The Cold Crown Prince and the Maniac Tyrant - Chapter 3

System 996 remained silent for a moment before reluctantly being persuaded. It pulled up the historical records’ evaluation of King Sang: “Lustful, hot-tempered, petty, and inept.”

Everyone in the royal court knew that the late King’s true choice for successor was actually the Crown Prince.

Among a group of mediocre princes and grandsons, the Crown Prince had been remarkably intelligent and sharp since childhood. As he grew, he not only developed a tall and elegant stature but also possessed a handsome, refined appearance, earning the deep affection of the late King.

To ensure the Crown Prince would eventually ascend the throne legitimately, the late King had passed the crown to the current King of Sang—the Crown Prince’s father—while formally appointing the Crown Prince to his position.

“Your Highness,” the eunuch Lin scurried out from the palace, his eyes shifting nervously. Looking distressed, he stammered, “His Majesty… is currently meeting with ministers to discuss state affairs. He asks you to wait here.”

Sang Wan had already prepared himself mentally and was not surprised at all. “Very well, I shall sit in the pavilion for a while. Eunuch, please inform me once His Majesty has finished discussing state matters.”

With that, he lifted his robes and walked toward the nearby pavilion.

Eunuch Lin nodded and bowed, looking as if he had more to say but couldn’t quite bring himself to voice it.

In reality, the implication of the King’s words was for the Crown Prince to stand outside the Sleeping Hall while he waited.

Two hours later.

The pavilion remained quiet.

Eunuch Lin, having just finished announcing the latest imperial decree, couldn’t bear the stifling atmosphere and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

A soft scoff escaped Sang Wan.

Eunuch Lin revealed a look of horror. Oh no, has His Highness the Crown Prince been angered into madness?

Sang Wan calmly said, “I have troubled you, Eunuch. I shall head to the ancestral temple now to pray for the late King!” A faint, barely discernible smile lingered on his lips.

—The decree stated: A prince who violates the law is as guilty as a commoner. The Crown Prince rode through the streets on horseback, bullying the common folk and damaging the dignity of the royal family. He is to be confined in the ancestral temple for three days of reflection and prayer for the ancestors!

Eunuch Lin squinted. The sun was exceptionally harsh today, making it nearly impossible for him to open his eyes. He tried hard to stare, watching the Crown Prince’s departing back—so broad and upright. Why can His Majesty not see the good in the Crown Prince?

The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt for their poor Crown Prince.

However, after this trip, the Crown Prince seemed to have changed in some way.

He was no longer as foolishly filial as before.

In the past, no matter what His Majesty said, the Crown Prince would fulfill it meticulously out of a sense of filial piety.

If he had really stood outside the Sleeping Hall for two hours, his delicate body surely wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

Sang Wan looked breezy and leisurely, showing no signs of someone about to be locked away.

The drama of King Sang was so easy to digest, and given the King’s subsequent string of absurd actions, it wouldn’t be a tragedy if Northern Hai Zhao eventually wiped out the Kingdom of Sang.

System 996 asked, “Host, are you really going to obediently stay in confinement for three days?”

Sang Wan retorted, “Do you have any body doubles or mannequins that can fool the guards who are ostensibly ‘escorting’ me but actually monitoring me? Or perhaps a prop that can ‘whoosh’ and fast-forward the timeline to three days later?”

System 996 stuttered, “This… shifting the timeline requires a massive amount of energy. Please resolve this yourself, Host.”

Sang Wan smiled. “Then what use are you!”

After all, he was only the Crown Prince.

Three days later.

Sang Wan emerged from the ancestral temple, looking pale and unsteady. As soon as he returned to the Crown Prince’s residence, he went straight to his room, collapsed onto his bed, and decided to sleep for a full day and night.

Even if the heavens themselves descended, he wouldn’t…

【Ding!】 【Northern Hai Zhao’s dark corruption level +3. Current level: 32.】

Sang Wan bolted upright from the bed, unable to help himself from blurting out a curse.

He had only just fallen asleep!

System 996 felt as if the sky were collapsing; it was frantic. “Host, Northern Hai Zhao’s dark level has risen again. Go and check on him!”

Sang Wan stubbornly kept his eyes closed. As long as I don’t open my eyes, I’m still sleeping.

“Go look, quickly, Host…” The system began its circular chanting mode.

Sang Wan: “…”

A top student’s morning grumpiness is severe. The moment he opened his eyes, they were crackling with fire.

Sang Wan was furious!

Northern Hai Zhao, you had better have a very good reason for this!

“Lead the way!” His tone was chilling, and his entire being radiated heavy resentment.

The Crown Prince did not like others waiting on him closely, and Sang Wan was no different; he slipped out of the palace without alerting anyone.

Guided by System 996, Sang Wan walked silently to the courtyard where Northern Hai Zhao lived.

Sang Wan raised an eyebrow. The residence actually had a place like this—dilapidated, desolate, and eerie.

“Go in quickly—” The system was like an electronic fool, endlessly urging him in his mind.

Sang Wan closed his eyes in annoyance, a flicker of impatience crossing his face.

In a dark corner where the moonlight couldn’t reach, two young attendants were whispering to each other.

“I heard the Crown Prince is back. Are we still going through with it?”

“Hell, why wouldn’t we! I heard that little beggar inside even bit the Crown Prince until he cried!”

“What? Such a kind Crown Prince was actually made to cry?”

One of the attendants viciously slapped the wooden bucket in his hands. “Then the stuff in this bucket must be finished by the little beggar!”

The two attendants had their heads together, finishing their scheme, when they looked up and their legs turned to jelly. Their hands shook as if they had seizures.

As their hands loosened, the slop in the bucket splashed out, some of it even hitting the attendant’s hand.

A foul, indescribable odor permeated the air.

But at this moment, neither of them cared. They slammed their knees onto the ground, pressing their heads against the dirt, their voices trembling. “Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

The Crown Prince stood under the veranda. Clouds blocked the moon, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.

His voice was cold. “Nonsense! Clean this up, then go to Meng Tian and accept your punishment!”

“Yes!” The two felt like they had been granted amnesty, shrinking away like quails. Only after hearing the “creak” of the door opening did they dare to lift their heads, letting out a collective sigh of relief and sharing a glance of survival.

That was close. I thought we were going to be kicked out of the residence.

As expected, the Crown Prince is truly the kindest.

Northern Hai Zhao lay quietly on the rickety bed, his face deathly pale, his chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly.

Sang Wan’s face changed. Could he be dead?

He reached out to check the carotid artery.

System 996 was also startled: “Oh my goodness, let me scan his vital functions.”

【Ding!】 【One living human detected.】 【Severe malnutrition; suggests protein intake.】

System 996 glitched again, somewhat incredulously. “Uh, it seems he’s just starving.”

“I know.” Sang Wan looked down at the hand that had just grabbed his.

He’s got quite a grip!

“He won’t die for a while.” There was a hint of regret in Sang Wan’s tone.

Just moments ago, before his hand touched Northern Hai Zhao’s neck, his own hand had been forcefully gripped.

Such high alertness. It seems that even if I hadn’t come, those two attendants wouldn’t have been able to get the better of him.

Northern Hai Zhao abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of ferocity in them. His body lunged forward like a lion hunting on the plains, his sharp teeth ready to sink into the vulnerability of a neck.

But a cub is still a cub—a starving cub, at that.

Sang Wan easily pinned his arm, half-squinting as he threatened, “Don’t cause trouble. I’m taking you to eat. Can you walk on your own?” He reached out, gesturing as if to carry him.

“I can!” —Even if I can’t, I must. This was Northern Hai Zhao’s final stubborn pride.

Learning of the news from the cold palace, Meng Tian arrived in a hurry, his face stern. “Your Highness, this subordinate has failed…”

Sang Wan didn’t stop, walking toward the courtyard exit, only leaving a sentence behind: “Go to the kitchen and bring some vegetable porridge.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Meng Tian answered in a way that was clearly reluctant. After the Crown Prince left, he turned and kicked the two small attendants, “Useless fools.”

System 996 asked, “Meng Tian is being insubordinate; will you punish him?”

Sang Wan answered without thinking, “No.”

“Why?”

“Because there are degrees of closeness.”

System 996: “…”

Sang Wan asked nonchalantly, “Child, what is your name?”

Northern Hai Zhao: “Zhao… Nan Zhao.”

“Nan Zhao.” Sang Wan nodded, pretending not to know it was a fake name. “Since you have no one left, I won’t make you a servant, lest the Nan family line ends. Just start as my book boy. Can you read?”

Servant? Family line ends? Is he warning me about castration?

System 996: “…”

Northern Hai Zhao: “…I know a few characters.”

Sang Wan: “That’s good.”

Having successfully annoyed the male lead, Sang Wan felt quite refreshed.

Back at the Crown Prince’s palace, the food was already prepared.

Sang Wan ate with a few side dishes, drinking three bowls of porridge. When he put down his chopsticks, Northern Hai Zhao followed suit.

【Ding!】 【Northern Hai Zhao’s dark corruption level -1. Current level: 31.】

It really was just hunger.

System 996 said happily, “Host, please keep it up!”

Sang Wan, acting as if nothing were amiss, picked up the white jade spoon and added another bowl for Northern Hai Zhao. “Eat more. You can only grow taller if you eat more.”

Northern Hai Zhao’s hand trembled imperceptibly.

And the other two points of corruption?

Sang Wan’s heart stirred. He spoke casually, “I heard from the Imperial Physician that those recovering from illness or who have been hungry for a long time need a light diet, otherwise it will cause indigestion. I specifically ordered Meng Tian to prepare the same white porridge for you these past few days.”

“Did you choose not to eat because you were picky?”

Northern Hai Zhao was suspicious and uncertain, looking up at Sang Wan.

After being brought to the residence, he had been dumped by Meng Tian in the long-abandoned cold palace. He had suffered from diarrhea that very night and thought the person before him had poisoned the food as revenge for his biting.

The porridge and wild vegetables sent in the following days only convinced him that Sang Wan was retaliating.

So, Northern Hai Zhao hadn’t eaten a single bite, starving for three full days.

Only this time, having seen with his own eyes that this bowl of porridge came from the same pot, did he feel safe enough to eat.

What does he mean by this? Could I have misunderstood?

Northern Hai Zhao held the bowl, at a loss.

【Ding!】 【Northern Hai Zhao’s dark corruption level -1. Current level: 30.】

It’s working.

Sang Wan decided to keep going. “Those two attendants who bullied you have already been sent to receive their punishment.”

As for Meng Tian, he naturally didn’t mention him.

After waiting for a while, the system didn’t chime.

Sang Wan frowned, unable to resist a glance at Northern Hai Zhao.

Northern Hai Zhao was picking up his spoon, taking a bite of the slightly cool porridge, his expression normal.

That’s not it.

Sang Wan said again, “Since you are my book boy, you will live with me from now on. You’ll sleep… on the daybed in the outer room, and won’t have to return to the cold palace.”

Still no chime.

Sang Wan tried other topics.

Half an hour later, Sang Wan, his throat dry, couldn’t find a new angle and simply announced it was time to sleep. He didn’t care about the last point of corruption anymore.

Before going to bed, he told System 996, “Keep a close eye on Northern Hai Zhao. If there is even the slightest movement, wake me up.”

He wasn’t truly at ease; he didn’t want to spend the night in the same room as a tyrant who would eventually turn him into a human pig.

Sang Wan closed his eyes and started “counting sheep,” hands folded obediently over his abdomen a very well-behaved sleeping posture.

So much had happened in the past few days, the transmigration, the system, the male lead, King Sang—one thing after another. Even for a top student like Sang Wan, his brain’s CPU was almost burned out.

Before he could reach the tenth sheep, Sang Wan sank into a deep sleep.

The moon quietly climbed to its peak, and the entire palace fell silent.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating a pair of scarlet eyes. The owner of those eyes slowly began to walk toward the inner chamber.