Kneel or not to kneel, that is the question.
Having an acquaintance as Emperor is troublesome; Xu Qing couldn't just pretend not to recognize him. Since he recognized him, as an apparent subject of Dayan, he had to have some reaction, right?
Xu Qing's eyes flickered as he wondered whether to take out the dog-beating stick and give this middle-aged man a hit, and later, like in the past, feed him a Forgetfulness Pill, pretending he never came...
But this approach merely treats the symptoms, not the root cause.
Fortunately, Xu Qing was experienced and savvy; even without physical means, he had ways to resolve the current awkwardness.
Xu Qing bowed deeply and said:
"Your Majesty, I am of a unique identity, running a funeral shop, and it's most taboo for me to kneel to others, so I dare to bow with folded hands instead."
As soon as Xu Qing finished his salute, he was assisted up by Zhu Huai'an who had hurriedly taken two steps forward.