Love In The Palace

Love Hurts

This is chapter 40.

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Recap: in the previous chapter, Empress asked Jade to choose between leaving the palace or taking the poison soup. Jade chose the second one while holding onto every last bits of hope of reconciling with Crown Prince. Consort Lana broke down seeing how Jade resembles herself and Consort Para so much and she felt more connection to Jade. Then Jade, who was falling sick due to the poison, decided to visit Crown Prince as the latter never visited her at all. Crown Prince acted as though he despised her and Jade lost her last hope, finally giving in to fate, saying she wants to leave the palace.

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"What?" His heart palpitates, beating so loudly that he can even hear it in his mind. The rhythm increasing by every moment, faster and faster. He draws his hand back into his sleeves, clenching his fists as hard as possible as he wants to see if it is a dream or reality. The pain wakes him up from his pointless hopes. It is reality.

"I...do not want to stay in the palace any longer." Jade, with one of her hand, pinches her thighs hard in order to keep her body upwards straight. She needs that amount of energy to keep herself up, to keep bearing in the throbbing pain in her heart.

"Such a thing is not for you to decide!" He hates himself for not being able to express the truth. Why can I not just tell the truth? He just simply wants to say no, say please stay with me. However, his pride and ego may have grown too much during the time he is separate from her.

"Then...I will wait...until Your Highness agree to it."

"I will never agree to it."

"I will wait...until Your Highness...agree to it." Jade simply repeats the same lines she has previously said, she understands the impact of her action towards Crown Prince, at least, if he has not changed that much.

Maybe she has hit the right spot. He does get shaken for he understands that she is not joking. He does not understand why does she hate him so much that she wants to leave him, to go away from him. What wrong has he done?

"You are tired. Go back." Then Jade painstakingly rises from her seat, almost losing her balance, before she dips slightly for a short curtsy.

"I will...keep waiting..."

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"Your Highness, please do not walk so quickly...!" Ran painstakingly lifts her dresses slightly as she follows her master in a hurry, making sure that she is not left out of sight.

Consort Lana, upon finding out from Rowena about Jade's desire to leave the palace, but denied by the Crown Prince, immediately makes a bee line to the horse stables, where Crown Prince should be at right now, practising his horse-riding skills, or just visiting his favourite horse. She grips her dresses tightly, her fists whiten from her tight clench. Like father like son, she thinks, as Crown Prince has abandoned her like how the Emperor did. However, will Crown Prince be the same?

As the stables have come in sight, Consort Lana quickens her speed, literally running instead of walking fast, in her long dresses which might trip her, though she could not care less anymore.

Everyone bows in her direction as she enters the stables, though her eyes pay them no heed. She showers her surroundings with her glimpses until she notices one man standing by a horse, his back facing her, his body wrapped in luxurious silk Imperial robes, his belt giving off his position as a prince, a Crown Prince. When he notices everyone bowing, he slowly turns his head around and their eyes meet. Hers full of animosity, his full of confusion. He bows in her direction as well while she closes in on him, slowly, calmly.