Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

167 Be my friend

“Eunuch Gao Bing, why did you bring these scrolls? You could have told Eunuch Lishi to do this. I have plenty of servants in the manor,” Xiaoming said and glanced at Liu Jin Yu. She scrunched her nose and turned to leave. Her feet had soared from prolonged standing.

“Jin Yu, come here!” Xiaoming said as she turned to leave. Liu Jin Yu gritted her teeth and walked to him. “Align them into a stack, Jin Yu,” he ordered her.

“Your Royal Highness, these are the accounts from the five important provinces of the Kingdom. His Majesty wants the Crown Prince to end this work within this week,” Gao Bing informed Xiaoming, who nodded at him. He took his leave.

“Eunuch Lishi, you shall go out,” Xiaoming told him. He bowed and stepped backward before stepping out of the chamber. He closed the doors behind him as soon as he stepped out.

Liu Jin Yu stacked the scrolls and was ready to leave when Xiaoming stopped her. “You cannot make faces for me. You always disrespect me, who is the Crown Prince,” he complained. Xiaoming had seen the weird facial expressions that she would make for him, every time he would order her for work.

“I do not dare to do this, Your Highness. His Royal Highness assumed too much,” Liu Jin Yu stated. “I would like to ask something from the Crown Prince,” she said.

“Ask,” Xiaoming permitted her and picked the top scroll from the stack.

“What will be my monthly wages, Your Royal Highness?” Liu Jin Yu asked. “Also, I am not a registered servant in the palace. So, I can go out whenever I please. Outside, it is easier to make money. However, His Royal Highness has captivated me. May I know the reason?” She affirmed.

“Your monthly wages are the same as we give to the other servants.” Xiaoming lifted his eyes and peered at her. “Indeed, I cannot make you a registered servant. You will be questioned and then the organization you are a part of being busted. I cannot let you go out because I don’t want you to loot or steal anymore. I want you to understand the importance of earning money with hard work. I didn’t captivate you. I only protected you from getting beheaded,” Xiaoming’s crisp answers to each of her questions made her tongue-tied.

.....

“Why did His Royal Highness protect me? I robbed him and he should have punished me right away. I am not made to do this work. Also, I know what hard work is. The Crown Prince is the one who must understand it. When society doesn’t give you the reason to survive, you make your own ways to survive among them.” Liu Jin Yu didn’t remain calm for long and answered him back.

Xiaoming put the scroll on the table and stood up. He walked to her and halted in front of her. “I found you amusing for some reason,” Xiaoming answered. Liu Jin Yu drew her brows together. She got puzzled when she heard him.

“I never found anyone who didn’t recognize me right away. You were fearless and I got defeated by you. That’s what bothered me the most. A woman is better than me in strength. You are still daring enough to look into my eyes,” Xiaoming stated.

Liu Jin Yu lowered her eyelids. “I didn’t mean to defeat His Royal Highness. How could I recognize the Crown Prince when he never showed himself to the people?”

“That means my face is like every other ordinary person in the Kingdom,” Xiaoming was disappointed to hear her. “Also, I admire it somewhere,” he added and stepped back. Leaning against the desk, he folded his arms across his chest.

“Sitting on the chair of the Crown Prince is the most difficult work.”

Liu Jin Yu again lifted her head and peered into his eyes.

“How is it difficult? The Crown Prince has hundreds of servants to serve him all the time. His personal chores are already done by the palace maids and other male servants. He doesn’t even change his clothes himself,” Liu Jin Yu affirmed.

Xiaoming put his hands down and a chuckle escaped his mouth.

“Jin Yu, unlike you, I need to think hundreds or maybe thousands before speaking on a matter. I have to be wise with my words. Sometimes, I cannot even voice my opinions. Believe me, my work is the hardest. At least, you can run away after making a mistake, but where I will run,” Xiaoming proclaimed. All of his words made Liu Jin Yu realize that she crossed her limits. She found that she turned him upset.

“Your Royal Highness, you can run away too if you want to,” Liu Jin Yu said. She sounded optimistic to him.

“How?” Xiaoming was curious to know.

“Just run away for a while. After calming down your mind, you can return to this place. The Crown Prince has the highest powers after our King. So, I don’t think that it’s difficult for him to run away. He only needs to prepare his mind,” Liu Jin Yu stated and amusingly smirked.

Xiaoming was too impressed by her words. He hardly had seen any woman like her with such open thoughts.

“Jin Yu, would you like to marry the royal or any noble family if you were from the noble class?” Xiaoming suddenly changed the topic which perplexed her.

After a thoughtful contemplation, she said, “I don’t think I fit in their world. Your Royal Highness, I love to enjoy life. I don’t want my life to get trapped in the four walls,” she stated.

“Even if you had the chance to become the Crown Princess?” Xiaoming’s question made her eyes widen. “What if you were granted a huge power to rule over people?”

“Umm... I would not have married. Ruling over the people isn’t my cup of tea. I like to befriend people. Is power more important than one’s life?” She questioned him back.

Xiaoming forwarded his hand. Liu Jin Yu glanced at his hand in confusion. “Then, be my friend, Liu Jin Yu,” Xiaoming said.

She was stunned to hear him. “What is going on in the Crown Prince’s head? Why would he befriend me?” She questioned him.

“Because I need someone to share my true thoughts,” Xiaoming stated. “I will protect you till the end if you become my friend. You may need a friend like me in the future.”

Liu Jin Yu blinked her eyes finally and again looked at his hand. She lifted her hand and stopped. “Can I touch the Crown Prince? Isn’t it a crime to touch the Crown Prince since I belong to a low class?” She asked him.

“In these four walls, no one will know except you and me,” Xiaoming stated.

“His Royal Highness is right,” Liu Jin Yu said and shook hands with him. Xiaoming smiled at her, and so did she.

Eunuch Lishi, who was watching them through the gaps between the doors, was shocked to hear the Crown Prince. He saw their hands joined.

‘I need to throw her out of the palace before the Crown Prince gets attracted to her.’ Eunuch Lishi thought in his mind and stood straight.