Chapter 496: Chapter 495: Favor Girls Over Boys

Jiang Ning neatly folded the children’s clothes and placed them together, smiling, “Your Highness, perhaps you’re overthinking it.”

“Didn’t you personally admit that you like Wenren Zong?”

“That’s all in the past.” Jiang Ning stood up and looked at him gently, “Now that I am already your Princess Consort, naturally, I have eyes and heart only for you, Your Highness.”

Li Hongyuan: “…Your words sound so insincere.”

She couldn’t even bear to let him have a proper meal, yet she claimed to have eyes and heart only for him?

He clearly remembered that when Wenren Zong left, she had eagerly seen him off and given him lots of food.

Needless to say, she had made it all by herself.

Jiang Ning laughed, “If Your Highness doesn’t believe me, so be it. Time will tell.”

Li Hongyuan looked at her eyes that held not the slightest sincerity and let out a soft humph.

Xiachu relayed a message from outside the curtain, “Your Highness, someone from Splendid Palace has come to inform you that Concubine Jin doesn’t have an appetite and would like some light and delicious dishes. If it’s convenient for you, could you please prepare a couple of dishes? If not, never mind.”

Jiang Ning looked at Li Hongyuan, “For your sake, shouldn’t I try to please her a little?”

“There’s no need.” Li Hongyuan said coldly, “I’ve been estranged from my concubine mother since childhood, and after I grew up, we hardly met once every three or five months. If you try to please her, it’s purely for your benefit.”

He bluntly exposed her intentions.

Jiang Ning said, “Aren’t you a bit dense? Do you know how important Concubine Jin is to the Emperor? If you could please her, do you still need to worry about your position?”

Li Hongyuan replied indifferently, “Do you think I haven’t tried?”

“So?” Jiang Ning pricked up her ears.

“I was naive when I was younger and thought my mother would support me, but in reality, I was foolish. The lack of emotion between a mother and son is not created overnight. You are an outsider, so don’t make wild guesses.”

Jiang Ning shrugged, “As Your Highness says. It’s not my place to meddle in the affairs between you and your mother. Anyway, I think Her Highness Concubine Jin is quite nice.”

Li Hongyuan looked at her and said, “She might have been happier if you were the one she gave birth to.”

“Why? Is Her Highness the kind of person who favors daughters over sons?”

“Perhaps. All I know is that she indeed does not cherish having a son.”

“I don’t know the reason, but you seem quite pitiful.”

“Pitiful?” Li Hongyuan sneered, “Have you gone mad? Even without my mother’s love, I, a prince born into the royal family, have been raised in luxury since childhood. You, on the other hand, pity me.”

Jiang Ning was speechless.

He was right. The original Jiang Ning was a noble lady who suffered much misfortune throughout her life. She was kidnapped as a child and had a difficult life for more than a decade, never enjoying a day of happiness, which her current self now enjoyed.

It was truly pitiful.

However, as for Jiang Ning herself, she had no feelings about it.

She could genuinely pity Li Hongyuan.

Li Hongyuan had no way of knowing that there was such a free and advanced world in a different dimension.

Seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Li Hongyuan thought he had touched a nerve and couldn’t help but feel regret. He hesitated for a moment then asked, “Do you want my help?”

“Sure.”

“…You’re not shy about it. You want me, the Crown Prince, to join you in the kitchen?”

“No need, with you in the kitchen, you’d only cause trouble for me. I have another task for you.”

“You’re ordering me around?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I’m merely asking for your help, Your Highness.”

Half an hour later, Li Hongyuan changed into casual clothes, carrying a food box, and arrived at Splendid Palace..