Chapter 349 - Undress In The Open!
Sheng Li told the gardener in the Imperial Garden to show him Middlemist Red Camellia flowers. The gardener took the Crown Prince inside the Imperial Garden and showed him the flower. Sheng Li plucked one and looked at it. 'What could be its meaning?' Sheng Li thought. But before that, he needed to find out why Ying Lili lied to him.
He went to the Zhenzhu Inn first. Court Lady Xu was shocked to see the Crown Prince there. She did not expect him to return so early. She bowed as the Crown Prince approached her. Sheng Li turned towards the door and the maidservants opened it.
Before Sheng Li could step in, Court Lady Xu stopped him. "Your highness, the Crown Princess is not inside," Court Lady Xu informed the Crown Prince. Sheng Li raised an eyebrow and asked her the whereabouts of the Crown Princess.
"Her highness is in your manor, your highness." The Court Lady could not hide the truth anymore from the Crown Prince.
"My manor? But, why?" Sheng Li asked the Court Lady.
"Kind apologies, your highness, but I cannot say this. His highness shall go there and check," Court Lady Xu asserted. She did not want to ruin the surprise on which the Crown Princess was working for many days.
Sheng Li furrowed his brows and left for his manor. The soldiers, seeing the Crown Prince bowed their heads. Sheng Li quickly climbed the stairs and walked inside the manor. Entering the chamber, he saw the door of the left side was opened. He took steps towards it and heard a few voices. The most prominent voice was of Ying Lili.
"Crown Prince is nothing like he is described by everyone. If he would be a heartless person then, I would not have even done this. Unlike all the men I have met, he is the bravest and full of warmth. We two had a different way of thinking but he never forced his thinking on me. He stood for me and protected me without my knowledge." Sheng Li heard Ying Lili and smiled a little. His heart fluttered upon hearing those words for him.
"Crown Princess, let me help you in hanging the remaining lanterns," a maidservant requested. "You are our mistress whom we shall not let work. The Crown Prince will not feel good if he will see her highness working," the maidservant suggested.
"He will feel good. He loves seeing me like this. I want to decorate this entire place without any help," Ying Lili asserted.
Sheng Li quietly entered the porch. He saw Ying Lili on a ladder, tying the lanterns around the wooden lamppost.
Xing-Fu and the maidservants saw the Crown Prince, astonished and terrified at the same time. Sheng Li brought his forefinger on his lips and gestured to them with the other hand to leave. They all left quietly while Ying Lili kept talking to them.
"Give me an oil lamp," Ying Lili extended her hand back, while her other hand was still working on the lantern. Sheng Li looked at the table where two oil lamps were put, probably the last one. He picked it and went towards the ladder. Quietly, he handed that to Ying Lili, who put the oil lamp inside the red lantern. Sheng Li looked around the porch, which had completely changed from earlier. His heart was fluttering by seeing all the decorations. He wondered when Ying Lili did that!
"All lanterns are hanged. Sheng Li will be happy to see this surprise," Ying Lili murmured and asked for the last lantern. Sheng Li picked it and saw a peacock painting on it. 'Did she draw it?' Sheng Li thought and handed the lantern carefully to her. Ying Lili stepped on the last step of the ladder to reach the top of the lamppost. Sheng Li saw she was struggling to reach the height. He picked the tiny oil lamp and went towards her.
He stepped on the ladder when Ying Lili felt the increase in weight on the ladder. "I will do it myself," Ying Lili again said, without looking at her back, climbing the ladder. She found the hand reached out to the top and her back was pressed against the familiar body. She tilted her head, shocked to see Sheng Li.
"I like the surprise," Sheng Li had stopped tying the lantern on the top of the lamppost and had also put the oil lamp inside it. He then gazed at Ying Lili, who was staring at him. The Middlemist Red Camellia Flower was in his sash. He took it out and put it inside Ying Lili's hair bun. "It is not a good way to send your husband away and plan surprises for him," Sheng Li asserted. "Love, passion, excellence, and loyalty- this is represented by this flower," Sheng Li even told her the meaning.
Ying Lili's lips quivered as her surprise was ruined. She stepped down the ladder when she stumbled. "Ahh," she screamed as both of them fell towards the ground. Sheng Li wrapped his arms around her waist and fell on his back on the green grassy ground. The ladder too fell, which was going to hit Ying Lili's back when Sheng Li acted swiftly. He flipped her, and she was now on the ground while he was hovering over her.
The ladder hit Sheng Li's back. Because of the hit, he was pushed closer to Ying Lili who had tightly squeezed her eyes. "Ahh," Sheng Li winced in pain. Hearing his cry, Ying Lili opened her eyes and saw the ladder had hit him.
"Sheng Li," She worriedly said, who pushed the heavy ladder aside. He laid beside Ying Lili, spreading his arms out. Ying Lili quickly pushed herself up and touched his face. "Are you okay? Where did you get hurt? Let me see."
Xing-Fu had also come there after hearing the scream of the Crown Princess. "Your highness," he called and descended the stairs.
"Leave us alone. I am fine," Sheng Li loudly said. Xing-Fu did not step forward and left.
"You are not fine. That ladder hit your back. Show me," Ying Lili grabbed his arm and tried pulling him up. Sheng Li chuckled and pulled Ying Lili down and locked her between his arms.
"You want me to undress here in the open." A smirk appeared on his lips.