Chapter 38

38 A HAND ON HIS PALM

Sitting on the steps in front of one of the buildings in his palace with his legs folded and his elbows resting on his knees, Bai Chen rested his chin on his palms as he stared blankly in front of him.

He didn’t look like a Prince, and instead, he looked like a kindergarten kid waiting for his parents to pick him up at his school.

‘Kindergarten? I didn’t even experience kindergarten in my previous life,’ Bai Chen laughed to himself as his childhood memories flashed through his mind.

It was a bit blurry as piece by piece memories flashed through his mind. He wasn’t the type to call out memories from his childhood, but it was the memory that came to him suddenly.

He was almost lost in his memories if he didn’t notice the presence of another person by his side. Before the person could do anything ridiculous again, Bai Chen said, “I’m not under the influence of the Flute Demon, so don’t you dare splash my head with another bucket of water.”

It was indeed Ma Qiao who had just arrived by his side. The male servant sighed before sitting down next to the Prince. “I told you sitting on the stairs like this is dirty, didn’t I, Your Highness?” He asked. “I looked for you in Jing Pavilion, but it turned out that you were sitting in front of Wenxue Pavilion. What are you doing here?”

Now, it was Bai Chen’s turn to sigh heavily after hearing his servant’s scolding, but he didn’t immediately get up from his seat because he had cleaned the area he was sitting on.

After talking to Bai Lang, who gave him no enlightenment at all, he decided to take a walk around his palace. Bai Lang mentioned Wenxue Pavilion, but without telling him the details, the white wolf suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Bai Chen was certain that the white wolf was indeed a ghost, but he dismissed that thought as he quickly left his pavilion for some fresh air. He did not expect that he would see a pavilion with a large plaque ‘Wenxue Pavilion’ in his palace.

.....

The conversation with Bai Lang was the definition of a waste of time, and the only thing he got from the little wolf was the name of the pavilion behind him. Bai Lang even called him lazy, but Bai Chen wanted to call the wolf useless for not giving him the important information he needed.

“Your Highness, are you sure you don’t want me to pour another bucket of water on your head again?” Ma Qiao questioned him again after getting no answer from the white-robed Prince, probably thinking that the Prince was indeed under the spell of the demon.

“Perhaps you could try pouring another bucket of water on your head so you can stop hallucinating, Ma Qiao,” Bai Chen finally replied lazily, and the servant just grinned innocently.

From his wide grin, Bai Chen could tell that the servant was completely unfazed by his rude remarks. Even in his previous life, Bai Chen never met someone as calm and relaxed as Ma Qiao. He was somehow envious because the man didn’t seem to have a burden on his shoulders.

‘Of course, he would not have a burden on his shoulders. He didn’t need to face the sneaky system, and he didn’t need to complete any missions either. Even if he is just a low-level werewolf, I envy him. In my case, fortune does not come twice, but misfortune does not come alone[1],’ the brunette Prince could only lament.

“I’m just worried about you, Your Highness,” Ma Qiao spoke again, and it was enough to break Bai Chen’s reverie. “You used to talking and smiling nonstop, but you look like you’re in a bad mood today. Is it because of the Beast Hunting Event?”

Hearing the servant’s question, Bai Chen sharpened both of his eyes and ears in anticipation just in case the system suddenly gave him a warning because he was going OOC.

Ma Qiao had just said that he was different from the real Bai Chen, and he expected that he would get a warning from the cunning system. But, even after being vigilant for a few seconds, the translucent red screen didn’t appear before his eyes, and his ears didn’t hear the annoying voice either.

Bai Chen could breathe a sigh of relief. ‘The system is very strange. It will immediately warn me if I curse someone, but it seems to be turning a blind eye as long as I don’t say a bad word. This feels like a standard double, but is this how the system works?’ He wondered inwardly as he tried to find the system’s deficiency.

But, he just shrugged his shoulders when the thought of the system being lazy crossed his mind. He thought that the system might be offline for a nap or something.

“I’ve been bothered by a lot of things today, and that’s because...” Bai Chen replied, but his answer was cut short when he realized that he shouldn’t have expressed his worries to Ma Qiao. If he told Ma Qiao everything, then the servant would suspect him because he knew nothing about the empire. “It’s nothing,” he continued later before turning away from the servant.

It was true that the system didn’t warn him earlier, but just like what he deduced about how his life was in this world, luck probably wouldn’t come to him twice.

The servant with gray eyes frowned at him before asking again, “You haven’t answered my question about what you are doing here, Your Highness. Would you like to enter the Wenxue Pavilion?”

The Prince was sitting in front of the Wenxue Pavilion, so that was probably the easiest theory the servant could form in his head.

Hearing how the servant was smart enough to guess his purpose, the Prince turned to the older man again. “Can I enter the pavilion now?” Instead of answering the servant’s question, he asked back with a more eager tone.

They were currently sitting in front of the Wenxue Pavilion, and even if Bai Lang asked him to go to the pavilion tomorrow, Bai Chen assumed that it wouldn’t be bad if he didn’t delay and head to the pavilion now.

He didn’t even know what kind of pavilion it was, but he was so tempted to find answers to his curiosity today. ‘Never put off what you can do today for tomorrow[2],’ he said to himself with determination.

The Prince sounded hopeful, and Ma Qiao immediately answered the question, “Of course, you can enter the pavilion, Your Highness. Wenxue Pavilion is in your palace, so you can definitely enter it. But, what are you going to do in the pavilion? You have never been interested in reading books before, so it’s strange when you suddenly-”

Before Ma Qiao could finish his sentence, Bai Chen had already risen from his position before heading towards the door of Wenxue Pavilion. Ma Qiao’s answer was like a green light to him, so he immediately tried to open the big door, only to be disappointed that the door was locked from the outside.

Moving his hand to touch the padlock hanging on the door, Bai Chen asked the servant again, “Where’s the key, Ma Qiao? You said I could enter this pavilion, right? You’d better give me the key now.” His right hand held the padlock while his left hand reached out toward the male servant.

The servant sighed before rising from his position and suddenly placing his hand on the Prince’s open palm. The sudden movement caused the Prince to widen his eyes before withdrawing his hand as if his smooth palm just made contact with dirt.

“What are you doing? I didn’t ask for your hand!” He was trying hard not to curse because he didn’t want to suffer any more points deductions today, but the servant just smiled at him helplessly.

“I did say that you could enter the pavilion, but I don’t have the key, Your Highness. That’s why I gave you my hand instead.”

Hearing the response from the older man, Bai Chen furrowed his brows. “What do you mean you don’t have the key? Where’s the key now?”

All Bai Chen wanted to do was enter the pavilion and find an answer to his curiosity, but his servant continued to play with words, and it irritated him.

However, after hearing his impatient question, the servant suddenly had a serious expression on his face as he replied, “The key is in the hands of His Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness. You have to borrow the key from him if you want to enter the pavilion.”

—

Footnote:

[1] Fortune does not come twice, but misfortune does not come alone: a Chinese saying that means “Misery is often coupled with further misfortune.”

[2] Never put off what you can do today for tomorrow: a Chinese saying that means: “If you can finish your work for today, then do so.”