Xi Ying was walking behind Li Rui as she followed the maid. He just wished that they could leave the Imperial Palace and reach Xi Manor as soon as possible. The last sentence he heard when he left the chambers was continuously ringing in his mind.

“Be Careful on your way.”

He looked around with his cold eyes in every direction to see any hidden danger. Then he frowned when he noticed the route the maid was leading Li Rui to. Even though there are many short and long routes to the gates, he knew that the maid was walking his wangfei in the wrong direction and she was doing it intentionally. He looked at Li Rui to see if she could also see this but Li Rui was walking calmly. Xi Ying cursed in a low voice. Of Course, Li Rui didn’t see anything. That Princess had mentioned that Li Rui was banned from entering the Imperial Palace. That means she had not been to Imperial Palace as many times as he had. That’s why she had walked the same path while returning; the maid had shown her to Princess Yi Huiqing’s courtyard earlier.

His instinct was telling him that something was definitely not right and he soon he got to know he was right.

The maid suddenly sat on the ground holding her foot and started wailing loudly. Xi Ying that her foot was bleeding but he didn’t found anything nearby that could injure her.

“Lady Li, ah…..This servant apologizes for this rudeness. The Imperial gates are not far away. Can the Lady…..”

The maid pretended to hesitate to say the next words. Li Rui let out an ‘En’ and the maid bowed her head to express her gratitude.

“The Lady sure has a big heart. This servant is very grateful for that.”

Saying this, she walked away jumping on her one leg. Li Rui walked ahead and Xi Ying turned around to look at the maid only to see her hiding behind a pillar. He was now sure that the snobbish princess had planned something against Li Rui. He just hoped that Li Rui will be able to save herself without getting hurt as she did earlier. At this moment, he hated himself for not doing anything.

Xi Ying didn’t find anything wrong until he saw Li Rui halting. He glanced at her immediately to check the reason for her stopping midway. He saw that Li Rui’s face was very pale. Her lips were very dry. Her white and smooth forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat. Her small fists were clenched tightly to the point that the knuckles of her hands started to look white. Her condition scared Xi Ying.

“Rui”

A roar came out from his mouth. Of course, it was of no effect. Xi Ying saw her staring at the front. In front of him, there was a large hall. Its entrance was large and on it was engraved were words.

‘Those who do wrong will be and should be punished.’

It was the hall wherein the servants, maids were punished. Xi Ying looked at Li Rui again. His heart clenched in pain on seeing her condition. With each passing second, Xi Ying’s panic and fear were growing more and more. His eyes were red with rage for the princess. She must have known something about this place. Li Rui seems to be reliving something really bad. So bad that she was having difficulty breathing through her nose.

Li Rui was actually reliving the most dreadful incident of her life. Loud helpless screams rang in her ears. Red blood was flashing in front of her eyes. She could feel nothing around herself. She wanted to cover her ears but her hands were not listening to her brain. She just wished that someone could take her away from this place.

She suddenly felt someone pulling her clothes. She finally woke up from that terrible dream. She saw a child standing near her and his hand was on her sleeve. He was staring at her with a weird expression.

” You…This Prince is calling you for such a long time. Why are you standing here like a statue and ignoring this Prince?”

Only then Li Rui noticed her clothes. He was wearing fine silks and satins, his skin was white and delicate. He was an Imperial Prince.

While Xi Ying for the first time in his life found this child pleasing in his eyes. The five-year-old child, Zhao Bo Jing was the only son of the First Prince from his Princess Consort. Xi Ying found the child very stupid and lazy. He was very proud of his title at such a young age. His Xi Ling was better than him even though he was younger.

But now seeing that Li Rui’s pale face was getting some red color back, he thought that child might not be that unpleasant.

Li Rui turned around so that her back was facing the large hall. She saw a group of maids running in her direction. On seeing the maids, the little Prince was trying to hide his chubby body behind Li Rui but was unable to do so. The oldest maid amongst who seemed to be their head maid stepped forward when she saw the little Prince and shouted immediately to two maids standing behind her.

“Hurry up, Hold the prince before he runs away again.”

When the little Zhao Bo Jing saw the two maids coming towards him he dashed towards the large hall. Li Rui who saw this hurriedly held him tightly. To her, that hall was a death place. Even though he was an imperial prince, she can never see a child running towards it.

The prince was struggling and shouting furiously.

“Leave this prince.”

The maid took him from the hands of Li Rui. In their hands, the little prince glared at Li Rui with his large black eyes that were now red and filled with unshed tears.

“This prince got caught because of you. Pray that you never come in front of me else…”

The head maid embarrassedly interrupted him and passed a grateful as well as apologetic look to Li Rui. Then she looked confused and asked her.

“What is the lady doing here?”

Li Rui glanced at the maid who truly looked confused and spoke the truth.

“I lost my way. Can you please tell me the direction to the Imperial Palace Gates?”

The head maid smiled politely and ordered a maid to show her the way. The maid led the way and Li Rui heard the little prince shouting at the head maid.

“I’ll not drink that bitter medicine.”

After that, she didn’t pay attention and followed the maid closely lost in her own thoughts.