I Refused The Male Lead And Got Claimed By His Triplet Sisters [GL]

Chapter 25: Court Divided

Zhao Chen had thought hard all night long about how best to save Ru Yi. He’d wanted to go with the initial plan to elope with her. freёwebnoѵel.com

But now that Princess Lin Yuexin was dead, there was no one standing in their way anymore. It was almost pointless to run when he could give her a better life here in the palace.

So he’d gone and gotten a written test result from the royal physician to prove that Ru Yi was carrying his child.

The Emperor wouldn’t execute his own grandchild and possible heir to the throne. Right?

Zhao Chen’s confidence began to wane when he was met with absolute silence from the court. No one said a word.

He walked down to where Ru Yi was kneeling and put a hand on her shoulder. "She’s with child. Maybe the court should reconsider." He held the scroll up. "There’s proof here."

The Emperor’s eyes widened. "What do you mean she’s with child?" he coughed again, his voice a bit better. "You’ve been engaged to the princess all this while."

One of the minister’s snickered. "Looks like unfaithfulness runs in the family."

If the crown prince heard it, he simply ignored him. "Ru Yi is the woman I truly love."

There was a soft continuous buzz at his declaration, meanwhile Ru Yi fought to shield herself from the embarrassment that followed.

"With such a loose woman," General Han Zheng said, "how can you be sure that the child belongs to you. We can’t pardon her just because you—"

"She has only ever been with me!" Zhao Chen knelt down beside her. "We love each other. And I want her to remain by my side."

"Can you just hear yourself!" The Emperor thundered. "Do you have no shame in speaking such things before me?"

"Father..."

General Han Zheng cleared his throat and the Emperor fell back against his seat.

The general addressed the crown prince. "To let you be with the very girl accused of killing Princess Lin Yuexin is the same as wanting to wage war against the Lin family. One lowly life is not worth the life of an entire kingdom."

"But—"

"That is final." General Han Zheng declared.

Zhao Chen wasn’t giving up. "A week to prove her innocence, that’s all I ask."

Han Zheng was about to shoot his suggestion down when the Emperor spoke.

"Five days, that’s all I can give you." The Emperor looked at Ru Yi. "I hope for both your sakes you’re able to do that."

The court was dismissed.

Guards pulled Ru Yi up, her face blank.

It wasn’t that she was ungrateful at his efforts, but she knew he would’ve been able to save her. He was only prolonging the inevitable which was her death.

About the baby...she was going to let him believe whatever he wanted. She said nothing as she walked past him.

Ru Yi was thrown back in the cell, and heard one of the guards call her ’whore’. No doubt the news that she was pregnant for the crown prince had spread through the palace.

She curled into herself and shut her eyes. She’d never felt so alone.

-

-

When the door to the cell creaked open this time, Ru Yi thought it was the triplets. Except there was only one shadow, and their form was much taller than the triplet’s.

Ru Yi immediately sat up, moving backwards until her back hit a wall. "Who are you?" Not that she expected an answer.

Whoever it was moved so fast, pressing a wet cloth to her nose until her limps went jelly and darkness enveloped her.

There was no sound of water dripping in the distance when Ru Yi came to. She wasn’t tied to a chair either.

The splash of freezing cold water on her face woke all her senses up. She blinked severally, some of the water getting in her eyes.

She couldn’t get a hold of her surroundings, all her attention on the masked figure in front of her.

How did she always manage to get herself in the stickiest situations? Her eyes widened when the person pulled out a knife that had been strapped to their waist.

"Wait..." the panic set in. "Why don’t we talk about things first?" she stretched her hands in front of her like they’d protect from the intended violence.

They swished the knife in the air, an indication that they were not afraid to use. Or—that they were especially skilled with it.

Ru Yi looked around for something to defend herself with, but there was none. She’d been ready to die when she was pronounced guilty, but now that the danger of death was staring her in the face...she knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Before her brain could talk her out of it, Ru Yi immediately swung her leg forward, hitting her attacker’s feet.

The person fell down, the knife clattering to the ground.

Ru Yi lunged for it at the same time the other person did. Her hand was about to graze the handle when the attacker kicked it away.

Instead of going after the knife, she held onto the attacker by the waist, knowing that they’d get to the weapon before her.

Ru Yi’s feeble strength was no match, but she managed to pull off the mask covering their face. She gasped, her grip loosening when she saw who it was.

Han Shuying. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Before she could recover from the shock, Han Shuying pulled out another knife from the boots she was wearing and dug it straight into Ru Yi’s stomach.

It didn’t hurt...not at first.

She watched through hooded eyes as Han Shuying retrieved the knife at the far corner first before pulling the one buried in her stomach out.

"Why?" Ru Yi gasped, blood spurting from her mouth. "I never did anything to you." She coughed up more blood, her palm doing its best to keep pressure on the wound.

Han Shuying tilted her head to the side, as if she was taking note of the scene she’d created. Then in an indifferent voice she spoke.

"I have nothing against you," she put the knives back. "I’m just following orders."

"You killed Lin Yuexin, didn’t you?" Ru Yi struggled to ask.

She got no answer in return.

"I guess this is better than getting beheaded in front of anyone." She laughed, but it was a strangled sound muffled by the blood trickling out of her mouth.

Han Shuying turned and left without another word.

Ru Yi sank to the ground in pain, feeling life drain out of her. Was this really the end?

She’d wanted to live a better life in this timeline, make smarter choices that would keep her alive. But it seemed like it was all one big joke to the heavens.

Maybe—some people never really get a happy ending.