Chapter 48

48 SECRET WAS SPILLED, SONG WAS COMPOSES

“I learned one important thing about the Crown Prince today,” Bai Chen walked over with a gloomy expression on his face, and Ma Qiao, who was walking behind him, frowned in confusion. “He’s very bad at singing,” Bai Chen continued, and Ma Qiao burst out laughing.

“Aiyah! Did the Crown Prince sing a song for you, Your Highness?” The male servant asked after his laughter died down.

? “White robes pile on the floor, smooth skin as white as flour.

Either it is on the table, or maybe it is lying on the marble.

Slender legs spread wide, and the hare slips between them and becomes the guide.

But don’t forget to close the door, or the birds will see how the shaft enters the back door.” ?

Instead of answering Ma Qiao’s question, Bai Chen sang the song that was previously sung by the Crown Prince, causing Ma Qiao to freeze and be unable to utter a word. The Prince could see the servant’s reaction from the corner of his eye, and he was sure it wasn’t the first time the servant had heard the song.

“Is it true that the song is popular in the empire now, Ma Qiao?” Bai Chen asked after he finished singing, and Ma Qiao panicked and ran forward so that he was walking next to Prince now.

“You... you don’t have to think about it, Your Highness!” The servant didn’t answer the question, and instead, he asked the Prince not to think about it.

.....

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Ma Qiao indirectly told the Prince not to worry, but his expression was the biggest contradiction in this century as the word ‘WORRY’ was written in big letters on the man’s face.

Even the person who wasn’t the subject of the song could be so worried, so it was only natural that Bai Chen wouldn’t feel at ease after knowing the song, right?

“I wouldn’t worry too much if you told me more about the song, Ma Qiao. If I didn’t know anything about it, then maybe I would die of worry in my heart,” Bai Chen hated it when he had to act as if he was a drama queen, but he ended up acting dramatic only to force his servant to open his mouth. After all, he knew that he could only get information from his servant.

‘Wait. It seems that Ma Qiao was taken aback when I sang the song earlier, so maybe the real Bai Chen in this world didn’t even know about the song before I took over his body?’ Bai Chen just realized that possibility.

When he looked closely at his servant, the servant did look panicked as if it was the first time seeing Bai Chen sing the song, so maybe the real Bai Chen in this world really didn’t know anything about it.

And seeing how the Prince continued to stare at him with his piercing blue eyes, Ma Qiao groaned in despair before he decided to tell the Prince the truth.

“There is a place similar to the Red Pavilion in the capital, and the song spreads from that place. It’s said that someone came to that place to look for some girls for fun, and when he was drunk, he unknowingly revealed all the things he saw in your palace, Your Highness.”

Bai Chen finally stopped walking when he and Ma Qiao almost reached the front gate of the Rongyao Pavilion. Ma Qiao, who was walking next to him, also halted his movement as he nervously looked at the brown-haired Prince.

“That person revealed all the things he saw in my palace?” The Prince asked. “Did that person work in my palace?” He continued after his brain managed to form a hypothesis.

“That’s right, Your Highness,” Ma Qiao replied as he nodded his head. “That person worked as a servant in your palace before, but after learning the truth that he was the one who accidentally spilled everything that caused a commotion in this empire, I decided to fire him.”

“You decided to fire him?” Bai Chen immediately asked when he found a strange line in Ma Qiao’s sentences.

“I... I’m sorry, Your Highness!” Ma Qiao suddenly knelt. “That person spilled everything in such a place, so rumors quickly spread along with the song. I was just worried that you would be shaken up by this matter, so I purposely hid this matter for you. Even if you are always so carefree, I am still worried that the issue will affect you.”

Bai Chen saw how the servant was kneeling in front of him, and when he glanced around his surroundings, he could see several imperial servants walking past them, and they were whispering to each other because of the strange sight.

Even if Bai Chen was angry that Ma Qiao dared to step on him and make a decision ahead of him, he still felt embarrassed when other people in the imperial palace gave him strange looks. His reputation in the imperial palace was not good, and it would probably get worse if some rumors about him bullying his servant spread in the palace.

“Get up immediately!” Bai Chen hastily instructed, and like an obedient robot, Ma Qiao quickly rose from his position.

Seeing how Ma Qiao was standing like an innocent child managed to give Bai Chen a headache, and he used his left hand to massage his temples as he tried to find the right words to interrogate his servant further.

“So, that person worked as a servant in my palace, and they saw my... hot activity?” Bai Chen hesitated when he finally opened his mouth to question his servant, and he didn’t even know why he used the word ‘hot’ in his query.

Fortunately, Ma Qiao was able to understand the word as he slowly nodded. “Before the song spread throughout the empire, people already knew that you were gay and liked to play with male prostitutes. But after the song spread, people eventually discovered that you even played with those prostitutes in broad daylight in various places in your palace without closing the door, Your Highness,” he explained.

Ma Qiao didn’t even dare to look him in the eyes, but Bai Chen didn’t bother to scold the man as his mind was preoccupied with something. ‘Is that why the Crown Prince said that I even did that in the study? The real Bai Chen even did that in other places in his palace? And he even forgot to close the door? The real Bai Chen in this world doesn’t want face[1] for real!’ He furiously clenched his fists, but at that moment, he finally remembered that he had other things he had to do today.

Raising his right hand before opening his fist, his blue eyes found several keys lying on top of his palm. He finally got the keys from the Crown Prince, but he had to make sacrifices to be able to get the keys in his hands.

[“The song is good, isn’t it, little brother?” The Crown Prince asked right after he finished singing the song in his terrible voice, and he even clapped his hands as if praising his singing.

Bai Chen glared at the man while clenching his fists. He knew that the song was about the real Bai Chen of this world, but he still felt humiliated when he heard the song. Furthermore, hearing how the song was sung with poor singing skills made him feel even worse. It felt like real torture to his ears.

“You sing very well, Your Highness,” replied the younger Prince sarcastically as he gritted his teeth. “But I think the five minutes are up, so perhaps you can let me borrow the keys so I won’t waste your time any longer. I’ll be leaving your palace soon so you can resume your activities, Your Highness.”

Actually, Bai Chen wanted to say that it was the Crown Prince who had wasted his time, but he didn’t dare to do that because he knew the different status between them.

“You needn’t worry, my little brother,” replied the Crown Prince. “I’ll let you borrow the keys, but please sing the song for me just once. After that, I’ll ask my maid to get the keys for you.”]

Yes. Bai Chen was forced to sing the song that humiliated him in front of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince didn’t like him, but Bai Chen knew that he didn’t like the Crown Prince either.

In the end, Bai Chen sang the song for real, and he even sang it so well that it caused the Crown Prince to fall silent. Even if Bai Chen was humiliated by the older man, he also managed to mock the man’s poor singing skills.

Bai Chen 1, Bai Renshu 1.

With a smirk on his handsome face, Bai Chen promised in his heart that he would make the Crown Prince pay for what he did to him today.

—

Footnote:

[1] Doesn’t want face: said of a person who has no sense of shame (shameless).