Chapter 21

Parents’ Love

Jongin let his head bang loudly as he drops it on the table, surprising the other two inhabitants in the room. He thinks that if he has to be in the same room with these two emotionless and fake smiling subjects any longer, he will go crazy. Chanyeol was at one end of the room, polishing his sword. Baekhuyn was at the other end of the room, writing some documents. The room had been in complete silence and Jongin was not one who enjoys silence. He had attempted to make conversations but it went something like this…

“How is everyone today?” Jongin asked.

“Good” Baekhuyn replied.

“Nothing new” Chanyeol replied.

“What are your favorite scenery out of all the ones we’ve visited?” Jongin asked again.

“No where” Baekhuyn replied, short and simple.

“None” Chanyeol replied boringly.

“I heard that there will be a lantern festival tomorrow, shall we go check it out?” Jongin tried again.

“Staying in” Baekhuyn replied, not bother to even look his way.

“Not interested” Chanyeol replied, emotionlessly while flipping his sword to clean the other side.

Jongin had grunted frustratingly at them and had questioned why he had to be locked in the same room as the two of them while Sehun gets to roam free.

Baekhuyn finally feels more charitable to spare him a few more words, “The King had obviously found out what you’ve done. He had sent words and ordered that we keep an eye on you.”

“Sehun did it too, why wasn’t he locked up?” Jongin demand to know.

“Because everyone know that it was you who forced the Crown Prince on the trip. Besides, he has more self-control than you do so he will not cause as much trouble,” Chanyeol commented.

“Oh ho, look at the two of you ganging up on me. Weren’t you two sworn enemies?” Jongin said, causing the Korean advisor and general to send him death glares. Jongin sat at the table in the center of the room, banging his head defeatedly.

After what felt like hours but is actually only a few minutes, Jongin can’t stand it anymore and stood up quickly from where he sat. Chanyeol immediately jump up and block in front of the door, preventing Jongin from escaping.

“Channie, let me out or you will regret it” Jongin threaten him.

“Sorry, King’s order.”

“Baek, tell him to let me out.”

“First Prince, you best just behave and stay here.”

Jongin backs away from Chanyeol and the door slowly, “I gave the two of you a chance, but you didn’t want to take it. Let’s see how you two will explain to the Chinese Embassy.” Before the two of them could ask him what he meant, Jongin smirks and dashes for one of the closed windows. Knowing how quick Chanyeol is, Jongin didn’t have time to give the window a good kick before jumping out, so he just body slammed the window and escaped outside with ease then took off running. The two left behind in the room look at the broken window with wide eyes, finally understanding what he meant. How will they explain this property damage to the Chinese Embassy.

---

Yueyin knocks on the door of her father’s study room. Once she heard him giving permission to enter, she pushes the door open and step inside.

“Yueyin, you’re still up?” Weimin asked as he puts down the documents he was reading.

“Yes, Father.” She makes her way over to him and places a tray of tea and midnight snacks on his desk. “I…I wanted to apologize to you about what happened today,” she said as she looks down at her feet.

“What exactly are you apologizing for?”

“I know you saw through our little act and I’m sorry for trying to use you for my revenge at Jihao,” she said as her fingers fiddle with her dress, eyes still on the ground.

Weimin was silent for a minute, making Yueyin more nervous and guilty than she already is. “Did you intentionally provoked him so that he would strike you to get him in trouble?” Weimin finally break the silence.

Yueyin shook her head, still not daring to look up at her father. “I did not at first…” she replied, “I…I only thought of it after he grabs onto me.”

“Was this little revenge for simply just yourself?”

“…No”

Weimin let out a sigh and stood up from his desk. He took his daughter’s hand and lead her over to the round table in the middle of the room and sat her down in one of the seats. He gently touches her swollen cheek and asked, “Does it still hurt?” and she shook her head. “Yueyin, if you feel bad about it then why did you do it?” he asked her.

“I…I just thought that Jihao needed to be disciplined and uncle Ziyuan wasn’t going to do that if we just tell him to…”

“Yueyin, I’m not asking about that. I’m asking about why you felt that you can’t just tell me directly instead of putting on an act for me to see?” he questioned, “Do you feel that you can’t trust me to be on your side?”

Thinking that she must have hurt his feelings so she quickly tries to explain, “Father! It’s...it’s not like that…”

Weimin interrupts her, “Yueyin, if your uncle can barge into our house demanding justice for his son’s bruised nose, I can barge into his house demanding justice for my daughter’s swollen cheek.” He reaches out and took her hand into both of his, “I know that you didn’t planned this simply just for yourself. I know you are doing it for Ruyi and others who were treated terribly by Jihao. I also know you’ve taken to heart how your uncle and other clan members treats me and I’m truly thankful for your effort and thoughts to protect me by making me make use of my authority.” He pauses and look sadly at her injured cheek, “But Yueyin, I never want you to ever use yourself as the sacrifice for these reasons. I don’t ever want to see you put yourself in harm’s way just to plot against somebody. You are a smart child, but I hope you never have to use that intelligence to harm others because once you go down that path, there’s no return. I want my daughters to live a happy, free and peaceful life. Don’t live a life of scheming and plotting…a life where your happiness is built upon others’ misfortune and defeat against you. Leave the protecting to the parents, I will always be by your side and protect you. I will not tolerate any harm to you and your sister, even if the person harming you is my brother or my nephew.”

Yueyin teared up after hearing what her father said. Weimin reaches up to wipe her tears away and continues, “As for your uncle and I, we might have our differences and we might lash out at each other sometimes because of those differences. However, he and I only have each other as brothers, we would never truly cause harm to each other. Everyone has a different way to express their love for their family, so for a man who has spent half his life on the battlefield like your uncle, he will not know how to express his caring side the way we wish he would. So forgive him alright? I’m sure after today, he will also discipline your cousin better. Forgive them both and forgive yourself too.”

Yueyin nodded and hugged her father tightly as he pulls her in for a hug. That is when Meiyin cracks the door open and pokes her head in. “Father? I’ve brought you some snacks” she said hesitantly, unsure if she should enter the room after seeing her father and her crying sister. Meiyin had planned to come and apologize to her father and to bribe him into not punishing them, but she didn’t expect Yueyin to be faster.

Weimin and Yueyin laugh at Meiyin and wave her into the room. As Meiyin set the snack tray on the table Weimin commented, “Don’t tell me you woke Madame Lin up this late at night to have her make these specialty snacks.”

Meiyin smile sheepishly at her father, “Madame Lin knew we would be getting in trouble so she had them prep beforehand.”

“So you’ve come to bribe me?”

Meiyin pouted pleadingly, grab onto Weimin’s sleeve and pull it side to side, “It wouldn’t be bribing if you aren’t going to punish us, right?”

Yueyin let out a laugh at her sister as she wipes away the rest of her tears with her sleeves, “Is this how you’ve secretly gotten yourself out of trouble most of the time?”

Meiyin sat down on the other side of Weimin, “Jie, do you think it’s easy bribing our father?! It took me a long time to figure out that he has a weak spot for midnight snacks. I also have to stay up late and choose the right time to come knocking on his door. My lack of sleep sometimes makes me feel that it wasn’t worth getting in trouble.”

Weimin and Yueyin both laughed at her. Weimin reaches up and give Meiyin’s forehead a light knock, “You are the most troublesome child. Your troublemaking traits are so much like your mother.”

“Like Mother? That can’t be true, she’s the definition of an elegant lady” Meiyin said as she recalls all the memories she has of her mother. Yueyin also nodded in agreement with Meiyin’s comment.

“She only became that way after giving birth to the two of you. Your mother was a tomboy just like you Meiyin. When I first met her, she was beating up a group of bandits on the road.”

“No way! Mother knows how to fight?” Meiyin asked, not being able to believe what she was hearing.

Weimin nodded, “She was a wandering martial artist.”

Meiyin pouted again and mumbled, “If mother was like that, why are you being strict with me?”

“I’m sorry Meiyin,” he pets her head, “Your mother was willing to change her way of life because she was afraid that her enemies from her wandering days would come looking for her and cause harm to us. Neither of us wanted our children to grow up in an unsafe environment, so she decided to put down her sword and withdrew from the martial arts world.” Weimin smiles at Meiyin lovingly, “As you were growing up, we could see that you’ve inherited her wild traits so we decided to be strict with you for your safety. But it looks like she and I was just being overprotective parents. What matter most should have been your happiness and if being who you truly are makes you happy, then I should not interfere with that.”

Meiyin looks at her father hopefully, “So are you saying that I can do whatever I want?”

“Not…exactly what I meant…”

“So I can go horse riding and practice martial arts and wear boys clothes whenever I want and stop going to guzheng practice and stop learning embroidery and…”

“Slowdown. Aren’t you already doing all of those things behind my back?”

Meiyin froze, “Fa..Father, shall I ask Madame Lin for another tray of midnight snacks?”

“I expect to receive one every night then”

Meiyin’s eyes widen and she exclaimed, “Father! do you want a sleep deprived daughter that much?!”

Weimin and Yueyin broke out in laughter. Meiyin pouted but then tackle her father in a hug. Yueyin stood up from her seat and came over to hug her father on the other side. 

Author's Notes:

Double Update! Please check the previous chapter if you haven't already done so :)