Married To The Cruel Crown Prince

...",

Yin Na closed her eyes while her brows knitted as Huo Jin leaned down to kiss her. Her fingers curled, waiting for Huo Jin's kiss. However, he again flicked the middle of her forehead. She shrieked and opened her eyes to look at him.

"Leave," he said and sat back, leaving the grip on her arms. Yin Na blinked for a few seconds, before sitting up.

She brushed her fingers on her forehead. "You should not treat a woman this way, especially me," Yin Na said.

"I will if you keep taking out wrong meanings," Huo Jin affirmed.

"Then, stop giving me the wrong idea," Yin Na snapped at him and stood up. She stomped her foot on the floor and walked out of the room.

Huo Jin was relieved to see her out and tied the knot on his upper robe. "She acts like a child sometimes," he murmured when he heard the loud bang of the door.

Yin Na was standing with a tray in her hand. She walked in while the servant outside closed the door behind her. She put the tray on the table and went towards Huo Jin.

"Why did you return?" Huo Jin questioned her.

"I told you that we would eat breakfast together," Yin Na said and grabbed his arm gently. "Come," she said and pulled him up.

"You cannot use your right hand," she made him sit on the chair, "so, I will help you." She picked the chopsticks and swirled some rice noodles around them.

"Open your mouth," Yin Na said, bringing the chopsticks near his mouth. Huo Jin opened his mouth and ate the noodles.

"I can use my left hand, Yin Na. You do not need to trouble yourself," Huo Jin said and took the chopsticks from him.

"Won't it be difficult?" She asked and found that he could use the chopsticks perfectly even with his left hand.

"I learned to use both hands," Huo Jin said, "but I mostly use my right hand to work."

Yin Na was astonished to see that. "You have acquired many more skills than anyone in the Empire," she praised him.

"Your compliments will not please me," Huo Jin said and put beans on her plate. "Eat them. They are nutritious," he stated.

They both had their breakfast together. During the entire time, Yin Na kept speaking while Huo Jin silently listened to her.

Yin Na gave two pills to Huo Jin which he took with water. He wanted to see Wang Fuxing, but Yin Na did not allow him to.

"I am perfectly well now," Huo Jin assured her.

"You still need to recover. Go to bed. I will not disturb you," Yin Na proclaimed. Huo Jin realized that she was also going to stay beside him.

"Yin Na, why don't you learn something? What about your archery lessons? You should not waste time on me," Huo Jin advised her.

"I am not wasting time on you. I am Taking Care of you. I will begin practicing archery again after you recover fully. I need a mentor," Yin Na stated.

Huo Jin stood up when Yin Na asked him where he was heading to.

"I want to take a stroll," asserted Huo Jin and went towards the door. Yin Na also followed him and opened the doors for him.

"I must accompany you, then," she said with a broad smile and the two walked out of the room.

Yin Na grabbed Huo Jin's arm to give him support. He did not say anything to her because he knew she would not listen to him anymore. Moreover, they were out of the room, so he did not want her to say anything that might later become gossip.

~~~~~

"Your Majesty, forgive me for not keeping a check on the activities going around," Wang Hao bowed before the Empress, who was near the lake. The giant royal umbrella was shielding her from the sunrays.

"General Wang, it was not your fault. You already have so many responsibilities of the Empire on you. In the absence of His Majesty, your duties have increased more," Ying Lili stated.

Wang Hao lifted his head and looked at her.

"How is Yin Na doing? The remark of Liang Wu might have troubled her," Ying Lili said.

"She is fine, Your Majesty. She has been more worried about Huo Jin since the last day," Wang Hao replied. Ying Lili hummed, and the two started to walk, followed by the Empress's servants.

"General Wang, I want you to do something for me," Ying Lili said.

"Give me order, Your Majesty," Wang Hao bowed and immediately got ready for the command.

Ying Lili turned to look at Xing-Fu and said, "No one will follow me except General Wang."

Promptly, Xing-Fu and Court Lady Xu stepped back along with the other maidservants, who were aligned behind them.

Wang Hao held the royal umbrella when Ying Lili told him that it was not needed.

"It is needed, Your Majesty," Wang Hao said, and they walked ahead.

"I want to know what the Ministers think about the people who lie below in rank in the society. The previous night, I realized that senior and capable Ministers like Liang Zifan also think badly about the people below them," Ying Lili stated.

Wang Hao was puzzled upon thinking why the Empress did not ask the Princes to do this task.

"General Wang, I know you must be thinking that the Third and the Fourth Prince shall do this work. But I want someone who can bring out every sort of information. Also, Sheng Li is out of the Capital. Enemies grow at that point. Though words will not go out easily, they might spread anytime, so we should be prepared well," Ying Lili pronounced.

"I understand Her Majesty's words," Wang Hao said.

"General Wang, tell the spies to be active. We cannot take any risk at the present time," she affirmed.

"You are right, Your Majesty," Wang Hao answered and halted as the Empress stopped in the middle of the bridge.

"General Wang, how is Sister Bai Yaling? I believe that she's more than happy with you."

"She is doing well. Indeed, she is happy, Your Majesty. I am glad that she chose me to be her husband and chose my family to be hers," Wang Hao said, with a bright smile.

"General Wang is the perfect definition of a gentleman. He knows how to take care of a woman," Ying Lili complimented him.

"I try to be perfect, Your Majesty," Wang Hao replied. "The Empress has been strolling in the garden for a long time. Shall I escort her to the Northern Palace?" He humbly asked.

"I would like to walk a little more. It will be healthy for me and the kids," Ying Lili replied.

"I wanted the Emperor to stay in Luoyang. However, he commanded me to stay in the capital. It would be better if I had gone to Changying." Wang Hao still thought that Sheng Li should not have left the Capital.

"It is the duty of an Emperor, General Wang. His decision was absolutely right. I do not want him to neglect his people just because I am pregnant. Moreover, I have seen how stressed he was when he learned about the instability in Changying."

Sheng Li had hidden many things from Ying Lili, but his eyes could never hide his troubles, his happiness from her.

"The Empress is indeed a great woman. If there would be another woman at your place, then she would not have ever wanted her husband to leave. Since the first day, her majesty has gained my respect and always will." Wang Hao was overwhelmed to hear the Empress's words. He was proud that he served such a great Emperor and the Empress.

"I am not great, General Wang. I walk on the right path as Sheng Li does. I am only following my husband's path," Ying Lili stated.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is on this path because of you. I have known him since childhood. His Majesty's path is carved by you else this family would have fallen apart a long ago," Wang Hao pronounced.

"General Wang, it is not because of me that the family is still together. It is because love and understanding have occupied their hearts. Everyone's cumulative efforts have brought us this far. The toxicity ended when the brothers started to understand each other.

I would say the First Brother has the chief role in it. If he had not provided the evidence against his mother, the hatred among the brothers would have never ended," Ying Lili deduced after a deep contemplation that she had once.

Wang Hao nodded his head.

"I will start working on Her Majesty's command from today onwards. If Huo Jin would be alright, then I would have taken him with me. He has good spying abilities," Wang Hao informed Ying Lili.

"General Wang can tell him to accompany you after Huo Jin recovers fully. Let's keep it away from the Princes," Ying Lili stated.