Chapter 110: No Need to Trouble the Crown Prince

Although Bu Shenglian was now residing in his estate, placing a spy beside the Crown Prince was a crime that demanded severe punishment.

Yuan Zaichun gazed out the window. In the distance, he could vaguely make out Tingzhu Court, where Qiao Qingyun lived. Bu Shenglian had thoroughly renovated the place from front to back, and it no longer resembled the Tingzhu Court of old.

Perhaps because Bu Shenglian disliked peach blossoms, the peach trees beneath which Qiao Qingyun had once loved to dance had all been replaced with osmanthus trees.

Scene after scene from the past flashed before Yuan Zaichun’s eyes. He clenched his fists, a trace of regret surfacing in his gaze.

Just as he was about to continue reviewing the memorials, a young servant came hurrying in. After announcing himself obediently at the door, he entered, knelt respectfully, and said, “Your Highness, Qiongzhou has sent a tribute of cloud brocade. His Majesty ordered two bolts to be brought to you. Please have a look.”

At once, a maid entered with bolt after bolt of fabric in her arms and placed them before Yuan Zaichun, bowing as she presented them for his inspection.

He cast a casual glance over them, then paused. Reaching out, he touched a pale blue bolt embroidered with lotus blossoms. It had the appearance of a lotus rising unsullied from the mud.

“Does Commandery Princess Qingyun have any?”

“Your Highness, His Majesty gave the remaining two bolts to Commandery Princess Qingyun, and another to the Noble Consort. The last two are here with Your Highness.”

“Send this blue one to her.”

Yuan Zaichun tapped the fabric before him. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them, and the eunuch hurriedly replied, “Yes, Your Highness.”

After everyone had withdrawn, Liufu kept his head lowered and remained silent. The thousands of words in his heart reached his lips, only to be forced back down.

“What is it?”

Yuan Zaichun and Liufu had, without exaggeration, grown up together. Liufu had been raised at his side and tasked with protecting him. Now, at the slightest change in Liufu’s expression, Yuan Zaichun already knew what he wanted to say.

The man set down the memorial in his hand and leaned back against the chair. Tapping the tabletop with one hand, he said irritably, “Say what you wish to say. Or do you also want to join the others for extra training?”

“My lord…”

Liufu hurriedly lowered his head in fright. He would not dare say another word.

At the Purple Thorn Palace, Zhong Shi awoke to find the woman beside him, standing guard just as she had in the Crown Prince’s residence. His heart gave a violent thump. He had been about to reach out and touch Qiao Qingyun’s cheek, but in the next instant, he suddenly remembered his identity and withdrew his hand with some helplessness.

It was not yet time. That day would come eventually.

Zhong Shi silently swallowed the impulse that had seized him. Treating him had exhausted Qiao Qingyun, and she was now supporting her head with one hand, nearly asleep where she sat on the floor.

“Miss…”

The man’s hoarse voice roused Qiao Qingyun, who had not been sleeping deeply in the first place. Almost instinctively, she reached out to feel Zhong Shi’s pulse. Only after sensing that it had returned to a powerful, steady rhythm did she gradually regain consciousness.

“You’re awake?” Qiao Qingyun propped herself up and sat beside him, exhaustion written across her face. She could have left him in the care of someone else, but she had not dared. She knew Yuan Zaichun’s character too well. If he wanted someone dead, this place had probably already been bought off.

Zhong Shi nodded and forced himself upright. Unfortunately, he pulled at his wound and drew in a sharp breath of pain. Yet his smile never faded.

“Why did you insist on guarding me yourself, Miss? Hongying and the others could have done it.”

Though the injury was his, he could not bear to see Qiao Qingyun looking so weak.

“Heh… I was afraid someone else might fail to notice if your condition worsened, so I decided to stay myself. How do you feel now? Does it still hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. Your medical skill has always been the finest.”

That included you, Miss.

He did not say the last part aloud. He only gazed at Qiao Qingyun with deep affection. When he had possessed neither name nor status, he had wanted nothing more than to protect her from afar. Who could have imagined that, through a twist of fate, he would turn out to be the Crown Prince of a neighboring kingdom?

Now that his identity had undergone such a world-shaking transformation, his ambition and greed had only grown. Human beings were never satisfied—least of all when the two of them were so well matched in status.

“Stop talking and rest properly. I need to go back and sleep for a while too.”

“You must be exhausted, Miss.”

Watching Qiao Qingyun yawn again and again, Zhong Shi realized that she might not have slept properly even once since all this began.

“So you do know. Don’t get injured again in the future. Every time you are hurt, I have to stay by your side. If this continues, I will ruin my health.”

She spoke with a smile as she warned him, and though her words carried little force, Zhong Shi etched them firmly into his heart.

He must not get injured. She would wear herself down caring for him.

“Please return and rest, Miss. I am fine here.”

Only after examining Zhong Shi once more did Qiao Qingyun finally set her mind at ease and leave.

She had intended to sleep properly. Evening was approaching, after all, and she truly needed the rest. But as soon as she reached the palace gates, she saw Hongying and Qingluo arguing with a young eunuch.

“My commandery princess already has fabric. There is no need for His Highness to trouble himself.”

Qingluo’s voice was full of fury. Qiao Qingyun could not help but take a closer look before walking over.

“Who is it?”

“Greetings, Commandery Princess.”

The young eunuch was quick-witted and immediately lowered his head in salute. His proper, cautious manner did not make him look like someone who would deliberately cause trouble.

“What is going on?”

Qiao Qingyun turned to Qingluo. Qingluo was just about to speak when Hongying cut in first, looking down at the kneeling eunuch.

“Commandery Princess, His Highness ordered this cloud brocade to be delivered to you. But His Majesty already sent some earlier today, so…”

“Enough. I understand. Go back and tell your Crown Prince not to waste any more thought on me. I am very tired.”

“But… Commandery Princess, this is a task His Highness entrusted to me. If I fail to complete it…”

“Tell him that even if he sent me mountains of gold and silver, I still would not accept them. Go back.”

The young eunuch, who was returning with a report, had not expected Qiao Qingyun to be so forceful. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed to her.

“Yes. This servant takes his leave.”

He turned and departed. After he had gone some distance, Qingluo and Hongying approached, their faces filled with indignation.

“Commandery Princess, isn’t His Highness making things impossible for you? He injured Zhong Shi today. Who knows whom he will hurt tomorrow?”

Qingluo was not wrong. Hongying opened her mouth, yet could not bring herself to say what she wanted. How could she complain about the current Crown Prince in front of Qiao Qingyun? After all, the two of them had once been husband and wife.

“It does not matter. From now on, reject everything that comes from them.”

“Yes.”

At the Crown Prince’s residence, Yuan Zaichun had just been preparing to rest when he heard Liufu announce someone outside. He sat up, dressed from head to toe in a yellow robe, and irritably pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had the distinct feeling that something unpleasant had happened. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Come in.”

The person who entered was not Liufu, but the young eunuch.