"The prince is telling you that it's the prince's own business whom I like. Who do you think you are to interfere? Or do you want to meddle in royal affairs? If so, the prince will have to pay a visit to the Li Mansion to see if your Li family is plotting a rebellion!"
The accusation of rebellion hit Li Wantong like a thunderbolt, stunning her on the spot.
"No... no... I didn't, Prince Wu. There's no such thing..." Li Wantong was so frightened that she could hardly speak coherently.
"Better be so. Otherwise, wait for your family to be executed and your clan to be exterminated." After saying that, the prince didn't even spare her a glance and left.
Watching the unrelenting back of the prince leaving, Li Wantong clenched her fists unwillingly. She would never give up. She had loved him for so many years. Why should that A Ru steal him away from her!
"Miss Li, our master requests your presence."
Suddenly, a person appeared beside Li Wantong. With a respectful attitude but a distant look in her eyes, Li Wantong looked at her warily. She didn't notice how this person had appeared or how long she had been following her.
"Who are you?"
"Miss Li, our master would like to meet you. Please come with this servant."
"Humph! Why should I? Who do you think your master is? Why should I go and meet her?" She turned around to leave, but the next words from the maid piqued her interest.
"Miss Li, don't you want to win Prince Wu's heart? Our master can help you. All you need to do is meet our master."
"Who on earth is your master?"
"Miss Li will know when you get there."
Li Wantong stood there hesitating for a while and finally agreed.
"Miss Li, this way please."
Li Wantong followed the maid into the palace. She never expected that the master of this person would be a noble in the palace. But who could it be?
When Li Wantong saw the so - called master, she knelt down with a thud.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty live a long life."
The Queen looked at the trembling Li Wantong on the ground and sneered disdainfully. Such a timid person wanted to be a princess consort. If she weren't of some use, the Queen wouldn't even bother to see her.
"Get up." The Queen's voice was lazy, as if she had just woken up.
"The palace has heard that you're in love with Prince Wu." Although it was a question, the tone was affirmative.
"Your... your humble servant..." Li Wantong was too frightened to speak.
"Don't be nervous. The palace has come to you to propose a cooperation."
"Cooperation?" What could she possibly cooperate with the Queen about? What did the Queen see in her?
"Stop daydreaming. You love Prince Wu, and the palace wants Princess Tianlin. So the palace has come to you for cooperation."
"What do you say?"
Hearing this, Li Wantong immediately understood. After some thought, she agreed.
If it were just her alone, it would surely be impossible. But with the Queen's help, things might be different.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Very well. Go back first. Don't act rashly. Wait for the palace's notice. The palace wants to succeed in one go."
"Yes, your humble servant takes her leave."
"Your Majesty, can we trust her?"
"Trustworthy. The palace has found out that Li Wantong has loved Prince Wu since she was a child. Now that her face has been cured by Mu Fengqie, her admiration for the prince is even more obvious."
"All thanks to Mu Fengqie. If it weren't for her, where could we find such a good helper?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
On the other side, after Yuan Yuhan left, Yuan Yuchuan was in a dilemma. If he cooperated with Yuan Yuhan to bring down Lou Mingkou, he would lose a great ally. But if he cooperated with Lou Mingkou, he was afraid that, just as Yuan Yuhan said, he would become a puppet.
Just as Yuan Yuchuan was hesitating, Lou Yueying came.
"I heard you went to a brothel yesterday. What were you doing there?" Lou Yueying's eyes showed no affection for Yuan Yuchuan, only possessiveness for her own property.
"Lou Yueying! I'm the crown prince. I can go wherever I want. Who do you think you are to interfere?"
He was just hesitating, but now he was determined to bring down the Lou family. Just one Lou Yueying was already riding on his head. Would the whole Lou family look down on him in the future?
"Slap!"
Yuan Yuchuan slapped Lou Yueying across the face, and her face quickly swelled up.
Lou Yueying looked at Yuan Yuchuan in disbelief, as if she had never expected him to hit her.
"How dare you hit me?" Without a word, Lou Yueying attacked. Yuan Yuchuan was no match for her. After just a few moves, he was pinned to the ground.
"Lou Yueying, I'm warning you. You'd better let me go, or I'll make you regret it." Yuan Yuchuan was lying on the ground, unable to get up. Was this really a woman? She was stronger than most men!
"Humph! Make me regret? Fine. Before I regret it, I'll make you regret it first!"
"What are you going to do?" Yuan Yuchuan had a bad feeling, and his voice cracked.
"Slap!"
Lou Yueying took out the whip from her waist and whipped him one after another. She vented all her pent - up emotions in the past few days!
Yuan Yuchuan rolled on the ground in pain. The servants around didn't dare to come to his rescue. The first time they tried to help when the two fought, what happened?
The crown princess beat them all up. Even the secret guards beside the crown prince couldn't defeat the crown princess and were also punished. Now, the crown prince's mansion was basically under the crown princess's control.
So, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please bear with it. The crown princess won't kill you. You'll just have to lie in bed for a few more days.
...
"A Ru, A Ru! I've been bullied!" Yuan Yuhan ran into A Ru's courtyard aggrievedly.
A Ru frowned at the crazy - looking person running in. "What did you do?"
"A Ru, I almost lost my purity." Hurry up and comfort me.
"Hmm? So you're dirty?" If he was, she would have to bear the pain and leave him.
"How could that be? I'm the one who's going to stay pure for you. How could I do such a thing!" Yuan Yuhan said excitedly.
"Oh, then it's okay." After saying that, she continued to water the flowers in the courtyard.
Yuan Yuhan was stunned. It was over. A Ru was no longer the A Ru who loved him. She used to be so nice to him. Now that he had almost been defiled, she didn't even care.
"A Ru, tell me, don't you love me anymore?" Yuan Yuhan looked at A Ru pitifully, as if he was going to make a fuss if she didn't give him a satisfactory answer.
"No. Why do you think so?" A Ru frowned in confusion. When did she say she didn't love him?
"Then why don't you comfort me? I almost got defiled. My purity would have been gone."