Chapter 159

Chapter 159

At this moment, everyone is probably in their rooms calling Xie Run a seductive vixen.

Prince Jing also sat on the couch, hauling her into his arms, absently toying with Xie Run's hair.

"Feeling embarrassed now?"

He wanted to say that Xie Run had been truly audacious just now, almost driving him crazy.

But he was afraid Xie Run was too thin-skinned; bringing it up might upset her.

She'd always been gentle and quiet; it was rare for her to be this bold and feisty, which Prince Jing found thoroughly intoxicating.

"You're my Shu Fei—who'd dare laugh at you?"

Xie Run huffed: "I've been laughed at plenty these past few days."

"Me staying in the front courtyard today breaks the rules. You need to explain it to the Princess for me, so I don't get blamed unfairly again."

Prince Jing: "...You're pretty clever. If I do the explaining, won't that save you the embarrassment?"

Even now, she's still worried about not offending the Princess.

Xie Run never hid her little schemes from Prince Jing.

"I'm not afraid of anyone else, but the Princess is the head of the household, so of course I have to respect her."

Prince Jing agreed lazily, without much enthusiasm.

Xie Run felt much better. "You said earlier you had something to tell me?"

Prince Jing's gaze darkened a little, and after a pause, he said, "Now that Fang Shi's become Ce Fei, doesn't Suisui have any thoughts about it?"

Xie Run yanked her hair out of Prince Jing's hand and sat up straight.

"Are you testing me?"

One second they're being all lovey-dovey, and the next he's testing her—Prince Jing was a real piece of work.

Xie Run said sweetly, "Of course I do."

"Who'd pass up a chance to become Ce Fei and stay stuck as Shu Fei? If anyone says otherwise, they're definitely faking it!"

Xie Run didn't bother hiding her ambition, a smile tugging at her lips.

"If I'd been Ce Fei, Cefei Jiang wouldn't have dared to try to put me in my place the moment she arrived! And she wouldn't have dared to bully me just because she outranked me!"

"Now Cefei Jiang's been punished by you, but who knows if there'll be a Li Ce Fei or Zhang Ce Fei later?"

"If any of these Ce Feis tried to bully me, could I really protect myself and Taotao every single time?"

Xie Run changed her tone, "Of course, that's not all."

She ticked off on her fingers: "If I became Ce Fei, I'd have more people waiting on me, a bigger courtyard, better food..."

She turned her head and asked, all sincerity, "Your Highness, who wouldn't want that?"

Prince Jing was at a loss for words for a moment.

He reached out and stroked Xie Run's cheek, and after a pause, said, "In the future, there'll only be more people in the household. If I back you, can you hold your own?"

Xie Run's heart skipped a beat, vaguely guessing what Prince Jing meant.

She took his hand and said firmly, "As long as you act fairly and don't just listen to one side, I can!"

Even being as weak as Shiqie An took some skill.

Prince Jing said, his tone heavy with meaning, "Then don't disappoint me, Suisui."

Even the most innocent, naive person, once raised to a high position with power, could change beyond recognition.

Shiqie Ning, Shufei Yun... they'd all been like that.

Xie Run was still one of Prince Jing's favorites, and he didn't want to see her change beyond recognition someday.

Xie Run gave a soft smile, "If I rise to a high position, all I want is a peaceful life."

Prince Jing pulled her into his arms without saying anything more.

Anyone can talk a good game.

There's a long road ahead; it's about what you do, not what you say.

That evening, Prince Jing went back to Chunshan Courtyard with Xie Run.

That night, Xie Run turned down Prince Jing's advances. "Your Highness, have mercy on me!"

She said, completely matter-of-fact, "You can't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!"

Her whole body was still sore!

Prince Jing was quiet for a moment, then went to the next room to check on his son.

Xie Run said to Dan Tao, "Didn't I draw a bunch of portraits of Taotao a while back? Take them to show His Highness."

While Prince Jing was away, Xie Run spent most of her time cooped up in the courtyard.

With nothing else to do, she'd sketch Taotao every few days, keeping a record of the kid's growth.

Now showing them to Prince Jing would make up for the months he'd missed.

The next day, right after lunch, Xie Run got word that she'd been promoted to Ce Fei.

Dan Tao and Xiaoshu were over the moon and rushed over to congratulate her.

After all, there'd been no hint of this before; no one had dared to hope.

Getting promoted out of nowhere—what a pleasant surprise!

Xiaoshu laughed, "His Highness really cares about you the most, mistress. One trip to the front courtyard, and he promotes you."

"With that kind of favor, the whole household's going to be green with envy!"

Lately, Xie Run didn't bother correcting the girls when they said Prince Jing cared about her the most.

Now, she was his favored concubine, head over heels for him!

Wasn't she just dying for his affection?

A favored concubine has to act the part.

Dan Tao couldn't help but laugh: "There are only two side consort positions, and now you and Fang Side Consort each hold one. Above us, only the Princess Consort is higher, so no one can bully you anymore!"

Xie Run thought to herself that the two maids were being too naive.

So becoming a side consort means she's safe?

There were plenty of people who wanted to drag her down.

Look at Ning Side Consort—once so glorious, and look at what happened to her now?

Granted, there was the reason that Ning Side Consort had plotted against the concubines' children, but even if you don't scheme to harm others, can you really avoid all trouble and live in peace?

An Shiqie would be the first to refuse to accept this.

But since the maids were happy at the moment, Xie Run saw no need to dampen their spirits.

Xie Run said, "At least I personally went to curry favor yesterday and got scolded by the whole household, so I deserve some benefit."

News from the front courtyard was tightly sealed and rarely reached the back courtyard.

So far, the entire Prince's household believed Xie Run had gone to curry favor, unaware that she had smashed up Prince Jing's study.

After speaking, Xie Run unconsciously pressed her waist and sighed, "But let's not have too many of these things happen."

Dan Tao nodded in agreement: "What's rare is precious. If you went often, the Prince might not think so highly of you."

Xie Run said, "...You're right."

Go often?

She feared she'd die on Prince Jing's bed.

How embarrassing would that be?!

Just as Xie Run received the news of her promotion to side consort, a young maid came with another message.

"The Prince has ordered that Miss Hua be promoted to Shu Fei."

Dan Tao and Xiaoshu exchanged a glance. "We're about to have another Hua Shu Fei in the household."

Xie Run sat still, stunned for a long moment.

Dan Tao, thinking Xie Run was worried about Hua Shu Fei gaining favor, comforted her: "Master, Hua Shu Fei just arrived, so the Prince is still taken with her. Besides, she's still in mourning and can't serve the Prince, so you needn't worry too much."

Xie Run snapped back to reality and smiled bitterly: "I'm not jealous that she became a Shu Fei as soon as she came. I just... suddenly thought of something."

"What is it?" Both maids looked at Xie Run in confusion.

"The Prince asked me yesterday whether, with more people coming into the household in the future, I could hold my own if he made me a side consort."

A hint of deep thought flickered in Xie Run's eyes: "At first, I thought the Prince didn't trust me. Now I realize he was likely gauging my reaction to make his decision."

Dan Tao asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"

"Actually, from the moment the Prince returned and didn't rush to give Hua Shu Fei her rank, and deliberately avoided my courtyard, I should have guessed something."

"He was testing me—whether I could stay steady in times of trouble, and also probing my ambition."