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“May I know how much it costs, Your Royal Highness?” Liu Jin Yu humbly asked. She remembered him telling her that even if she would work for a hundred years, she would be unable to pay it.

“Three hundred gold coins,” Xiaoming replied.

Liu Jin Yu widened her eyes. “But Muchén gave us fifty gold coins only. His Royal Highness is ripping me off,” she blurted out.

“If you got fooled, then it is not my fault. The jade rings that you took from me were worth one hundred gold coins and then the jade necklace two hundred gold coins. I paid Muchén to get those jewels back. However, I will not take that amount,” Xiaoming clarified.

“Give me one week, Your Royal Highness. I will surely pay you three hundred gold coins,” Liu Jin Yu said in a confident tone.

“May I know, how?” Xiaoming questioned. Liu Jin Yu pursed her lips together. “If you are going to rob someone, then I am not going to take that. Also, I have no intention of letting you out,” Xiaoming proclaimed.

“That should not matter, His Royal Highness. I will bring the money in a week. I request His Royal Highness to let me go,” Liu Jin Yu again pleaded with him and lowered her eyelids.

“Lu Bojing is searching for you if you step out of here. The organization that you are a part of may get busted,” Xiaoming stated and locked his hands behind his back.

.....

Liu Jin Yu wondered how Xiaoming found out so much about them. She had to leave, but it seemed the Crown Prince would not let her go.

“Then, how will I pay three hundred gold coins to His Royal Highness?” Liu Jin Yu asked with inquisitiveness.

“Work in my manor. I will teach you how to do hard work instead of looting people,” Xiaoming said with a smile.

“My profession should not matter to His Royal Highness. I loot only those who are well off,” Liu Jin Yu affirmed.

“You are so proud of this profession of robbing. You will die if you step out of my manor. You inflicted an injury on the Crown Prince’s body,” Xiaoming said and yanked the collar away to show his neck to her. Liu Jin Yu bit her lower lip.

“I didn’t want to kill His Royal Highness. That was only to threaten him,” Liu Jin Yu convinced him. She could not stay in the palace and work like a donkey. It would be better for her to go outside and work.

“But others will take it as a planned assassination against me. The people in your organization will be beheaded with them,” Xiaoming showed her the other side of her acts. “My Royal Father will not take a second to punish you to death,” he added.

Sweat started to appear on Liu Jin Yu’s forehead. Her hands turned sweaty and she didn’t know what to do anymore. She peered at him when he dabbed his silk handkerchief on her forehead.

“You have a night to think about it,” Xiaoming stated and slowly pulled his hand back.

“What if I refuse? I will pay more to His Royal Highness, but can he not let me go?” Liu Jin Yu searched for an answer in his eyes.

“If you refuse then be ready to face death,” Xiaoming asserted. This time it was a bit serious. The smile was no longer on his lips. He looked at her from top to bottom and again met her gaze.

“In these clothes, you don’t look like a robber, but a woman from a noble family,” Xiaoming remarked.

“Anyone would look good in a silk dress,” Liu Jin Yu commented.

She had heard that the Crown Prince was a gentle, kind, and loving person. But it was completely opposite. “His Royal Highness is known to be a kind person. Can he not spare me once?” She didn’t stop requesting him. She would do it until the very end.

“I am already kind enough to you. You hurt me twice yet I didn’t do anything. Also, there is no use to manipulate me. So, it is better for you to work here. It is not to do hard work. Your body is unlike others. It is strong enough to do even the men’s work,” Xiaoming said.

“What about the people who are waiting for me?” Liu Jin Yu questioned.

“I don’t think you live with your family,” Xiaoming deduced.

“Yes,” Liu Jin Yu agreed with him, “but those people are my family. They will be troubled not to see me.”

“You are no longer associated with them. You will tell them tomorrow that you are no longer a part of their organization,” Xiaoming stated. Liu Jin Yu opened her mouth to speak when her stomach growled. She looked down and tightly shut her eyes.

“Eunuch Lishi!” Xiaoming called him in, who quickly came inside and bowed before him.

“Bring meals for Miss Liu Jin Yu,” Xiaoming ordered him. Eunuch Lishi cocked his brow in surprise but didn’t raise any questions. He left the chamber while Xiaoming asked Liu Jin Yu to follow him. She silently followed him and they entered the dinette.

Xiaoming gestured for her to sit and she quickly sat on the floor chair. “Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for the meals. I haven’t eaten since noon.” She expressed her gratitude and smiled.

Xiaoming sat on her front. He found that he was not scared of him despite his strong title. He liked her personality. “Who taught you martial arts?” He asked with curiosity.

“I learned by myself,” Liu Jin Yu replied.

Xiaoming was amused to hear her answer. “His Royal Highness lacks strength.” She mocked him. “He let his guard down while roaming around the lake. He was lucky that night. An assassin could have appeared that night and harmed him.”

“I didn’t let my guard down,” Xiaoming said.

“His Royal Highness did. He should not roam around without any skilled bodyguard,” Liu Jin Yu affirmed.

Two maidservants walked in with trays in their hands. Eunuch Lishi stood back and left with the maidservants.

“Start eating,” Xiaoming told Liu Jin Yu, who asked the Crown Prince if he didn’t want to eat.

“I already had my dinner,” Xiaoming replied. Liu Jin Yu hummed and picked the chopsticks. She moved the lid away from the bowl and found the chicken soup in it. She looked at the red bean rice dumpling, called zongzi, traditionally.

She picked one and inhaled the aroma of the rice dumpling. She removed the thread around the leaf inside which the rice dumpling was put. She started to eat it and felt so relieved. Xiaoming chuckled at the way she was eating.

“Women aren’t supposed to eat that way,” Xiaoming interrupted her in the middle of the meal. He saw the rice grains that had spread around her mouth. Instead of eating with chopsticks, she used her hands. It made Xiaoming feel a little cringe.

Liu Jin Yu let out a deep breath and shook her head. “I am not a normal woman, Your Royal Highness. I eat this way only. The food feels tastier when one uses a hand,” she proclaimed.

Xiaoming didn’t like her logic. He decided to make her understand and picked a pair of chopsticks. He took a tiny quantity of rice dumplings using the chopsticks. He ate them and chewed them properly. He gulped the chewed food and put the chopsticks on the table.

“You are supposed to eat this way without making any noises. You should eat quietly,” Xiaoming made her understand.

“If I started to eat the way His Royal Highness mentioned, then I may get tired and disinterested in food,” Liu Jin Yu refused to eat the way Xiaoming taught her. She picked a chicken leg with her left hand and started to eat with the rice dumpling.

Xiaoming scrunched his brows and held his head. “It seems you have been hungry for years,” he remarked.

“Of course, Your Royal Highness,” Liu Jin Yu said, “I never had such delicious food in my entire life. Regal life is great.” She licked her fingers and put the small bone of the chicken on the plate.

“You had robbed so many nobles. You earned enough money to feed your stomach with good food,” Xiaoming stated.

“Your Royal Highness, robbers are better humans than the nobles. I bet His Royal Highness never looked around his Kingdom. Many people like me crave good food,” Liu Jin Yu pronounced and again focussed on eating.

That last statement left a big impression on Xiaoming’s brain. He realized that keeping Liu Jin Yu close to him would benefit him for a long time.