Heyi gave her quite a few trinkets, as well as palace jewelry and fabric, filling a whole carriage for Song Jinyu.
"Jinyu, I really don't want you to go..." Heyi saw her out of the palace and only stopped when they reached the carriage of the Prince Yu's Mansion.
After they bid farewell, Song Jinyu was also reluctant to leave and kept looking back. She didn't have many friends, and Princess Heyi was one of them.
"The king thought you were going to hide forever and were reluctant to go back!" Zhongli Mingye said teasingly. Since the imperial bestowal of marriage, Song Jinyu hadn't come out and had been hiding in Heyi's Frost Cloud Palace.
Song Jinyu said discontentedly, "What do I have to hide? I was just recuperating from my injuries."
Hearing what she said, and seeing that there was no one around at the moment, Zhongli Mingye leaned closer to Song Jinyu and said wickedly, "Let the king check if your injuries are healed."
After saying that, he was about to reach out. Song Jinyu immediately stepped back like a startled rabbit and glared at him angrily, "Get out of the way!"
"We're engaged. What's wrong with taking a look?" he said justifiably.
Song Jinyu angrily ran to her carriage and said, "What are you looking at!" This guy was becoming more and more annoying!
Niaoniao stifled her laughter and watched Song Jinyu's blushing face in the carriage.
"Miss, you're usually so sharp-tongued. Why are you so angry this time?"
Song Jinyu frowned and said, "He's bullying me with his power!"
Not long after, the carriage suddenly stopped on the outskirts of the capital. It turned out that Ming Ruyi had come to see them off.
"Beauty..." The sudden "female voice" startled Song Jinyu. Ming Ruyi hadn't called her like this since the Bright Moon Tower incident. Was he looking for death by teasing her in front of the Prince Yu now?
Sure enough, a short knife was immediately thrown from the carriage in front and landed right in front of Ming Ruyi.
"Zhongli Mingye! I'm your uncle..."
With a dark face, he walked up to Song Jinyu's carriage. "If he dares to bully you, the king will stand up for you." That was all he could say, after all, her status was as such.
Before Song Jinyu could say anything, "You don't need to worry about her, uncle!" Zhongli Mingye had already gotten out of his carriage and walked over. He forcefully got into Song Jinyu's carriage.
"If you have the spare time, you might as well worry about yourself. The king is looking forward to drinking your wedding wine!"
Ming Ruyi was so angry that he stopped fanning his folding fan. Just as he was about to say something, the carriage had already driven away!
"You have your own carriage..." Song Jinyu complained dissatisfiedly. "It's so crowded like this..."
Zhongli Mingye glanced at Niaoniao and Cheng Song, and the latter quickly left knowingly. "Isn't it not crowded now?"
"..."
Song Jinyu complained discontentedly, "I haven't even had a good chat with Ming Ruyi yet!"
Zhongli Mingye said indifferently, "My love, if you have something to say, the king can pass it on for you..."
The words "my love" gave Song Jinyu goosebumps, and her face changed. "Don't call me that!"
"Then you're not allowed to call him Ming Ruyi!"
Zhongli Mingye stared at her. Seeing the fullness of grievance in her big watery eyes, he couldn't bear to bully her anymore. He gritted his teeth and had to endure it.
The journey was silent. Song Jinyu was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
She wanted to lie down and take a nap, but there was a person sitting beside her. That person was smiling wickedly and patting his shoulder, indicating for her to lean on.
"Not going to!" She leaned against the carriage wall and dozed off, her head bobbing up and down like a chicken pecking rice.
Not long after, the carriage suddenly shook violently. Zhongli Mingye quickly grabbed her. After this incident, Song Jinyu was no longer sleepy. Afraid that she couldn't rest well, Zhongli Mingye returned to his own carriage.
In the evening, they checked into an inn. Niaoniao fetched hot water, and Song Jinyu paced back and forth in the room. "Miss, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing..."
After much thought, she decided to have a good talk with Zhongli Mingye.
She hesitated for a long time and just couldn't bring herself to knock on the door.
She wanted to knock but thought it was inappropriate. After all, it was getting late, and he might have already gone to bed. Song Jinyu dawdled for a long time but still didn't go in. "Forget it..." Just as she was about to turn around and go back,
"Are you out here feeding mosquitoes or polishing the floor tiles?" A lazy voice came from inside the room. Song Jinyu had no choice but to push the door open and go in.
At first, she didn't see Zhongli Mingye. Just as she was wondering, suddenly his voice came from behind. When she looked closely, he had just taken a bath and changed into his nightgown. His phoenix eyes were staring at her thoughtfully. His somewhat thin chest was so close to her that she could smell the familiar sandalwood fragrance.
Uh... It seemed that she had come at a bad time. "What's the matter?"
Trying hard to hold back his laughter, he blocked her way.
Song Jinyu had a bitter face and didn't know where to start. She just said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow!"
"Hmm?"
"Tomorrow? What's the matter? Tell me!" He took Song Jinyu's hand and led her to the bed. Song Jinyu was thinking hard in her mind and didn't notice that she was being pulled onto the bed at all. She sat down obediently without looking carefully where she was sitting.
Zhongli Mingye saw that she was so dazed and couldn't help laughing.
"I was thinking, could you not spread the news about the imperial bestowal of marriage?" She made up her mind to tell him her thoughts.
With her head down, Song Jinyu didn't see the man's face gradually turn cold. He let go of her hand. She waited for a long time but didn't get a response. Song Jinyu looked up, and his eyes were extremely cold.
"Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to make such a request of the king?"
"The king has been too lenient with you!"
The man's cold voice surprised Song Jinyu. She finally remembered that the man in front of her was a battle-hardened prince of the Great Xia Dynasty. Her request was, after all, too selfish and she hadn't considered his feelings.
For a moment, she felt a mix of emotions.
She stood up and said carefully, "Then... forget it!" She turned around and was about to leave, but he grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed. Song Jinyu struggled to push him away, but he grabbed her hands and held them above her head.
She kicked at him with her feet, but he pinned her legs down with his own. The man looked at her amorously, in an absolutely controlling posture. She quickly lost the ability to resist.
"Zhongli Mingye, let me go!"
Song Jinyu's eyes were red with anxiety. "It was you who ran into the king's room!" Although his tone was teasing, there was not a trace of lust in his eyes.
"Why?"
Why did she treat him like this? Why did she not take him seriously? Why did she trample on his feelings like this! At this moment, Zhongli Mingye was on the verge of anger.
The Song Jinyu beneath him calmed down and stopped resisting. She just said, "Because... I'm the closed-door disciple of the master of Tianmen Mountain."
"If the news spreads, the internal affairs of Tianmen Mountain haven't been adjusted yet, and it will have an impact on many future plans."
Song Jinyu poured out all her doubts and worries in one breath. "The imperial bestowal of marriage was too sudden. I haven't had time to prepare."
Before, Song Jinyu would never have mentioned these things to Zhongli Mingye, but now, in this situation, she had to have a good talk with him.
Zhongli Mingye looked at her seriously. As long as it wasn't because she didn't like him, that was fine. He looked at Song Jinyu thoughtfully and asked, "Is that all?"
What did he mean by "is that all"? This matter had a huge impact!
If the closed-door disciple of Tianmen Mountain became the Princess Yu, once the news spread, how would Tianmen Mountain face it?
"Okay..."
Although the man didn't let go of her, his tone softened.
"The news won't be made public in Liuzhou City until you come of age."
Hearing his promise, Song Jinyu instantly felt overjoyed. Her eyes sparkled, and she found Zhongli Mingye much more pleasing to the eye. Moreover, she was mostly touched. Because this man actually understood her, right?
Her joy seemed like a provocation in Zhongli Mingye's eyes.
Suddenly, he kissed her deeply. The dazed Song Jinyu tried to stay awake and blinked desperately.
This situation was really too dangerous. Fortunately, fortunately, Zhongli Mingye just bit her as a punishment. Was this man a dog!
Zhongli Mingye let go of her but then grabbed her again. "It's so late. Don't go back..."
She glared at him fiercely. Did he think she was going to stay and be eaten by him? No way. She had to leave quickly. This man was really, really too good-looking. If she looked at him any longer, she would drown in his tenderness.