The moment the Crown Prince’s long fingers touched her, Rong Rong froze completely.

The familiar scent, the familiar movement—without turning around, Rong Rong knew it was him.

He had always liked to come from behind and hug her.

Usually, when his warm breath brushed her ear, she would go limp and fall back into his embrace, as if all her strength had been drained away.

But she was not Jing Rong.

Rong Rong instinctively tried to pry his hand away, but even though he only had his left hand free, it was not something Rong Rong could resist.

Seeing Rong Rong’s resistance, the Crown Prince let out a low, mocking laugh, a sound that seemed both scornful and dismissive.

In the next moment, his hand, which had been resting on Rong Rong’s waist, began to move up.

It slipped through the loosened seam of her clothes and quickly grasped what he was searching for.

Rong Rong bit her lip hard, trying not to make a sound.

Yuanbao was still nearby; she didn’t want him to hear this damned noise!

If it were just a normal touch, she might have been able to endure it.

But the Crown Prince’s hand was scarred from a sword wound by an assassin.

The rough scars brought a sensation that was difficult to describe, making Rong Rong unable to suppress a muffled groan.

“Let go of me!” Rong Rong cried out in anger, her voice low.

The Crown Prince did not respond, and instead, his actions grew even more unrestrained.

He was no inexperienced, reckless youth; after all the teaching Jing Rong had given him, he had long shed his youthful naivety and become a master in his own right.

If it were Jing Rong… she had been trained in the Respectful Affairs Room and could resist.

Unfortunately, in this body, which had never experienced anything, she was like a young girl who had been through nothing.

He only needed to use a small trick to make her crumble.

Rong Rong wanted to curse him out, but she didn’t want to wake Yuanbao and let him see her in such a humiliating state.

In her desperation, Rong Rong used all her strength to pinch his right arm hard!

The Crown Prince indeed winced in pain, letting out a slight “hiss,” and his hand around Rong Rong loosened a bit.

Noticing it had some effect, Rong Rong pinched harder with both hands on his right arm.

Although she couldn’t move him much, she knew where his wound was, and she didn’t believe he truly felt no pain!

“You’ve got quite a bit of strength.”

Despite Rong Rong’s efforts, his voice remained calm, as if her resistance only earned his ridicule.

“Let go of me!” Rong Rong demanded again.

She tried to make her voice firmer, but in his eyes, her firmness seemed like a little white rabbit threatening a big bad wolf.

As expected, he showed no reaction, reaching out to grab Rong Rong’s shoulders.

With a slight force, he pushed her down onto the couch.

Rong Rong was immobilized by him, her belt coming loose, and she lay there in front of him like a peeled, cooked egg.

“Liu Zhen, you lunatic!” Rongrong wanted to roar but deliberately lowered her voice to a whisper because of Yuanbao.

She scolded quickly and softly, “Is this how a father should act? Why do you have to do this in front of Yuanbao! Do you have any sense of shame?”

Mentioning Yuanbao made the Crown Prince pause his hand, but the next thing he said made Rongrong even more desperate.

“Where do you want to do it?”

How desperate must this person be to act like this?

Rongrong couldn’t hold back any longer.

She raised her hand and slapped his handsome face hard.

The slap echoed harshly in the quiet night.

Yuanbao, who was sleeping in the corner by the wall, stirred and rolled a little toward the noise.

The Crown Prince turned his head to look at Yuanbao and saw that his blanket had slipped off.

He got up slightly and covered him back up.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Rongrong quickly turned and rushed out of the room, clutching her clothes.

She wanted to leave Yuhua Palace and run as far as she could, but with her current appearance, she couldn’t let anyone see her.

She could only run back to the bedroom.

Once inside the bedroom, Rongrong shut the door tightly, huddled under the quilt, and only then realized that her undergarment was left in the study.

She felt exposed and had to get up and find her clothes to put them back on.

She didn’t dare to change into sleepwear, so she just slept in her clothes.

After such an uproar, her sleepiness had long disappeared.

She lay on the couch, unable to close her eyes for a long time.

…

The Crown Prince, too, couldn’t sleep that night.

His right arm was in excruciating pain.

The woman had been very cruel, targeting the part of his arm that hadn’t healed, as if she wanted to kill him on the spot.

The Crown Prince smiled faintly.

He had been careless all along.

In fact, he should have suspected something when she unfastened his belt at the Xie family’s hot spring villa.

Even if she had taken an aphrodisiac, her loss of composure at that time, the things she said and did, were all true.

Moreover, every action he took tonight, she seemed to anticipate and resist in advance, though her resistance was too weak.

Who is this woman?

The Crown Prince rubbed his temples and his forehead.

There were many questions, but he was patient. He would eventually uncover the truth and peel off her disguise.

Feeling unbearably hot, the Crown Prince gritted his teeth and stood up, shouting outside.

“Fuquan, bring water—cold water.”

…..

Xie Yuanchu had finished his breakfast and headed to the Eastern Palace.

In recent days, many things had happened both inside and outside the court.

With the Crown Prince recuperating in the Eastern Palace and unable to handle many matters, Xie Yuanchu had to come over to discuss with him.

However, today’s visit was not for official business but rather to persuade the Crown Prince on behalf of the palace.

But as soon as he entered the Yuhua Palace, Xie Yuanchu sensed that something was off.

“Master Xie, this way please.”

Xie Yuanchu nodded, casually glancing towards the main hall.

Fu Quan said, “Don’t look over there; Miss Rong Rong hasn’t gotten up yet!”

“Is she now the master?” Xie Yuanchu asked nonchalantly.

“Indeed!”

Seeing Fu Quan’s meaningful look, Xie Yuanchu understood.

He had heard that Rong Rong was staying with the Crown Prince in Yuhua Palace, and now it seemed that they were indeed living like a pair of lovebirds.

Following Fu Quan, Xie Yuanchu entered the small study adjacent to the main hall and was stunned.

The small study, originally quite spacious when used as an office, had now been cramped with the addition of a sleeping couch, making the entire room seem crowded.

At this moment, the Crown Prince was sitting by the couch, allowing the court physician to apply medicine and bandage his wounds.

Upon seeing Xie Yuanchu enter, the Crown Prince gestured for him to sit.

Xie Yuanchu took a seat, waiting for the physician to pack up and leave before speaking. “It’s been over twenty days since your injury. Why is it still bleeding?”

It is said that injuries to muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal, but normally, the wound itself should have healed by now.

The Crown Prince remained silent.

Ten days ago, Rong Rong had forcefully torn open the wound he had just closed, effectively causing him to suffer another injury.

As a result, his recovery had been slower than usual.

The bleeding had only stopped in the past couple of days.

Naturally, the Crown Prince would not explain this to Xie Yuanchu and tried to gloss over the matter.

“So early today, who sent you here?”

“Who else would urge me to find you?” Xie Yuanchu, seeing that the Crown Prince was asking about official business, immediately smiled.

“Mother?”

Xie Yuanchu shook his head. “Given that you submitted such a memorial, you should have expected that the Emperor would summon you,” he said, pulling out a memorial and placing it on the table.

This memorial was submitted by the Crown Prince to the Ministry of Rites yesterday, requesting that Fu Shi Jing Rong be posthumously honored as the Crown Princess.

The Emperor had previously instructed the Ministry of Rites to accept whatever rank the Crown Prince wished to confer on Yuanbao’s birth mother, and to carry out the enshrinement according to protocol.

However, upon seeing this memorial, the Minister of Rites, after some consideration, was still hesitant and sought the Emperor’s opinion.

As expected, the Emperor was furious upon hearing about it.

In his mind, the appropriate rank would have been something like a Consort or a Lady, but if the Crown Prince insisted on conferring the title of a side consort, it could have been overlooked.

However, the Crown Prince was requesting the title of Crown Princess.

He had never been married before, and conferring the title of Crown Princess was not just an honor but a formal recognition of the primary consort.

Once the Fu family was honored with the title of Imperial Consort, any subsequent Crown Princess would be ranked below them.

The Crown Prince chuckled lightly. “Surely Father Emperor is enraged. How could he let you be the mediator?”

“It is, naturally, the Empress’s idea. You know, Yuanbao is the Empress’s unique favorite; even you cannot compare.”

The Crown Prince nodded slightly.

Yuanbao had lost his mother at a young age, but fortunately, he was blessed and had a unique connection with the Empress.

The Crown Prince felt a bit reassured, knowing that he wasn’t fighting this battle alone and that his mother also wanted the best for Yuanbao.

“What did Mother say to you?”

“The Empress said that the Emperor favors the Wei Yuan Hou Mansion and wants to give them a proper status. If Your Highness does not comply with the Emperor’s wishes, Yuanbao’s entry into the Imperial Register may be delayed again.” Xie Yuanchu said, lowering his voice. “The Empress’s intention is to not rush the matter of titles. There will be future opportunities.”