AEKMEM chapter 46

An Qiao was speechless.

“You want me to find that elf?”

You want him to find himself? Are they sure they’re not joking?

Thinking An Qiao was reluctant, Chu Wen quickly explained, “It’s not that you’re going to find him alone. The three of us will go together. Other people from the school will come too. Besides, completing this task can earn you a lot of credits, which will help you graduate.”

Other people from the school are coming to look for him?

An Qiao was even more speechless.

Why do they all want to find the elf?

As the emperor, it’s not incomprehensible that Chu Zhengming would seek out an elf of great importance to the empire.

But why would the First Military Academy need to seek out an elf?

An Qiao voiced his doubts.

“We’re not sure what the school is thinking,” said Chu Wen hesitantly.

“However, I think that if we could find the elf, cultivate a good relationship with it, and invite it to lecture at our First Military Academy, our fraternal schools would definitely be the envy of everyone!”

An Qiao: “… ”

The title “elf” is like a brick—you can move it wherever you need.

“Having an elf give a speech at your school makes other schools envious and jealous. If people knew the elf was studying at your Empire’s First Military Academy, wouldn’t they storm in and tear your school down?”

He was somewhat curious. “So, according to you, this mission is very important. If it’s so important, why are you just casually assigning it to a few freshmen?”

“The school has a teacher with prophetic abilities. Sometimes the prophecies are accurate; sometimes they’re completely unrelated. They can only be passively triggered. This time, the prophecy was about the elf, saying that only outstanding students from the freshmen’s final assessment could find the elf.”

“Prophecy ability?” An Qiao’s brows tightened.

He took a deep breath.

First, there was the “elf detector,” a high-tech gadget, and now, the prophetic ability.

He couldn’t help but admire humans’ obsession with finding elves.

“That teacher predicted this, though I don’t know if it’s reliable,” Chu Wen muttered softly.

“It’s quite a coincidence. The teacher predicted that the elf is in Blue Star City on Water Blue Star, and you happen to be there too, An Qiao. Maybe we’ll have to rely on your good luck to find that elf.”

An Qiao: “… ”

Indeed, a coincidence.

Even more coincidentally, he was “that elf.”

With an elegant flourish, An Qiao tossed his fishing rod aside. He stood up and squinted at the sky, his hand resting on his brow. “Is this mission absolutely necessary?” he asked.

Chu Wen was surprised. “An Qiao, don’t you want to take this mission?”

“Take the mission?” An Qiao suddenly smiled faintly. “Now that I think about it, it seems quite interesting.”

Finding “that elf” would be the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks and gather intelligence, ensuring they couldn’t find the elf.

Chu Wen: “…”

He suddenly found An Qiao very unfathomable. That cold, seemingly casual glance carried a strange sense of pressure.

It was just like when he faced Crown Prince Chu Heng.

Could it be that, because An Qiao and the Crown Prince are husband and wife and have spent so much time together, An Qiao has picked up the same aura as the Crown Prince?

“So, how do you plan to find that elf?” An Qiao asked again.

Not “you,” but “we.”

Chu Wen silently refuted this in his mind.

But he didn’t dare say it aloud.

It was really strange. He was only facing an unawakened, frail elf-person, so why was he feeling so much pressure?

“So, for now, we’ll rely on luck?” Chu Wen said softly.

Even he himself thought it sounded absurd. What kind of method was “relying on luck”?

“The person who assigned the mission at the school said, We should try our luck by wandering around Blue Star City and looking around randomly. That teacher with the prophecy ability also predicted that we might be able to complete the mission. The school will send more people later.”

An Qiao: “… ”

That’s it?

So casual and unreliable.

He seemed to have overestimated it.

However, although this “mission” came abruptly, it gave him an idea—infiltrating the “enemy” to gather information.

Speaking of which, he learned from Chu Heng that the “elf detector” could only detect within a certain range and that the one on the Imperial Capital Star could only detect within the star’s area.

An Qiao decided to go to Chu Heng later to inquire about his progress in “finding the elves.”

Emperor Chu Zhengming had tasked Chu Heng with finding the elves, and now that the Empire’s First Military Academy was making progress, Chu Heng’s efforts couldn’t possibly be completely stagnant.

An Qiao wanted to gather information from Chu Heng beforehand, just in case they had a way to find the elves or advanced technology to aid in the search. That way, he could mitigate the risks in advance.

The previous “elf detector” exposed the existence of the “elves,” but thankfully, it didn’t reveal that he was an elf himself. Had he known beforehand that the Empire possessed such a thing, he wouldn’t have accidentally revealed his existence as an elf in the Star Beast Forest assessment area.

An Qiao realized that he should ask Chu Heng more about the progress of the “search for the elves” so that he could know how they planned to do it in advance. This way, he could avoid risks and prevent his identity as an elf from being exposed.

**

Chu Heng had also received news from the teacher at the Imperial First Military Academy who specializes in prophecies regarding the prophecy about the elf.

Their search for the elves had made new progress; they had even found their way to Blue Star City!

Chu Heng couldn’t help but feel irritated. He thought these people must be incredibly bored. If the elves wanted to appear, they would have already done so.

At the same time, a faint worry began to creep in. Qiaoqiao wasn’t putting much effort into his disguise. What if he accidentally revealed his identity and got caught off guard?

But then he reassured himself that Qiaoqiao was reliable in crucial moments and wouldn’t be exposed so easily.

“His Majesty asked me to tell Your Highness,” said the adjutant, Jiang Qi, solemnly. “The Imperial First Military Academy has made progress. Your Highness, you should pay more attention to finding the elf instead of focusing on your Crown Princess all day.”

Chu Heng’s thoughts were interrupted by Jiang Qi. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the rush?”

“I will definitely be the first to find the elf.” His tone was calm and extremely confident.

Jiang Qi: “… ”

“No, Your Highness. What makes you so confident that you’ll be the first to find the elf? With your lazy attitude, you haven’t even started looking yet. Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

Chu Heng could see Jiang Qi’s disbelief as well.

Indeed, who would believe it if word got out? The elf was right beside him—a mere “parasitic vine” that outsiders considered useless, except for its face.

Thinking about this secret that only he knew, and how only he had seen An Qiao’s appearance as an elf, even from far away and from behind, Chu Heng couldn’t help but feel possessive and satisfied, as if he alone owned this treasure.

He recalled that glimpse of its back in his mind again.

With a hint of regret, Chu Heng pulled himself back from his wandering thoughts and responded to Jiang Qi’s message to the emperor: “I try my best to fulfill my military duties every day.

“Besides, don’t forget that I’m still on leave.”

Jiang Qi rolled his eyes. Trying to complete his duties? His Highness the Crown Prince was only interested in battle. He always pushed aside official duties, leaving the majority to him and another adjutant, Xue Luo. After the Crown Princess arrived, His Highness became even more blatant about shirking his duties.

However, he was indeed still on leave.

The battle-crazed Chu Heng had rarely taken a vacation since joining the Second Army Corps, even spending the Lunar New Year in the army. His accumulated vacation time was quite terrifying.

“Your Highness is right,” Jiang Qi replied half-heartedly.

“Don’t you think the red roses the Crown Princess gave me are blooming even better today?” Chu Heng suddenly asked.

As he spoke, he stared intently at the “Elf’s Kiss” roses beside him, genuinely scrutinizing any changes in the flowers compared to yesterday.

Jiang Qi nodded habitually. “They probably are blooming even better.”

His Highness asked him this every day, making Jiang Qi wonder if he was showing off. However, Jiang Qi could also tell that Chu Heng genuinely felt the flowers were different from yesterday.

He couldn’t see any change, though. Only someone who loved the flowers as much as Chu Heng, who looked at them hundreds of times a day, would notice any change.

“I think they look even more beautiful today,” Chu Heng said, nodding in complete agreement. “The flowers Qiaoqiao gave me are just different.”

Jiang Qi: “… ”

When he learned that the Crown Prince had won the title of “Beauty of the Flower Festival” during the flower-shooting competition, Jiang Qi was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue.

Although the Crown Prince was exceptionally handsome with a perfect face, he was not a good match for the title of “Beauty of the Flower Festival.”

Fortunately, the crown prince had the foresight to conceal his appearance.

He was very happy, though, because it was a surprise specially prepared for him by the Crown Princess. He cherished the potted plants that the Crown Princess had shot down and given to him, especially the red roses in front of him.

Recalling how the Crown Princess had prepared this “surprise” a few days ago when he had pretended to be in a bad mood to gain his pity and sympathy, Jiang Qi silently prayed for the Crown Princess, An Qiao.

Who would have thought that the Crown Prince, always the hunter, would shamelessly and cunningly pretend to be pitiful prey?

Seeing the Crown Prince so excited and smug these past few days, like a peacock displaying its feathers and seemingly oblivious to the consequences, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but wonder when the Crown Prince would make a fool of himself.

If the Crown Princess An Qiao ever found out the Crown Prince had been faking misery just to trick him for sympathy—

Mm, the consequences would be very serious.

Chu Heng gazed appreciatively at the pot of “Elf’s Kiss” red roses for a while, then suddenly blurted out, “You know, pretending to be miserable and pitiful to make Qiaoqiao feel sympathy works so well. Should I try it again?”

“I don’t think so!” An Qiao’s cold laugh suddenly rang out.

Jiang Qi: “… ”

See? Getting too cocky backfired.

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