Yue Rong's scream tore through the room before she could stop herself . Her voice echoed down the hallway, sharp enough to pull people from every corner of the house.
Doors slid open one after another. Footsteps filled the hallway as maids, guards, and attendants gathered at the entrance, first startled, then confused, before quietly whispering among themselves.
She clutched the blanket to her chest, breathing hard as her mind spun in circles. A sharp pain throbbed behind her eyes. Her body felt heavy and sore, like she'd been tossed around all night without mercy. Nothing made sense. None of the pieces in her memory connected.
"W-Who are you?!" she barked at the man again, her voice shaking despite her attempt to sound fierce.
He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, his expression darkening with irritation.
"You're seriously asking me that?" he muttered. "Hours ago you were clinging to me, begging me not to stop. You didn't even let me breathe. Now you're acting like I forced you?"
He said with annoyance and irritation in his tone.
Yue Rong felt all the blood drain from her face.
The whispers outside grew louder.
"Was she… drunk?"
"Did she really sleep with him?"
"But she came here like a decent girl, didn't she?"
"Heavens… what has she done?"
Each whisper stabbed her like a needle.
She pulled the blanket higher, hiding half her face, wishing she could disappear.
This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to meet Prince Lianyi. She was supposed to pretend to be tipsy, fall into his arms, force fate to bend in her favor.
But everything had gone wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Her head pounded harder as the truth slid into place.
"I must have drank too much." She thought, "Did I really take that much," she wondered, as she tried to recap every thing that happened the previous night.
My plan to ruin Mimi… had backfire .
humiliation rose inside her, and her eyes began to sting.The whispers gathering outside the door mixed with the man's irritated voice, all of it crashing into her at once like waves she couldn't escape.
The man who had slept with her grabbed his robe and left without a word, not even sparing her a glance. The door shut behind him with a dull thud.
Yue Rong shivered violently. Her hands trembled as she snatched the blanket aside and hurried to gather her clothes from the floor. She felt sharp pain in every step she took.
She dressed quickly, then cracked the door open and peeked out. The hallway was empty,the people had already dispersed.
Then, she quietly headed toward the back door before anyone returned, she slipped out and took the quiet path. She could not face those people, not after what they had seen or heard.
But just as she reached the back door, she bumped into someone.
Then she froze.
"Yue Rong?" Xie Leng gasped, steadying her by the shoulders. "What happened to you?" Her voice was soft, but full of alarm.
"I… I…" Yue Rong tried to speak, but the words tangled in her throat. Tears spilled down her cheeks uncontrollably as her whole body shook.
Xie Leng pulled her closer. "I heard what happened. I am so sorry. Truly. For something like that to happen to you in my house…"
"I don't remember anything," Yue Rong whispered brokenly. "I only had two cups of wine. Two. That can't knock me out, It shouldn't…right? " She looked up at Xie Leng, desperately, as if her eyes alone could answers her.
"Two cups?" Xie Leng frowned. "That's impossible. I heard you were… begging the man to make love to you." She hesitated. "Unless someone tampered with your drink."
"Who would do that?" Yue Rong whispered, her voice cracking as another sob tore free.
Xie Leng hugged her again as she cried. "Everyone saw you Yue Rong… all of them. I'm sorry."
"Tell me… what do I do now, I have lost my pride as a woman?" Yue Rong choked out, hands gripping her own sleeves so tightly her knuckles almost turning white.
Xie Leng's expression softened with pity. "Yue Rong… do you know how Prince Lianyi ended up with Mimi last night?"
Yue Rong's head snapped up. "What… what do you mean?" She asked with urgency in her voice.
"They were together," Xie Leng said gently. "I saw them with my own eyes. They left holding hands. They looked… happy. Like a true couple in love."
The last sentence broke something inside Yue Rong.
A sharp scream escaped her throat, and she collapsed to the ground, crying so hard her body shook. Xie Leng knelt immediately, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tightly as Yue Rong sobbed into her shoulder, broken, humiliated, and defeated.
Her whole body trembling as xie Leng held her tighter, sighing softly.
"I warned you…," she whispered, then shook her head. "No. I shouldn't say that. Not when you're like this." She brushed a tear from Yue Rong's cheek. " Don't cry more, this will pass by."
"No, it won't pass by." Yue Rong sobbed. "My reputation is already ruined. How did this happen. Just how." She sobbed harder, trembling in Xie Leng's arms.
"This event seems planned, like someone wanted to ruin you same way you tried to ruin Mimi." Xie Leng suggested. Yue Rong's sobs came to a halt as her eyes widened at the possibility.
"You think so? But who? Mimi was drugged, it's impossible that she was able to figure out my plan before it was even carried out. And even if she did, she doesn't have the man power to pull this off." Yue Rong whispered, sniffing as she tried to make sense of the whole situation.
"Who do you think has the man power to pull this off without leaving a trace?"
"You mean?" Yue Rong gasped as she realized what Xie Leng was trying to tell her.
"Yes, it's prince Lianyi. He did this to you as revenge for what you planned for Mimi