The rules of the Xuanqing Guard dictate that unless one is asking for punishment or reward, subordinates and superiors need only bow, there's no need for the cumbersome act of kneeling. It's the civil servants who love to kneel as a sign of respect.
Seeing Kuang Shengyuan drop to one knee, Shen Hao hesitated for a moment but didn't follow suit. He just bowed according to proper custom.
Flattering's one thing—who hasn't done it on the road to officialdom? But there's a line, isn't there?
Honestly, it was the first time Shen Hao realized how willing Kuang Shengyuan was to lay it all out there.
And with Kuang Shengyuan taking the lead, the contrast became obvious—the others who came with Shen Hao to welcome Pang Ban all copied Kuang Shengyuan, dropping to one knee and shouting their greetings. Only Wang Yiming, under Shen Hao's command, and Tang Qingyuan standing beside him, chose to bow rather than kneel.
An otherwise proper welcoming formation suddenly seemed a bit off-kilter.
