Rongrong glared up at him, knowing he wouldn’t let her leave.

Though she was still angry on the surface, she was very apprehensive inside.

With Yuanbao sent away, the bedroom was left with just the two of them.

She could guess what he wanted to do.

As expected, the next moment, he reached out and enveloped Rongrong in his arms.

“Well, since the bath is ready, why don’t you help me wash?”

“Help you wash your head!”

Rongrong raised her hand to hit him, but he quickly grasped both her hands, and Yuanbao’s sleeping clothes fell to the floor.

“You… you said you wouldn’t treat me like a palace maid. In your eyes, am I just a servant to be used?”

Such scolding was useless to the Crown Prince.

“Then, shall I help you wash?”

He was really shameless.

“Let me go!” Rongrong shouted in anger.

He released her hands as requested, but Rongrong knew he wouldn’t really let her go.

She turned to run, but he was faster, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rongrong’s back pressed against his chest, making the situation look very intimate.

“Do you… do you even have a conscience?” Feeling his small movements, Rongrong couldn’t help but scold him.

“Tell me, how am I lacking in conscience?”

“You went to visit your fiancée who was seriously injured and is resting in the East Palace, but after visiting her, you come back to seek pleasure. You… you’re simply heartless!”

The Crown Prince was momentarily stunned by her words, then he chuckled softly, “You’re jealous because I visited her?”

“What do you mean, am I jealous? I don’t care about that! I just… I just don’t like seeing you like this.”

“What kind?”

Hearing his nonchalant question, Rong Rong suddenly mustered the courage to say what had been buried in her heart.

“You… you always act so high and mighty, never taking other people’s true feelings seriously.”

The Crown Prince was momentarily taken aback, and his grip on her hand loosened a bit.

Seizing the opportunity, Rong Rong slipped out of his embrace and turned to face him directly.

“You’re the Crown Prince, smart and powerful, so you think it’s natural how others treat you. You want women, and women are always around you, but when have you ever cherished their feelings… their intentions towards you?”

The Crown Prince stared at her, and only after she finished speaking did he say, “Do you think I don’t cherish your feelings?”

Rong Rong felt her resolve weaken under his gaze. “I’m not talking about myself.”

“Then who are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about… I’m talking about Miss Liang,” Rong Rong bit her lip and argued.

She wasn’t so noble; she was just pitiful, merely a reflection of her past self.

Liang Muchen was the noble daughter of a marquis, not someone Rong Rong had any right to defend.

It was just that she felt a faint sense of kinship in their shared plight.

In Liu Zhen’s eyes, even a marquis’s daughter was just a woman.

“How have I not cherished her feelings?” The Crown Prince’s voice noticeably turned cold.

Rong Rong realized she had offended him today and decided to speak her mind fully: “You’re about to marry her, yet you still think about… this kind of thing with me.”

“With you, what kind of thing?” The Crown Prince cut her off sharply.

“You know what!”

“I don’t know.”

Rong Rong could tell he was trying to force her into saying something embarrassing just for his amusement and refused to give him that satisfaction.

“Whether you know or not, I just want to tell you that you’re about to marry Miss Liang, and you still keep blocking me every day, which is just wanting me to accompany you in your frivolities. You’re the Crown Prince, you enjoy yourself, but have you ever thought about me?” Rong Rong said, tears streaming down her face.

“You always say you don’t treat me like a palace maid, that I don’t need to do servant work. So I ask you, what do you see me as? How do others in the Eastern Palace see me? How did the nobles who came to the Eastern Palace today see me?”

By the end, Rong Rong was sobbing uncontrollably.

The Crown Prince sighed slowly and reached out to wipe her tears, but Rong Rong pushed his hand away.

“I will give you the title you want.”

“I’m not asking you for a title,” Rong Rong sobbed, “I’m just telling you not to take others’ feelings lightly. You’re about to marry; stop pestering me every day and treat your Crown Princess well.”

“Fine, I promise you. I’ll treat my Crown Princess well. Is that good enough?”

Rong Rong didn’t expect him to easily agree to her request.

Hearing him promise to treat Liang Muchen well, a pang of bitterness rose in her heart.

She was indeed useless, becoming just as jealous as he said.

However, if he agreed, at least her assignment from the Empress was completed, and she wouldn’t have to worry about her own safety.

The Crown Prince continued to observe her expression.

Seeing her head lowered, he asked, “Are you satisfied now?”

“Regarding the matter of you and the Crown Princess, what is there to be satisfied or dissatisfied about?”

“So, is all this talking just to make me stop bothering you?” the Crown Prince asked again.

Hearing this, Rong Rong felt both like crying and laughing.

After saying so much about respect and cherishing, it turned out to be just about whether or not he would sleep with her.

He was so smart, he must understand her meaning. He probably just thought her feelings were laughable.

But that wasn’t all.

The Crown Prince suddenly leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry. Once I marry the Crown Princess, I’ll torment her every night until she wishes she could die but can’t.”

Rong Rong’s body stiffened suddenly.

The Crown Prince seemed quite pleased with her reaction, chuckling softly, “Fool,” before turning and heading towards the small study.

He left with a “bang,” slamming the door shut behind him.

Even though Rongrong was alone in the room, her teeth were still clenched, and her heart raced.

Liu Zhen had a way of making her blood boil with just a few words.

She stood there, lost in thought, for a long time. As the tension caused by his departure gradually faded, she began to collect herself.

What did he mean by “fool”?

Was he mocking her for being brainless?

There was nothing to laugh about.

She really didn’t think she had said anything wrong.

Recalling Liu Zhen’s expression and tone earlier, she felt it didn’t seem like he was speaking seriously.

Instead, it felt like he was deliberately trying to provoke her.

Whether provoked or not, it was only natural for him to marry the Crown Princess.

As for what would happen after he became Crown Prince, it was inevitable with his abilities.

After all, he had learned quite a lot from Jing Rong, even surpassing him in some ways.

Rongrong blushed and decided not to think too much about it.

At least tonight, she had managed to make him give up, and she could enjoy a peaceful night.

Feeling exhausted, she turned around, changed her clothes, washed up, and went to bed.

Since Yuanbao did not sleep with her that night, she had slept in a bit longer the next morning.

When she got up to comb her hair, Su Xin informed her that the Crown Prince had taken Yuanbao to the palace to choose a foal early in the morning.

He really went! Rongrong’s remaining sleepiness was instantly replaced by anger.

They had clearly discussed it the day before.

Yuanbao was only four years old, and there was no need to rush teaching him to ride. Why did things change overnight?

Rongrong didn’t know how to ride.

The only time she had ridden a horse was when she followed Xie Yuanchu out of the city to find the Crown Prince.

The wind had whipped across her face, filling her eyes and mouth, and the bumpy ride had been unbearable.

It would be better for Yuanbao to learn riding when he was seven or eight.

However, Yuanbao was so enthusiastic. With his approval, he definitely wouldn’t give up on riding.

Unable to come up with a way to make Yuanbao give up, she had to let it go for now and see how the father and son would handle bringing the horse back.

After sending Su Xin away, Rongrong did a simple hairstyle, had a bit of breakfast, and went to the small study to retrieve her manuscript.

Last night, unable to sleep, she had figured out the ending for the story of the widow and the young master.

They were people from entirely different worlds—one a lofty leaf and the other a peaceful stream.

Only when a strong wind blew, bringing the leaf down to the water’s surface, did they meet.

But once the wind stopped, the leaf returned to its high branch, and the stream resumed its own course, never to meet again.

As she thought this, her writing flowed effortlessly, and she wrote dozens of pages in one go.

She only stopped when Su Xin knocked on the door.

The ink on the Xuan paper on the table hadn’t dried yet, so she couldn’t cover it immediately.

She placed a piece of thin gauze over the table.

“Su Xin, come in and talk.”

Hearing Rong Rong’s response, Su Xin pushed open the door and said with a smile, “Miss, you’ve been busy all morning and must have lost track of time. It’s already a quarter past noon.”

Has it gotten so late?

She hadn’t noticed earlier, but upon Su Xin’s mention, she suddenly felt a bit of soreness in her wrist.