Chapter 139 - In Front Of Another Man
"Whom are you calling shameless?" Ying Lili questioned Sheng Li.
"Don't you know?" Sheng Li asked her back. Wang Hao intervened between them. "Your highness, we shall start, otherwise the food will get cold." Sheng Li hummed and started first, followed by the others.
Xiao Zhan leaned closer to Hu Jingguo and whispered in his ear, "Do not annoy the Crown Prince. He can punish you or worse he will leave you here." Hu Jingguo nodded and looked at the Crown Prince.
He recalled how Prince Lei Wanxi had explained to him about the personality of the Crown Prince. "Jingguo, Brother Sheng has never shown an interest in any women. But with Sister Lili it is different. Though Brother Sheng is not accepting that he likes her. So, your chief work is to make Brother Sheng jealous to the extent that he confesses to Sister Lili. You know about Sister Lili more than anyone, so use that against Brother Sheng," Lei Wanxi with a smile said and stopped pacing in the room.
"Prince Wanxi, the Crown Prince, gets angry easily. What if he punishes me? I do not think anyone will be able to save me from his wrath," Jingguo expressed his worries.
"Sister Lili will not let you get punished. Brother Sheng might use words to show his anger, but he will not punish you. For Sister Lili, he even saved your life else he would not have spared you. He would have killed you not because you sneaked into the Palace but because you are the friend of Sister Lili," Lei Wanxi pronounced.
"I understood, Prince Wanxi," Hu Jingguo said.
"Jingguo, why are you not eating? What are you thinking?" Ying Lili asked.
"Nothing," Jingguo replied. Jingguo saw Sheng Li had picked soybeans and was going to put them into Ying Lili's plate, so he quickly picked the cooked pork meat slice and put it on Ying Lili's plate. "Your highness, eat this. You like this, right?" Ying Lili nodded and thanked him.
"Her highness does not like vegetables that much. Back in Juyan, her highness was so picky while having her food," Hu Jingguo said. Sheng Li chuckled and pulled his hand back.
Ying Lili thanked him and the two continued talking with each other while Sheng Li was listening to them. The chopsticks in his hand broke, and everyone looked at him. "Oh, your chopsticks broke," Ying Lili murmured and asked for another pair when Sheng Li said, "I am not hungry. Come to the room after you finish your meal."
"But you have not eaten anything," Ying Lili worriedly said and grasped his arm. Sheng Li jerked it off and walked out from there.
"What is wrong with him!?" Ying Lili muttered.
"Your highness, you must finish your food quickly. We will leave early in the morning," Wang Hao told the Crown Princess who nodded. After finishing their meals, they all left for their respective rooms. Ying Lili was going to open the door when she thought to take dinner for Sheng Li, so she went to the dining room where maidservants were cleaning.
"The Crown Prince has not taken his meals. Place the main dishes on the tray. I will take it to the room," Ying Lili ordered one maidservant who nodded and quickly went to the kitchen. She returned with a tray in her hand. Ying Lili took the tray from her and left for the room.
"He has such terrible mood swings," Ying Lili murmured, opened the door, and went in after closing the doors behind her. She did not see Sheng Li there and placed the tray on a table there. "Did he go outside?" Ying Lili wondered and turned to the door when Sheng Li came out of the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
He was not wearing upper garments and the water droplets were still there on his perfectly chiseled body. "I-I have brought dinner for you. You left in the middle," Ying Lili said and found Sheng Li was not responding to her. She went towards him and took the towel from him.
"I can help," Ying Lili said and started wiping his upper body. "It is not good to leave dinner in the middle. Do not ever disrespect food like this," Ying Lili advised Sheng Li. She tiptoed to reach Sheng Li's face and wiped the water from it.
Ying Lili turned Sheng Li in such a way that his back faced her and quickly wiped his back. "It is done," Ying Lili said with a smile as if she had won something. But Sheng Li's silence was making her worry.
She went towards the table and said, "Come here and have your dinner."
"I am not in a mood to eat. I will now have my meal in the morning," Sheng Li announced and wore a silk robe. He went to the dressing table, picked a China Dish, and told Ying Lili to sit on the bed. Ying Lili came to the bed and sat on the mattress. Sheng Li sat beside her and told her to remove the silk upper robe she was wearing.
Ying Lili took off the robe and placed it on the bed. Sheng Li applied the paste to the blisters again. "You and your dear friend are annoying me. I hope you two do not talk too much in front of me," Sheng Li said.
"What did we even do? We were just having a conversation," Ying Lili murmured and pouted.
"Of course, you did a crime. Just because he is your friend, he is alive," Sheng Li said and looked into Ying Lili's eyes.
"You are jealous that a man knows me better than you?" Ying Lili queried Sheng Li.
"No. I am angry because you smile so brightly in front of another man," Sheng Li pronounced.
"That means you are jealous. Why did you mold your words and say you are angry? Just accept that you have feelings for me that's why you cannot see me smile in front of the other men," Ying Lili stated and placed her index finger under Sheng Li's chin.