Chapter 32 - The Confusion Behind The Attack
Chapter 32 – The Confusion Behind The Attack
"So you think that yesterday's attack was not planned by Princess Wenling?"
Yi Junjie asked Li Rui with a confused expression on his face.
It was early morning. Inside the living room, Yi Junjie and Li Rui were sitting opposite to each other around the round table. After they returned from Li Manor, Yi Junjie asked Li Rui to tell him each and every detail of yesterday's attack.
Li Rui answered his every question very calmly and patiently. But when she remembered the happened events her mind was suddenly full of doubts and questions. She expressed her doubts in front of Yi Junjie who didn't seem to have enough reason to believe her suspicion.
Even Xi Ying who was standing by her side was confused as to why she thinks that Princess Wenling didn't attack her. The hatred he had seen, the words he heard when they left Princess' chamber looked sufficient to confirm that it was her who planned the attack on Li Rui.
But, he also believed Li Rui. After spending these two-three days with her, he knew that each and every action of hers had a reason behind it. So, she must have any reason he didn't know for thinking that Princess Wenling didn't send those shadow guards.
"Why do you think so?"
Li Rui stood up from the chair and walked to the window. The breeze blowing in the early morning contained freshness and coolness. The wind blew her hair. She stared at the distance remembering something.
A few seconds after her low voice almost a whisper sounded in Yi Junjie's ears. He could not have heard anything if he didn't have good hearing.
"She will not kill me. Not this easily."
Hearing her words, Xi Ying's eyes were deep and he suddenly remembered Princess Wenling's words.
'Don't worry. I will not kill you that easily.'
Li Rui turned around to look at Yi Junjie and said to him calmly.
"I am not saying that Princess Wenling didn't plan anything. Elder Brother, When the first row of arrows was shot, they were aimed in my direction but all of them passed by my side without touching me even if it was a needle distance. The second row of arrows was also shot in the same way. Rui understood it at that time. The one who sent those shadow guards didn't plan to kill me. They were sent to scare me."
Rui paused. Recalling everything, she was actually analyzing yesterday's incident now.
Scaring her. It was what Princess Wenling likes to do. Seeing her helpless, afraid, and abandoned pleasured her. So she could agree that Princess Wenling sent those shadow guards.
Rui continued again.
"So, I pretended to be scared and frightened and ran inside the forests in the pretense of looking for a safe place. It was then another arrow came towards me. But that time, it was shot to kill me. I was surprised at the sudden turn of events but I still stood there waiting for the arrow and then…."
She couldn't say anything after that because what she was recalled was Li Mei's pale face and the arrow stuck in her stomach.
'Thud'
Yi Junjie stood up from the chair with such a force that the chair fell on the floor.
Startled, Li Rui came out of her trance and looked in his direction. Yi Junjie walked towards her in large strides. Li Rui saw that his face was very cold.
Standing in front of her, Yi Junjie asked her in a very harsh voice.
"You knew that arrow was meant to ki…..kill you?"
His heart sank even mentioning the word. His sharp eyes looked closely at Li Rui's calm face.
"You knew it. Why didn't you dodge it?"
Yi Junjie knew that she could easily avoid the arrow but she still didn't do that.
Li Rui still answered him very calmly.
"Actually, I was very confused at that time. I thought that Princess Wenling wants to kill me so I….."
Yi Junjie's cold voice sounded in the room again.
"So you what Rui?"
Li Rui could understand why he was acting like this but she was very calm as she said.
"So I didn't want to provoke her. Xi Ling is already not doing well. I cannot take any risk."
Her words didn't help Yi Junjie in any way to calm down.
"What if Li Mei had not been there, Rui? You could have…."
Yi Junjie couldn't complete the sentence. He felt frustrated when he saw how she looked so calm.
Xi Ying who watched and heard everything seemed to be pricked by thousands of needles when he saw how Li Rui doesn't care about her life at all. She was afraid to provoke the princess. She was scared that something will happen to Xi Ling so she didn't hesitate to take that arrow.
Her pain, her selfishness, everything about her hurt his heart.
At this moment, he thought it would be better if she was a selfish, cunning, and ambitious woman just like he had thought about her because this Rui made him feel hurt and pain for her.
The panic and fear he had felt yesterday he never wanted to feel again. He knew at that moment that he would only be a living corpse without Li Rui.
Knock..Knock.
Someone knocked on the door and Yi Junjie stepped away from Li Rui.
"Come in."
At his command, Yi Ju entered the room and greeted Yi Junjie and Li Rui.
"My lord, we found two bodies from the forest."
Li Rui looked surprised hearing this and told Yi Junjie.
"Elder Brother, I killed only one man."
Yi Junjie had a grim expression on his face and Xi Ying's eyes went cold and sharp hearing Yi Ju's words.
Rui was right. There was more to the attack than it seemed. Those arrows were shot by two different shadow guards sent by two different people which meant that there was someone else other than Princess Wenling who wanted to kill Li Rui.