The Crown Prince’s gaze was fixed on her, his tone growing more serious. “Do you think that’s all there is to it?”

Rongrong felt a bit of pain from his intense gaze and turned her face away, lowering her head to apply medicine to his arm.

Whether she felt something or not didn’t matter. Sometimes, it wasn’t about Rongrong’s feelings but about the reality.

She and he were destined to be nothing more than this.

Since he had to marry Liang Muchen, she was just a pawn between him and Liang Muchen.

Moreover, with her status, even without Liang Muchen, there would be someone like Xie Yuanrui or other noble ladies to match with him.

Anru’s reminder in the imperial garden was very accurate—there was a place for her in the Eastern Palace.

Before, she was in charge of the inner court and finances; now, she might have a slightly better position, maybe even get some valuable treasure or be chosen as a concubine.

If she hadn’t spent those few comfortable months outside the palace, she might have been moved.

Looking back now, it all seemed meaningless.

She preferred to stay in her small courtyard, writing stories, making ham, and sleeping until the sun warmed her backside.

Rongrong finished applying the medicine and continued to bandage his arm.

While doing so, she asked, “What are you referring to, Your Highness? I don’t quite understand.”

The Crown Prince’s brows furrowed deeply, his expression turning cold and distant, unlike his earlier soft tone.

“Leave.”

Each of those two words was like an ice block thrown at Rongrong.

She quickly tied a knot on the partially bandaged arm and stepped back.

---

When Yuanbao returned to Yuhua Palace, it was eerily quiet.

“Auntie?” Yuanbao asked.

For the past few days, whenever he came back from the palace, his aunt Rongrong would run out to greet him, either hugging or holding his hand.

Yuanbao enjoyed this reception, but today, he didn’t see Rongrong anywhere.

Wang An quickly stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, the esteemed prince has returned.”

“I know, my father told me this morning in the study,” Yuanbao said.

He hadn’t seen his father for a long time and almost cried in front of Liu Yu and Liu Lin.

Then Yuanbao suddenly smiled slyly, “Is Father with Auntie now?”

Wang An’s smile was a bit awkward. “The esteemed prince is in Yuhua Palace, but Miss Rongrong… I don’t know where she went.”

“Huh?” Yuanbao sensed something unusual. “What’s going on?”

Wang An didn’t really know.

When the incident happened, he and his master were chatting in the corridor.

Rongrong suddenly came over and said the esteemed prince needed his master’s service.

Before Wang An could ask further, Rongrong ran off quickly. It looked like she had been treated badly.

Wang An knew he couldn’t say too much, so he replied gently, “Just now, only Miss Rongrong was attending to the crown prince. We don’t know what happened, but when Miss Rongrong came out, she didn’t seem very happy. The crown prince… seemed quite angry too.”

Yuan Bao felt troubled.

He should check on Miss Rongrong first, but he didn’t know where she had gone.

He decided to visit his father first.

“Wang An, go find Miss Rongrong. If she’s still upset, don’t disturb her. If she’s not angry anymore, tell her I want to eat crystal buns tonight.” Miss Rongrong liked cooking, and maybe cooking would help her calm down.

“Yes.”

After instructing Wang An, Yuan Bao ran to the Yuhua Palace.

The crown prince wasn’t in the main hall, the tea room, or the bedroom.

Yuan Bao looked around and finally saw Fu Quan outside his playroom.

“Uncle Fu,” Yuan Bao walked over.

When Fu Quan saw Yuan Bao, he looked relieved and hugged him tightly, almost crying, “Your Highness, you’re finally back.”

“Is my father inside?”

“Yes.” Fu Quan opened the door a bit, and Yuan Bao peeked in.

He saw the Crown prince playing with a puzzle.

Like Yuan Bao, his father liked to play with puzzles when he was in a bad mood.

However, his father usually used both hands to play with the puzzle.

Today, for some reason, he was using only one hand, and it was the injured one.

Had his father come up with a new way to play?

Yuan Bao took off his shoes and socks and ran in barefoot, like a little cannonball, bumping into his father’s back.

“Father,” Yuan Bao called softly.

The crown prince’s stiff back relaxed a bit, and he said gently, “You’re back?”

Yuan Bao lay on his father’s back, watching his father’s left hand fiddling with the puzzle. “Father, does your hand still hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. The doctor said the scar will heal in a month.” The prince put down the puzzle and pulled Yuan Bao to the front, “Try to take it apart.”

It’s said that the puzzle was invented by Zhuge Kongming during the Three Kingdoms period.

It didn’t need nails or ropes; it relied on its shape and structure to form a stable whole.

Yuan Bao usually played with a simpler version, a six-piece puzzle.

Because his father loved puzzles, the palace had almost all kinds, including four-piece, square, linked, twelve-piece, and eighteen-piece puzzles.

The one his father was playing with was the most complicated, a twenty-four-piece puzzle.

Yuan Bao was stunned when he saw it.

He had tried the twelve-piece puzzle before and couldn’t put it together at all.

However, puzzles were easier to take apart than to put together.

Although he couldn’t assemble the twenty-four-piece puzzle, he could take it apart.

He picked up the completed puzzle, examined it, figured out how to disassemble it, and then started working on it.

“Father, are you unhappy today?” Yuanbao asked while dismantling the puzzle lock.

The Crown Prince squinted slightly. “Who told you that?”

“If you were happy, you wouldn’t be here alone playing with the Kongming lock,” Yuanbao said, snorting.

The puzzle was actually easier to solve than it seemed.

After removing the two key pieces, the lock fell apart with a clatter.

“I’m done, Father.”

The Crown Prince was surprised that Yuanbao had solved the puzzle with just two pieces removed.

Seeing his chubby son, his previously cold eyes softened with admiration.

“Understanding how to tackle the root of the problem, very good.”

Pleased with his father’s praise, Yuanbao took the opportunity to ask, “Father, are you angry with Aunt Rongrong?”

He was angry, but he wasn’t sure why exactly. His anger was partly directed at her but seemed to be more about his own frustrations.

“Father, will you send Aunt Rongrong away?”

The Crown Prince patted Yuanbao’s head. “Father won’t send her away, but I think she might want to leave on her own.”

“Not at all,” Yuanbao said with a smile. “Yesterday, Aunt Rongrong told me she wanted to stay and watch me grow up.”

“She said that?” The Crown Prince was puzzled.

Yuanbao nodded and then grew worried. “Father, did Aunt Rongrong say she wants to leave?”

“No,” the Crown Prince replied.

Yuanbao was relieved. “I knew it! Aunt Rongrong has been very happy in the Eastern Palace these days. She makes breakfast and dinner for me every day, watches me play soccer, and takes a walk around the garden with me after dinner. When I’m too tired to walk, she carries me.”

The Crown Prince’s expression darkened. “It seems you’ve been very happy without me around.”

“Yes,” Yuanbao said, immediately noticing his father’s mood. He laughed and added, “But I’m even happier now that you’re back.”

The Crown Prince’s lips curved into a slight smile, and he couldn’t help but pinch Yuanbao’s cheek.

“Father, will you sleep with me tonight?”

After not seeing his son for a long time, he certainly wanted to. But…

“And what about her?”

“She can join us. I’ll sleep in the middle, Aunt Rongrong on the inside, and Father on the outside.”

“She won’t agree to that.” Given how she acted coldly when he spoke to her earlier, she was unlikely to agree to sleep together.

Yuanbao was confident.

Although Aunt Rongrong hadn’t agreed last time, he believed she would this time.

Over the past few days, she had been especially kind to him.

Yuanbao even thought she treated him better than the Princess Consort of Su treats Liu Lin.

“Once Aunt Rongrong comes back, I’ll tell her. Father, let’s play Liu Bo.”

“Alright.”

The chessboards in this room were always set up in advance by the servants.

The father and son sat down and began to play seriously.

…

“Miss Rongrong, there you are.” Wang An spotted someone sitting in the crane pavilion from afar and walked closer, confirming it was Rongrong.

“Eunuch Wang.” Rongrong was lying on the table, but quickly sat up straight when she heard Wang An’s voice.

“Miss Rongrong, Prince Yuanbao has returned. He said he wants to eat your crystal buns tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll go to the kitchen right away.” As she stood up, Rongrong suddenly remembered something, “Where is Prince Yuan Bao now?”

“He’s playing with the crown prince!”

The crown prince… Rongrong felt a pang in her heart.

Just now, in a moment of anger, she had upset the prince.

Would he be so angry that he’d banish her from the Eastern Palace? She had always been cautious and knew how to deal with her master, but lately, she seemed to get angry more easily…

Nervously, Rongrong followed Wang An to the kitchen, and within a quarter of an hour, the crystal buns were ready.

Rongrong stared at the plate of buns for a moment, then picked them up and headed to Yuhua Palace.

In front of Yuan Bao, the Crown prince probably wouldn’t show his anger, right?

Upon entering Yuhua Palace, Rongrong found both the front and back halls empty.

She knew the father and son must be playing together.

Sure enough, as she approached the room, she heard Yuan Bao’s frustrated voice.

“Father, you won again.”

Though she didn’t know what they were playing, Rongrong felt a sudden surge of irritation.

This man couldn’t even let a child win occasionally!

Fu Quan, standing by the door, saw Rongrong carrying the buns and quickly opened the door for her.

Inside, she saw the father and son playing Liu Bo.

This game was more complex than backgammon.

Last time, Yuan Bao had tried to teach her, but she only vaguely remembered that the goal was to capture the opponent’s pieces.

“Yuan Bao, if you attack here, let’s see if it changes anything.” The Crown prince moved a few pieces back, helping Yuan Bao review the game.

Yuan Bao propped his head on his elbow, pondering over the chessboard.

He moved pieces to three different positions.

“Ah, Father, I understand now. If I move here, your side is exposed, and you can’t capture my pieces anymore.”

“Exactly.”

Listening to their harmonious conversation, Rongrong felt a pang of sadness.

Yuan Bao was so smart.

He was only four years old, and she couldn’t teach him much anymore.

But the Crown prince could teach him everything hands-on.

Thinking about her previous thought of taking Yuan Bao away now seemed ridiculous.

What good would it do for Yuan Bao to leave the Eastern Palace with her?

Staying in the Eastern Palace, even if Liang Muchen had a legitimate son in the future, Yuan Bao could still grow into an outstanding prince.

The status of a prince was something that no amount of gold or silver could buy.

She quietly placed the crystal buns on the side table, not wanting to interrupt the father-son conversation.

“Auntie, you’re here!” Yuanbao sniffed the aroma of the crystal buns and turned to see Rongrong.