Seeing this, Xie Lian inexplicably found him both funny and pitiful, and asked, “Can this child’s injuries be healed?”

An imperial doctor wrapped the child's head with layers of bandages again and said, "It will be fine."

Xie Lian finally felt relieved, nodded, and said, “Thank you for your help.”

At this time, a palace servant announced that His Majesty the King and the Queen had arrived. All the imperial doctors immediately stood up and went out to greet them. Xie Lian carried the child to the bed and said, "Lie down and rest first." Thinking that the child was shy and might be scared by more people, he lowered the curtain beside the bed and then stood up.

A group of attendants and palace maids escorted the king and queen into the palace. The queen turned pale and asked, "Why did the prince leave the palace and then return in a hurry? What injuries did he suffer outside?"

Xie Lian said, “Mother, please rest assured. I am not injured. Someone else was injured.”

At this time, Qi Rong shouted from the corner: "Aunt, save me!"

The Queen then realized that Qi Rong was actually held by Feng Xin and was being held aside. She was shocked. She was so worried about her son's safety that she didn't pay attention to anything else. When she saw Fang, she asked, "What's wrong with Rong'er?"

The king frowned and asked, "Feng Xin, why are you holding Little Mirror King like a criminal?"

His Majesty had come, and Feng Xin should have immediately bowed like Mu Qing and the others, but because he was holding Qi Rong, he couldn't get away, and the situation was a little awkward. Xie Lian said, "I asked him to take it."

Qi Rong held up his right hand and said, "Aunt, my arm is broken."

Before the Queen had time to feel sorry for him, Xie Lian had already said in a stern voice, “You only broke an arm, but what about the child inside?”

The king asked, "What child?"

Xie Lian said, “A ten-year-old boy. He was weak and powerless. Qi Rong sent his men to beat him up. If it weren’t for the fact that the boy was lucky, he would have died on the spot!”

Qi Rong opened his eyes as if he had heard something funny, and said, "A ten-year-old child, powerless? Weak? Cousin, you don't know how fierce, barbaric, and powerful this little immortal is. He just pretends to be pitiful in front of you. I called five or six people, but we couldn't catch this kid. We beat him up and bit him until he was bleeding. If he hadn't pissed me off, why would I have dragged him behind the carriage?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the king and queen both changed. Xie Lian took a deep breath and said, "Shut up! Are the things you did glorious?"

Qi Rong was not someone who disliked showing up in public. How could the people in the imperial city not see his arrogant behavior? And after seeing it, how could they not talk about it after dinner?

The king looked at the queen and said with a pale face, "Take Prince Xiaojing away, and ask the imperial physician to heal his arm. Take back the golden carriage, and confine him to his room for reflection. You are not allowed to be released for a month."

The attendant behind him immediately responded and went forward to take him away, and Feng Xin let go. Qi Rong, however, no longer cared, and snorted, saying, "Just take it, I knew that today would be the last time I would run."

Hearing that he had no intention of repenting, the Queen sighed. Xie Lian said, "It seems that if he is confined to his room for reflection for a month, he will probably do it again next time. He needs to be strictly disciplined."

Qi Rong was startled and said angrily, "My cousin, you..." Then, he rolled his eyes and said, "Okay. Then I admit that I was wrong in this matter. No matter what punishment your majesty gives me, Qi Rong will never shirk it."

In the next sentence, he changed the subject and said, "However, shouldn't the Crown Prince's subordinates also be punished? Uncle and aunt, my arm was broken by this Feng Xin!"

Hearing this, the king immediately looked at Feng Xin, with a look of shock and anger on his face. Feng Xin lowered his head slightly, while Mu Qing took two steps to the side without being noticed.

The king said coldly, "Feng Xin, you are the personal attendant of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has indeed treated you very well. Could it be that you have forgotten your status and become arrogant? Your duty is to serve His Royal Highness, is this how you serve him? You even dared to attack the Crown Prince's cousin, Little Mirror King."

Feng Xin heard this and prepared to kneel down. But Xie Lian said, “No need to kneel down.”

Feng Xindi would definitely listen to Xie Lian. Even if His Majesty spoke, he would only give priority to His Majesty's orders, so he immediately stopped kneeling. Seeing this, the King looked even more unhappy.

Xie Lian said, “It’s true that Feng Xin broke Qi Rong’s arm, but the reason was to protect his master. And Qi Rong was the first to commit the crime, so he did nothing wrong. Why should he kneel down?”

The king said, "No matter what his reason was, he has offended King Xiaojing. There is a difference between master and servant, and between the superior and the inferior. Let alone asking him to kneel down, even if I punish him with a hundred strokes of the cane right now, there would be nothing wrong with that."

Although the king was not as close to Qi Rong as the queen, Qi Rong was still a member of the royal family and could not be violated. Qi Rong was very clear about this and said with a sidelong glance: "There is no need to punish him with a stick. After all, he is the prince's cousin's man, and I don't want to make things too difficult for him. I just want him to break his arm, kneel down and kowtow to me three times, and I will not pursue anything."

The king nodded slowly, as if he thought this was feasible. Xie Lian said, “If you want to punish Feng Xin, punish me first. He is my attendant. First, he did nothing wrong. Second, even if he did, he was following my orders. I will take the punishment for him.”

Hearing him say this, anger flashed across the king's face.

Most fathers and sons in the world will experience this kind of change. When the son is young, he will regard his father as the greatest hero in the world and his role model, and he will worship him immensely. But when the son grows up to a certain age, he will gradually begin to doubt everything about his father, and even gradually become disgusted with him, until both sides refuse to recognize each other.

Xie Lian went to Mount Tai Cang to practice in seclusion. His fundamental purpose was, of course, because practicing martial arts and seeking the truth were what he wanted. However, he was not obsessed with where to seek or with what identity.

The so-called "Tao" means "people walking on the road". As long as a person is devoted to Taoism, he can practice it anywhere. He does not have to follow the formalities and stick to the mountain. There is another reason why Xie Lian insisted on going up the mountain, which is because he felt that he could not get along with his father.

As the prince of Xianle, Xie Lian was born with the path of life neatly mapped out by the ruler of Xianle. It was fine when he was a child, as he was a small child with no worries. Xie Lian only needed his parents to accompany him to build gold foil palaces and play. As he grew older, Xie Lian realized that his father was not only a father, but also a ruler. Many of their ideas and practices could not be reconciled. For example, the so-called royal majesty was one of the things Xie Lian disliked the most.

Since they couldn't get along, it was better to stay away from each other. Every time he returned to the palace, he would chat happily with his mother and never open his heart to his father. The two sides rarely took the initiative to talk to each other, and it was always the queen who mediated.

The father and son had been at a stalemate for several months. At this time, Xie Lian insisted and refused to give in. The king said, "Okay, then you will take the punishment for him. It depends on whether you can do it or not!" Xie Lian said, "Of course!" The queen saw that the father and son were at each other again and asked anxiously, "Why are you doing this?"

At this moment, Feng Xin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly raised his left hand and chopped down his right arm. With a "crack", everyone was startled and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see that his right arm also drooped limply like Qi Rong's. Xie Lian was shocked and angry, and said, "Feng Xin!"

Feng Xin's forehead was covered with cold sweat. Without saying a word, he knelt down in front of Qi Rong and kowtowed three times. Xie Lian couldn't stop him. Qi Rong was quite proud and laughed: "Okay, I will reluctantly forgive you. Wouldn't it be better if you did this earlier?"

Although his arm was also broken, he left in high spirits, as if he had won a battle. Feng Xin was still kneeling on the ground, and Mu Qing was watching this scene with a gray face, and no one knew what he was thinking. Xie Lian suddenly turned to his father and shouted angrily: "You!..."

Feng Xin grabbed him with his left hand and said, "Your Highness!"

The Queen also held his arm. Xie Lian knew that Feng Xin had followed him since he was fourteen, and was favored by the Queen. He could not bear to see him and his son quarreling, which would make the Queen sad, so he did this. If he got angry now, it would be tantamount to wasting Feng Xin's will, so he had to force himself to hold it back, but his heart was already burning with anger. The King's expression eased slightly, and he went out with a calm face.

The Queen had always liked Feng Xin, and she sighed, "Ah, my dear child, I am sorry for wronging you."

Feng Xin said: "Queen, please don't say that. It's just my duty."

After hearing this, Mu Qing's eyes flickered, and he sneered silently. Xie Lian closed his eyes and said, "Mother, if you really can't control Qi Rong, just lock him up."

The queen sighed, nodded, shook her head, and left.

Xie Lian invited an imperial physician to treat Feng Xin’s right hand, and said, “Feng Xin, I’m sorry.”

As soon as the people around him left, Feng Xin immediately changed his expression and sneered, "What's the big deal? I dare to hit him, so why should I be afraid of his revenge?" After a pause, he advised, "Your Highness, it is right for you to teach Qi Rong a lesson, but you should not be angry with His Majesty. His Majesty is the king and an elder, and he thinks differently from us. The Queen is unhappy watching you and your son quarrel. She is also in a difficult position."

How could Xie Lian not know that his mother was in trouble?

Qi Rong's mother was the empress's sister. The two sisters had a deep affection for each other. When she was young, she was ignorant and fell in love. She pursued freedom with all her heart. She believed in sweet words and ruined the arranged marriage. She eloped with a guard in the palace. Who knew she married the wrong person? After less than half a year, the guard's true nature was exposed. He spent his days in a house that looked like a doghouse. After Qi Rong was born, he beat his wife. In the end, the mother and son could not bear it anymore. When Qi Rong was five years old, she took the child home in disgrace. Because she had already become a scandal of the nobility, she stayed at home and was depressed all her life. She only loved her only son more.

During a turmoil, Qi Rong's mother was unfortunately hit by a stray arrow while trying to save the queen. Before her death, she entrusted Qi Rong to Xie Lian's mother.

The Queen should do her best. However, other people's sons are always difficult to teach. It is not easy to discipline them. If you discipline them too much, it will seem like you are mistreating them. Considering their friendship, you cannot bear it. It is not easy to ignore them either. If you discipline them too little, they will become what they are now. If you do not discipline them, they will only get worse in the future. The Queen was often puzzled. It was clear that the way she took care of Xie Lian and Qi Rong was almost the same, but why did the personalities of the children they raised differ so much?

At this moment, Xie Lian suddenly remembered that there was a child lying on the bed in the room. He lifted the curtain and saw that the child had sat up again and seemed to be looking out from the gap. When Xie Lian lifted the curtain, he lay down again. Xie Lian said, "Did you get scared by the quarrel outside just now? Don't worry about it, it's none of your business."

An imperial physician said, "Your Highness, the child's injuries have been treated. He just needs to rest."

Xie Lian nodded and said, “Thank you for your help.”

He bent down again and asked the child, "Where is your home? I will take you back."

The child shook his head and said, "I have no home."

Feng Xin came up with his arms hanging from the ground and said, "You have no home? Are you really a little beggar?"

Seeing that the child was thin and small, and his clothes were dirty, it was not impossible. If he had no home to return to, he couldn’t be left in the palace or on the street. Xie Lian thought for a moment and said, “If that’s the case, then take him back to Mount Taicang with me first.”

Unexpectedly, Mu Qing suddenly said, "He lied."