Chapter 189 Are you jealous?

After hearing this, Liu's doubts and worries dissipated somewhat. She took a deep breath and smiled with relief.

"Your Highness is too kind. With Your Highness's words, I have no more worries. Lingxi is so fortunate to receive Your Highness's love and care. I wish Your Highness all the best."

Thus, he had passed the test with Lady Liu.

Among the guests in the garden, although there were some who were dissatisfied, they could only murmur amongst themselves. At the Princess's banquet, no one dared to say anything in public.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pavilion, Su Xiaoyu placed her hands on Xiao Jingheng's chest in protest.

"Your Highness, this is inappropriate."

Once she regained her senses, she immediately realized that she was in the Princess's residence, a place with many people and eyes watching.

Xiao Jingheng did not loosen his grip on her waist, his tone tinged with displeasure: "Don't worry, no one will come here."

Then, he lifted Su Xiaoyu's chin and gazed at her: "It's been so long... have you thought about me?"

Such a direct question made Su Xiaoyu's heart skip a beat, and her cheeks flushed even more, turning red to the roots of her ears.

She lowered her eyelids slightly, not daring to meet his burning gaze: "What do you mean by that, Your Highness..."

Even though he was about to marry Lin Wan'er, he still came to flirt with her.

But the words only rolled on her tongue and she didn't say them out loud.

"I don't understand what the Crown Prince means."

Xiao Jingheng's eyes darkened slightly as he locked onto her and questioned, "I clearly told you to stay obediently in the manor. Why did you go to the hunting grounds on your own and get so badly injured?"

He reached out and touched the back of Su Xiaoyu's head, his eyes almost overflowing with concern.

"Does it still hurt?"

The sudden action almost broke Su Xiaoyu's defenses, and the emotional barrier she had painstakingly built up collapsed once again.

Her nose stung with tears, and she almost choked up.

Su Xiaoyu forced herself to take a small step back, creating some distance between herself and Xiao Jingheng, and tried her best to make her voice sound cold enough.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My injuries are no longer serious."

"I've only heard that the Prince and Miss Lin are about to get married, so it's really inappropriate for him to be so close to me. If Miss Lin sees us, or if others find out, it will inevitably cause misunderstandings, which would be detrimental to the reputations of both the Prince and Miss Lin."

After saying that, she lowered her eyelashes again, not daring to look at Xiao Jingheng's expression.

I just felt an increasing pain in the emptiness in my heart.

She thought Xiao Jingheng would be angry. After all, she had already said so much.

But after a while, a pleasant chuckle came from the other side.

Su Xiaoyu looked up in surprise, only to meet the other person's amused eyes. "Jealous?"

"I didn't, I'm not, don't talk nonsense!" Su Xiaoyu denied it immediately, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her cheeks flushing red again.

"Your Highness, please don't speak nonsense! I was only... I was only considering your best interests!"

Xiao Jingheng's smile deepened. Seeing that she was really getting anxious, he quickly stretched out his long arm and pulled her back into his arms without giving her a chance to explain.

This time, he wrapped his arms around Su Xiaoyu gently yet firmly, preventing her from breaking free.

"Don't go!"

"Let me finish."

Su Xiaoyu struggled in vain, feeling both anxious and angry, and her eyes gradually reddened.

Xiao Jingheng rested his chin on her head and said, word by word:

"Little Fish, listen carefully. My feelings for you have never changed from beginning to end, let alone wavered."

Su Xiaoyu stiffened in his arms, her heart starting to pound again.

"Those rumors outside..."

The rumors outside were quite detailed and convincing, and indeed, the lady had instructed the servants to prepare the six rites for the marriage proposal.

Suddenly, Su Xiaoyu had a flash of inspiration, and a guess formed in her mind.

Could it be...?

The next second, she suddenly broke free from Xiao Jingheng's embrace, took a half step back, and her eyes were full of anger.

"Your Highness, please have some self-respect! Although I was born a slave and my life is as insignificant as grass, I still know how to respect and love myself!"

Xiao Jingheng looked puzzled, not understanding why Su Xiaoyu's expression suddenly changed.

"In this life, I would rather remain single, devoted to Buddhism and the lamp, than ever become a concubine or a mistress... a mistress in the shadows! I beg you, Your Highness, to remember our past relationship as master and servant, please let me go, please... please stop bothering me!"

She spoke with unwavering resolve, her eyes red-rimmed, yet she refused to let a tear fall.

After saying that, she turned and left, not wanting to reveal her vulnerability to Xiao Jingheng at all.

But after taking only a few steps, he grabbed her wrist again.

Xiao Jingheng knew she was really anxious and had a deep misunderstanding, so he quickly stepped forward, leaned down, and whispered a few words in Su Xiaoyu's ear.

The voice was very low, only two people could hear it.

Su Xiaoyu's struggling movements suddenly stopped, and then she looked up as if she had been frozen in place.

"Really...really?"

Seeing her reddened eyes, Xiao Jingheng felt even more pity for her and nodded solemnly.

"It's true. I was planning to surprise you after everything was arranged, but seeing how upset you are, if I don't explain, are you planning to go out and accept flowers from someone else right now?"

Su Xiaoyu's face flushed; for a fleeting moment, she had indeed thought so.

I was thinking of trying to forget him this way.

But she said aloud, "No, no, what kind of person do you think I am, Your Highness..."

He seemed a little unsure of himself, and his eyes were somewhat evasive.

Xiao Jingheng was an extremely perceptive person; seeing her expression, how could he not understand?

"You really had such a thought?" Xiao Jingheng gritted his teeth.

The thought that she might have been lured away by another man with a bouquet of flowers and a few sweet words made his chest feel tight, and he wished he could hide her away immediately.

Xiao Jingheng's eyes narrowed dangerously, his tone carrying a hint of gritted teeth: "Su Xiaoyu, you're very good!"

Su Xiaoyu had a bad feeling, alarm bells went off in her mind, and she hurriedly made an excuse and slipped away.

"Ah! Um... I suddenly remembered that Lingxi just said she needed to talk to me and asked me to find her at the theater. I... I'll head over now! Your Highness... please make yourself at home!"

After saying that, without waiting for Xiao Jingheng's reaction, she lifted her skirt and ran out of the pavilion like a frightened little rabbit without looking back.

-

Two months later, on the 18th day of the sixth lunar month, the weather was clear and it was an auspicious day for marriage.

The marriage between the Yongning Marquis's Mansion and the Grand Tutor is the biggest event in the capital recently, attracting widespread attention.

Xiao Jingheng was not only the heir of the Marquis of Yongning, but also the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and the Inspector of the Capital Region's Defense. He was enjoying the Emperor's favor.

His wedding was attended by most of the officials in the imperial court; the streets were practically deserted. The main street from the Marquis's residence to the Lin residence was already covered with red silk.

On this day, the Marquis's mansion was bustling with carriages and guests. Even the Princess and the Emperor sent congratulatory gifts. The deafening sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers almost shook half of the capital. The streets were also crowded with onlookers, and the atmosphere was extremely lively.

When the auspicious hour arrived, a gilded, filigree, bright red wedding sedan chair carried by sixteen people set off in a grand procession, surrounded by hundreds of ceremonial attendants.

Dressed in a crimson auspicious robe, Xiao Jingheng stood tall and straight as a pine tree, riding a magnificent white steed at the very front of the procession. His usually aloof face was now radiant with a warm, spring-like smile, causing several women to blush and squeal.