The Proud Prince and the Arrogant Princess

All of them seemed to be considering the dignity of the Imperial Family for the sake of everyone, but in reality, there were sabers hidden within their smiles. Everyone was looking for various reasons to force Xue Ruyun to dance for everyone and belittle her. This time, Xue Luoyun finally understood what Mu Ying had said: The people of this palace were sinister, and it was impossible to guard against them. Since he wasn't in a hurry to differentiate them from the others, it depended on Mu Zheng's arrangements.

"The empress's words are very true. We need to call some girls who know martial arts." When the Empress Mother heard these words, she nodded her head in praise.

"But Imperial Mother, even though there are many heroes in the Western Lion Country who possess unique skills, if they were to suddenly call for help now, who knows how many days it will take for them to get to the palace. I'm afraid that by that time, the afternoon banquet would already be over." Chang Le pretended to be sad.

Watching the commotion, Leng Rumei lowered her head to drink some bird's nest porridge. She exchanged a glance with the empress and immediately stood up to say slowly, "Why go through so much trouble. Isn't there a suitable candidate in front of us?" "Since everyone's happy, I think big sister Xue will stand up for her righteousness and not refuse. She should be the one to ruin Esteemed Empress Dowager's mood."

After walking around in a circle, he returned back to Xue Muyun. These people were playing quite a good hand of cards. Xue Moyan coldly observed the surrounding people and remained completely unmoved. He continued to drink his wine and watch them put on a good show.

"However, this Xue Poyun is Xue Xiang's direct daughter. It is not appropriate for her to perform in front of everyone." The crown prince, Mu Zhuoyun, who was sitting diagonally across from her, stared at her. After drinking a mouthful of wine, he unexpectedly opened his mouth to speak up for her for the first time in his life.

His words caused all the people present, including Xue Ruoyun, to be somewhat shocked. Didn't he loathe Xue Ruyun the most, and was willing to go against the will of the emperor and insist on annulling the engagement? Why did he suddenly change his behavior and speak up for him? It was fortunate that Xue Lian wasn't around, otherwise, when she saw this scene, she would have been angered to death.

Xue Ruyun didn't think that the crown prince would actually speak up for her. Aside from being surprised, she also smiled gratefully at the crown prince.

"What's wrong with that? Everyone here is a member of the Imperial Family, so why not display it to everyone? Is this her honor?" Her Majesty was fond of her, but she did not put the Crown Prince in her eyes.

"Cheers, impudence!" When the emperor saw Changle, he not only directly targeted Xue Luoyun, but he was also acting so domineeringly right now. He actually didn't even put the crown prince in his eyes. No matter what, the Crown Prince was still his own son. In the future, he would become the king of a country and become the king of the world. How could he let her be on his side? Moreover, everyone was targeting Xue Ruyun today. He didn't want to get angry because of the holiday, so he didn't expect them to get even more outrageous.

When they saw Long Yan's rage, everyone present, with the exception of the empress dowager, kneeled on the spot in fright and cried out, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

After all, the Emperor was just his own son. No matter how much he loved Eternal Joy, he still knew his limits. At this moment, he couldn't help but say something along the lines of, "One should always pay attention to their manners when doing things. As long as you don't overstep your limits." It was just a few casual words, but it made Chang Le's face turn red from embarrassment. It could be said that if she didn't seek death this time, she wouldn't die and would only be humiliated.

The Emperor ignored everyone and ate a few mouthfuls of Eight Treasures Rice before wiping his mouth and saying, "You have to pay attention to your manners. Don't act rashly, and forget who you are. Get up." These words from the Emperor ruthlessly humiliated Chang Le.

Most of the people present had long disliked the arrogant and ostentatious look of Chang Le, and looked down on her, a princess, for being so pampered. Now that she had taken the lead, there was nothing she could do. Everyone didn't say anything, but their eyes were filled with a smile that was difficult to conceal.

Chang Le stood up from the ground, her face full of tears. Everyone in the palace was laughing at her. She raised her head and glanced at Xue Luoyun. She saw him looking at her, leisurely eating a melon seed. Chang Le secretly clenched her fists. Her nails were almost dug into the meat, and she once again placed this account onto Xue Moyan's head.

Although the matter of Chang Le was over, the matter of Xue Luoyun wasn't over yet. The imperial concubines of the imperial harem were still biting on her. Seeing that the emperor's anger had gradually faded, Yu Laijun stroked the pearl green on her head and asked, "Then, do you still want to watch this sword dance?"

Other people definitely wouldn't dare to ask such questions. It was just that Yu Le's father was an important official of the imperial government, hence his courage.

Hearing her question, the emperor didn't say anything. For some reason, the empress dowager grew angry. "Of course we have to see. Let this Xue Muyun display his sword dance for everyone."

Perhaps it was because he had seen Eternal Joy cry pitifully, so he blamed it all on Xue Ruoyun. She herself also didn't like Xue Ruyun very much, so the empress dowager didn't even ask the emperor's intentions and directly ordered him to perform.

"Imperial Mother, I'm afraid this isn't appropriate …" Mu Zheng quickly defended.

"If the Emperor were to protect a woman like this, it would inevitably cause others to feel that it was a little off." Right now, the empress dowager was determined to humiliate Xue Muyun and let out a sigh of relief.

Since things had already come to this point, no matter how the Emperor defended Xue Ruyun, he couldn't do anything about it in front of the princes and princesses. Seeing Mu Zheng in such a difficult situation, Xue Ruoyun actually began to pity him. Thinking about how the empress dowager was so stubborn and so paranoid had already caused him trouble all those years ago, and now she wanted to make things difficult for him in front of everyone.

Xue Ruyun couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she slowly stood up. "The empress dowager messing around with the princess for the sake of someone she picked up, making it difficult for her own son. This makes people feel even more selfish."

When these words came out, the entire hall was in an uproar. They hadn't thought that Xue Ruyun would be so bold as to dare to oppose the empress dowager. It seemed he didn't want to live.

The Crown Prince looked at Xue Ruyun and secretly admired her even more. He hadn't thought that she would be so bold and knowledgeable, but now she had truly changed.

"How dare you, you, you, you!" The empress dowager was so angry by Xue Muyun that she couldn't say a single word.

"Xue Luoyun, you've gone too far!" Chang Le stood up and shouted angrily at Xue Ruyun, his eyes red and swollen.

The entire stadium was waiting to see a joke from Xue Ruoyun. They never would have thought that he wasn't finished, and as he spoke, he walked to the main hall and said righteously, "These words of mine are not directed at Princess Changle, but rather, it is a matter-of-fact statement. Her Majesty should treat both in person and in good health equally. Right is right, wrong is wrong, he should not be selfish. Otherwise, some people would rely on the love of the Empress Dowager and look down on others. "She's looking down on the crown prince now, and in the future, when she looks down on the emperor as well as the emperor, doesn't she think that the entire world is hers?"

Xue Ruyun's words were admirable and thought-provoking. Even the empress dowager slowly lowered her hand that was pointing at him. Indeed, her words were a reminder to the people in her dreams. For so many years, she had only focused on enjoying and did not know that she had become as arrogant as before. Even though the Empress Mother liked him, she could not tolerate her disrespect for her son.