, he was a little distracted from the conversation happening around him. He hadn't paid much attention to it last time, having been too distracted by his own thoughts and nerves, but he now noticed that the king's voice was incredibly easy on the ears. It was on the lower side of a baritone, and very smooth and rich, with some warmth to it when he was amused, though incredibly sharp when he wasn't. He was so distracted just listening to it, that he even commented on the conversation offhandedly, without any thought, once the words had registered with him again.

While Xie Lian had been pondering over the king's voice, the king had bullied the children into telling him the names of their bullies, and were just done reporting the last name.

"I feel like we should add King Hua to the list as well", Xie Lian muttered, and then bit his own tongue, horrified by that slip up.

For a second, he had the wild hope that the king hadn't heard him, but when he turned to look at Xie Lian he had a predatory glint in his eye that scared Xie Lian almost to death.

"Gege", he crooned in an almost sultry voice "you wrong me. I'm just trying to look out for the little ones."

Xie Lian did not know why, but his throat suddenly dried up, and he felt an uncomfortable sensation in the depth of his belly. He tried to gulp, but could only swallow dryly. He was still staring at the king, trying to come up with something, anything to say to that, when he noticed that the king's eyes lowered, and he must've taken a good, long look at his body. Xie Lian had the horrifying thought that maybe his scent had changed at the same time he felt that sensation in his belly, but the king's eye snapped up to his face again quicker than Xie Lian had time to process the realisation that he was wearing his dancer's garments of all things. So he told himself his scent hadn't been affected.

However, the king's eye glinted with a newfound interest now, similar to the one Xie Lian had noticed earlier, when the king had been standing at the gate. It was still different, though Xie Lian couldn't pinpoint in which way exactly.

It was as if the king was taking proper notice of him for the first time, and had just now been reminded again of that fleeting interest he'd shown earlier. But with something added to it. The look the king gave him now wasn't lecherous, neither was it obscene, nor lewd. But there was something in it that he still couldn't quite grasp, no matter how much he thought about it, and it made him more nervous than he ought to be.

Xie Lian desperately wished he hadn't spoken up just now. He didn't know what exactly had caused this reaction in the king, but he knew it was always better to not attract too much attention to oneself.