Murong Bo looked over to the men that had just rushed in. Failing to see Feng Qing Ge enter behind them, his heart sank, and instead of walking over to them, he simply asked, "Weren't you going to bring the Young Miss Feng here with you?"
The guards got down on one knee, and the head guard said with trepidation, "Ruler, I urge you to quell your anger. We went to the Feng Residence to retrieve the Young Miss Feng, b-but..."
Not daring to raise his head, the head guard began to falter, afraid to finish his report.
Murong Bo sighed heavily and gruffly said: "Speak!"
"We went to retrieve her, but we couldn't even get in through the gates to the Feng Residence before several Feng Guards came out to tell us that their Mistress had no time for feasting a-and wouldn't be joining us." said the guard as his voice turned into a mumble. Lowering his head as he continued to mumble, he felt that if he were to stop talking, a heavy silence would fall upon the room and fill the air with a stifling chill.
Instinctively looking to Nie Teng, Crown Prince of Green Gallop Country, Murong Bo saw that he was reclined, casually swirling the wine in his cup, seemingly lost in thought with a hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth. It seemed as if he was nonplussed by her absence, though all the other guests at the feast were on edge because of him.
"This Feng Qing Ge is in open defiance! Do my commands fall on deaf ears? Look at all these people waiting for her! And you tell me she's not coming?! Go back at once! Bind her if you have to and bring her to me!" roared Murong Bo as he ordered the guards to return to the Feng Residence.
Still holding the cup in his hand, Nie Teng stood up, looking to Murong Bo with a smirk as he lowered his voice and spoke with a threatening tone, saying "As she is to be my attendant consort, you should know that her name is not to be bounded about by you any longer." At once, Nie Teng turned and left.
Sitting down in a daze, Murong Bo twisted his fists under the table, overwhelmed by a creeping sense of humiliation.
He was the ruler of an entire kingdom, small though it was. Nonetheless, he had lost considerable face before his subjects. If it were someone else who had humiliated him, he would surely have unleashed his wrath upon him. Yet, this was the Prince of Green Gallop Country, and Murong Bo could not afford to offend him...
Seeing the prince leave, the guests at the feast finally breathed a sigh of relief now that the prince was gone. Seeing the look on the Ruler's face, however, those who had begun to settle in once again grew uneasy. It seemed as if this entire feast was thrown to dine upon their cold, frightened sweat.
The black-cloaked middle-aged men, close upon the heels of Nie Teng, looked cautiously to his sullen master who seemed to imperceptibly quell his anger. He had no choice but to attempt to raise his spirits.
Suddenly, his master stopped to tactfully wipe a cold sweat from his brow. Fortunately, the man was not following too closely behind him or he would have run right into him.
"You are not needed," said Nie Teng as he pivoted and made his way out of the palace.
Somewhat taken aback, the middle-aged man paused and then quickly caught up, asking, "Master, do you intend to go to the Feng Residence to see the Young Miss Feng? Perhaps I go before you. Would it not be better for me to bring her to you instead?"
Nie Teng continued forward as before, and without looking back, he said, "No need. It should be more interesting if I go myself in person." Pausing, Nie Teng turned around to stare at him and said, "You are forbidden from accompanying me."
Seeing this, the middle-aged man stood in place and watched as his master strode away from the palace. Worried, he quickly blurted out a warning to him, saying "Master, be wary of the Young Miss Feng! She is a skilled alchemist!"
What he had meant to be a thoughtful warning was quickly met with an angry glare.
Indeed, this reminder was all too clear for Nie Teng for they hadn't they all suffered before at her hands?