4 Banquet at the manor (II)

"Hōjo clan?" Xieren asked his father who nodded while he was seated crossed legged on a cushion.

"Xieren, whatever happens today... you WILL obey my orders, this is the least you could do after bringing that walking calamity to our clan compound!" The Patriarch spoke sternly and narrowed his eyes when Xieren opened his mouth to speak.

The two were wearing their ceremonial attires, the elders around them stayed silent not knowing the contents of their small conversation.

Xieren sighed and nodded with his eyes closed and got up to leave the hall...

"Young Lord, we know that by coming to an age such as this, you will feel very impulsive. But please do try to not provoke, Young master Yang..." The elders requested him, Xieren smiled wryly and left without giving them an answer which made a few of them sweatdrop at the scene...

"Lord Patriarch, are you confident that engaging the young master is a good choice without his knowledge of it?" One of the higher ranking elders asked.

"Indeed Lord Patriarch, this is not like the wars you have led against the enemies of the nation!" Another elder spoke up.

"Tch! I know what I'm doing!" The Patriarch grumbled and stood up to leave.

'...like father like son...' they all thought and quietly followed after him...

•••••

"Big sis Mei, do you have a thing for Master?" Ling asked Mei while wriggling her pinky finger at her, making Mei cough with a slight pink hue on her face.

"Perhaps... perhaps not" She smiled sadly making Xiao Ling pout cutely at her.

"What is that supposed to mea-" She was about to throw a tantrum while Mei got ready to confront her.

"What was that about me?" The duo heard a familiar voice and paled. Mei stiffened while Ling turned red in embarrassment.

"Nothing Young master..." Mei spoke a little coldly as Xieren stared at her in confusion before turning back to his cute disciple and pat her head.

"Sorry about all these time wasting events... master will start teaching you from tomorrow onwards" Xieren smiled as Xiao Ling nodded strongly.

"Umu" She then smiled with her big black eyes making Xieren's heart tighten at the cuteness she displayed.

"And also Mei... did I do something wrong?" He asked her sincerely as she huffed, avoiding his eye contact hoping he wouldn't see the tears prickling in her eyes...

"I apologise Young master, I have to leave immediately!" She said and turned around, Xieren narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth to speak.

"Mei... you are acting very suspicious today... I hope it is not what I think it is, a special banquet is being held today so I hope you don't do anything foolish!" He warned her.

"...huh? Y-You utter fool! I hate you!" Mei shouted and glared at Xieren hatefully, this action made the said male to quickly grab his disciple and take a defensive stance against his maid, seeing this made her feel waves of raw emotions as she left immediately.

'...something is amiss... she wouldn't have betrayed the family, this is something else... but I don't know what it is...' Xieren deduced and forgot that he still held tightly onto his disciple who wriggled her head out of his hand and spoke.

"Master... what happened?" She asked meekly as Xieren smiled gently and pat her head.

"Maybe it's that time of the month..." Xieren mumbled to himself which didn't go unheard by Xiao Ling who tilted her head in confusion...

The master and disciple pair then walked back to the manor until Xiao Ling asked the question she had been having in her mind for a while.

"Master, what is happening in a month?" She asked him innocently as Xieren stopped in his tracks and stared at her for what seemed like eternity.

"It is something that you are not ready for yet!" He answered as his disciple pouted cutely making his heart tighten.

"Tell me! Tell me!" She shouted and threw a tantrum, Xieren felt a headache coming his way, it was his fault so he had to do something.

"Umm... how about this? I'll tell you later, but for now you need to be a good girl, otherwise I won't tell you anything!" Xieren laughed cunningly inside his head.

"Muuuu... fine"

Xiao Ling nodded her head and tightly clung onto Xieren who couldn't stop himself from smiling.

A few guards who saw the scene couldn't help but cough up some blood due to the wholesome incident they had just seen...

•••••

"My lady, the carriage is ready" A maid informed the eldest daughter of the Hōjo clan.

"I see... you may leave now" the eldest replied as the maid left the chambers of her mistress who was currently seated at the edge of her bed.

"A political marriage to bring the Hōjo clan to new heights of prosperity and success..." She mumbled and sighed.

"How sad, How very sad..."

"But then again, it is still the duty of a female noble of a noble family to willingly or unwillingly be used as a political chip for the betterment of her family..." The lady then got up and gathered her guards and maids to set off to the main hall of the clan compound.

"Father, this marriage will bring our clan to greatness! For years we have been treated and looked at as if we were outcasts eventhough we breath the same air, speak the same language and even eat the same food!"

She heard a male voice coming from the hall and stopped shortly Infront of the door.

"my lady, are you alright?" Her maid asked her worriedly, knowing that the words coming from the man inside had affected her.

"I'm fine..." Her lady replied and walked into the hall, she was noticed by an elder with long eyebrows who greeted her respectfully.

'these gazes of Pity... I hate it' She scoffed inwardly.

"Lady Akagi" The other elders followed suit.

"Dear sister, good luck!" A young man stated while looking at Akagi who nodded quietly, this made the man smile, a smile that would usually be on the face of a person who had realised that he/she had won a battle before it had begun...

"Enough! Akagi, I hope you are prepared for this..." Hōjo Ikki, the clan Patriarch spoke softly, he seemed unwilling to let his own daughter go, but Ikki was the clan leader before being a father...

"Elders, it is time... let us depart immediately!" The man said and got up to leave and exited the hall, followed by his children and then the elders.

Akagi had gotten into her carriage and looked around, it was new and bigger than the older one she used.

"hmm?" She saw a red book on the table inside her carrige and opened it to appease her curiousity, but as immediately as she opened the front page, she threw it away and burned the book to ashes.

Her maid was terrified, nothing had made her mistress lose her cool like that...

"How far have you fallen to humiliate as such?!" Akagi muttered in rage as her Qi went out of control for a split second making it hard for her maid to breathe.

"I... I am sorry" Akagi looked at her maid softly before turning back to the remaining ashes of the red book.

'to think they would expect me to perform such vulgar acts in the banquet... even if it is my fiance! I'm not some harlot that spreads her legs at every man that comes her way!!'

The carriage shook again due to her mental outburst as the journey to the Qiu manor became quite chaotic...