Chapter 39

39 BRIGHT SMILE DEFYING DAZZLING SUN

A man with long and shiny hair that surely would glow under the sunlight, a pair of blue eyes that were sharp and bright, and a proportional body that was tall and straight.

The image was still vivid in his head even though he had only seen the man once, and that moment had happened two or three hours ago. That man’s charm and aura weren’t something he could easily forget, so when he heard Ma Qiao mention the word ‘Crown Prince,’ that image instantly appeared in Bai Chen’s head.

When he stood beside the white-haired Crown Prince in Zuigao Hall, he slightly cursed his luck as his body was not as tall as the Crown Prince. Therefore, he had to crane his neck if he wanted to get a good picture of the older prince.

From the system, he got some information regarding the man, and he could confirm that the man was indeed older than the real Bai Chen in this world. He just didn’t understand why they had different hair colors.

However, hair color wasn’t the only problem that had bothered Bai Chen since he first met the man. For some reason, the man looked so intimidating, and that was why Bai Chen didn’t feel secure when he was near him.

“The Wenxue Pavilion is in my palace, but the Crown Prince is the one who holds the pavilion key? Why don’t I hold the key myself?” Without being able to put a filter in his mouth, Bai Chen voiced his curiosity, causing the male servant to raise an eyebrow at him.

“You don’t remember the reason, Your Highness?” The servant asked. “A week ago, His Majesty started the renovation of the library in Rongyao Imperial Palace, and that’s why he decided to move all the books in the library to your study since you don’t have many books there. His Highness the Crown Prince is the one who holds the keys now because the books in Wenxue Pavillion are important.”

Bai Chen’s thick brows twitched at the servant’s explanation. ‘His Majesty is renovating his palace, and he decided to use my pavilion as a deposit box? I’m sure Rongyao Imperial Palace is much bigger than mine even if I didn’t measure it with a measuring tape earlier, and I’m also sure there’s plenty of room for temporarily storing books. Why did they choose my palace?’

Bai Chen was annoyed, and he unintentionally ignored Ma Qiao’s statement. He could see how the people who attended the court meeting earlier didn’t like him, but they still used one of the humble pavilions in his palace to store books when they renovated the Imperial Palace.

.....

“Your Highness, why do you want to enter Wenxue Pavilion? It’s your study, and in the past, you rarely entered the place even if you were holding the key all the time,” the servant questioned the Prince when he got no response from the Prince.

Now, Bai Chen could confirm what kind of place the Wenxue Pavilion was. It was in line with Bai Lang’s question about whether he had difficulty reading books or not because that place turned out to be his study.

And he could also confirm that the pavilion key was in his hands before the Imperial Palace started renovating their library, and he wondered why they needed the Crown Prince to hold the key during the renovation.

“I need to read some books in my study, and that’s why I need the key now,” Bai Chen replied without mentioning what kind of books he needed to read in the pavilion.

He had never been a master who had a servant in his previous life, but he was sure that being a master meant that he could hide some secrets from his servants. He didn’t need to explain everything to his servant, and that was why he only answered the question vaguely.

Bai Chen thought so, but it turned out that his servant couldn’t read his intentions as he continued to question him, “What book would you like to read, Your Highness? Would you like to start preparing for the Beast Hunt Event by reading the book in your pavilion?”

Bai Chen wanted to yell at his servant, but he restrained himself as he gritted his teeth while replying to his servant, “Do I also need to tell you my sleeping position at night, Ma Qiao?”

Finally, Ma Qiao grinned shyly after hearing the sarcasm. Perhaps the servant could finally read that there were some things the Prince wanted to keep to himself. “You don’t need to tell me about that, Your Highness,” he answered sheepishly. “But, do you need to enter the pavilion today?”

The poor servant asked his master again, and Bai Chen felt like he was having a headache again. “Yes,” he answered annoyedly. “Can you go to the Crown Prince to ask for the key? The sooner you get the key, the better.”

???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????

Bai Chen thought that the servant would always obey his orders, and the servant would also help him when he needed something. However, to his dismay, the servant suddenly had an uncertain expression on his face after hearing his request.

“My apologies, Your Highness. His Highness the Crown Prince told me that if you wish to read the books in Wenxue Pavilion, you must first seek permission. Therefore, you must meet His Highness in person if you wish to obtain the key.”

Bai Chen was fuming inside. First, the Emperor casually kept all the books from the Rongyao Imperial Palace in his humble pavilion. Second, the Crown Prince was the one who had the keys to the pavilion now. Third, he even needed to see the Crown Prince in person just to be able to enter the pavilion in his palace.

‘Am I just an outsider in this empire? Or am I just an illegitimate child who doesn’t deserve any privileges in this place?’ Bai Chen couldn’t help but think of the worst scenario, but then he thought that it was like the cheesy drama he was used to seeing in his previous life.

Bai Chen was a person who believed that everything happened for a reason, and he chose to find the reasons first before he could come to any conclusions.

“I understand. I will go see the Crown Prince now,” Bai Chen decided as he was about to leave Wenxue Pavilion to meet the Crown Prince.

But, his steps were stopped when someone grabbed his sleeve.

“You can’t see His Highness the Crown Prince today, Your Highness,” unexpectedly, it was Ma Qiao who halted his steps. “The Crown Prince left the capital for some matters and will only return tomorrow, so you’d better wait until tomorrow before you can see him in person.”

Bai Chen inwardly scolded himself for being such an impatient character, and he even acted as if he was the most diligent person by saying that he didn’t want to put off the task he could do today.

‘But wait. Bai Lang told me to go to Wenxue Pavilion tomorrow, but the sly wolf didn’t tell me the reason. I’m sure the little wolf knows about the Crown Prince’s business trip, but he didn’t tell me about that,’ he grumbled to himself when he thought that the white wolf was deliberately toying with him today.

He was annoyed with the cunning white wolf, but he knew that he couldn’t take his anger out on his servant now. “I see,” he answered without looking at his servant. “I will go see the Crown Prince tomorrow, and now I will return to Jing Pavilion.”

The Prince had already started walking, and the servant tried to catch up before he could walk next to the Prince. “It’s already lunchtime, Your Highness. Would you like me to send lunch to Jing Pavilion?” He asked the taller man while looking up at the man.

Bai Chen didn’t even notice that it was already lunchtime, but when his stomach suddenly rumbled when he heard his servant mention food, he knew that he needed to eat now.

‘I have a professional cook in my palace, and the food in this world is not bad. That’s why I’ve had a big appetite since I moved into this world,’ he thought as he realized how the servants always served him meat, fish, or chicken at mealtimes.

Except for the first dinner when he didn’t feel like eating, he mostly enjoyed the meals and snacks served by his servants in the palace.

The food was delicious, and he didn’t even have to pay for it. Maybe this world had won his heart through his belly.

“I don’t think you need to send the meal to Jing Pavilion.”

It was true that Bai Chen was already hungry, but he wasn’t the one who just answered Ma Qiao’s question. And the voice that came suddenly made both the servant and the Prince stopped in their tracks. Changing their point of view slightly, they could see a man in red standing valiantly.

It was Zhu Ge who was standing not far from them with a bright smile defying the dazzling sun.