Conquering the Emperor

“You ran into Prince Kin? Where?” Ren asked, his eyes never leaving my face as he watched my every reaction.

“I met him…in the garden of the inner court…around my palace,” I replied honestly.

“So, you’re telling me that you coincidentally met my brother in the gardens of my inner court? Is that correct?” Ren asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Yes…” I replied. It was the truth so what else could I say. However, now that Ren had repeated my statement to me, it sounded very suspicious even to my own ears.

“I see. Tell me, have you seen these things before?” Ren asked as he took out some items that were wrapped in silk cloth.

My eyes widened when I saw the items that he had just placed on the table in front of me. They were all presents and letters from Prince Kin that he had sent to me. How did Ren find these? Did he search my room?

“Yes. I’ve seen then before,” I replied, knowing full well what this must look like to Ren.

“Tell me about them,” Ren commanded.

“These are the presents that Prince Kin sent to me and the letters that came along with it,” I explained simply.

“Why would Prince Kin send you these gifts?” Ren asked.

Like…honestly…how am I supposed to know?

“I’m not sure. He said that he wanted to know me better because I might become his sister-in-law,” I answered with what Prince Kin did in fact tell me.

“Do you know the meaning behind a man gifting a woman with clothes?” Ren asked, his eyes glancing over at the clothes on the mannequin and my eyes followed his gaze. I was beginning to get the general idea.

However, to be fair, how was I supposed to know that?

“I don’t know. From where I come from, there is no significance attached to gifting clothes…” I replied, honestly. It wasn’t like I was in a position to receive gifts from anyone back in my hometown, but I was sure that no such custom existed there.

“It means that I want to hold you and that I desire to touch and caress your skin just like the silk of the fabric when you wear it. That is essentially what it means,” Ren said, his mood darkening visibly to my eyes.

I had nothing to say to that as I stood there in shock. Honestly, I had no idea that there was such a meaning behind that seemingly innocent gift. Seeing that I had nothing else to say for myself, Ren continued with his question while I wondered when all of this would come to an end.

“Did you reply to his letters or send any gifts to him?” Ren asked.

“I sent replies to his letter because I thought that it would be impolite not to reply. I never sent him any gifts though…” I replied, my voice sounding small.

“Did it ever occur to you that corresponding through letters with another man behind my back is beyond impolite?” Ren asked, his eyes staring at me ruthlessly.

I bit my tongue. His words hurt…a lot.

“I’m sorry…Ren…” I whispered as I felt tears sting the back of my eyes. It did occur to me that it might have been inappropriate, but I just didn’t know what I should have done.

“Next question. Did you go meet Prince Kin alone at his palace of your own free will?” Ren asked, his tone flat and emotionless.

“Yes. As we had agreed, I did go to see him of my own free will. However, I honestly thought that Lady Mimi would be there with us and that it wouldn’t be just the two of us. He mentioned that in his letter to me,” I said, trying to explain my intentions.

“Is there any proof that you didn’t meet Prince Kin willingly to do whatever it was that you were caught doing?” Ren asked, his eyes watching me like a wild tiger watching its prey.

I considered his question and its hidden meaning very carefully. Of course, there wasn’t any solid proof that I was being held there against my will. There were only my words to say that I didn’t like it when Prince Kin touched me and that I was unwilling.

“No…I’m so sorry, Ren. Trust me, Ren! I would never do anything like that with Prince Kin. He drugged me and forced me. I felt sick and I couldn’t control my body at all…please, you have to believe me,” I pleaded desperately as I felt tears trickling down my face.

I didn’t care if no one in this whole world believed me, as long as Ren believes me. All I need is for Ren to believe me. I want him to believe that I didn’t betray him.

“Stop crying right now. You’re a grown woman now so please compose yourself,” Ren said, without showing me any sympathy. It wasn’t like I deserved any from him.

I bit my lower lip as I wiped my tears away from my face with the long sleeve of my dress. My eyes stung and I found it hard to breath and speak. Taking in deep breaths, I tried my best to compose myself. After seeing that I had managed to control myself somewhat, Ren continued.

“You’ve been exchanging letters and gifts with Kin. He invited you to meet him at his palace and you willingly agreed. Then you meet him alone at his palace where you were later discovered with him laying on top of you. Do you have any idea what this looks like to an outsider?” Ren asked, his tone dead serious and so were his brown eyes as they stared directly at me.

I knew exactly what it looks like even if it wasn’t true. However, I wouldn’t dare voice my thoughts to Ren.

Ren nodded his head as he watched my reaction to his words.

“A love affair. This whole thing looks exactly like a love affair,” Ren stated, answering his own question.

--To be continued…