Chapter 24: A White Lotus

“What brings you here, Saint?” The emperor asked respectfully. He had invited the Saint over many times since he succeeded the throne, but the Saint had never responded, which made him wonder what had brought the Saint here uninvited.

“I got bored after being in isolation for decades and thought I might catch up with the emperor, but I certainly did not expect to see the crown prince attempting murder in this hall when I arrived. The Buster Dragon? It is obvious that the crown prince wanted this girl dead.” Though Mo Qing had spoken with no emotions on his face, his words and tone made Nangong Yan tremble in fear.

“Saint, not only did Feng Ruchu disobey an imperial edict and elope, she also made offensive remarks before the emperor and the officials in this hall. The death of someone as shameless as her will surely not be a loss,” Nangong Yan bowed and explained respectfully to the Saint.

Feng Fei’er had been looking forward to seeing Feng Ruchu kneeling and begging for mercy as she was burned to death, but alas, the Saint had appeared and rescued Feng Ruchu once again.

Feng Fei’er always presented herself as kind, gentle, and compassionate in public, so when Nangong Yan got upset with Feng Ruchu, Feng Fei’er got down on her knees with teary eyes and said to Nangong Yan, “Please forgive Ruchu, Your Highness. She was too young and naïve, and that servant must have talked her into making this mistake… They also had a traumatic experience encountering mountain thieves and getting kidnapped during their elopement.

“The past week would have been very difficult for Feng Ruchu, as she must have been wronged and tortured. I think that is enough punishment for a young lady, so please show Ruchu mercy and spare her life, Your Highness.”

Feng Fei’er knew that the Saint had saved Feng Ruchu when he interfered and destroyed the golden dragon, so she just went with the flow and interceded for Feng Ruchu to show her kindness.

However, what Feng Fei’er said could also ruin the reputation of a young lady.

Even if the elopement was a false allegation, it was a fact that Feng Ruchu had been kidnapped by mountain thieves.

She had been wronged and tortured, and had enough punishment for a young lady like her?

It was clear what Feng Fei’er was trying to imply. Feng Ruchu could tell what Feng Fei’er was up to and scoffed at her little tricks.

“Did Wang San tell you that I was kidnapped by mountain thieves, Feng Fei’er? What if he told you that I was sold to a brothel? Would you be holding up a sign to tell the world that my innocence was not besmirched?

“To be honest, I myself had no idea that I had eloped and was kidnapped by mountain thieves. Why were you so convinced that that was the truth, to the point that you actually started kneeling and crying? You need to keep it low if you want to remain a ‘white lotus’; attracting too much attention is only going to make your true ‘green tea’ colors show.”

White lotus? Green tea?

Although Feng Fei’er knew what Feng Ruchu meant by that, she could tell that Feng Ruchu was mocking her.

It was true that she had been trying to make everyone think that Feng Ruchu’s innocence had been besmirched to ruin Feng Ruchu’s name for good, but she had not expected Feng Ruchu to see through her trick so quickly, and even counter it without breaking a sweat.

Feng Fei’er’s tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at Feng Ruchu in confusion, her fingers curled into fists at her sides.

“Feng Ruchu, you—” Nangong Yan bellowed, but before he could finish his sentence, Feng Ruchu interrupted him impatiently.