"Jinyu, you must take good care of yourself..."
"Now that Father has said he will reward you handsomely, I wonder what it will be." Princess Heyi smiled as she helped Song Jinyu tidy up her hair.
Song Jinyu didn't really care about the reward. Instead, she was thinking about the information she had just gathered. The concubine of the Crown Prince's Mansion had suddenly passed away, and there were sordid rumors coming from the Grand Tutor's Mansion. Were these two events related? Or were they connected to the assassination attempt the other day? Who was pulling the strings behind all this?
She would never believe Ming Ruyi's explanation. Did Ming Ruyi think she was a three - year - old? "I'm talking to you!"
"Um... As long as you're well, that's enough."
Princess Heyi was innocent and kind, and she was truly good to Song Jinyu. Blocking the knife for her the other day was actually out of necessity. If something had happened to Heyi because of this, she, Song Jinyu, would have been in big trouble. Even with the protection of Prince Yu, it wouldn't have been easy for her to get out of it.
"I told Brother Four that I wanted to be sworn sisters with you. But Brother Four refused." That cold - faced Brother Four was so unreasonable! Song Jinyu wasn't his, so why did he keep getting in their way?
Song Jinyu leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Actually, I really do want to be your sister." If she became Heyi's sister, she wouldn't have to be so entangled with Prince Yu.
But before she could finish her sentence,
Zhongli Mingye suddenly walked in! "Heyi, Father has already forbidden you from going out of the palace. If you don't go back soon, you won't be able to come out again!"
Heyi was in high spirits, but was suddenly dampened by his words. She had no choice but to leave reluctantly. Before leaving, she secretly winked at Song Jinyu, "Wait for me. I'll come and pick you up to my palace!"
"She's not going anywhere!"
Heyi glared at Zhongli Mingye, and Song Jinyu helplessly looked out of the window.
When Song Jinyu and Zhongli Mingye were left alone in the room, the atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward. Song Jinyu wanted to call Niaoniao in to keep her company, but Zhongli Mingye walked towards her. "What do you want to do?"
"Me?"
"Drink water!"
Zhongli Mingye poured her a cup of tea. "Drink less. I've had ginseng soup stewed for you."
"Okay!"
He sat down. After a moment of silence, Zhongli Mingye looked at Song Jinyu seriously. "Don't you have anything to ask me?"
Song Jinyu smiled. "Ming Ruyi told me it was a group of bandits!"
"Do you believe it?"
She was lying on her side, looking at the carvings on the bed. Her eyes were unfocused, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
"What you show me is what it is. Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, whatever explanation you give me, I'll accept it."
Zhongli Mingye sighed. He knew he couldn't hide it from her. She would call herself "Your subject's daughter" when she was angry.
Such a smart woman wouldn't be easily deceived by their words.
"It was Shen Yingyun..."
It was probably all because of him. He had underestimated a woman's jealousy. Zhongli Mingye now regretted that if he had discovered it earlier, she wouldn't have suffered so much.
"Is she dead? Who did it?" She lowered her eyes to hide her weariness.
It was about the same as what she had guessed. Shen Yingyun had intended to harm the princess and then tried to implicate Song Jinyu in the prison. What a vicious woman! She had hardly even spoken to her.
However, Song Jinyu didn't believe that Zhongli Mingye would harm the Crown Prince's concubine for her. And surely the one in the palace wouldn't deal with the daughter of the Grand Tutor either, after all, she was just the daughter of a border city's prefect.
Zhongli Mingye pushed the stray hairs in front of her forehead to the side. "Those who deserve to die won't escape."
"Those who don't die won't have a good life either." He gently leaned closer to Song Jinyu. "Anyone who hurts you will have their whole family buried with them."
There was endless killing intent in his eyes, but also a lingering affection, which made Song Jinyu shiver. She tilted her body back slightly.
"Did you say you wanted to be sisters with Heyi?"
"Um?" She avoided his burning gaze and didn't say another word.
The man smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "You can't escape."
"I'm determined to have you!"
He was lying on his side in a controlling position, leaving Song Jinyu with no way to escape.
"I was just joking."
Her face was flushed, and she felt out of breath. She guessed that everything that had happened in the Grand Tutor's Mansion was probably his doing.
"I want to go back to Liuzhou City," Song Jinyu changed the subject. In his doting eyes, she felt she had nowhere to go.
"Your body isn't fully recovered yet!"
"If you travel on the road rashly, you might get some lingering illness." Zhongli Mingye gently hugged her.
"I'm a doctor. I know my own body." She turned her head away in dissatisfaction, trying to get away from him. This man always underestimated her. Her little movement didn't escape Zhongli Mingye's notice. He turned her head back. "I'll take you home with me."
His words were so ambiguous. Song Jinyu pouted and refused to talk to him.
Finally, a guard called him out. Song Jinyu let out a sigh of relief. This man's aura was too strong. She had no way to defend herself in front of him.
What should she do?
At present, she couldn't be with anyone from the royal family. If she did, the crisis at Tianmen Mountain would be even greater.
Although the mountain flood was some distance away from Tianmen Mountain, Song Jinyu calculated that the extreme weather in those days would surely affect the growth of the spiritual roots.
She wondered how Master and the others were. Only she and Master knew about the spiritual root cultivation on Tianmen Mountain. She let out a soft sigh. Just then, Niaoniao came in with the ginseng soup.
Niaoniao saw her worries and felt heart - ache for her. "Miss, you're still so young!"
"Maybe we should just take things as they come."
Song Jinyu gave a bright smile. "Right. We just have to take one step and plan one step."
In the palace, Zhongli Mingye was playing chess with the emperor. "Is Song Jinyu's injury better?"
Unable to guess the emperor's thoughts, Zhongli Mingye could only answer obediently, "It's much better."
"The woman you've taken a fancy to is truly kind - hearted." The emperor put the emperor in check and then stopped to look at his son's expression.
Zhongli Mingye said, "I truly have feelings for her."
"She's kind, intelligent, and cute. Just like Mother. She always thinks about others."
Thinking of Concubine Shu, the emperor pondered for a while. "Now, you can ask for a favor for her."
Zhongli Mingye's heart skipped a beat. He told the emperor the answer he had already thought of.
After hearing it, the emperor couldn't help but look at him. "You're so cunning! If that woman knew you were scheming against her like this, she'd probably be angry with you." In the emperor's eyes, Song Jinyu was a woman who didn't care about fame and fortune. Although she was young, she acted steadily. The last time she was rewarded, she only asked for gold, silver, and jewels, and it was for the free school in Liuzhou City. In the end, the emperor got a good reputation of loving the people, which won the support of the students in Liuzhou City.
Really? He placed a chess piece heavily. There were countless calculations in his phoenix - like eyes, and his sword - shaped eyebrows slowly relaxed.
In this way, she would be tied to him for the rest of her life. Through life and death, in weal and woe, they would be together forever.
The chess players played a good game of chess steadily. Who was the pawn? Who was the chess player? No one could tell.
On the way back from the palace, Zhongli Mingye received news from the shadow guards that something big had indeed happened at Tianmen Mountain.
"Don't let Miss Song know this news."
"Try to buy more time for Tianmen Mountain. Maybe we should stir up more trouble in the Grand Tutor's Mansion."
What exactly was the emperor's reward?
Song Jinyu didn't have the time or the energy to think about it. Now, she was trapped in the capital and couldn't return to Liuzhou City for a while. Cheng Song had been in contact with the Tianying Sect, and fortunately, there hadn't been any major problems.