12 The Unfathomable Crown Prince

“Hehehehe…” A wild laugh echoed from inside the carriage. When the laughter ceased, the voice continued, “Minister Bai, you oversee the rituals of the Shang Kingdom. What is your opinion on this?”

Minister Bai? Everyone was surprised! Minister Bai was highly respected by the emperor in the Shang Kingdom. Moreover, he was known for his integrity in court, never engaging in factional disputes. Most importantly, Minister Bai was a veteran official in charge of the kingdom’s rituals. Even the etiquette of the princes and princesses was taught not by the Grand Tutor but by Minister Bai.

At that moment, everyone saw an old man stand up from the simple tea stall by the street. Although the old man was dressed in an ordinary gray cloth shirt, he was full of vigor. Even though he was already in his fifties, he still walked briskly, and not a single strand of his hair was gray.

Minister Bai respectfully approached the prince’s carriage and performed a standard deep bow, saying, “I pay my respects to the Crown Prince!”

Seeing Minister Bai, a high-ranking official of the court, bow so respectfully, the crowd quickly knelt down, their voices tinged with reverence, “We pay our respects to the Crown Prince!” Even though so many people knelt outside and there was an official from the court present, the Crown Prince inside the carriage still did not come out, leaving many who wanted to catch a glimpse of the prince somewhat disappointed.

“No need for formalities!” The clear voice carried a sense of pressure. Minister Bai stood up and glanced at the tightly closed carriage. He had seen the Crown Prince before, but the prince had always appeared timid. However, it was clear now that this was not the case. Would a timid person have such an aura? Would a timid person reveal themselves without stepping out of the carriage? It seemed this Crown Prince was deeply hidden. The court of the Shang Kingdom was likely to be stirred up with turmoil and bloodshed.

And now, the eldest prince, the only one in the hall not bowing, appeared even more striking, but this kind of prominence made Shang Chen Zhao somewhat uneasy, especially with the dissatisfaction in Secretary Bai’s gaze. Even though he was a prince, he still feared Secretary Bai to some extent. His mother had repeatedly warned him to curry favor with this Secretary Bai, but now…

“Secretary Bai is a veteran official of two dynasties. The Emperor has always praised Secretary Bai as a model of etiquette in the Shang Kingdom. I and several of my elder brothers and sisters have had the honor of being taught by Secretary Bai. I wonder how Secretary Bai views things today?” The crown prince’s voice was calm, without anger or dissatisfaction, yet it made one feel a chill down the neck.

Shang Chen Zhao wanted to scold or mock the crown prince again, but then he saw Secretary Bai looking at him with displeasure, and then heard Secretary Bai’s voice ring out on the bustling street: “I am ashamed before the Emperor and the Crown Prince. The eldest prince is the oldest among the princes but shows such disregard for rank and respect. I must report to His Majesty to correct this improper conduct!”

Shang Chen Zhao was somewhat flustered. Secretary Bai was going to report him! If the Emperor found out what he had done, he feared he would never be favored again. More importantly, he didn’t know how the other princes would undermine him behind his back.

“Minister Bai!” Shang Chen Zhao looked a bit uneasy but smiled as he said, “I was just joking with the imperial brother. The imperial brother is too petty; how can he be a crown prince of a nation like this!”

Good! Very good! At this moment, Shang Chen Zhao still had time to trip himself up, but he knew that saying this would not only make Minister Bai even more dissatisfied with this eldest prince, but also cause the common people to look down on him. In contrast, the crown prince who had never appeared made the people think he was very well-mannered.

“A joke?” The voice from inside the carriage sounded amused. “If Your Royal Brother likes joking so much, I wonder if in the future, when seeing Father Emperor and Your Royal Brother, he will still enjoy joking like this, or has Your Royal Brother never taken me seriously, nor Father Emperor?”

The scolding voice almost made Shang Chen lose his footing, but before he could open his mouth to defend himself, a voice from the carriage sounded, “Minister Bo, I will go ahead first!”

“Farewell to the Crown Prince!” Minister Bai bowed slightly. Only now did he realize that the Crown Prince was using him today, but even if he was being used, he had to comply. More importantly, the Crown Prince’s aura was so strong that even the Emperor did not possess such presence. Moreover, the Crown Prince was only in his teens—truly not an ordinary person.

The guards were preparing to pull away the carriage of the Eldest Prince’s residence when they saw Wu Wei driving his carriage straight towards them. With a loud “crash!”, the Eldest Prince’s carriage was overturned by the Crown Prince’s carriage. Even the fine horses in front of the carriage scattered in all directions, leaving behind a broken carriage lying there as if mocking the Eldest Prince’s ignorance.

Shang Chen wanted to curse loudly and order the guards to pull the Crown Prince down, but thinking that Minister Bai was right beside him, he had to swallow his anger. The commoners, seeing that the Crown Prince’s maid had such boldness, cheered even more. From that day on, everyone realized that the Crown Prince was not a fool. People even speculated that the Crown Prince’s reputation had surely been slandered by the Eldest Prince and others. Shang Wuxin himself did not expect that without doing anything today, he had turned the Crown Prince’s reputation around among the people.

At this moment, in a restaurant on the street, near the windowed private room, a man was standing. He watched the carriage of the departing Crown Prince’s residence with a flicker of amusement in his eyes. This Crown Prince was truly interesting… But as the man continued to watch, he noticed the window of the Crown Prince’s carriage being pushed open, and then saw a pair of bright, deep eyes staring straight at him. The distance was too great for him to discern the expression in those eyes, but their brightness and depth made him momentarily lose himself the first time he saw a person like that.

But those eyes only glanced at him before lowering the carriage window curtain. He didn’t know why he felt a bit disappointed, yet he couldn’t help but admire the prince’s vigilance—he was discovered just by glancing a few times.

At this moment, in the carriage, Shang Wuxin’s eyes revealed a fierce anger and deep disgust, because she had just seen that the man sizing her up had a pair of extremely beautiful peach blossom eyes. Haha, peach blossom eyes?