Chapter 55: Backlash
Not to mention what Xie Ting said after he appeared, the mere fact that it was Zhang Ruru and not Xie Rongying who appeared in Prince Wei's room made the prince know that what he and Madam Xue had planned had failed.
"How could I be talking nonsense?" Xie Ting walked in, staring at the prince with a smile: "Could it be that Miss Zhang has a crush on the prince, and that's why she showed up here without permission?"
Zhang Ruru was frightened by the scene in front of her. Her upbringing had made her act like she was putting her self-esteem in front of others and letting them trample on it. If she were asked to express her admiration for King Wei in front of so many people, she would find it difficult to do so.
"Hongyu, who was beside the Crown Prince, appeared and told His Majesty that he should wait in Anshou Garden, saying that he had something to discuss with His Majesty. It turned out that the Crown Prince was not in Anshou Garden, but this young lady from the Zhang family was."
As Xie Ting spoke, he looked towards Zhang Ruruo and asked, "Miss Zhang, did you say anything incomprehensible to the prince just now?"
Zhang Ruru's face turned red when Xie Ting looked at her. The embarrassment and shame of having her thoughts seen through by everyone made her want to escape.
"Ruru, why are you here?" Mrs. Xue thought of the back of Zhang Ruru she had just seen in the peach forest, and asked in a questioning tone: "Is this a place you can come to? Get out now!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruru turned around and was about to leave.
But the empress spoke: "Wait."
Fear flashed in Madam Xue's eyes. She had wanted to use Xie Rongying to damage the reputation of King Wei so that the Empress Dowager would take action to deal with Xie Rongying. Even if the Empress Dowager was reluctant to deal with Xie Rongying because of the Xie family, Xie Rongying's reputation of having an affair with a man outside would make her fall into Jiang's hands.
How could Jiang let Xie Rongying have a good ending?
But this time, it didn't go as planned, and Zhang Ruru was involved again.
Madam Xue looked in the direction of the Crown Prince and saw that his expression was not right. Madam Xue stepped forward and said to the Grand Empress respectfully, "Grand Empress, Ruru must have come to the wrong place. I'm so sorry to have disturbed His Majesty."
"Ruru, quickly apologize to the prince and tell him you accidentally barged in." Madam Xue stared at Zhang Ruuru deeply and said earnestly, "Did you hear me?"
Xie Ting said sarcastically, "Mrs. Xue is such a joke. The distance between Anshou Garden and the peach forest and the manor in front is not something you can stumble into by accident."
"Thank you, Master," Madam Xue said unhappily, "you should know how important reputation is to a young lady. You're throwing mud at Ruru without knowing the truth. What's your intention? I know you're resentful of the Zhang family, but let's just talk about the facts. Why would you involve a young lady in a feud between two men?"
Princess Zhaozhen's eyes changed slightly when she looked at Madam Xue.
"How can you talk here?" The eldest lady stared at Madam Xue, then looked at the Crown Prince after a moment. "If I were not hard of hearing, I would have thought that the Crown Prince's words just now contained the word 'secret meeting', right?"
The prince looked at the Empress Dowager and said, "Elder Madam, I just said it too. I was just joking."
King Wei's gaze stayed on the prince for a moment, then moved to Madam Xue. He seemed to understand that something was going on, but it seemed that what was happening at the moment was not what the prince and Madam Xue wanted.
"Miss Zhang did say some incomprehensible things to me just now," said the King of Wei.
When the Empress Dowager heard this, her shrewd eyes darkened. She had already disliked the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion because they were the government's lackeys, and now the daughter of the Zhang family dared to frame her own son!
"Because Miss Zhang is a woman, I will not tell you what she just said to me." As the King of Wei spoke, he looked at Xie Ting and said, "What did you just say?"
"Just now, after the prince returned to Anshou Garden, I left the pavilion in the peach forest. I originally wanted to talk to my eldest sister about something, but I saw a woman sneaking around and avoiding passers-by on the peach forest path."
"Something seemed strange about her behavior, so I followed her, wanting to see what she was trying to do so cautiously. I didn't expect she was heading to your Anshou Garden, Your Highness." Xie Ting's expression grew more serious as he spoke. "She was moving so cautiously this way, so something must be up. So I apprehended her."
"I'm not someone who would show sympathy to women." Xie Ting sneered. "After several threats, she finally told the truth. It turned out that she was a maid in the Duke of Ying's mansion, and a personal maid to Miss Zhang."
Everyone had different expressions when they heard this.
Zhang Ruru stared at Xie Ting in disbelief. The personal maid beside her should be with her mother at this time. How could she have followed her to the prince's Anshou Garden?
Mrs. Xue stared at Xie Ting with half-closed eyes.
King Wei's eyebrows moved slightly.
The prince once again experienced a situation that was completely out of control.
The eldest lady in the main seat had the most serious expression. She stared at Xie Ting and said, "Go on."
"After several threats, he finally said that Miss Zhang had just met with the Crown Prince in the densest forest of crimson peach trees. Miss Zhang asked why the Crown Prince had ignored her recently. The Crown Prince said that he was busy with affairs recently and that he couldn't meet with Miss Zhang privately because the emperor was keeping a close eye on him."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Zhang Ruru was furious, her face flushed red as she glared at Xie Ting: "When did I have a secret meeting with the Crown Prince?!"
Xie Ting seemed to have not heard Zhang Ruru's question at all and continued, "Miss Zhang asked the Crown Prince if it would help relieve his worries if the King of Wei was discredited. The Crown Prince said that was natural, and Miss Zhang was willing to help relieve his worries..."
"Enough, Xie Ting!" The prince never thought Xie Ting would be so bold as to slander him. He interrupted angrily: "You have to provide evidence for these words!"
Xie Ting smiled lazily: "Didn't I just say that it was Miss Zhang's personal maid who said that? Could I bribe Miss Zhang's personal maid?"
After saying this, Xie Ting clapped his hands.
The next moment, Li Dongfu stumbled in. Without even noticing who was in the room, she dropped to her knees and begged for mercy, "I'm just trying to find the young lady. I don't want her to ruin her life for the prince's empty promise. Please let me go."
The moment Zhang Ruru saw Li Dongfu, her eyes reddened: "Dongfu?"
"Bitch!" Madam Xue felt a chill down her spine when she saw Li Dongfu. She was shocked that Xie Rongying had even managed to recover the slaves sold off by the Duke of Yingguo's mansion. This made her even more certain that Xie Rongying knew about her affairs. "Who told you to say that? Isn't the Zhang family good enough for you?!"
Li Dongfu's face was covered with tears. She didn't dare look at Zhang Ruru, but looked at Madam Xue. "Aunt, I am really only doing this for your own good. You can't ruin yourself and the Zhang family's reputation for a man."
Bang! The Empress Dowager slammed her hand heavily on the table and said in a cold voice, "Since the Crown Prince and Miss Zhang are in love, then I will grant your wish. I will personally choose an auspicious date for Miss Zhang to marry into the Crown Prince's mansion!"
"Grand Madam!" Zhang Ruru was shocked by the Grand Madam's words. She immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness does not like the Crown Prince. Your Highness's Highness is the King of Wei!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
