NFBE Chapter 253: Escaping One Calamity
Chapter 253: Escaping One Calamity
Seeing that the Empress was speechless after being rebuked, the nanny immediately reacted and spoke up: "Princess Jinglie, you clearly know why Her Majesty has been troubled lately, so how can you keep talking about Her Majesty's worries in front of her?!"
The old woman spoke so quickly that the Empress had no time to stop her.
Upon hearing this, her face turned deathly pale.
Before the emperor could speak, Lin Rusi countered, "Very well, I would also like to ask the nanny, in which of my words was I disrespectful to Your Majesty?"
"I only resolved the conflict between myself and Your Highness because of that dancer. Is there anything wrong with me saying this?"
Lin Rusi spoke with a firm and resolute voice, her back straight, her dark eyes sparkling, showing no fear whatsoever.
Seeing her like this, the Empress panicked. She quickly grabbed the nanny beside her, her body trembling slightly.
Seeing this, the emperor also gave the empress a cold, sidelong glance, his eyes filled with questioning: "Empress, is this so?"
"Your Majesty! Don't you know me?! How could I possibly make things difficult for a young girl over such matters!"
The Empress's words were also sincere, which made Lin Rusi narrow her eyes. Then, she took a deep breath and looked as if she had suddenly realized something.
She feigned shock and murmured to herself, "So that's how it is!"
However, as soon as she finished speaking, she quickly covered her mouth, deliberately making a frightened appearance.
Now, everyone's attention was drawn to this.
The Emperor, in particular, sensed something was amiss: "Princess Jinglie, what do you mean by this? Have you perhaps thought of something?"
"This humble woman dares not speak." Lin Rusi quickly knelt down, bowing towards the emperor, but her eyes cautiously glanced towards the empress.
The emperor looked at him coldly: "What?! I'm here, do you think anyone would dare to act arrogantly in front of me?!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress's face turned deathly pale.
For a moment, the hall was extremely silent, and no one spoke.
The Empress, in particular, shook her head repeatedly, as if making a final, futile struggle.
"Before I came here, I heard that Her Majesty was angry with me because of Consort Ying. I didn't think it was possible and didn't understand it, but I never expected that Her Majesty would be so angry just because I mentioned the dancer..."
As Lin Rusi spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, and she would occasionally look at the Empress with a guilty expression.
"Your Majesty, it was all my fault for believing those lies!"
She immediately knelt down, her head bowed low, but her eyes were full of mockery.
The topic of Consort Ying, the dancer sent to the palace by Li Jingyang, made everyone's expressions rather unpleasant.
The emperor was particularly noticeable; clearly, there had been many conflicts over this matter during this period.
"Empress, I know you have been harboring resentment lately. Considering your hard work in managing the harem, I decided not to hold it against you. But I never expected you to vent your resentment on the innocent Princess Jinglie!"
Without giving the Empress a chance to speak, he quickly added, "From this day forward, the Empress is confined to the inner palace to reflect on her actions!"
After saying this, the emperor flicked his sleeves, turned and left, while Lin Rusi looked at the empress with equal fear.
"Your Majesty, I misspoke. Please rest assured, I will plead with the Emperor on your behalf. I am truly frightened today and am afraid I cannot speak any more. I take my leave."
She finished speaking quickly, not even giving the Empress a chance to react, and ran off after the Emperor.
No one noticed that there was a hint of smugness in her eyes as she turned around.
Lin Rusi walked quickly towards the palace gate, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the emperor arrived, giving her an excuse to leave. Lin Rusi walked briskly.
Just as they were about to leave the inner palace courtyard, a familiar voice came from behind: "Princess Jinglie".
Lin Rusi's eyes widened instantly. Why was this damned emperor here again?
Her heart was pounding, and she had a very bad feeling.
Lin Rusi swallowed hard and turned around with difficulty: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Rise." The emperor's voice was indifferent, his eyes devoid of emotion, then he seemed to remember something.
"I have some questions for you. Come with me to the Imperial Study."
As he spoke, he turned his back. Lin Rusi subconsciously covered her lips, her mind filled with a myriad of thoughts in an instant.
What good could it be if the emperor is looking for me?
Lin Rusi pursed her lips, pondering how to answer, when a familiar male voice rang out.
"Sisi, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you for so long."
Li Jingyang's voice grew closer as he spoke. Lin Rusi lowered her eyes, and a pair of shoes appeared at her feet.
Immediately, a pair of warm, large hands grasped hers, and Lin Rusi looked up, somewhat puzzled.
Their eyes met, and Li Jingyang's calm gaze made her subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, you're here too?" The next moment, Li Jingyang looked as if he had just noticed him and bowed respectfully.
The emperor's face stiffened; he could only abandon his thoughts now.
"Why are you in the palace?" he asked, frowning.
Hearing this, Li Jingyang remained calm.
"I had arranged with Sisi to go eat some new peach blossom pastries from a shop in the east of the city after leaving the Empress's palace, but since Sisi hadn't come out for a long time, I came to the palace."
His eyes were gentle, as if they could drip water, but this one sentence left the emperor speechless.
"I see. Then I won't disturb your date any longer." A cold glint flashed in the emperor's eyes.
Lin Rusi couldn't help but smile. She knew the emperor wouldn't say anything in front of Li Jingyang.
At this point, the anxiety that had been gripping me finally subsided.
Only after watching the emperor's figure disappear from her sight did Lin Rusi breathe a sigh of relief, then turned her head to look at the man beside her.
"Why has Your Highness come?" Lin Rusi asked in confusion.
"I told you, the Empress's invitation to the palace was nothing but a trap." Li Jingyang gently poked her head, his expression serious and somewhat displeased.
"What does this mean?" Lin Rusi raised her head; in fact, she had probably already guessed why.
However, she still wanted to know why from Li Jingyang.
"Because of jealousy, I am not interested in dancers, but the emperor would not be uninterested. With such a huge disparity, how could he not know?"
The man chuckled. Seeing this, Lin Rusi pouted and said nonchalantly, "Actually, I can't tell either. In the palace..."
Lin Rusi told Li Jingyang everything that had happened to her in the palace.
Hearing this, the man was not surprised, and said calmly, "No wonder, she was jealous of you because of this. If you bring it up again, you will naturally anger her."
As expected, the Empress had no good intentions!
As Lin Rusi listened, a slightly unpleasant expression appeared on her face.
If she hadn't made things difficult first, why would His Highness have sent a beauty to the Emperor? Unfortunately, she couldn't deal with Consort Ying herself, so she had no choice but to set her sights on herself.
Lin Rusi took a deep breath, and some unpleasant memories from her past life suddenly flooded her mind.
She clenched her fists involuntarily, noticing that something was wrong with the person next to her. Li Jingyang turned around in confusion.
"Sisi, are you alright?"