Chapter 165

165 A DANGEROUS PERSON

Bai Chen knew that, sooner or later, the Emperor would hold a meeting to discuss the incident that happened in the Forbidden Forest. The incident forced him to cancel the Beast Hunting Festival, and more importantly, it also killed the daughter of the Black Werewolf Clan.

Yesterday, before they agreed to leave the Forbidden Forest together, Shao Yaoting asked the Emperor what he was going to do regarding the bloody incident in the forest.

The Black Werewolf Clan’s leader looked so angry after losing his daughter, that he even indirectly accused the Emperor of Dong Lang of orchestrating the events in the forest that ended up killing his daughter.

Emperor Bai Guowei looked furious at the man’s accusation, but since there were a lot of people around them at the time, the Emperor could only contain his anger before saying that he would continue the investigation once they left the forest.

Perhaps the Emperor wanted them to rest in peace yesterday before they could start today’s investigation, and that was why Bai Chen heard nothing from the Emperor yesterday.

Bai Chen was able to sleep soundly in his pavilion yesterday, but he knew that the peace was only temporary.

“Why did the Emperor invite me, Ma Qiao? I’m just an insignificant person in Dong Lang, and I know that the matter related to the incident is no small matter. I didn’t expect the Emperor to invite me as well,” Bai Chen replied as he finally turned his head to Ma Qiao and looked at the old servant with a frown on his forehead.

“Aiyah! Did you think I would know the Emperor’s reasoning, Your Highness? You should ask the Emperor, not me, Your Highness!” Ma Qiao answered the question while pouting in annoyance, and Bai Chen knew that the old man was not wrong.

Perhaps he had told his servant that he was just an insignificant person in Dong Lang, but he knew that Ma Qiao was even more of an insignificant person in the empire. How could Ma Qiao find out the Emperor’s reasoning?

.....

“But if you really want to know my opinion on that, then I can tell you that, Your Highness.”

Bai Chen almost laughed when he heard his servant suddenly change his mind and would voice his opinion even if he was also an unimportant person.

“Okay. There’s no harm in listening to your opinion, so perhaps you can tell me about it, Ma Qiao,” replied the young Prince.

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Ma Qiao grinned upon hearing the answer, and he excitedly began to voice his opinion, “I think the Emperor invited you because you were Young Lady Shao’s fiancé before the young lady died in the forest, Your Highness. I heard that the meeting will mostly talk about that, so it wouldn’t be strange for the Emperor to invite you too.”

Bai Chen had previously tried to hold back his smile when he saw Ma Qiao’s antics, but after hearing the servant voice his opinion, the young Prince’s face became flat once again.

Even Ma Qiao knew that Shao Meihui had died in the Forbidden Forest, so he assumed that the entire empire had probably heard of the news as well.

The entire empire surely knew the tension between the two strongest clans in Dong Lang, and they were probably busy gossiping about what would happen in the empire in the future.

Bai Chen remembered how the Emperor had told him that the reason behind his marriage with Shao Meihui was to maintain peace in the empire, but now that Shao Meihui had died, there would be no marriage between the two clans, and it was predictable that the empire wouldn’t remain peaceful in the future.

“It is a pity that Young Lady Shao died in the forest, but you don’t have to blame yourself as it was not your fault, Your Highness,” Ma Qiao suddenly tried to comfort the young Prince, perhaps thinking that the Prince felt guilty.

Bai Chen did feel guilty that he couldn’t save Shao Meihui, but he had passed that phase yesterday when he was still in the forest. He even felt annoyed with Wu Jinhai because the man refused to help Bai Renshu and Shao Meihui, but he knew that feeling guilty wouldn’t change anything, so he stopped feeling guilty yesterday.

Oh, Wu Jinhai. Bai Chen suddenly thought of that man again, and he also remembered that he had always been with the masked man when he was still in the Forbidden Forest.

Suddenly feeling interested in his heart, the brown-haired Prince asked the old servant again, “Do you know who will be coming to the meeting, Ma Qiao?”

Bai Chen had a hint of hope in his heart, and he patiently waited for his servant’s answer while his servant furrowed his brows as if trying to find the right answer.

“I think... some important people related to the Beast Hunting Event will come to the meeting, Your Highness,” the old servant finally replied. “I believe the head of the Black Werewolf Clan will come, and the Emperor of Wu Li will definitely come too since the event is also related to the human empire. And our Crown Prince will attend the meeting as well.”

Ma Qiao didn’t mention the name he wanted to hear the most, so Bai Chen immediately showed an expression full of disappointment as he replied, “Prince Wu Jinhai wasn’t invited to the meeting?”

Bai Chen tried to be subtle, but he ended up mentioning the name in front of his servant, and he could see how his servant looked surprised after hearing that name.

“Why are you suddenly asking about Prince Wu Jinhai, Your Highness?”

That question from Ma Qiao was unexpected for Bai Chen as it was the first time he had mentioned the Prince’s name in front of his servant. Yesterday when he had a secret talk with Ma Qiao about the sword he got from Wu Jinhai, Bai Chen didn’t even mention Wu Jinhai as he tried to hide the fact that the sword was from the man.

But today they didn’t talk about the sword, so Bai Chen assumed that it would be fine even if he asked the old man about the masked man.

“I met Prince Wu Jinhai in the Forbidden Forest, and I think it can be said that he is related to the Beast Hunting Event as well. He is the eldest Prince of Wu Li, and Emperor Wu Shun even mentioned him when he gave a speech before the Beast Hunting Event began. I just assumed that Prince Wu Jinhai had an important part in the Beast Hunting Event.”

Bai Chen kept mentioning Wu Jinhai in front of Ma Qiao, but instead of revealing the truth about what happened between him and the masked man, he only spoke about his general point of view about the man.

Hearing his lengthy explanation, Ma Qiao blinked his eyes in confusion, but then the old servant furrowed his brows as he suddenly had a displeased expression on his face. “You met Prince Wu Jinhai in the Forbidden Forest, Your Highness?” The servant finally asked a question. “Did he hurt you when the two of you met in the forest? Or, did he say something that hurt your heart, Your Highness?”

The response from Ma Qiao was quite strange to Bai Chen, and a frown immediately appeared on the young man’s forehead as he asked back, “Why did you think Wu Jinhai would hurt me when I met him in the forest, Ma Qiao?”

Even Ma Qiao said something confusing when they were talking about Wu Jinhai, and Bai Chen felt even more curious about the young man. And the answer he got from his old servant only made him even more curious about the man called Wu Jinhai.

“I heard that Prince Wu Jinhai is a dangerous person, Your Highness. You should stay away from him.”