"emperor--"
"Although I have always believed in you, and imprisoning you was only a temporary measure, it is a fact that you were injured, so I must apologize to you no matter what."
He truly had no doubts about her. Even when he imprisoned her, he never considered punishing her. However, given the circumstances, he had no choice but to react, which is why he locked her up.
But to his surprise, someone took this opportunity to torture her, and she was so badly injured. How could he not be angry?
Meng Wan shook her head: "Your Majesty, please don't say that. It was because of me that things turned out that way, and that such a python appeared before His Majesty. It was truly my fault."
She kept demanding punishment, but the emperor just smiled and reached out to help her up. At that moment, an eunuch brought over a soft cushion, and she sat down next to the emperor. Only then did the emperor say, "Your injury hasn't fully healed yet. Don't kneel down so easily. What if you touch the wound?"
Meng Wan did as she was told and sat there. She felt very warm inside, even though she knew the truth was not as the rumors said. She was still very happy.
Time will tell, and only through trials and tribulations can one truly know who is sincere and who is not.
The two talked for a while longer, but because ministers were coming to report to the emperor later, the emperor ordered someone to send Meng Wan away.
The air was chilly. Sitting in the sedan chair, the cold wind kept blowing in through the curtains. Meng Wan sat there silently, lost in thought.
Just then, the sedan chair suddenly swayed twice, and before she could react, she slammed into the chair's surface. A sharp pain shot through her forehead, and she cried out in surprise, "Ouch—!"
She quickly grabbed the edge of the sedan chair and barely managed to sit still. Her brow furrowed as she thought to herself, "How could I be so careless?" But before she could vent her anger, she heard the sedan chair bearers outside chanting in unison, "Long live the Third Prince!"
It had been a while since she had seen Huangfu Qian, so she was quite surprised to hear that he was outside. At this moment, Huan Yan had already lifted the sedan curtain and checked Meng Wan from head to toe before asking, "Miss, are you alright?"
Meng Wan shook her head and looked up, whereupon a familiar figure came into view.
She instinctively frowned, but said nothing. She simply lowered the curtain and said calmly to Huan Yan, "The prince is the most respected. Let's make way."
Huan Yan accepted the order and went out to give instructions, but after a short while, she returned: "Miss, the Third Prince asks you to get out of the sedan chair, saying that he has something to tell you."
V20 Makes Him Angry (Part 1)
Huan Yan accepted the order and went out to give instructions, but after a short while, she returned: "Miss, the Third Prince asks you to get out of the sedan chair, saying that he has something to tell you."
Is something the matter?
Meng Wan raised an eyebrow and peeked through the gap in the sedan chair. Huangfu Qian was also looking over. Their eyes met, and after a slight hesitation, she walked up to Huangfu Qian with Huan Yan's help and said, "Greetings to the Third Prince!"
Even if you hate someone, even if you feel an itch to see them, you still have to bow to them; that's what status and position mean.
Huangfu Qian slightly raised his hand and glanced at Huan Yan. Huan Yan hesitated, but Meng Wan winked at her: "Go and wait for me first."
Huan Yan nodded and walked in that direction, her eyes fixed on Meng Wan.
The young lady's injuries haven't healed yet, how could she not be worried?
"I wonder what the Third Prince's instructions are? Now that it's just the two of us, let's speak frankly." After Huan Yan left, Meng Wan didn't beat around the bush and directly threw the question to Huangfu Qian.
Huangfu Qian was slightly taken aback, then curled his lips into a faint smile: "Miss Meng's attitude towards me has indeed plummeted. I didn't understand why before, but now I understand quite a bit. It turns out that so many people are eager to support you. No wonder you look down on me."
Meng Wan naturally knew who he was referring to. Hearing him say this, she didn't explain, but just kept a faint smile on her face, looked at him, and remained silent.
"But even now, I still can't give up and want to ask you: do you really not want to reconcile with me? Actually, I'm no worse than my fifth or seventh brother, don't you think?"
"Your Highness is joking. We've never even started, so how can we mend our old relationship? In the past, it was just that Your Highness and my second sister were more often together, which is why I became a little closer to you. There was nothing else. If there's anything that Your Highness has misunderstood, then I apologize to you. I hope Your Highness won't take it to heart."
"You..." Caught off guard, Huangfu Qian's face darkened, but only for a moment before he sneered, "Since that's how it is, then don't blame me for being ruthless. Even if Father loves you, even if the Fifth and Seventh Princes protect you, if I want you dead, you can forget about living. The sachet incident is proof. You were so careful, yet you almost got yourself killed in the end. So, if you don't do as I please, you won't have a good ending!"
The matter of sachets?
Meng Wan was clearly taken aback. "What happened with the sachet? Is it related to you?"
"What? You still don't know?" Seeing her confused expression, he smiled coldly, his usual gentleness gone, replaced by arrogance. Looking at Meng Wan, he said coldly, "It seems Seventh Brother didn't tell you. But it's no wonder. He went to such lengths to investigate my crimes, only to have them exposed by me in no time. How can he have the nerve to say anything?"
At this point, his smile grew even more smug: "You're still too green to mess with me!"
Meng Wan had no time to dwell on his smugness; at this moment, she only had a sudden realization. She said it couldn't be as simple as Lord Dong framing her; it was him all along.
But why didn't that person tell her? What was the reason behind that? And what Huangfuqian just said about the evidence that person went to great lengths to find against him—how did Huangfuqian crack it?
A series of questions lingered in her mind. She wanted to ask, but how could Huangfu Qian give her answers? She returned to the Prime Minister's residence full of doubts, but she didn't even have the thought of hatred.
He was just wondering, since he knew it was Huangfu Qian who did it, why didn't that person deal with him? Why didn't he tell the Emperor the whole story?
With this question in mind, he turned and left. Upon returning home, the first thing he did was to find Blood Kite.
Now that she knew the man's identity, even though he had refused to reveal it, she decided to take the initiative to ask him about it. She also inquired about Huangfu Qian's matter, in order to plan for the future.
The whistle blew, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't come. Instead, Huangfu Yu arrived.
"I just heard that your father summoned you to the palace. What did he say?"
Meng Wan was clearly somewhat disappointed, but she couldn't show it too obviously. She forced a smile and said, "It means I was wronged and that it won't happen again. I'll rest properly."
"Father treats you very well. He would never treat anyone else this way. No wonder Mother..."
At this point, he suddenly paused, clearly realizing that he had inadvertently said something inappropriate. Meng Wan, however, smiled without caring. Everyone has their own plans, and she was used to it. She was just glad that the Fifth Prince could be so honest with her, which made her feel much more at ease.
She reached out and pushed the plate of pastries in front of him, smiling gently, "His Majesty has indeed treated me well, but after all, you are his children. In truth, he has also been loving towards you."
That makes sense. Although the Emperor was strict with them, he occasionally revealed his fatherly love unintentionally. However, since they were mostly men, such love was only occasional, and most of the time, he was more strict.
The two talked like this, but there was nothing much to say, just casual conversation. Seeing that it was getting late and the sun was already setting, Huangfu Yu took his leave.
It suddenly quieted down. Sitting by the window, watching Huangfu Yu's departing figure, she couldn't help but feel a little bored. Just then, she heard a light footstep behind her. It was very light and shallow, but Meng Wan still managed to catch it. She turned around and saw Feng Qi standing tall behind her.
Meng Wan was clearly taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed, and hurriedly got up from the soft couch, "You've come."