It wasn't about that wretched wooden plaque.
But the rumors...
Liu Wanting had heard about them and even gloated in her boudoir for quite a while, but what did that have to do with her?
How did she suddenly become the mastermind behind it all?
Was she, Liu Wanting, someone so despicable that every dirty deed should be pinned on her?
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it wasn't me!!!" Liu Wanting's first sentence sounded somewhat normal, but the following two were borderline hysterical, as if she wanted to scream right in the Crown Prince's face.
"This is a frame-up!!" She was so wronged that tears spilled from her eyes.
The swelling on her face from the slap over the wooden plaque had just gone down, and now came this rumor.
Liu Wanting cried, "You... you all push people too far."
The Crown Prince watched Liu Wanting suddenly fly into a rage. His brows furrowed tightly, and he was taken aback for a moment. The look in his eyes was as if he were looking at a madwoman.
He even began to suspect whether this daughter of the Liu family suffered from some terrible mental affliction.
"This matter has both witnesses and physical evidence. Right and wrong, black and white, I have my own conclusions. Qingwan only endured it for my sake, so as not to embarrass you right on the eve of the wedding."
Hearing this, Liu Wanting seemed to suddenly realize something. She tightly grabbed the Crown Prince's sleeve. "Your Highness, it's Tang Qingwan! It's Tang Qingwan! She must be the one framing me. If you don't believe me, we can go confront her in front of Her Majesty the Empress."
The Crown Prince looked impatient and forcefully shook her off. "And what about the Tang Manor's carriage that fell off the cliff? Did Qingwan frame you for that too? To frame you, she nearly sacrificed Eldest Miss Cui's life?"
Liu Wanting nodded repeatedly. "Yes, exactly! She has always hated Cui Yunchu. Cui Yunchu pestering you and Prince An makes her the black sheep of the Cui family. Tang Qingwan probably wanted to get rid of her a long time ago."
"Nonsense," the Crown Prince said, his face turning cold and ruthless.
No one knew better than the Crown Prince how much Tang Qingwan valued her family and her two younger sisters. How could he possibly believe Liu Wanting?
"Even now, you are still making wild accusations." Xiao Chen flicked his sleeve, his face dark, and strode out of Liu Wanting's courtyard.
Liu Wanting's dowry nanny immediately hurried in. "Miss, what on earth is going on?"
Furious, Liu Wanting opened her mouth wide and screamed at her, "How should I know! Ah—"
The nanny was so startled that she quickly dodged backward, getting splashed in the face with spit.
After a long while, Liu Wanting dazedly went to sit by the bed. Her mouth twitched a few times before she cried, "Nanny Chen, I'm ruined. I can't beat her."
"I didn't even know when she made her move. I couldn't even understand what the Crown Prince and Prince An were talking about. I know nothing at all, yet the blame was pinned right on my head."
...
The Crown Prince's estate was still decorated with lanterns and colorful festoons. The servants walked back and forth with light steps, leaving the massive residence very quiet.
Xiao Chen's steps were somewhat hurried.
After wrangling with Liu Wanting for so long, it was already late. Fortunately, the candles in the main courtyard had not yet been extinguished. The Crown Prince stood in the courtyard, staring blankly at the silhouette of the woman reflected on the window lattice.
The irritation he felt just moments ago when facing Liu Wanting was completely swept away.
"Your Highness," Tang Qingwan's dowry maid, Mo'er, happened to come out of the room and bowed in pleasant surprise upon seeing the Crown Prince.
"The Crown Princess left a lamp on for you."
The Crown Prince felt a complex mix of emotions.
She always understood the bigger picture and thought of him, but deep down, she also hoped for his return.
The Crown Prince broke into a smile and stepped into the main room.
On the soft couch near the window, Tang Qingwan, dressed in her inner garments with her dark hair cascading down, was curled up in a corner, lost in thought.
"Qingwan," Xiao Chen walked up slowly. "What's wrong?"
Tang Qingwan raised her eyes, her vacant and hollow gaze seemingly slowly finding its focus. "You're back?"
"It's nothing. Being in a strange place so suddenly... I'm just not used to it."
The Crown Prince walked over and pulled her into his arms. "All the furnishings in this room were arranged according to your wishes. How could it be strange?"
Tang Qingwan smiled gently. "I thought you were going to stay the night in the side courtyard, so I figured I would sleep on the soft couch."
On her wedding night, sleeping alone in the marital bed was something she did not like.
The faint fragrance of the woman after her bath lingered at his nose. Feeling a pang of tender affection, the Crown Prince pulled her into his embrace. "I said I would come back. This is our wedding night; how could I leave you alone?"
Liu Wanting was right to say he should consider the Liu family's dignity, but his greatest support came from the Tang and Cui families. If he were to consider anyone, it should be Qingwan. Yet, Qingwan had never used the Tang and Cui families to pressure him. She was wholeheartedly devoted to him and the overall situation.
It was a world of difference compared to Liu Wanting.
Xiao Chen was thoroughly disgusted by Liu Wanting's behavior of constantly bringing up the Liu family.
He scooped Tang Qingwan up in his arms and walked toward the bed. "Qingwan, you make me feel very at peace."
He had stood in the courtyard, looking at the bright candlelight in the main room, his mind experiencing an unprecedented tranquility.
There lived his wife, his safe haven, the person who would always stay by his side unchanging, no matter how the political climate shifted.
Tang Qingwan raised her arms and rested them lightly on his shoulders. "From now on, I will always be here to accompany you."
Xiao Chen's expression was incredibly gentle. He curled his lips into a smile and leaned down into the crook of Tang Qingwan's neck.
As the Crown Prince, from childhood to adulthood, whether it was his imperial father, his mother the Empress, the officials of the court, or his tutors, their demands on him had always been extremely strict.
What's more, the prominent clan of Consort Liang eyed his position covetously. Just securing his seat as the heir apparent had cost him a great deal of mental effort. Through all those difficult days, Tang Qingwan had been the one by his side.
She offered advice and strategies, provided him with support, and gave him a peaceful refuge amidst the noise and chaos.
These past few years had been arduous, but with her by his side, they had walked through them slowly yet firmly.
"Are you unhappy?" Tang Qingwan asked.
The Crown Prince replied in a muffled voice, "No, I was just thinking that in the future, when I'm exhausted and missing you, I won't be limited to only listening to you play the zither."
Her zither music was just like her—gentle yet resilient.
Tang Qingwan raised an eyebrow. "Is my playing not pleasing to the ear..."
Before she could fully finish her words, her red lips were sealed. Tang Qingwan blinked and half-closed her eyes.
She had known all along that he would return.
He trailed his hand down her smooth arm, lacing his fingers through hers and holding on tightly.
The bed curtains fluttered in the breeze drifting through the window lattice, faintly revealing the romantic entanglement of the two figures behind the veil.
Xiao Chen's fingertips hooked around the woman's sash...
Tang Qingwan slightly turned her eyes to look toward the window... silently counting the time in her heart.
The sash came undone, and a sudden chill made Tang Qingwan subconsciously tremble and shrink into the Crown Prince's embrace.
Xiao Chen's gaze was bottomless, hiding a dark, intense affection.
A flurry of chaotic footsteps sounded. From an angle Xiao Chen couldn't see, the corners of Tang Qingwan's lips curled up.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" It was the voice of the same nanny from earlier, only this time she sounded incredibly frantic. "Terrible news! The Secondary Consort suddenly suffered unbearable abdominal pain and fainted! Your Highness, please go take a look immediately!"
