Chapter 3: The Crown Prince’s Advances

“Your Highness, Your Highness, you cannot force your way in! The young lady, she…”

Mo Liuli had just carried Madam Leng back to her courtyard when she heard the young maid Greenbud’s flustered voice from within, accompanied by a scattering of other noises.

“How dare a mere maid obstruct His Highness the Crown Prince? You’re courting death!” A servant dressed in an attendant’s uniform cursed furiously at her. With a shove, he sent Greenbud sprawling to the ground. Her head struck the stone platform beside her, splitting her forehead and drawing blood.

Seeing this, several other attendants stepped forward, pushed open the bedroom door, and then stood in neat rows outside, waiting respectfully for the Crown Prince to enter.

The Crown Prince, who had been standing to one side, waving his fan and watching with an air of elegant detachment, merely gave an arrogant smile when he saw the young maid crack her head. His innate pride made him hold his chin high. Pretending not to have seen a thing, he swaggered into Mo Liuli’s bedchamber.

The Crown Prince’s name was Huanlan Haoyang.

Huanlan Haoyang sneered inwardly. Hmph! A lowly maid dared to block the path of His Highness the Crown Prince. If she had been killed, she would have deserved it! He had come today to see his Crown Princess. So what if she was not there? He was her fiancé. What harm was there in taking a look inside her chamber?

Huanlan Haoyang, dressed in brilliant yellow, had barely stepped over the threshold when a fierce gust of wind swept past his ears. Mo Liuli appeared before him as if from nowhere, carrying a bloodstained, filthy woman in her arms and blocking his path.

“Get out!” Mo Liuli shouted coldly.

Her brows and eyes curved delicately, her small lips were red as cherry blossoms, and her nose was high and refined. Her eyes shone like stars, and even with her long hair hanging loose around her exquisitely shaped face, nothing could conceal her grace or beauty.

Her words made the Crown Prince frown deeply. He snapped his fan shut against his palm, but when he lifted his eyes and took in her delicate features, his brows relaxed. The corners of his lips curled upward, and he broke into a licentious smile.

“Beauty, I presume you are my fiancée, Mo Liuli? Indeed, seeing you is far better than merely hearing of you. You truly are beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!”

With a flick of his fan, he lifted her sharp chin. His words were frivolous, and his eyes were nakedly lecherous, as though he were gazing at prey laid out upon a chopping block.

Seeing their Crown Prince delightedly teasing the woman, the attendants tactfully withdrew, taking up positions around the outer perimeter of the courtyard. So long as their master took a fancy to someone, he could devour her whenever and wherever he pleased. Having followed him for so long, they knew that well enough.

Dazed from the blow to her head, Greenbud struggled for quite some time before managing to stand. When she saw the Crown Prince behaving so brazenly toward her mistress, she charged at him without a second thought, striking him with such force that he was knocked to one side.

“My lady, please don’t be angry! Don’t be angry! Ah—this is Madam Leng? Why is she bleeding so much? Quickly, give her to me. I’ll carry her.”

After knocking the Crown Prince aside, Greenbud devoted herself entirely to her mistress, afraid that the shock might harm the unborn child. When she caught sight of Madam Leng in her mistress’s arms, she was startled as well. She immediately took the unconscious woman and carried her to the small couch in the side room.

“My lady, I’m going to fetch a physician. I’ll be back soon. Rest for now, and please don’t overexert yourself.”

Seeing how grievously Madam Leng was injured, Greenbud was frantic. She carefully helped her mistress into a chair, then hurried out to find a physician, completely forgetting about the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was furious at having been knocked aside. Yet when he saw the faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of Mo Liuli’s lips, he inexplicably calmed down. That was the only reason he did not order his attendants to make trouble for Greenbud.

Only after Greenbud had rushed away like a gust of wind did he straighten his robes. Wearing a knowing expression, he walked toward Mo Liuli.

“Beauty, there’s no one else here now. Why don’t the two of us get acquainted first and cultivate a little affection?”

As he spoke, the Crown Prince reached toward Mo Liuli’s face. He truly adored her eyes, her lips, and her nose—or rather, he adored everything about her. The very first moment he had seen her, his heart had begun to itch with unbearable desire.