Chapter 45

45 A SISTER AND A BROTHER

In his previous life, Bai Chen only had one sibling, and she was a 7-year-old girl who was very cute although she was also mischievous at times.

Their age difference was huge, but that did not prevent them from having a close relationship with each other. Even if people sometimes mistook the girl for his daughter, Bai Chen still loved his little sister very much.

Ah, sometimes people did have ‘crazy’ ideas about him and his sister. For example, there was one day when people on the bus misunderstood his relationship with his sister as father and daughter. That moment was just a few weeks ago when his parents couldn’t pick up his sister from school. He, being unemployed, could only nod his head when his father told him to pick up his sister at school.

At that time, he and his sister did not get an empty seat on the bus, so they had to stand with Bai Chen’s right hand holding the handrail while his left hand holding his sister’s hand. And suddenly, a man in his 30s got up from his seat and offered his seat to him and his sister.

It turned out that the man thought that he was a young father abandoned by his wife, and that was why the man felt bad for him and offered a seat for him and his ‘daughter.’ Other people on the bus probably thought the same as they had a look of pity on their faces.

It was a misunderstanding, but Bai Chen didn’t bother to explain and simply nodded his head before taking the empty seat with his sister.

That was just one of the memories he had with his sister, and if he had to recount all his memories about his sister, one day it would definitely not be enough.

Bai Chen suddenly missed his little sister, and he wanted to meet her to return the money she ‘borrowed’ from her a while ago. He was indeed going to meet his sibling today, but it was not his sister. Instead, he would meet his ‘brother.’

He sighed heavily as he continued to take heavy steps towards the Rongyao Imperial Palace. Ma Qiao told him this morning that the Crown Prince would be in his pavilion from 8 to 10 today, so he immediately rushed to the palace after finishing his breakfast. He didn’t even bother waiting for Zhu Ge to have breakfast because he was in a hurry.

.....

‘Why am I suddenly thinking of that man? He will be leaving my palace today, and after this, I will have no more contact with him,’ Bai Chen sighed again as he suddenly realized the situation.

It wasn’t like he and Zhu Ge were friends or anything, so parting with that man wasn’t a big deal for him.

He was occupied with many thoughts as he walked from his humble palace to the majestic Rongyao Imperial Palace, and he didn’t even notice that they had arrived at the palace’s front gate.

Ma Qiao was the one who showed the jade tokens to the guards, and the guards immediately let them in.

Bai Chen once again set foot inside the Rongyao Imperial Palace, and he might be overreacting, but he felt that the air in the imperial palace was even more stifling. His breath became heavier, and his steps became slower.

‘The Crown Prince did not greet me when I attended the court meeting yesterday. What will he do to me today? Will he allow me to borrow the key to Wenxue Pavilion?’ Bai Chen was troubled, but he then shook his head vigorously. ‘Wenxue Pavilion is in my palace, so I have the right to borrow the key. I will show him that I am a dignified man!’

Bai Chen suddenly nodded his head while clenching his right hand, and the sight made the servant raise an eyebrow at him.

“Aiyah! I never like to walk to the Crown Prince’s residence because his residence is very far from the palace gates.”

Bai Chen could hear his servant grumbling from behind him, and he pondered for a moment before trying his luck to get more information from the man.

“In your eyes, what kind of person is the Crown Prince, Ma Qiao?” Bai Chen carefully asked a question.

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That was indeed his way of cautiously asking his servant about the white-haired Crown Prince. If it was still him who was clueless and his mouth was too loose, he would probably ask, “Can you tell me about the Crown Prince, Ma Qiao? Why was he so cold to me when I met him yesterday? Does he hate me? Is there a problem between me and the Crown Prince?”

If he asked those questions, Ma Qiao would definitely feel suspicious of him, and he would immediately be greeted by the annoying system alert. In an instant, he would lose his precious points, and he would die instantly.

True, he would soon perish from this world once he got another OOC notification from the system, and that was because he only had 50 points in his pocket for now. If he broke the rules once again, then the system would deduct 50 points, and his points would turn to zero in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, Bai Chen carefully put the sieve into his mouth so that he wouldn’t carelessly throw questions at his servant without thinking.

“My opinion of the Crown Prince does not matter, Your Highness. You shouldn’t have asked me such a question. Do you want to give me a test? Will you report me to the Crown Prince if I fail to pass the exam?” Instead of answering his question, the poor servant asked back.

Hearing the timid questions, Bai Chen raised an eyebrow before asking again, “Why should I give you a test, and why should I report you to the Crown Prince? I just want to know what you think of my brother. I’ve never asked you such a question, have I?”

Bai Chen asked as if he was sure that the real Bai Chen in this world had never asked his servant such a question, but he was actually just trying his luck. Who knew if the real Bai Chen had ever asked that question or not? For now, the only person who could answer that question was Ma Qiao, and when Bai Chen glanced at the servant, he didn’t find any suspicion on the servant’s face.

Now he was 99.99% sure that the real Bai Chen in this world had never asked such a question before, and he secretly smiled triumphantly.

“You never asked me that question, Your Highness,” the servant confirmed. “But, I still have no right to judge the Crown Prince. I’m only a lowly servant here, and I still love my head, Your Highness.”

The Prince felt he had wasted his energy trying to force Ma Qiao because, in the end, he got nothing from the servant. Sighing heavily, Bai Chen chose to stop putting his servant in such a difficult situation.

“This palace is indeed big,” Bai Chen spoke again as he smoothly changed the subject in order to save his servant’s soul. “I can’t even remember all the buildings in this palace because there are so many buildings here.”

He did try to save Ma Qiao’s frail soul, but he was actually once again trying his luck at something else. The young man didn’t immediately ask the question, but he tried to cast the bait and hoped the older man would pick it up and explain everything to him.

“Aiyah! You’re always like that, Your Highness!” Ma Qiao responded, and his voice sounded cheerful again as if he had forgotten the previous question from the Prince. “There are indeed so many buildings in this palace, and you can never memorize them all. Until today, you only knew Zuigao Hall, right?”

Bai Chen secretly smiled when he found out that he had won the battle against his servant, and the next thing he heard from the servant was the endless explanation of the palace.

Ma Qiao told him that Zuigao Hall was between the other two halls, and the two halls were Guangcai Hall and Jundui Hall. Guangcai was the palace library that was being renovated, while Jundui was like a military hall where the military used to gather there.

In addition to the three halls, there were also other buildings, but it was difficult for Bai Chen to memorize all of them. ‘I need a printed version of the palace layout,’ he thought helplessly.

“And actually, there are several palaces within this palace, Your Highness. The Emperor’s Palace is called Ningjing Palace, and it’s located directly behind the Zuigao Hall. Apart from that palace, there is also the palace of the Crown Prince called Siyuan, and Siyuan Palace is right in front of you, Your Highness.”

Bai Chen didn’t even notice that he and Ma Qiao had stopped walking in front of another gate which was smaller than the front gate of Rongyao Imperial Palace, and he gulped nervously. He had arrived at the enemy’s lair.