Chapter 54: Counterattack
King Wei patted Luo Ning gently and signaled Luo Ning to step aside.
Luo Ning understood and stepped aside, but still stared at Zhang Ruru in shock. He knew that this noble lady from the Duke of Yingguo's mansion was fond of his master, but he didn't expect it to have come to this.
This is not something a lady from aristocratic family can do!
King Wei glanced at Zhang Ruru indifferently and walked towards the desk.
Zhang Ruru stared at King Wei nervously. She knew what would happen if King Wei disagreed with what she said. She was not afraid even if the news got out, because then her grandfather and father would not let her enter the Prince's Mansion again.
The prince would never want someone who was fond of the King of Wei.
She would rather live alone in a nunnery for the rest of her life than marry someone she didn't love, not to mention that there were countless women in the prince's harem.
She would rather die than marry into the prince's mansion.
"Do you know what you are saying?" King Wei's eyes were still gentle, but his voice was several degrees colder.
Zhang Ruruo thought the King of Wei had softened his stance. Her eyes, which had been lifeless yet full of hope, lit up a little at that moment. "Your Highness, I know what you are talking about. I only wish to marry you, even if you have to be my concubine."
Upon hearing this, the King of Wei had a subtle sneer on his face. He seemed to have seen through Zhang Ruru's thoughts: "I don't know what I have done to make you think that this place will be your refuge."
Zhang Ruru was shocked.
The King of Wei only paused for a moment to look at Zhang Ruru's face and said, "I will pretend that what happened today never happened. Luo Ning, show me around."
At this moment, Zhang Ruruo didn't know why she felt ashamed and embarrassed as if the King of Wei knew what happened to her in Kaibao Temple.
"Miss Zhang, please come in." Luo Ning walked forward and made a gesture of invitation.
Zhang Ruruo sat down on the ground, showing no intention of leaving. She seemed exhausted. "I don't want to leave. After I leave, the next time Your Highness hears from me, I'm afraid it will be that I'm no longer in this world."
King Wei listened to Zhang Ruru's words and only glanced at her indifferently. Then his eyes fell on the letter on the table and said, "Luoning, show the guest away."
Zhang Ruruo didn't expect the usually gentle and kind King Wei to be so indifferent after hearing her words. She stood up and stared at the King Wei without blinking: "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that I will tell others that I have seen my body?"
Luo Ning was furious: "Miss Zhang! Please leave quickly, or don't blame me, a grown man, for bullying you!"
After hearing what Zhang Ruruo said, King Wei lowered his eyes and sneered, and there was no further words.
"Your Highness," Zhang Ruruo gritted her teeth, "Are you really so cruel?"
Luo Ning glanced at his master. Seeing the cold expression on King Wei's face, he knew that this was a sign of anger. He pulled Zhang Ruru's sleeve and walked outside.
He said, "I'm sorry, Miss Zhang!"
The next moment, Zhang Ruru broke free from Luo Ning's hand and began to walk towards King Wei.
Just as Luo Ning was about to step forward, she heard footsteps in the courtyard, and then she heard the voice of someone beside the Empress Dowager: "Eldest Empress, the Princess is here!"
Zhang Ruru felt a chill down her spine, and her steps felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. She simply didn't dare to take another step forward.
The expression of King Wei also changed slightly. He raised his eyes and looked towards the door, and saw the Queen Mother walked in with a sullen face, followed by Princess Zhaozhen.
The moment Zhang Ruru looked at the Empress Dowager, her whole body trembled slightly.
She can still distinguish between wanting to die and being sentenced to death by the Empress Dowager. The former means wanting to die does not mean she will really die, while the latter means she will really die.
After the Empress Dowager came in, her gaze lingered on Zhang Ruru for a moment before she looked at the King of Wei who had already stood up.
"Why is my mother here?" King Wei knew that the Queen Mother was holding the Peach Blossom Banquet again after nine years because she wanted to make it lively. More importantly, she wanted to have a good chat with the families of the officials who had followed the previous emperor. So they should be in the manor at this time.
"If I don't come soon, people will spread rumors that you've been having an affair with someone else." The eldest lady walked in and her eyes fell on Zhang Ruru. "This should be the granddaughter of the Duke of Ying. I remember her."
"Your humble servant greets the Empress." There was a slight tremor in Zhang Ruru's voice.
Princess Zhaozhen frowned slightly when she saw Zhang Ruru.
After the eldest lady sat down in the main seat, she stared at Zhang Ruruo with scrutiny: "Why are you here in the young master's room?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the prince's voice rang out from the doorway: "Of course, he's having a private meeting with the prince."
The voice arrived but the person had not yet arrived. Qin Junyi, Jiang, and Madam Xue came with the prince.
After hearing what the Crown Prince said, the King of Wei finally realized who was waiting for him. He looked at the Crown Prince as he entered and said, "A private meeting? Didn't the Crown Prince ask someone close to you to come and tell me that you have something to discuss with me?"
"What could I possibly have to discuss with the King of Wei?" The Crown Prince's gaze flicked to Zhang Ruru as he spoke. He searched the room but couldn't find Xie Rongying. Perhaps fearing arousing suspicion, he continued, "The King of Wei has always refused everything I wanted to discuss with him. What else can I possibly discuss with him?"
The Prince of Wei's eyebrows twitched slightly, his gaze swept over the Crown Prince and Zhang Ruru, and he smiled faintly: "So, the Crown Prince thinks that I am having a secret meeting with the Duke of Ying's granddaughter?"
When they heard about the British granddaughter, both Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Xue were shocked.
When Mrs. Xue walked in and saw Zhang Ruru in the room, her hand under her sleeve was tightly holding a handkerchief.
"Of course not." The prince glanced into the room again. He certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to offend the Duke of Ying's Mansion.
"Then the prince just said who I was having a secret meeting with?" The King of Wei actually wanted to know who the prince wanted to tie him to, but looking at the prince's expression at the moment, it seemed that nothing was going as the prince planned.
"I was just joking." The prince naturally knew when to advance and retreat. What he could be sure of at this moment was that Xie Rongying was not with King Wei.
"Are you kidding?" King Wei snorted.
The Empress Dowager seemed to have sensed the conspiracy, and she stared at the Prince coldly.
Princess Zhaozhen, acting as an elder, asked Zhang Ruru, "Rruru, why are you here with the prince?"
"Of course it was instructed by the prince. Miss Zhang, in order to win the prince's favor, listened to the prince's words and came to Anshou Garden and told the prince that she wanted to marry him in order to damage his reputation." Xie Ting walked in and said slowly.
"Xie Ting, what nonsense are you talking about!?" The prince had regained his composure and felt that he was being schemed against by others in this matter.
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