Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

“I don’t have any strong feelings for His Royal Highness. I have my reasons for keeping my heart close. The Crown Prince knows it well,” Liu Jin Yu said, and averted her gaze from him. “Forgive me for being greedy,” she apologized as she looked at her hands.

“It means you have feelings for me, which can be turned stronger,” Xiaoming said with a smile and took her hands in his. “Jin Yu, look at me,” he said in a soft tone. She lifted her eyes and tears poured down her cheeks.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” Xiaoming said. “At least, you do not think that I am merely a puppet who listens to others and is dependent on others. You trust my abilities.” He wasn’t angry at her.

“I would not have let you refuse my feelings either. Had Wu Jin been alive, I would have asked your hand for marriage from him,” he stated, and Liu Jin Yu ended up smiling.

“I am surprised to know the Crown Prince was this adamant about having me in his life,” Liu Jin Yu said and sniffled. “My master was a good person. I know that we used to steal, but that was the only way of survival for us. He didn’t deserve this death. He looked after me when no one was there. It hurts me badly that I could not even save him,” she murmured as she finally broke into tears.

Xiaoming hugged her and caressed her hair. “Cry as much as you want,” he said in a low voice. He wondered why Kang Huijuan did that. What did he have hidden in that pawn shop?

After a while, when Liu Jin Yu calmed down, she pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. “I must return,” she said.

“Where will you go? Also, did you bury Wu Jin? I will conduct a burial ceremony for him,” Xiaoming told her.

.....

“I have already performed the last rites,” Liu Jin Yu replied.

“Then, stay here. You don’t need to go back. I will talk to my father about us before dinner,” Xiaoming said.

Liu Jin Yu was bewildered to hear him. She didn’t expect him to tell the King this early.

“His Majesty will be angry. He might kick me out,” she asserted.

“Then, he has to kick me out first,” Xiaoming said. “Father will never do that. I am ready to fight with everyone for us this time. I want to be happy for the rest of my life, so I must do everything I can to achieve that happiness,” he proclaimed and stroked her hair.

“You didn’t eat anything, right?” Xiaoming questioned her.

“I have no appetite left,” Liu Jin Yu answered. “Please don’t ask me to take meals. I am not in the mood to eat.” She pursed her lips together, again trying to control her tears.

“Then, do you want to sleep? Your eyes looked tired,” Xiaoming said.

“I don’t want to sleep either,” she mumbled. “He was my father figure, Your Royal Highness. What should I do? I want to go to the Kang residence and kill him with my hands. He doesn’t have to do this with my master. He always served Kang Huijuan and this was the way he returned his favor.” Liu Jin Yu’s anger returned again. She stood up when Xiaoming stopped her by holding her wrist as he also rose on his feet.

“It’s not proven that Wu Jin’s death was because of those things that Kang Huijuan brought that day. I know that it is giving you excruciating pain, but doing anything in a hurry will only give negative results. I will look into the matter first,” Xiaoming said, putting his hand on the back of her head as he closed the distance between them.

Liu Jin Yu rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

“The Crown Prince will have to go against the world to make everyone agree to this marriage. I do not know how he will handle it, but I have put my faith in him,” Liu Jin Yu stated.

“Thank you for putting your faith in me,” he said, and he also shut his eyes.

~~~~~~

“What? Xiaoming was hugging that servant-Liu Jin Yu?” Zhu Liling was shocked to hear from the maidservant.

“The Crown Prince has feelings for the young lady. Her Majesty should do something before he destroys his future,” Eunuch Lishi opined.

Zhu Liling recalled how Xiaoming told her that he had found a woman who was not like the women he saw in noble families. She was different. Zhu Liling could not believe his son fell for a woman, who did not even qualify to become his concubine.

“But she had left. Why did she suddenly return to him?” Zhu Liling mumbled.

“Who doesn’t want to be the Crown Princess? Liu Jin Yu even if takes thousands of births, will never be the Crown Princess. Now, she has made a place in the Crown Prince’s heart, her way is clear to the seat of the Crown Princess,” Eunuch Lishi pronounced.

“She will not be the Crown Princess, Eunuch Lishi!” Zhu Liling shouted at him, and he shut his mouth. Until she was alive, she would not let Xiaoming marry Liu Jin Yu. She stood up and immediately left to see the Crown Prince.

She halted on her way to see Eunuch Gao Bing. He bowed before the Queen and told her that the King would visit her in the night.

“His Majesty will be here before dinner and will have his dinner with Her Majesty,” Gao Bing said with a smile.

Zhu Liling was stuck now. She wanted to see Xiaoming, but now she could not. She postponed her plan to see Xiaoming until the next morning.

“Yes, Eunuch Gao Bing,” Zhu Liling said and returned to her chamber.