Married To The Cruel Crown Prince

He climbed the few stairs to reach the top of the pavilion when Yin Na turned her head as she heard his footsteps. She did not say anything to him and turned back to look into the lake which was visible because of the lanterns hanging above it.

"Why are you here? Did you not eat dinner?" Huo Jin questioned her.

"Leave me. I am not in a mood to eat," Yin Na replied and put her hands on the wooden railing support. She rested her hands on her chin and sighed. Huo Jin quietly sat down beside her and looked up at the lanterns.

"I fell into the water while hanging these lanterns up," Huo Jin initiated the conversation. Yin Na tilted her head and gazed at him.

"The servants could have done that," stated Yin Na. "You always do the small chores," she huffed.

"No work is small. Also, I was once a servant," Huo Jin reminded her. "Let this matter be discussed later, but let\'s talk about you. Why are you upset?"

"I am not upset," Yin Na answered. "When did you leave in the morning? You avoided me the entire day," she asserted.

Huo Jin realized that last night in his drunkard state, he troubled Yin Na. When he woke up in the morning, he was shocked to see himself in Yin Na\'s room. He looked for Yin Na and saw her on the floor. So before leaving her room, he put her on the bed and left silently.

"Forgive me for last night," Huo Jin apologized. He had not enough memories from the last night, so he did not know that he even told her not to marry Xu Wenhai.

Yin Na stared into his eyes. "Do you want me to marry Xu Wenhai?" She asked him.

Huo Jin was startled to hear her question.

"Does my choice matter? You are the one who has to spend her entire life with him. So, make a wise decision," Huo Jin could not directly refuse her. However, he gave her a piece of advice.

"His mother sent her golden hairpin with Xu Wenhai\'s hands to me. They want me to become the daughter-in-law of Xu Family," she informed him.

"Xu Wenhai seems to be in love with me but I do not feel anything for him. He even made an advancement towards me and I did not like it. Does he think I am hungry for the love of a man?" Her question puzzled Huo Jin.

She straightened herself and then turned to him. "Huo Jin, you are the only person with whom I can even talk about my past because," she gazed deeply into her eyes, "you not only understand me but feel my sufferings too."

Huo Jin found that Yin Na was deeply hurt by Xu Wenhai.

"Xu Wenhai is not a bad person, but I don\'t even know if he\'s good after he asked me to accompany him to the other city for the winter festival. When he holds my hands, I do not feel good, but I am scared too about raising my voice. I want to refuse this proposal but her family is so nice and doing this may bring sourness in the relationship of my father and head of the Xu Family," she expressed her concerns to Huo Jin.

"Then, refuse to marry him. Father does not want his daughter to marry against her choice. He was more concerned about General Wang\'s marriage since he was 28. For your marriage, he is relaxed," Huo Jin advised her.

"Huo Jin, but I think I am presuming everything related to Xu Wenhai. Maybe he is nice. Since it is only two days, I cannot be sure if he\'s good or bad. I am confused," Yin Na stated and lowered her eyes.

"I might step back if you are willing to accept me," she then said, again peering into his eyes.

Huo Jin recalled the words of Xu Wenhai. "I am not perfect for you," his hands fisted into balls as his words had angered him. However, he would not either deny that he betrayed his master.

"Why?" Yin Na furrowed her brows.

Huo Jin looked towards the lake as he refrained from answering her.

"You confuse me, Huo Jin. Last night it felt to me that you were honest," Yin Na said and Huo Jin had no idea what he did in her bedroom.

"Let\'s go in. It\'s cold here," Huo Jin stood up. He extended his hand to her, who held his hand. He pulled her up and then pulled his hand away.

"Eat your dinner and then take a good sleep. Forget about today\'s incident with Xu Wenhai," he told her and walked away. He did not want to stay close to her as he felt guilty for confusing her heart.

There was a possibility that she was skeptical of Xu Wenhai because Huo Jin never treated her that way. After Xu Wenhai\'s harsh remarks on him, Huo Jin thought that his status, his sins, and his past night affect Yin Na in the future.

Yin Na sighed and looked up at the sky before going back to her room. Her personal attendant asked her where she was.

"Near the Lake pavilion," Yin Na answered.

"Young Master Xu was looking for you. He told me to give you this, Young Miss," Yin Na\'s personal attendant informed her, handing her a folded paper.

"But I do not know how to read," Yin Na answered. How could Xu Wenhai send her a handwritten message when she was illiterate?

He might have thought that because she was now from the Wang Family she knew how to write and read.

"How will I read it?" She murmured when she thought of Huo Jin.

"I will be back soon," she told her personal attendant and left to meet Huo Jin. Upon reaching outside his room, she walked in without knocking.

"Huo Jin, could you please read it for me?" She asked while unfolding the sheet when saw that Huo Jin had removed his upper garments. She immediately brought the sheet in front of her eyes and shut her eyes tightly.

"Forgive me, I came inside unannounced," she said in a low voice.

Huo Jin quickly turned his back towards her. She peeked at him and was shocked to see the brownish marks on his back, not one but many.

Huo Jin picked the upper garment which he had removed earlier and wore it. He swiftly tied the knots on it and turned to Yin Na, who immediately hid her face behind the sheet that she was holding.

"I am done," he said and Yin Na brought her hands down from her face.

"What do you want me to read?" He came near her when she handed him the sheet.

"Xu Wenhai sent this message for me through my personal attendant\'s hand," she replied. Huo Jin hummed and started to read the message.

He flinched his brows when Yin Na asked him to say aloud. "I cannot read your mind," she said with a smile.

Huo Jin nodded his head.

"As a petal of a flower falls on the water surface and creates ripples on its surface; the same way your first gaze at me, created ripples in my heart."

Yin Na was astonished to hear the message and a smile appeared on her lips while Huo Jin\'s fingers tightly gripped the edges of the sheet.

"Forgive me, for hurting you. You have never been out of Luoyang, so I thought that taking you out would be great. I never intended to hurt you," Huo Jin read the rest of the lines for her.

"He has apologized to you," Huo Jin stated and quickly folded the paper.

Placing it on her palm, he said, "I am sleepy."

"Did he compare my gaze with a flower petal?" Yin Na asked Huo Jin.

"I do not know," Huo Jin coldly answered. He should not act this way but his heart was angry.

"Why? You can read and even write! How could you not get this simple meaning?" Yin Na queried him.

"Are you happy that he compared your gaze with a flower petal?" He hoarsely asked her and Yin Na got perplexed.

"Yes. No one ever said that to me," Yin Na answered.

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