An Hao strolled in and stood in-between Prince Rui and Prince Yi,? smiling brightly up at the Emperor and got on one knee and cupped his hands, "Greetings to your majesty! It has really been too long. As per your order, I brought our esteemed guest here safe and sound!" He finished bowing his head.

The Emperor smiled and said, "Rise, you have done very well." An Hao happily got up with a smug expression. Prince Rui and Prince Yi cast him a side glance, they were both not sharing in his amus.e.m.e.nt. On the other hand, the Emperor cleared his throat to stop the urge to laugh.

The Emperor then turned to Prince Rui, "It is good to finally be able to receive you formally...I hope you do not hold your past experience against us, we are a very hospitable people."

Prince Rui put on a smile and said, "Not at all, the past was a different time, it was what was necessary."

The Emperor laughed, "I knew you were a man with a great mind the moment I saw you. I hope An Hao did not cause you too much trouble. He is very capable but because of his young age, he sometimes gets carried away."

Prince Rui's smile became strained and he cupped his hands, "Not at all."

{...His smug face just almost drove me mad...}

An Hao scoffed, "What trouble could I possibly cause? I treated him even better than I would my father." He then smiled at the Emperor, "I served him as I would you, Your majesty, with the utmost care and respect."

The Emperor laughed, "That is very good then. I worried for nothing."

Prince Rui maintained his smile while his irritation was building up on the inside. Prince Yi was also not amused at all. He just witnessed the Molin he had been searching for arriving with Prince Rui. It was clear that there was now some sort of plot behind all this and he was yet to get an explanation for it and suspected it had to be his brother's doing.

The Emperor looked at the two disgruntled Princes and smiled, "My brother here has graciously agreed to be your companion during your stay here to ensure that you are treated to only the finest of our country's offerings. If there is anything lacking be sure to let him know. Tomorrow we will have a welcome banquet to officially receive you. For today, you should return to get proper rest."

Prince Rui smiled and then said, "Thank you, Your majesty for your hospitality. I do have a request if it's not too much of a bother..."

"Of course, ask." The Emperor swiftly responded.

"My sister, Princess Nalan followed on this journey. To pay respects to Your majesty she has prepared a special performance as a gift to offer during the banquet. The performance requires an outside venue, if it's not too much..."

"A simple one, very well." The Emperor responded and then turned to Eunuch Li, "Do see to it that the preparations are made to properly receive our guests." Then he turned back to Prince Rui, "Inform him of what you require and it will be arranged. With that being said, we will meet again tomorrow. I leave you in my brother's capable hands." He finished smiling at Prince Yi.

"Thank you, your majesty." Prince Rui bowed his head and turned to leave, Prince Yi bowed as well and followed with Eunuch Li following behind them. As they left the room, the Emperor got up and walked down to the smiling An Hao.

After the doors closed, An Hao looked the Emperor up and down and said, "Your majesty, you really look good as an Emperor. It suits you perfectly!"

The Emperor laughed and pat him on the shoulder, "How was the journey?"

"Easy!" An Hao swiftly responded, "That prince was quite easy to handle. All that travel must have made him tired. He didn't even put up a fight, everything was settled too easily."

The Emperor snorted, "What is the point of resisting when there is nothing to be done?"

An Hao knit his brows in thought, "I would still have protested a bit...maybe tried to negotiate..."

The Emperor laughed, "I never saw you as someone to allow negotiations..."

"I just follow orders...it's not my fault if they're non-negotiable." An Hao responded with a pout.

The Emperor smiled, "You've done very well. Have you seen your manor yet?"

"I have a manor?" An Hao asked wide-eyed.

"Of course, I chose a great one for you and had it prepared exactly to your liking...Your father should be there too."

"Oh." An Hao's excited face crumbled, his relationship with his father was a bit complicated. The last time he saw him was when he ran off after an argument five years ago. An Hao sighed already dreading the confrontation.

"There is no need to be worried. Your father has nothing but pride in you and you have truly done him proud. I am expecting you to remain here to assist me in Court so be prepared. You should go home and greet your father, we will talk later."

"En." An Hao nodded dejectedly and just stood there.

The Emperor sighed, "I will have someone take you there." Then he went out with him and had one of his guards lead him to his new home. An Hao reluctantly left with the guard while casting beseeching eyes at the Emperor. The Emperor sighed again as he went back to his study, he was glad to have An Hao finally return. He had felt a bit guilty about letting him join the war against Commander An's wishes. But he was skilled, smart, cunning and resourceful and proved himself and was like the younger sibling he never had.

Five years ago, the Emperor and Lei Yong had caught the thirteen-year-old An Hao secretly trailing them. After they captured him, he explained that he was following them because he greatly admired the Emperor and so just wanted to watch him from afar. He even said that he had joined in the war to follow after the Emperor. He also apologized for "unfortunately" not being able to make it there at twelve years old but then added that thirteen was also not too bad.

At that time, they were skeptical of his explanation and did not believe his fan-boy theory. Just when they were about to hand him over to the prison guards for a proper interrogation, Eunuch Li found them and on seeing An Hao was shocked and almost injured him. It was then the Emperor discovered that he was actually Commander An's son who had run away from home. Apparently, An Hao had always admired the Emperor and had been trying to persuade his father to let him join the war.

After he turned twelve, he became more insistent and often argued with his father over the issue, and then one day he disappeared after an argument with his father. Commander An had gone away for a few days on a mission and by the time he returned he was informed of this disappearance and sent a message to Eunuch Li to ask him to watch out for him and to send him back home if possible, if not, then to look after him until he could.

An Hao's mother, Su Ran was Commander An's betrothed since they were children. His parents died when he was young in an accident. His father had no family left and so he grew up with his maternal grandparents who were simple merchants and so his family no longer held any official power. Because Su Ran was a high-ranking official's daughter many believed she could do much better. The betrothal was able to survive because of Su Ran and her mother's insistence. Commander An had then gone off to join the war to gain merit to make up for what he lacked with the aim of returning home in glory and to finally give Su Ran the prestige she deserved.

After Xia empire's unexpected collapse. He spent years desperately trying to find her and finally found her in a brothel. He immediately rescued her and they finally got married. Afterwards, they discovered that she was already pregnant and he happily accepted the child as his. He was very busy then with the missions, but spent every spare moment he had with them. After seven years together, Su Ran passed away from an illness.

With no choice, Commander An left An Hao in the care of their good neighbor and would return as often as possible to spend time with him and even taught him martial arts so he could protect himself while he was away. He wanted An Hao safe and so did not want him joining the military. In the end, the child made his choice and carved his own way despite the wishes of the father. Commander An sighed as he watched An Hao hesitantly approach him.

An Hao kowtowed in front him and said, "Father, I have been unfilial." Then remained with his head bowed down. Commander An simply watched him for a while, greatly relieved and then smiled and simply said, "Come sit."

An Hao raised his head and smiled then got up and wen to sit next to Commander An, he saw his father's greying hair and exclaimed, "You've aged quite a lot."

Commander An knit his brows and turned to him, then An Hao gulped, "Hehe~ just joking."