Chapter 16 Confrontation 2 You dog emperor!
Zhou Ling was clearly not expected that she would talk back so directly, even rudely. The playfulness in her eyes faded slightly, replaced by a deeper, more dangerous interest.
Instead of getting angry, he moved even closer, almost completely enveloping her in his shadow.
"What a sharp tongue you have." His voice was low, carrying a magnetic and oppressive quality. "I care about you, and you don't appreciate it, fine, but why are you acting like a bristling cat? Could it be... that I've really hit a nerve?"
His all-seeing gaze and relentless approach ignited the pent-up resentment in Fangru's heart.
She remembered her important mission and the urgency of the situation, yet she was being harassed by this person repeatedly. With old and new grudges intertwined, the string of her reason snapped instantly!
"Your Majesty!" Fangru practically spat out the words through gritted teeth, her suppressed anger almost bursting forth. "You are so busy with state affairs, why bother with these trivial matters of mine? What exactly do you want?!"
Her resistance and agitation were obvious, like a young animal cornered and bristling with spikes all over its body.
Zhou Ling stared at her face, which was completely different from her usual gentle demeanor and full of vivid ferocity. Instead of being annoyed, the interest in his eyes deepened.
He chuckled very softly, as if he found her flustered appearance amusing, and moved even closer, his dark sleeve almost touching her arm.
"What do I want?" He repeated her words, the last syllable drawn out, with a languid yet dangerous magnetism. "I'm just curious. Ordinary noble ladies are all cautious and careful when they see me, striving for perfect manners. Only you, Shen Fangru, why are you always so different in front of me?"
These seemingly complimentary but actually controlling words, mixed with his undeniable ambergris scent and strong masculine aura, were like the last straw, instantly breaking Fangru's taut nerves!
It was like a tempered key, suddenly plucking open the tightly locked gates of memory! All the grievances, all the humiliations, all the inescapable anger and despair accumulated in her previous three lives, erupted like long-suppressed magma, instantly overwhelming her reason!
Why?! Why, no matter how she struggles or changes, can't escape his control? Why can he always so naturally intervene in her life, even questioning who she talks to and why she's angry?!
The rebellious fire that had been suppressed for three lifetimes suddenly flared up, burning her eyes red, and the last thread of her reason snapped!
All her plans and all her forbearance were burned away by this raging fury at this moment!
The emperor before her was no longer the one she had to carefully navigate, but the tyrant who held her destiny firmly in his grasp no matter how many times she was reborn or how much she struggled!
"Why?" She suddenly raised her head, no longer concealing the surging hatred in her eyes. Her gaze was like the sharpest, most poisoned ice pick, piercing straight into Zhou Ling's eyes, which had tightened abruptly and become even more unfathomable due to her sudden and completely unexpected reaction.
Her voice trembled slightly with extreme anger, yet each word was clear and distinct, carrying an almost destructive sarcasm:
"Why does Your Majesty feign ignorance?! You interrogate me time and again, scrutinize me, interfere with me! Why am I so restless? Why do I refuse to make friends? Why am I questioned every time I speak to someone?!" Her voice suddenly rose, filled with a tearful accusation, "Isn't all of this thanks to Your Majesty?! Don't you really feel it at all?!"
Zhou Ling frowned, startled by the undisguised, intense hatred in her eyes. His initial playful teasing was instantly replaced by a more complex emotion, and he instinctively pressed, "Because of me? What did I do to make you…?"
"What have you done?!" Fangru interrupted him sharply, almost screaming, "You are everywhere! Like a shadow that can never be shaken off! No matter what I do, where I go, or what I become, you will never let me go! You ruined my life, is it not enough, do you also want to ruin everyone around me?! What have the people of the world done to deserve to be buried with your ambition? And how innocent is Su Wanqing, who is paralyzed for half her life because of you?! By what right do you have?! Just because you are the emperor, do you think you can do whatever you want and manipulate everyone at will?!"
Her words were like the sharpest daggers, stabbing Zhou Ling and her own bloody past.
Zhou Ling was speechless for a moment, shocked by her completely outburst and the huge amount of information it contained. His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. He clearly had not done the things she accused him of!
Just as he was momentarily stunned by the overwhelming information, a crazy determination flashed in Fangru's eyes!
She suddenly unleashed tremendous strength from nowhere, channeling all her hatred into her arms, and with all her might, she shoved her hands into Zhou Ling's chest!
"Stay away from me!"
Zhou Ling was completely unprepared for her sudden attack. The wet, slippery bluestone by the pool caught him off guard, and he was indeed pushed backward by her!
There was a loud "thump"!
The splashing water broke the tranquility of the garden.
The incomparably noble young emperor was actually pushed into the icy pond water of early autumn by the daughter of a minister!
The surrounding guards, palace servants, and high-ranking officials were all stunned and dumbfounded, and for a moment no one reacted.
Fangru stood by the pool, her chest heaving violently. Looking at Zhou Ling, who was suddenly sinking in the water, his black hair soaked, his black robe clinging to his body, looking extremely disheveled yet terrifying in shock and rage, a shiver of mixed pleasure and lingering fear swept through her body.
Soon, the belated fear poured over her like ice water, instantly chilling her to the bone.
She wasn't afraid of death, but she was afraid of implicating her father and the Shen family! However, at this moment, she had nowhere to escape.
The surrounding guards and palace servants were already terrified and knelt down, but none of them dared to go into the water. After the initial shock, the emperor in the water did not get angry, but instead chuckled softly.
The laughter erupted from his chest, carrying a strange and chilling sense of pleasure that was particularly clear amidst the silent breathing of the crowd.
He wiped the water from his face, his soaked black hair plastered to his forehead and cheeks, water droplets rolling down his sharply defined jawline, past his slightly bobbing Adam's apple, and disappearing into the equally soaked, dark collar of his shirt that clung tightly to his muscular chest.
In the moonlight and shimmering water, those eyes were as sharp as a hawk locking onto its prey, flashing with an almost manic interest and a thick lust, fixed on the audacious woman on the shore.
"This is insane...it's absolutely insane..."
"Miss Shen is finished now..."
"Disrespecting the Emperor is already a serious crime, but pushing His Majesty into the water... that's punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family!"
The whispers around her slithered into Fangru's ears like venomous snakes.
Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well curse them out!
Fangru steeled her resolve, and all her fears were replaced by a reckless, all-or-nothing madness.
She pointed at Zhou Ling in the water, her voice shrill with agitation, yet clearly carrying throughout the corner: "Zhou Ling! You dog of an emperor! What can you do besides bully others and seize things by force?! I've tolerated you for so long! Don't you want to know why? Because I hate you! I wish I could..."
Her words came to an abrupt halt!
Zhou Ling's eyes suddenly darkened in the water. The moment she pointed at him, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her slender wrist!
The force was so great that it almost crushed her bones, yet it also carried a scalding, irresistible heat!
"Ah!" Fangru exclaimed in surprise. Before she could struggle, she was violently pulled into the cold pool water by a tremendous force!
"Thump!"
An even bigger splash of water erupted.
The icy pool water instantly submerged her mouth and nose, and the biting cold made her shiver.
The next moment, a strong arm, as strong as an iron hoop, firmly gripped her slender waist and abruptly pulled her toward a solid chest that was equally soaked but radiated astonishing heat.
Before she could even catch her breath, her chin was forcefully lifted by a cold, strong finger, forcing her to tilt her head back.
Immediately afterwards, lips carrying the coolness of pool water yet containing the power of a storm fiercely silenced all her exclamations and curses!
It was a predatory and punitive kiss, rough and deep, carrying the slight fishy smell of the pool water and his unique, cool ambergris scent. He forcefully pried open her teeth, entwining and sucking, almost stealing all her breath and strength.
Fangru stared wide-eyed in terror, struggling in vain. Her hands and feet were firmly bound by his body and arms in the icy water. Each twist only resulted in a tighter fit. She could clearly feel the taut muscle lines of his body underwater and some dangerous changes.
Just as she was about to suffocate, her body going slightly limp from the combination of lack of oxygen and the alternating sensations of heat and cold, Zhou Ling released her slightly, his lips still lingering on her swollen, red lips, his hot breath spraying onto her face.
Fangru suddenly raised her head, breathing in the fresh air. Water droplets rolled down her flushed cheeks and messy hair. Her chest heaved violently with her rapid breathing, and her soaked dress clung tightly to her body, outlining her slender and alluring curves.
She looked around in shock, only to find that the guards, palace servants, officials and noble ladies who had been kneeling all over the ground just moments before had all quietly retreated to a distance, their backs to the pond, as if nothing had happened.
What alarmed her even more was that, behind a lush sycamore tree in the distance, a familiar glimpse of an official's robe flashed by.
That was Zheng Yu! He was hiding in the shadows, spying! He must have seen everything that happened, from the moment she was forcibly pulled into the water to the moment she was…
A mixture of shame and a strange sense of vengeful pleasure swept through Fangru's heart.
Just then, a clear image flashed through Fangru's mind: in the previous three lifetimes, the ones who accidentally fell into the water were Cheng Jinse, the daughter of the Minister of Works, and Zhao Heng, the son of the Vice Minister of Rites! In the first lifetime, they were the subject of a joke because of this incident, but it also unexpectedly led to a marriage.
But in this life... how did it become her and Zhou Ling who fell into the water?!
A note from the author:
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