First Prince Hua Ye wielded tremendous influence in the Heavenly Palace, with more followers than one could count. He also had the staunch support of a high-ranking minister like Right Wing King He Zheng.
In contrast, Hua Zhen had no one besides Gus, his personal guard. Compared to Hua Ye, the difference was like heaven and earth. That was why Hua Zhen could especially understand why this fellow called Su Ma Li spoke so arrogantly. A dog backing itself on its master's power, huh~~
Following the direction of his finger, Hua Zhen saw a young man in lavish robes seated in the distance.
Pink lips, narrow upturned eyes, a hooked nose, and sparse willow-leaf brows... That was Hua Ye's first impression of Hua Zhen. How should he put it... the guy looked pretty damn punchable!
Quite a few people fawned over Hua Ye, and an entire crowd struck seductive poses around him. Yet he paid them little attention. Instead, he seemed quite interested in the chubby little boy beside him. No one knew what the two were whispering about, but they had the little fatty looking as though he wanted to cry but did not dare.
As if sensing Hua Zhen's gaze, Hua Ye looked up at him. An inscrutable smile curled his lips as he raised an eyebrow at him.
"Heh~ Let's go, Third Prince. Don't keep His Highness waiting too long~~"
Calling Su Ma Li a dog relying on his master's power was not unfair at all. As Hua Ye's personal guard, his status in the Heavenly Palace had naturally risen with the tide. In his eyes, the Third Prince and Fourth Prince were nothing more than children. Before they had any say in the Heavenly Palace, respect was naturally out of the question.
After saying that, he turned and headed toward Hua Ye. He had assumed the little Third Prince would follow behind him, but after walking for quite a while, he heard no movement whatsoever. Turning back in confusion, he froze. Hua Zhen was still sitting there, gnawing on his "sandwich" without moving an inch.
Seeing this, Su Ma Li grew displeased. Frowning, he urged, "Third Prince, His Highness is calling you over~"
From the little fatty's reaction, Hua Zhen could tell exactly why Hua Ye wanted him over. It was nothing more than making him recognize Hua Ye's status in the Heavenly Palace, then giving him a little show of force.
This was really getting ridiculous. Left Wing King Miller had only left a damn short while ago, and now one of the First Prince's lackeys had shown up. Seriously~ If you wanted to fight over the succession, then go fight over it yourselves. I have no interest in it, so why the hell did you all keep coming after me?
Irritated, Hua Zhen ignored Su Ma Li and said to Gus beside him, "Someone's interrupting your master's meal, and you're just standing there watching?"
Gus had long been angered by Su Ma Li's attitude toward his master. But because Su Ma Li was Hua Ye's favored man, he had kept enduring it. Hearing Hua Zhen's words, he became flustered. "But, Your Highness..."
"But my ass. You really want to drink soup, kid?" Hua Zhen shot Gus a glare, his voice cold and layered with meaning. "The foremost rule of being a personal guard is that you do whatever your master tells you to do. Gus... do you want to defy your superior too, like this guy?"
How could Hua Zhen not understand what Gus meant? But staying alive did not mean swallowing his anger and taking humiliation. I'm not even the real Third Prince. Why the hell should I endure all the hostility you people had for him?
Why had Hua Zhen spent more than two months desperately studying the original owner's behavior and mannerisms? Why had he memorized all those archaic theoretical texts? Everything was merely to fool Hua Que today.
It could be said that there were only two people in the entire Heavenly Palace whom Hua Zhen truly feared. One was the Old Angel King, Hua Que, because he was the ruler here. A single word from him could take Hua Zhen's life.
The other was Consort Xin Yao, the original owner's birth mother. She was also Hua Zhen's biggest headache. Everyone knew that if a child showed even the slightest abnormality, his mother might notice it immediately. It would not matter much if she noticed, but if she told the Angel King afterward, Hua Zhen would still be dead.
As for Hua Ye and the Second Prince Hua Tuo, whom he had never met, Hua Zhen did not take them seriously. Their connections were broad and their power immense, but in the entire Heavenly Palace, neither of them could compare to Angel King Hua Que in terms of influence or power.
Moreover, over the past two months, Hua Zhen had personally experienced how much the Angel King valued every prince. Would provoking Hua Ye put him in danger? Hua Zhen never worried about that! Why?
The 5G Network was impressive, right? Integrating and synchronizing with satellite communications networks, building an all-in-one heaven-and-earth network, and so on. It sounded very high-tech, but Angel Civilization had stopped playing with that stuff tens of thousands of years ago.
Gus had told him that the Surveillance Network in the Palace District was directly connected to the Gene System within the Angel King's body. To put it dramatically, no movement in the palace could escape the Angel King's eyes.
So before he came of age, if Hua Ye wanted to harm him in the palace, he would have to have the nerve. That was why Hua Zhen was so confident. They were all relying on the same father, so who was afraid of whom?
Hua Zhen's words brought a sheen of cold sweat to Gus's forehead. Even Su Ma Li's expression darkened. In Angel Civilization, defying one's superior was a grave crime.
Once Gus realized Hua Zhen was not joking, his face hardened. He said coldly, "His Highness is merciful and does not wish to pursue this offense since it is your first. Why don't you get lost already?"
Su Ma Li had never expected this little prince to be so stubborn. Shaking his head with a chuckle, he bent down and thumped his chest hard. With a "respectful" expression, he said, "In that case, Little Highness, please continue your meal. I won't disturb you any longer!" Without sparing Hua Zhen another glance, he turned and strode away...
"Your Highness, hadn't I already warned you? What are we supposed to do now? You've offended the First Prince. He definitely won't let this go!" After Su Ma Li had gone far away, Gus said with a miserable expression.
"He won't let it go? Tch. What, could he send someone to assassinate me?"
"Uh... probably not. After all, there's the Angel King..."
"Then isn't that that?" Hua Zhen said with a smile. He walked over and patted Gus's shoulder... but could not reach it, so he patted his arm instead. "You, kid, are acting like a eunuch more worried than the emperor. Why bother with Hua Ye and his lot? All right, before Old Stick gets here, I need to hurry up and review my 'lessons.' You should eat something to fill your stomach too~"
Without caring how conflicted Gus looked, he pulled out a small Storage Device from his pocket, walked over to a chair nearby, sat down, and began reading on his own.
"That little brat really said that?" Hua Ye asked Su Ma Li, who sat beside him, while looking at Hua Zhen swaying his head in the distance. The smile on his face made the chubby little boy beside him squirm uneasily.
Su Ma Li shrugged, raised his wineglass, and clinked it against Hua Ye's. "The Third Prince certainly has quite the airs, doesn't he?"
"Haha, judging from your tone, don't tell me you're angry, kid?"
"Angry would be an overstatement..."
Hua Ye gave him a surprised look. "Oh? How so?"
"You know, Your Highness?" Su Ma Li said with a smile. "Ever since I became your personal guard, it has been a long time since anyone ignored me like that. It feels rather nostalgic~"
"Pfft~" Hua Ye was amused by that. Covering his mouth, he laughed so hard his body trembled. Only after a long while did he stop and rise to his feet. "Ah, so I have to go over there personally, then. Come on, Su Ma Li. Let's go tease that little brat!"
"I... I want to go too..." Seeing the two about to leave, the chubby little Hua Xiong, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up, somehow finding the courage.
Hua Ye turned around with a soft exclamation, then grinned wickedly. "I nearly forgot about you, little guy~ Tell me, why are you coming along?"
The little fatty shrank back in fright, but he still stiffened his neck and said, "Hua... Hua Zhen set me up earlier and made me embarrass myself in the square. I want to settle the score with him!"
"Haha..." Hua Ye laughed so hard he bent forward and back, completely ignoring Hua Xiong's flushed little face. Spreading his hands at Su Ma Li, he said, "Look at them. Two little brats like this, and He Xuan was telling me the situation in the Heavenly Palace was ever-changing. One threw up the moment he arrived, and the other fucking fell flat on his face. What the hell was he thinking?"
"Heh, that guy has always been overly suspicious. It isn't the first time he's acted all mysterious and paranoid!" Su Ma Li said with a smile.
"Because he insisted I do something, I've neglected all the little beauties here. Sigh, forget it~ Since Old Fourth wants to go too, let him come along..."
Before you continue