Emperor Lu had reached the place where he heard about the presence of Long Chen. The thing was different, though. As he got there, he found out that Long Chen had flown away.
On asking where he went, he was told that Long Chen had flown in the direction of the Royal Palace.
Hearing that, the Emperor was able to guess. Most probably, Long Chen was going back on his own now that he had proven his innocence. He was going back to act smug and show off how everyone had done wrong to him.
"Fine, kid. Act smug all you want," the Emperor had muttered as he decided to go back to the Palace.
....
At the moment, he had reached the Royal Palace.
As he reached the entrance, he asked the guards who told him that Long Chen was waiting for him in the Royal Chambers.
....
Emperor Lu reached the throne room with his family.
As he reached there, the guards opened the room, making it easier for him to enter.
The Emperor was the first person to enter, followed closely by the Queen and Mingyu.
"What?"
As soon as the Emperor entered the chamber, a shocked look appeared on his face as he saw Long Chen sitting on the throne which belonged to him.
Not only was that guy sitting here, but it also seemed like he was sleeping as if this wasn't a dignified Royal Throne but his bed.
"Long Chen!" Emperor Lu called out to awaken Long Chen from his slumber.
"Ah, father in law. You're here. You know how long I had to wait for you? Anyway, now that you're here, take your throne. I had no place to sit while waiting, so I used it for a while," Long Chen replied as he opened his eyes slowly while yawning as if he actually had just woken up.
He stood up and freed the throne as he walked down.
The Emperor glared at Long Chen as he walked over to the throne and sat on it.
"We heard you had proven your innocence. That's good. You should've done that at the start if you could instead of creating trouble. See how big this mess became?" Emperor Lu told Long Chen as he sighed.
"Anyway, it's fine now that you're back. We welcome you back to the family and forgive you for creating destruction in our Palace. We accept that our son Lu Wang did wrong. Bring him here; we would punish him for what he did ourselves," he continued, scheming to get his son back while making him sound genuine.
"I'm sorry, but I can't return him," Long Chen replied as he sighed. "Your son left."
"What do you mean? What did you do to him?" Emperor Lu asked, frowning deeply. "Did you kill him?"
His fist was clenched as if he was trying hard to control himself.
The Queen also had a pale face as she heard it. Was her son really dead?
"I can't believe you killed me. Tell me he's not right," she told Long Chen.
Mingyu was the only one who was silent.
"I didn't kill him," Long Chen replied as he sighed. "I'm not cruel enough to kill Mingyu's brother."
He knew he was lying, but he found it to be the best option.
"So tell me where he is?" Emperor Lu again asked, sighing. He was relieved that his son was at least alive.
"I don't know where he is," Long Chen innocently raised his hand as he answered.
"You don't know where he is? Are you joking with us?" The Emperor snorted, not believing him. "You kidnapped him! Of Course, you'll know him. Don't give me the excuse that he ran away and you don't know where he is. Only an idiot will believe it."
"No, really. I don't know where he is. I think he should be at one of the many worlds now since I made him use a Destiny Crystal. That Teleported him, far away from here to an unknown world. I don't think he would be able to return. As for bringing him back, that's impossible since no one knows where the Destiny Crystal sends a person."
"All I know is that he is alive. And as long as he has even the smallest intelligence, he'll be able to settle there and stay alive. He might even start a family there, grow old and live his life to the fullest," Long Chen answered.
"You! You separated our son from us forever!" the Emperor stood up, stunned as he heard the excuse of Long Chen.
"Of Course I did. I have a skill that tells me what might happen in the future. I can only use it once in a few years," Long Chen explained to the Emperor, lying a bit.
Even though he told the Emperor the truth about his skill, he lied about the duration. It didn't need years to be used again.
"I used that skill a few days before I returned here to hurt Lu Wang. It showed me that he was going to stab his sister. What he wanted to do deserved death. And I was really about to kill him after I took him away after kidnapping. But I stopped," Long Chen said as he gazed at Mingyu.
"Her face flashed before my eyes, and that promise I made to mother in law was also there. So I decided against killing him. I sent him away forever. That's the best outcome for all of us. That's all I'm going to say," he added.
As he finished explaining, he waited for their response. He knew that even this wasn't the perfect excuse, but it was better than nothing. And it was certainly way better than the truth.
They might be upset that Long Chen had sent their son to an unknown place, but at least they'll be happy that he was alive.
That was what Long Chen was hoping to achieve. It was time to correct things so he could take Mingyu away without making her sad.
"Father... I trust him. If he is saying that, it will be true. And Brother is alive. That's all that matters. I don't know why he would scheme all this, but as long as he is alive, we should be happy. This can be a form of punishment. Also, going to another world doesn't mean he won't return," Mingyu chimed in.
"That mysterious man also used a destiny stone on me which sent me far away. It was tough to come back and time consuming, but it wasn't impossible. You'll see him again," she said, still believing Long Chen.