Chapter 172

172 A SWORD WITH TWO BLADES

From the start, Bai Chen knew that there were surveillance devices placed in the Forbidden Forest during the Beast Hunting Event so that the people outside the forest could monitor the activity within the forest.

He didn’t know what tool it was, but he believed that it was like a sword with two blades. One party gained an advantage from it, while the other party was at disadvantage because of it.

Thanks to the device, the people outside of the Forbidden Forest finally learned that some people had deliberately destroyed the barrier around the core and taken out the high-level beasts in the core, and thanks to the device as well, both Bai Chen and Wu Jinhai were in a dangerous situation right now.

It was sarcasm, and Bai Chen really wanted to curse the device if he didn’t become the center of attention in the great hall right after Shao Yaoting finished speaking.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been the center of attention in the hall, but he was still frightened as all pairs of eyes in the hall turned to him and gave him strange looks again and again.

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‘So, the moment when I did something with Wu Jinhai was caught by the surveillance device too? Did they see Wu Jinhai’s face too?’ Surprisingly, Bai Chen was busy questioning whether those people had seen Wu Jinhai’s face or not.

Both he and Wu Jinhai were on the verge of being the target of slander, but all he could think of was Wu Jinhai’s face. After all, Bai Chen assumed that Wu Jinhai had been trying so hard to cover his face for so many years, and he thought that it would be a shame if the man’s secret was exposed just like that.

“Prince Wu Jinhai even took off his mask for the first time in many years, but unfortunately, the surveillance device has limitations, and that’s why it couldn’t capture a clear image at night due to lack of light. We can’t see Prince Wu Jinhai’s face, but we can still be sure that the man is indeed him.”

As if he could read Bai Chen’s mind, Shao Yaoting suddenly explained and indirectly answered Bai Chen’s question. Even if the situation was like this, Bai Chen could still heave a sigh of relief, and even Bai Renshu, who was standing right beside him, had a confused expression on his face when he heard the faint sigh of the younger Prince.

.....

This time, Emperor Bai Guowei also sighed, but it was a heavy sigh as he firmly stared at the second Prince of Dong Lang. “Explain to us why you did such a thing with Prince Wu Jinhai in the forest, Bai Chen. Are you forcing Prince Wu Jinhai to give you pleasure?” He asked.

Of course, Bai Chen had expected that the Emperor would put him in a predicament instead of protecting him from Shao Yaoting’s onslaughts.

‘I forced Wu Jinhai to give me pleasure? That’s a stupid question. Maybe I did push him a little, but that’s because I wanted to give him more pleasure. After all, I was the one who caused him to have an erection in the forest,’ Bai Chen answered the Emperor’s question, but it was only in his heart that he thought that his answer was too bold to be voiced in the great hall.

In the end, Bai Chen hesitantly replied, “Yes, I forced Prince Wu Jinhai to do that. Everyone knows that I’m gay, so all of you shouldn’t be surprised by what I’ve done to him, right?”

Even if the system had given him the freedom to be himself without the need to pretend to be the real Bai Chen in this world, he ended up faking it again when he was in a difficult situation. He even admitted that he was gay once again, and Bai Chen couldn’t help but think that freedom from the system was a waste.

‘Perhaps the system had predicted an outcome like this, and that’s why it gave me such freedom. Sure enough, the system just tricked me,’ Bai Chen grumbled inwardly, but his expression remained flat as he continued to stare at the white-haired Emperor.

It could be said that he had improved after he had spent in this world for a month, and he could even pretend as if he had not been affected by the slander as he continued to have a stoic expression on his face after answering the Emperor’s question.

The Emperor was not the only one who heard the answer, and Shao Yaoting was one of the people who could catch the answer. So, he sneered at the brunette Prince, “Now you dare to admit that you are gay, but you pretended as if you were willing to accept my daughter when you were about to enter the forest with her. You acted like that, so you must have a purpose, right?”

“...” Bai Chen did not immediately respond to the man’s question.

If he could answer honestly, then he would reply that he kept pretending back then only because of the Emperor’s orders, and apart from that reason, he also acted like that because he was aiming for protection if he could stay with Shao Meihui during the event in the forest.

After all, Shao Meihui was guarded by three strong men back then, and that was why Bai Chen was tempted to take advantage of it. Who would have thought that the so-called guards ended up killing their master even if indirectly?

“Enough with the nonsense,” Bai Guowei spoke again, and Shao Yaoting finally turned to him once again. Getting the attention of the black-robed man, the Emperor continued, “Now tell me what you want from our meeting today, Lord Shao?”

It seemed that today’s court meeting was deadlocked, and that was why Emperor Bai Guowei chose to relent a little when he was finally willing to hear Shao Yaoting’s request.

Unfortunately, Shao Yaoting’s request only added mud to the previously dirty water when he said, “I want you to admit that it was you who planned the incident in the Forbidden Forest, and I want you to voluntarily leave the throne, Your Majesty.”