Scrambling down from the couch in a flurry, she stepped on the hem of her skirt in her panic, nearly stumbling again.
Fortunately, she managed to steady herself in time by grabbing the edge of the couch.
Overwhelmed by the fear of having done something wrong and coupled with her request for the Heir Apparent’s help today, Liu Yun naturally took the opportunity to kneel down with a thud.
With a humble and sincere attitude, she pleaded, “Your Highness, please forgive me. Today, I have acted improperly. I will accept any punishment afterward, but I beg Your Highness to hear me out first!”
On the other side, Xiao Heng reluctantly withdrew his hand. To mask his embarrassment, he sat up straight without a word, his gaze falling on Liu Yun, who had hastily knelt down. Frowning, he said, “Get up first.”
As the Heir Apparent, a position second only to the emperor and above all others, Xiao Heng had been accustomed to receiving countless bows and prostrations since birth.
But he did not like seeing Liu Yun kneel before him.
She should not adopt such a posture toward him.
It was a gesture of deference and distance, cold and detached.
Thus, Xiao Heng spoke, at least to make her meet his gaze.
But Liu Yun clearly did not think the same way. Stubbornly, she insisted, “Please allow me to finish speaking, Your Highness.”
Suppressing the urge to stride over and lift her up, Xiao Heng replied impatiently, “Speak.”
To Liu Yun, this impatience seemed like reluctance toward her plea for help.
But she had no choice. With the Ministry of Works tightly controlled by the Minister and Vice Minister, everyone insisted it was her father’s responsibility. If she did not take this risk, how could the truth ever come to light?
Even if she angered the Heir Apparent, she had to give it her all today.
With this thought, Liu Yun performed a deep bow, her expression solemn as she declared, “Your Highness, please be discerning. The task of constructing the Wanshou Pavilion was never entrusted to my father from start to finish. It was Vice Minister Chen who assigned his nephew, Yuanwailang Chen, to oversee the project. Now that something has gone wrong, the blame is being unjustly pinned on my father. My Liu family is truly wronged. I have come here today, shamelessly, to implore Your Highness to investigate this matter and clear my father’s name!”
Her mother often said she spoke too softly. This time, Liu Yun wanted her words to carry more weight, her tone particularly impassioned and forceful.
Yet, after delivering her impassioned plea, when Liu Yun looked up again, she was met with the same indifferent and dignified face.
“Your Highness?”
Liu Yun called out softly, her heart pounding in her chest as anxiety began to set in.
What if the Heir Apparent refused to help?
Her hands, hanging at her sides, nervously twisted her skirt, and her eyelashes fluttered.
“Are you finished?”
Just as she was about to swallow nervously, Liu Yun heard this question.
“Uh… y-yes, I’m finished.”
Liu Yun didn’t understand what the Heir Apparent meant by this question. After a moment of surprise, she could only stammer in response.
The Heir Apparent spoke calmly and lightly, “Then get up.”
Liu Yun looked bewildered, wanting to say more, but the Heir Apparent spoke again, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“I said, get up.”
At these words, Liu Yun instinctively trembled and obediently rose from the ground.
She had almost forgotten that the Heir Apparent was not one to be trifled with.
Standing nervously to the side, Liu Yun kept her head bowed, not daring to look at the Heir Apparent’s face, like a timid quail.
Xiao Heng was both amused and exasperated.
“If your father is innocent, I naturally will not wrong him.”
For Liu Yun, this statement was enough.
Her father was innocent to begin with. As long as the Heir Apparent intervened, there was hope for a turnaround.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Her eyes sparkled with delight, and in her joy, she wanted to perform a grand bow to express her gratitude.
But just as she began to bow, her hands not yet lowered, a brocade boot appeared before her, hooking under her clasped hands and lifting her entire body upright.
“I dislike such formalities. If Lady Liu continues like this, I will no longer concern myself with Minister Liu.”
Hearing the threatening words, Liu Yun immediately grew fearful and stammered in response, “Your Highness, please forgive me. This humble subject dares not do so again.”
Her gaze lowered, naturally falling upon the Crown Prince’s legs.
In truth, Liu Yun’s first reaction at that moment was something entirely unrelated.
For instance, the Crown Prince’s legs were very long.
So long that he could sit there and still hook her up.
She stole another glance, estimating that his legs likely reached her waist.
Xiao Heng did not miss that fleeting movement of Liu Yun’s and also glanced down.
He asked, puzzled, “What are you looking at?”
Liu Yun’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly shook her head. “Nothing, nothing.”
When Liu Yun grew nervous, her body tensed even more, her hands and feet stiffening until she resembled a rigid pillar from a distance.
Xiao Heng naturally noticed this, a flicker of amusement crossing his eyes as he spoke in a calm tone, “Why are you still standing there? Sit down.”
“The mutton at Tianqin Tower is quite good. You should try it.”
That tone, once again, brooked no argument and reminded Liu Yun of something.
She must have lost her mind to stay and eat mutton here!
Especially with the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince must be mad too.
As the thought crossed her mind, Liu Yun immediately declined tactfully, “Your Highness, please enjoy it. This humble subject must return home.”
Today’s purpose was to plead for her father’s mercy. Now that the matter was settled, why would she linger?
Moreover, there was a formidable presence in this room.
As the timid words of the young woman fell, Xiao Heng’s previously relaxed and leisurely expression imperceptibly darkened.
“What? I have helped Lady Liu, yet you won’t even grant me this small favor?”
This sounded very much like the plots she wrote in her Huaben.
Tyrannical playboys, in their attempts to get close to the beautiful heroine, would often speak such domineering and unreasonable words.
But this was the Crown Prince, and she was no heroine.
What kind of person was the Crown Prince?
His eyes were like those of an old woman buying leafy greens at dusk—finding fault with this and that, never satisfied.
He was likely displeased at having his dignity slighted by the daughter of a minor official.
She couldn’t waste the opportunity she had just begged for. Liu Yun’s mind raced, coming up with a reasonable excuse.
Facing the Crown Prince’s slightly cold gaze, she suppressed her fear of him, forced a smile, and earnestly explained, “Your Highness, please do not blame me. My father is still in Dali Temple prison, and my mother is out there working tirelessly. As a child, how could I possibly feel at ease in such a situation? I beg Your Highness to allow me to return home to fulfill my filial duties.”
Hearing these sincere words, Xiao Heng was momentarily taken aback, a hint of awkward embarrassment flashing across his face.
“Ahem… you may go.”
He had nearly forgotten—her father was still in prison, and here he was inviting her to eat mutton.
What a blunder.
As if granted a great reprieve, Liu Yun performed a Wanfu Greeting and swiftly exited the Chun Room.
Creak~
Turning to close the door, Liu Yun saw Jin He and the Crown Prince’s attendant.
“Lady Liu, may you be blessed. We bid you farewell.”
Without uttering another unnecessary word, Su Lin smiled as he escorted Liu Yun.
Liu Yun nodded reservedly, took Jin He with her, left Tianqin Tower, and boarded her family’s carriage.
Once inside the carriage, Liu Yun recalled the heart-pounding moment when she opened her eyes and saw the Crown Prince. With a mix of reproach and complaint, she asked Jin He.
“Sister, why didn’t you wake me?”
Jin He hurriedly replied, “I knocked on the door, didn’t you hear me, Mistress?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Yun realized something and wore an embarrassed expression, saying sheepishly, “I must have been sleeping too soundly, hehe~”
“Never mind, never mind.”
Jin He chuckled as she tidied the slightly disheveled strands of hair at her mistress’s temples, asking with a smile, “So, Mistress, did the Crown Prince agree to help our family?”
At this, Liu Yun perked up, nodding eagerly like a chick pecking at rice. “It’s done, it’s done! His Highness said he would investigate thoroughly. If Father truly did nothing wrong, he will be released without charge!”
“Thinking about it, that sprained ankle of mine was really fortunate—it unexpectedly saved our Liu family!”
The more Liu Yun thought about it, the more worthwhile it seemed, while Jin He could only shake her head beside her.
“No one speaks of themselves like that. Mistress, you truly have a broad heart.”
With the Crown Prince’s promise, the mistress and servant felt reassured and returned home peacefully, eager to share the good news with Mother and ease her worries.
Tianqin Tower, Chun Room.
With the guests gone, the tea grew colder, and Xiao Heng felt even less inclined to stay.
“Your Highness, the lamb stew is ready. Would you still like to taste it?”
Zhu Fu asked respectfully from outside, his face beaming with a smile.
“No appetite.”
Xiao Heng idly fiddled with the delicate pink-and-white peony blossoms, lazily declining.
Zhu Fu’s smile remained unchanged as he ordered the plates of delicacies to be cleared away.
Though the person had left, her scent lingered. Xiao Heng inhaled the faint fragrance remaining in the room and felt a wave of drowsiness.
“Go, on my orders, instruct the Dali Temple Minister to investigate the Wanshou Pavilion case. Dig out that reckless fool and have him executed directly.”
“And…”
At this, Xiao Heng’s gaze softened slightly as he continued, “Have Physician Liu sent back before dinner.”
Su Lin acknowledged the order and immediately rode off to Dali Temple.
…
After Liu Yun returned home, Zhang Yuhua also came back not long after, her expression still grim.
To lift her mother’s spirits, Liu Yun recounted her visit to the Crown Prince that day.
“You’ve truly worked hard, Shanshan, going to such lengths for your father.”
After a moment of shifting expressions, Zhang Yuhua first praised her daughter before changing the subject. “But Shanshan, you were truly bold—that was the Crown Prince!”
Liu Yun couldn’t argue; she had indeed taken a risky gamble that day.
But there was no other choice. To save her father, it was all worth it.
It was just a matter of risking a little face—nothing more.
Seeing her daughter’s stubborn expression, Zhang Yuhua suppressed the various thoughts in her mind, waiting for her husband’s return to discuss further.
But neither mother nor daughter expected him to return so soon.
Moreover, he was clean and tidy from head to toe, his face glowing with a smile, and his spirits high—hardly resembling someone who had spent two days in prison.
Author’s Note:
Update
Next chapter on Sunday
Thank you to all the readers following along