Chapter 221

221 Defend my woman

Xiaoming wanted to take Liu Jin Yu to the King’s manor, but she was unable to walk properly. For this, Xiaoming asked the servants to prepare a palanquin.

Liu Jin Yu refused him and told him that she would try harder when Xiaoming stopped her. “You saved my life, so you must get some special perks for that,” he stated. He told her not to think about the others in the palace. She would be seen as his savior, and no one would question why she was taken into a palanquin.

“Your Royal Highness, who could be the person who sent an assassin behind you?” Liu Jin Yu asked. “Does the Crown Prince have enmity with anyone?”

“I do not know,” Xiaoming replied.

“The Crown Prince is lucky that I followed him today. He cannot be lucky every time,” Liu Jin Yu remarked.

“As per the Royal Father’s command, the princes are not allowed to go out until the culprit is caught,” he informed Liu Jin Yu. She liked the King’s decision.

“Pardon this servant for intruding into the conversation.” They both heard the voice of a female servant. “The palanquin is here, Your Royal Highness,” the maidservant informed Xiaoming from outside.

Liu Jin Yu put her feet on the ground and wore the shoes. She stood up when Xiaoming circled his arm around her waist and swiftly carried her in his arms.

“Don’t complain,” Xiaoming told her before she could speak. She zipped up her lips while Xiaoming walked out. Once he had put her inside the palanquin, he asked the porters to lift it.

.....

“Stop!” Liu Jin Yu said from inside. Xiaoming bent down and pushed the curtain away.

“Did something happen?” A worried expression appeared on his grimace.

“Please come inside. I don’t want the rumors to begin about us. If the Crown Prince walks and a commoner is inside the palanquin, people will only gossip,” she opined. Xiaoming also sat inside the palanquin.

“Is this good?” He asked with a joyful smile. Liu Jin Yu nodded. He gave the command to the eight porters, who lifted it up, and they left for the King’s manor.

“Jin Yu, have you thought about marrying someone?” Xiaoming suddenly questioned her. “Answer truthfully,” he told her.

“Of course, I would like to marry someday,” Liu Jin Yu answered. “I want to be loved by my husband and his family. However, I wonder if anyone would like to have me as a wife.” She was an orphan, so her status was nothing even among the commoners.

“I think the man will be lucky to have his wife. You know warfare, which women lack. You do not fear anything and are good at the chores too,” Xiaoming cheered her mood up.

“Umm... I have seen a man’s family ask for a dowry too. I am collecting a few things for that so that my master won’t feel burdened. It is not from the money of stealing,” she stated. Xiaoming smiled and nodded his head.

“Ahh, we still have not arrived at the King’s manor,” Liu Jin Yu said.

“It will take fifteen minutes more,” Xiaoming replied.

“Oh.” She shifted her gaze back at him.

The palanquin wobbled and Jin Yu fell forward to Xiaoming. Their faces came dangerously close to each other.

“Forgive us, Your Highness. The stairs were huge to negotiate.” They heard a masculine voice.

Liu Jin apologized too and gradually moved back when Xiaoming caught her wrist. The next second, he drew her close.

She mumbled, “Crown Prince,” and felt his hand on her waist. Her breath hitched and her toes curled.

Their eyes remained fixated on each other for a while. Xiaoming lifted his hand when she closed her eyes, thinking he would kiss her. However, her illusion was broken when he picked up a tiny leaf from above her head.

“It was there,” he said, and she immediately opened her eyes. He showed the leaf to her and threw it out of the tiny window of the palanquin.

Liu Jin Yu promptly sat back down. How could she even think of getting a kiss from the Crown Prince? She must have lost her mind. Her heart had almost exploded when Xiaoming pulled her and their faces were only inches apart. She stole a glance at him and looked at his lips.

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She tightly shut her eyes and cursed herself internally for thinking that way.

“Why does your face carry those weird expressions?” Xiaoming asked, and she came out of her thoughts.

“Is it so?” She asked and started to laugh.

“There was nothing to laugh about,” he said, and she apologized.

“Your husband will be happy to have you. It is rare to find someone like you,” Xiaoming said, and her heart rate increased. Their eyes again met.

“The in-laws must be good too. I have heard of such cases where in-laws trouble their daughters-in-law and the husband stays quiet. He let his family abuse his wife. That’s why it’s tough to take the decision about marriage,” Liu Jin Yu clarified to him.

“If your future husband loves you, then he will definitely defend you in front of his family,” Xiaoming stated.

“What if it becomes impossible for him to defend me or stand for me?” She inquired.

“It will never happen until your husband loves you,” Xiaoming asserted. His voice seemed full of confidence.

“In front of a family, a man usually falls weak. He listens to his mother, his sister, and others in his family more than he should listen to his wife. And if the woman loves her husband, she does nothing but bear the torture,” Liu Jin Yu affirmed. “I have seen many cases like this. Sometimes women have to lose their lives too. The man marries another one and enjoys his life,” she stated. She suddenly sounded down and looked gloomy, as if she had personally experienced it.

“No matter what, I will always defend my woman. I will always protect her. Because she is the one who will hold my hand till the end of my life,” Xiaoming pronounced.

Liu Jin Yu continued to stare into his eyes and her heart skipped a beat, which she found weird.