ASTRP -Chapter 78 The Prince Confessed to Feng Jingge

She herself was short on money.

Prince Yu hurried after them. “Then did he say when he’ll be back?”

Feng Jingge answered without hesitation, “Next month.”

Prince Yu came to a halt. Then he turned toward the direction where the imperial uncle had left and shouted, “Imperial Uncle, where am I staying tonight?”

“Ask Qing Shan.”

Prince Yu frowned. “Ask Qing Shan? Who is Qing Shan…”

He was still muttering when Xiao Jinghan suddenly passed by his side.

Seeing this unfamiliar woman, Prince Yu’s eyes lit up instantly. He raised his hand to grab her arm.

Just as his hand was about to make contact, Xiao Jinghan struck—grabbing his wrist and twisting it back in one smooth motion.

“Ah!”

Prince Yu immediately let out a pig-like scream.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Lady, gentle! It hurts!”

Qing Shan, hearing Prince Yu’s cries, immediately rushed over.

But seeing that it was his own master who had acted, he silently stepped back to the side again.

Xiao Jinghan looked at Prince Yu coldly. “This is the Regent Prince’s residence, not Prince Yu’s mansion. I hope Your Highness pays attention to your words and actions.”

Prince Yu felt like crying internally while complaining out loud.

“I just wanted to greet the lady, I had no other intentions.”

“Also, I’m curious—how did this lady know that Su Xiu borrowed money from me?”

“Because…” Xiao Jinghan drawled slightly, releasing his grip on Prince Yu’s arm, “he also owes me money.”

Prince Yu rubbed his aching arm, stunned. “He also owes you money?”

Xiao Jinghan nodded.

Prince Yu suddenly raised his voice. “That grown man actually borrowed money from a young lady like you? That guy really has no shame!”

Xiao Jinghan glanced at him calmly.

After mentally cursing Su Xiu a hundred times, Prince Yu asked again, “So… how much did he borrow from you?”

Xiao Jinghan replied coldly, “Why should I tell you?”

“……”

“Because… because…”

Prince Yu couldn’t come up with a reason.

Xiao Jinghan’s gaze swept over his face as he thought, then turned and left without another word.

A few moments later, Prince Yu finally thought of a reason.

He looked up—but there was already no one in sight.

Looking left and right, he only caught a glimpse of a small figure disappearing toward the hall.

“Hey, lady…”

He hurriedly called out and chased after her.

Qing Shan immediately stepped in front of him again, blocking his path.

With a serious expression, he said, “It’s late. Your Highness should rest.”

Prince Yu looked past Qing Shan, still staring at the disappearing figure until she was completely gone.

Only then did he withdraw his gaze and ask, “Who is that lady? What is her relationship with my imperial uncle?”

“I remember clearly—there are no women in this vast residence of his.”

Qing Shan replied, “Feng Jingge…”

“Feng Jingge?”

Prince Yu froze for a moment, as if recalling who that was. His expression shifted into disbelief.

“The young lady of the Feng family who pushed my imperial uncle into the water?”

Qing Shan nodded. “Yes.”

Prince Yu frowned deeply, looking utterly confused.

“Ordinary looks, no remarkable figure… how did my imperial uncle end up liking her?”

Qing Shan thought inwardly: Miss Feng may look plain, but she has a refined aura and extraordinary talent—she’s a hidden gem!

Seeing Qing Shan remain silent, Prince Yu asked again, “Where am I staying tonight?”

“Please follow me, Your Highness.”

Feng Jingge and Xiao Jinghan had not actually left; they had only stepped out of the main hall.

Everything Prince Yu said had been heard clearly by both of them.

Hearing his approaching footsteps, they turned and went back to their room.

Back inside, Feng Jingge turned and looked Xiao Jinghan up and down.

After sizing him up, she even mimicked Prince Yu’s tone.

“Ordinary looks… no remarkable figure…”

Xiao Jinghan glanced at her but said nothing, sitting down at the desk.

“Xiao Jing—”

Feng Jingge walked over.

She almost called him Xiao Jinghan, but just as she said the first two syllables, his cold gaze swept over.

She immediately corrected herself.

“Your Highness, tell me, do all men like women with big chests and curvy figures?”

Xiao Jinghan: “……”

He poured himself a cup of water. “Right now you are the man. You should be asking yourself what you like.”

“I?”

Feng Jingge frowned.

“If I were truly a man, I’d probably marry a woman like myself.”

Xiao Jinghan’s hand paused slightly as he held the cup.

Feng Jingge continued.

“As the saying goes, beautiful skins are all the same, but interesting souls are one in a million.”

A faint curve appeared on Xiao Jinghan’s lips. “Mm.”

Feng Jingge looked at him. “What are you agreeing to?”

“I already said it. It’s your turn. After all, in the truest sense, you are the real man here.”

Xiao Jinghan took a sip of tea. “I already said it.”

Feng Jingge leaned closer. “When did you say it?”

“Mm.”

Another soft “mm.”

Feng Jingge: “???”

“Mm.”

Again.

Feng Jingge: “?????”

She was completely confused by his repeated “mm.”

“I said I’d marry someone like myself, and you just said ‘mm’…”

“So you also like interesting souls?”

“No.” Xiao Jinghan shook his head.

Feng Jingge: “???”

She looked even more puzzled.

Xiao Jinghan put down his teacup and met her gaze directly.

His voice turned solemn, word by word:

“I like you.”

Boom—

Feng Jingge’s mind exploded.

Was he… confessing?

She stared at him blankly.

Their eyes met. The room fell into absolute silence.

Outside, the night wind brushed through the courtyard, bamboo leaves rustling softly.

After a long moment—

“Heh… heh heh…”

Feng Jingge laughed awkwardly and looked away, trying to deflect.

“Your Highness, what kind of joke is this? Right now I am you. If you like me, doesn’t that mean you like yourself?”

What kind of nonsense was this?!

He was the regent prince—what kind of woman had he not seen before?

How could he possibly like her, a “small fry”?

No chest, no curves—just an ordinary girl.

Impossible.

He must be teasing her!

Xiao Jinghan stared at her intently. “Feng Jingge, I am speaking very seriously.”

Feng Jingge pressed her lips together, her smile fading. “I am also serious.”

“But do you think this kind of relationship would even be appropriate?”

Xiao Jinghan’s heart clenched instantly, an indescribable pain spreading through him.

So… was he rejected?

He lowered his eyes, lips pressed tightly into a line.

His mind raced, trying to think of how to recover from this rejection gracefully.

While he was still thinking, Feng Jingge spoke again.

“Wait until we switch back. Then it won’t be too late for you to confess again.”

Confess??

Xiao Jinghan’s heart surged with sudden joy.

If he remembered correctly, his late mother had once told him—

In that world, men and women were equal, and a man could only marry one woman in his lifetime.