Chapter 32: Princess Consort Rui’s Dramatic Act
Her gentle smile remained, but her eyes had turned cold. "I’m not just your little sister anymore. I’m Princess Consort Rui."
Lin Chenghao clicked his tongue, a mocking smile spreading across his face as he looked at Lin Xueyi.
"Little sister, the only reason you have that title now is because the Emperor didn’t want to be embarrassed by his crippled son remaining unmarried," Lin Chenghao said.
It was actually a very biased statement.
Even the Fifth Prince was still unmarried, although he already had a fiancée. Rong Mingze had only gotten married a few weeks after Rong Shuyan married Lin Xueyi.
In other words, the argument made no sense. How could Rong Shuyan be called a complete failure when even some of his older brothers had yet to marry?
In the end, people simply looked for any excuse to speak badly about him.
"Why are you talking about him like that?" Lin Xueyi narrowed her eyes. She didn’t even bother pretending to smile at her brother anymore.
In the novel, Lin Chenghao was one of the people who had made Rong Shuyan’s life even harder.
He constantly spread rumors that Rong Shuyan had become the General of the Imperial Army at such a young age only because of nepotism.
It was completely false.
From the very beginning, Rong Shuyan had never been the Emperor’s favorite son because he was born to a concubine rather than the Empress.
The Emperor had only begun to support him after Rong Shuyan proved, again and again, that he was more capable than the Empress’s sons.
But of course, people only looked at the final result of someone’s achievements.
The moment the rumor of nepotism began to spread, they conveniently forgot that Rong Shuyan had won countless battles for the empire. One of those victories was even one of the biggest reasons the empire was still standing today.
"Lin Chenghao, I think you’ve forgotten something," Lin Xueyi said coldly.
Lin Chenghao’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Lin Xueyi to call him by his full name without using any honorific.
"Xueyi, how dare—"
"How dare you insult my husband with that filthy mouth of yours," Lin Xueyi cut him off before he could finish. "Although His Highness is no longer serving in the military, he is still the former General of the Imperial Army."
"As a soldier, I don’t think you have any right to look down on someone who was once your superior." She looked at him without the slightest hint of fear before adding, "Or are you simply jealous? After all, His Highness became the General of the Imperial Army at an even younger age than you are now."
Lin Xueyi’s words were like a knife through his heart. Lin Chenghao’s eyes turned red with anger, and he even stepped closer as if he wanted to intimidate her.
Mei Lu, who was standing behind Lin Xueyi, immediately grew nervous. She knew better than anyone how terrifying Lin Chenghao became whenever he lost his temper.
He had never hesitated to slap a servant just for interrupting him.
Lin Chenghao had never laid a hand on Lin Xueyi, but that was only because their father would punish him if he did.
Was it because their father loved her? Not exactly.
Their father was simply afraid that Lin Xueyi’s face would be ruined, making it impossible for her to marry a nobleman.
"Just because you’ve left the Lin family residence, do you think you can speak to your own brother however you like?" Lin Chenghao said through gritted teeth. "Xueyi, you’ve married a useless husband, and Father isn’t here. Who do you think is going to protect you now?"
[I think I’ve pushed him too far!] Lin Xueyi cried inwardly. [I’ve never made Rong Shuyan angry at me since coming to this world. But... will he protect me?]
[Maybe? Or maybe not?] she thought, becoming even more flustered. [Damn it! I don’t know!]
Despite the panic in her heart, Lin Xueyi’s face remained as calm as ever.
"Lin Chenghao, you’re standing inside the Imperial Palace, yet the first thing on your mind is abusing your own sister?" she asked coldly. "Do you really think no one will see how wrong that is?"
Lin Chenghao let out a mocking laugh. "Little sister, do you really think I can’t drag you out of here?" He leaned closer and whispered beside her ear. "If I wanted to, do you think you’d have any chance of getting away from me?"
Lin Xueyi held her breath. She didn’t even dare to move because she knew Lin Chenghao was truly capable of doing exactly that.
"I could knock you unconscious right here," Lin Chenghao whispered. "Then I’d simply tell the guards that I was taking you to my personal physician."
Even though she could clearly feel the danger radiating from him, Lin Xueyi forced herself to stay calm.
She even let out a soft chuckle, as though she were deliberately provoking him. "Really?" she said with a faint smile. "That sounds so scary."
[Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. I’m screwed!]
Slowly, her eyes shifted to the side, where she noticed several nobles walking toward the garden.
Lin Xueyi slowly curled her lips into a faint smile. "You know..." she said softly. "For someone who claims to be an honorable soldier, threatening a defenseless woman is rather pathetic."
Lin Chenghao’s face darkened. "What did you say?"
"I said..." Lin Xueyi deliberately raised her voice just enough for the nearby nobles to hear, "...you’re pathetic.
Before Lin Chenghao could react, she suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. "What are you—"
Without giving him a chance to finish, Lin Xueyi forcefully swung his hand toward her own face.
Smack!
The loud sound echoed across the garden.
Lin Chenghao froze as he saw a bright red handprint instantly appear on Lin Xueyi’s cheek.
"Are you crazy?!" he shouted in disbelief as he instinctively tried to pull his hand back.
Lin Xueyi ignored him completely. Instead, she grabbed the front of his sleeve with both hands and deliberately made it look as though they were struggling against each other.
"No... Second Brother..." she cried out, her voice trembling dramatically. "Please don’t hit me again!"