"You want me to seduce the Crown Prince? Why are you crying now that I've entered the pala

Chapter 233 Just imitating you, are you upset?
Murong Jing stood at the entrance of the Moon Cave, watching the girl dancing gracefully on the stage.

He shouldn't have come today, but he came anyway because of what his sister Qionghua wrote in her letter.

If I hadn't come, I'm afraid I would never have seen him again in this lifetime.

Logically, after years of longing, he should have been even more moved to see her dance again.

But for some reason, the stunning dance moves I remembered now seem to fail to stir much emotion in me.

On the contrary, on the contrary...

His gaze couldn't help but drift towards a certain spot on the stage. Even though it was just a silhouette, it seemed to attract his attention more than the lithe and graceful young woman on the stage.

Is she doing well?
Do you miss home? Do you miss... him?

Is the Crown Prince good to her? Has he bullied her?

He had told himself countless times that the dream was just a dream, but only now, seeing her again, did he realize how much he missed her.

Sang Sang, Sang Sang...

He had so much to say, but he knew he was no longer qualified.
-
Qin Su vaguely sensed an excessively intense gaze upon her and couldn't help but turn around to look behind her.

"what happened?"

Chu Jiang noticed her movement and looked over.

There was nothing special behind him except for the busy servants.

"It's nothing." She smiled gently at him, thinking it must just be her imagination.

As the two were talking, the dance on stage ended. Qin Qionghua was slightly out of breath, maintaining her final pose, waiting for His Highness the Crown Prince's comments.

The others remained silent, seemingly waiting as well.

Chu Jiang seemed oblivious, his attention solely focused on the person beside him, until Qin Su gently tugged at his sleeve to remind him, at which point he looked up somewhat impatiently: "Not bad?"

Qin Qionghua was overjoyed and was about to express her gratitude when she heard the man's lazy and indifferent next words: "Since you like it, let her dance one more time."

The people at the table changed their expressions slightly. These words were tantamount to treating the young lady like a dancer and ordering her around.

Qin Su was also a little surprised, blinking her beautiful eyes as if somewhat embarrassed: "Isn't this inappropriate? After all, it's my sister..."

"What's wrong with it?"

Chu Jiang looked up and asked, "Or is it that my words no longer carry any weight?"

Qin Qionghua stood on the stage, her face pale. Her thin dance costume was barely enough to keep out the cold wind, but it was nothing compared to the chill that the man's words had instilled in her.

Her tender gaze fell upon the distinguished man below the stage, and her swaying figure was heartbreaking.

She could dance for the Crown Prince, but she was unwilling to become a tool for him to seduce women, especially since that woman was her half-sister whom she had trampled underfoot since childhood.

Because Qin Qionghua didn't react, the atmosphere at the scene gradually became a bit awkward.

Qin Rusong frowned, about to step in to smooth things over, when the Crown Prince suddenly smiled and said, "It is said that dancing on a red-hot iron plate makes the dance movements more graceful and beautiful. It would be suitable for such a cold day."

Those around who heard this changed their expressions. What did this mean?
Are you suggesting the young lady dance on a hot iron?

Is this dancing?
This is going to kill her!
If people didn't know it was the Crown Prince who had come, they would have thought it was the cruel and ruthless Seventh Prince.

Qin Rusong was the first to recover, and said with a smile, "Your Highness has misunderstood. My daughter was just too excited and didn't hear what Your Highness said clearly."

He then said to the musicians playing, "Continue."

He turned his gaze to Qin Qionghua: "Qiong'er, didn't you hear His Highness's words? Since His Highness and the Empress like it, then it's your honor. Please continue."

Qin Qionghua felt a chill run through her body. She knew her father was trying to give her a way out, but... but...

She couldn't help but look in the direction of the Crown Prince. This was her last chance. She had prepared for so long, but had she still failed?
This was the first time Qin Su had ever seen her high and mighty elder sister look so dejected, as if her whole heart had been ripped out.

She chuckled softly and said to Chu Jiang, "Since my sister doesn't like it, let's not make things difficult for her. It's just dancing; she doesn't have to watch."

Chu Jiang's brows furrowed slightly, and he tightened his grip on the girl's hand. However, instead of letting someone go based on the girl's words, he looked at Qin Rusong and asked, "What does Prime Minister Qin think? Are my words useless?"

What a huge pot!
Qin Rusong was almost crushed to death.

If His Highness the Crown Prince's words are useless, then who is?
"Your Highness is too kind! How could your words be useless?"

Despite the heavy snow, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Then, turning to the frozen girl on the stage, he said, "Qiong'er, do you want your father to go up and invite you?"

The dancers who were accompanying her also came over and gently tugged at Qin Qionghua's arm to bring her back to her senses.

Qin Qionghua's face, which was already cold, was now burning hot, as if her dignity had been torn off and thrown to the ground along with her father's words.

She met Qin Su's eyes. The girl still looked as gentle and innocent as ever, but she felt more disgusted and repulsed than ever before.

"Daughter, jump."

She didn't know how she started speaking, but when the music started again, a tear seemed to fall from the corner of her eye.

Qin Su watched coldly, sometimes finding it quite amusing.

In the original work, there are quite a few similar scenes where the female lead is publicly humiliated. Why is it that when this happens to a female supporting character, she acts like she's about to die, as if someone has bullied her?

She turned to look at Chu Jiang, her tone tinged with self-reproach: "Did I do something wrong? My sister seems very sad..."

The girl's eyes were filled with an indescribable sadness as she spoke.

Chu Jiang felt a pang of pity and wanted to hug her and comfort her: "Why is she sad? She wasn't sad when she bullied you in the past."

He reached out his warm fingers and gently brushed across the corner of the girl's delicate eye: "You're too kind to worry about her like this."

Qin Su almost burst out laughing, but when she looked up at the man, her eyes held a hint of sadness: "It's okay, the past is the past. I don't remember anything."

Don't you remember...?

Chu Jiang's hands tightened involuntarily, but when he looked at the girl dancing on the stage again, his expression turned cold.

It's alright, I'll remember it.

Qin Qionghua was originally immersed in self-pity, but she inadvertently met the man's gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her previously melancholy and gloomy mood suddenly turned into excitement.

Just as she was trying to regain the man's attention, she saw the people in the audience suddenly stand up and leave...

"what--"

She lost focus and, without realizing it, fell down on the stage.

Even so, the two simply embraced and left without looking back, leaving her alone on the stage, looking like a clown.

"Go back?"

Chu Jiang wanted to leave with Sang Sang; this place was really annoying.

Qin Su heard the commotion behind her and guessed that something had happened.

But she didn't turn around. It's precisely this attitude of not taking people seriously that makes her even more infuriating.

Hearing the tyrant's words, she was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something: "No, I want to go to the side courtyard."

Chu Jiang wanted to say, "What's so interesting about the side courtyard?" but when he met the girl's eyes, he suddenly understood what she meant.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed back the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue.

"Okay, you can go wherever you want."

As the two were talking and leaving, they didn't notice that someone nearby paused when they heard what they said and quickly changed direction.
-
The news of the young lady's embarrassment at the banquet quickly reached Zhang's ears.

She disliked Qin Su and was even less willing to feign illness for Qin Rusong's sake, so she pretended to be sick and did not attend the banquet, just like before.

The crown prince clearly didn't care about her, so she didn't go and no one bothered her.

But now...

"How is she? Have you called a doctor?"

Even though she was very disappointed in her daughter, she couldn't help but care when she heard that something had happened to her.

"No, Miss, she..." The servant wore a complicated expression. For some reason, Zhang's heart sank, and she felt uneasy...
-
“I used to think that, except for getting married, I would stay here for the rest of my life…”

After Qin Su and Aunt Xu moved out, no one lived in the side courtyard anymore.

For reasons unknown, Qin Rusong still had the housekeeper clean regularly to prevent the house from falling into complete ruin.

However, due to the heavy snow in the past two days, the entire courtyard was covered in snow, a vast expanse of white. Standing in the courtyard, it didn't quite match the scene in my memory.

Chu Jiang stood beside Qin Su the whole time, holding her hand, without saying a word, yet his presence was still very strong.

It was as if it was telling her, "It's okay, I'm always here for you."

Qin Su looked up at him and smiled, pointing to the opposite side: "If I hadn't run over there that time, we might never have met."

Chu Jiang looked in the direction she was pointing, but his heart clenched at her words.

He dared not think about how lonely he would be now if they had never met.

"Will not."

He tightened his grip on the girl's arm, unsure whether he was speaking to her or comforting himself.

"Okay, shall we go take a look?" Qin Su said, pulling his hand.

Chu Jiang didn't really want to go there. Right now, he just wanted to leave as soon as possible and go somewhere where it was just the two of them to be intimate.

The apartment next door, however, was now deserted due to the owner's departure, and did not meet his needs at all.

But since the girl had said that, he naturally...

"Go if you want."

He took her hand, and the two walked together towards the wall.
-
"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Murong Jing was about to leave when he was suddenly stopped by Qin Qionghua's men, who told him to wait for her in the side courtyard.

He didn't want to come.

But the thought that this was where Sangsang had lived made him unable to move.

So he eventually came.

Even though he knew he would never see that person again, he still came.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, he arrived at the exact time that he didn't meet Qin Su and the other person.

He stood outside the courtyard without going in, just like countless times before, staring intently at the slightly ajar gate.

It was as if as long as he didn't knock on the door, Sangsang would still be inside, never having left...

She clearly liked him at first.

Qin Qionghua may not be entirely familiar with Murong Jing, but she knows him to a great extent.

Especially when she saw the lost and dejected look on his face as he looked at the side courtyard, she knew what he was thinking.

He said he liked her, but every time they met, he talked about Qin Sangsang the most.

"Haven't you always wanted to know who that little dancing girl you met back then was?"

This sentence slightly pulled Murong Jing out of his emotions. He frowned and looked at Qin Qionghua, thinking that she was trying to use him again, as before. His tone became more impatient: "Isn't it you? Back then, you were the only girl in the Prime Minister's mansion who studied dance."

Qin Qionghua looked into the other person's eyes, trying to find a familiar intimacy in them.

Unfortunately, the man's eyes had become cold at some point, and even when she stood directly in front of him, she no longer felt the same way.

"Of course not. When I was little, my mother made the girls in the family learn to dance. My other sisters were either not born yet or too young to endure the hardship of dance training. Only my third sister and I were the right age and persevered."

The girl's simple words made Murong Jing's heart skip a beat.

He panicked.

She saw it.

Qin Qionghua smiled, her eyes sharp and cold at that moment, her voice laced with sarcasm: "Do you know that feeling? I'm the legitimate daughter, I'm the one who received special instruction from the master, yet she dances better than me. Even the hired instructors privately praise her talent, saying she's a natural-born dancer. But it's a pity..."

She looked away: "My mother was not pleased. A few days later, Aunt Xu fell ill and never came again. From then on, I was the only one in the Prime Minister's residence who learned to dance."

Murong Jing's heart was beginning to race, but he forced himself to remain calm: "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean?" Qin Qionghua smiled. "It doesn't mean anything. It just so happens that the last time she danced was the same day you first visited the Prime Minister's residence. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"boom--"

Murong Jing's mind went blank, and he staggered, almost falling over.

How can it be?

impossible……

If it really is him, then what have he done all these years?
"You're lying to me, aren't you? You're saying this on purpose to make me angry."

His eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely at the girl before him: "Because you wanted to marry the Crown Prince, but Sangsang beat you to it, so you resent her and deliberately said these things..."

“I have never danced in a bamboo forest.”

Qin Qionghua shattered all his illusions with just one sentence: "The little girl who awakened your first love and whom you've longed for all these years has always been her."

She stared into the man's eyes, each word like a knife slicing a bloody wound into his heart: "Don't you find it strange? Why did you feel fond of her the first time you saw her, and want to take care of her? But you were kind to me only after you found out I was the 'dancer.' Because..."

She took a step forward, but the man seemed startled and took a step back: "The one you love has always been her, always. Even if you misunderstand someone else as her, you still care about her."

"Murong Jing, you've always loved Qin Sangsang. And she's loved you too, since childhood."

When the woman's clear and confident words reached her ears, Qin Su realized just how terrible the soundproofing of this dilapidated courtyard was.

She didn't move because the man next to her was practically burning her with his gaze.