Chapter 531 Lord Xi Doesn't Care For Anyone Except Li Rui
When Xi Ying left Li Na's chin with a jerk, she almost fell down to the floor. However, the Imperial guards held her before she could fall down.
The banquet hall was silent again. Many people were left scared by Xi Ying's behavior and they didn't dare to utter a single word fearing that the next moment, Xi Ying's sword will be on their neck.
"Prime Minister Xi, this is not how a respectable man behaves with the ladies."
Zhao Wang Lei's cold voice sounded in the Banquet hall and many people could not help but nod their heads.
Xi Ying should indeed not be behaving like this Li Na. She was, after all, a lady.
The Emperor was right to reprimand him.
However, Xi Ying's face stayed the same....cold and indifferent.
And he never apologized for his behavior.
Instead, he chuckled coldly in response and said arrogantly putting his sword inside his sheath.
"Your Majesty, this Lord doesn't care about the gender of those people who dared to harm this Lord's wife. Whoever will dare to harm Rui will suffer regardless of who they are."
"This Lord doesn't care for anyone except Li Rui."
Xi Ying's eyes stared at Zhao Wang Lei arrogantly as he said these last few words.
For a moment, Zhao Wang Lei felt that those words were meant for him.
However, when Xi Ying looked away from him, he dismissed this thought immediately.
Because he was very sure that Xi Ying could know anything but he would never know his secrets because his secrets were well hidden or that was what he thought.
Zhao Wang Lei's attention diverted again when he heard Xi Ying saying
"Your Majesty, since everything is already proved and Second Young Miss Li had already accepted that it was she who schemed against this Lord's wife, this Lord will now like to announce the punishment this Lord jas decided for them."
Xi Ying's deep and cold voice could make anyone have goosebumps in the banquet hall.
Everyone could not help but think about what kind of punishment the young and cruel prime minister will give to the Li Sisters.
"Go ahead."
Zhao Wang Lei said and Xi Ying nodded his head.
Without delaying for another moment, he announced
"This Lord wants life sentence for second Young Miss Li and for Third Young Miss Li..."
Li Caihong who had been standing in a daze until now suddenly came out of her trance.
She stepped forward and said loudly.
"Why should I be punished? I didn't do anything. It was she..."
Pointing her finger at Li Na who was suffering from a huge shock after hearing Xi Ying's announcement, she continued
"It was she who planned everything. Did not she say it herself?"
Li Na raised her head to glare at her younger sister when she saw how she was putting all the blame on her head now.
"Do not lie now."
Screamed Li Na and Li Rong saw how her two daughters were behaving with each other as if they had had animosity between them for a century...as if they had been enemies of some past life.
As sisters, were they not supposed to look out for each other at such a time?
Li Rong didn't know what she was feeling but most of it was a disappointment.
Disappointment of not being able to make them such a person who would at least look out for their own people.
With blank eyes, she looked at her younger daughter who was now glaring at her eldest daughter.
"You were involved in all this as much as I was."
Li Na screamed again.
Li Caihong's eyes immediately went wide.
Yes, she also wanted Li Rui's doom but she never made those plans.
It was only Li Na who had come up with those plans.
She was just a spectator to her schemes. Hell...her sister didn't even tell her when she suddenly decided to change her target from Li Rui to Xi Ying during the Mid Autumn Banquet Festival.
Li Caihong didn't bother to look at her sister anymore. Instead, she turned to look at Xi Ying and then the Emperor.
Her eyes were filled with tears and her lower face was covered with a cloth very nicely.
The upper part of her face was also scarred but the scar there was much more faded than the hideous scar on her lower face.
So the picture of Li Caihong having her eyes filled with tears made her L ok very pitiful as well as innocent.
A few people almost believed her because of this when she said
"Your Majesty, all these years I have respected my second sister, Li Na very much and Li Rui Jiejie….she was my elder sister, Your Majesty. I was forced by the Second Sister to support her in damaging the Elder Sister's reputation, Your Majesty. Otherwise, I would never intend to harm my Elder Sister.
However, the rest were only disgusted by Li Caihong's actions and those rest included Yi Jie. Yi Jie was breathing heavily because of the anger and other emotions she was feeling at this moment.
Looking at how well Li Na and Li Caihong were able to pretend all these days, she wondered whether all the misfortune and bad incidents her daughter had were because of them only in the first place.
She couldn't stop herself from standing up when she saw Li Caihong's other pretense.
"Your Majesty, she is lying."
The Imperial Banquet hall seemed to go silent for Zhao Wang Lei at that moment.
As if he was entranced, he slowly moved his head to look toward Yi Jie.
How long has it been since he had heard her speaking to him last…how long had it been to hear her voice!
Zhao Wang Lei tried to remember and remembered very soon.
It was four years ago…when she had pleaded with him to call for a physician for her daughter.
Since then he never heard her voice because he didn't get the chance.
Regardless of how much he loved Yi Jie, Zhao Wanh Lei had always known that he needed to keep his love a secret.
Otherwise, all the little bit of power and respect he held in this Empire would also vanish slowly and slowly.
People would hate him for having an interest in a married woman and in history, his name would be counted amongst those Emperors who could do anything for their lust.
But only he knew that this was love, not his lust.
He also knew that somewhere he was wrong but one couldn't make their heart understand the same, now could they?
So he was also helpless.
.
.
.
It took Zhao Wang Lei a great effort to look away from Yi Jie and look at his Eunuch.
The old Eunuch understood and said loudly immediately.
"Second Madam Li, if you wish to say something then please stand in the center of the banquet hall in front of His Majesty and then say it."
General Li's eyes sharpened immediately and his hand almost stretched out to pull his wife back.
However, Yi Jie was faster than him.
His hand just hung in the air as he saw Yi Jie walking towards the center of the banquet hall.
Why does she think that she needs to say anything?
Can she not see that Xi Ying was managing it so well?
He obviously noticed the way Zhao Wang Lei's eyes didn't even move away from Yi Jie in the beginning.
His heart was filled with rage and in those few moments, General Li felt a strong urge to kill Zhao Wang Lei.
Especially after knowing everything, his heart didn't have any respect for Zhao Wang Lei.
He was never supposed to sit on that throne that gave him so much power to plan against his clan just because he wanted his wife.
His wife whose voice perhaps never have been this loud as it was today shocked General Li.
"Your Majesty, this one's daughter had given an ointment to Minister Li, my husband 's Elder Brother for Li Caihong."
As she said this, Yi Jie looked toward Li Qiang.
Her eyes were emotionless as if she was waiting for whether Li Qiang would also refuse her daughter's goodness at such a moment.
Whether he would try to save his daughters or not.
She wished he would not.
She didn't have any kind of trust and love left for the second household now but she didn't want to lose all that for Li Qiang also whom she had always held so high in her eyes.
Li Qiang's face was also blank when he stood and bowed his head to the Emperor.
After finishing his greetings, he looked at the Emperor and said
"Your Majesty, whatever this minister's Second Sister-In-Law is saying is right."
Finishing his words, Li Qiang silently sat down on his seat with the same blank face. Yi Jie sighed in relief at the same time.
She turned back to look at the Emperor and at the same time she could hear people's whispers again.
A sad smile graced her lips.
Now all these people will finally know that it was not her daughter who was heartless but it was these sisters who deserved her daughter's heartlessness.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶