Cheng Yujin was looking for a place to hide something when Li Seung-kyung's voice suddenly came from behind her. She jumped in fright and subconsciously hid the book in her sleeve.
Her sleeve was wide enough to cover the thing in her hand. Cheng Yujin put one hand to her side and calmly closed the wooden box with her other hand. "Your Highness, why did you come out?"
Li Seung-kyung had been reading memorials in the eastern hall. She didn't know when he came back, but no one had reported it. Cheng Yujin was secretly angry that the palace servants were negligent. However, when she thought about how most of the people inside and outside the hall were Li Seung-kyung's people, it didn't seem like the palace servants were negligent.
Li Seung-kyung saw that there was something in Cheng Yujin's hand at a glance. He calmly walked in front of Cheng Yujin and calmly opened his hand, giving off a feeling that he would not allow her to refuse.
Cheng Yujin naturally didn't want to give it to him. "Your Highness …"
She had subconsciously called him "Your Highness" just now, clearly feeling guilty. Li Seung-kyung glanced at Cheng Yujin and leaned over to take it from her hand. Cheng Yujin's fingers clenched and couldn't help but tighten. She didn't want to give it to him. Li Seung-kyung glanced at her again. Under his gaze, Cheng Yujin couldn't help but loosen her grip. She was dazed for a moment, and the thing in her hand was taken away.
Cheng Yujin closed her eyes in despair. Li Seung-kyung was stunned when he saw the name on the book. He opened it and flipped through two pages, becoming more and more speechless. He turned to look at Cheng Yujin. Sure enough, Cheng Yujin had closed her eyes with a look of despair.
Li Seung-kyung looked at her like this, feeling both angry and amused. He couldn't help but tilt his head and purse his lips. He sat down on the couch and motioned to Cheng Yujin, "Sit first."
Cheng Yujin stood still and tried to explain, "This is not mine …"
Li Seung-kyung's eyebrows moved slightly. He looked at her calmly, as if indicating for her to continue. Cheng Yujin opened her mouth, but no words came out. Not to mention Li Seung-kyung, she also felt that this explanation was too weak. In the Eastern Palace, in her hands. If it did not belong to her, what else could it be?
Cheng Yujin was really depressed. It was Old Lady Cheng who acted on her own, and now she had to take the blame. How could the Crown Princess look at such things in the Inner Palace?
Li Seung-kyung saw Cheng Yujin's angry face and tears in her eyes. He sighed softly and casually threw the book on the table. He pulled Cheng Yujin to sit beside him and said, "I didn't suspect you."
Li Seung-kyung took the initiative to give her a way out. Cheng Yujin would be stupid if she did not take it. She sat down with Li Seung-kyung's help and said with tense shoulders, "Grandmother forced it on me before she left."
"I know." Li Seung-kyung was just curious. "Why did she give you these?"
Li Seung-kyung paused and asked with raised brows, "What happened on the wedding night, what did you tell them?"
"I did not!" Cheng Yujin flatly denied. After she said it, she was embarrassed and angry. "Am I the kind of person who speaks without thinking? Why would I tell this kind of thing to others? "
Li Seung-kyung looked at Cheng Yujin's moist eyes that had become bright because of anger. He could not help but laugh. "Okay, I know you didn't say it. Why are you so angry?"
Cheng Yujin snorted softly and turned her face to stare at the ground. "Maybe she thinks I'm like a block of wood and is worried that I can't serve His Highness well."
Li Seung-kyung's eyes were full of laughter. His eyes were like obsidian soaked in water. He glanced at her and said with a smile, "Then what does the Crown Princess think? Does the Crown Princess really think that she's not interesting? "
Cheng Yujin still looked forward and refused to look at Li Seung-kyung. Li Seung-kyung was not in a hurry. He picked up the book with his long arm and slowly flipped through two pages. "I think it's not that you don't know how to have fun. It's just that you don't want to. "
Cheng Yujin was startled and subconsciously denied it. "How can that be?"
"How can it not be?" Li Seung-kyung said, "You've always had a clear goal. You know best what you want and what you don't want. Once you've set your goal, you'll walk towards it no matter how difficult it is. Similarly, you've always disdained to waste your energy on things that are meaningless to you. "
Cheng Yujin was silent. Li Seung-kyung spread the book on his lap and held Cheng Yujin's shoulders with both hands. He turned her around without allowing her to refuse. "You've never treated your husband as someone you want to spend your life with. To you, he's just a tool, a process that you have to go through in life. So you actively choose a husband and someone who's beneficial to you. In the end, they're just a stepping stone for you to achieve your life goals. "
"I don't …"
"Yujin, you really don't?" Li Seung-kyung looked straight into her eyes. His tone was slow, but every word hit her heart. "You just need a man who meets your requirements. As long as you can achieve your goal, it doesn't matter who that man is. It doesn't matter if it's Huo Changyuan, Lin Qingyuan, or me. It's all the same. "
"You don't care what that man looks like or what his personality is. You've never seen him as a part of your life. It's just that you're going to marry someone eventually, so you've arranged this part of your plan. You've never considered love. You only care about profit. "
"For example, I … can only be me. Except for the night of the wedding, you didn't change. After that, every moment in the inner palace, you've always maintained your perfect appearance. You've said before that you have to maintain decorum in front of outsiders. Originally, the place where you live doesn't count as outside. Now, because of me, it counts, right? "
Cheng Yujin subconsciously refuted at first, but she completely gave up as she listened. Because she knew that Li Seung-kyung was right.
He's always been like this. He lived with clarity and understanding. He's always been able to see through the world, his relatives, and even his own subtle and selfish thoughts. He's always been able to see through them. He's almost callous.
Cheng Yujin was calm since she'd already spoken. Her back was straight, and the line of her neck was slender and beautiful. She fearlessly raised her head and looked straight into Li Seung-kyung's eyes. "Your Highness is good at judging people. This concubine admires you. So, what does Your Highness want? "
For a man to be able to calmly analyze that his newlywed wife didn't love him, and didn't even intend to love him, it's probably not a happy thing for any man. However, Li Seung-kyung's expression was very calm. It didn't change at all. He reached out and stroked Cheng Yujin's hair. He slowly said, "I've always known about this. From the moment I met you, I knew what kind of person you were. You are you. Since I've decided to marry you, I naturally should've considered everything from the beginning. Could it be that I still expect you to change your personality after marriage? "
He had no regrets. The person he married was Cheng Yujin. He knew that she was heartless, unrighteous, selfish, and unwilling to give her feelings, but so what?
The wife he'd decided on was Cheng Yujin. Whatever Cheng Yujin was like, he would accept her. The consequences should've been considered from the beginning. He wouldn't change for anyone else, and he never expected others to change for him. Expecting an adult to change after marriage is a very naive and self-deceiving way of thinking.
Cheng Yujin had originally planned to set some rules with Li Seung-kyung. She wanted to take advantage of today to talk about each other's duties and responsibilities, and work together to play the role of the Eastern Palace's model Crown Prince and Crown Princess. But she didn't expect Li Seung-kyung to say such words.
She was startled. She didn't understand what Li Seung-kyung meant. "Your Highness?"
"You don't have to promise me anything. It doesn't matter if you're indifferent. In any case, I can guarantee that your interests will always be the same as mine. You like money and power, and you like me. "
Cheng Yujin looked into Li Seung-kyung's eyes for a long time. Li Seung-kyung also stared deeply into her eyes. Cheng Yujin's expression gradually became cold and guarded. "What does Your Highness want?"
"It's very simple. Just stay by my side and accompany me forever."
Cheng Yujin raised her eyebrows. "It's that simple?"
Cheng Yujin instinctively didn't believe it. For husband and wife, this was a binding condition. She couldn't marry a second time. As long as she was alive, she would inevitably be by Li Seung-kyung's side.
"Simple?" Li Seung-kyung laughed. "I don't think so. It's easy to be by my side, but difficult to be by my side with your heart. "
The more Li Seung-kyung analyzed people's hearts, the more he felt that they were indifferent. People's hearts were fickle, and they liked the new and hated the old. Li Seung-kyung was confident in his schemes outside, but he couldn't calculate a safe home, a person who would always wait for him to return.
He had lost his mother, lost his name, and lost all traces of his existence. The thing Li Seung-kyung desired the most was a corner that would never be lost. No matter who he was, it would always belong to him.
Cheng Yujin could clearly see her own reflection in Li Seung-kyung's eyes. She pursed her lips and slowly said, "Your Highness, any woman can do what you want. As long as you become the Crown Princess, no matter what, she will plan for you and live and die with you. So, why me? It seems that other than my appearance, I don't have any special advantages. "
Cheng Yujin still couldn't believe that Li Seung-kyung was so gullible. This was clearly an unequal agreement. Li Seung-kyung wanted to share half of his power and wealth, but the other side almost didn't give anything. The two sides weren't equal, so how could they make a deal?
Cheng Yujin didn't believe it.
"Why not?" Li Seung-kyung smiled. He looked at Cheng Yujin with sparkling eyes, as if the galaxy was reflected in his eyes. "Why can't it be that I'm lustful?"
Cheng Yujin choked and didn't respond for a moment. She paused and said, "Your Highness isn't that shallow, right?"
Li Seung-kyung shook his head and chuckled. "You think too highly of me. I'm also a man, and I'm also beautiful. I especially want to keep a beauty like you by my side and look at her for the rest of my life. "
Li Seung-kyung's eyes swept down as he said this. The hint was very obvious. Cheng Yujin followed his gaze and found that it landed on the book on his lap. The pages of the book were open on a very explicit illustration.
Cheng Yujin tried her best to control herself, but her face gradually turned red. This person had said it in all seriousness, loftiness, and prudence, but his motive turned out to be this kind of thing. He even thought about it a long time ago.
Cheng Yujin clearly remembered that from the moment she and Li Seung-kyung started talking about marriage, he didn't touch that book again. So, when he first started talking about it, he already planned it?
How could he still say it in such a righteous and dignified manner?
This was their country's Crown Prince. Cheng Yujin was really worried about the future of the imperial court.
Cheng Yujin blushed and forced herself to glare at him. "Why are you thinking about these things?"
"It's late at night, and my Crown Princess is sitting in front of me. What else can I think about?" Li Seung-kyung said as he stretched out two fingers and waved them in front of her eyes. "You already owe me twice."
Cheng Yujin bit her lip. She really wanted to ask where the second time came from, but she was afraid that if she asked, it would lead to even more indecent words. She lightly gritted her teeth and fiercely glared at Li Seung-kyung.
A beauty's gaze also depended on the occasion. If it was any other time, it would be awe-inspiring, noble, and inviolable. But right now, under the dim candlelight, the beauty's eyes were watery, and her face was slightly red. This gaze was especially dazzling and beautiful.
Li Seung-kyung smiled. His fingers rested on his knee, and he knocked them in satisfaction.
What did he not understand? Beauty was in the bones, not the skin. Charm was also the same. How could the external seduction be compared to the hesitation of words, and the bending of an immortal? How could Cheng Yujin's current appearance be seen by outsiders?
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