Chapter 69

69 MOUNT THE HORSE, GROPE THE ASS

At first, Bai Chen looked hesitant when Zhu Ge had just brought the brown stallion from inside the building.

He seemed worried that the Emperor and the Crown Prince would not like the idea of ??him claiming the horse as his own, but that doubt was soon replaced by determination after he managed to befriend the stallion, and the two servants seemed to fall silent when they saw the change.

For some reason, the Prince looked ‘alive’ when he could finally claim the horse as his friend, and the two servants chose to accept the Prince’s decision because they didn’t want to disturb the Prince’s happiness.

Bai Chen looked like a child who had just received his first gift, and the man looked so innocent as he continued to use his hands to stroke the stallion’s hair.

When he glanced at his own hair, he could see that the horse’s hair was the same color as his, and now he could understand why Zhu Ge said that the horse reminded the man of him.

Speaking of Zhu Ge, now the man furrowed his brows as he continued to stare at the Prince who seemed pleased with his new horse.

‘He’s the Imperial Prince of Dong Lang, but he never received a gift before?’ Zhu Ge couldn’t help but wonder as he continued to stare at the brown-haired Prince.

In Zhu Ge’s eyes, Bai Chen seemed to have a simple way of thinking. Most people, including him, would think that a Prince would easily get what he wanted since he was a child. The royal blood flowing within the Prince’s body would let him get whatever he wanted, and not only that, but he would also be loved and respected by many for his status.

But when Zhu Ge saw how Bai Chen behaved when he finally got the horse, he could guess that the man’s life might be different from other Princes. He thought that the Prince didn’t get enough happiness since he was young, and maybe he also failed to get anything he wanted despite his status as a Prince.

.....

He could also hear how the Prince was slandered by the Crown Prince earlier today, and it felt like confirmation that Bai Chen’s life couldn’t be said to be smooth and easy even if he was an Imperial Prince.

Zhu Ge refused to think too much into it as he brought his long legs over to approach the shorter man. “Perhaps you can try riding Pengyou’s back now, Your Highness,” stopping right behind the Prince, he voiced his suggestion.

Hearing the advice of another man, Bai Chen turned his head and looked at the taller man. “I’ve never ridden a horse before, and I don’t know how to ride a horse,” he replied with an innocent twinkle in his blue eyes, and Zhu Ge was more convinced that the Prince was like a child in his big body.

Smiling slightly at the shorter man, Zhu Ge replied, “I’ll help you ride the horse, so you don’t have to worry.” As he said, Zhu Ge took the reins from Bai Chen’s hands before holding the horse’s head. “Now you can ride the horse from the left side. First, put your left foot in the left stirrup, and then you can launch your body up toward the horse’s back. After that, you can gently sit on the horse’s back and place your right foot into the right stirrup.”

Zhu Ge acted as if he was a professional trainer, and he even gave Bai Chen detailed instructions before the Prince could start horseback riding.

Even if Bai Chen wasn’t the smartest person on Earth, he could remember the steps Zhu Ge had said, and even if he was a little nervous now, he chose to follow what the man had just instructed.

“Relax, Your Highness,” before Bai Chen could put his left foot on the left stirrup, he could hear Zhu Ge speak again. “If you are nervous and panicked, then the horse won’t calm down either. If the horse is not calm, then he may shift and move when you’re trying to mount it. You have to calm down first.”

Zhu Ge’s instructions did not make Bai Chen feel any better, and on the contrary, he was more nervous now. In his previous life, he would sometimes watch videos of horses suddenly getting angry when someone wanted to ride them. The horses would lift their forelegs in a panic, and the movement would often injure people.

It was frightening, and that was why Bai Chen seemed even more doubtful now. Even if he wasn’t afraid of horses, that didn’t mean he would be so daring to ride them.

The hesitation on Bai Chen’s face was probably evident in Zhu Ge’s eyes, and that was why the man sighed before turning to Ma Qiao. “Lao Ma, can you help me hold the reins and head of the horse?” He asked the older servant, and it turned out that the servant was crouching while playing with the leaf in his hands, and he immediately looked up after hearing the question.

“Why do you call me that?” The older servant asked unkindly, but he still rose from his position and threw the leaf away.

Ma Qiao seemed invisible as the two men talked to each other without involving him. He somehow saw the illusion of invisible bubbles around the two men as they talked to each other, and that was why he could only crouch in a corner and chose to play with the leaf instead.

“You don’t like hearing me call you that?” Zhu Ge asked back instead of answering, and he even raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Do you want me to call you Ma Qiao instead?” He kept teasing the old servant.

Hearing the arrogant reply from the man in red, Ma Qiao’s eyes bulged before he walked toward the young man and slapped the back of the man’s head quite hard. “Haiz! You dare to call me that, huh? Are you seeking your death?”

The slap was quite hard, but Zhu Ge didn’t look hurt by it. Instead, he was now glaring at the older man. “You are the one seeking your death if you dare to cause trouble with me,” he retorted coldly.

It was not the first time the two servants had argued with each other, but for some reason, Bai Chen felt that Zhu Ge’s threat was serious this time.

Even Ma Qiao could only squirm uncomfortably under the man’s deadly gaze, and he even inched closer to Bai Chen before hiding behind the Prince’s back.

Bai Chen knew that Ma Qiao was just a low-level werewolf with no fighting abilities, and he might die if he insisted on fighting the powerful Zhu Ge.

Bai Chen had indeed never seen Zhu Ge’s true strength, but just by comparing their physical condition, he could tell that Ma Qiao would lose if they fought.

“Enough,” again and again, the brown-haired Prince came between the two servants’ tension. “I want to learn how to ride a horse now, and you better listen to Zhu Ge, Ma Qiao.”

For Bai Chen, it was Zhu Ge who would teach him how to ride a horse, so he thought that he and Ma Qiao needed to listen to the young man’s words.

“Why are you siding with him again, Your Highness?” Ma Qiao whined, and he even tugged at Bai Chen’s sleeve like a child.

Bai Chen had to pull his sleeves away from the man before replying, “If you don’t want to listen to Zhu Ge, then maybe you can leave us, Ma Qiao. Don’t you know that you’re just a hassle here?”

Right after he finished speaking, Bai Chen regretted what he had just said to the older servant. He suddenly sounded rude and harsh, and he was worried that the system would deduct his points.

Luckily, after a few seconds had passed, he didn’t get any notification from the system, so he assumed that his points were safe for now.

“Am I really just a bother?” Ma Qiao whispered sadly, but he still walked over to Zhu Ge and took the reins from the young man’s hands. Not only that, but he also held the horse’s head just as Zhu Ge had ordered.

The older servant looked pitiful, but Zhu Ge just smirked at him before walking over to Bai Chen. “Now you can do as I instructed. I’ll be here to help you, so you don’t have to be afraid,” he said to the Prince.

Bai Chen blinked his blue eyes at the taller man, but then he nodded his head before inserting his left foot into the left stirrup. He also tried to lift his body, but then his eyes bulged as he felt a hand caress his buttocks.

“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU GROPE MY ASS?”

{OOC ALERT! OOC ALERT!}

‘Damn it!’ Bai Chen cursed again in his heart when he finally heard the system’s warning.