AEKMEM chapter 69

An Qiao thought: You’re the one who made me angry! Why don’t you give yourself a good beating?

Of course, Chu Heng didn’t know that he was actually the “culprit.”

Huang Duoyu had been beaten up by Chu Heng and was about to be taken to the relevant department for punishment on charges of fraud.

Bruised and battered, Huang Duoyu still held his head high with a defiant look. Although he felt guilty, he said, “Why do you say I’m not the elf’s messenger? What evidence do you have to prove…” “Because I am the messenger of the elves,” An Qiao said slowly and deliberately.

His face was cold, and his voice was sharp and melodious, like icy silver ornaments falling onto a jade plate.

Chu Heng: “… ”

Chu Heng’s lips twitched.

Being his own messenger? Qiao Qiao really has unique ideas.

Does Qiao Qiao have a special fondness for wearing disguises? He created another one in the blink of an eye.

Huang Duoyu: “?”

Huang Duoyu: “!!!”

So, is this the fake Li Kui meeting the real Li Kui? The imposter elf messenger meeting the genuine elf messenger?¹ “假李逵遇到真李逵” (the fake Li Kui runs into the real Li Kui) comes from Water Margin (《水浒传》), one of the classic Chinese novels. Li Kui is a rough, strong warrior. Someone once tried to impersonate him, but then the real Li Kui showed up — exposing the fake immediately. So in modern usage, it means getting caught pretending to be someone.

“You…” He wanted to ask for proof that he was the true messenger, but when he saw An Qiao’s face, which was no longer concealed, he was stunned and speechless.

With such a perfectly beautiful face that could eclipse the stars, it’s no wonder the elves chose him as their messenger…

Wait! This looks like Crown Princess An Qiao!

Rumor has it that the crown princess is incredibly beautiful, and the elf who appeared acknowledged it, saying he was “very good.” Choosing An Qiao as the messenger is perfectly normal.

He had just confronted the crown princess and the real elf messenger.

In front of An Qiao, he proclaimed himself “the messenger of a noble elf” and vowed to “make sure the elf teaches you a lesson.”?!

Oh, right! That guy who just defeated him in one move and gave him a good beating seems to have a very close relationship with Crown Princess An Qiao. Could he be Crown Prince Chu Heng? That devil?

Huang Duoyu: “… ”

Huang Duoyu’s legs went weak, and he almost fainted on the spot.

Chu Wen and Xiong Yi were surprised but then decided it wasn’t so unexpected.

An Qiao’s appearance and temperament clearly resembled an elf’s, and the elf obviously admired An Qiao quite a bit. Therefore, making An Qiao an elf messenger was a natural progression.

However, they didn’t expect An Qiao to have quietly become an elf messenger. An Qiao is truly low-key. Without today’s incident, they probably wouldn’t have found out for a long time.

No wonder An Qiao dared to accept the school’s 2S-level treatment mission. He was confident and prepared all along!

Those in the school who secretly mocked An Qiao for being “arrogant” and lacking “self-awareness” after he accepted the 2S-level mission will likely be proven wrong.

**

Back to Garden Castle.

“You don’t seem surprised or doubtful that I’m the elf’s messenger?” An Qiao sat down and asked calmly.

Chu Heng’s brow twitched.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

Although An Qiao appeared calm and composed, Chu Heng felt that he was in great danger.

Had he done something to anger An Qiao?

Aside from concealing his knowledge of An Qiao’s elven identity and planning to get An Qiao drunk and offer his heart’s blood to break the demon curse, what else could he have done to anger An Qiao?

Could it be…

He remembered how he almost let slip at the coffee shop that day. He nearly told An Qiao, “That person dared to impersonate your messenger.” Although he managed to salvage the situation in time, did An Qiao realize something was amiss at the time?

With this in mind, An Qiao’s later statement—”Someone impersonated an elven messenger, and you seem quite angry?”—seems rather meaningful.

Moreover, An Qiao glared at him inexplicably a few times afterward, radiating an endless aura of coldness.

At the thought, Chu Heng’s heart skipped a beat and his hands trembled slightly.

However, he thought that if An Qiao had discovered his secret, he probably wouldn’t be so calm now. Besides, An Qiao was always straightforward. If he had discovered his secret, he would have confronted him directly instead of keeping it hidden.

“Actually, I was quite surprised,” Chu Heng said guiltily. “It’s just that I don’t usually show my emotions.”

“By the way, Qiao Qiao, when did you become… a messenger of the elves?”

“Such a big thing, and Qiao Qiao didn’t even tell me.” He sighed, his long eyelashes drooping as he looked like a pitiful, aggrieved cat. Usually, when An Qiao saw Chu Heng’s pitiful and aggrieved expression, even knowing he was faking it, he would just stroke his fur, taking it as a bit of fun between them.

But now, he was furious.

That bastard Chu Heng! That scheming dragon! He knew he was an elf, yet he kept it a secret and acted like he knew nothing. Judging by how practiced he is now, he’s clearly done this a lot.

“Is that so?” He lightly tapped his chin with his fingertip and looked at Chu Heng calmly, his face expressionless.

Chu Heng: “… ”

He felt a strange chill run down his spine under An Qiao’s gaze.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” An Qiao raised his chin slightly and asked again. He wanted to give Chu Heng a chance to confess.

What was he supposed to say?

Chu Heng didn’t react immediately.

At that moment, Adjutant Jiang Qi hurried over and said, “Your Highness, the military doctor, Jun Yiran, whom you assigned to study the insect poison affecting Young Master Yun, has made new progress. The situation is severe—you should take a look now.”

“And…”

Before Jiang Qi could finish, Yun Jianchen’s wailing voice rang out from outside the living room. “Marshal! Your Highness! You must save me!”

Seeing Yun Jianchen’s shameless appearance, Chu Heng suddenly didn’t want to acknowledge him as a friend.

Yun Jianchen entered and, seeing An Qiao in the living room, felt embarrassed. Although he was no longer the dashing, charming man who had captivated countless hearts, he still tried to maintain an image of refinement and courtesy in front of strangers.

Seeing him like this made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

However, thinking of the information he had received, Yun Jianchen looked at An Qiao with a glimmer of expectation. “Your Highness, I heard you accepted the 2S-level mission from the Empire’s Top Military Academy to cure the insect poison in my body. Do you have any methods, and are you confident in your ability to do so?”

Yun Jianchen knew An Qiao’s infamous reputation throughout the empire as a “useless vase” and a “delicate parasitic vine.” However, since Chu Heng had convinced An Qiao to accept the mission, Yun Jianchen thought An Qiao might have a way to cure him.

—This couple seems to have some connection with that elf. Perhaps An Qiao really did receive help from it.

Yun Jianchen felt that An Qiao seemed rather unreliable, though.

Of course, he would never dare say that to Chu Heng. He was afraid that Chu Heng, this devoted husband, would challenge him to a sparring match.

**

While An Qiao treated Yun Jianchen’s insect poison, Chu Heng, urged by Jiang Qi, rushed to Jun Yiran’s laboratory to see the latest progress on researching insect poison.

After finishing his work in the lab, Chu Heng realized he had forgotten something.

An Qiao asked him, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” He didn’t respond at the time and was interrupted by Jiang Qi and Yun Jianchen. Thinking back now, he felt there was more to An Qiao’s words.

Recalling his bad premonition and suspicions, he carefully reviewed An Qiao’s slightly unusual behavior that day.

Chu Heng’s heart skipped a beat.

His premonition seemed to have come true. An Qiao really knew that he had been hiding the fact that he already knew about his elven disguise!

Was it too late to confess everything to Qiao Qiao and apologize?

“Where’s Qiao Qiao?” he asked the butler, his voice trembling slightly.

“His Highness An Qiao took a sip of the wine you just had delivered and seems a little drunk. He’s gone back to his room to rest.”

Chu Heng: “…”

He had specially ordered that wine, which was known as the easiest to get drunk on. An Qiao could only handle one drink, so it wasn’t surprising that he passed out after just one sip.

Chu Heng had originally planned to use the wine to get An Qiao drunk so that he could secretly use his heart’s blood to break the demon king’s curse without An Qiao discovering the truth.

—Now that An Qiao is drunk, Chu Heng couldn’t let this rare, heaven-sent opportunity slip by.

On his way upstairs to An Qiao’s bedroom, Chu Heng couldn’t help but recall An Qiao’s appearance when he got drunk and reverted to his elf form last time.

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  “假李逵遇到真李逵” (the fake Li Kui runs into the real Li Kui) comes from Water Margin (《水浒传》), one of the classic Chinese novels. Li Kui is a rough, strong warrior. Someone once tried to impersonate him, but then the real Li Kui showed up — exposing the fake immediately. So in modern usage, it means getting caught pretending to be someone.