Bailu pulled Su Li out of Yuan Jie's courtyard and whispered, "Madam, something's wrong. That Princess Mingyu came again. She met the heir apparent at the gate and insisted on following him into the courtyard. She's now in our house!"
"Ah!? She's here again!?" Su Li was shocked and hurriedly followed Bailu back home.
In the main hall, Princess Mingyu sat in the main seat, with Lv Luo standing beside her. Li Yanhao stood in the middle of the hall with a dark face and his hands behind his back, creating a very awkward atmosphere.
Su Li walked in. The moment Princess Mingyu saw her, she immediately perked up, sitting proudly like a princess, a smug look on her face. "Tsk, you ignorant village girl who doesn't recognize greatness. Now you know that I am the genuine Princess Mingyu of the Kingdom of Chu, right? Hmph! You even dared to bar me from entering your courtyard. But here I am anyway. If you have the guts to chase me out, I'll write to my father and tell him how the Jin people are rude to the Chu princess! Let my father reconsider the sincerity of Jin during the peace talks between our two countries!"
Nearby, Li Yanhao clenched his fists so hard they creaked. This shameless princess was using the diplomatic relations between the two countries as a threat—truly despicable!
But with the peace talks imminent, they absolutely could not offend Princess Mingyu, or it would cause the talks to collapse and lead to war, bringing punishment from the emperor.
Su Li clearly understood this. She said nothing but stared coldly at Princess Mingyu, her voice indifferent: "Last time I didn’t recognize you, Princess. Ignorance is no crime."
"Hmph, now that you recognize me, kneel down quickly!" Princess Mingyu slammed the table, glaring fiercely at Su Li. "You village girl, you've been rude to me repeatedly! Kneel down and apologize immediately!"
"You!" Li Yanhao was so angry he wished he could beat this shameless princess, but he couldn’t. He could only watch helplessly.
Su Li snorted lightly. What was meant to come would come; there was no escaping it.
"Kneel quickly!" Princess Mingyu urged triumphantly. "What, village girl, you refuse to kneel to me? Do you look down on our Kingdom of Chu?"
Su Li: ...
"A Li..." Li Yanhao looked at Su Li. Seeing this proud woman kneel to such a lowly princess pained him deeply.
"It's fine, just think of it as for the sake of the people." Su Li smiled wryly, shook her head, lifted her skirt with a wave of her hand, and forced a bitter smile.
Princess Mingyu looked at Su Li triumphantly, thinking to herself, "No matter how much this village woman struggles, she is still a lowly village woman! In front of me, you must bow and humble yourself. If I order you to kneel, you can't stand. This is birthright, this is power. You have no choice but to submit and bow!"
Just as Su Li took a deep breath, preparing to kneel as if it were the end of the world, she suddenly felt a gust of wind from behind. A pair of hands firmly grabbed her knees and helped her up.
Su Li instinctively looked up and met Xiao Zetian's deep, dark eyes. He shook his head at her, his eyes full of pain. "Wife, you don't have to kneel to her..."
"But she’s using the diplomatic relations between our two countries as a threat..." Su Li felt warmth in her heart but understood the weight of national affairs versus personal grievances.
Xiao Zetian held her hand and gave her a reassuring smile: "Wife, rest assured, I’ve got everything under control."
"Mm!" Su Li took a deep breath and smiled. She trusted him! As long as he was here, that shameless princess wouldn’t let her suffer any injustice!