The Forgotten Useless Prince

"WHERE ARE WE going, Young Miss?" Ji Mei inquired as she noticed they were heading in a different direction, to a location in the palace she had not visited with the young miss yet.

"I want to see someone," Lily replied, keeping a wary eye on the imperial guards patrolling the palace grounds. She quickly rolled by when one guard passed by and eventually left the area.

Currently, she and Ji Mei were invisible. The cloaks she stole from her grandfather's treasury were magical and could conceal their presence. However, this magic tool could only fool ordinary people. If they happened to run into Elder Leo, the trick would not work on him. He would see them like a hawk's newly polished eye.

Unfortunately, there were only two cloaks available. As a result, Lily could only send Ji Lei back to the estate. It was good too. That girl was the very definition of a blank sheet of paper. Ji Lei would never confess to her grandfather, no matter how hard he squeezed her. Actually, Ji Mei is no exception. Both girls never change emotions. Lily once heard that the two didn't even cry during their birth, which astounded the elders and worried their parents.

"Who?" Ji Mei inquired, intrigued.

"You'll see him later."

"Him?" Ji Mei wondered, "The Fifth Imperial Uncle is no longer here."

Lily came to a halt. "Does it have to be him when I said I would visit someone in the palace? Can't it be some good-for-nothing prince? And why did you think of Hugo in the first place?" she asked as she continued her walk. She didn't remember being close to him; except, of course, during and after the banquet. He was an excellent dish server.

"Among the people in the imperial palace, only he is close to the family," Ji Mei reasoned, puzzled as to why she was being glared at.

Lily did not respond. She only harrumphed and focused on the path to the palace's northern wing.

"Can't we just ask the emperor to let us in and go wherever we want?" Ji Mei inquired after a brief moment.

Lily shook her head. "The person we are about to see is a disgrace in the eyes of that worthless emperor," she began to explain. "I doubt he even remembers such a person exists."

"Now, this Servant is curious."

"Oh, me, too!"

Ji Mei came to a halt. "Young Miss hasn't seen that person yet?"

"No," Lily said, turning her head for a brief moment to look back. She then continued to walk cautiously. "I've just heard of him. An unknown prince imprisoned in the deepest part of the palace, who even his siblings had never heard of, and who even Hugo had forgotten about, due to his insignificant presence."

"Then, how did you know him?" Ji Mei dashed over to her young mistress.

"I'm omnipotent," Lily arrogantly replied. "There was nothing that could escape my eyes."

Ji Mei gave a nod. She was sceptical, but she could only accept such an explanation. Every time their young miss went missing, she wondered if she had an evening rendezvous with this unknown prince. She tried to recall the time when their young miss had left the estate without permission and... none. There was not a time she would leave the estate in the past. Lily was a slacker who preferred to sleep and eat, rather than go on a date with the crown prince. She would even call in sick to avoid him. So, how the heck did she even know of such a prince that no one in the estate ever heard of?

'Prince Zak,' Lily thought. Her eyes lit up, and she had to cover her mouth with the cloak to keep Ji Mei from seeing a malicious grin form on her lips.

That useless prince was the product of Emperor Jun's mistake with a maid. Throughout his childhood, he was neglected and bullied, and then he was eventually forgotten. The emperor was embarrassed by his son's background and only gave the order to ensure the child's survival. Aside from that, he didn't want to hear anything else about Prince Zak.

However, Prince Zak's identity would be revealed in three years. His mother, the so-called maid, was the daughter of Empress Hannah's nanny. And who exactly was Empress Hannah? Hugo's mother.

Empress Hannah came from a very distinguished family in the Earth Realm's upper domain. Her nanny, who she was with when she came down to the secular world, was obviously out of the ordinary as well. The outcome of Prince Zak served as evidence.

It was unknown how Prince Zak's mother ended up as a common maid in the palace. But Lily was unconcerned about such trivial matters. The previous event was the previous event. It had nothing to do with the present right now. What was more important was the consequence of the past events—-the future.

In three years, Prince Zak would shake the Immortal Dragon Empire, making the emperor cough up blood with regret and Elder Leo thirst for this young man's power.

Unfortunately for those two filthy old men, Lily decided to have this prince on her side. What was the most effective way to live a happy life? Of course, having a strong assistant do the job for you while you lie down and watch from the sidelines!

---

Prince Zak lay flatly on his rough bed, his eyes wide, staring up at the rusted ceiling. His legs were aching, and his entire body was numb. His stomach was also grumbling from not eating for how many days. It was incredibly painful, but he was used to it.

But it was not like this. At least, not always. The eunuch and palace servants would usually feed him a day or two after giving him one. But now it's--- it's been four—- no—- five days; it's been five days since they gave him food. He tried getting one himself, but due to his crippled state, he was unable to do so.

He grumbled and covered his eyes with his left arm. 'How useless,' he thought. He bit his lower lip to prevent himself from crying. He had had enough of being emotional. He was supposed to. Nothing in the world was worth his tears. But in the end, he ended up sobbing uncontrollably.

At the same time, Lily and Ji Mei were both standing outside the dilapidated window. Lily leaned her chin against the window sill, continuing to watch the prince bawl his heart out while Ji Mei stood behind her.

"This is—-" Ji Mei blinked, "This boy is a prince? The emperor has a young child?" She had thought that the emperor's children had all reached the age of fifteen already. But now she could see a ten-year-old child. "Why is he here? Poor child," Ji Mei added.

"Why else?" Lily asked, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "An imperial palace would never be an imperial palace without drama," she remarked. "This child is the emperor's son from a 'maid,' but do not judge him. He has a promising future in front of him; he just needed to be toughened up."

Three years from now, after learning about his mother's past and awakening his spiritual energy, Prince Zak has taken into account exacting his revenge. Regrettably, he was too naive and had a soft heart. He eventually succumbed to his father and Elder Leo without realizing he was being used by them. Lily was watching this unfold right in front of her eyes. She recalled shaking her head and sighing several times when she remembered how those two kept on exploiting the poor little prince. Emperor Jun and Elder Leo were already selling him off, yet he still smiled at them with gratitude.

"Then, young miss, what should we do?" Ji Mei inquired curiously. "Are we getting him out of here?"

"Don't be a fool," Lily reprimanded. "If we did it and the emperor found out, he will then have a reason to sentence us to—- into—-" She tried to remember the punishment for sneaking a prince out of the palace without the emperor's permission, but couldn't recall it.

"Family execution?"

"Oh, yes; that one."

"How odd. This Servant cannot believe the Young Miss is afraid of that."

"I am still human. I still feel fear," Lily replied. She rested her head on her palm and smiled slightly. She was afraid the emperor would lose his head right away. What she wanted was to make him happy first. So that his fall would be devastating as a result.

Ji Mei's expression became deadpan. She could tell the young miss was making fun of her. "What, then, are we doing here?"

Lily's grin grew wider. "Steal the best food from the imperial kitchen," she ordered, "we should introduce the prince to real food."

Ji Mei looked back and forth between the prince and Lily before finally leaving to get the food. Regardless of how evil she was, the young miss was still a nice lady. She would never harm a helpless child. Ji Mei left with peace of mind, believing her own thoughts.

After Ji Mei had left, Lily stood up, dusted off her dress, and entered the courtyard.

---

'Creak'

Prince Zak opened his eyes and lifted his arm away from his face. Then he quickly sat down to examine the intruder. "W-who's there?" who's he inquired, his voice trembling. As the person moved out of the shadow, his grip on the dirty linen tightened.

He was expecting to see one of the eunuchs or palace servants ready to bully him again but was surprised to see a beautiful fairy instead.

He sat motionless, unable to take his gaze away from the beautiful fairy.

With a 'gentle smile', the beautiful fairy looked at him. And she approached him with grace, moving slowly. He couldn't help but think that the moonlight followed her every step, illuminating her. Her dark red hair swayed gracefully with her movements, and her robe matched her magnificent aura.

Prince Zak couldn't take his eyes off her.

Lily came to a halt a metre away from the bed. When the boy continued to stare at her, her brow furrowed. After a minute, she couldn't take it any longer and smacked the boy on the head.

"Ow! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"Are you awake now?" Lily asked, placing her right fist on her waist and looking down.

"Someone who belongs to me should not appear stupid; act brave, and even if you aren't, act intelligent."

"What?" Prince Zak asked, perplexed. He was clutching his head with both hands.

Lily rolled her eyes, clearly disappointed. This boy accepted his father simply because the other was starting to treat him gently. Every painful experience he had was extinguished by a small fake smile. What a moron!

"Boy," Lily said. She raised her right foot and stepped on the edge of the bed, then leaned in and said, "The world outside this empire is bigger than you can imagine." She grinned, "Give your allegiance to me, and I will promise to make you the envy of men and the admiration of women......."

Prince Zak raised his head. As he continued to listen to the fairy's words, his eyes gradually widened. Why did he feel he was conversing with the devil rather than a fairy?

And...

Is she right in the head?!