This was a grave matter. If Feng Yuran truly believed that Ling Rui’er’s reputation was besmirched, it would not benefit the Ding General Manor at all. As such, Duke Ding was very worried too since he could not find the crux of the matter. He had been around the block and knew that the matter was not so simple. However, he did not understand who it was who wanted to deal with the Ding General Manor and King Chu’s Manor.
“Uncle, Father, It might just be a coincidence and the people in that shop are just bullies. Uncle, just shut the shop down and have the people in the shop change what they are saying. As long as they admit that they have intentionally slandered me, His Highness will not be angry with me.”
Ling Rui’er stood up straight and said hatefully. She wiped her tears away while a hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes. She had her own plans. As long as those people were willing to change their statement, she would be able to save her reputation a little. No matter whether those people had other intentions or not, she believed that they would change what they had to say under torture. Then, they would also tell her who was the mastermind behind all of this.
She had a sudden epiphany and thought of another incident. Her eyes grew even colder and were filled with jealousy and hatred. She wrung her handkerchief furiously as if she was imagining it to be someone’s face. She continued, “Uncle, we can just make them say that this was Consort Xuan’s plot. Have them say that Consort Xuan intentionally damaged my reputation to attack King Chu and the Ding General Manor.”
She felt that Mo Xuetong definitely had something to do with this.
“Do you think that the matter still has not blown up big enough and that your reputation is still not completely ruined?!” Said an icy cold voice. Even though the tone was gentle, it made one shudder.
Ling Rui’er’s expression changed greatly upon hearing the voice. She stood up and looked at the person at the door. Her lips trembled but she did not dare to make a sound.
“Your Highness, you’re here. Please, come in!” Duke Ding, Ling Xuan, and Second Master Ling, Ling Hai, stood up hurriedly and greeted Feng Yuxuan respectfully. Feng Yuxuan’s expression was cold and Ling Rui’er stole a look at him surreptitiously.
Feng Yuxuan nodded and walked in slowly. His expression softened as he entered and by the time he came up to Duke Ding, he had a small smile on his face. He said to Ling Hai and Ling Xuan, with his hands put together in greeting, “Greetings, Duke Ding and Father-in-law.”
“Please dispense with the pleasantries, Your Highness. Please, have a sit.” Duke Ding said with a smile and invited the prince to his seat. A maid served tea and left.
Feng Yuxuan sat down and said to the pale Ling Rui’er with a gentle smile, “Rui’er, sit down too.”
He reached out and held Ling Rui’er’s icy cold hands in his and stroked it lovingly. He pulled her down to the seat next to his and then berated her gently, “Rui’er, how could you be so willful? Why didn’t you inform me of what happened but came to trouble Father-in-law and Duke Ding instead?”
“I… I… Your Highness!” Ling Rui’er’s eyes reddened when she saw the gentleness in Feng Yuxuan’s expression. He did not seem to have any intention of scolding her at all. She could not hold back her tears and sobbed behind her handkerchief.
She did not dare to go home after what happened and had run to the Ding General Manor in a hurry to think up a strategy to deal with what happened. She had done all of that because she was afraid that Feng Yuxuan would be unhappy. Any man who encountered a situation like this would not be happy about it, much less the high and mighty prince. However, she did not expect Feng Yuxuan to trust her so. At this moment, Ling Rui’er felt that she would be willing to die for the man in front of her. She was so touched that she started to cry.
“Alright, alright, don’t cry. Sleep early and have a good rest and all will be fine tomorrow.” Feng Yuxuan comforted her softly and patted her shoulders. Even though his brows were tightly knitted, he could not hide the gentleness in his eyes.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will listen to you.” Ling Rui’er answered softly and leaned into his arms. The two seemed to be deeply in love and unaffected by what happened.
Duke Ding and Ling Hai witnessed all of that and glanced at each other. Their tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly and they even smiled. As long as Feng Yuxuan was not suspicious of Rui’er, then all would be fine. They saw how sweet Feng Yuxuan was to Rui’er despite what happened and how he could not even bear to rebuke her but treated her gently and kindly. It was obvious that Rui’er had a place in Feng Yuxuan’s heart.
Then, when Feng Yuxuan ascended the throne, he would not treat Rui’er badly. She would definitely become the empress. Of course, then, she would treat the Ding General Manor well. When Rui’er gave birth to a son, the Ding General Manor’s wealth and power for the next ten years would be solidified. This was much better than the Empress Dowager’s schemes.
“Your Highness, don’t spoil this girl too much. Her recklessness had caused what happened today. I don’t know who is dissatisfied with the Ding General Manor and with the King’s Manor to have plotted against Rui’er.” Duke Ding picked up his tea and said solemnly.
The matter seemed odder and odder the more they thought about it. Anyway, it could not be a coincidence. However, this plot was very intricate and they still had no idea who had set it up yet.
“Your Highness, it was all because of that shop. Your Highness, let’s capture everyone from that shop and torture them until they spill who is behind this. We will definitely be able to find out then.” Ling Rui’er wiped off the tears on her face and repeated once more, gritting her teeth. She was more confident because of Feng Yuxuan’s attitude towards her.
She did not believe that she could not even deal with a mere shopkeeper.
“Rui’er, you can’t do that. Do you know whose shop that is?” Feng Yuxuan waved his hand.
“Your Highness, can’t you capture an ordinary shop owner?” Ling Rui’er asked in confusion. Given Feng Yuxuan’s current power, he could close down any shop he wanted. So what if the shop belonged to one of the other princes? As long as she said that they had tried to frame her intentionally, he would be able to shut them up.
“Rui’er, don’t make a fuss. The shop belongs to Bai Yihao.” Duke Ding continued softly.
Bai Yihao’s shop? Ling Rui’er was stunned. She seemed to be able to see his handsome figure right before her eyes. When she was a young girl and before she had gotten married, she had once been secretly in love with Bai Yihao. However, after seeing the Fifth Princess’s evil and vicious ways, she hid the feelings she had towards him. Bai Yihao’s blunt ways towards her had also made these thoughts perish over time.
However, her heart could not help but skip a beat when Feng Yuxuan mentioned Bai Yihao. She asked hoarsely, “Why is Sir Bai’s shop here?”
“He’s been in the capital for so many years. It is no big deal for him to open a shop given his abilities. He brings in things from the Yan Kingdom and sells them here in Qin and he brings things back from the Qin Kingdom to sell in Yan. Others who wish to travel between the two countries would have some concerns, but he does not need to. He just has to ask.”
Feng Yuxuan answered calmly.
“So are you saying that Bai Yihao wants to frame me?” Ling Rui’er asked in confusion. She did not believe in this hypothesis. Bai Yihao was currently in the Yan Kingdom and did not have the time to mind a tiny shop in the Qin Kingdom and come up with schemes to plot against her. It did not seem like something that Bai Yihao would do no matter how she looked at it.
“Of course, Bai Yihao would not reach out so far to frame you. Even if he had time, he would not do something like this.” Duke Ding’s eyes were dark. It did not mean that Bai Yihao did not have the ability to do something like this. However, Ling Rui’er did not have much to do with him. Bai Yihao would not waste so many efforts to send men to the Qin Kingdom to plot against Ling Rui’er.
“If it’s not this or that, then who is the one who wants to frame me?!” Ling Rui’er stood up, somewhat irritated, and stomped her feet. Her mind was in a mess and she did not know what she was going to do next. As such, she mentioned the most suspicious person. “Is it Mo Xuetong who wants to frame me? I heard that she and Bai Yihao used to be very close.”
“Rui’er, why do you keep thinking that Consort Xuan wants to hurt you?” Feng Yuxuan turned around and asked her with a slight smile. No one saw the viciousness in his eyes. They were like poisonous snakes tracking its prey. They were blood-thirsty and vicious.
“I… We just don’t get along… I feel like she is… gentle on the surface but vicious on the inside. Your Highness, look, she has not spared King Xuan’s cousins at all. She is not gentle and gracious like the rumors say.” Ling Rui’er stuttered as she spoke at first but grew more fluent, and felt that she was right.
She would of course not say that she was trying to frame Mo Xuetong so she felt that Mo Xuetong would retaliate. Mo Xuetong had managed to evade her scheme, which she had been rather confident in. Ling Rui’er had not managed to kill Mo Xuetong but had caused the two He sisters to become scapegoats. As such, she felt that Mo Xuetong was a sly and slippery person.
“Rui’er, don’t talk nonsense.” Ling Hai rebuked unhappily when he heard Ling Rui’er pushing the blame to Consort Xuan without any evidence. They had not yet caught the mastermind behind the situation. He did not want to make another enemy. King Xuan? Was that someone they could offend!
“Father, I…” Ling Rui’er felt embarrassed after being scolded by Ling Hai in front of Feng Yuxuan. She turned around despondently.
“Consort Xuan has always been gentle and gracious. She rarely goes out usually. I heard that her health is poor and even His Majesty knows about this. His Majesty even gifted King Xuan’s Manor with various medicinal herbs to help the Consort regulate her health. How can you say something like that so impolitely? Do you still think you are an unmarried and insensible girl? You do things based on your feelings.”
Ling Hai sounded like he was scolding Ling Rui’er, but was actually categorizing the trouble that Ling Rui’er got into today as something that had happened because she was an insensible child. He felt that Ling Rui’er had been plotted against because she was inexperienced and did things as she wished. Even though Ling Rui’er was responsible for what happened today, she did not have to bear much of it.
Furthermore, he could not say much about Mo Xuetong. He only said that her health was poor and she did not have an opportunity to do something like that! King Xuan was the Emperor’s favorite son. Furthermore, King Xuan was ruthless and uncontrollable if he wanted to create trouble. Not even the Emperor could do anything about it. It was said that he doted on his little consort a lot.
If he found out that Ling Rui’er was slandering his consort, Rui’er would be in trouble even with Feng Yuxuan’s protection. As such, Ling Hai wanted to completely eliminate the suspicion Ling Rui’er had of Mo Xuetong.
Ling Hai was doing all of this because he wanted to help Ling Rui’er!
However, Ling Rui’er thought that he was embarrassing her in front of Feng Yuxuan. Ling Rui’er was angry and wanted to argue with her father. However, she saw Feng Yuxuan looking at her lovingly with a placating look in his eyes. She flushed with embarrassment and did not say anything.
“Father-in-law, don’t blame Rui’er. She was tricked by others. If they had not provoked her, this would not have happened. Rui’er is usually the most sensible, gentle, and gracious person in the King’s Manor.” Feng Yuxuan spoke up for Ling Rui’er with a smile. Then, he patted Ling Rui’er’s hand and gestured for her to calm down.
With Feng Yuxuan’s gentle and loving treatment, Ling Rui’er felt embarrassed and happy. She wanted to perform well and behave like a gentle and gracious consort. She would not allow Feng Yuxuan to look down on her and must not hinder Feng Yuxuan. She immediately reigned in her anger and curtsied to Ling Hai. She said, “Father, you are right. I was being insensible.”
“Alright, just don’t be willful and listen to His Highness in the future.” Ling Hai nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes, Father!” Ling Rui’er’s performance was more and more perfect.
The two Ling brothers nodded surreptitiously. This was how a lady from a noble family should behave. Feng Yuxuan would think highly of Ling Rui’er too if she behaved like this.
They performed for each other and then started to talk about the issue at hand once more after a while.
