Chapter 40

40 FLOWERS, POND, DEATH

The black hair was as black as Bai Chen’s mood, and the red robes were as red as the flames of Bai Chen’s fury. The man surnamed Zhu walked towards the white-robed Prince, still with a smile plastered on his face.

There was no need to ask why the Prince was in such a bad mood and also irritated now. Maybe he was just exaggerating something. The fact that he couldn’t get the key to the Wenxue Pavilion did affect his mood, but when he thought about it again, it wasn’t too bad as he could still get the key tomorrow.

Ma Qiao said that the Crown Prince would be in the capital tomorrow, and getting the keys would be easier than getting a loan from the bank, right? It wasn’t like he could find a bank to ask for a loan in this world. At best, it was just the system that would offer loans in exchange for something ridiculous.

Thinking about loans in this world was foolish, and he shook his head as he focused his pair of ocean-like eyes on the red-robed man who had just answered Ma Qiao’s question as if he was his representative.

‘What representative? I didn’t even ask him to answer the question for me,’ Bai Chen quickly corrected his thoughts.

The man had so boldly answered the servant’s question even before the Prince could do that, and now the servant was glaring at the man. However, the servant did not dare to protest as the memory of him kneeling on the floor this morning was still vivid in his head.

Perhaps the incident had managed to hurt his self-esteem, and he was afraid that he would end up damaging his pride again if he caused another problem.

“Did you change your clothes?” Those were the first words that came out of Bai Chen’s lips after the man in red stopped walking right in front of him.

As far as Bai Chen could remember, the taller man was still wearing his white hanfu a few hours ago, but when he once again appeared before his eyes, the cloud-like color had changed into a color that resembled fire, and he was even forced to squint his eyes because the red looked so bright under the sun.

.....

When the man stood in front of him, he even guessed that the bright red of the robes would be reflected on his face. Would he look like he was blushing from the reflection?

“Mhm,” replied the taller man in a humming voice. “You let me borrow your clothes last night, but because of my carelessness, they got dirty. I apologize for ruining your precious robes, Your Highness.”

Zhu Ge was sly as he glanced at the poor servant while talking to the Prince. The prince, of course, could understand the meaning of those cunning words and acts.

Bai Chen had let Zhu Ge borrow his robes last night, but because the man was sleeping in the dirty storehouse, his robes got dirty, and the man had to change to other clothes.

And who set up the barn as Zhu Ge’s bedroom last night? That person was none other than Ma Qiao, and what Zhu Ge had just done was a form of sarcasm, of course.

“You’re going to spend another night in this palace, right? I’ll assign another room for you later,” Bai Chen replied, pretending not to notice the tension between Zhu Ge and Ma Qiao.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself. I’m just a prostitute, and sleeping in a dirty place is normal for me. After all, my whole body is also dirty with sin.”

Once again, Zhu Ge glanced at the servant as he responded to the Prince’s words, and the said Prince guessed that the servant might have insulted Zhu Ge with the word ‘prostitute’ last night before setting the storehouse as a bedroom for the man.

Glimpsing at the male servant, he could see the servant squirming uncomfortably. Maybe the servant was afraid that he would ask him to kneel again, but Bai Chen chose to ignore him.

“To me, it’s not about you being a dirty prostitute or not, but everyone deserves a clean bed,” Bai Chen replied, and for some reason, his answer sounded so serious that it shocked both Zhu Ge and Ma Qiao.

Bai Chen seemed to have just realized that his reaction was too much, and he blinked before trying to change the subject, “You said earlier that Ma Qiao didn’t need to bring lunch to Jing Pavilion, right? What do you mean by that?”

It was indeed the thing that had surprised Bai Chen and Ma Qiao earlier. The servant just offered to bring lunch to Jing Pavilion, but Zhu Ge boldly said that there was no need to bring it to the pavilion.

Ever since Bai Chen transmigrated to this strange world, he had only eaten in Jing Pavilion, and he even thought that the pavilion was his sanctuary because it was a place for him to sleep and eat. In short, the Jing Pavilion was like his hideout.

“Ah, about that,” Zhu Ge nodded his head several times. “I said that your servant didn’t need to bring the meal to Jing Pavilion because I found a better place to eat lunch in this palace. It might be a good idea to take in a new sight while you’re eating, and I’m sure you will like the place. Seeing the same old thing must be boring, right?”

Zhu Ge was again mischievous as he emphasized the words ‘the same old thing’ as he glanced back at Ma Qiao. It was another satire, and Bai Chen could hear his servant snorting faintly.

Ignoring his servant, Bai Chen quietly pondered on Zhu Ge’s idea. He had strolled around the palace before he found Wenxue Pavilion, but he didn’t think that he saw a good place to eat other than Jing Pavilion where he could live in peace.

However, Zhu Ge looked so confident and excited when he said that he found a good spot to eat, so Bai Chen could only relent as he replied, “Show me the way.”

Receiving approval from Bai Chen, Zhu Ge grinned before gesturing for the Prince and the servant to follow him.

Bai Chen was walking behind the man in red when he heard a whisper from his side, “I think I know the place.”

“What?” Bai Chen immediately asked when he heard his servant whisper.

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The servant looked surprised as if he didn’t expect his master to hear his whisper, but then he helplessly tried to reply, “I-its nothing, Your Highness. Perhaps you should follow Zhu Ge.”

Zhu Ge was walking right in front of them, so he could hear the conversation between the Prince and his servant. But, he didn’t say anything and just smiled when he heard the chatter.

They continued walking, but Bai Chen frowned when the man in red led him in the direction of Jing Pavilion. “You said you knew a better place to eat, but you brought me to Jing Pavilion?” He asked.

It was as if there were tangled threads in Bai Chen’s head as the man in red continued to walk towards the pavilion where he slept at night. Zhu Ge looked certain before, and that was the reason why he was willing to follow the taller man. But now when he discovered that Zhu Ge had only brought him to his pavilion, he felt a hint of disappointment in his heart.

However, Zhu Ge did not answer and just continued walking. Just before they arrived at Jing Pavilion, the man who had long black hair suddenly turned to the left, causing Bai Chen to raise an eyebrow.

They continued walking the path next to Jing Pavilion until finally, they came to an open area which caused him to widen his eyes. The place was like a garden with many flowers and also a large pond, and above the pond, there was a garden pavilion that looked striking in red.

Zhu Ge suddenly turned around and proudly announced, “This place is very beautiful, isn’t it? You always eat inside the Jing Pavilion, and I’m sure you are tired of the view. We should try eating in the garden pavilion today.”

Bai Chen was still speechless because it was his first time seeing a garden in his palace, and he subconsciously whispered, “Yes, I like this place, and we are going to eat here today.”

{OOC ALERT! OOC ALERT!}

A red translucent screen suddenly flashed before his eyes along with the familiar mechanical voice, and Bai Chen gasped because he didn’t think that he would be detected as OOC at the moment.

‘Why did you give me a warning? I didn’t even curse or act violently!’ Bai Chen immediately protested, but he then froze when another translucent screen appeared before his eyes along with an explanation.

{‘TANG YANMEI,’ THE MOTHER OF ‘BAI CHEN,’ DIED IN THIS PLACE. ‘BAI CHEN’ WITNESSED THE DEATH, AND THAT’S WHY HE NEVER WANTED TO GO TO THIS PLACE}