Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 18

Xie Lian hiked up to the Heavenly Capital a handful of hours later, not looking forward to the discussion that was surely about to take place.

It was a familiar sight, divine palaces of different histories and styles, bridges and streams here and there, but not a sight Xie Lian wanted to gaze at for too long.

The Heavenly Court had one main road, called the Martial Deity Avenue. Many roads, down in the mortal realm, were built to resemble or copy either that one or others in the heavens, but their style was never perfect, and their magnificence never enough to compete with the original. Long years ago, the Martial Deity Avenue would remind Xie Lian of the main road of his own Kingdom. Now, it was just... a road. Nothing too special about it, in his eyes. The Crown Prince wasn't fascinated by the Heavenly Capital anymore, and would probably never be again.

Minding his own business, Xie Lian walked on through the expansive road and headed towards the Heavenly Court. He crossed path with many heavenly officials in a hurry, and not a single one dared greet him.

There were usually not many who would greet him, although a nod in acknowledgment was still required to have proper manners, but everyone seemed to be pretending he wasn't there, as if just glancing at him would get them in trouble. If Xie Lian didn't know better, he'd think they somehow discovered the identity of his husband and were now absolutely terrified of offending him.

Well, they wouldn't be succeeding anyway; they were rudely ignoring him as they apparently wanted to believe he didn't exist, and that behavior was maybe even more offensive than some gossiping behind his back.

Those few who looked at him, however, seemed to be struck by some kind of fear. If they were in front of him, they would hurry away, running as if their lives were in danger. If they were behind him, they would simply slow their pace.

It was easy to understand it was because Xie Lian did just drag down the popular General Pei Su, and no one wanted to incur in the ire of Pei Ming, but the god also managed to forget he was wearing a more than different attire than it was normal for him.

First, he ascended while wearing maple red robes. Now, his robes were sewn by using butterfly silk. Truly a shock for anyone who saw him.

As he walked, a voice suddenly called out from behind him, addressing His Royal Highness, but Xie Lian didn't bother turning around. The call was too respectful to be for him – a thought that painfully struck at his heart – so the god wasn't surprised when a junior official rushed past him to run towards someone who was walking further ahead.

There were a number of Crown Princes in the heavens, so it was nothing to be surprised about. Xie Lian ignored their exchange and made to walk past them, but paused his steps when he saw the other prince.

It was a young man, younger than many other officials of the Upper Court, with bright eyes and a pure, genuine smile. He seemed different from the other heavenly officials, his expression didn't hide anything behind it. Although some would call him foolish, Xie Lian though it was nice to see someone that looked so candid and noble up in a world were corruption wasn't too rare.

Trying his luck, Xie Lian nodded his head and smiled: «Greetings, Your Royal Highness».

The other Crown Prince either didn't know who he was or didn't mind everyday details, so he immediately returned the greeting with a bright smile. He was then pushed away by the junior official, and the Crown Prince gave a confused look that made Xie Lian puff out a laugh.

Something, in that small interaction, warmed up his heart.

People soon started whispering and gossiping, especially officials of lower rank, but he paid them no particular heed. Their words were uttered without fear of Xie Lian hearing, not bothering to talk quietly when mentioning the kingdom of Yong'An, but it was as much as he really heard. They also spit out a name, a name that made his steps falter for a moment, but Xie Lian was trying too hard to avoid their words getting to him so he didn't hear anything else.