She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

The Regent waved his hand dismissively: "The prize promised by His Majesty shall belong to Crown Prince Zheng!"

These were words I wanted to say later; I had already opened my mouth to speak, but the Regent had snatched the opportunity to give alms, leaving me feeling resentful.

I went out today without checking the Chinese almanac!

She ended up doing all the work for someone else!

The young emperor once again truly became a puppet in front of others.

What he hated and felt most embarrassed was that no one thought it was a problem that he had been humiliated by a subject, and no one stood up to criticize him!

Prince Zheng kowtowed in gratitude. Having survived the ordeal, the feeling of being strangled by a python, which had been gripping his sweat-soaked clothes, had vanished. "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Regent!" He then bowed deeply to Jiang Ruining, "Thank you, Princess, for saving me!"

Jiang Ruining raised his hand slightly: "Brother Ling'an, this is too formal!"

Zheng Lingyi burst into laughter through her tears: "Exactly! Exactly! Ningning is just like a sister to us. We can't be strangers to each other!"

Prince Zheng smiled easily and said with emotion, "What my two sisters say is true, but I must thank you for saving my life! If Sister Ning ever needs my help again, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will do my utmost!"

Madam Zheng grasped Jiang Ruining's hand, her eyes reddening, too moved to speak. After a long pause, she only managed to say, "Thank you!"

Jiang Ruining smiled gently: "I'm very happy that you trust me."

The Zheng family knew exactly what she was referring to.

Madam Zheng said softly, "We don't believe anything, except that you and Lingyi have been close since childhood, and that you wouldn't hurt her!"

Zheng Lingyi hugged Jiang Ruining's arm with complete trust and affection: "I believe you, I will never doubt you, because I know you have always been sincere to me, and so have I!"

Jiang Ruining tapped her forehead.

They were very close.

The Cui faction was indignant and few of them gave them a friendly look.

Jiang Ruining's eyes darted around, and he looked down at Cui Baihui with an air of superiority, pointing and saying, "Young Master Cui, you should pay more attention to your words and actions in the future, otherwise people will criticize your parents for not teaching their son well, and they will embarrass themselves along with you."

Those who were at odds with the Cui family sneered.

Several teenagers secretly gave her a thumbs-up.

Good mouth!

Cui Baihui was the second son, but he was born to the current Madam Cui, and his status and prestige were even greater than those of the eldest son. He had never suffered such humiliation before. Moreover, his plans had been ruined by this person. Overwhelmed with emotions, he immediately slammed his fist on the table in anger: "How dare you!"

Jiang Ruining, adopting the air of someone in a superior position, suddenly stood up, grabbed the teacup beside him, and slammed it hard on the ground, smashing it in front of Cui Baihui's desk, shattering the teacup into pieces.

Her words, like shards of flying porcelain, were small yet sharp: "Cui Baihui! Who do you think you are, daring to call a county princess appointed by His Majesty 'insolence'? What, do you really think the Great Zhou court is now under the control of your Cui family?!"

"You're plotting a rebellion!"

The words "treason" carry immense weight.

Unless it's already a one-man show by Grand Tutor Cui, then no matter how proud Cui Baihui is of her status and how openly she intends to rebel, no one would dare to say anything. But the reality is that the Cui family is at a disadvantage and is being severely suppressed by the Regent!

For a mere clerk in the Ministry of Rites to dare slam his fist on the table in front of the county magistrate was an act of defiance against imperial authority.

Once the word "treason" is uttered, the regent will hold him accountable, and he will not escape punishment.

Even if Choi Baek-hye's knees were hard, he had no choice but to kneel when those two words came down on him!

Grand Tutor Cui, who had remained as still as a meditating monk throughout, finally spoke: "My son has been unruly and offended the county princess. I will certainly punish him severely..."

Jiang Ruining didn't waste words with him, nor did she mince words: "Punish him now! If I'm not satisfied, this matter won't be over!"

Grand Tutor Cui was slightly taken aback by her unbridled and impolite manner: "Your Highness is young and impetuous, but I and your father served in the same court, and our families often visit each other. Why has it come to such an ugly scene?"

Jiang Ruining retorted, "When your son publicly slandered me, slamming his fist on the table and kicking chairs at me, didn't he care about all this talk of 'affection'? Now you're talking to me about 'affection'? Does it even count?"

"Are you trying to threaten or warn me that if I offend you today, you'll retaliate against me later? You've got the guts, and I'm genuinely afraid of your threats! But even if I don't offend you today, you and your children don't intend to let me off the hook, do you?"

"Wasn't the ultimate purpose of Cui Jingwei, this seemingly useless piece, to be used against me?"

She told everyone everything, and with a smile, she revealed all of the other party's schemes.

This left Grand Tutor Cui at a loss for how to respond.

He had never met anyone like that before.

But he never considered a little girl as a rival.

"Cui Baihui's behavior is inappropriate; he is unfit to continue serving in the yamen. I have decided to remove him from his post and send him home to reflect on his actions. Is the county magistrate satisfied?"

Jiang Ruining was fairly satisfied with this answer: "Young Master Cui, you should thank yourself for having a good father."

If he wasn't confined to his quarters, he would surely retaliate in a fit of rage. However, Grand Tutor Cui clearly saw that Cui Baihui couldn't outsmart her, so he dismissed him from his post and confined him to his quarters to temper his arrogance and make him calm down.

Cui Baihui, however, did not immediately grasp her father's meaning and looked over in disbelief: "Dad!"

Grand Tutor Cui remained calm and composed, but his eyes clearly darkened.

madness!

Despite careful instruction, he was still not as quick-witted and intelligent as a young girl.

"Shut up."

Under the heavy pressure, Cui Baihui, despite her immense resentment, dared not speak again. With her head bowed and her face contorted with anger, she bid farewell to her father and the dignitaries and strode away.

Madam Cui was worried. She glanced at her husband and then chased after him.

Following behind her son for quite a while, and after getting a considerable distance away from the crowd, she noticed his angry gait and frowned, losing her patience: "Stop!"

Choi Baihui paused, finally stopping.

He turned around and bowed to his mother.

Madam Cui sighed silently in her heart, stepped forward and smoothed his clothes to show that mother and son were of one mind, in order to soothe his emotions, and then she confided in him.

"You were personally taught by your father, so he knows your temper best. He's just afraid you'll do something foolish in a moment of impulsiveness. Removing you from your post and confining you to your quarters is to protect you!"

"That Princess of Fu Ning is very good at exploiting people's weaknesses. With just a few words, she can lead people into an emotional trap. Minister Li is one, and so are you! Your emotions were controlled by her, and you threw a tantrum in public, giving her a handle to ridicule and humiliate you!"

"You lost, yet you still can't calm down. You don't understand your father's good intentions at all, and you're still being stubborn. Doesn't that just make him even more disappointed in you!"

"Your eldest brother is treacherous and cunning. As the eldest son, he is highly favored by your father. You, as the second son, are already at a disadvantage. If you make another mistake, I'm afraid your father will no longer value you!"

Choi Baek-hye was shocked when she heard this, but finally calmed down.

Only then did he realize that every word the local had said, seemingly arrogant and domineering, had precisely guessed his emotions!

He underestimated his opponent!

"After his mother's guidance, the son understood and will go back to apologize to his father. He will stay at home and calm down."

Seeing that he was listening, Madam Cui breathed a sigh of relief, smiled kindly, and gently patted his arm: "The plan I presented to your father this time was also excellent, but he didn't expect that the Princess of Funing would even know such a cunning matter, letting her gain an advantage for nothing!"

"In that case, I fear the Zheng family will be dragged into the Regent's camp by her!"

Cui Baihui gritted her teeth, a surge of anger rising within her: "I fear we've fallen into the Regent's trap. It was Xie Lanheng who warned me of this scheme!"

In public, he had no interaction with Xie Lanheng.

Behind the scenes, Xie Lanheng had a close personal relationship with him, but almost no one knew about it.

The purpose was to take advantage of the Xie family's neutral stance and get Xie Lanheng to help him gather information.

I never imagined it was a deception; I had fallen into his trap!

That's truly hateful!

"I really underestimated him; he's quite the actor!"

Madam Cui was startled, but after thinking it over, she understood!

She quickly grabbed his arm: "Don't rush into action, talk to your father first! He was able to deceive you for so long, which shows he's quite cunning. He knew you saw through him, so he must be on guard. If he uses this opportunity to retaliate, you'll have no recourse!"

Cui Baihui's eyes darkened: "Mother, rest assured, I will not let myself be easily schemed against again!"

……

The excitement is over.

It was lunchtime.

Lunch was not eaten together; everyone went back to their own accounts.

Shao Yunting tried to get up, but Xie Lanheng pressed her shoulder down.

Xie Lanheng sat down beside him, poured two glasses of wine, pushed one towards him, and drank the other in one gulp. Then he spoke in a deep voice: "Did you let anything slip in front of Jiang Ruining?"

Feeling suspected, Shao Yunting frowned in displeasure: "Since arriving at the hunting grounds, I haven't had a single chance to speak with her alone. How could you possibly reveal this?"