Li Gonggong barely reacted to this, and it wasn't until he was fixed with the Crown Prince's dark and profound gaze that he realized his master wasn't joking.
At that moment, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His perfect master was so inexperienced in matters of love that he needed to refer to illustrations?
However, he didn't dare to say much. After all, the Crown Prince's expression and demeanor were not good at all, and he was afraid that any further hesitation would spell disaster. So, Li Gonggong wisely agreed and hurriedly left.
Later, the Crown Prince, holding the spring-themed pictures and explanatory texts that Li Gonggong had found for him, looked at them awkwardly several times.
Every time he looked at them, his good breeding made him unable to bear it and he would toss them aside with a grim face. But then he would think about the fact that he would be with Su Mo'er for a long time to come. Intimacy was inevitable, and if he made no progress, it might not bode well.
After all, he was a normal man. It was different before he was in a relationship, but now that he was, it was impossible to remain as disinterested as he had been before.
Of course, these were all things to consider later. At the moment, he suppressed these thoughts.
...
Su Mo'er had a thrilling and tumultuous night, which led her to be completely sure about her relationship with the Crown Prince. Naturally, she was in a very good mood.
When she returned to the Misty Pavilion, the dancing girls and other residents were all gathered in the courtyard as usual, chatting and sitting around.
The only difference was that, if in the past, Su Mo'er had received a bit of favor from the Crown Prince and then returned to the Misty Pavilion, she would definitely have been met with sarcasm led by Liu Feifei.
But now, when they caught sight of her, someone exclaimed from a distance and then came over with a flattering smile, "Miss Su is back!"
Each one of them showed fake concern: "Miss Su must have had a tough time yesterday, right? I always knew that Liu Feifei had a malicious mind, but I never expected her to be so audacious as to openly scheme against you in front of His Highness! It's really despicable!"
This was followed by a lot of echoing agreement, "Yes, really despicable!"
Seeing this scene, Su Mo'er couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing, and her desire to save face had faded away.
Of course, she understood that one of the reasons why these people treated her like this now was that Liu Feifei had been disgraced. With Liu Feifei's fall, there was no one in the Misty Pavilion who could be a rival to her anymore. Consequently, they no longer had the courage to resist her, and in that case, they could only try to please her.
Maybe they hoped that by pleasing her, they might win the favor of the Crown Prince.
But they never thought about why Su Mo'er would bring them to the Crown Prince in the first place and share her favor with them.
She smiled and calmly exchanged pleasantries with everyone.
In addition, many people were inquiring, overtly and covertly, "Did Miss Su accompany the Crown Prince at the Western Pavilion last night?"
To this, Su Mo'er could only smile and remain silent.
Just at that moment, Li Ling'er pushed through the crowd and came to Su Mo'er's side, pulling her away, "Oh, Su Sister, let's go, let's go. They are so annoying!"
As most of the people had begun to imagine too much from Su Mo'er's implicit expression, and worried that excessive buttering up might make her resentful, Li Ling'er managed to pull her smoothly away from the group.
Li Ling'er was also very gossipy, and she moved away from the crowd to ask Su Mo'er, "Sister Su, are you and His Highness... you know..."
Being an inexperienced young girl, the topic piqued her curiosity and embarrassment. After struggling to form the words in her mouth, her face turned red as she couldn't bring herself to ask directly.
If it were another dancer, Su Mo'er would have been indifferent to answer. After all, she no longer had to compete with any rival and didn't have to worry about her position in the Prince's heart as she no longer had to reinforce her status in front of others.
But Li Ling'er was different. There was no conflict of interest between them, and their friendship existed from the beginning. Naturally, Su Mo'er couldn't help but share with her.
Blushing, Su Mo'er nodded, softly responding with a "Hmm."
Seeing this, Li Ling'er became excited or embarrassed, and exclaimed several times, "Oh, oh, oh, oh..." while gesticulating and blushing, saying, "It's really great! Sister Su, your hard work has finally paid off."
Hearing this, Su Mo'er also sighed with some emotion, "Yes! Thinking back on everything that has happened in these days, it all seems like yesterday, really..."
She shook her head with a smile.
Clinging to her arm, Li Ling'er coquettishly said, "Oh! Sister Su, you have finally achieved your wish! But, Sister Su, how did you feel when you were with the prince, you know..."
Perhaps feeling more comfortable, she seemed less hesitant than before, but her curiosity was still evident.
Su Mo'er understood very well. She believed that regardless of gender, before experiencing such a thing, one must have a curious and fearful feeling. She had felt the same way before.
But for her, the memory of that time was not something she wanted to remember. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been afraid of the possibility of continuing to have intimate relations with the prince in the coming days and decided not to move to the Western Pavilion.
She hesitated and said, "Just... ordinary, I guess."
Li Ling'er was also very clever and could clearly tell from her appearance that there wasn't much to say. Feeling a bit scared, she shrank her neck, not wanting to continue.
She quickly changed the subject and asked, "Anyway, Sister Su, now that you are the prince's woman, he should have explained some things to you, right?"
These were private words and could only be said in private. It would be disrespectful if spoken openly to others.
Li Ling'er's tact in changing the subject visibly relieved Su Mo'er. She said, "Yes, the prince has already told me that we will return to the capital. As for my position..."
She smiled bitterly, "My family background is not high, so even if I go to the capital with the prince, it probably won't be very high. But even so, I'm satisfied."
Without mentioning her experiences with the prince, she was quite content with other aspects. She smiled sweetly and said, "The prince is a very good man and treats me well. I think, even if I don't have a high position in the future, I'll still be happy by his side."
Listening to this, Li Ling'er admiringly commented, "When I leave the Commandant's residence, I don't know what will happen to my marriage..."
Shaking her head, she seemed a bit dejected.
Su Mo'er knew very well that, no matter what, she had served the prince in the mansion, and even though she hadn't had intimate relations or even seen him, the label was already affixed. When she returned, it was uncertain what would happen with her marriage.
She could only console her, "The prince is not that kind of person. He will definitely find a good way out for everyone."
Li Ling'er also smiled, shaking off her previous dejection and becoming animated again, saying, "By the way, Sister Su, do you know what happened to Liu Feifei and the others?" Su Mo'er shook her head, "I don't know about that..."
While she also wanted to know the outcome for the Liu family siblings, the matter was beyond her knowledge.
But she was sure it wouldn't be good.
Especially, as she was not a fool, she was aware that the prince and his allies stood to benefit greatly from this situation, and the Liu family would likely suffer greatly because of it.
Su Mo'er's speculation was correct. When the Commandant Yang Jian and others took the Liu family siblings to the Liu residence in Changle Prefecture and left behind their confessions, the Liu family didn't put up much resistance and accepted punishment obediently.
After all, even if they wanted to resist, with the irrefutable evidence, there wasn't much room for defiance.
Although the Liu family was a prominent family, it was far from the capital. They didn't have the same power and support as in the previous life, nor did they have a rebellious army as a puppet. Therefore, directly confronting the royal power in such a naked manner was tantamount to seeking death.
In this way, it was better for them to honestly confess.
Following the Liu family's confession, Yang Jian and others exposed various misdeeds of several other prominent families.
Their situation was not as fortunate as the Liu family. Since these families were essentially scapegoats in this affair, they were subjected to plundering and banishment. Once prominent families had now faded away in such a short time.
While the Liu family didn't suffer too much from this matter, the fact that the convicted families were part of the Liu faction, coupled with the benefits offered by the Liu family, dealt a heavy blow to the Liu family in this confrontation with the prince.
Furthermore, the legitimate heir and heiress of the Liu family, Liu Feifei and Liu Yanzhe, were effectively rendered useless.
Su Mo'er only learned of this news three days later.
She was stunned for a while and couldn't help but sigh, "No matter how powerful a family is, once they clash with the royal power, they can quickly fall."
Although the Liu family couldn't be considered a failure, it would be difficult for them to regain their former splendor without several decades passed in recovery.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The reason why Liu Yanzhe and Liu Feifei had been a constant worry for her was because of the Liu family!
Now that the Liu family had fallen, what power would they have in the future?
She was truly grateful to the prince, despite knowing that it was part of his strategy, she was genuinely thankful.
The downfall of the Liu family not only relieved her, but also served justice to the countless poor people who had been oppressed by the Liu family and also potentially prevented future oppression.