Chapter 36
36 COOL PRINCE, COOL SPEECH
[“Judging from your character, I guess you see the hunting event as a joke, Prince Bai Chen.”
While Bai Chen was still busy cursing the system in his heart, he was grateful that his ears managed to hear the Emperor’s words. He ventured to gaze at the mighty ruler who was still sitting on the golden throne, and he could see how a pair of blue eyes were staring at him coldly.
The pair of blue eyes that belonged to the Emperor was like liquid hydrogen when they were staring at him, and Bai Chen’s body shivered when he felt the coldness.
It was the true definition of judging a book by its cover. Maybe the real Bai Chen in this world did have the character to see everything as a joke, but the soul inside the real Bai Chen’s body had changed two days ago. Unfortunately, the Emperor didn’t have the ability to see it, and the white-haired man only judged him by his skin that still looked the same in everyone’s eyes.
“It may sound like a joke to you, but this is an important event between the werewolves and the humans,” the number one person of Dong Lang spoke again when he received no reply from the Prince. “Representatives from both sides will participate in the event, and if you don’t prepare for the event, you will only embarrass this Imperial Palace.”
The Emperor doubted him, and when Bai Chen brought his blue eyes to survey his surroundings, he could see that no one in the hall wished to step forward to defend him.
It was wishful thinking that he expected those people to defend him. None of them liked him, and their presence in the hall when the Emperor cornered him felt like mere spectators. In Bai Chen’s imagination, the Crown Prince and the officials in the hall were only eating melon seeds when the Emperor cornered him.
The one who could help him was himself.
“I will prepare myself, Your Majesty,” Bai Chen finally let out his voice to reply to the Emperor. “As an Imperial Prince, I also wish to celebrate the moment when werewolves and humans finally reconciled. Perhaps this will be my first and last time participating in this event, so I hope you will allow me to do that, Your Majesty.”
.....
There was no doubt on Bai Chen’s face, but he actually didn’t know how he should prepare for the event. His heart hesitated, but he tried to remain calm when the Emperor’s judging eyes fell on him once again.
The Emperor did need to look down on him since he was sitting on his throne, but for some reason, Bai Chen could see how the man still managed to lift his chin proudly.
However, Bai Chen could care less about the Emperor’s arrogance when the Emperor finally gave him the green light.]
The last thing discussed in the court meeting was Bai Chen’s participation in the Beast Hunting Event, and after the Emperor agreed to give his youngest son a chance, he officially ended the meeting.
The powerful Emperor had left Zuiguo Hall followed by all the officials as well as the Crown Prince, and Bai Chen tried to remain invisible after he had humiliated himself in front of so many people. He could only lower his head as he stepped out of the great hall.
“Your Highness!”
He could hear someone shouting from a distance, and when he turned his head to the side, he could see his servant running toward him while lifting his white robe. Stopping in front of him, the servant tried to catch his breath.
“Where were you just now? Why are you running like you’re a bull trying to catch a red flag?” The Prince lazily asked the older man.
“Huh? What are you saying, Your Highness?” The servant tilted his head in confusion, and Bai Chen knew that the servant didn’t understand his joke.
“Nevermind,” replied the brown-haired Prince. “Just tell me where you were going just now. Didn’t you tell me that you would be waiting for me in front of the hall?”
Ma Qiao was able to breathe normally again, and he smiled shyly at the blue-eyed man. “There are several large windows on the sides of the hall, and because I was curious about today’s meeting, I peeked through the windows so that I could see what was going on inside the hall, Your Highness.”
Bai Chen should have guessed that the servant was going to do something stupid again, but he still stared at the shorter man in disbelief. “So, you’ve seen how I humiliated myself in front of so many people in the hall, right?” He asked while walking slowly towards the stairs.
Ma Qiao was taken aback by the question, but he still tried to catch up to his master. “What humiliation, Your Highness?” He asked confusedly. “You were so cool where you were in the hall before, and that’s not embarrassing at all.”
Stopping at the top of the stairs, Bai Chen turned to look at the shorter man. “You thought I was cool before? Even my speech was cool, right?”
Bai Chen felt like he was seeing the light because someone would appreciate his hard work today, but to his dismay, the servant suddenly rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before replying, “Your last speech was indeed cool, but the previous one was a little...”
“...” Bai Chen took another invisible blow, and he angrily sat on the floor.
Ma Qiao flinched at the Prince’s sudden movement, but then he grabbed the young man’s hand before trying to pull the man up. “What are you doing, Your Highness? There’s dirt on the floor, and it will stain your precious clothes! Please get up so we can return to your palace soon, Your Highness!”
Bai Chen was actually lazy to move his butt even an inch, but when he heard how the maid said that the floor was dirty, he immediately brushed the laziness off his head.
Rising from his position, he then continued down the stairs without saying anything. Ma Qiao was confused, but he only scratched his head before starting to chase after the Prince.
“Haiz, I didn’t mean to offend you, Your Highness. You were indeed very cool that you suddenly volunteered to participate in the Beast Hunting Event.”
Bai Chen could hear the ramblings of his servant, but he ignored them as he continued walking.
“In the past, you rarely attended the court meetings, and even when the Emperor sent decrees to your palace asking you to participate in the event, you always refused the order. I didn’t expect you to finally change your mind to prove that you are a powerful Dong Lang Prince!”
Bai Chen felt like laughing when he heard Ma Qiao speak nonsense, but he only focused on the information related to the real Bai Chen that was spoken by the male servant.
‘I just remembered that Bai Lang once said that the real Bai Chen did not care about politics at all, and I think that’s a fact. The real Bai Chen was a prince, but he didn’t even come to the court meeting. That’s weird,’ Bai Chen frowned when he finally came across a discovery related to the real Prince of Dong Lang.
When he had just entered Zuiguo Hall, instead of getting a warm welcome from the Emperor and the officials, he had received a cold gaze that could freeze all the nerves in his body.
It confused him, but now that he knew that the real Bai Chen even dared to disobey the Emperor’s orders, he could understand why those people had shown their distaste for him earlier.
“But, Your Highness,” Ma Qiao spoke again when they finished descending the stairs, and Bai Chen glanced at the older man. “The Emperor has agreed to allow you to participate in next month’s event, right? Therefore, you must prepare yourself seriously if you want to last during the event.”
The Emperor had indeed accepted his proposal to participate in the Beast Hunting Event. Even if the Emperor was furious because of the unintentional remark that caused him to lose the bonus points, the Emperor still gave him the green light in the end.
“It’s still next month, right?” Bai Chen replied. “I’m a werewolf, and even if I have to face the beasts, I can always tear their skin with my fangs and claws in my wolf form, right?”
Even if Bai Chen knew that the event would threaten his life, he also realized that he was a werewolf, and he could always transform into his wolf form to snatch the souls of beasts from their bodies.
He thought that he had a brilliant idea in his head, but he was forced to erase it when he heard Ma Qiao speak.
“I know you are indeed a werewolf, but during the event, you can’t transform into your wolf form. Instead, you must fight the beasts in your human form, Your Highness.”