Chapter 159 - 160: Sowing Discord
Hua Manman looked at him with teary eyes. "Really?"
Li Cheng promised without hesitation, "Of course, it’s real!"
Only then did Hua Manman’s smile bloom again.
She said shyly,
"The Crown Prince is so good to me."
Then, she let out a soft sigh.
"I truly envy Lin Liangyuan for being able to marry a good man as gentle and considerate as the Crown Prince.
If I were Lin Liangyuan, I would definitely stay by your side at all times. I would never run off to make breakfast for another man."
Li Cheng was slightly taken aback. "Who did Lin Liangyuan make breakfast for?"
Seeing her target take the bait, Hua Manman let out a villain’s triumphant laugh in her heart, but on the surface, she feigned hesitation.
Seeing this, Li Cheng said, "If you have something to say, just say it."
Only then did Hua Manman say in a small voice,
"First thing this morning, Lin Liangyuan ran to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Prince Zhao. It should be ready by now."
As if to verify whether her words were true or not,
Just as she finished speaking, she saw Lin Qingzhi approaching gracefully from a distance, carrying a food box.
Lin Qingzhi had also spotted Hua Manman and the Crown Prince.
She never expected to run into them here. She faltered for a moment, then quickened her pace and approached, giving the Crown Prince a graceful curtsy.
Li Cheng was first stunned by the bloodstains on her clothes, then his brow furrowed at her haggard appearance.
Finally, his gaze landed on the food box in her hands.
Hua Manman stepped forward, took the food box, and said with a smile,
"Thank you for preparing breakfast for Prince Zhao. You’ve worked so hard.
Prince Zhao said last night’s fish soup was delicious.
Your skills are truly excellent. I’ll have to learn more about cooking from you in the future."
The moment Lin Qingzhi heard this, she knew it was bad.
’This little beast is deliberately trying to sow discord!’
She immediately looked at the Crown Prince and, sure enough, saw his expression was dark and gloomy.
Lin Qingzhi hurriedly tried to defend herself.
"It’s not what you think! I was forced into it."
Hua Manman, as if she understood something, immediately changed her tune and nodded frantically in agreement.
"Yes, yes! I forced Ms. Lin to do everything! There’s really nothing going on between Ms. Lin and Prince Zhao!"
Lin Qingzhi was speechless.
’You little beast, shut the hell up!!!’
As if she didn’t see Lin Qingzhi’s nearly contorted expression, Hua Manman turned to the Crown Prince and said,
"You must believe Ms. Lin. Ms. Lin would never do anything to betray you."
Li Cheng let out a cold laugh. "Heh."
Hua Manman deliberately said in a cloyingly sweet voice,
"Is the Crown Prince angry?
Please don’t be angry with Ms. Lin. She’s actually a very nice person. I especially love spending time with her."
Lin Qingzhi desperately wanted to slap this little beast into the nearby mud.
’Damn you to hell! You don’t like spending time with me, you like playing me for a fool!’
She barely suppressed the murderous urge in her heart with all her might.
She wanted Hua Manman to leave quickly with the food box, but she couldn’t say it directly for fear of deepening the Crown Prince’s misunderstanding of her. She could only fret inwardly.
Hua Manman noticed Lin Qingzhi’s gaze kept darting to the food box. An idea immediately sparked in her mind.
’I left the kitchen just now, so no one was watching Lin Qingzhi. This woman definitely took the opportunity to pull something.’
’Maybe she secretly added something to the breakfast.’
Hua Manman asked with concern,
"Crown Prince, you came over so early. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Why not have a little something to eat now?"
With that, she opened the food box and took out the bowl of steaming rice porridge.
Lin Qingzhi’s face instantly turned green.
She hastily tried to stop her.
"No! The Crown Prince can’t eat this porridge!"
Seeing her reaction, Hua Manman immediately confirmed her suspicions.
’There really is something wrong with this porridge!’
Hua Manman looked at Lin Qingzhi with a disapproving gaze and chided her.
"I know you made this porridge specially for Prince Zhao, and that it’s filled with your affection for him.
But the Crown Prince is hungry right now. Don’t you feel for him at all?
The Crown Prince is usually so good to you, yet you can’t even bear to let him have a single bite of porridge.
You’re really going too far."
After speaking, she turned to the Crown Prince and said in a low voice,
"I truly feel it’s not fair to you."
Li Cheng already suspected something was going on between Lin Qingzhi and Prince Zhao, and this only deepened his suspicions.
But in front of Hua Manman, Li Cheng didn’t fully reveal his doubts.
He just said indifferently,
"It’s just a bowl of porridge. If Lin Liangyuan is unwilling, then forget it."
At this point, Lin Qingzhi was truly unable to defend herself.
She said urgently, "It’s really not what you think!"
Li Cheng didn’t want to waste any more words on her. His eyes were fixed only on Hua Manman as he said gently,
"Since you haven’t had breakfast yet, you should go back and eat. We can meet another day."
Hua Manman quickly said, "Have a little something before you go! You can’t go back on an empty stomach. Even if Lin Liangyuan doesn’t feel for you, I do."
Only after she finished did she seem to realize what she’d said, and her little face instantly flushed crimson with embarrassment.
She avoided Li Cheng’s teasing gaze, quickly ladled out a bowl of rice porridge, and offered it to him with a blush.
Just as Li Cheng reached out to take it,
Hua Manman suddenly pulled her hand back.
She met the Crown Prince’s baffled gaze and explained gently,
"I’ve heard that whenever the Crown Prince dines, someone must taste the food beforehand to ensure it’s safe and non-poisonous.
Although this rice porridge was personally prepared by Ms. Lin, it would be safer to have someone try it first.
After all, you are the noble Crown Prince. Your safety is more important than anything."
Li Cheng was very pleased with her thoughtfulness and consideration.
"You are absolutely right."
Lin Qingzhi had a very bad feeling.
Right after, she saw that little beast, Hua Manman, turn around and flash a fake smile at her.
Hua Manman said, "You’ve been working hard all morning, you must be hungry. Why don’t you eat this porridge first?"
Lin Qingzhi was speechless.
’The little beast really is up to no good!’
She refused, "Thank you for the kind offer, but I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat."
Hua Manman sighed helplessly and said in a low voice,
"I can’t believe Ms. Lin isn’t even willing to taste-test a dish for the Crown Prince."
Lin Qingzhi knew this little beast was deliberately sowing discord. To make matters worse, the Crown Prince was already genuinely suspicious of her. If the little beast continued to stir things up, her relationship with the Crown Prince would be truly beyond repair.
To win back the Crown Prince’s trust, she could only steel herself and decide to tell the truth.
"It’s not that I’m unwilling to taste-test for the Crown Prince. It’s that this porridge can’t be eaten... because I just spat in it."
Both Hua Manman and Li Cheng were shocked.
But Hua Manman quickly recovered and said in astonishment,
"Ms. Lin, to think you’d even make up such a lie just to stop the Crown Prince from eating this porridge.
Fine, fine. Since you don’t want the Crown Prince to have the porridge you made, then he won’t have it."
With that, she closed the lid of the food box and curtsied to the Crown Prince.
"I will take my leave."