AEKMEM chapter 13

Due to the seriousness of the incident, the visit to the botanical garden could not continue.

The supervising teacher and the other school staff who rushed over did not dare slack off at all. They quickly escorted all the visiting students away from the “dangerous” garden, fearing further accidents.

An Qiao, in particular, was given special protection.

Chu Heng immediately called via video: “Stay put and don’t wander off. I’ll come pick you up right away.”

An Qiao: “… ”

Stay put and don’t wander off? It’s as if he were a disobedient three-year-old.

An Qiao frowned slightly, feeling slightly annoyed.

As for Chu Heng saying he wanted to come, he wasn’t particularly surprised.

After all, he now held the title of “Crown Princess,” so anyone targeting him was essentially slapping Chu Heng in the face.

Chu Heng certainly couldn’t remain indifferent to being slapped in the face like that.

“His Highness the Crown Prince said he’d come in person?” Song Leran exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked over in astonishment.

They had thought it would be Colonel Zheng Jingyang, captain of the Marshal’s personal guard. It was this same captain who had escorted An Qiao to school last time. Perhaps it would be his adjutant, Jiang Qi.

But they hadn’t expected Chu Heng to come in person because of this matter.

Did the Crown Prince value An Qiao, his nominal Crown Princess, more than they thought?

**

Chu Heng arrived just as they left the botanical garden.

Two rows of guards cleared the way.

Dressed in a black overcoat and wearing black leather gloves, Chu Heng looked travel-worn. His face was cold and stern as he strode over. He was strikingly handsome, and his sharp, menacing aura made it impossible to look him in the eye.

Those deep rose-colored eyes were even more striking than the Blood Moon Roses he had personally planted in the Elf World.

An Qiao was slightly taken aback. Chu Heng was already upon him, his tall, imposing figure casting a shadow over him.

The next second, his right hand was unexpectedly grabbed.

The Elf King, dressed in a snow-white robe and seemingly unconcerned with anything, suddenly frowned deeply. His expression was aloof and indifferent.

This was the second time.

In public again, he resorted to violence without warning!

Last time, when he suddenly fell ill and nearly fainted, Chu Heng had simply scooped him up without saying anything—barely excusable.

But now, out of nowhere, he touched him again!

The Elf King was always picky and disliked close contact with people. Because of his aloof and unapproachable nature, others consciously kept their distance.

Unfortunately, Chu Heng was arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable. He wasn’t afraid of the Elf King and was completely oblivious to social cues, repeatedly provoking him.

An Qiao was about to break free from Chu Heng’s grip on his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

Chu Heng’s deep voice sounded in his ear.

“It’s my fault for not protecting you.”

Chu Heng felt deeply guilty.

He had been too arrogant.

He knew that making An Qiao his Crown Princess might infringe upon certain people’s interests and even pose a danger.

Even though An Qiao’s awakening had failed, and he had lost his exceptional talent, his family background was average in the capital and posed no threat to others. To others, he was of no use to the crown prince, and dealing with him would be a losing proposition. But some people were simply ruthless and cruel.

He had indeed made some arrangements.

An Qiao was usually accompanied by bodyguards when he went out.

He also had bodyguards at the Empire’s top military academy. However, since An Qiao was a student, his bodyguards couldn’t accompany him. The academy had strict entry and exit checks, so it was relatively safe. Unexpectedly, however, this moment of carelessness led to An Qiao’s attack.

Chu Heng realized that he had been overconfident in assuming that those people wouldn’t expend much effort dealing with An Qiao and that he had not paid enough attention to An Qiao’s security arrangements. These factors had given them an opportunity to attack.

He should have found more high-level energy shields for An Qiao.

Previously, he thought that low- and mid-level energy shields were useless. After all, dealing with An Qiao would require at least S-level personnel, so energy shields below S-level, even A-level, would be ineffective.

Furthermore, S-level energy shields are extremely difficult to create. The Empire has very few, and they are almost entirely monopolized by major families, making them difficult to obtain in a short time. It would be better to arrange for S-level beastmen protection than energy shields.

The 2S-level energy shield is even rarer. There are only three in the entire empire, one of which was damaged and could not be repaired during the previous emperor’s reign.

The three 2S-level energy shields originally belonged to the emperor, empress, and crown prince, respectively. After one broke, the remaining two belonged to the Emperor and the next heir apparent, the Crown Prince. Until a new Crown Prince was chosen, the Empress could keep and use the 2S-level energy shield.

After Chu Heng was designated Crown Prince, he became the strongest 3S-level beastman in the Empire, one of only two 3S-level beastmen. The 2S-level energy shield was useless to him. Since the emperor didn’t ask the empress to return it, she pretended to be deaf and mute and didn’t hand it over voluntarily.

Previously, Chu Heng had thought the 2S-level energy shield was insignificant.

But when he heard that An Qiao had been attacked by the Bloodthirsty Vine at school and almost died, he was filled with remorse. He should have retrieved the shield sooner!

He didn’t believe that An Qiao’s attack by the Bloodthirsty Vine, followed by his energy shield malfunctioning, was an accident.

Someone was targeting An Qiao because he was his Crown Princess.

Since he had brought An Qiao back and hadn’t severed their pairing yet, he naturally had to be responsible for him during this period.

Yet right under his nose, An Qiao had been framed and nearly killed.

He wondered which villain was arrogant enough to harm his people.

Chu Heng suppressed his anger and rage as he looked at the pale, listless young man, feeling guilt and worry.

An Qiao: “…”

An Qiao’s lips twitched. “I don’t need your protection. I can protect myself.”

What kind of look was Chu Heng giving him? As if he were some fragile porcelain doll!

Being treated like a weakling by Chu Heng annoyed An Qiao slightly.

But what could he do? After all, the identity he had taken over was that of a weak, failed elf. He was severely injured, looked pale and sickly, and appeared completely powerless. This cemented the impression of him as a weakling.

Now, his health had improved somewhat, and he could occasionally fight back. However, fighting in public would expose him as an imposter. The time wasn’t right to reveal his true identity.

Even if he were to reveal it, he would have to wait until his injuries were almost fully healed.

An Qiao was surprised by Chu Heng’s apology and speechless at his words. He momentarily forgot to break free from Chu Heng’s grip on his hand.

To outsiders, it looked like Chu Heng and An Qiao were holding hands and gazing at each other tenderly, exuding perfect harmony.

Those present stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Everyone said that the crown prince didn’t actually like his crown princess. He only sent his personal guard captain to escort An Qiao to the military academy because of the title.

However, because An Qiao almost got into trouble, the Crown Prince took time out of his busy schedule to come in person. This could be explained as someone plotting against the nominal Crown Princess and the Crown Prince feeling that his authority had been challenged.

However, what did they see?

They saw the crown prince holding An Qiao’s hand and looking at him with deep affection and seriousness.

You should know that Chu Heng’s mysophobia was well-known throughout the empire.

Even in public settings where handshakes were customary, he had never complied.

Usually, he was even more of a “keep your distance” type. Once, the young master of a prestigious elven family tried to get close to Chu Heng by staging a “hero saves the beauty” scene. He hired fake “thugs” to throw him in Chu Heng’s direction.

However, in front of everyone, Chu Heng coldly and inexplicably avoided the scene, watching the pampered young master of a powerful family fall heavily to the ground. Not content with that, he nonchalantly removed the young master’s jacket, which the young master had only touched the sleeve of, and then burned the garment to ashes with a flick of his fingertips.

Those present were stunned, and the young master, first dumbfounded and then furious, burst into tears.

After that, rumors spread throughout the entire Empire about the Crown Prince’s extreme mysophobia, obsessive-compulsive cleanliness, and cold, heartless nature.

Now, however, Chu Heng had actually taken An Qiao’s hand! His gaze was affectionate and completely devoid of the coldness he had shown before.

They didn’t believe it was all an act. The Crown Prince was always wilful and unrestrained. He never cared about others’ opinions, so he would never force himself into an act.

So, the Crown Prince actually…liked An Qiao?

The same solitary prince who publicly declared he would never marry a crown princess, felt no pity for beauty, and had a terrible temper that doomed him to be single for eight lifetimes—had he been enlightened?

Everyone present was stunned by this conjecture.

By the time they came to their senses, Chu Heng and An Qiao were already out of sight.

**

The Crown Prince’s personal involvement in this matter must have been incredibly stressful.

In less than a morning, the Imperial First Military Academy and Chu Heng’s confidants uncovered the truth behind the incident.

Chu Heng received the investigation results immediately.

The energy shield given to An Qiao had malfunctioned accidentally; no one had tampered with it. In fact, the shield malfunctioned because An Qiao had accidentally damaged it while researching it with his mental power.

However, An Qiao had been tricked into having a scent that could attract the Bloodthirsty Vine’s attack.

Zhou Xiaoxiao, the youngest son of the Zhou family, had sprinkled this nearly colorless, odorless powder on An Qiao’s chair just as An Qiao was about to enter the classroom.

The intention was to scare An Qiao and embarrass him in front of everyone.

With the energy shield in place, the Bloodthirsty Vine couldn’t attack An Qiao. However, elves are inherently weak and easily frightened. Facing such a ferocious exotic plant as the Bloodthirsty Vine could cause psychological trauma.

Unexpectedly, the energy shield around An Qiao malfunctioned.

“Did Zhou Xiaoxiao have a grudge against the former An Qiao?” An Qiao asked, confused.

Chu Heng: “… ”

The former An Qiao?

Why does that sound so strange and awkward?

Shouldn’t he have said “the former me”?

It sounds like he’s not the same person. Although amnesia has created a disconnect between him and his past self, this still sounds too strange.

The doubts from before flashed through Chu Heng’s mind again.

“It’s not exactly a feud,” Chu Heng said. “It’s just that Zhou Xiaoxiao’s older brother, Zhou Xiaoran, used to pursue you, but you rejected him. Since then, Zhou Xiaoxiao has been looking down on you.”

The Zhou family is considered prominent in the capital city, but they aren’t doing very well right now. Of the five major military legions in the empire, the Zhou family currently holds one marshal position. However, this marshal is semi-retired and about to step down. If the family has sufficiently outstanding descendants, it’s possible for them to inherit this military legion position.

Unfortunately, none of the younger Zhou family members are capable, and only Zhou Xiaoran is truly outstanding among the grandchildren.

However, even his talent is only average, so the possibility of his inheriting the position is slim. The primary criterion for the marshal of the empire’s five major armies is a combat strength level of 2S or higher. Without this level of strength, nothing else matters. Secondly, military achievements and other abilities are considered.

Setting aside military achievements and other factors, Zhou Xiaoran is currently only an S-level beastman. It’s uncertain whether he will advance to the 2S level. Even if he advances, the army will have already chosen another marshal, making it difficult for him to compete.

If he wanted to reach 2S before the Zhou family’s current Marshal retired, he would need a high-level elf to soothe his mental power for an extended period, which could help promote advancement.

Zhou Xiaoran needed an S-level elf. However, high-level elves in the Empire were extremely rare, and S-class elves were even rarer and almost impossible to hire. Providing long-term spiritual soothing is extremely exhausting and damaging to the elves themselves. Because it consumed so much time and effort, elves rarely offered long-term soothing to anyone except their bonded partner or an immediate family member.

Long-term mental energy soothing is an extremely arduous, harmful, and thankless task for elves. Because it is both time-consuming and laborious, few elves engage in long-term mental energy soothing, except for their partners and very close relatives.

Zhou Xiaoran’s pursuit of An Qiao, the eldest son of the An family, was high-profile because An Qiao possesses the purest elven bloodline in the Empire’s history. After awakening, it was highly likely that An Qiao’s level would reach S-rank. Upgrading to 2S wouldn’t be a problem, nor would reaching the 3S-rank beastman level, which the Empire currently lacks. There was even a slim chance that his bloodline would revert to that of an elf.

Unfortunately, Zhou Xiaoran’s suitors didn’t anticipate that An Qiao would be assassinated and severely injured during his awakening, causing it to fail.

Speaking of the Zhou brothers, Chu Heng suddenly felt inexplicably annoyed. The fleeting suspicion that had crossed his mind and the thought of investigating and confirming An Qiao’s identity were instantly banished. At that moment, Chu Heng thought his displeasure stemmed from Zhou Xiaoxiao’s scheme against An Qiao, unaware it actually stemmed from displeasure at a “love rival.”

—although this “love rival” wasn’t really a love rival at all.

“How do you plan to handle Zhou Xiaoxiao?” Chu Heng asked An Qiao.

Since Zhou Xiaoxiao had maliciously plotted against An Qiao, it was only natural that An Qiao should decide how to handle him.

As for Zhou Xiaoran…

If the younger brother misbehaved, the blame fell on the elder brother. Moreover, Zhou Xiaoxiao plotted against An Qiao because of Zhou Xiaoran.

Chu Heng immediately decided to find Zhou Xiaoran and teach him a lesson.

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