“Has he fallen asleep?” As the Crown Prince got off the carriage, he heard Wang An report that Yuan Bao was already asleep.

Noting the Crown Prince’s confusion, Wang An quickly explained, “After dinner, Prince Yuan Bao and Miss Xue watched shadow puppets together.

Yuan Bao fell asleep during the performance, so Miss Xue carried him back to his quarters and helped him change into his nightclothes.

Miss Xue was probably tired too, so she fell asleep as well.”

The Crown Prince’s expression remained unchanged, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

After Wang An finished speaking, he silently stepped aside, watching as the Crown Prince walked into the Yuhua Palace.

Fu Quan waited outside and did not follow.

Inside Yuhua Palace, only a dim palace lantern was lit.

The Crown Prince entered the bedroom and first saw Yuan Bao sleeping soundly on the bed.

It was indeed surprising.

For the first time in four years, the Crown Prince saw Yuan Bao sleeping peacefully.

Still in disbelief, he walked over and poked Yuan Bao’s cheek.

Yuan Bao instinctively swatted away the Crown Prince’s finger, pouting in his sleep and rubbing his head against the pillow before falling back asleep.

Seeing Yuan Bao like this, the Crown Prince smiled slightly.

After his smile faded, he turned his attention to Rong Rong, who was sitting on the footstool, dozing off.

Because the footstool was too low, Rong Rong’s head had no support, making her sleep position awkward and uncomfortable.

The Crown Prince observed her for a moment before sitting down beside the bed.

His knee accidentally touched Rong Rong’s head, causing her to lean against his leg. His leg was much warmer and more comfortable than the wooden footstool, and Rong Rong even wrapped her arms around his leg.

The Crown Prince initially tried to move her, but then he had a sudden impulse and placed his hand on her cheek.

Her face, though not as soft as Yuan Bao’s, was still delicate like fine jade.

Unable to resist, the Crown Prince let his fingers linger on her face, gently stroking it.

At that moment, Rong Rong opened her eyes.

She was dreaming a pleasant dream where she had turned back into Jing Rong.

She hadn’t drunk the poisonous bird’s nest soup, and she had given birth to a son who was just as cute and smart as Yuan Bao, always clinging to her and showing affection.

But as she dreamt, she felt something was off.

Her son was only four years old, so why did his hand seem so large?

Startled, she opened her eyes.

Still half-asleep, she couldn’t see clearly, only feeling a large hand resting on her left cheek.

The hand was slightly cool but gave her a sense of calm and security.

She even gently rubbed her hand against him.

“Awake?” A calm voice came from above her head.

The voice was like a bucket of cold water, instantly waking her up.

“Your Highness.” Rongrong was startled.

The Crown Prince slowly withdrew his hand.

It was only then that Rongrong realized her hands were tightly clutching his legs.

She quickly loosened her grip, intending to stand and move aside.

However, she hadn’t anticipated that after sleeping in such an awkward position by the dragon couch for so long, her legs and waist were already numb.

While sitting on the ground, she hadn’t noticed it, but as soon as she tried to stand, she felt that half of her body was completely numb.

She lost her balance and fell directly into the Crown Prince’s arms, her chest hitting his face squarely.

Rongrong’s legs were numb, but the upper half of her body wasn’t.

The Crown Prince, who was usually cold and whose hands and feet were always cold, exhaled warm breath.

His warm breath continued to flow, making Rongrong itch unbearably.

Wanting to escape, her legs were numb and immobile, so she could only push at his shoulder to create some space.

She was breathing heavily, her heart racing, with her chest moving right in front of his face.

“Your Highness.” Reluctantly, she called out to remind him of their awkward position.

He had always kept a distance from others.

Was he not disgusted by having her this close?

Rongrong would rather be kicked away than remain in this position.

“Hmm.” He replied slowly and then fell silent.

What did “hmm” mean? Did it mean he heard her call him?

But she called to remind him of the current situation.

Was his “hmm” an acknowledgment or just a sound he made?

He remained unmoving, clearly not reliable.

Rongrong gritted her teeth and tried to get up, but as soon as she tried, she fell back again.

However, unlike before, the person sitting there did not stay still.

Instead, he reached out to catch her.

Rongrong instinctively wanted to avoid him, so she tilted her body and fell to the side.

His long arm reached out and pulled her back, placing her on his lap, and his hand inadvertently grasped something soft.

At this moment, Rongrong finally realized that this man was deliberately taking advantage of her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have held on.

She was thoroughly enraged and withdrew the hand she had been using to protect herself, scratching his neck forcefully.

Despite using all her strength, he didn’t even flinch.

Rongrong had to look up at him angrily.

He asked nonchalantly, “Can’t you stand steadily?”

“No need for Your Highness to worry. It’s fine now.” Her legs had finally regained some sensation, and Rongrong pushed his hand away and quickly escaped from his embrace.

“Leave.”

Rongrong was both embarrassed and angry, her face flushed.

Before she could express her frustration, she received such a calm command.

What could she do?

What could she say?

Rongrong had a stomach full of anger but had to swallow it all, leaving in frustration.

The Crown Prince watched her storm out, thinking of laughing, but turned around and met Yuanbao’s big eyes.

“Father, does Rongrong Auntie smell very nice?”

The Crown Prince’s chest tightened.

Clearly, Yuan Bao had been sleeping soundly just moments ago. “When did he wake up?”

“Just now,” Yuan Bao answered quickly.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was staring at him with disbelief, he added, “I really just woke up. I woke up when Rong Rong fell into your arms for the second time.”

The little brat…

After raising Yuan Bao for four years, the Crown Prince was tempted to scold him for the first time.

“Father, you haven’t said if Rong Rong’s scent is nice?” Yuan Bao climbed out from under the covers and into the Crown Prince’s arms. “I really like her scent too.”

Scent?

It was just a regular fragrance, nothing special.

But holding her felt nice, though she was a bit small.

“Father, you should marry Aunt Rong Rong.” Yuan Bao suddenly said.

The Crown Prince was a bit surprised, “Why do you think that?”

“Because Aunt Rong Rong is wonderful, and both you and I like her.”

“Who says I like her?” the Crown Prince replied.

Hearing this, Yuan Bao pouted slightly, clearly not believing his father.

The Crown Prince noticed his son’s expression, gently tapped his nose, and tucked him back into bed.

He then extinguished the candles and lay down himself.

……

When Rong Rong left the Yuhua Palace, Fu Quan was initially surprised but then asked with a smile, “Why are you out here?”

As Yuan Bao’s personal maid, she should have been inside the palace.

Rong Rong lowered her head, “The Crown Prince personally took care of Yuan Bao, so I was instructed to come out.”

“I see.” Fu Quan knew that the Crown Prince would never do anything inappropriate in front of Yuan Bao, so he wasn’t surprised by her answer.

He then instructed, “Xiao Kang, take Miss Xue to rest.”

Miss Xue followed Xiao Kang to the Lanxin Pavilion.

This was a guest room in the East Palace.

Fu Quan arranged for Rong Rong to stay here, clearly planning for her to continue being Yuan Bao’s personal maid.

Thinking that the Crown Prince would be with Yuan Bao every night, Rong Rong realized she would have to face him every evening.

The Crown Prince was very particular about women, and it was unusual for him to have one around.

Rong Rong knew well how he was, and now that he had found someone he liked, would he let her go easily?

She recalled the scene in Yuhua Palace: his strength was overwhelming, and even a casual touch from him was too much to handle.

Facing his actions, she felt like she might easily give in.

No, this time, she absolutely would not be his plaything.

…

Despite tossing and turning all night, Rongrong woke up early in the morning.

Seeing that Yuanbao and the Crown Prince were still asleep, she went to the kitchen to help prepare breakfast.

Yuanbao loved the dishes she made, so she naturally wanted to make him happy by showing off her cooking skills.

The events of last night left her feeling uneasy.

If that person was unwilling to let her go in the future, she would appeal to Yuanbao.

She could see that although Yuanbao was only four years old, he held considerable influence in the East Palace.

The East Palace kitchen was well-stocked with everything one could need, so they weren’t limited to just home-style dishes.

The kitchen had prepared Dangshen and Fuling porridge, as well as yam and dried scallop porridge, along with eight small side dishes, all very well-matched.

Not wanting to come empty-handed, Rongrong picked three white mushrooms to stir-fry and had the dishes presented by the serving eunuchs.

She naturally followed them to the Yuhua Palace.

“Auntie Rongrong, did you make today’s breakfast?” Yuanbao, already dressed, was waiting for the food and looked expectantly at Rongrong as she entered with the eunuchs.

Rongrong replied, “It was all prepared by the master chefs in the kitchen. I only made this white mushroom dish.”

Yuanbao picked up his chopsticks and offered a piece of the white mushroom to the Crown Prince.

Just then, the Crown Prince walked over.

Yuanbao quickly stood up and fed the piece of mushroom to the Crown Prince.

“Father, is it good?” Yuanbao’s large, watery eyes gazed up at the Crown Prince.