All of a sudden, An Rushuang became the focus of their attention, which made her a bit surprised. She quickly bowed to the Emperor and replied, “Your Majesty, I did decline Princess Mingxi’s invitation.”
Hearing this, Princess Anyang couldn"t help feeling worried for her. Princess Mingxi was the favourite daughter of the Emperor. How could An Rushuang say that? She shouldn’t have embarra.s.sed the emperor.
She was smart enough to come up with the idea of appreciating flowers with citizens. But how could she say those words in the face of Emperor? That’s so stupid！
Thinking so, Princess Anyang quickly bowed in courtesy and said in a concerning voice to the Emperor, “It was all my fault…”
“Your Grace, there is no need to take blames for me. It was my decision. But I want to say something for myself. Although I have done something wrong…” interrupted An Rushuang.
“I do not regard it as a mistake,” said Rushuang calmly, looking at the Emperor with a slight smile.
The Emperor looked so dignified and majestic. No one knew how he felt judging from his expression. But on hearing this, he slightly frowned. The girl was indeed arrogant. In fact, the Emperor was not intended to punish her or find fault with her; he just wanted to know how she would answer the question. However, seeing her arrogance, the emperor could not help feeling offended.
The Emperor coldly hummed and said in a low voice, “Fine! Then tell me what you did right and what you did wrong.”
Everyone present were looking at An Rushuang, only to find she was so calm that she did not show any sign of panic in front of the Emperor. They couldn"t help respecting her, but at the same time, they felt pity for An Rushuang.
The Emperor’s anger could cost thousands of lives in a second, from top officials to ordinary people. They could all be his target. Therefore, there was a saying: “Kings and bears often worry their keepers.” No one knew whether it was more appropriate to regard the girl as brave or as reckless.
Among these onlookers, only Princess Anyang looked anxious and worried about her.
Curving her lips, An Rushuang gave Princess Anyang a look to let her calm down before she shook her head and said, “Your Majesty, I’ve made many mistakes. I cannot name them all! But I’ve done one thing right. May I start with this?”
Hearing her words, the Emperor coldly glanced at her, thinking the girl would definitely talking about her brilliant idea of appreciating the flowers with citizens. But with regard to this idea, it could be right while it could also be wrong. If he said that’s wrong afterwards, how could she respond?
Thinking so, the Emperor coldly hummed without saying a word.
Rolling her eyes, An Rushuang smiled, “The story should start from several days ago… at that time, I just arrived at the capital. Soon after my arrival, I received Princess Anyang’s invitation of this flower banquet. I was so happy that I immediately agreed to attend the event. However, I received another invitation on the next day, which was from Princess Mingxi.”
“I think it was right to attend Princess Anyang’s banquet since I accepted her invitation first, and it’s important to keep my promise. Due to social etiquettes, I could not go back on my words to refuse Princess Anyang’s invitation and turn to Princess Mingxi’s,” continued An Rushuang.
Saying so, An Rushuang slowly lowered her head and bowed to the Emperor. Then she said firmly, “I suppose the reason why Princess Anyang said it’s all her fault is that she felt she might have made Princess Mingxi uncomfortable. However, the palace is packed with visitors today while this place is very desolate…”
An Rushuang slightly took a sigh and did not say anything more.
However, everyone knew what had actually happened.
Princess Mingxi was always arrogant. This time it was she that intentionally set the banquet on the same day to make such embarra.s.sment for her younger cousin, but in fact she had done more than that at usual times.
Slightly frowning, the Emperor turned to Princess Anyang and asked in a low voice, “Is that true?” The question was actually redundant. With a look at the desolate scene at the banquet, one could definitely tell that.
An Rushuang laughed silently in her heart, thinking the authorized always like to pretend they were not aware of the fact that was putting in front of them. Only flattering would make them feel comfortable and respected.
True enough!
Hearing the Emperor’s question, Princess Anyang lowered her head and said, “Your Majesty, it’s really my fault. I should have asked whether Mingxi would also like to hold a banquet or not before I sent out all the invitations. But fortunately, everything turns out to be in order. Most ladies have attended Mingxi’s banquet and they are wise enough not to decline her invitation. But An Rushuang… she is too stubborn.”
Turing to An Rushuang, Princess Anyang smiled brightly and then bowed to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, could you please forgive her once for the sake of her good deed today?”
Princess Anyang said in such a soft and obedient voice that the Emperor couldn"t help gazing at her. Afterwards, the Emperor laughed.
It was really awkward for the Emperor to laugh at the moment. But when the Emperor laughed, everyone should laugh along with him. Suddenly the room was full of people’s laughter. Everyone had a smiling face while everyone was thinking differently. How pathetic!
“If I forgive her now, then that would be too easy for her.” said he.
Without any smile, the Emperor looked at An Rushuang seriously, which made her feel a little bit choked. An Rushuang couldn"t help stepping backwards.
Soon the Emperor said, “You have said what you did right. What about your wrongdoings?”