"I dare not! I hope the Prince and Princess will forgive me!" Wang Youbao immediately knelt down again, appearing utterly terrified.
"Youbao!" Li Wuyu panicked, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to help Wang Youbao up, so he could only look to An Jing and Xiao Changyi for help: "Master, Mentor..."
"Alright, alright, Youbao, get up," An Jing became even more amused, "If you don’t get up, you might just break my disciple’s heart."
"Thank you, Princess." Only then did Wang Youbao stand up, but he dared not speak anymore, merely standing there with extreme reverence.
Seeing how respectful and cautious Wang Youbao was, An Jing couldn’t help but find it funny: "Youbao, how come you’ve become so distant from us after you learned of my husband’s identity? Don’t forget, Wuyu is my disciple, and you still ought to call me Master and my husband Mentor. Just based on that relationship, shouldn’t we be closer than others? Okay, if you keep this up, we’ll truly be upset. How you were with us before, act the same way now. Don’t make things so awkward that we all feel uncomfortable."
Wang Youbao hesitated, still not daring to do so.
An Jing deliberately huffed: "What, do you want me to beg you to call us Master and Mentor?"
Hearing this, Wang Youbao quickly became flustered: "Master, you’re killing me here, in conscience and reason, I can’t accept this!"
"There, you just called me Master quite nicely," An Jing laughed again. "We told Wuyu not to reveal our identities to you because we knew you would react this way. You’re not stupid; how could you not understand our intentions? Just keep calling us Master and Mentor. And if there really is a time when you must show respect formally, we won’t stop you. We don’t want to make it hard for you."
Only then did Wang Youbao smile, his demeanor relaxing: "Master and Mentor have been so kind to me and Wuyu, we will always remember it in our hearts."
With that, Wang Youbao turned his head to look at Xiao Changyi, his eyes and expression instantly filled with adoration: "Mentor."
An Jing tried to suppress her laughter. She had known before that Wang Youbao’s most admired figure was the King of Eternal Victory, her own husband. It was no wonder Wang Youbao was looking at him like that now, with even more intensity than when he had idolized him as a hero.
After a long pause, Xiao Changyi finally spoke: "Turn your face away, don’t look at me."
"Pfft." An Jing could not hold back her laughter any longer.
"Hahaha..." Gong Juechen and Gong Juese laughed even louder and more freely than An Jing.
Meng Lanqing quickly tugged at Gong Juese again.
Gong Juese immediately covered her mouth, trying not to laugh any further so as not to put her own husband in a difficult position.
Gong Juechen, however, continued to laugh heartily, unconcerned. His laughter was loud and uninhibited. Sadly, no one noticed the desolation that filled the peach blossom eyes of Gong Juechen.
This man was also Su Haoyu’s beloved...
And yet, just an adopted son...
Seeing that Wang Youbao was quite embarrassed, An Jing quickly stopped laughing and changed the subject, asking: "Youbao, aren’t you studying with the Ministry of Revenue’s minister today?"
Wang Youbao breathed a sigh of relief, then replied with a smile: "The Emperor knows of my relationship with Master and Mentor, so he granted me a leave from the Ministry today, allowing me to come to greet you both for a meeting."
"I see," An Jing understood. Then she looked towards her husband.
Xiao Changyi finally addressed the Deputy General who had come with Wang Youbao: "Go back and tell him, we will see him tomorrow."
The Deputy General had been standing there without speaking, clearly, the Emperor of Xiyun also knew that today they would not be entering the Imperial Capital.