Chapter 184
Qi Heng smiled slightly, her eyes and brows too gentle, making her seem unlike a member of the royal family.
"Don't worry, Xiao Tao, they wouldn't dare. As long as Father doesn't order my removal from the throne, the title of Crown Prince is still useful."
There's a pessimistic tone to that statement.
Tao Tao frowned slightly, pursed her lips and smiled, trying to ease the slightly heavy atmosphere.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "And you? I was able to get out so quickly. Did Xiao Tao go to see the Emperor? Did she exchange something?"
If His Majesty wants to make a request of her, he must pay the price. Since he has already bestowed upon her the title of County Princess, she should not ask anything more of him.
The fact that she is still a county princess only means that Tao Tao, or the Prince's Mansion, has paid a price.
However, he did not believe that the Prince's Mansion had done anything for him, because Duan Gan had ordered Murong Yan to be appointed as a General of the Central Army and transferred to the border. Although he did not give the order openly, anyone with a discerning eye could find out by investigating.
In his heart, the Prince's Mansion was already on Duan Gan's side.
When Murong Huaishi came to surrender, he refused to see him, indirectly rejecting his request. So why would he risk speaking up for him before the Emperor now?
Therefore, it can only be proven that Tao Tao made it.
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao lowered her eyelashes, casting a shadow on her cheek. Her gaze shifted, and she looked up at him again, forcing a smile. "It's alright. Considering my injury, His Majesty only reprimanded me."
"Does your injury... still hurt?"
Qi Heng looked at the area above her heart, frowned, and her eyes were filled with worry, mixed with a hint of hidden heartache.
Upon hearing this, she reached out and touched the wound, shook her head, and smiled sweetly, "It doesn't hurt, really, don't worry too much."
She said it didn't hurt, but that made him feel even worse than if she said it did. Besides, the wound was so deep, and if it didn't heal well, it was very likely to leave a scar.
If that's the case, wouldn't she be very sad?
He didn't know when it started, but his concern and care for her were beyond the ordinary. The moment he saw her being stabbed that night, his heart clenched, panic surged up, and he instinctively rushed out.
Not to mention the shock of others, even he himself was quite surprised.
In that instant, he realized that he seemed to have fallen in love with her—a genuine romantic love, not the casual friendship he often talked about.
To him, she was the wind, the wind of freedom, a freedom he could never attain in his entire life.
But she was like the wind, so she gained freedom with ease. Even after becoming a county princess, her personality remained unchanged, still unrestrained and flamboyant.
Looking at her, he couldn't help but say, "Xiao Tao, would it be nice if you could always be this free and unrestrained?"
Tao Tao was taken aback, looked at him in surprise, and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll try my best."
Seeing that she agreed, he felt a little disappointed, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It was as if there was a sentence he was holding back deep inside him that he hadn't said.
He is the Crown Prince, and perhaps... perhaps he can give her the right to do whatever she wants. As long as he is the Crown Prince, he has a better chance than anyone else to sit on that throne.
But he was also somewhat apprehensive, wondering if she would distance herself from him if he spoke his mind, even if she might have some feelings for him.
Qi Heng thought back to that day in prison when she said she risked speaking out because of friendship, but her actions had crossed the line of friendship.
During the silence, Tao Tao quietly observed him.
She risked so much to save him, shouldn't he repay her kindness? He's the crown prince, he should be able to give her more benefits than others.
It was precisely because he was the crown prince that she was willing to save him. If she didn't want anything in return, why would she take such a risk and get bitten by that bastard?
Although this brought her and Duan Gan closer, it wasn't enough. What she wanted was to trample everyone underfoot and prevent them from ever looking at her with disdain and arrogance again.
She wanted everyone to fawn over her and respect her, instead of shooing her away like flies when they heard about her background.
She'd had enough. No matter how big her business became, she still had to be subservient to others and depend on their whims.
Money was no longer her primary goal, so when she realized that Tao's mother was suspicious of her, she started thinking of other ways.
Especially when she realized that Duan Gan treated her specially, and when the seal was handed to her, her inner thoughts changed, and she wanted to step into the vortex of power and find a new path for herself.
She will only truly maximize her business once she reaches a position of power and influence.
During her time as the county magistrate, she did not neglect everything. Some time ago, she received news that a student who went to Yingzhou was opening a shop under her shop's name.
These are all monthly dividends that need to be paid to her; otherwise, why would she have charged such low tuition fees in the first place?
The accountant would meticulously record monthly income and expenditure, as well as material consumption quotas, and send these detailed lists to the Prince's residence for her review.
Even conflicts and disputes that arose between shop staff and customers were resolved by her status as a county princess and a member of the Privy Council.
This indirectly proves that the path she is on is correct, so there is no need to doubt herself anymore.
On another level, she was still lonely because her mother didn't truly love her; her mother loved the identity of being her daughter.
But how could she tell her that her daughter was dead? She couldn't say it. The best way was to gradually get rid of the Tao family.
But she couldn't truly leave the Tao family. She felt quite sorry for Tu Miaoling; if they could have stayed together, they would have had so much more fun.
Actually, it's her fault for ignoring her all along; otherwise, she could have stopped it in time.
"Yanli, Yanli?" Tao Tao waved her hand in front of him, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Before long, he came to his senses and found himself staring into her amber autumn eyes. Looking into those eyes, for some reason, his heart suddenly felt as if it had been struck by something.
"It's too late today, how about we continue another day?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry, I was impulsive."
She smiled and said, "How could that be? If it weren't for you, Asu would be dead today."
That parrot? Parrots of this quality are rare, not only rare, but extremely precious. Where did Xiaotao get it?
Qi Heng: "That parrot is named Asu? Doesn't that name also mean parrot?"
"You know that?" Tao Tao was a little surprised. In fact, very few people know that the parrot's other name is Asu.
I chose this name just to save trouble.
"What's wrong? Is something the problem?" A hint of doubt appeared on his face, then he added, "By the way, where's that rabbit?"
Rabbits? She didn't even pay attention.
Tao Tao said without changing her expression, "That rabbit is living very well at the Tao family's house. I deliberately separated them, otherwise I was afraid that Asu would hurt it."
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