CHAPTER 153: CHAPTER

The room fell into an unnatural silence the moment the guards left.

Only Lin Xu and the Crown Prince remained inside.

The door slid shut with a click that echoed through her bones. Her fingers tightened in her sleeves, and she slowly lifted her eyes.

The Crown Prince stood with his back to her, hands clasped behind him, staring out the window where moonlight poured into the room. His white undergarment shimmered faintly under the pale glow, outlining the tall, sharp lines of his body.

Lin Xu forced herself to breathe.

You must do this. For Mo Ying. You promised.

But her chest constricted painfully.

She wiped her trembling hands on her skirt and tried to steady her voice.

"Your... Your Highness..."

The Crown Prince spoke before she could continue.

"Stand."

His tone wasn’t loud, but it held a commanding weight that made her legs move even as they shook. She stood slowly, her knees barely supporting her.

He finally turned around.

His eyes drifted over her face, lingering on her swollen eyelids, her red nose, and the faint tear streaks she’d failed to wipe away. His expression did not soften, but something unreadable flickered in his gaze.

"Come closer," he said.

Lin Xu took one step.

Then another.

But when she reached him, she stopped too far away still shaking, still visibly frightened.

The Crown Prince raised a brow. "That is your idea of offering yourself?"

Heat rushed to her face. Shame and fear tangled in her stomach.

She tried to speak, but her voice came out barely a whisper. "I... I can serve you well... if you allow this lowly maid—"

He stepped toward her.

She froze.

He lifted a finger and placed it under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"You came here," he murmured, "claiming to offer yourself to a stranger. Yet your heart..." He tapped her chest lightly. "...is trembling so loudly I can hear it."

Lin Xu bit her lip hard.

She couldn’t let her fear show.

She lifted her hands and reached timidly for his chest, trying to imitate what a seductive woman might do just as she had seen in those green tea dramas she used to watch when she was in her teens.

But the moment her fingers touched the fabric near his collarbone...

Her hands jerked back.

She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t even pretend.

Her breath shook. Her whole body trembled. Tears stung her eyes again.

The Crown Prince’s eyes narrowed.

"Why do you hesitate?" he asked softly. "Did you not just offer your body to me?"

Lin Xu shook her head quickly. "I... I am not afraid, my lord. I only... I just—"

But she could not finish.

The Crown Prince stepped even closer, his presence overwhelming.

"Look at me."

She forced herself to meet his eyes.

Cold. Sharp. All-consuming.

"What are you hiding?" he asked.

Lin Xu’s lips trembled.

She tried again to reach for him, to touch him, to pretend she could go through with this. Her hand hovered near his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.

..but she couldn’t bring herself to go further.

Her hand fell back to her side.

The Crown Prince watched her silently.

A full minute passed.

Then he spoke, voice low and cutting:

"You are no maid."

Lin Xu’s heart stopped.

"You speak too well. Your posture is trained. And that level of fear..." His eyes darkened. "Maidservants who sell themselves do not tremble like that. They are used to the world’s ugliness."

He grabbed her wrist not harshly, but firmly enough to stop her from backing away.

"Tell me," he said, his voice no longer gentle, "who are you really? And why did you come to my room tonight?"

Lin Xu’s breath hitched. She should have expected him to be smart—after all, he was the Crown Prince for a reason.

Her throat tightened painfully, her vision blurring. She opened her mouth—once, twice—trying to form words, excuses, lies, anything.

But nothing came out.

Nothing except—

A choked sound.

Her knees buckled.

And then the tears she had been holding back since Mo Ying collapsed... came crashing out all at once.

She covered her mouth with both hands and sobbed, shoulders shaking violently. Her body folded in on itself as if she were breaking apart from the inside. It was ugly crying... raw.

All the fear.

All the guilt.

All the helplessness.

Everything spilled out like the dam inside her had finally shattered.

What shocked her most...

was that the Crown Prince didn’t look shocked at all.

He simply watched her silently.

Like he had expected her to fall apart sooner or later.

Minutes passed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

By the fifth minute, Lin Xu was a shaking mess on the floor, gasping for breath as she pressed a hand to her chest. Her tears wouldn’t stop. Her entire body hurt from crying so hard.

She felt humiliated.

When her sobs finally softened, she wiped her face with trembling fingers and forced herself to steady her breathing. Her lips trembled as she whispered:

"...I’m sorry..."

The room felt unbearably quiet.

Then—

A sigh.

Followed by a dry, sarcastic voice:

"Are you done now?"

Lin Xu froze.

She looked up slowly.

The Crown Prince stared down at her with an expression that wasn’t quite cold... but definitely impatient. His head was slightly tilted, one brow raised in mild annoyance as if she had inconvenienced him by breaking down.

His next words were delivered with sharp, lazy mockery:

"If your tears are finished, then come here."

Her heart thudded painfully.

"W-what...?"

He lifted a hand and pointed toward himself.

"You came into my room claiming you would offer yourself," he said. "Yet you cannot touch me, cannot look at me, and all you have managed to do so far is cry."

He stepped back toward the bed, sitting down casually, one leg slightly bent, his white inner garment falling loosely over his shoulder.

His eyes locked onto hers.

"Since you are clearly unable to seduce me," he continued in a smooth, taunting tone, "you will serve me in another way."

Lin Xu felt her pulse hammering in her ears.

The Crown Prince leaned back slightly, expression unreadable.

"Come," he said. "Help me remove my garment."

Her breath caught.

She stared at him, stunned.

He smirked faintly.

"You claimed you would entertain me tonight," he said softly, "so start by doing at least one thing properly."

Lin Xu’s breath stuttered as she forced herself to stand. She walked toward the Crown Prince slowly, step by unsteady step, until she stood in front of him.

He watched her without blinking.

The room felt too quiet... too heavy.

Lin Xu swallowed hard. Her voice came out small.

"My... my lord... I can... I can help you relax. I can give a good massage if... if that helps Your Highness rest."

For a moment, the Crown Prince simply stared at her.

Then—

He laughed.

A low, disbelieving laugh.

"You?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "You who can barely stand? You who cry more than you speak?"

His lips curled.

"I have not slept properly in three days. Do you truly think your... massage will make me sleep?"

Lin Xu lowered her eyes.

"There is only one way to find out, Your Highness."

The room stilled.

The Crown Prince leaned back slightly, studying her face. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but there was a strange determination in them, a quiet stubbornness.

Finally, he exhaled.

"Very well," he said. "Show me this ’usefulness’ of yours."

He shifted his body and lay down on his stomach across the wide bed, his long hair falling over one shoulder. The moonlight cast a pale glow across his back, making the lines of his body look even sharper.

Then he turned his head slightly.

"I am waiting."

Lin Xu’s heart pounded painfully.

This was it.

She closed her eyes.

Susu... she called in her heart.

A soft glow appeared instantly time froze around her like the world had stopped breathing.

Susu floated beside her, irritated but curious.

"What do you need now?" she whispered.

Lin Xu held out her hand. "Oil. Massage oil. Something strong enough to make him sleep. Please."

Susu blinked, surprised. Then she nodded and snapped her fingers.

A small jade bottle appeared in Lin Xu’s palm.

"That will be two taels," Susu said sweetly.

Lin Xu didn’t even argue. She paid immediately.

Susu smirked. "Good luck," she said, then disappeared as time resumed.

The room returned to normal. The Crown Prince was still lying there, waiting, unaware a single moment had passed for her.

Lin Xu’s hands shook as she opened the jade bottle. The scent of the oil drifted up warm, calming, with a slight herbal sharpness.

She rubbed some between her palms.

Then, with a deep breath she couldn’t steady...

She placed her hands on the Crown Prince’s shoulders.

His body immediately tensed.

Lin Xu froze, but his voice came out calm, almost bored.

"Go on."

She pressed gently at first. His muscles were tight far tighter than she expected. Stress and exhaustion sat deep under his skin.

She moved her thumbs in slow circles, pushing into the tense spots the way she had learned from watching palace servants and the system’s basic knowledge.

Little by little...

The Crown Prince’s breathing began to slow.

His shoulders relaxed under her hands just a bit.

He didn’t speak; he simply lay there, eyes half-closed, allowing her to work.

Lin Xu continued, her touch growing steadier and more confident. The warm oil glistened against the pale skin of his back as she pressed, kneaded, and traced along the tight muscles.

Slowly...

His eyelids drooped.

She stopped to check if he was already asleep and thankfully, he was. She couldn’t leave; she had to spend the night with him. Just as she was about to stand up and sleep on the floor, he pulled her by the waist, and she landed beside him on the bed.

"Where do you think you are going?"