But thinking that she had come all the way here, it would be even more embarrassing to go back like this, wouldn't it?
She remembered that back at home, in the Mu Rong Mansion, as long as she shed a few tears, everyone would feel sorry for her. She thought the princess would be no exception.
Therefore, Bai Yiyi blinked her eyes, and her eye sockets instantly became moist. With twinkling eyes, she looked at Li Xinyue pitifully.
"Your Highness, please forgive this commoner girl. I was just thinking about my cousin. Maybe it sounds selfish. But I'm so fortunate to be taken in by the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion and have a place to stay. So I'm extremely concerned about the safety of the Duke's Mansion.
My cousin is the heir apparent and the future master of the Duke's Mansion. He shoulders the mission of the family's prosperity and cannot be trapped in love.
So, Your Highness, if you have no feelings for my cousin, please never bother him again."
Li Xinyue burst out laughing.
Some people, although their acting skills are so poor, still perform so hard. She wondered where they got the courage.
The more they tried to cover up, the more she wanted to peel off their disguise layer by layer.
Wiping away the tears from laughing, she casually pierced through Bai Yiyi's act. "You have such a good relationship with your cousin that you even know about this. So it seems that you were the one who spread the news that I was rejected after confessing my love, right?"
Bai Yiyi was stunned for a moment and became even more nervous, but still pretended to be calm. "There is no wall that doesn't let the wind through."
"That's because there are people like you! I've been worried about not being able to find the person who spread the rumor, but unexpectedly, you came to me on your own.
Tell me, how should I deal with you?" Li Xinyue looked at her excitedly and raised her eyebrows habitually.
Bai Yiyi was anxious. "It wasn't me who spread the news. Since Your Highness thinks it was me, do you have any evidence?"
"If I had evidence, I would have sent you to the government long ago. Because there is no evidence, I've allowed you to act so arrogantly in the princess mansion." Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to touch the door of the princess mansion.
Bai Yiyi opened her mouth, stunned by Li Xinyue's unexpected words. After a long time, she stammered, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend Your Highness. I just... just... just wanted to protect the Duke's Mansion so much.
After all, the Duke's Mansion has been kind to me, and I don't want..."
"Hongxiu!"
Bai Yiyi's eyelashes trembled. The words she hadn't finished were left in her mouth, and she didn't know whether she should continue.
Li Xinyue glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "Hongxiu, send Miss Bai back to Heir Apparent Mu Rong and repeat every single word Miss Bai and I said to him. Today, for his sake, I won't punish Bai Yiyi. If there is a next time, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Li Xinyue picked up the teacup in her hand. Feeling that the tea was already cold, she splashed it out.
Bai Yiyi instinctively turned her head. The tea flowed down her cheek, the tea leaves covered her front, and a few strands of her hair were also wet.
Her heart was pounding violently. The feeling of grievance welled up with her tears.
In all her life, she had never been treated like this. Even when her parents were alive, they always spoiled her. Who did Li Xinyue think she was!
She lifted her eyelids and glared angrily at Li Xinyue, but unexpectedly, Li Xinyue caught her look.
Li Xinyue raised an eyebrow, and she was so scared that she lowered her eyelids and quickly put on a pitiful look.
Li Xinyue said, "Remember this feeling! A princess is not someone that just anyone can step on! Don't use the same tricks on me as you did on Fourteenth Sister.
Moreover, you'd better stay away from her!
If there is a next time, and I hear any gossips from her mouth again, I'll hold you accountable. Do you understand?"
Bai Yiyi lifted her head with tears in her eyes, looking extremely wronged.
Li Xinyue's face darkened. "Don't look at me with such an expression. I'm not wronging you!"
When she confessed her love to Mu Rong Xiu, she certainly wouldn't have chosen a public place. So when this matter was spread, she always thought it was Mu Rong Xiu who told Mu Rong Jia, and Mu Rong Jia told Fourteenth Sister.
Now it seemed that it was all Bai Yiyi's doing. Since she dared to come here so brazenly today, she must have taken advantage of Fourteenth Sister and thought she could do the same in front of her.
Li Xinyue sneered. "How much of today's conversation did you hear?"
Bai Yiyi's heart skipped a beat. She covered her chest with one hand, lowered her head and shed tears. Her voice gradually weakened. "I didn't hear anything."
"It doesn't matter if you heard it. If there are any rumors about me and the Number One Scholar in the future, you'll be the first one I'll look for!"
"Remember that the only reason you can leave the princess mansion alive today is for Mu Rong Xiu's sake. Otherwise, even if the Duke himself comes, I'll still deal with you! This is the power of a princess. Do you understand?"
Bai Yiyi replied with tears in her eyes, looking extremely wronged. "I understand."
"Speak louder!"
"I understand!"
"Get out!"
Hongxiu picked up Bai Yiyi and threw her to the Mu Rong Mansion. Then, according to the princess's order, she repeated every single word of the conversation to Mu Rong Xiu.
A faint blush appeared on Mu Rong Xiu's handsome face. He sighed, glared at Bai Yiyi in disappointment, and immediately ordered someone to send her back to the South of the Yangtze River.
Seeing that things had come to this point and she had lost all face, Bai Yiyi simply decided to be bold. She declared that she had been in love with her cousin for a long time and wanted to be with him, even if it meant being a concubine.
Mu Rong Xiu gave a cold smile. "Didn't you tell the princess that for my own good, you didn't want me to be trapped in love?"
Bai Yiyi was stunned. Shame and embarrassment welled up in her heart, and her tears fell non - stop.
"Cousin!" She stepped forward and grabbed Mu Rong Xiu's sleeve, but he shook her off. "Send her back to the South of the Yangtze River!"
Bai Yiyi looked at the only blood relative in the world in disbelief. How could he treat her like this!
She was his only relative!
Had he forgotten?
No!
He had changed!
After he was adopted by the Duchess, he had become heartless.
"Mu Rong Xiu, I hate you!" Bai Yiyi shook off the servant and fled the Duke's Mansion.
After that, along the way, curious passers - by cast glances at her.
Bai Yiyi felt extremely embarrassed. "What are you looking at! Get out of here!"
The passers - by pointed at her and walked past with mysterious smiles.
Bai Yiyi covered her ears with both hands and ran crying into a dirty and chaotic alley. There was a two - courtyard mansion where her trusted servants from the South of the Yangtze River lived.
In front of the servants, Bai Yiyi was even more arrogant and overbearing than Li Xinyue had been in front of her. "Find a way to link Li Xinyue with the Fu Family from the South of the Yangtze River! Let the whole capital know that Princess Yuanyang, the most beloved princess of the current emperor, is secretly colluding with the great traitor Fu Tonghuai.
Princess Yuanyang is definitely involved in all the crimes committed by the Fu Family. Even her luxurious life and the princess mansion were built with the money that Fu Tonghuai extorted from the people in the South of the Yangtze River."
Bai Yiyi had no evidence of Li Xinyue's romantic affairs. But in this matter, the emperor knew better than anyone. She didn't need the whole world to believe it. As long as the emperor believed it, Li Xinyue would be completely disgraced!
Li Xinyue had called her an insignificant person? Well, she would show her who was in control!
So, a few days later, the news really spread in the capital.
There were all kinds of rumors about Princess Yuanyang and the criminal official Fu Tonghuai. If it weren't for Princess Yuanyang covering up, the case of the Fu Family wouldn't have been delayed for several months and almost buried.
Someone even revealed that Princess Yuanyang called Fu Tonghuai uncle.
The innocent common people were filled with indignation. In the past few days, the gate of the princess mansion was almost filled with rotten vegetables and stinky eggs.
Some people even fanned the flames and wrote a blood - letter signed by thousands of people, demanding that the emperor depose the princess!
Not only in the capital, but also in the South of the Yangtze River, the rumors about Li Xinyue and the Fu Family were spreading like wildfire.
The collateral branch of the Fu Family originally wanted to use the relics of Concubine Fu to lure Li Xinyue to the South of the Yangtze River, but after waiting for several days and seeing no sign of her, they knew the plan had failed.
So the collateral branch of the family began to do all kinds of things under the name of Princess Yuanyang.
Jing Bai sent a message to Li Xinyue by carrier pigeon and scolded the Fu Family for their unscrupulous and shameless behavior. He hoped that the princess would not be deceived.
Hongxiu and Lian'er also thought that if the princess spoke out at this moment, it would only make things more complicated, and that would be a real trap.
But staying silent was too passive. The situation had escalated to the point where thousands of people were petitioning to depose the princess. Even though the emperor believed in the princess, people's words were terrifying. A lie repeated a thousand times would become the truth.
The Fu Family had played a good game of chess, leaving the princess in a dilemma.
The princess gave a faint smile. "Is it really a good move?"
Hongxiu and Lian'er were overjoyed. Judging from the princess's tone, did she already have a plan?
Li Xinyue nodded and immediately sent someone to invite several scholars. She gave them some silver and asked them to write a few poems in praise of her. Then she had people sing these poems in the streets, alleys, bookstores, and teahouses.
In this way, the rumors praising her and those slandering her were evenly matched, and the common people would no longer believe the slander.
A few days later, the effect was remarkable.
However, at this time, Jing Bai sent another message by carrier pigeon, saying that Chu Junyi was in trouble.