Married To The Cruel Crown Prince

Lei Wanxi looked at the dress which a maidservant had held. "What did you say? Zhu Lin told you to give me this? Why?" Lei Wanxi asked as he tied a knot on his upper jacket. 

"Your Highness, I do not know." 

Lei Wanxi looked at the dress and took it from the maidservant. "It's so soft. Shall I wear this today?" He excitedly asked from the maidservant.

"The Prince shall wear this," the maidservant replied. Lei Wanxi hummed and got ready for the dress gifted by Zhu Lin. The maidservant tied the sash around his waist and stepped back. Lei Wanxi looked at himself in the mirror. 

"This dress suits me," Lei Wanxi murmured.. A smile appeared on his lips, and he left for the morning greetings to his elders. After the greetings, he came back to his chamber and had his breakfast. "I will come late," Lei Wanxi informed the maidservant and left the chamber. He was moving the fan in his hand while friskily walking through the corridor when he stopped. 

"Shall I take Zhu Lin with me?" He thought for a few seconds and then went to her chamber. 

"Is the Princess inside?" Lei Wanxi asked a servant outside the chamber, who nodded. "Tell the Princess that Prince Wanxi has come to meet her," Lei Wanxi told the servant, who informed Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin, who had a scroll in her hand, told the servant to send Lei Wanxi inside. She put the scroll on the desk and stood up from the ground chair. Lei Wanxi came there and waved at her. She was astonished to see that he wore the dress that she had gifted him. 

*You shall praise me. I know that I am looking too good that you are out of words," Lei Wanxi praised himself and put the fan inside the sash. Zhu Lin chuckled. 

"The Prince could have worn it on some other day," asserted Zhu Lin. 

"When I was getting ready, this dress was brought to me. I thought about wearing it. It's fine if you do not want to compliment me. I know that you do not like to praise me," Lei Wanxi stated. "Today, there is a mini-fair in the market. The dragon boat festival is in three days. Do you want to go with me?" He asked her out. 

"You want to go with me?" She was bewildered. 

"Hmm. There is no one in the Palace whom I can take with me except you," Lei Wanxi replied. "Though it is not a compulsion," he added. 

"I do not have any work so I will accompany you," Zhu Lin asserted. Lei Wanxi got happy and told her to follow him. They both got into the carriage and left for the market. 

"Why did you give me this dress?" Lei Wanxi suddenly questioned her. 

"That I had brought for the Fourth Prince," she replied right away. Unbeknownst to him, he stopped smiling. Lei Wanxi did not feel good about this. He wore the dress which Zhu Lin brought for his Fourth Brother.

"Why did you give it to me then?" Lei Wanxi queried her. It seemed he suddenly turned furious. 

"I thought to give you. There's no particular reason behind that," Zhu Lin answered. "This color suits the Prince," she stated. The maroon Hamfu dress with black borders was indeed enhancing his good looks. 

The wheel of the carriage hit a few pebbles, and it wobbled. Lei Wanxi could not balance himself and fell left on Zhu Lin's lap. They both widened their eyes. Lei Wanxi immediately sat up and turned his face away. He acted to look outside the window of the carriage. 

"Can you not drive the cart smoothly?" Lei Wanxi scolded the chauffeur in a loud enough voice. He did not dare to meet Zhu Lin's eyes. How could he lose balance and fall on her lap? He closed his eyes and gulped the moment of embarrassment he just had. 

He was startled when he heard the laugh of Zhu Lin. Gradually, he turned and confusedly glanced at her. "Are you okay?" He asked. Zhu Lin continued to laugh while Lei Wanxi knitted his brows. 

After a while, she stopped laughing. She tilted her head to look at him and said, "Prince Wanxi appears to be a kid, sometimes. I will not tell anyone about this. So, do not worry." 

Lei Wanxi was thankful to her, but he was worried, thinking that Zhu Lin would make fun of him for being weak. "The previous day, you saw how athletic I was! I caught you within minutes," Lei Wanxi diverted the topic to change their attention from the current situation. 

"Indeed, the Prince is good at running. That was quite surprising for me," Zhu Lin affirmed. "By the way, the water beast did not take me away. And I believe your fear of water also has ended. Am I right?" Her eyes glistened upon asking this question. 

"That was not deep water. I am afraid of deep water. There was indeed a water beast, but because we both were near the shore, that's why we could not see it," Lei Wanxi reasoned. 

"You are the first man whom I have seen talking like this. Prince Wanxi is amusing," Zhu Lin stated. Lei Wanxi turned his head to look at her when the carriage again wobbled, and this time, he fell backward while Zhu Lin was towards him. Out of reflex, his hands wrapped around her waist. 

The two had an intense eye lock followed by this. Lei Wanxi felt strange near his chest. He had never come across such a feeling. The other second, he heard it beating loudly that astonished him. "This cannot happen," he murmured. 

Zhu Lin, on the other hand, also felt strange. It was weird for her because her heart had also raced last time when she was in the lake with Lei Wanxi. She should not feel this way, then why? She questioned herself as the two continued to gaze at each other.