Xiao Zisheng stared blankly at Su Yuanyuan in front of him. Pushing his wheelchair with both hands, as if guided by something, he approached the young girl until he seemed to be able to catch a strand of her hair with just a stretch of his hand.
However, just as he reached out his hand towards the girl, Su Yuanyuan took a step back, retreating to a place where Xiao Zisheng couldn't reach.
"Your Highness, it is improper for men and women to have physical contact. I am still unmarried. If someone were to see us meeting alone here, it might cause gossip. Please forgive my rudeness as I take my leave."
After saying that, Su Yuanyuan quickly walked around Xiao Zisheng and intended to leave.
But Xiao Zisheng had long sensed her intention. When she passed by him, he grabbed Su Yuanyuan's wrist with lightning speed and yanked her forcefully in front of him.
"You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself."
"Let go!"
Su Yuanyuan tried to break free from Xiao Zisheng's grip, but he held on tightly, as if he were going to break her wrist.
She got angry. "What does Your Highness mean by this?"
Xiao Zisheng looked directly into her eyes and said, "My premonition was right. You don't want to see me or stay with me for long. Why is that? Do you dislike me? Or do you recognize me? Hm?"
Su Yuanyuan was secretly startled. She didn't expect Xiao Zisheng to be so perceptive. He had detected something unusual from her attitude. She couldn't help but wonder if her reactions when facing him had been too obvious, making Xiao Zisheng suspicious.
In this new life, Su Yuanyuan no longer harbored any admiration for Xiao Zisheng. All that was left in her heart for him was coldness and disdain.
Logically speaking, she had always hidden her identity well and shouldn't have been detected. But why was he so persistent in pestering her?
How could she leave Xiao Zisheng's presence smoothly without arousing his suspicion about her true identity?
Su Yuanyuan rolled her eyes and quickly came up with an idea. She clenched her fists. When she looked up at Xiao Zisheng again, her eyes were wide with anger.
"Yes, I dislike Your Highness!"
Xiao Zisheng didn't expect her to admit it. He was slightly stunned and asked, "Why? I've had no interaction with you. At most, we've only met twice. Why do you dislike me?"
Due to his extreme surprise, the strength in his hand loosened a little, allowing Su Yuanyuan to pull her wrist back.
Su Yuanyuan took two steps back to keep a bit of distance from him. Moving her wrist, she said coldly, "Your Highness is truly a noble who forgets many things. Have you forgotten how you protected Su Qingyu in Zhenmanlou and made things difficult for my family?"
"At the Autumn Feast, I was pushed into the water by Su Qingyu and almost lost my life. After that, she slandered and spread rumors about me in public. And Your Highness believed her complaints and tried to gloss over the matter in Zhenmanlou, trying to brush it aside lightly."
As the young girl spoke, there was a hint of grievance in her words.
"I thought that as long as I didn't provoke anyone, I wouldn't get into trouble. But I didn't expect that no matter how I tried to avoid it, Your Highness still intended to cause trouble for me for Su Qingyu's sake. If I had known that Shengjing City was so terrifying, I would have stayed in Mobei and not come."
As Su Yuanyuan spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
Suddenly seeing the woman cry, Xiao Zisheng couldn't help but feel a bit at a loss.
Due to his leg injury, he rarely interacted with women. Apart from Su Yuanyuan of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion, the closest person to him was Su Qingyu.
And for some unknown reason, he would always inexplicably think of this young girl from the Yongguo Duke's Mansion. Seeing her avoid him like a snake or a scorpion made him extremely uncomfortable. There was even a vague thought in his mind, a thought that he wanted her to be as enthusiastic towards him as Su Yuanyuan and only have eyes for him.
Cursing himself for being crazy in his heart, Xiao Zisheng tried to explain to Su Yuanyuan:
"Don't cry. I was actually deceived by Su Qingyu. Everything that happened in Zhenmanlou that day was not what I truly wanted. If this is what bothers you, then I'll apologize to you here. How about that?"
Su Yuanyuan frowned.
She knew Xiao Zisheng well. He was an extremely proud person and would never easily bow his head to anyone. But why was he so persistent towards her, a young girl, and even willing to lower his stance to apologize to her?
If she always showed an attitude of avoiding him, would it backfire and anger him instead, making him pester her even more in the future?
It seemed that to deal with Xiao Zisheng, she had to retreat in order to advance.
Xiao Zisheng couldn't see the expression on Su Yuanyuan's face. All he could see was her back.
After saying what he just said, he nervously held his breath, waiting for her response.
After a moment, Su Yuanyuan turned around and replied with her head down, "Since Your Highness is sincere in apologizing, I'm not a narrow - minded person. The matter in Zhenmanlou in the past will be wiped out here today."
Xiao Zisheng raised his eyebrows in satisfaction, and his gloomy expression improved a bit.
He knew that as long as he took action himself, there was no woman he couldn't handle.
"In that case, how about we go sit in the pavilion up ahead?"
Su Yuanyuan didn't want to be alone with Xiao Zisheng at all. She smiled apologetically and said, "Your Highness, I came here today specifically for Master Shanyin's Qin Appreciation Banquet. The banquet is about to start soon, and my clothes have been soaked by the tea. I'm afraid I'll look a mess. Please allow me to go and change into a clean set of clothes. I'll have the opportunity to have tea with Your Highness another day."
A gentle breeze blew by, and Su Yuanyuan timely let out a "achoo", looking like she had caught a cold.
Even though Xiao Zisheng was extremely reluctant to let her go, he had no choice but to nod and say, "Alright."
This time, no one stopped Su Yuanyuan. She was able to leave and smoothly went to the side hall of the Xuan King's Mansion to change into a clean set of clothes.
Because of the previous incidents, Su Yuanyuan asked Xiaoba to keep a close eye on the surroundings while she was changing her clothes, worried that this might be another trap. But nothing happened until she finished changing.
It seemed that Xiao Zisheng had only arranged that meeting just now.
But as she recalled what had happened in the purple bamboo forest just now, she just couldn't figure out why Xiao Zisheng had done this.
Did it really matter to him whether she disliked him or not?
"Yuanbao? Yuanbao?" The voice of her sister - in - law calling came from outside. Su Yuanyuan came back to her senses and replied, "Sister - in - law, Yuanbao is here."
Su Yuanyuan opened the door and walked out. Sure enough, she saw Wei Linlang and Zhang Yingxue who had come looking for her.