The closer he got, the more pungent the smell wafting from the pastry became.
At that moment, Jiang Tinghuai bitterly regretted pestering his uncle out of curiosity as a child to put him through exercises that sharpened his five senses.
He could only switch to breathing through his mouth. "Eleventh Princess, you..."
[If Crown Prince Brother helps Chengcheng finish this egg pancake, I-I'll go find Lord Yuan tonight and write another note to slip to him in secret!]
[That way, Crown Prince Brother can escape that villain's plot!]
Jiang Tinghuai swallowed every word of the refusal poised on his tongue. Slowly lowering his head, he looked past the plate of pastry at the little dumpling with sparkling eyes.
Like his imperial father, he had never believed in such mysterious talk of gods and spirits. Yet he couldn't help recalling all the strange happenings his mother had mentioned to him yesterday.
His father had been taking the little girl to court for several days now, a privilege even he, the crown prince, had never enjoyed.
And ever since she began attending court, several officials had been sent to the Imperial Prison without any warning.
Was all of this connected to this inner voice?
Jiang Tinghuai stared at her with a piercing gaze for a long while. Finally, he reached out and accepted the little piece of pastry that rivaled a lethal weapon, tears brimming in his eyes. "Thank you. You're so thoughtful, Eleventh Princess."
Jiang Yingcheng looked away with a slightly guilty expression. "Y-you're welcome~"
"Crown Prince Brother!" Delight flashed in Jiang Qiu Yu's eyes as he rushed over. "Qiu Yu's piece can be yours too!"
Jiang Tinghuai: "..."
He stared fixedly at Jiang Qiuyu for a long moment, then pointed toward the corner with a smile that never reached his