"Wait, wait, I... I'm perfectly fine, there's no need to call the imperial physician. And thank you so much for saving me, Your Highness Prince Jing."
Looking at the busy crowd, especially Ye Zhi who was so anxious she was almost crying, Liu Lingxi felt a little embarrassed.
She tried to get up from the soft couch, but the meddlesome Prince Jing pressed her down.
Liu Lingxi didn't have that much strength and was no match for her opponent, so she could only obediently lie back down.
She felt the force on the back of her hand and arm, and the warm, large hand that held her like a pair of tongs.
This was the closest the two had ever been together, in both their past and present lives; their skin was practically touching.
"Your Highness, Prince Jing, could you please release me? This is not right."
Liu Lingxi was clearly aware of the impropriety. She lowered her eyes slightly, then quickly raised her head.
When she looked at Sheng Changling, her gaze, gentle yet filled with urgency, especially her moist eyes, easily moved the man.
Sheng Changling usually has a bad temper, but today, for some reason, he couldn't muster any energy.
He realized then that he had overstepped his bounds, especially with that soft, delicate hand beneath his large one—
He could clearly feel that the woman's fingers were slender and her palms were soft, making him want to hold her hand longer.
But when the woman's wet eyes looked at him, he couldn't ignore the pleading in them.
Sheng Changling never imagined that he could be so easily manipulated.
Sigh, I'm really defeated by her.
"Alright, it's all thanks to Xiao Wang's influence. Please don't blame him, sister-in-law."
Sheng Changling obediently withdrew his hand and then bowed to the woman in apology.
Only he himself knew that the lingering warmth on his fingertips was still something to cherish.
Liu Lingxi had no idea what the other person was thinking, but as a return gesture, she nodded.
But considering that the two of them are spending time together in private now, and that she was carried back by Sheng Changling along the way, she was worried about what would happen if others saw them.
Who knows how this will be spread!
Thinking of this, Liu Lingxi's brows furrowed with a touch of melancholy, and the corners of her mouth fell, making her look truly pitiful.
Sheng Changling's attention had never left the woman, and now that he had seen her, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Just as he was about to look again, he heard the woman speak to him in a soft voice.
"Yes, thank you very much, Your Highness Prince Jing, but... our statuses are different. I will definitely pay you a visit another day when the Crown Prince returns to express my gratitude. Perhaps—"
"Why not let Xiao Wang do a good deed to the end and see it through to the end? I will not feel at ease if the imperial physician does not come. What if something happens to the Crown Princess on the way? How sad will the Crown Prince be when he returns?"
Sheng Changling saw that the woman was using him and then discarding him. Well, actually, he realized that the Crown Princess wanted to get rid of him.
How smart he is!
The many advisors in the mansion weren't hired for nothing; they were quite adept at using subtle language and tactics.
With a few words, he silenced the woman and even romanticized his actions as concern for the Crown Prince, showing affection for the prince as well as his love for his pets.
Now, even if Liu Lingxi wanted to say something, she had no reason or excuse left.
The air fell silent again. Liu Lingxi opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn't say anything.
She tends to bite her lip when she's nervous; it's one of her little trademarks.
Now, being stared at like this by a man she barely knew, and squeezed into this small space with him, Liu Lingxi nervously began to bite her lip.
Her eyes seemed to wander aimlessly, darting around in all directions, looking incredibly bright and lively.
Sheng Changling couldn't help but chuckle as he watched, and couldn't resist striking up a conversation with her.
"Is your sister-in-law afraid of Xiao Wang? Although Xiao Wang has a bad reputation, those are just rumors and should not be taken seriously at all."
Sheng Changling's original intention in saying this was to calm Liu Lingxi down; he could feel the unease in the woman's heart just by looking at her.
However, it would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because it reminded Liu Lingxi of Prince Jing's reputation.
Whether in his previous life or this one, King Jing's image in the eyes of the world is not good.
Although both Prince Jing and the Crown Prince were equally intelligent, they had a huge difference in personality.
Although the crown prince was physically weak, he could be called a truly benevolent ruler and a kind master.
There was a palace maid who mistreated him when he was a child, but the young prince silently endured it all.
Even when the emperor later punished these lowly servants and wanted to execute them, the young crown prince pleaded for their lives without holding a grudge.
Even though these palace servants did not survive and were still executed by order of the emperor, the Crown Prince's reputation for kindness and friendliness still spread.
In contrast, the reputation of Prince Jing's Sheng Changling is like heaven and earth.
The story goes like this: the two were studying together in the Imperial Study when they came to a section on the administration of officials in the previous dynasty, and their views diverged.
The Crown Prince believed that the previous dynasty's decision not to kill civil officials was a blessing for all officials, and that these scholar-officials should be treated with respect.
King Jing, however, berated these scholars for having no integrity whatsoever, only a bellyful of scheming, not for the sake of the country, but only for their own pockets, and that not killing them would be an injustice.
The two argued endlessly, and somehow the matter eventually reached the Emperor's ears, and the ministers naturally found out as well.
The emperor naturally favored the crown prince. He didn't think the crown prince was right, but he felt that the crown prince was tolerant.
Therefore, Prince Jing's reputation became the complete opposite of the Crown Prince's: petty, treacherous, ruthless, and intolerant of others.
Furthermore, the Prince Jing's mansion did not treat its staff members with any preferential treatment, beheading them without hesitation, which further damaged its reputation.
Even the common people know that His Highness Prince Jing has an unpredictable temperament and is quick to behead people.
Some common people even used the name of King Jing to frighten children.
It was said that if the child cried again, King Jing would gouge out his tongue, and the child never dared to cry again.
In his previous life, it was because of Prince Jing's tarnished reputation that he had too few followers, making him incomparable to the Crown Prince.
Of course, most of these followers were civil officials who spoke out against the emperor, and they almost all stood behind the crown prince, forming a staunch supporter of the crown prince.
If he hadn't later promised preferential treatment to military officers and soldiers, gained the support of several generals, and launched a timely coup, King Jing might not have had this opportunity.
In truth, King Jing's ascension to the throne in his previous life was due to a confluence of favorable timing, location, and popular support.
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