"No one else is going to hear what I say. There are only three of us here." Pei Qingfeng still maintained his nonchalant expression as he declared haughtily.

When Bai Luochu saw Pei Qingfeng"s childish behavior, she laughed helplessly and said, "You... If an outsider saw you in this state, the Cloud Water Nation"s Second Prince"s reputation will be going down the drain…”

Pei Qingfeng moved his face closer to hers and when their noses were touching, he said, “The only people in this room is my First Brother, and you. Luoluo, I have never treated you like an outside and I never will…”

When Pei Qingfeng spoke, his warm breath caressed Bai Luochu"s face and her cheeks flushed red instantly. Her face became red all the way to her ears.

"Your Second Highness, please conduct yourself with dignity." Bai Luochu took several steps back and lightly pushed Pei Qingfeng away. Instead of feeling sad that she was avoiding him, Pei Qingfeng nearly laughed out loud as it was rare to see her blush.

The bystander at the side, Pei Rumo, had a face as black as thunderclouds as he stared at the two of them. "Cough cough. This room is small and it feels rather cramped. The weather is really warm and it"s making me feel rather uncomfortable. If Divine Physician Bai has nothing else to talk about, please leave.”

Bai Luochu ran off like a frightened rabbit as soon as the words left Pei Rumo"s mouth. In her past life, she never had such intimate contact with Lu Wenshu. After all, their relations.h.i.+p developed due to their love of cultivation. They rarely even held hands. Pei Qingfeng"s advance was enough to embarra.s.s Bai Luochu hundreds of times over.

When none of them could hear her footsteps, Pei Qingfeng turned to Pei Rumo and teased, “It seems like you don"t like seeing me acting all intimate with Luoluo huh…”

Pei Rumo"s thoughts were like an open book to Pei Qingfeng. Instead of trying to hide his feelings, he snapped, “What do you think? Stop trying to play the fool here.”

Pei Qingfeng"s eyes betrayed his joy and he laughed, “Didn"t we agree to rely on ourselves to win her heart? Why are you feeling all salty? Are you sad that she prefers me over you?”

Pei Qingfeng was seriously getting on his nerves and Pei Rumo broke out with threats, "Are you not afraid of me sending an urgent report to Emperor Father than you sneaked into the Desolate Region? Just keep running your mouth off and see what I do to you…”

Pei Qingfeng snickered and looked at Pei Rumo as though he was looking at a r.e.t.a.r.d, "Do you think Emperor Father is a fool? He probably already knows. If he didn"t want me to come over, I wouldn"t be able to take a single step out of the capital city.”

Pei Rumo was struck speechless. That"s true… Emperor Father is no fool. Luckily for me, Pei Qingfeng isn"t someone who l.u.s.ts over the throne… If he really wants to fight with me for the throne, my position as the next emperor of the Cloud Water Nation might be threatened.

Pei Qingfeng had guessed it correctly. The moment he left the capital city, the old emperor already received the news that he was heading to the Desolate Region. Instead of being anxious, the old emperor was as calm as could be. Instead, De Quan was hopping about like an anxious cat.

Out of all the princes, Pei Qingfeng could be said to be the most honest. He wasn"t a hypocrite and the way he treated his servants was much better than the others. Now that he had violated the law, there were definitely many people looking to drag his reputation through the mud. Moveover, he had never interfered with politics and there was no one to defend him if his crimes were to be reported to the old emperor. 

De Quan asked, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince is currently away from the capital city. He sneaked into the Desolate Region without your approval! What are we going to do?!”

The old emperor was originally dozing off and his eyes snapped open after hearing De Quan"s question. "I don"t seem to remember you taking the initiative to give me ideas in the past… Why are you acting like it"s a huge problem?”

De Quan immediately knelt down and a loud "plop" could be heard when his knees slammed into the ground.

"What are you doing? It seems like your brain is deteriorating as you get older. In the past, you were able to hold casual conversations with me. Nowadays, you"re kneeling every now and then. Do you think your old bones will be able to endure the impact ever so often? Do you think you"re still in the prime of your life?" 

When De Quan realized that the old emperor was joking around with him, he knew that his head wasn"t going to roll. He quickly stood up and bowed, "Your Majesty is teasing this old servant again. How can this servant be so bold? When a person grows old, it is natural to become more timid. I would never think of acting out of turn...”

The old emperor squinted his eyes in response and understood De Quan"s meaning. The old eunuch was trying to say that he had never meddled in political affairs in the past and he wouldn"t try to do so in the future.

"Since he is already there, am I supposed to head over there personally to bring him back? His legs are fine and if he wants to go, who am I to stop him? The situation in the Desolate Region seems much more complicated than I thought it would be. With his strength, he will be able to a.s.sist Rumo and that Luo Chu girl… If any court officials dares to complain about Pei Qingfeng, heh… Are they the Emperor of the Cloud Water Nation or am I the Emperor of the Cloud Water Nation? Are they Pei Qingfeng"s father? If I say that I sent Pei Qingfeng out on a mission, who are they to question me?”

When De Quan heard the old emperor"s reply, he immediately relaxed. When he thought about the mysterious group of people, he suddenly became worried again. “What… what about those people?”

After hearing De Quan"s concern, the old emperor closed his eyes again. Before he dozed off, he smirked, “Honored Tian Yun treats Qingfeng better than us. You don"t need to worry about them. If there are any court officials who hope to make use of this chance to deal with Qingfeng, Tian Yun will probably wipe out their entire family. Instead of worrying about this, why not think about new dishes the imperial kitchen can prepare for this emperor"s next meal? It"s always the same few dishes… I"m starting to get sick of them.”

De Quan finally felt at ease. “This old servant understands. I will inform the imperial kitchen immediately!”

After De Quan left, the old emperor"s turbid eyes snapped open and the once prominent light that held the aura of an emperor flashed bright in them. Even De Quan is biased towards Qingfeng… The old man who places his safety above all else is willing to question me about Qingfeng"s well-being.  If not for Qingfeng"s other ident.i.ty, he should be the one to inherit the throne...

"Sigh, what a pity."