Two Women Stand by The Fool, Teacher Accepts Two Female Disciples

"To see the princess and not bow is tantamount to disrespecting the royal family. By law, that’s a beheading offense." Granny Rong was still all smiles—or maybe she wasn’t really smiling at all, and it was just her wrinkles playing tricks on people. Fiona Fang’s heart leapt into her throat. This was clearly a setup to put someone on trial. Yet our Mr. Yang just sat there calmly, even lifting a cup of tea to his lips.

Granny Rong continued to speak slowly to Mr. Yang: "But since it’s your first offense, this old lady won’t be too harsh. Let’s just let bygones be bygones."

"Whew..." Fiona Fang secretly let out a sigh of relief. Compared to the sour-faced Granny Ku, Granny Rong seemed a bit easier to deal with. But Rachel Luo wasn’t so optimistic—Granny Rong clearly wasn’t done yet.

Sure enough, after a pause, she added, "Since we’re letting it go, let’s start over. Kid, when you see a princess, how are you supposed to pay your respects? You know what to do this time, right?"

This little stunt was called a show of force—no matter what, it was meant to knock Mr. Yang down a peg. If he didn’t kneel, they’d punish him. If he did kneel, all his swagger would be gone and he’d lose the upper hand, making it easier to mess with him later.

Princess Flower Shifter glanced at Princess Embroidered Jade, who frowned, finding the situation tricky. Princess Flower Shifter quickly said, "Don’t just stand there—get the two grannies a seat!"

"No rush," Granny Rong said, smiling as she shook her head. "Etiquette can’t be skipped. Let’s take it step by step. If the greetings aren’t done, how can we sit? Kid, hurry up and bow. This old lady’s waiting. You’re still sitting—are you trying to embarrass me on purpose?"

Granny Ku immediately chimed in, "Hmph, if he’s just a clueless wild child, fine. Go on, teach him how to pay his respects!"

Four palace matrons immediately bowed and stepped forward, their faces dark with sly grins as they closed in on Mr. Yang. The Longevity Hall matrons might be called servants, but they were really senior enforcers. Each of these four had over fifty years of martial arts experience—not a single one was easy to deal with. The tension shot up instantly. The two old ladies were determined to put Mr. Yang in his place, and their underlings were eager to help, voices cold as they said, "Young sir, let us show you how to kneel properly!"

As everyone watched nervously, Mr. Yang calmly snapped the lid onto his teacup—ding! The crisp sound carried an intimidating aura. He finally lifted his gaze, speaking in a steady voice: "Ignorant."

One of the matrons immediately shrieked, "What did you say?"

"I said—ignorant." Yang addressed the matron, but his calm gaze went past the four lackeys and landed directly on Granny Ku and Granny Rong. "Not to mention places outside the Central Lands—just here, your Flower Kingdom isn't the only big shot. If the Emperor of the Great Zhou were here, would he kneel to a mere princess like you?"

"Utter nonsense!" Another matron jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "If the Great Zhou Emperor were here, of course this old servant would kneel. But you're just a commoner, spouting off in here—what crime should that be?!"

"Brainless." Yang stayed calm, even taking a sip of tea and clearing his throat before suddenly glaring and slapping the armrest: "Impudent servants! Do you even know my status?"

"You..." The four matrons who'd been closing in were stunned by this outburst. Yang's eyes blazed with authority, his presence suddenly imposing, making the two women hesitate and lose their nerve. "You are..."

"Listen up! I am the King of Steelbull Kingdom. My Steelbull Kingdom is rich from all four seas, a nation of ten million chariots and countless people. You lowly servants not only refuse to bow to me, but dare to mouth off—your crime is doubled!" Yang straightened his back, suddenly radiating a kingly vibe. "Since this is your first offense, I'll spare your life. Now kneel, slap yourselves a hundred times, and beg for my forgiveness! I think you should know how to kneel—no need for instructions, right?"

"Pfft!" Fiona Fang couldn't hold back a laugh. After that, the four matrons couldn't keep up appearances, but not knowing if Yang was bluffing, they could only grit their teeth: "Nonsense! Steelbull Kingdom? Never heard of it. You're just making things up out of thin air!"

"Just because you don't know doesn't mean I have no status—only shows your ignorance." Yang's deadpan, dismissive tone could drive anyone mad.

"You! Who can vouch for you?" The four matrons were losing it, shrieking: "Pretending to be royalty is a serious crime—your whole family could be executed!"

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course not!"

"Suit yourself. I don't expect people your age and with your limited experience to believe me." Yang went back to his breezy, unconcerned tone. "But whether you believe it or not isn't up to you servants. Go tell your masters that His Majesty is feeling generous today—no need for them to kneel, just let them stand. Standing is good. Old folks should move around more, it's healthy."

Yang's words were aimed squarely at Granny Ku and Granny Rong. Not sitting, huh? Fine, then stand. I'm not kneeling—deal with it. Standing means you're obedient, your momentum's gone. But if you sit down, it's even more humiliating, like slapping your own face. The two grannies' expressions instantly soured.

"You!" With the whole 'if the master is insulted, the servant dies' thing, the four matrons shrieked again, ready to argue, but Yang suddenly realized, "Oh, Princesses, my apologies—I forgot this is the Flower Kingdom’s Celestial Moon Palace. Acting out of turn, please forgive me." He bowed slightly to Embroidered Jade and Flower Shifter, then said, "I've always heard the Flower Kingdom's etiquette is strict, but today I see that's not quite true."

Embroidered Jade smiled slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I heard this Celestial Moon Palace is the sacred ground of the Protector lineage. Its status should be on par with the royal court, if not higher. Anywhere else, anyone who yells in court would be punished severely. So, tell me, if a mere servant shouts and rants in the Celestial Moon Palace, what does the ancestral law say?"

The Protector side caught on immediately. Night Lily stepped forward and answered loudly, "By the law, anyone who shouts disrespectfully in the Celestial Moon Palace—light punishment is stripped and flogged fifty times; heavy punishment is shackled, sent to the frontier, and put to hard labor!"

Yang pointed at Granny Wan. "So why are they still standing there? Go on, follow the law. If not, then all this talk about Flower Kingdom etiquette is just empty words. Keep using 'etiquette' as an excuse—" He glanced at Granny Rong, half-smiling. "You’re just playing the senior card, and your intentions are rotten."

"Enough!" Thud—a cane slammed down, making everyone’s ears ring. Granny Ku’s anger was imposing; she was clearly a martial arts master, though not quite on par with Gold Blade, Silver Sword, or Lady Three Marvels. "You may have a sharp tongue, man, but what good does that do you?"

"If it makes me feel good, that's plenty of use." Yang finally stood up, his aura rising as he stared the two grannies down. "Calling her 'Little Embroidered Jade' this, 'not allowed' that—just bullying the young, abusing your seniority. If you want to keep running your mouths, I’m game. I’ve got plenty of harsh words, enough to drive you into qi deviation. But if you don’t want to keep embarrassing yourselves in public, cut the scare tactics and have a real conversation."

One's all bitter, one's all sinister—who are you trying to scare? Execute me? Execute your brother-in-law! Like I’ve never seen the world before? You think you can scare me?

Yang’s cold shout made everyone tense up. Nobody expected him to go toe-to-toe with the two princesses of Longevity Hall. The four matrons were gnashing their teeth, the palace maids were wide-eyed. Flower Shifter nodded and shook her head, while Embroidered Jade just rested her chin on her hand and smiled. When it comes to pissing people off, Fool really is top-tier.

Granny Ku and Granny Rong were silent for a moment. Their eyes, narrowed to slits, slowly opened and fixed on Yang, who stood tall and unyielding. Four cloudy eyes, dead as corpses, sent chills down everyone’s spine. "Alright, let’s close the doors and talk in private."

The hall emptied quickly. The palace maids filed out one by one, and the four matrons withdrew as well. Only Princess Embroidered Jade, Princess Flower Shifter, the two grannies, Yang, and the specifically-named Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo remained. Except for the two girls who couldn't get a word in, the five others each took their seats—some grave, some serious, all tense. The atmosphere was even heavier than before. Fiona and Rachel were getting nervous, unsure what was about to happen.

"Skipping the pleasantries is a good thing," Granny Rong said, her wrinkles refusing to smile, her voice hoarse. "I came here today for one reason: appointing a Protector is far too hasty. No one in the kingdom will agree. Embroidered Jade, you should reconsider." Granny Ku chimed in, "By the old rules, the Protector needs three things: first, unmatched achievement; second, a name known across the land; third, courage beyond compare. Just grabbing some nobody off the street and calling him Protector—wishful thinking!"

Embroidered Jade was about to say something, but Yang raised his hand, and she immediately let him speak first. The two grannies' faces grew even uglier, clearly worried about something.

Yang sighed. "Let me make myself clear. I knew someone would try to block this, maybe out of self-interest, scheming, or power plays. I don't care, and I'm not interested. Whether you acknowledge it or not makes no difference." His eyes swept over the two old women, calm but unshakable. "She spoke, I agreed, so that's settled."

The two grannies, stiff and silent as corpses, couldn't help but gasp, almost as if they'd been angered to death.

"That's all I have to say. If I give my word, I’ll keep it. You all can talk amongst yourselves." He could guess there was something fishy going on—why else would two old crones rush over and risk making fools of themselves? Yang knew his job here was just to take a stand, to support Embroidered Jade and put her at ease. The rest was up to the Flower Kingdom's own infighting.

He was right, though. No matter how the power struggle played out, whatever he promised Embroidered Jade, he'd do. A man's word doesn't need outsiders meddling.

Yang stood up to leave, quick and decisive. Even as he exited, his aura didn't fade—he was as cool and sharp as ever. But just then Granny Rong suddenly spoke up: "You two girls, I've heard of you. You're here to seek a master, aren't you?"

Yang paused mid-step and turned, eyes narrowing. Fiona and Rachel had no idea why they'd been singled out. Though they sensed trouble, they could only nod and answer honestly, "Yes, we're here to apprentice under the two princesses."

Granny Rong gave a meaningful look. "You do realize, all palace maids and female officials in the Flower Kingdom are trained by the Longevity Hall. If you really want to learn top martial arts, you have to train in the royal palace first, and then we assign your placement. Whether you learn martial arts or end up serving high officials, that's for Longevity Hall to decide. And if you mess up in training, you could be sent off as official courtesans... who knows?"

The two girls’ eyes widened. Fiona sneaked a glance at Flower Shifter, who pouted in distress but could only nod, confirming it was true.

"But you know, our Flower Kingdom has a ton of martial arts, and folks flock to them like fish in a river. Two more students aren’t a big deal—it's just some outer martial arts, nothing special," Granny Rong snorted. "But if the core secrets end up in the wrong hands, that’s a disaster. Don’t you think you should be careful? Some people talk a good game, but really, they’re just after our secret manuals, right?"

Rachel Luo narrowed her eyes. She got it—Granny Rong was using them to take a shot at the Fool. Since they came with him, making things awkward for them would hit him hard. And right now, they’d been caught in a tough spot, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Don’t hold back, just say what you think," Granny Ku added. "Longevity Hall’s martial arts are top-notch, not a bit worse than Mingyu’s arts."

Embroidered Jade couldn’t take it anymore. "What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m deaf and blind?" Her anger was real—she was about to lose her cool.

Granny Ku snapped, "Hmph, Embroidered Jade, let me be blunt. Letting this man be Protector is a huge mistake. The Protector’s duty is serious business, not something you can just do on a whim. You used to progress fast, but look at you now—stuck for ages with no improvement. Do I need to spell out why? Your life belongs to the Flower Kingdom, your skills and spirit too!"

Embroidered Jade’s face twitched, her anger vanishing—Granny Ku’s words had hit a nerve.

Granny Ku finished scolding and turned to Fiona and Rachel. "Fiona Fang, Rachel Luo, if you want to learn martial arts, take revenge, and rise above others, then join Longevity Hall and cut all ties with that man!"

Granny Rong nodded. "Go on, say that man’s worthless, a fraud, only here to steal our martial arts, and I’ll let you join Longevity Hall and train you personally. Otherwise, no sect in the Flower Kingdom will take you. If you end up wandering the martial world, living worse than death, don’t blame me for not helping you today!"

The room fell silent—they’d gone all out to embarrass Yang. There was no turning back now. Yang didn’t say a word; the two grannies’ antics couldn’t shake him. He just watched the two girls, waiting to see what they’d choose at this harsh crossroads.

If fate ended here, they’d just go their separate ways. Yang could handle that, but the girls might end up seeing him as an enemy, driven by shame. Sometimes, feeling guilty or ashamed makes people want to destroy the object of their shame—nothing new there. People’s hearts, huh? Strange things.

Rachel Luo, frozen in place, suddenly moved. She walked up to Yang, stopped two meters in front of him. All eyes were on her—no one knew what she’d do. The two grannies sneered, the two princesses looked conflicted, Fiona was scratching her head in agony. Only Yang stayed calm. Under his steady gaze, Rachel took a deep breath, then bowed low and dropped to her knees before him!

"Master, please accept your disciple’s bow!" Draw a line? Like hell! After being trapped in a tiny bottle for over ten days—days worse than death—she swore the one who saved her was her god! She’d been hustling in society for years, always looking out for herself, but she’d never stoop so low as to insult her savior just to get ahead!

There was a fierce glint in Rachel’s eyes, like an angry mother beast, all in, defiant. With her actions, she slapped the two grannies right in the face: "Please, Master, take me as your disciple. I’ll stick by your side, follow your orders, and if I ever betray you, may lightning strike me down and scatter me to dust!"

Thud—a solid kowtow slammed the floor, no holding back. Everyone was stunned. The two princesses were shocked but pleased, the two grannies twisted with disbelief.

Even Yang himself was surprised, and a little moved. He never expected this turn of events.

"Ahhh, whatever, whatever! My mom always said, never forget your morals for profit!" At that, Fiona Fang rushed over and dropped to her knees beside Rachel. "I want to be your disciple too! Master, and senior sister, please teach your little student! I know you’re amazing, Master, so you gotta teach me everything so I can make you famous!"

Yang was a bit dumbfounded—he’d never seen anything like this before. But he quickly recovered, and helped both girls up with a smile. The usual stoic face warmed up. "No need for all the kneeling and kowtowing. My school doesn’t do that stuff. And you don’t have to call me Master—just think of me as a senior helping out the juniors."

A familiar feeling welled up inside him. He remembered, not so long ago, under the night at Jingwu Society, how Mr. Tang had said the same thing to him. The elders passed down their skills so he could survive, and now it was his turn to pass them on. Generation after generation, showing the way for those who came after. He’d never thought about taking students before, but now, a surge of responsibility and emotion hit him.

He patted both girls on the shoulder. "If you don’t mind, you can call me Teacher."

"Teacher Yang!" Fiona immediately jumped on the bandwagon, calling out loud and clear. The words echoed in Yang’s heart, stirring up a flood of memories. Turns out, "Teacher Yang" really was his name—his father was Teacher Yang, and now he was too. Like father, like son.

"Alright, from today on, I’m your teacher."