Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

164 I punished you

“You get too informal with the Crown Prince,” Xiaoming reminded her and lifted his head when she hit the side of his head. She bit her lips and immediately apologized to him.

Xiaoming gazed at her with inquisitiveness. “Your Royal Highness, you should not have looked when I am done putting this hairpin,” Liu Jin Yu said in a low voice and showed him the gold hairpin in her hand. “Kindly forgive me, Your Royal Highness. I know His Royal Highness will forgive me because he’s a kind, gentle-loving heart.” She tried to calm him down.

Xiaoming chuckled and kept glaring at her face. Liu Jin Yu thought to not look at him and inserted the hairpin through the holes inside the hairpin. “It is done, Your Royal Highness,” Liu Jin Yu said and without meeting his gaze, she stepped back when her foot slipped off the stool.

Xiaoming outreached his hand to hold her arm but then didn’t catch her. He let her fall and the next second, she hit the floor with a loud bang. Xiaoming started to giggle while covering his mouth. Liu Jin Yu beamed at her and he pursed his lips together.

“His Royal Highness did it intentionally,” Liu Jin Yu said and stood up while caressing her back. “He could have prevented me from falling, yet he let me fall. He isn’t kind as I used to think,” she snapped at him.

“I punished you for what you did to me,” Xiaoming reminded her about her act. She hit his head. “If there would be any other person at my place, then he would have cut your arms,” he stated. Liu Jin Yu made a face at him.

“I am not a palace maid, Your Royal Highness. I do not either get trained like the others,” Liu Jin Yu proudly said. “I do not know what to do and what not to. I can pay His Royal Highness in a single day if he let me go. However, he’s adamant to have me in his manor. So, I decided to do what I want. His Royal Highness may throw me out on his own when he will get irritated with me,” she said with a broad smile on his lips.

“Do you know the meaning of your name?” Xiaoming questioned her.

“Of course. Jin means money,” she smirked, “and Yu means excellence.”

.....

“No.” Xiaoming shook his head. “Jin means stingy and Yu means house. So, you are a stingy person.” Xiaoming said and smiled.

“If I am a stingy person, then why don’t His Royal Highness throw me out?” Liu Jin Yu questioned him and crossed her arms. “I didn’t know His Royal Highness liked to keep stingy people around him. This means he’s stingy too,” she remarked without fearing she was in front of the Crown Prince.

Xiaoming found himself tongue-tied. Liu Jin Yu was good at playing with words. He stepped forward while pointing his index finger towards her when she said, “I sting, Your Royal Highness. If His Royal Highness comes near me, then it can spread to him as well,” Liu Jin Yu said and scrunched her nose.

Xiaoming curled his finger and put his hand down. “Go and wash the clothes. Your debt has increased to 500 gold coins,” Xiaoming stated.

“Pardon me?” Liu Jin Yu was shocked to hear him. “I didn’t steal anything this time,” she clarified.

“This is the third time you tried to harm me. I forgave you for the first two times. Also, your tongue should remain in control,” Xiaoming stated in his calm tone.

“That is wrong, Your Royal Highness. No one saw that I hit or harmed His Royal Highness. He cannot show such a willfulness,” Liu Jin Yu voiced. She didn’t like the way he increased her debt.

“I can. I am the Crown Prince. I can do whatever I want. My words become rules, Stingy Jin Yu,” Xiaoming said and smirked. He walked out of the chamber. Liu Jin Yu clenched her fists tightly.

“Calm down, Jin Yu. He is the Crown Prince while you are a mere servant in his manor for some time,” she told herself and turned to look towards the door.

“Jin Yu never remains calm when someone dies wrong to her. I will trouble the Crown Prince to the extent that he will himself ask me to leave the Palace,” Liu Jin Yu stated and smiled.

~~~~~

“Where is the Crown Prince lost?” Qiu Zedong asked while bringing the teacup near his mouth.

Xiaoming came out of his thoughts and looked at Qiu Zedong. “Nowhere, Royal Father.” He picked up the teacup and sipped the tea. He liked its taste.

“I heard that the Crown Prince will no longer marry the Prime Minister’s daughter,” Qiu Mu said out of the blue and everyone looked in his direction.

“Brother Qiu Mu heard right,” Xiaoming confirmed. Noble Consort Xiuying and Virtuous Consort Ruoxi looked at each other.

“The Crown Prince got angry to hear Li Hua’s name. It means the Crown Prince has special feelings towards the wife of Prince Lóng Wei,” Noble Consort Xiuying commented.

“Noble Consort Xiuying, apologize for saying such a cruel thing!” Qiu Zedong got angry at her. “Don’t let me force me to think that you started to believe such groundless rumors,” he didn’t refrain from reprimanding her in front of everyone.

“Royal Father, please calm down. The Second Mother was only curious to know as she was not present here at the time it all happened,” Xiaoming intervened between the two. “I must clarify to her that helping doesn’t mean that one has an interest in that person. It is in my nature to help someone without thinking that people may take the wrong meaning out of this,” Xiaoming calmly handled it.

“Noble Consort Xiuying knows the Crown Prince well. Yet, she has to embarrass him. She disappointed me.” Zhu Liling averted her gaze from her.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Xiuying apologized and gazed at Xiaoming, “please forgive me, Crown Prince. I must keep my tongue in control.” She got humiliated in front of everyone.

“The Crown Prince will marry within this month. Until his marriage, no one will say anything against him. If I find any baseless rumors, then I will punish the person without listening to any excuse, he or she makes,” Qiu Zedong announced to all of them.