Chapter 42

42 FISH SWIMMING IN THE POND

There were two things in Ma Qiao’s little head when he saw how the Prince had suddenly become so unhappy that he crouched down and played with the ground randomly. His white robes were even stained with dirt when he brought his butt close to the ground, but the Prince didn’t even care about that.

Because of that, the servant had two theories about the Prince’s sudden change in mood. The first reason was that the Prince had once again recalled the memory of his mother’s death in the garden pavilion, and the second was because the Prince was sad that his servant would not bring food to the garden pavilion.

In his heart, the old servant weighed the possibilities, ‘But His Highness said that he didn’t want to dig into the past anymore, right? Several years had passed, so maybe it was true that he didn’t want to be held back by those sad memories anymore. So, the reason behind his gloomy attitude is probably not that.’

The servant was very simple, and even his way of thinking was uncomplicated. After scratching the first possibility, he knew that only one possibility remained. And he considered it natural for the Prince to be sad because his servant was disobedient.

With that in mind, the servant immediately guided the young Prince toward the garden pavilion before he ran to the kitchen to get the meal for the Prince. He looked like a mother who was worried that his son wouldn’t eat anymore, and now that his son had agreed to eat, he didn’t want to miss the chance to get the food.

When the servant returned to the garden pavilion from the kitchen, he was not the only one who brought the food with his hands. Instead, two palace maids were bringing the food for the Prince as they trailed behind the male servant. Maybe Ma Qiao was like a senior servant in the palace, and that was why he didn’t bother to bring the food and ordered the young girls to bring them instead.

The three people who had just come from the kitchen immediately headed to the garden pavilion, and the Prince was already sitting there with Zhu Ge. There was a round table in the pavilion, and two young girls carrying food were carefully placing the food on the table.

In the open pavilion, a light breeze teased the two girls’ dark hair that slightly stuck out in front of their faces. Bai Chen finally was able to see two maids other than Ma Qiao up close, and this was a golden opportunity for him because, in this world, he couldn’t possibly get close to girls.

Therefore, he took the chance to glance at the two girls secretly, noticing how their dark strands danced at the gentle wind’s teasing. Even their long eyelashes seemed unable to resist the temptations of the coquettish wind. They fluttered slightly like dandelions wanting to run with the wind.

.....

Unfortunately, Bai Chen couldn’t enjoy the beauty for long because the two young maids had finished setting the food on the table. They immediately excused themselves to return to the kitchen, and again, Ma Qiao was the only servant he could see up close.

Bai Chen wanted to grumble, but he held it back because he was afraid it would provoke a warning from the system. ‘After all, I’m now a gay Werewolf Prince, so I can’t show my adoration for women in front of other people,’ he lamented his fate in his heart.

Various dishes could be seen on the table, and it was enough to light up Bai Chen’s mood. He immediately grabbed an empty porcelain bowl and prepared to fill it with rice. “You can sit down, Ma Qiao. You should eat too,” he spoke to the servant without looking at the man.

Even after the maids left, Ma Qiao still stood beside the Prince as if he was a bodyguard or something.

“I will eat later, Your Highness,” replied the male servant politely.

Bai Chen actually didn’t like someone standing beside him watching him eat. He felt like he was deliberately starving the person by doing so.

However, he thought that it might be customary in this world to see a servant watch his master eat before they could eat, so he simply shrugged his shoulders before pointing his chopsticks at a plate with a dish made of fish.

He almost used his chopsticks to move the fish into his bowl, but another pair of chopsticks caught his. Frowning in surprise, Bai Chen looked up to see the person who dared to interrupt his activities.

From the red sleeves, he already knew that it was the extremely daring Zhu Ge who had the nerve to do that to him, but he still had an irritated look on his face as he stared at the man in red.

“What are you doing? We’re eating, but you still have time to play around?” The brunette scolded the other man while frowning.

However, Zhu Ge didn’t look frightened by the scolding, and instead, he calmly moved his own chopsticks to another plate full of meat before starting to pick the meat and place it in Bai Chen’s bowl.

“I heard that werewolves like meat the most, but why would you want to eat fish instead? Fish isn’t that good for your body. You better eat the meat,” replied the black-haired man after Bai Chen’s bowl was filled with a mountain of meat.

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“His Highness can eat whatever he wants!” It wasn’t Bai Chen, but Ma Qiao was the one who responded to Zhu Ge’s words. “His Highness has liked to eat fish since he was a child, so what if he continues to eat fish? It’s not like he will lose his nutrition just because he keeps eating fish!”

The old servant was stubborn, but Zhu Ge was even more stubborn when he suddenly rose from his position and picked up a plateful of fish before throwing the plate into the pond surrounding the garden pavilion. The fried fish was now swimming in the pond.

Both Bai Chen and Ma Qiao gasped in surprise, but Zhu Ge just casually returned to his seat before continuing to enjoy his meal. His right hand elegantly grabbed his chopsticks before urging them to pick up the food and deliver it to his mouth, and he even chewed the food peacefully before swallowing it.

He pretended not to care about Bai Chen and Ma Qiao widening their eyes at him.

“Why did you throw away the food? Don’t you know that the cooks have worked hard to prepare the food for His Highness?” It was estimated that Ma Qiao was the angry person who immediately rushed towards the man in red and was about to grab the man by the collar.

“Stop it!”

Fortunately, Bai Chen’s voice came just in time, causing the male servant to stop his movements and turn towards the Prince.

“Could you leave us alone, Ma Qiao? I want to speak to Zhu Ge in private,” Bai Chen spoke sternly as he looked at the old servant, and the servant immediately showed a look full of disapproval on his wrinkled face.

“But, Your Highness...”

“You heard me, Ma Qiao. Do I need to repeat myself?” Bai Chen was still trying to be calm even though the situation around him suddenly became strange, and luckily, Ma Qiao was willing to listen to him this time.

Even with a face that looked dark and grim, the servant immediately left the garden pavilion after nodding at the Prince.

Now, only Zhu Ge and Bai Chen were in the garden pavilion. The man in red was still eating, and the man in white had placed his chopsticks on the table as he stared at the other man.

When he was quietly observing the man in red, Bai Chen noticed that Zhu Ge was mostly eating vegetables. If that was not quite right, it could be said that Zhu Ge was only eating vegetables.

“Are you vegetarian?” Bai Chen asked a question, and it was enough to stop Zhu Ge from eating.

“What is vegetarian?” The black-haired man asked back instead of answering, and Bai Chen almost slapped his forehead because he once again said something that the people of this world didn’t understand.

Luckily, he didn’t get any warning from the system, so he thought his points were safe this time.

“You only eat vegetables now, and I thought you also ate vegetables last night. That’s why I was wondering if you can eat meat or fish?” Bai Chen carefully outlined his question, and he could see Zhu Ge suddenly placing his chopsticks on the table.

“I can eat meat and fish,” replied Zhu Ge. “But, I don’t like to eat them. I prefer to eat vegetables.”

Bai Chen nodded once before continuing, “I thought you couldn’t eat meat and fish, and that’s why you threw the fish into the pond. Then, I guess you have other reasons behind your actions?”