After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 48: Maintenance

Lin Rusi leaned against Prince Jinglie with an ethereal grace, tears streaming down her face, a sight that evoked pity in all who beheld her.

The young men from prominent families were taken aback by Lin Rusi's behavior and looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Lin Rusi glanced quickly at the frowning Prince Jinglie with her tear-filled eyes, then clutched her handkerchief and began to weep sadly again.

"Your Highness~"

As she cried, she tugged at the sleeve of Prince Jinglie with her small, slender hands.

Li Jingyang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lin Rusi out of the corner of his eye.

Lin Rusi hid most of her body behind Li Jingyang, so the two exchanged glances very subtly.

Even the group of scions of prominent families beside Li Jingyang didn't notice that Lin Rusi was giving Li Jingyang a meaningful look.

With just one glance, Li Jingyang understood Lin Rusi's meaning.

He nodded slightly to show he understood, and Lin Rusi finally let go of his hand, tears streaming down her face like rolling soybeans.

Li Jingyang chuckled inwardly, never expecting Lin Rusi to have such a wicked side.

How many more surprises does she have in store for him?

Li Jingyang cleared his throat, his face stern, and a fierce glint flashed in his narrow, dark eyes, his aura fully unleashed.

Some of the noble ladies present believed the rumors about King Jinglie's cruelty, and when they saw Li Jingyang's expression change, they were terrified.

With a thud, a group of people knelt down.

Seeing this, the other noble ladies also knelt down.

Seeing the noble ladies kneeling around him, Luo Lan's face turned ashen.

Princess Lin'an wasn't much better off; she nervously fidgeted with her fingers, looking flustered and terrified of Prince Jinglie.

"What exactly happened?"

"Why is Miss Lin crying so hard?"

As Li Jingyang approached, his cold, knife-like gaze swept mercilessly across the faces of the noble ladies, finally settling on Luo Lan and Princess Lin'an, who were still standing.

Princess Lin'an shivered. "Your Highness, it's because...because..."

She stammered, unable to utter a coherent sentence for a long time.

Although Princess Lin'an had met Prince Jinglie since she was a child, they had only spoken a handful of times.

Every time she saw Prince Jinglie, Princess Lin'an only dared to glance at him from afar and did not dare to get close.

Now King Gyeongyeol is so close to him, and he is even asking him questions.

Princess Lin'an was nervous and scared, and as a result, she couldn't explain anything clearly.

Luo Lan glared at her, somewhat annoyed by her incompetence. She hadn't expected the Princess of Lin'an to be so useless at this crucial moment.

She bit her lower lip and bowed to Li Jingyang first.

"Your Highness, it was Miss Lin who was at fault in this matter."

She said calmly, "The second young lady of the Lin family inexplicably hit a girl and made sarcastic remarks, which is why the prince and the young masters were alerted."

"We implore Your Highness to handle this matter impartially and restore justice to everyone's hearts."

Li Jingyang narrowed his eyes, looking down at the bowing Luo Lan with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

It seems that Luo Lan does have some brains.

This implies that he should handle the matter impartially.

But so what?

Li Jingyang didn't care what others thought of him, and secondly, he believed that Lin Rusi wouldn't hit someone for no reason.

"Your Highness, I'm innocent!"

Lin Rusi's choked voice came through as she wiped away her tears with a wronged expression, saying, "I have no grudge against that girl."

"But for some reason, that girl started biting people like a mad dog whenever she saw me."

"They also said that my daughter smells bad."

Lin Rusi pouted, looking at Li Jingyang with teary eyes, "Isn't she just talking nonsense?"

"My daughter took a bath and changed her clothes before coming to this banquet, and even used incense, so there will be no bad smell."

Lin Rusi's earnest defense of herself almost made Li Jingyang burst out laughing.

I really don't know if she said that intentionally or on purpose.

"Hmph, she even said that my daughter is not good enough for the prince..."

Lin Rusi lowered her head, looking extremely wronged.

Li Jingyang's gaze grew even colder, as if it had been tempered with ice.

"is it?"

His voice was deep and cold, causing all the noble ladies kneeling there to shiver involuntarily.

Li Jingyang looked at the girl whose body was trembling the most and who was also the one who led the trouble.

"The second young lady of the Lin family has no grudge against you, so why did you do this?"

The woman looked up and met Li Jingyang's fierce gaze.

Her heart leaped into her throat, and her face paled.

"Did you even consider my presence when you said those words?"

His voice suddenly rose, startling the woman so much that she trembled like a leaf.

Tears streamed down her face as she began to kowtow repeatedly. "Your Highness, please forgive me. It was my daughter who was jealous of the second young lady of the Lin family. That's why, that's why she was bewitched and deliberately ostracized her along with the other girls."

"It's my daughter's fault!"

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Luo Lan bit her lower lip hard, feeling extremely unwilling.

why?

Why did King Jinglie arrive at the most crucial moment, by sheer coincidence?

If it weren't for Prince Jinglie's sudden intervention, Lin Rusi would definitely have been punished today!

Li Jingyang leaned down and stared coldly at the woman who was crying uncontrollably. "I can spare you this time for Lin Rusi's sake."

"But if there's a second time, I won't be so polite!"

He emphasized the last part of his sentence, radiating a suffocating chill.

The woman nodded like a chick pecking at rice, not daring to provoke Lin Rusi any further for the sake of her own life.

Who would complain that their life is too long?

Li Jingyang's lips curled slightly, and his usual smile returned.

He straightened up, his meaningful gaze sweeping across the faces of those present, and warned, "You all better remember this!"

"The second young lady of the Lin family is the future princess consort that I requested from His Majesty. If any of you dare to be rude to her, you are disrespecting me!"

These words undoubtedly solidified Lin Rusi's position; anyone who dared to bully her from now on was considered ungrateful.

Luo Lan nearly fainted from anger. She had intended to use the banquet to make things difficult for Lin Rusi, but instead of making things difficult, she only emboldened Lin Rusi.

Princess Lin'an was also green with envy.

Over the years, Li Jingyang has never had a woman by his side, so Princess Lin'an wanted to wait until she had the courage to face Li Jingyang directly and ask His Majesty for the opportunity to marry him.

Unexpectedly, Lin Rusi appeared out of nowhere.

The moment the two met, King Jinglie immediately took Lin Rusi and wanted her to be his queen.

Now, in full view of everyone, they are even pointing out Lin Rusi's identity to ask them to be more polite.

Besides her looks, what else about Lin Rusi could possibly be a match for Prince Jinglie?

Princess Lin'an couldn't think of a reason to convince herself not to be jealous of Lin Rusi.

She clenched her knuckles tightly, her heart burning with boundless hatred for Lin Rusi.