Chapter 85 - Xie Yun has a problem

 In the morning, Meng Zhang wakes up and looks for Xie Yun. Feng Long and his subordinates didn't wake up yet. Meng Zhang thought it would not be polite to wake them up, so he chose to wait until someone opened the door. 

Xie Yun is awake but still laid down on his bed. Meng Zhang enters his bedroom and walks towards him. When he looked at his eyes, he notices Xie Yun has lots of sleep on them:

-Xie Yun... Your eyes. What happened?

-Good morning, your majesty... I don't know...

Meng Zhang notices Xie Yun is insecure. He knows what could have caused that amount of sleep buildup on his eyes:

-Xie Yun, no problem if you tell me you cried a lot... There's no way you'd get that amount of sleep in your eyes by just, well, sleeping. 

Xie Yun gets up and suddenly hugs Meng Zhang. Meng Zhang is gotten by surprise as this is not something Xie Yun does:

-Your Majesty... I care about you and our nation... We have a threat just inside our palace by now. I feel threatened by it.

Meng Zhang smiles:

-Xie Yun, you are clearly overreacting to this... As I told you, Feng Long is a reliable partner. You had never met him in person until yesterday. Please, later, follow me and try to engage in a friendly conversation.

-I think this... I think this will never be possible, your majesty... I hate him so much...

-Come on, I trust you!

Meng Zhang smiles, but Xie Yun leaves him alone in the room. Feng Long was opening the door when Xie Yun walked by his side. He stares at Feng Long while passing by. Feng Long lowers his head and avoids direct eye contact. Yu Lexuan arrives next and notices Feng Long looking down:

-Feng Long, what happened? 

-Nothing... I'm just a bit dizzy for having slept for too long.

Yu Lexuan smiles and hugs him:

-If you want to sleep again, I can help you do it. 

Feng Long smiles:

-Thank you. I'm not going to sleep anymore. 

Next, Zhong Kunyi also meets with Feng Long. Meng Zhang walks down the corridor and happens to meet them as well. They bow to Meng Zhang:

-Greetings to your majesty.

Meng Zhang quickly helps them to rise:

-Please, rise... Let's have breakfast. I just figured out that you had eaten nothing yesterday. You must be hungry.

-In fact, we have not eaten anything... We were so tired. - Feng Long smiles.

-Please, accompany me. 

Meng Zhang guides them to another room that closely remembers a kitchen. He offers them seats and picks some food to prepare, as well as tea:

-Your Majesty, please, do not bother preparing food for us!!! - Yu Lexuan gets up.

-I like to cook. Please, let me do it. - Meng Zhang smiles.

-As your majesty wants.

Xie Yun arrives in the same room. He sits at the table but as far from Feng Long as possible. He stares at him very aggressively. Yu Lexuan notices it and stares at him, making a funny face. 

After a few minutes, Meng Zhang finishes preparing the plate and the tea. He brings it to the table and serves it to the guests, as well as for Xie Yun:

-Xie Yun, nice to see you here! - Meng Zhang smiles.

-Nice to meet your majesty this morning...

Meng Zhang notices Xie Yun is angry, trying to restrain his anger. Meng Zhang sits in front of Feng Long and avoids looking at Xie Yun.

The anger of Xie Yun annoys Meng Zhang. Feng Long, by contrast, keeps himself calm, as no one is talking, he can fully taste the food and tea prepared by Meng Zhang:

-Meng Zhang, what a heavenly tea and this dish were prepared on the spot! I loved it.

-I'm happy to know you liked it. This is a simple plate and will give you the energy you need. 

Xie Yun is visibly angry. He eats fast and leaves the room without saying a word. Yu Lexuan notices it:

-Your majesty?

-Do you want anything? - Meng Zhang looks at him.

-No, just to say that... Xie Yun is behaving so oddly... I didn't remember him doing that last time I visited your majesty...

-Yes, but I know why he is behaving that way... Feng Long is here, and he hates him.

Feng Long raises an eyebrow:

-He hates me? Why? 

-Well, this is going to be a long story, so please, enjoy your meal and your tea while I tell you.

Meng Zhang smiles, gets up, and sits close to Feng Long, touching his hair:

-This is beautiful hair... I need to know what you use to treat it later.

-I brought a shampoo you might like. - Feng Long blushes.

Meng Zhang looks at them:

-Well, it all started when Zhejiang and Jiangxi waged war over a territorial dispute. I was tricked by people from Jiangxi to think Feng Long wanted to annex part of our territory. The motivation to spark a war between our empires is still not clear to this day, but Xie Yun believed in it full-heartedly. Once I discovered this was a lie, I issued an apology. But it was too late. Yu Lexuan made him a hostage, which has destroyed his morale as a prince. Of course, Yu Lexuan treated him fairly, the death toll was small, but he believes that Feng Long is the only one to blame.

-I predicted it would not end well... Back then, you were just a teenager. I used to make bad decisions when I was younger too. I have kept most of my soldiers away from Jiangxi. I was concerned with both Yu Lexuan and you. In the end, I think we have both made the correct decisions. 

-Yes, I agree. But Xie Yun does not seem to care. I don't have much control over him, as he has a free pass. I like to handle things myself. We are pretty independent. It proved to be a mistake...

-Not really. I, and Yu Lexuan, were also very independent, but we have another thing that keeps us united: Love.

Meng Zhang raises an eyebrow, smiling next. Yu Lexuan blushes:

-Well, I like Xie Yun too... But he seems to be constantly concerned with something else, and I can't really enjoy it... He is attractive to me, but his heart seems permanently frozen.

Feng Long moves a bit closer to Meng Zhang:

-Majesty, we can help you with it. 

-How? Xie Yun can't even look at you.

-I have my own technique to solve such a problem. Yu Lexuan has his own, and Zhong Kunyi knows something too. 

-But... Explain to me how it will work.

-Super simple: We will be close to you all the time. You can even pick any of us in particular if you want. I'm willing to spend a few days here if needed.

Meng Zhang blushes:

-But... Well, let's do that them, and after that, let's discuss the treaty.

-No need for that. Zhong Kunyi is there to handle this. Maybe he is the only one that can have a conversation with Xie Yun by now. Meanwhile, I and Yu Lexuan will deploy our plan.

-Oh, yeah, you are right! Can your excellency hold a conversation with him?

-Well, this is a matter of trying...

-So, we're all set then. - Feng Long smiles.

-Who do you think he hates the most, Meng Zhang? - Yu Lexuan smirks.

-I think Feng Long... He doesn't like you, but he absolutely hates Feng Long.

-Well, so let's start implementing this plan. - Feng Long smiles.

Feng Long has a very ingenious plan that is quite demanding for Meng Zhang. But he is unsure if this plan will work and if the desired results will be achieved.

...

◄Previous chapter                  Next Chapter►