Chapter 542 "Rui Was Wronged
"If Your Majesty wishes to make this banquet hall a battlefield, then this Lord would gladly do so because even this Lord's patience is ending now."
Zhao Wang Lei's eyes flickered with coldness when he heard Xi Ying's words inside which a threat was hidden very well.
"Prime Minister Xi, your behavior is very outrageous."
At these words, Xi Ying chuckled coldly.
"Is it, Your Majesty?"
Xi Ying raised his eyebrows as he asked this question. Then without giving any chance to anyone to answer him, he said
"It is not. Does Your Majesty wish to know what is more outrageous? The more and most outrageous thing is how so many people scheme against just one person who is none other than this Lord's wife…the outrageous thing is that she had never done anything wring to all these people but she had still suffered from all the false accusations that were put on her."
"She never pushed the princess inside that pond that day but she was said to be envied of the princess. Her maid never stole the hairpin in the banquet seventeen years ago but again it was she who was again blamed for asking her maid to do such a disgusting thing. She never schemed to marry this Lord but even this Lord thought that she schemed to get married to me. Everything because of this Lord's ignorance and all these people's schemes."
Xi Ying finished coldly as his cold eyes glanced at each and every person who had been part of these schemes.
Li Na and Li Caihong had been taken away from the Imperial banquet hall and Li Qiang had already left with his unconscious wife so the left people were princess Wenling, the old nanny, Qin Wenya, and of course Zhao Wang Lei.
At this moment, Zhao Wang Lei also seemed to realize something.
His thought that Xi Ying was protecting Li Rui all this while just because she was pregnant with his child was all along wrong.
No! Xi Ying was protecting Li Rui because now he finally knew that Li Rui never schemed against him to marry him.
All these plans were never set up by her.
Zhao Wang Lei knew very well that only this misunderstanding had been the only source of hatred between Xi Ying and Li Rui and now since this misunderstanding was clear, Xi Ying was genuine and sincere to Li Rui.
He would protect Li Rui as a loving husband was supposed to protect his wife and since it was Xi Ying who had so many powerful people on his side working for him then it would be very easy for him to do so.
Now Zhao Wang Lei suddenly doubted whether the shadow guards of the Youxio organization would really be able to do their job.
If Xi Ying was here then he was no fool to leave Li Rui there alone in Xi Manor. His people must be guarding Xi Manor very well.
However, at the same time, he tried to assure himself that those shadow guards would never tell Xi Ying that it was he who had sent them to kill Li Rui because Youxio's shadow guards never did such a thing even if they were caught in the past.
He tried to assure himself that Xi Ying was still loyal to him because he didn't know about his secrets. He could still create some misunderstanding between them and make Xi Ying hate Li Rui again.
Though he thought all this, his fists were tightly clenched inside his sleeves.
He could see the sympathy and pity in people's eyes as they heard Xi Ying's words. They agreed with Xi Ying. Li Rui has been wronged.
And hence when Xi Ying put his sword on the old nanny's neck and threatened her to speak the truth if she didn't wish to lose her life, Zhao Wang Lei, even as the Emperor could say nothing except for hearing the scared old nanny revealing everything.
Inside his heart, he was very angry at the old nanny. She was supposed to keep her mouth shut and not say anything even if Xi Ying really took her life.
However, now Zhao Wang Lei saw very clearly that the old nanny was not as loyal as he had thought her to be.
He remembered that he had found the old nanny many years ago inside a forest where he had gone hunting. At that time, he had been saved by the old nanny from the attack of an animal.
He had been impressed by the bravery and loyalty that she had shown to him and hence he had offered her to work by his side.
However, after he had returned from the first and come back to the Imperial Palace, Princess Zhao Wenling had come to him demanding that he should make Li Rui her companion in the Imperial Palace.
It was not her request that had bothered Zhao Wang Lei.
It was the name she had taken. Zhao Wang Lei would never forget that name even in her dreams.
Because to him, this name meant his death.
He had refused in the beginning.
He had not wanted Li Rui to even step inside the Imperial Palace.
However, he had been helpless when Qin Wenya had come to him and had said arrogantly that he need to grant her daughter's wish.
He saw how Li Rui slowly started to win his daughter as well as the Imperial Palace's people's hearts.
Zhao Wang Lei agreed in the end but inside his heart, he was very angry. The anger only made his mind work faster and he soon came up with a plan.
He gave the old nanny to Qin Wenya during one of their outings and then the old nanny entered the Imperial Palace as one of the Empress' servants.
The old nanny knew her work. She had to fill Qin Wenya's mind against Li Rui first and then made her think that Princess needed the old nanny by her side.
Qin Wenya really fell into the trap and gave the old nanny to the princess.
And after that whatever happened, Zhao Wang Lei have been very satisfied with all that.
Li Rui had been banned from the Imperial Palace and he had been living a peaceful life until she stepped inside the Imperial Palace again.
Now looking at Xi Ying, he suddenly thought that whatever he had heard years ago was really true.
At this moment, the old nanny was describing everything.
She told everyone that she had been sent to the princess' side by the Empress. She was asked to fill the princess' mind against Li Rui.
It was she who pushed the princess inside the river.
Amidst all this, Zhao Wang Lei was relieved with just one thing the old nanny never mentioned his name.
However, he didn't know that he was still safe from all this blame because Xi Ying was letting him stay out of it.
His time would come but not now.
Xi Ying first wanted to wipe all these loyal people from Zhao Wang Lei's side and then dethrone him.
So that he would find himself in the same helpless situation, he had been in his past life.
The helplessness he had felt in his past life when he had his wife's and his son's cold body in his arms, Xi Ying wished that Zhao Wang Lei would feel the same kind of helplessness at the time of his death.