His Rui

"My wife doesn't trust me, General Li."

Xi Ying whispered again as he looked at the thin and delicate shadow falling on the door of the study room.

"And I can understand that she has her own reasons for that. I have done many things wrong in the past. Four years ago, when y shadow guard lied to me saying that it was Li Rui who drugged me , I blindly trusted him and thought that all of that was Li Rui's plan. I ….I thought that you and your daughter wanted to use me to save your clan so I just did the opposite. I …I planned to destroy your clan with the Emperor." 

"Now I know that Rui was innocent and want to make things right … I can understand why she is wary of me. But isn't she doing the same mistake that I did? She trusted Princess Wenling's words blindly just like I believed my shadow guard and I do not blame her for that. I have perhaps never done something to gain her trust."

Whispered Xi Ying.

"So you have chosen this way too gain her trust?"

Xi Ying heard General Li asking.

General Li could actually understand what Xi Ying was trying to do.   

He sighed thinking that it was good if Li Rui gets to know about these things at least. Perhaps Xi Ying will not go this way if she started trust him from now.

He knew that only she could stop him from putting himself in this trouble.

Xi Ying answered General Li's question.

"Yes, I have. Since she fears that I am helping the Emperor in destroying Li Clan. She will see me killing the same Emperor. Then perhaps she would start to believe me."

General Li suddenly felt a panic filling his heart when he saw how determined Xi Ying looked at this moment.

"Then I would have to go against you, Prime Minister Xi. The whole Li Clan will have to protect the Emperor and hence you will be going against Li Clan as well."

Xi Ying smirked at General Li's words clearly knowing what the old General was planning inside his mind. He thinks that since Li Rui was outside, Xi Ying would immediately refuse to go against Li Clan and hence will put a full stop on his plan.

However, Xi Ying was more intelligent than General Li.

"This Lord promises you General Li that it will not happen. I will not be given Li Clan any chance to stand against me. The storm, this time, will be so silent that you will not even get to know when it passed. By the time, you would realize that the things are really changing, I would have already  done what I am saying … dethroning the current Emperor."

.

.

.

Outside the study room, Li Rui stood silently. Her face still didn't have any expression. However, the clenched fists inside her sleeve could tell that she was surely affected by whatever she has heard. However, whether it was in the way Xi Ying had wanted or it was the opposite … no one could tell anything about it.         

She could hear her father arguing with Xi Ying that it was wrong, that the ancestors of his Xi Clan as well have always worked under Imperial Clan, that if he went against the Imperial Clan then his ancestors would never forgive him.

However, in response to his father's so many words, she heard Xi Ying's few words.

"It doesn't matter. The only person who matters at this time is Li Rui."

The deep and firm voice actually made her heart skip for a moment.

'Could it be that she was really wrong this time?' 

But she had seen that day carefully, Princess Wenling didn't display any signs of lying…then who was lying?

A doubt suddenly emerged in her mind.

It could also be possible that for Princess Wenling, that was the truth. Perhaps all this while, Princess Wenling never knew the real truth and hence she didn't lie at all…because in her eyes she was speaking the truth.

'I shall never make you regret your decision, Rui.' The promise that Xi Ying had whispered in her ear a few nights ago rang inside her ear. 

Li Rui looked dazed as she stepped back suddenly unable as well as able to understand anything.

'I have many mistakes, Rui.' He had told her.

He changed suddenly because he got to know that it was not she who drugged him.

A voice inside her mind suddenly asked her

'Now you even know the reason, Rui, do you trust him?'

But she still didn't have any answer.

Why was it so difficult?

She didn't understand.

She suddenly turned around and ran away from there.

-------

"Zhao Zhang Wei"

"Zhao Zhang Wei"

"Zhang Wei"

"Your Highness"

"Huh?"

Zhao Zhang Wei came out of his trance after he felt someone shaking his shoulders.

His eyes fell on the face in front of his eyes and then on the hand that was on his shoulder, The next moment, he swiftly threw away that hand from there.

"Don't touch me." He said coldly as he looked at Eunuch Wang with sharp eyes.

Eunuch Wang immediately lowered his head and said

"Apologies, Your Highness. But Your Highness was not responding to Your Majesty's call so this servant could only find this way."

The reason seemed valid but Zhao Zhang Wei still looked unperturbed and firm.

"Still, Benwang doesn't want you to touch me ever again."

He said sharply.

Eunuch Wang's body stiffened but he couldn't do anything except apologizing.

Even Zhao Wang Lei who was sitting at the front looked at his second son with narrowed eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Zhang Wei?"

Zhao Zhang Wei still seemed to be lost in something. Because when he looked at the Emperor his phoenix eyes were still very cold and sharp.

However, he soon composed himself.

But before he could answer Zhao Wang lei's question, a voice interrupted him and did that for him. 

"It seems so, Father Emperor."

Then moving his eyes to Zhao Zhang Wei, Zhao Zhuang Chen pretended very well to look concerned as he asked him.

"Is Second Younger Brother feeling unwell? I have been worried about my Younger Brother since the moment I have heard the rumor of Younger Brother suddenly collapsing inside her chambers. You shouldn't have come here if you were not well. Father Emperor would have understood and forgiven you, Second Younger Brother."

"Zhao Zhang Wei collapsed inside his chambers?"

The Emperor's surprised voice came as soon as Zhao Zhuang Chen finished his words.

In Zhao Zhang Wei's sight lingered Zhao Zhuang Chen's hidden smirk.