Chapter 66 I Believe You

Chapter 66: I Trust You

Su Zheng took a deep breath, softened his tone: "I do trust you."

"Hmm? What does A Zheng want to say?"

"I trust you. Whether I refuse or not, you won't allow me to marry any Crown Princess, right?"

Luo Yunchen didn't speak.

Su Zheng continued, "In that case, what I do doesn't really matter. Since I won't marry anyway, why should I provoke the Empress now and incur her suspicion for nothing?"

"Doesn't A Zheng have even a little curiosity to come see which beautiful noble ladies want to marry A Zheng and become Crown Princess?"

Su Zheng couldn't help but retort, "And if I am? And if I'm not? What difference does it make? Could you even take my opinion into consideration?"

"No! Whether A Zheng hates me or blames me, I won't let anyone else have the chance to compete with me for you!"

Hah, exactly—that damned possessiveness!

After a moment of silence, Su Zheng finally spoke: "I am..."

For some reason, those three words just wouldn't come out. He paused, swallowed his words, and continued: "I don't intend to marry a Crown Princess. Don't harm innocent people."

"Innocent? Does A Zheng think there is anyone truly innocent in this world?"

Su Zheng didn't argue. In an avalanche, no single snowflake ever feels responsible. He only said, "I won't pry into what you want to do, but I'm just warning you: if you can accomplish something by killing one person, don't kill a second. Otherwise, it'll be you who has nightmares and harms your karma."

"Is A Zheng worried about me?" Luo Yunchen lowered his head to kiss Su Zheng.

Su Zheng instinctively turned his head away. Luo Yunchen felt another sudden stab of pain in his heart.

His eyes darkened. The kiss only lightly brushed the corner of Su Zheng's lips, a brief touch before pulling away.

Luo Yunchen held Su Zheng even tighter, burying himself deeper into the crook of Su Zheng's neck,

his voice hoarse and muffled: "I'll listen to you, my good A Zheng. Don't abandon me or leave me..."

Luo Yunchen didn't make any more noise to attract attention, but he still wouldn't let go of Su Zheng.

Su Zheng struggled to keep his voice from trembling: "Can you... let me go now?"

"But A Zheng, I feel so awful!"

Su Zheng exhaled.

If only he could bite him to death!

"How about you say something nice to me? If you make me happy enough, I'll feel better."

Su Zheng was forced to profess his love over and over.

Things like, "A Zheng likes A Chen."

"A Zheng will always be with A Chen, never leave A Chen."

Fortunately, it didn't go on too long. Su Zheng remained clear-headed.

The burning sensation made Su Zheng flinch.

Luo Yunchen held Su Zheng, straightened his clothes, and let him slowly recover.

Once Su Zheng had recovered, he pushed Luo Yunchen away, unwilling to talk to him.

As soon as he took a step forward, Su Zheng's leg gave way.

The feeling of liquid flowing made Su Zheng's whole body stiffen.

Luo Yunchen quickly stepped in, wrapping his arm around Su Zheng's waist, letting him lean on him, and chuckled: "A Zheng, don't try to be tough."

Su Zheng ground his teeth: "And whose the hell fault is all this?!"

"Mine, all my fault. I'm willing to let A Zheng punish me. How about A Zheng pins me down right here and bites me? I won't resist—I'll let A Zheng do whatever he wants. Alright?"

Su Zheng steadied himself with Luo Yunchen's support, closed his eyes, and tried to ignore those strange sensations. After a long moment, he spat out two words: "Let's go."

Luo Yunchen half-carried Su Zheng out of the rockery and onto the carved cobblestone path.

They stood side by side, and right in front of them was Miss Ye and her maid, who had been searching for them.

Seeing the Crown Prince, Miss Ye brightened with joy and quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Your Highness, where did you go just now? I've been looking everywhere for you but couldn't find you."

Su Zheng said flatly, "Busy."

Those two words dampened Miss Ye's enthusiasm, leaving her unsure whether to continue asking.

Luo Yunchen lifted his eyes to glance at Miss Ye—a dark, venomous look that made her shiver involuntarily.

As if instinctively sensing the source of danger, Miss Ye's gaze shifted.

Seeing Luo Yunchen pressed so closely against the Crown Prince, she frowned and asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, who is this?"

This person must be the Crown Prince's younger brother to be so close to him, right?

But she had heard that the Crown Prince's younger brother, the Tenth Prince, was more than four years younger than the Crown Prince.

This man looked half an inch taller than the Crown Prince—that didn't match at all!

Su Zheng looked at Luo Yunchen, who tilted his head back at him with an innocent, harmless smile.

Su Zheng spoke: "This is the eldest granddaughter of Chancellor Ye, Second Miss Ye."

Then he turned to Miss Ye: "He is Heir Luo, my companion."

Upon hearing "Heir Luo," Miss Ye's expression shifted from puzzlement to displeasure.

She looked at Luo Yunchen and scolded: "As the Crown Prince's companion, you should stand half a step behind His Highness. How can you be so ignorant of propriety? Is it because His Highness is too kind that you've forgotten your place?"

Su Zheng's tone went from mild to cold: "Has Miss Ye also forgotten her place? You are merely a guest at a palace banquet. Do you really think you are the master here? Heir Luo is my man. I decide what my man does and how he behaves. Even the Crown Princess has no right to discipline him. Who do you think you are? I have official matters to attend to. Goodbye."

With that, he turned and led Luo Yunchen away.

Su Zheng wasn't worried that Miss Ye would go complain to Empress Shen.

If Miss Ye had any sense, she would know she had overstepped first and deserved the Crown Prince's reprimand.

If she was childish enough to tattle after being slighted, Empress Shen wouldn't truly take her side. At most, she would offer a few conciliatory words with a mix of authority and kindness.

After all, it would be strange if the dignified Crown Prince wasn't angry when a mere young woman blatantly ignored him and, right in front of him, walked right past him to scold his subordinate.

Sure enough, after the banquet, Empress Shen summoned Su Zheng again and asked Su Zheng only what he thought of Miss Ye.

Su Zheng showed neither displeasure nor great enthusiasm, merely saying with indifference, "Everything can be decided by the Emperor and Empress."

Empress Shen felt that Su Zheng did not have much fondness for Miss Ye, but because she herself favored Miss Ye, he accepted her.

The senior maid beside Empress Shen kept her eyes down, observing in silence.

After the system revealed this maid's secrets and weaknesses to Su Zheng, Su Zheng passed this on to Luo Yunchen.

As for whether Luo Yunchen would use this information and how, Su Zheng did not bother to ask further.

Emperor Yuanjing also did not care much whether Su Zheng actually liked Miss Ye or not.

The Crown Princess needed to be of suitable status; as for other women, if he later found one he liked, he could simply take her as a concubine.

Thus, both Emperor Yuanjing and Empress Shen intended to betroth Miss Ye to the Crown Prince, making her the future Crown Princess.