Inside the hall, Princess Wenling stood with lowered head waiting for Xi Ying's answer.
After confessing her feelings, she didn't dare to raise her head. For these past few years, she had indirectly expressed her feelings by spreading rumors about both of them.
He surely had listened about them but never cleared anything.
Doesn't it mean that he was not that repulsed by the thought of having her beside him?
This thought was the only reason behind her strength that she dared to tell about her feelings to him today.
It was true that Mother Empress had asked her to drug Lord Xi and then sleep with him and she did that.
But she wished to tell him about her feelings before giving herself to him…so that he would get to know the depth of her love for him.
She, a Princess, was ready to give away her innocence for him without thinking of anything…wouldn't it move his heart even a little bit?
Lost in her beautiful thoughts, Princess Wenling didn't notice the cold and disgust-filled gaze of Xi Ying on herself.
The cold and indifferent man moved away from his eyes from her as if he was looking at something very dirty and spat out
"As a Princess, Your Highness should maintain her dignity…instead of behaving like the prostitutes of those brothels."
Princess Wenling was shocked and stilled when she registered Xi Ying's words in her mind.
Was he comparing her to a…prostitute?
She raised her head to look at him with tear-filled eyes only to see him turning around and leaving just like that.
But she was not ready for this…she was not ready to give up like this.
She stepped forward and hugged Xi Ying's waist tightly from behind as she rested her cheek against his firm back.
"Xi Ying…"
She whispered his name in her soft and trembling voice. She had tried it so many times before….say his name but would always feel shy.
It was the first time today she finally could do this but she didn't feel any happiness.
Her heart only felt relieved when she moved her eyes down and saw his clenched fists.
"Don't control yourself…I am here for you."
However, Princess Wenling didn't know that Xi Ying was not clenching his fists to control his sexual desire but because of the anger.
He repeated in his mind again and again that he can't hit a woman…this was not something he was taught to do unless it was a life-threatening situation.
But his body was screaming to go against his principal as he felt disgusted from being touched by someone else.
He gripped Princess Wenling's clothed arm with his fingers with trying to touch her as minimum as possible and freed himself effortlessly.
His actions were still respectful because Xi Ying knew that he can't do anything at this moment to the Princess because it would only create more troubles for him and Li Rui.
If he angered this foolish princess then she would vent her anger on his wife and hence would only give the chance to the person who is hiding behind her shadows to attack Li Rui again.
And he doesn't want to any such attack on Li Rui now.
For this once, he wants Li Rui's visit to the Imperial Palace a little peaceful.
Stepping away from Princess Wenling, he said coldly
"Your Highness, Xi Ying doesn't like to be touched by anyone else except his wife."
However, Xi Ying underestimated the envy of a woman. He still angered Zhao Wenling unintentionally when she heard the 'wife' word from his mouth.
Wife…wasn't it Li Rui in the end?
Zhao Wenling looked at the man in front of him with frustration in her eyes.
"Xi Ying, you…"
"Your Highness"
Xi Ying stopped Zhao Wenling amidst her words sharply and continued
"This Lord is respecting you and you should do the same by not calling me by my name."
Zhao Wenling looked at him with an incredulous expression on her face.
"You don't want me to touch you. You don't want me to call you by your name. If you dislike me so much then why did you not clear those rumors between people about us?"
Xi Ying was not moved at all as she wiped the tear that fell out from her eye. His eyes had a kind of laziness as if he was watching some kind of drama that was not moving enough to garner a reaction from him.
"Your Highness, Xi Ying has more important things to do other than suppressing down some baseless rumors."
It was the truth.
The first and foremost thing was that Xi Ying had never known that there were rumors in the Imperial City about him and Princess Wenling.
He had only come to know about these stupid rumors when he didn't have his body and stayed beside Li Rui in the Plum Courtyard. In the beginning, he was not affected by these rumors because Xi Ying was too lazy to care about them but as time passed he saw the effect of those rumors inside Xi Manor on Li Rui.
That's why, as soon as he got his body back and came back to the Imperial City, he removed all those servants who had a loose mouth or were in suspicion of being Princess Wenling's people.
As much as it bothered him when he didn't see anything in Li Rui's eyes hearing those rumors, he also knew the bitter truth.
Li Rui already didn't have anything for him in his heart…for now.
He didn't want some stupid rumors to push her away from him more.
"Lies…You are lying to me."
Princess Wenling stepped backward in shock. She was not ready to accept that Xi Ying doesn't have anything in his heart for her.
For four years, even after he was married…she has done so much to get him. How can he not feel anything?
She can't accept it.
"You are just pretending…I know this."
Xi Ying frowned suddenly finding that Princess Wenling doesn't seem to have enough mind to plan all those things against Li Rui.
"She doesn't deserve you…I have done so much for you."
Princess Wenling murmured
Xi Ying was now getting very frustrated at the woman in front of him. So he didn't hesitate to pick her neck with his fingers.
The next moment, Princess Wenling found everything in front of herself getting blurred.
Xi Ying turned around as he wiped his hands with his handkerchief and left the hall leaving the unconscious Princess Wenling lying on the floor.