"Not understanding?" Zhao Jinghuan stood up before her, his imposing presence staring down at her, repeating with an unwavering expression, "Lift your skirt."
"Y-Your Highness..." Su Mo'er blushed like she was being warmed by a cozy fire, her cheeks turning red as she glanced around, stuttering, "Here? Is it appropriate... Your Highness!"
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Zhao Jinghuan's expression darken, and without another word, he crouched in front of her and lifted her skirt.
She was so scared she let out a shocked cry. When she didn't know what to do, he stopped and stared fixedly at her knee.
After a moment of dazed confusion, she looked down and realized that her knee was half bruised and covered in faint red lines.
She immediately understood- she had misunderstood the crown prince's intentions again.
Clarity brought even deeper embarrassment. Initially it was due to shyness, but now it was purely awkwardness.
After staring at the two injuries for a moment, Zhao Jinghuan lightly pressed on them and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Su Mo'er let out a soft sigh and looked at the prince with watery eyes, softly saying, "It hurts..."
Even a simple 'hurt' word from her sounded melodious and touching.
But Zhao Jinghuan showed no mercy and coldly snorted, "Now you know it hurts? Good, it should hurt!"
Su Mo'er felt wronged and tearfully said, "Your Highness, why do you say this?"
"Let me ask you, since you were sitting comfortably in the elegant room, why did you go out? Even if you had to go out, why go alone? Did you not consider the possibility of an accident? If you were so careless, who could you blame if something happened?"
Su Mo'er's eyes filled with tears, and she spoke softly, "Your Highness, I didn't want this. I only went out to change my clothes, and my maid went to fetch them. And when I heard that Your Highness had returned, I wanted to greet you. I never expected such an incident to occur. Besides, it was Liu Yanzhe who had ill intentions. How can you blame me? I don't want to be mistreated for no reason, and I'm the only one suffering. What's the point?"
"Oh?" Zhao Jinghuan seemed to smile insidiously as he eyed her, "So you want to blame me? You knew who he was. You must have known about today's events. The fact that things turned out this way without any preparation indicates that you had planned for this from the start."
Although he saw through her, he didn't reveal it. After all, he himself had used her to draw out the Liu family's matter. However, he didn't expect such an unexpected turn of events.
If Zhao Jinghuan hadn't encountered them, how would today's events have unfolded?
He was somewhat afraid to think, and his heart was even more agitated, towards himself.
However, Su Mo'er was unaware of his thoughts. Upon hearing his words, she truly believed that he was blaming her. Immediately, she became frightened and made a move to kneel down, but was sternly pushed back by Zhao Jinghuan with a composed face. "Sit down," he said.
"Your Highness…" Su Mo'er's face turned red and then pale, "Please don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that. You're right, it's my fault for not considering this matter carefully."
After gently applying the medicine for her, Zhao Jinghuan put it away and sat down beside her. "Hmm, now that you understand, today can be considered a lesson for you."
As he spoke, he gazed at her meaningfully, "In the future, if you encounter such a situation, you should have a better plan."
"Your Highness…" These words made Su Mo'er's heart skip a beat, and she tensed up all over.
Zhao Jinghuan, however, changed the subject, "Don't take my previous words to heart. Even if there are ambiguities in this matter, ultimately, you are the victim. You were in a weak position and you didn't wish for this to happen. You're not wrong. Your only mistake was not considering yourself and preparing an escape route."
He paused for a moment.
At this moment, he appeared more silent than usual, yet he spoke more than usual, then after a while, he looked at Su Mo'er, "In the end, today, Prince An saved you, and you owe him this favor. If you have the chance in the future, you should repay it properly."
Upon hearing this, Su Mo'er was moved, realizing that all his words were for her benefit.
She nodded gently and whispered softly, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will handle this matter well and not cause you any trouble."
Su Mo'er had no understanding of the relationship between the Crown Prince and Prince An or the entanglements between them. But as someone who swore to be the Crown Prince's woman, she wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble and exclude all men other than the Crown Prince and her own family from causing any problems.
Although she was fond of the dashing and charming Prince An and was grateful, for her present self, the Crown Prince was everything to her!
However, after expressing her own thoughts clearly, the Crown Prince closed his eyes and remained silent.
This made her increasingly uneasy.
Could it be, did she say something wrong?
Or perhaps, while the Crown Prince didn't say it, he was actually very concerned about what happened to her tonight?
Thinking about it, how many men could tolerate their women being involved with other men and various rumors spreading like wildfire?
Such thoughts made her previously calm heart suddenly filled with unease. After gazing at the handsome profile of the Crown Prince for a while, she couldn't help herself and tentatively reached out to touch him lightly.
Seeing that there was no reaction, Su Mo'er became even bolder, gently pulling at his sleeve and softly calling out, "Your Highness~"
The softness in her voice lingered, sweet and alluring, stirring a slight tremble in the heart of the closed-eyed Zhao Jinghuan.
Seeing that the Crown Prince still didn't react, Su Mo'er grew bolder and continued to tug at his sleeve, calling out to him softly a few more times.
After enduring for a moment, Zhao Jinghuan finally couldn't hold back anymore. Frowning, he turned to Su Mo'er, his gaze becoming even more penetrating, "What is it?"
His originally clear and refreshing voice now unintentionally carried a hint of hoarseness and heaviness, and even his gaze became more aggressive.
Su Mo'er couldn't help but tremble, but ultimately, she forced herself to raise her watery eyes and speak softly, "Your Highness, are you... upset?"
Her tone was gentle, and the charm in her eyes turned into a cutting knife, seeping into the Crown Prince's heart.
Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but tense slightly all over, counter-questioning in a low voice, "Why would you say that?"
If it wasn't for her trying to find out, Su Mo'er couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and continued, "If you're not upset, then why wouldn't you let me touch you? And... why do you look like this?"
Zhao Jinghuan was puzzled, "How do I look?"
Su Mo'er timidly said, "Well, like now, your expression... it's frightening…"
Not only did Zhao Jinghuan not respond, his face became even more somber. He reprimanded in a low voice, "Nonsense! Don't think about those messy things that never happened."
His tone was slightly heavier, and coupled with his increasingly dark expression, it immediately frightened Su Mo'er, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Your Highness, you're lying. You say there's nothing, but why are you so fierce…"
Seeing the tears like pearls glistening in the beauty's eyes, Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
But her tears today were different from before, three parts anxiety, three parts shyness, and the rest was alluring, making him feel awkward and his gaze even more oppressive.
He couldn't help but clench his fists, let out a sigh, and then said, "I'm not upset, stop crying."
At this point, it had reached this extent, yet she was still acting this way?
Actually, Su Mo'er already believed him to some extent, but at this point, it was no longer simply because she was afraid he was upset or not.
In her heart, an uncontrollable desire arose. In such a wonderful and advantageous situation, wasn't this the perfect opportunity to completely win him over?
If she missed today, she didn't know when she would have the opportunity again, based on the Crown Prince's indifferent temperament.
Therefore, with this decision in mind, she gradually pursued her words step by step.
Up to now, she gathered her courage and reached out her fair and delicate hand, gently looping it under his, "Your Highness, are you really not upset?"
She portrayed herself as so pitiful that one couldn't help feeling sorry for her. While speaking, her finger, as soft as a feather, circled in his palm, and the tingling sensation immediately spread through Zhao Jinghuan's body, eventually causing ripples in his calm heart.
Her action was like a blade slowly cutting through his tense mind. Upon the already delicate rope, it made the final heavy cut, causing the rope to scatter, and his mind to be in chaos.
He involuntarily tightened, and then instinctively grasped her wrist under his large palm, "What are you doing? Why can't you be at ease at such a time?"
His strong reaction clearly caught Su Mo'er off guard, and she exclaimed in surprise as he had already pulled her into his arms.