He took a deep breath and then turned around to look at me with a sincere look on his face, "Your Majesty, I didn"t touch her. Besides, even if I wanted to do something, there was hardly enough time for me to do anything!"
I sneered, "At any rate, her reputation has been ruined by you, and now the whole court knows what has happened. The Emperor has sent men to my place this morning with an order to kill her."
Zhao w.a.n.g was stunned by this news, "How did the Emperor find out about this?"
I couldn"t think of a proper answer and so I sneered, "How should I know? You should know that Lv Li is my closest maid and I am not about to let her die for your fault. If you don"t owe up to this, then you and I are going to have a problem!"
Zhao w.a.n.g remained silent and after a while, he summoned someone in and instructed that servant to take Lv Li away for a wash.
Lv Li looked at me and when she saw me nodding, she got up from the floor with her head held low and followed the servant out of the courtyard.
Zhao w.a.n.g then invited me into the room and poured me a cup of tea himself. He asked, "Your Majesty, why don"t you tell me what you really want?"
Seeing how smart he was, I decided to cut to the chase and offered him my proposal, "I want you to marry Lv Li."
Zhao w.a.n.g"s hands started shaking upon hearing my proposal, the tea in the cup splashing out and hurting his lips.
He raised his head up and looked at me, "Your Majesty, I honestly didn"t touch her. Back then, I saw that she was asleep, and so I came up to her to wake her up. Who would have thought that she would wake up and scratch me in the face? I am the victim here."
I nodded, "True, Lv Li has told me the whole thing, but right now, you marrying her will be the only way to save her."
Not understanding what I meant, Zhao w.a.n.g looked at me and said, "How about I plead to the Emperor? Would this suffice? So long as I am willing to let the whole thing go away, the Emperor surely won"t hold it against a maid. It"s me who"s scratched, not him."
I shook my head and said, "There is no point in doing that. Trust me. You marrying Lv Li will save both of us a lot of troubles. Plus, Lv Li is a good girl. You won"t regret this."
A wry smile crept up on Zhao w.a.n.g"s face and he replied, "However out of favor I am, I am still a prince and the son of the late Emperor. How can I marry a maid?"
Now you bring up the difference in social status? What about Jiang shi? She is no better than Lv Li and yet you married her anyway.
But I couldn"t say that out loud. It would be like putting out fire with oil.
I tried to recall the beautiful figure of Jiang shi and adjust my facial expression. Then I slowly said, "Whatever the case is, you started the whole thing, and I can"t sit idly by and watch Lv Li being executed. Anyway, I don"t expect you to take her as your wife. You just go to the Grand Dowager Empress and tell her to issue a decree to me to ask for Lv Li. So long as the order comes from the Grand Dowager Empress, the Emperor would not say otherwise."
Zhao w.a.n.g slightly held down his head, deep in thought.
I immediately added, "I only try to save Lv Li"s life. Nothing more. You just give her a place to live for a year or two. When the whole thing dies down, I will take her away."
Zhao w.a.n.g held up his head and replied reluctantly, "Your Majesty, this is quite a lot to ask of me."
Seeing that my persuasion didn"t work, I decided to keep up the pressure, and so I sneered once again, "If you do this for me, then I will be in your debt. But if you refuse, then don"t blame me for taking you down as well. If Lv Li dies, you would suffer as well."
Upon hearing my threat, Zhao w.a.n.g shot up his head and looked at me in surprise, "Your Majesty. I am a prince, not some p.a.w.n for you to use to save a maid. Why are you saying this to me?"
Time was not on my side, seeing as the men sent by the Emperor were still being held up in my palace. I didn"t have the time to dawdle anymore, and so I said, "I don"t mean you specifically. Doesn"t someone still live in Youlan Hall? It won"t be hard for me to have her killed."
Zhao w.a.n.g was refilling my cup when I said these words, and when he understood what I meant, his whole body stiffened. He kept looking at me and after a while, he said, "Your Majesty. I have nothing to do with that woman anymore."
I kept silent and simply fixed my eyes on him.
He then smiled in a self-mocking way and continued, "Plus, I have every reason to hate her. Why would I bother whether she lives or dies?"
Bulls.h.i.t, if he really hates Jiang shi, he would have had her killed before Qi Sheng took the throne. Why would he watch these two pulls such a trick that ended with Jiang shi moving into the royal palace?
I smiled, and got up, "If that"s your final answer, then there is no need for us to talk anymore. I will take my leave then."
With that, I waved my long sleeve and started walking out.
Zhao w.a.n.g remained still even when I had already reached the gate. I could not help regretting what a bad move I had done. I shouldn"t have tried to imitate what Qi Sheng used to do to me—walking off with a wave of his sleeve. This move looked awesome, but it served me no good at all!
It was after my feet had went over the threshold that Zhao w.a.n.g finally spoke from behind.
He said, "Ok, I agree."
I nearly dropped to my b.u.t.t on the threshold when I heard that, and it took me a while to be able to turn around to look at him, "That Jiang shi really doesn"t deserve you."
Zhao w.a.n.g smiled bitterly, "I take it as you are having second thought about doing this?"
I hurriedly waved my hand and smiled, "Not at all, I am still counting on you to save Lv Li."
Zhao w.a.n.g reluctantly lifted his lips and said, "Why don"t Your Majesty go back with Lv Li? I will go ask for audience with the Grand Dowager Empress."
I nodded, walked out to find Lv Li and brought her back.
This time, having achieved what I came here for, I walked leisurely like nothing had ever happened. Seeing me in a good mood, the worrying look on Lv Li"s face dissipated and the usual calmness took over in its stead. She turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, I don"t understand. If we were there to beg for Zhao w.a.n.g"s help. Why were you so aggressive back then?
I answered, "There is more to begging than just putting on a pathetic look. It"s all about stick and carrot. Get it?"
Lv Li nodded, yet she looked somewhat confused.
I thought for a while and smiled, "Let me put it this way. What happened today was essentially me knocking him stunned with a stick before making my case."
It"s like this. If you want to beat up someone with a brick, would you go about doing that by having a nice conversation with him? Would you say, look dude, I hit you and then you hit me back and let"s call it even? No way! He would not agree to that and will probably take you for a nutjob. So, don"t do that. Instead, take preemptive strike and presumably he would hit you back. That way, you get to hit him, and he will get his revenge. That"s what we call a win-win situation!
When Lv Li and I got back to the palace, it was already noon, and Qi Sheng"s men were still being held up, not knowing what had happened. Xie Yi felt a huge relief when she saw us and she hurriedly walked over to greet us, "Your Majesty, finally!"
I nodded, and raised up my chin as a gesture, "How"s thing looking over there? Nothing happened, right?"
Xie Yi hurriedly replied, "Nothing happened. They were in a hurry before. But after having three bottles of tea into their bellies, and they are now as docile as herd of sheep. Some even asked for the direction to the bathroom!"
I smiled, and asked, "What did you reply?"
Xie Yi widened her eyes and answered with a solemn face, "I didn"t say anything and simply had someone bring in the urine pots for them."
I was very pleased with her quick wit and thought this was the kind of girl people would need in a critical situation. I nodded in agreement and instructed her to continue keeping close watch on those men. Then, I went to the back of the palace with Lv Li to change our outfits.
But surprisingly, just when I was changing, I heard a maid reporting, "Your Majesty, there"s someone sent by the Grand Dowager Empress. You are to take Lv Li with you to her place."
I was struck down by the lightning speed with which Zhao w.a.n.g carried out his mission. I hurriedly told Lv Li to make haste with the makeup.
Lv Li went out for a while and came back in a regular maid"s outfit. She didn"t wear any makeup and had wispy bangs on her forehead to cover the bruises.
The way I saw it, this looks was presentable. So long as she didn"t wear the same white dress that Jiang shi wore, the Grand Dowager Empress shouldn"t have any problem with it.
Inside the palace where the Grand Dowager Empress resided, Zhao w.a.n.g wore a light purple royal robe and was keeping the Grand Dowager Empress company. Upon seeing my arrival, he got up to greet me and then cast his gaze on Lv Li who stood right behind me.
The Grand Dowager Empress was a straightforward woman and as soon as we entered the hall, she immediately pointed her finger at Lv Li and asked, "Is that the girl you are talking about?"
Zhao w.a.n.g walked up to Lv Li"s side and together they knelt down in front of the Grand Dowager Empress. He looked up with a grinning face and said, "I like this girl. May I have your blessing, Grandma?" After finishing these words, He turned around to look at me and smiled, "I hope Your Majesty can spare her and give her to me. I will treat her well."
I pretended to look surprised, but then the Grand Dowager Empress smiled, "You silly kid. That"s not the proper way to ask favor."
As she was saying this, she summoned Lv Li over and started surveying her from top to toe. After a while, she said, "Your Majesty, I reckon this girl is quite nice. Lord Fifth has always been alone. Why don"t you give this girl to her? I will find you another maid."
I looked at the Grand Dowager Empress with feigned reluctant face and then turned around to look at Zhao w.a.n.g before replying, "Your Majesty is too kind. Lv Li is such a blessed girl. It"s her honor to marry Zhao w.a.n.g. I couldn"t be happier for her."