"Are you sure we can really get in?" A Jinpo envoy looked at the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice prison and hesitated, retracting his steps.
"I paid a hundred taels of silver to the gatekeeper," Another Jinpo envoy wiped his tears with his sleeve, sadness apparent in his voice, "I never thought the Second Prince would be imprisoned in a place like this. I wonder how much suffering he has endured."
Just as they spoke, they saw the jailers escorting a group of prisoners back, the sound of whips cracking in the air. The two envoys imagined the Second Prince also enduring such torture and silently cried, their heads in their hands.
To avoid attracting the attention of the Great Jin people, they deliberately wore the popular clothes of the Great Jin and even covered their hair with hats.
As they hesitated, a luxurious carriage stopped at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice prison. The people inside the carriage seemed to be from a noble family, even their attendants were dressed remarkably.
"Who is this esteemed person from Great Jin?" the Jinpo envoys cautiously stood at a distance, not daring to approach.
Before long, a gorgeously dressed, frail-looking woman stepped out of the carriage, surrounded by her maidservants. It was unclear what the maidservants said to the guards at the entrance, but they quickly let her in. Soon after, someone wearing the attire of a junior official of the Ministry of Justice hurriedly followed.
Upon seeing this scene, the two envoys hesitated. If they were to approach now, would they be stopped?
The Ministry of Justice dungeon was much cleaner than Hua Liuli had imagined. There was no filthy sewage or sticky mess on the floor.
Upon entering the main gate, there were two separate paths, with the left leading to the male cells and the right leading to the female cells. Seeing several jailers urging a line of prisoners to the left, Hua Liuli stopped and waited for them to enter before proceeding.
"Junzhu, among these prisoners, two people are looking at you as if they know your identity," Yuan Yi whispered.
Hua Liuli casually glanced at them and coughed lightly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, "Don't mind them."
"Junzhu, please come this way." The jailer saw Hua Liuli's pale complexion and weak countenance, he was very concerned that she might suddenly faint. His voice unconsciously softened, as he worried that speaking too loudly or forcefully would blow her away.
"Thank you," Hua Liuli softly thanked the jailer and walked into the door on the right. She heard faint conversations mixed with sobbing, creating a somber and oppressive atmosphere.
As she descended the steps, her gaze swept over the prisoners with various expressions, slowly moving forward.
"Junzhu, you don't need to pay attention to these prisoners. Those imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice dungeon are all wicked and unforgivable criminals," the jailer worried that Junzhu would have a soft heart and feel sympathy for the prisoners, so he quickly said, "Some of them kidnapped young girls and forced them into the flesh trade, while others killed the children left behind by their husbands' previous wives for the sake of their family fortune. Although they may seem well-behaved now, they showed no mercy when they committed their crimes."
"Please, stop speaking. These despicable criminals deserve to be punished," Yuan Yi interjected, "Junzhu is timid, so please refrain from mentioning such depraved examples."
"You are right, I have been rash," the jailer said, relieved that Junzhu didn't show any sympathy for the prisoners, "The suspect involved in the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince has a very special status. To prevent any accidents, her cell is located inside."
Xie Yao huddled in the corner, trembling, as she heard footsteps approaching. Anxiously, she lifted her head and caught sight of Hua Liuli. Without any control over herself, she rushed towards the cell door, "It's you, why is it you?"
Hua Liuli halted her steps, looking expressionless at the seemingly deranged Xie Yao.
"Are you here to mock me? Is that why?" Xie Yao's head banged against the cell door, making a loud noise. Yet, she seemed oblivious to any pain as she attempted to grab onto Hua Liuli, "Why haven't you died?"
"You wanted to kill the Crown Prince, you wanted me to die too. Why..." Hua Liuli stared at Xie Yao, who desperately reached out but failed to grasp her. With disbelief in her voice, she asked, "The Crown Prince and I have no grievances with you, so why would you treat us like this"
"You stole the man I loved!" Xie Yao screamed in a sharp voice, "He was the man I liked, and you all deserve to die, you vile people!"
"Junzhu, Nubi thinks there's something wrong with her," Yuan Yi whispered, "She seems...mad."
"If she's truly mad, then how does she know about the most attractive man in the capital?" Hua Liuli raised her folding fan and covered her mouth, speaking softly, "She's simply pretending to be crazy, using this madness to mask her twisted desires."
"Some people are inherently malicious and would sacrifice everything to get what they want," Hua Liuli looked at the frenzied Xie Yao and suddenly raised her voice, "Xie Yao, have you forgotten? The Crown Prince has always preferred me over you."
"If it weren't for you, how could the Crown Prince not like me?" Xie Yao glared at Hua Liuli, "It's all because of you, everything is your fault."
"Xie Yao, you're mistaken again," Hua Liuli twirled the handle of her folding fan, her tone filled with innocent playfulness, "When I wasn't in the capital, the Crown Prince never treated you specially."
"Oh, I remember now. The Crown Prince did mention you a couple of times to me."
A smile appeared on Xie Yao's face, and she eagerly asked, "What did the Crown Prince say about me?"
"He said..." Hua Liuli swayed her body and weakly leaned against Yuan Yi, "He said, 'Although the second Miss Xie is mediocre, her eldest sister is a talented girl. It's a pity that she's frail and passed away at a young age'."
"Eldest Sister, Eldest Sister, it's about Eldest Sister again!" Xie Yao widened her eyes, "You're lying to me!"
"If my words just now made you feel upset, then you can consider it a lie," Hua Liuli lowered her eyelids, looking melancholic, "I thought you were a gentle and kind girl, but I never expected you to do something so vicious. Shortly after arriving in the capital, you hired an assassin."
"I knew it! The Crown Prince treats Eldest Sister better than me," Xie Yao angrily tugged at her sleeve, "Why do they all prefer Eldest Sister? Why?"
Suddenly, she laughed, carrying a sense of delight, "Fortunately, Eldest Sister is dead, and now I'm the only one left in the family. Dead people won't compete with me for anything."
Hearing this statement, Pei Jihuai, who had followed along, stopped in his tracks.
It seemed that the death of the eldest daughter of Royal Princess Leyang was related to her second daughter.
Pei Jihuai realized the possibility; Hua Liuli naturally guessed it too. She looked at Xie Yao, who was smiling contentedly, and said in confusion, "Xie Yao, why would you think that way?"
"What do you mean?" Xie Yao's smile vanished instantly as she stared fixedly at Hua Liuli, unable to accept any answer that didn't fit her imagination.
"How can a living person compare to a dead one?" Hua Liuli shook her head, "Your eldest sister passed away in her prime, so in the memory of others, she will forever be beautiful and talented. People might even lament her early departure and idealize her in their memories. And you, how can you compare to a girl who is remembered as perfect by everyone?"
"You're talking nonsense! You're talking nonsense!" Xie Yao grabbed her hair, her eyes bloodshot, "You're lying to me."
"So, why did you kill her then? Let her live, let the world witness her suffering on her deathbed, and make people see that you are more beautiful than her, isn't that better?" Hua Liuli sighed softly, "Unfortunately, you killed her at her most beautiful moment."
Seeing that Xie Yao didn't refute her words, a chill ran through Hua Liuli's heart. As siblings, Xie Yao had mercilessly killed her own sister just because she suspected that the man she liked favored her sister more. There was not even a trace of guilt in her heart... Her earlier speculation turned out to be true, and Hua Liuli felt nothing but disgust.
Hua Liuli shook her folding fan and sat down on the chair brought by the jailer, "You hate your eldest sister, so you killed her. But I don't understand, the Crown Prince is clearly the man you like, so why did you want him dead?"
Pei Jihuai and the other officials from the Dali Temple behind him became nervous. Since Xie Yao was brought to the Ministry of Justice, she had never admitted that she sent someone to kill the Crown Prince. She only claimed that a maidservant, out of jealousy, took the initiative to hire an assassin to kill Fushou Junzhu.
Even Xie Yao's maidservant had admitted that she had hired the assassin herself and Xie Yao had nothing to do with it.
If they hadn't received the informant's letter written by the assassin and verified that what they said was true, they might have believed that the target of the maid's murder plot was Fushou Junzhu, and the Crown Prince was merely an innocent victim.
Driven mad by Hua Liuli's words, Xie Yao had long lost her usual rationality. She laughed hysterically, "Don't you know? Only dead people won't love other women."
"I loved him so much. For him, I even caused killed my own eldest sister. But what about him?" Xie Yao glared at Hua Liuli with resentment, "He treated my heartfelt affection like a stone, disregarding me. But he favors you, a sickly girl. He even shows consideration for you. I imitated my sister's way of speaking and walking and even tried to have the same taste in food as her, but he fell in love with you!"
"But you failed," Hua Liuli curved her lips, revealing her trademark infuriating smile, "Haven't you considered that even if the Crown Prince and I died together at the hands of the assassins, we would die on the same day? Even in the netherworld, I would still be by his side. What does it have to do with you?"
"You wretch! You wretch!" Xie Yao banged her head against the door, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you."
"Xie Yao!" Hua Liuli's face turned pale with fright. She clutched her chest, seemingly as if experiencing a sudden bout of heartache. With tears in her eyes, she said, "You've truly disappointed me. Poisoning your own sister and attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince. Have you ever considered the Xie family or the people of this world?"
"What does it have to do with the people of this world?" Xie Yao spat out in resentment, "I'm happy that that sickly girl died early, leaving only me in the family."
"You..." Hua Liuli trembled as she pointed at Xie Yao. She seemed on the verge of fainting from anger.
"Outrageous!" The Crown Prince walked in, swiftly pulling Hua Liuli into his embrace. He looked at Xie Yao expressionlessly, "Fushou Junzhu is already weak and she is the future Crown Princess. Why are you deliberately provoking her?!"
Yuan Yi, who was standing beside them: "..."
Love truly blinded people's eyes. Even though it was Fushou Junzhu who had driven Xie Yao insane, in the Crown Prince's eyes, it seemed like the whole world was bullying his Junzhu.
"Crown Prince," Xie Yao's voice became more agitated upon seeing him, "Crown Prince, please don't like this wretched woman. Like me, please? Like me?!"
"Gu has no habit of hitting a woman," The Crown Prince turned his face away with a cold expression and said to the attendant eunuch, "Go help Miss Xie regain her composure."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," The attendant eunuch stepped forward, grabbed Xie Yao's hair, and vigorously shook her head several times through the fence. Then he released the broken hair in his hand, "Apologies, Miss Xie. This old servant was a bit heavy-handed."
Yuan Yi quietly stepped back, feeling a tingling sensation on her scalp.
But this move was indeed effective. Xie Yao gradually regained her composure and realized what she had just said. She immediately knelt down with a thud, "Crown Prince, it was all this woman, Hua Liuli, deliberately misleading me. I didn't... I didn't kill anyone, I didn't send assassins to kill you."
The Crown Prince ignored her. He gently adjusted his posture to make Hua Liuli more comfortable against him, "Aren't you tired? Your body is so weak. How could you come here? If someone hadn't told me, Gu wouldn't have known you were being bullied."
"Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli shyly shook the sleeve of the Crown Prince, "When I heard that Xie Yao harmed you, I couldn't bear it. Who would have known she would be so cruel and even insult me?" After that, she rushed into the Crown Prince's embrace and began to sob softly, looking quite pitiful.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Don't let it harm your health," The Crown Prince comforted her tenderly. His considerate and gentle demeanor made it seem like Hua Liuli had suffered a great grievance.
"She's deceiving you!" Xie Yao unwillingly protested, "Crown Prince, this woman is acting. She's deceiving you. Please don't believe her!"
"Nonsense! My family's Junzhu is so gentle and kind-hearted. Despite her timid nature, she protected Gu risking her life against the assassins," The Crown Prince reprimanded, "If you speak ill of her again, Gu will have someone give you sixty beatings today."
"Crown Prince..." Xie Yao looked at him in disbelief, "I'm willing to do anything for you. Why can't you see my true feelings?"
"Poisoning your own sister, was that for Gu?"
"Sending someone to assassinate my family's Junzhu, was that for Gu?"
"Setting the assassins on Gu, was that for Gu?"
Xie Yao kept shaking her head but couldn't find any words to refute it.
"Did Gu accumulate bad karma in Gu's previous life to encounter this kind of sincere but unlucky love?" The Crown Prince gently patted Hua Liuli, who was still "sobbing" in his embrace, "Using the guise of true love to commit evil acts, who are you trying to disgust?"
"By mentioning true love, you have insulted those two words," The Crown Prince looked disdainful, "Gu has no interest in this kind of love you offer."
Tears streamed down Xie Yao's face, "It shouldn't be like this..."
"Do you know what true love is?" The Crown Prince lowered his head, looking at the girl in his arms, "My family's Junzhu protected Gu by shielding me from the assassin's blade. She diverted the assassin's attention for Gu, and we even fell off a cliff together. That's true love."
"You," the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "What right do you have to compare yourself to my family's Junzhu?"
"Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli, leaning against the Crown Prince's chest, spoke softly but loud enough for Xie Yao, "I believe that you truly love me."
"You're right. Gu naturally loves you truly."
Xie Yao looked at the affectionate couple and her mind went blank. She fainted on the spot.
"What happened to her?" Hua Liuli looked at Xie Yao, who lay flat on the ground, and asked in a low voice.
"Probably overwhelmed by the 'true love' between Junzhu and the Crown Prince... and fainted," Yuan Yi said with a complicated expression.
To think that someone could faint from being infuriated.
I-It's impressive.
Krish728
Author's Note:
Hua Liuli: Miss Xie really has no sense of manners. How can she sleep on the ground?
Crown Prince: Liuli is right!
"Are you sure we can really get in?" A Jinpo envoy looked at the heavily guarded Ministry of Justice prison and hesitated, retracting his steps.
"I paid a hundred taels of silver to the gatekeeper," Another Jinpo envoy wiped his tears with his sleeve, sadness apparent in his voice, "I never thought the Second Prince would be imprisoned in a place like this. I wonder how much suffering he has endured."
Just as they spoke, they saw the jailers escorting a group of prisoners back, the sound of whips cracking in the air. The two envoys imagined the Second Prince also enduring such torture and silently cried, their heads in their hands.
To avoid attracting the attention of the Great Jin people, they deliberately wore the popular clothes of the Great Jin and even covered their hair with hats.
As they hesitated, a luxurious carriage stopped at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice prison. The people inside the carriage seemed to be from a noble family, even their attendants were dressed remarkably.
"Who is this esteemed person from Great Jin?" the Jinpo envoys cautiously stood at a distance, not daring to approach.
Before long, a gorgeously dressed, frail-looking woman stepped out of the carriage, surrounded by her maidservants. It was unclear what the maidservants said to the guards at the entrance, but they quickly let her in. Soon after, someone wearing the attire of a junior official of the Ministry of Justice hurriedly followed.
Upon seeing this scene, the two envoys hesitated. If they were to approach now, would they be stopped?
The Ministry of Justice dungeon was much cleaner than Hua Liuli had imagined. There was no filthy sewage or sticky mess on the floor.
Upon entering the main gate, there were two separate paths, with the left leading to the male cells and the right leading to the female cells. Seeing several jailers urging a line of prisoners to the left, Hua Liuli stopped and waited for them to enter before proceeding.
"Junzhu, among these prisoners, two people are looking at you as if they know your identity," Yuan Yi whispered.
Hua Liuli casually glanced at them and coughed lightly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, "Don't mind them."
"Junzhu, please come this way." The jailer saw Hua Liuli's pale complexion and weak countenance, he was very concerned that she might suddenly faint. His voice unconsciously softened, as he worried that speaking too loudly or forcefully would blow her away.
"Thank you," Hua Liuli softly thanked the jailer and walked into the door on the right. She heard faint conversations mixed with sobbing, creating a somber and oppressive atmosphere.
As she descended the steps, her gaze swept over the prisoners with various expressions, slowly moving forward.
"Junzhu, you don't need to pay attention to these prisoners. Those imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice dungeon are all wicked and unforgivable criminals," the jailer worried that Junzhu would have a soft heart and feel sympathy for the prisoners, so he quickly said, "Some of them kidnapped young girls and forced them into the flesh trade, while others killed the children left behind by their husbands' previous wives for the sake of their family fortune. Although they may seem well-behaved now, they showed no mercy when they committed their crimes."
"Please, stop speaking. These despicable criminals deserve to be punished," Yuan Yi interjected, "Junzhu is timid, so please refrain from mentioning such depraved examples."
"You are right, I have been rash," the jailer said, relieved that Junzhu didn't show any sympathy for the prisoners, "The suspect involved in the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince has a very special status. To prevent any accidents, her cell is located inside."
Xie Yao huddled in the corner, trembling, as she heard footsteps approaching. Anxiously, she lifted her head and caught sight of Hua Liuli. Without any control over herself, she rushed towards the cell door, "It's you, why is it you?"
Hua Liuli halted her steps, looking expressionless at the seemingly deranged Xie Yao.
"Are you here to mock me? Is that why?" Xie Yao's head banged against the cell door, making a loud noise. Yet, she seemed oblivious to any pain as she attempted to grab onto Hua Liuli, "Why haven't you died?"
"You wanted to kill the Crown Prince, you wanted me to die too. Why..." Hua Liuli stared at Xie Yao, who desperately reached out but failed to grasp her. With disbelief in her voice, she asked, "The Crown Prince and I have no grievances with you, so why would you treat us like this"
"You stole the man I loved!" Xie Yao screamed in a sharp voice, "He was the man I liked, and you all deserve to die, you vile people!"
"Junzhu, Nubi thinks there's something wrong with her," Yuan Yi whispered, "She seems...mad."
"If she's truly mad, then how does she know about the most attractive man in the capital?" Hua Liuli raised her folding fan and covered her mouth, speaking softly, "She's simply pretending to be crazy, using this madness to mask her twisted desires."
"Some people are inherently malicious and would sacrifice everything to get what they want," Hua Liuli looked at the frenzied Xie Yao and suddenly raised her voice, "Xie Yao, have you forgotten? The Crown Prince has always preferred me over you."
"If it weren't for you, how could the Crown Prince not like me?" Xie Yao glared at Hua Liuli, "It's all because of you, everything is your fault."
"Xie Yao, you're mistaken again," Hua Liuli twirled the handle of her folding fan, her tone filled with innocent playfulness, "When I wasn't in the capital, the Crown Prince never treated you specially."
"Oh, I remember now. The Crown Prince did mention you a couple of times to me."
A smile appeared on Xie Yao's face, and she eagerly asked, "What did the Crown Prince say about me?"
"He said..." Hua Liuli swayed her body and weakly leaned against Yuan Yi, "He said, 'Although the second Miss Xie is mediocre, her eldest sister is a talented girl. It's a pity that she's frail and passed away at a young age'."
"Eldest Sister, Eldest Sister, it's about Eldest Sister again!" Xie Yao widened her eyes, "You're lying to me!"
"If my words just now made you feel upset, then you can consider it a lie," Hua Liuli lowered her eyelids, looking melancholic, "I thought you were a gentle and kind girl, but I never expected you to do something so vicious. Shortly after arriving in the capital, you hired an assassin."
"I knew it! The Crown Prince treats Eldest Sister better than me," Xie Yao angrily tugged at her sleeve, "Why do they all prefer Eldest Sister? Why?"
Suddenly, she laughed, carrying a sense of delight, "Fortunately, Eldest Sister is dead, and now I'm the only one left in the family. Dead people won't compete with me for anything."
Hearing this statement, Pei Jihuai, who had followed along, stopped in his tracks.
It seemed that the death of the eldest daughter of Royal Princess Leyang was related to her second daughter.
Pei Jihuai realized the possibility; Hua Liuli naturally guessed it too. She looked at Xie Yao, who was smiling contentedly, and said in confusion, "Xie Yao, why would you think that way?"
"What do you mean?" Xie Yao's smile vanished instantly as she stared fixedly at Hua Liuli, unable to accept any answer that didn't fit her imagination.
"How can a living person compare to a dead one?" Hua Liuli shook her head, "Your eldest sister passed away in her prime, so in the memory of others, she will forever be beautiful and talented. People might even lament her early departure and idealize her in their memories. And you, how can you compare to a girl who is remembered as perfect by everyone?"
"You're talking nonsense! You're talking nonsense!" Xie Yao grabbed her hair, her eyes bloodshot, "You're lying to me."
"So, why did you kill her then? Let her live, let the world witness her suffering on her deathbed, and make people see that you are more beautiful than her, isn't that better?" Hua Liuli sighed softly, "Unfortunately, you killed her at her most beautiful moment."
Seeing that Xie Yao didn't refute her words, a chill ran through Hua Liuli's heart. As siblings, Xie Yao had mercilessly killed her own sister just because she suspected that the man she liked favored her sister more. There was not even a trace of guilt in her heart... Her earlier speculation turned out to be true, and Hua Liuli felt nothing but disgust.
Hua Liuli shook her folding fan and sat down on the chair brought by the jailer, "You hate your eldest sister, so you killed her. But I don't understand, the Crown Prince is clearly the man you like, so why did you want him dead?"
Pei Jihuai and the other officials from the Dali Temple behind him became nervous. Since Xie Yao was brought to the Ministry of Justice, she had never admitted that she sent someone to kill the Crown Prince. She only claimed that a maidservant, out of jealousy, took the initiative to hire an assassin to kill Fushou Junzhu.
Even Xie Yao's maidservant had admitted that she had hired the assassin herself and Xie Yao had nothing to do with it.
If they hadn't received the informant's letter written by the assassin and verified that what they said was true, they might have believed that the target of the maid's murder plot was Fushou Junzhu, and the Crown Prince was merely an innocent victim.
Driven mad by Hua Liuli's words, Xie Yao had long lost her usual rationality. She laughed hysterically, "Don't you know? Only dead people won't love other women."
"I loved him so much. For him, I even caused killed my own eldest sister. But what about him?" Xie Yao glared at Hua Liuli with resentment, "He treated my heartfelt affection like a stone, disregarding me. But he favors you, a sickly girl. He even shows consideration for you. I imitated my sister's way of speaking and walking and even tried to have the same taste in food as her, but he fell in love with you!"
"But you failed," Hua Liuli curved her lips, revealing her trademark infuriating smile, "Haven't you considered that even if the Crown Prince and I died together at the hands of the assassins, we would die on the same day? Even in the netherworld, I would still be by his side. What does it have to do with you?"
"You wretch! You wretch!" Xie Yao banged her head against the door, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you."
"Xie Yao!" Hua Liuli's face turned pale with fright. She clutched her chest, seemingly as if experiencing a sudden bout of heartache. With tears in her eyes, she said, "You've truly disappointed me. Poisoning your own sister and attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince. Have you ever considered the Xie family or the people of this world?"
"What does it have to do with the people of this world?" Xie Yao spat out in resentment, "I'm happy that that sickly girl died early, leaving only me in the family."
"You..." Hua Liuli trembled as she pointed at Xie Yao. She seemed on the verge of fainting from anger.
"Outrageous!" The Crown Prince walked in, swiftly pulling Hua Liuli into his embrace. He looked at Xie Yao expressionlessly, "Fushou Junzhu is already weak and she is the future Crown Princess. Why are you deliberately provoking her?!"
Yuan Yi, who was standing beside them: "..."
Love truly blinded people's eyes. Even though it was Fushou Junzhu who had driven Xie Yao insane, in the Crown Prince's eyes, it seemed like the whole world was bullying his Junzhu.
"Crown Prince," Xie Yao's voice became more agitated upon seeing him, "Crown Prince, please don't like this wretched woman. Like me, please? Like me?!"
"Gu has no habit of hitting a woman," The Crown Prince turned his face away with a cold expression and said to the attendant eunuch, "Go help Miss Xie regain her composure."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness," The attendant eunuch stepped forward, grabbed Xie Yao's hair, and vigorously shook her head several times through the fence. Then he released the broken hair in his hand, "Apologies, Miss Xie. This old servant was a bit heavy-handed."
Yuan Yi quietly stepped back, feeling a tingling sensation on her scalp.
But this move was indeed effective. Xie Yao gradually regained her composure and realized what she had just said. She immediately knelt down with a thud, "Crown Prince, it was all this woman, Hua Liuli, deliberately misleading me. I didn't... I didn't kill anyone, I didn't send assassins to kill you."
The Crown Prince ignored her. He gently adjusted his posture to make Hua Liuli more comfortable against him, "Aren't you tired? Your body is so weak. How could you come here? If someone hadn't told me, Gu wouldn't have known you were being bullied."
"Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli shyly shook the sleeve of the Crown Prince, "When I heard that Xie Yao harmed you, I couldn't bear it. Who would have known she would be so cruel and even insult me?" After that, she rushed into the Crown Prince's embrace and began to sob softly, looking quite pitiful.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Don't let it harm your health," The Crown Prince comforted her tenderly. His considerate and gentle demeanor made it seem like Hua Liuli had suffered a great grievance.
"She's deceiving you!" Xie Yao unwillingly protested, "Crown Prince, this woman is acting. She's deceiving you. Please don't believe her!"
"Nonsense! My family's Junzhu is so gentle and kind-hearted. Despite her timid nature, she protected Gu risking her life against the assassins," The Crown Prince reprimanded, "If you speak ill of her again, Gu will have someone give you sixty beatings today."
"Crown Prince..." Xie Yao looked at him in disbelief, "I'm willing to do anything for you. Why can't you see my true feelings?"
"Poisoning your own sister, was that for Gu?"
"Sending someone to assassinate my family's Junzhu, was that for Gu?"
"Setting the assassins on Gu, was that for Gu?"
Xie Yao kept shaking her head but couldn't find any words to refute it.
"Did Gu accumulate bad karma in Gu's previous life to encounter this kind of sincere but unlucky love?" The Crown Prince gently patted Hua Liuli, who was still "sobbing" in his embrace, "Using the guise of true love to commit evil acts, who are you trying to disgust?"
"By mentioning true love, you have insulted those two words," The Crown Prince looked disdainful, "Gu has no interest in this kind of love you offer."
Tears streamed down Xie Yao's face, "It shouldn't be like this..."
"Do you know what true love is?" The Crown Prince lowered his head, looking at the girl in his arms, "My family's Junzhu protected Gu by shielding me from the assassin's blade. She diverted the assassin's attention for Gu, and we even fell off a cliff together. That's true love."
"You," the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, "What right do you have to compare yourself to my family's Junzhu?"
"Your Royal Highness," Hua Liuli, leaning against the Crown Prince's chest, spoke softly but loud enough for Xie Yao, "I believe that you truly love me."
"You're right. Gu naturally loves you truly."
Xie Yao looked at the affectionate couple and her mind went blank. She fainted on the spot.
"What happened to her?" Hua Liuli looked at Xie Yao, who lay flat on the ground, and asked in a low voice.
"Probably overwhelmed by the 'true love' between Junzhu and the Crown Prince... and fainted," Yuan Yi said with a complicated expression.
To think that someone could faint from being infuriated.
I-It's impressive.
Krish728
Author's Note:
Hua Liuli: Miss Xie really has no sense of manners. How can she sleep on the ground?
Crown Prince: Liuli is right!
