sjar Chapter 458: Admitting Mistakes
Chapter 458: Admitting Mistakes
"If you don't believe it, you can ask other people. If you don't believe it either, you can ask Father Emperor. He is a witness himself."
Seeing that the Empress Dowager clearly wanted to say something else, Li Jingyang didn't give her a chance to speak again.
"Even if she doesn't look at me, who is she to dare attack the Crown Princess?"
"Juan'er is a cousin from my maternal family, her status is far superior to that of someone like her..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Li Jingyang's cold laugh.
The Empress Dowager was even more annoyed by his appearance and raised her hand to throw her belongings at him.
But before she could react, Li Jingyang had already blocked the hand.
"You should save your energy. It would be too much of a distance to get angry with a stranger like me, a member of the family."
"you!"
The Empress Dowager looked at Zhuang Lijuan, who was truly one of her own, and then at Li Jingyang, whose eyes were full of mockery and who didn't take her seriously at all. Her face went from red to white and finally turned ashen.
Even though she was dissatisfied, she still knew that this was not about protecting her family.
If things continued this way, the Empress Dowager felt that the Crown Prince, who was twice her size, was even more gloomy as she pondered how she could surpass him.
She finally came up with a solution, but before she could act on it, she heard a voice behind her.
"His Majesty has arrived."
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Lin Rusi glanced at Li Jingyang, scratched his slightly rough palm with her hand, and only after her hand was grabbed did she raise a slight smile.
That should solve the problem.
Li Jingyang nodded, focusing all his attention on Lin Rusi and not intending to look at anyone else.
The Emperor, who rushed over in a hurry, saw the two of them and noticed a hint of hostility between Li Jingyang's brows. He realized something was wrong and quickly walked to the Empress Dowager's side.
"What is Mother Empress doing now? Didn't I tell you those things?"
"What are you making a fuss about? How come you're getting more and more regressive? Now you're accusing people without even asking the reason?"
The Emperor paid little attention to these words, but instead turned his head to look at Zhuang Lijuan, who was kneeling on the ground with difficulty and then staggering to her feet.
Noticing that sharp gaze, her body trembled again. She clearly wanted to explain further, but was rendered speechless by that gaze.
After much hesitation, he finally knelt down with a thud, hoping that this would elicit some pity from the emperor for his injuries.
With difficulty, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and slowly raised her head to meet the Emperor's gaze.
"How did you get so badly injured? Didn't you stop?"
"If she hadn't stopped, I'm afraid even Father wouldn't have seen her alive."
Li Jingyang casually uttered these words, then turned his gaze back to Lin Rusi, completely disregarding the emperor.
The Empress Dowager's face darkened upon seeing this, clearly indicating she intended to have a serious talk with him, but the Emperor, noticing this, stopped her.
"Take it one step at a time."
"Very well, I'd like to see how you're going to handle these matters."
Seeing that the Emperor was relatively calm, she knew that he would not show favoritism, and she looked at Lin Rusi standing behind Li Jingyang with even more anger.
Feeling unjustly caught in the crossfire, she simply grabbed Li Jingyang's arm and told him to handle the matter properly.
But he didn't do anything more. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and gently comforted Lin Rusi's excessive anxiety.
The Emperor was already used to the two of them being so inconsiderate of others, so he coughed lightly to let Zhuang Lijuan and the others see.
"Tell me what happened today, and why the Crown Prince punished you?"
The mere mention of punishment made her realize that the Emperor had known about this all along and was simply giving her a chance.
If Zhuang Lijuan wants to live, she has no choice but to confess honestly, otherwise she will face severe punishment.
But this small punishment was enough to give her a good scolding.
Zhuang Lijuan forced a bitter expression, "I was too excited and pinched the Crown Princess, which is why the Crown Prince retaliated. It's all my fault."
"But I didn't do it on purpose. I just exaggerated a little about my childhood when I told the Crown Princess about it, and then she..."
She deliberately interrupted herself, glanced at the Crown Prince, then looked away in alarm and quickly turned to the Emperor.
Their eyes met, and the Emperor did not say anything else, but looked at Li Jingyang as well.
But he didn't even look at her, his gaze remaining fixed on Lin Rusi, his fingers lightly tracing the gauze.
The Emperor also noticed the wounds on her body, then turned his gaze to Zhuang Lijuan and realized that she was indeed somewhat lucky.
After all, the last person in this situation had already been torn to pieces by Li Jingyang.
"Since you already know it's your fault, then I won't punish you further. Just take care of yourself."
"Yes, Juan'er will definitely stay in her room and diligently copy the scriptures as punishment, and will not disturb the Crown Prince and Crown Princess."
Having received this answer, the Emperor turned his gaze back to Li Jingyang, to see if he cared at all, or if he himself would have to make the decision.
After much hesitation, he finally let out a sigh and headed in the direction of the Empress Dowager.
"You haven't been back for a long time, so why don't you take this opportunity to go back and rest for a few days? Your mother will make all the arrangements, so you don't need to worry."
"Yes."
Since the Emperor had already said this much, Zhuang Lijuan could not possibly refute him. She carefully bowed and then looked at the Empress Dowager beside her.
Two tears welled up in his already slightly watery eyes as he bowed to her once more.
"It's all because Juan'er was too impulsive. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hurt the Crown Princess, and the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince wouldn't have argued. Juan'er will spend this time copying scriptures and reflecting on her mistakes."
"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard. Focus on getting better first."
Hearing the Empress Dowager's words finally gave Zhuang Lijuan a glimmer of hope. She nodded vigorously, but accidentally pulled on her wound and let out a cry of pain.
She wanted to help the other person up, but before she could even speak, she was stopped by the other palace maids.
"Miss, please be careful. You are still injured. Perhaps I should take you back to your residence to rest?"
"Thank you for your help."
Zhuang Lijuan gave a difficult bow to the person, and then slowly walked a few steps toward Lin Rusi.
Li Jingyang wasn't going to give him a chance to get closer. Just as he was about to make another move, he heard an even weaker voice.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness, for everything I have said and done."
"I……"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Jingyang interrupted him.
Do you think this wound can be healed simply by saying sorry?
"But I..."
Zhuang Lijuan didn't argue much, forced herself to lower her head, and then quickly left with the palace maid.
After the unimportant people left, the Emperor walked to the Empress Dowager's side again, wanting to say a few more words, but she walked forward first.
Looking up quickly, he saw that she was already standing next to the Crown Prince.