Feng Ran took a deep breath and said calmly, "I don't know what I did wrong to make the Regent hate me so much."
"Please let go of me, Your Highness the Regent," Feng Ran said with difficulty. "If the Regent wants to hear my explanation, then please release me. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll never hear what you want to hear in this lifetime."
"Heh, is that so? If you won't speak, then I won't listen."
"This King has absolutely no regard for the matters of the dead."
Feng Ran's face turned ugly.
The dead? Was he going to make a move against her? Because of Ling Chi Yuan's matter?
"Feng Ran, you can still be so composed and entangled with men in front of this King," Xuan Yuan Heng said coldly. "Then what about in places this King cannot see?"
Feng Ran laughed, a loud laugh. After a long while, she calmed down and said coldly, "Your Highness the Regent seems to have forgotten, that place, Chun Man Yuan, wasn't it like that? Wasn't it by pleasing men that one could survive?"
"If I remember correctly, the reason I fell into such a predicament was all thanks to Your Highness the Regent, wasn't it?"
"Your Highness the Regent shouldn't have forgotten."
"The 'good things' you speak of were all bestowed upon me by you."
Feng Ran was truly disgusted by Xuan Yuan Heng, who kept bothering her.
She thought that if she reasoned with Xuan Yuan Heng now, she would only be put in a difficult and embarrassing position.
She thought she had to find a way to make Xuan Yuan Heng leave.
Disgusting him should be the best way.
Thinking this, a smile played on her lips.
It seemed as if success was imminent.
Xuan Yuan Heng frowned. He had been talking, but Feng Ran hadn't responded at all, making him feel like he was performing a solo act, even utterly ridiculous. It was as if he was the one pestering Feng Ran.
"Is that so? Did this King make you get involved with Ling Chi Yuan?"
"Feng Ran, it seems you truly haven't learned your lesson over the years; you're desperately looking for trouble."
"Feng Ran, this King will make you understand the consequences of not obeying."
"It seems Ling Chi Yuan is indeed tired of living."
Feng Ran's face turned pale. Her gaze fell on Xuan Yuan Heng. She wanted to say something in explanation, but ultimately did not. Facing his mocking eyes, how could she speak?
After enduring for a long time, Feng Ran feigned composure and said, "Your Highness the Regent, Ling Chi Yuan is not someone you can easily touch. And isn't my current state exactly what you wished to see?"
"But now Your Highness the Regent is so furious. Has Your Highness the Regent regretted it?"
"I am barely surviving by pleasing men, isn't that what Your Highness the Regent desired?"
"You are the dignified Regent. You wouldn't go back on your word, would you? Wanting to renege on your promise?"
Xuan Yuan Heng's fury surged. He blocked Feng Ran's path, completely obstructing her way forward.
Feng Ran looked at the man before her with icy eyes, and said with great displeasure, "Could it be that Your Highness the Regent has some lingering affection?"
Xuan Yuan Heng's brows furrowed, and he said coldly, "Heh, this King's lingering affection? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
"Feng Ran, since that's the case, then this King should let you see how ridiculous your words are."
Before Feng Ran could understand the meaning of Xuan Yuan Heng's words, her chin was tightly gripped by him.
"Feng Ran, I hope you can bear it," Xuan Yuan Heng said, his voice filled with bloodlust, as if he harbored a deep hatred for the person before him.
Feng Ran wanted to retreat, but in the end, she didn't. Instead, she forced herself to look directly at the person before her and said with a hint of wavering, "I am already alone now." Feng Ran said calmly and indifferently, "Your Highness the Regent is now in power. Wanting someone's life, isn't that as simple as can be?"
Feng Ran seemed to have resigned herself to fate. At this moment, she could say such things so calmly.
The Feng Ran of the past would tremble all over when she saw him, not even daring to speak.
But now, she dared to retort. Feng Ran had truly changed a lot.
It seemed Ling Chi Yuan was very important to her. She had been changed so much because of him.
Xuan Yuan Heng looked at her with icy, venomous eyes and said, "Feng Ran, the eldest daughter of the Feng family, when did she become so lowly?"
"The once proud eldest daughter of the Feng family, to have become like this, where has your arrogance gone? Was it all fed to the dogs?"
"Back then, you refused to accept fate, but now you've resigned yourself to it, willing to fall."
"Feng Ran, do you really think that Ling Chi Yuan will marry you like this?"
"You must remember your own status. In this lifetime, you can never turn the tables."
Xuan Yuan Heng said coldly, "Right, you're pretending not to care about Ling Chi Yuan, but Feng Ran, your acting is a bit too terrible."
"This King will not believe a single word you say."
"Oh, right, I probably won't get your wish. Regarding Ling Chi Yuan, although this King cannot easily make a move, Ling Chi Yuan will definitely encounter setbacks from now on."
*Clack.*
Feng Ran's mind went blank.
Although she had known she would be troubled and humiliated by Xuan Yuan Heng, and had told herself not to care too much, Feng Ran's reaction was still immense when she truly heard it. She could even barely breathe.
Actually, Feng Ran did care about Ling Chi Yuan. She was even more worried that Ling Chi Yuan would be implicated because of her.
Just now, when she said she didn't care, it was just a pretense. She was afraid that if she showed concern, Xuan Yuan Heng would target Ling Chi Yuan even more.
But she had miscalculated. Xuan Yuan Heng still wouldn't let Ling Chi Yuan off the hook, and he would still target him.
Xuan Yuan Heng looked at Feng Ran, seeing her face turn pale. This was what he had always wanted to see. However, he couldn't feel happy.
He couldn't understand when it was that Feng Ran, who had once occupied his heart, had been replaced by someone else.
Xuan Yuan Heng had never imagined that the person who was wholeheartedly his would change one day.
He even desperately wanted to question Feng Ran loudly, asking her why she was so fickle.
If you put all your effort into loving him, why not just keep loving him?
Xuan Yuan Heng looked at Feng Ran, his grip tightening. He said coldly, "Feng Ran, if this King hears another word about Ling Chi Yuan from your mouth, this King will make you regret the name Ling Chi Yuan for the rest of your life."
Feng Ran did not respond, not even a nod.
Xuan Yuan Heng was displeased by Feng Ran's current action, feeling extremely irritable. He said coldly, "Feng Ran, respond to this King."
Feng Ran smiled, but did not answer. Even though her chin hurt so much, she didn't even let out a groan.
"Feng Ran, this King wants you to smile," Xuan Yuan Heng said fiercely.