Gan Qiongying was completely bewildered, her face full of confusion.
This statement contains a tremendous amount of information.
Princess Duanrong, Sima Rui, that night, the child?
The hairs on the back of Gan Qiongying's neck stood on end.
Sima Rui didn't say anything more. By this time, he had put his boots and trousers back on, stood up again, and tried to take a few steps to reach Gan Qiongying.
Gan Qiongying stared blankly at Sima Rui's legs.
She remembered clearly that she had shot and wounded Sima Rui's leg, and then chased him to this clothing shop, where Sima Rui was also walking with a limp.
But as he walked these steps, there was no sign of injury on his legs at all; his steps were as steady as a normal person's!
So that's what those leg straps were for!
Sima Rui walked up to Gan Qiongying and looked down at her, saying, "I don't care what you want to do, I advise you not to overestimate yourself."
Sima Rui said, "The entire family of Princess Huian consists of dozens of people, but the highest official position her son held was only Minister of Rites."
"If you're trying to take advantage of your relatives, you're just grasping at straws in desperation. Those relatives are all incredibly shrewd, and how many more years can a bunch of old fogies live?"
His words were both subtle and direct, advising Gan Qiongying to give up resistance and not to make futile struggles.
Upon hearing these words, Gan Qiongying felt nothing but anger. She gave up resisting and didn't struggle. What would happen to Gan Lin then?
The child who drank poison every day for her sake, was she just supposed to watch him die in the palace, at the hands of that old witch?
Gan Qiongying hadn't forgotten that this bastard in front of her was one of the people who bullied Gan Lin!
Once Gan Qiongying figures everything out and finds a way out that will allow her to have a smooth and successful future, neither the old witch nor the little demon king will be able to escape!
If she couldn't kill them, Gan Qiongying had ways to disgust them to death.
But at least at this moment, when Gan Qiongying heard Sima Rui say this, she finally understood that Sima Rui had come to warn her today.
Gan Qiongying finally confirmed that the Regent's claim that "His Majesty was poisoned" was false!
It was clear that Gan Qiongying's performance at the Grand Princess Hui'an's birthday banquet displeased Sima Rui.
Sima Rui was shocked and furious that Gan Qiongying dared to shoot him in the leg, but he really couldn't do anything to Gan Qiongying, so he could only use this method to scare her.
Gan Qiongying relaxed completely, and her feet unconsciously took a step back because of the sudden relaxation of her body, as if she was afraid of Sima Rui.
Sima Rui seemed finally satisfied with Gan Qiongying's reaction. He reached out and grabbed Gan Qiongying's chin, forcing her to raise her head. He stared at Gan Qiongying and said, "Stop staring at Wen Xueling. The King of Jingxi is not as easy to mess with as you think."
Gan Qiongying's jaw was being pinched, making it difficult for her to speak, but she still managed to mumble persistently, "What, you like Wen Xueling? Are you going to collude with the Prince of Jingxi to rebel?"
"What's so great about Wen Xueling? She's clearly just bait for the King of Jingxi. Why are you and the hostage from Jinchuan all so eager to take the bait? Isn't it all because they're lustful!"
Gan Qiongying was naturally trying to provoke Sima Rui, and she had to provoke Sima Rui in return.
She had to draw all the hatred onto herself, making Sima Rui think that she didn't care so much about Gan Lin's life or death, but simply couldn't stand Wen Xueling, and that she was crazy because she couldn't have Jin Chuan's son, and just wanted to make everyone miserable.
This is the only way to ensure Gan Lin's temporary safety.
In the original text, the old witch Kou Ning'an repeatedly instilled in Sima Rui her ideas, the general idea being that Sima Rui was the rightful heir and should be the emperor.
Which man in this world doesn't dream of being an emperor?
Over time, even Sima Rui himself came to believe that the throne should rightfully belong to him, and that he should rightfully sit on it.
Instead of being watched by millions of eyes as he is now, where if he dares to overstep his authority even slightly, he will be judged as a treacherous minister with wolfish ambitions, leaving behind a reputation that is difficult to erase even after death.
Just as Sima Rui loathed the privileges of the imperial relatives, rebellion and acting without legitimacy were precisely his Achilles' heel.
Sima Rui was indeed enraged again. His hand, which was gripping Gan Qiongying's chin, slid down and grabbed Gan Qiongying's neck tightly.
Gan Qiongying almost immediately rolled her eyes and slapped the Regent's arm hard with both hands, but he was practically grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up.
Just as Gan Qiongying's vision began to blur, the shadow guard who had been following her noticed that Gan Qiongying was in mortal danger and immediately appeared.
In a flash, four longswords were drawn and thrust towards Sima Rui.
They don't care whether the person they're facing is a powerful minister or a nobleman. The shadow guards are like soulless knives, which will be aimed at anyone other than their master.
Sima Rui quickly dodged the sword thrust from the shadow guard, raising an eyebrow slightly, his expression clearly one of shock. He hadn't expected Gan Qiongying to have this trick up her sleeve.
He released Gan Qiongying and quickly untied the jade belt from his waist to use as a soft weapon, then fought with the shadow guards.
Gan Qiongying collapsed to the ground, clutching her neck, coughing violently as she crawled toward the door.
When a person is short of oxygen, the brain cuts off all the body's supply, and the limbs become limp and powerless, making it impossible to stand up.
Gan Qiongying's eyes were filled with tears, but they were just physiological tears and had nothing to do with fear.
She crawled towards the door because she wanted to escape the fighting as quickly as possible to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
She even took the opportunity to check the number of the shadow guards who had fallen. Fortunately, there were only four, not many of them were exposed. Luckily, not all seventeen of them had come down.
Sima Rui was carefully nurtured by the old witch from a very young age, making him both literate and martial, and even a potential emperor. It's just a pity that a bastard is still a bastard!
Gan Qiongying had some confidence in her shadow guards, after all, their ability to appear and disappear unpredictably was something that ordinary people could not do.
Gan Qiongying climbed to the door and looked back, only to find that Sima Rui was actually fighting against several people and was not at a disadvantage.
Soon after, the sounds of fighting were heard outside, and a group of people rushed in through the door; they were all Sima Rui's guards.
The battle situation was turned around in an instant. Gan Qiongying stood up, holding onto the door frame. She walked along the wall, trying to squeeze herself into a corner so as not to attract anyone's attention. She was anxious all the while. After moving to the window, she pushed it open.
Shouting downstairs, "Chen Wa, help!"
At the same time, a long knife was also placed against Gan Qiongying's neck. Gan Qiongying immediately froze by the window, motionless. The sharp blade aroused the small goosebumps on her neck.
She slowly turned her head and saw the Regent holding a blade, looking at her with the same gaze one would give a dead object.
"You don't really think I can't do anything to you, do you?"
Sima Rui said slowly.
At this moment, Chen Wa had already led his men to rush up, but Sima Rui had more men. This clothing shop was obviously one of Sima Rui's hideouts. The room was filled with a dark mass of guards, all of whom looked to be skilled fighters. Chen Wa was kept outside the room.
When he rushed in and saw that Gan Qiongying had a knife to her neck, he immediately dared not force his way in.
He called out anxiously, "Princess!"
Sima Rui watched with great interest as Gan Qiongying looked anxious. Following Gan Qiongying's gaze, he looked at the four shadow guards who were being held down by several long swords.
They were forced to their knees, and some had bloodstains on their necks.
They were all masked and had their heads down, showing no emotion on their faces or bodies, as if they were not the ones about to lose their lives.
Gan Qiongying's heart was breaking; she only had a handful of people with her!
She looked at Sima Rui, finally concealing all her sharpness. She closed her eyes and opened them again, her eyes filled with pitiful tears, her voice pleading: "Your Highness, please let them go. I know I was wrong... I won't do anything reckless again."
Gan Qiongying deliberately added the title "Your Highness" after Prince Rui. This title was not something that could be casually used to address any prince; it was reserved for princes born as imperial sons.
Sima Rui narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this, and then burst out laughing.
He certainly didn't suspect that Gan Qiongying knew his secret; he simply took it as her doing her best to flatter him.
However, Sima Ride admitted that he was easily pleased by Gan Qiongying.
Meanwhile, Gan Qiongying was cursing in her heart, "Go to hell! Once we're out of this room, I'll definitely find a way to ruin your reputation!"
Sima Rui was very satisfied with Gan Qiongying's reaction, but he was never a soft-hearted person. He thought Princess Duanrong was someone he could manipulate, but he ended up getting pricked. So he was determined to remove that thorn.
Therefore, Sima Rui looked at the four shadow guards and asked Gan Qiongying, "Is it them who gave you the courage to act recklessly? They do have some skills...you must have spent a lot of time training them, right?"
Gan Qiongying thought to herself, "What do you know? It was Liang Jingru who gave me the courage!"
But facing Sima Rui, Gan Qiongying burst into tears, shaking her head frantically, acting like a tragic heroine, her lips trembling slightly: "Don't do this! Don't do this!"
She pretended that she couldn't stand, and squatted down, quietly moving her feet on the ground.
Because of the skirt, it looked like he was crawling on his knees.
A person who is arrogant and haughty will never be wary of someone who is kneeling on the ground, rolling around, crying, and seemingly powerless in their eyes.
Therefore, Gan Qiongying successfully moved to Sima Rui's feet and hugged Sima Rui's thigh.
"Spare them..."
Sima Rui, of course, was not going to let it go. Looking down at Gan Qiongying, he handed the knife in his hand back to the guard, placed his large palm on Gan Qiongying's head like he was patting a dog, and said, "I'll teach you a lesson today."
"Don't even think about flying when your wings aren't fully grown. Even if you are, I can still shoot you down with one arrow."
Gan Qiongying had cursed his ancestors to the core in her heart.
But she still looked pitiful, shaking her head repeatedly, wiping tears from her face, and sobbing uncontrollably.
This scene was so humiliating, it was unbearable to watch. Chen Wa's eyes turned red. When had the princess ever suffered such humiliation?
This is intolerable! He was about to charge in and fight to the death.
At this moment, the Regent ordered: "Cut off their heads and let Princess Duanrong take them back."
At this moment, Gan Qiongying seemed to be in despair, collapsing to the ground and hugging her head, as if she didn't want to look, didn't dare to look.
But she actually took the opportunity to pull the hairpin off her head.
It's the longest and sharpest one.
Then she lunged at the unsuspecting regent, but it was too late to stand up and block his neck. However, a man's life force is not limited to just one neck.
Gan Qiongying pressed the hairpin directly against the Regent's second genitals, then her tone suddenly changed, and she said fiercely, "Release them all!"
"Today I'll teach Prince Rui a lesson too. Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, and a rabbit will bite when cornered. Release them immediately, or you'll be a eunuch for the rest of your life!"
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