Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

She felt someone was sitting next to her, and she tilted her head to look.

“Your Royal Highness!” Liu Jin Yu was surprised to see him and then realized she was in his room last night. Immediately, she rose to her feet when she found out that she had slept on the Crown Prince’s bed.

She lowered her hand and apologized to him for going into his bed. “Did we sleep together?” She promptly asked him.

Xiaoming peered into her eyes and found herself checking her clothes.

“Why was I on the bed? The Crown Prince should have kicked me out. In my drunken state, I usually end up creating a mess or sometimes chaos,” she said and apologized sincerelyto him ss she bowed.

Xiaoming reached out his hand to hold her hand and drew her close to him. “We will be married soon, so I suppose we can sleep together too,” he said, and gestured to her to sit next to him.

Liu Jin Yu sat down immediately. “I didn’t do anything to the Crown Prince, right?” She questioned him.

“You should have remembered,” Xiaoming said.

.....

“What?” She knitted her brows. “I didn’t want to slap or kick his highness when I fully drunk,” she said and joined her both hands while rubbing them together. “Please forgive me if I did that. I usually end up getting violent.” She asked for his forgiveness.

“Why do you think you only slapped or kicked me last night? Some other interesting things might have happened. Don’t you think so?” That amused smirk on Xiaoming’s lips was a rare sight. What did she do?

No! She could do anything in her drunken state except that intimate with him. That was impossible for her. She had drunk with many men before, but she never did something that she should not havet.

“The Crown Prince shall not lie,” she stated. “Did he put me in the bed? Because I remember that I asked for more wine from him before falling asleep,” she affirmed.

“You poured your feelings on me last night,” Xiaoming stated, and she gaped at him in shock. “You were excited to sleep with me on the bed. So, I had no option, but to carry you here. Then,” he paused as he carefully noticed her facial expressions.

“Why did His Royal Highness pause? Tell me what happened?” She got desperate.

“Then, you pulled me for a kiss,” Xiaoming said as a wide smile formed on his lips and he traced his lips with his thumb.

“That cannot happen. The Crown Prince is lying to me,” she refused to believe him. “I have been drunk many times, but I never did this to any man,” she stated.

“What do you mean?” Xiaoming was perplexed to hear her. “Did you drink with any other men before?”

“Of course. But I never made such a mistake. I bet the Crown Prince is lying,” she proclaimed and smiled.

Xiaoming grabbed her arm and made her look at him. “But you never carried feelings for the men with whom you drank. With me, it is the opposite. You love me,” he said and smiled.

Liu Jin Yu gulped to hear him. She drank the wine to forget her pain. But she ended up getting into Xiaoming’s bed and kissing him.

“Let’s talk about the rest of the things later. Come and have chamomile tea. Your headache will vanish,” he said, and stood up to walk out of the bedchamber. She followed him, and they sat around the floor table to drink the tea.

“Will His Highness not drink tea?” She inquired, as she saw only one cup on the table.

“I will drink tea after greeting my royal father and mother,” Xiaoming said. “You should drink,” he said, and poured tea for her.

“They won’t find out if the Crown Prince drinks the tea with me. It is inappropriate for me to drink alone,” she said.

“Indeed, they will not find out. But they have put faith in me, so I shall keep that faith,” he replied.

Liu Jin Yu picked up the teacup and blew air over it before sipping the tea. She continued to wonder if she really kissed Xiaoming or if he was merely teasing her.

As she sipped the tea, she again recalled Wu Jin. Who knew that would be his last tea with her. He died but left his memories for her. She put the teacup down when Xiaoming noticed the troubled look on her face.

Before he could ask her, she asked, “Your Royal Highness, will you be able to convince everyone that you want me to be your wife? I do not want to create problems for you.”

“It will be difficult, but not impossible,” Xiaoming answered. He realized that she didn’t speak about her father with him.

But, why? He decided to ask her about him.

“Jin Yu, I am curious about one thing. Will you answer me truthfully?” Xiaoming questioned her.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

Xiaoming lifted the teapot and again poured tea for her while he opened his mouth to speak. “Who is your father?” He put the tea pot on the table and peered into her eyes.

Liu Jin Yu was bewildered to hear his query. He never asked her about her father. He was never interested. Then why did he ask out of the blue?

“I do not know,” Liu Jin Yu replied, and her hold on the cup tightened, which Xiaoming noticed. He wondered why she lied about it. She knew very well that her father was a noble, so why did she lie to him? She brought the teacup near her mouth to sip the tea.

“He is a nobleman, isn’t he?” Xiaoming asked, and his eyebrows lifted.

“How does His Highness know?” She was perplexed to hear him.

Wait! Did she reveal anything that she should not have last night? Yes! She told Xiaoming about her father.

“You told me before you fell asleep,” Xiaoming replied. “Who is your father and why did you never tell me before? You didn’t have to lie to me,” he complained, as he was a little hurt by her lie.

Liu Jin Yu put the teacup on the table.

“If I had known about my father, then I would not have been stealing money,” Liu Jin Yu said. “I don’t know him. He kicked my mother when I was nine months old. My mother never told me about him and told me never to ask about him. However, I asked Wu Jin. He told me that my father was a nobleman in Xinshui. He didn’t know who my father was because my mother never told him,” she told Xiaoming everything. The past, which was hidden from everyone. She shared it with Xiaoming when she didn’t want to.

“We will find him,” Xiaoming assured her.

“I want to kill him as well,” Liu Jin Yu said.

“Fine. Kill him for the wrong he did to you and your mother,” Xiaoming stated. “Do you have any other clues that can help us find out about him?” He inquired.

“Nothing except this,” Liu Jin Yu said, and she moved her hand inside her robe. She took out a black thread, which she always hung around her neck. On it, there was a white jade ring. “This is what he gave to my mother.” She showed him, and removed the black thread from her neck.

Xiaoming took the ring from her and examined it carefully. “I showed it to many jewelers, but no one was able to answer me. They say that it is not an uncommon jade, so many own it,” she stated.

Xiaoming flipped it around and saw the unique mark that a jeweler would leave in the ornaments that he made.

He smiled and told Liu Jin Yu not to worry about it. “I will find him for you,” Xiaoming stated, and told her to finish her tea.