After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 460: Still Showing Mercy

Seeing their most precious daughter crying like this, the two of them didn't have time to ask any more questions and carefully took her back to the house.

After finally calming everyone down a bit, Mrs. Zhuang spoke up again to ask what had happened.

"I... I was just going to chat with the Crown Princess for a bit, as the Empress Dowager had instructed. Who knew she would pretend to be injured and then have the Crown Prince punish me?"

“Punishment? You look completely different now, and…”

Zhuang's father glanced at the palace maids behind him who were not making a sound. Since none of them said anything, he looked at the other side with even more indifference.

The group exchanged a glance, then turned and left.

This commotion made Zhuang Lijuan's face even more gloomy, and she burst into tears.

Seeing her daughter's distress, Zhuang's mother gently took her into her arms and patted her back repeatedly, trying to soothe her.

But this time, she felt so wronged that she was unwilling to stop and wanted to vent all her grievances.

When Zhuang's mother's clothes were soaked with tears, Zhuang Lijuan fainted from crying.

When I opened my eyes again, my mother was still beside me, but the expression on her face had changed slightly.

"Mother, what's wrong with me? Why did I do this?"

"While you were unconscious, your mother inquired about many things, you..."

After hesitating for a long time, Zhuang's mother finally patted her on the back.

Unexpectedly, her most beloved mother would resort to such cruelty. Zhuang Lijuan, her face contorted with grief, carefully grasped her mother's hand.

"Mother, why should I give up? I grew up with the Crown Prince since I was a child. How dare she, a woman who is nothing, compete with me?"

"Why should she? Just because she already has a legitimate son. What makes you think you can compete with her?"

Hearing her mother's words, Zhuang Lijuan hesitated for a long time before finally managing a desperate smile.

“You’re right, I certainly don’t have the ability to compare with her, but the Crown Prince and I have been childhood friends, and our bond is something she can’t match.”

All those previous events must have been for the sake of that newborn legitimate son.

Once he has no worries about the future, Li Jingyang will definitely care more about him, otherwise he wouldn't have used this much force.

Having the same concerns, Mrs. Zhuang asked directly.

"Why are you so sure? Do you have some kind of agreement with the Crown Prince?"

"Although there was no agreement, I believe that the Crown Prince's restraint is the greatest proof."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang's mother hesitated slightly, recalling the doctor's instructions, but ultimately looked towards the door.

Knowing that her mother wanted to listen to Zhuang's father, Zhuang Lijuan hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement.

"If my father also tells me to give up, then I have nothing to say and will just obediently find someone to marry."

"How many men do you think would still be willing to marry you at your age?"

When Zhuang's father came in, he struck a nerve with his daughter, and Zhuang Lijuan's tears immediately streamed down her face.

But knowing that what followed would be extremely troublesome, he simply wiped away his tears and stared straight at the other person.

"Is Father trying to tell me that I am not worthy to marry the Crown Prince?"

"No, what I mean is, if the Crown Prince truly has feelings for you, then you must make an effort to marry into his palace."

No matter what means are used, and regardless of whether the final status is that of a concubine or something else, they must be allowed to enter.

Mr. Zhuang stared intently at Zhuang Lijuan, convinced that she was not one to compromise, and stood up to pat her slender shoulder.

"Juan'er, there's no one else you can rely on for farming, so this time you can only succeed, not fail."

"Your father will support you no matter what."

Knowing that her father would support her like this, Zhuang Lijuan's face lit up even more, and she nodded vigorously at him.

"I will work hard so that the Crown Prince will marry me."

My foolish daughter, if you dare to lay a hand on her now, she'll probably become even more ruthless in the future.

Thinking of how Zhuang Lijuan would be tormented by Li Jingyang, Zhuang's mother held her daughter's hand with heartache. She wanted to say a few more words, but was interrupted by Zhuang's father.

She wanted to say something else, but the hand tightened its grip again, causing her to turn pale with pain. In the end, she could only watch as her daughter, who had been deceived by Zhuang's father, smiled.

But when she met Zhuang's mother's gaze, she didn't care at all, and turned her head to look at the seat next to her and chat with Zhuang's father about what happened later.

Inside the palace.

Lin Rusi looked at Changning, who was fiddling with his little feet in her arms, and suddenly had an idea. She used a strip of cloth to scoop him up and put him on the ground.

"Changning, do you want to try? I'll protect you so you won't fall."

"Huh? Ahh!"

Changning hadn't reacted yet, but still habitually fiddled with the 'rope' with her hand, and then began to twist it continuously.

Her small body kept twisting and turning, almost managing to break free from Lin Rusi's grasp.

Seeing Changning about to fall, she immediately grabbed the strip of cloth in her hand and lifted the child up.

"You little rascal, you really like to move around a lot, but we can try this too, stand up on your feet."

In order to make the child understand, Lin Rusi directly pinched and held the tiny foot that was less than the size of a palm.

His movements suddenly froze, and he could only hand the rope in his hand to the wet nurse.

"Just lift him up so that his feet can touch the ground."

"Madam, why don't you let the child try it himself? After all, Young Master Changning is very clever; he can imitate it just by looking."

"Try them all, maybe they'll all work."

As Lin Rusi spoke, she used her hands to demonstrate the posture of walking on two feet.

Changning thought it was a game, staring intently at the hands and her own feet with her big eyes, twisting her body.

They twisted and turned, one to the left and one to the right, in a very comical way, which made Lin Rusi and everyone in the room laugh out loud.

The little guy had no idea why this was happening, and just giggled as he continued to mimic the movements he had just performed.

But the child's body was too weak, and he collapsed after walking for a while.

"It seems the time is not right yet, but Changning is indeed clever. She has already learned to take steps after playing for only a short while."

Lin Rusi held Changning in her arms and gently coaxed her until she fell asleep.

After several months of practice, Changning finally learned to walk without walking.

Staggering, he spread his arms to maintain his balance and walked slowly to Lin Rusi's side.

“Great job! Our parent Ning has already learned to walk and will be running soon.”

"run!"

Changning's eyes lit up, clearly wanting to say something more, but he couldn't bring himself to say it, and just stared longingly at Lin Rusi.

Knowing that he wanted to learn what to say next, Lin Rusi slowed down her tone and repeated each word several times.

Changning placed her little hand on her mother's slender neck and soon began to babble, uttering those few words.

"Great! Changning will soon be able to start learning to read and write and practice martial arts."

"Can you read?"

Lin Rusi nodded and took the little hand to write the two characters "Changning".