Chapter 47: He Wants to Protect Her
“?”
Su Miantang’s understanding was once again challenged.
Was Catherine’s authority so vast that she could reprimand the Emperor? In a nation with a centralized royal family, shouldn’t the Emperor’s power be supreme?
“Hurry up!”
—I’m going to get busy first. I’ll find you to play when I have free time!
She urgently signed to Hua Rong. Hua Rong clenched his fists and nodded.
“Princess, didn’t you say you already knew the basic application method? Why are you looking for me again? I better not go, lest I get scolded for deliberately showing off and seducing your male concubines.”
“…” Catherine: “You’re very smug, aren’t you?”
Yes.
She had even more smug moments to come.
However…
“Why was your attitude toward His Majesty so terrible just now?”
“Terrible?” Catherine scoffed. “Toward a male whose combat power barely reaches A-grade, my attitude is good enough. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s the new King, I wouldn’t even spare him a glance. Just think of my several royal brothers who held high positions in line for the throne—which one wasn’t an outstanding dragon or phoenix among men? Every single one of them was a top-tier S-grade male!”
S-grade males?
Su Miantang had indeed heard Fred and Enzo mention this.
The several Princes in the Royal Palace were all S-grade males, born to the SS-grade ultra-rare Queen Jenny, and were listed one by one as heirs to the throne.
“If that’s the case, why was Hua Rong chosen to be the new King?”
“Because his breed is relatively rare, duh.”
That’s true.
Su Miantang nodded.
If she were to hold a voting election among the royal Princes, she would definitely choose the giant panda too.
Seeing her taking it as truth, Catherine suddenly let out an earth-shattering laugh, as if mocking a fool.
“You didn’t actually believe that, did you?”
Su Miantang: “?”
“Hahahaha, truly foolishly naive!”
“Let me tell you, the reason he was chosen as the new King is simply because he’s a mute who can’t speak, and his combat power grade is low. He can only obediently play the role of a puppet!”
A puppet emperor?
No wonder Fred and Enzo never mentioned the Emperor when talking about the Royal Palace. It turned out everyone tacitly agreed he was just an empty shell.
It seemed he really was a pitiful little thing.
However, there was something slightly strange…
According to her observations, a male’s combat power grade on this planet was highly correlated with the strength of his true form. For instance, Fred and Enzo sat at the top of the food chain, and Lu Sili’s intelligence was exceptionally outstanding, thus they were S-grade males. But the giant panda was an ancient divine beast, the mount of Chiyou, possessing a mighty and domineering moniker—the Iron-Eating Beast!
And being equally a child of Queen Jenny, why was everyone else effortlessly S-grade, while he, despite cultivating bitterly, was merely A-grade?
“The true power holder of the Central Star right now is my Mother Queen! Until my brothers recover, she will absolutely not allow anyone to usurp…”
She suddenly stopped herself here.
Why was she telling her all this?
“Stop asking questions. Be careful; the more you know, the faster you die. Go apply my mask right now!”
Su Miantang reapplied the mask for her.
Catherine was very satisfied.
Because it was smooth, sleek, of an even thickness, and completely painless throughout.
She stared at Su Miantang’s hands in puzzlement. Why were they different from everyone else’s? What exactly was so magical about them?
“How long do I have to leave this mask on before I can wash it off?”
Su Miantang paused in the middle of packing away her mixing tools. “Three days.”
“Three days?!”
“That long? Does that mean I have to eat, sleep, and never leave the house wearing this?”
“Mhm.”
“Su Miantang, are you playing me?”
“No, Your Highness. You brought your skin tone with you from your mother’s womb, and it has persisted for over twenty years. Do you really think it can be changed in just a few short minutes? This is science, not magic.”
“…”
Catherine was speechless.
Indeed. From childhood to adulthood, she had gone through unimaginable hardships and sought every kind of treasure to no avail. Thinking about it this way, three days wasn’t that long. For the sake of beauty, she could endure this little bit of suffering!
But to prevent Su Miantang from playing tricks on her, or in case something went wrong, she decided to bring her along for every activity.
During lunch, a magnetic hover disc appeared at the entrance of Fengyang Pavilion.
“Oh, a rare guest, isn’t it?”
Catherine spoke in a mocking, eccentric tone. Su Miantang looked up—it was Hua Rong!
She was just about to say hello when the Princess issued an eviction order.
“What are you doing here at my place?”
—I came…
As he signed, Catherine grew incredibly impatient. “What are you waving about like a mess for? Are you trying to come eat here? But this is all meat for fierce birds and beasts; there’s no portion for you. You’re better off going back to the back mountain to gnaw on bamboo shoots!”
She…
Su Miantang frowned.
She couldn’t stand seeing others treat a giant panda with such a terrible attitude.
He was a national treasure.
“Catherine, don’t yell at him. Yell at me.”
Tangtang?
Hua Rong’s eyes flickered, looking at her in surprise.
This was the first time someone dared to defy Eldest Sister, and it was to protect him.
Catherine also hadn’t expected that this little piece of trash—who, all the way from Lan Huan Island to the Royal Palace, had remained respectful and entirely devoid of temper no matter how much she mocked or ordered her around—would actually lose her temper at her over a puppet emperor, and audaciously call her by her name!
They…
She suddenly remembered the encounter in the bamboo forest she had brushed off that afternoon. She had originally thought it was just a coincidence, but now, Hua Rong had made an unprecedented visit to her pavilion.
Was it mutual sympathy between two pieces of trash, or was it something else?
“I couldn’t tell, Su Miantang. Your tastes are quite broad, aren’t they?”
Su Miantang: “?”
“I thought you had a huge appetite and exclusively picked high-quality S-grade males to eat. I didn’t expect you to not be a picky eater at all—anything goes for you.”
Su Miantang: “…” What exactly goes on inside her head? I really want to dig it out and study it.
—Eldest Sister, stop talking about her. I’ll leave right now.
Hua Rong quickly finished his signs, turned around, and left.
He couldn’t stand seeing Tangtang insulted. Not even a little bit.
This feeling was like his heart being pricked by countless needles, a fine, dense pain that was thousands of times worse than when others mocked him for his low grade or for being a mute.
It was all because he was too weak.
If he could be as powerful as his royal brothers, he could protect her.
“Ah…”
Su Miantang watched his retreating back, then looked toward Catherine.
“What are you looking at? I haven’t even punished you for your earlier offense, ah—”
As Catherine was speaking, a sudden burst of severe pain transmitted from her face. It felt as though she was being burned by fire—scorching hot and maddeningly itchy.
“My face!”
“My face, my face hurts so much!”
“It hurts—”
It seemed the medicine was taking effect.
Su Miantang calmly sat down and ate her food.
“What’s going on? Su Miantang, what is happening? Are you playing tricks?!”
“The Whitening Dew is taking effect. I advise you not to scratch or claw, and don’t wash it off. Otherwise, all your previous efforts will go to waste.”
“It hurts so much, it itches so much, how could I not scratch or claw? Are you saying I just have to keep enduring this forever?!”
She was going mad from the pain, and in one swift motion, flipped the table over.
Recommended Reads
