After finishing all the tasks, Senior Brother Bai sent some people on their way overnight. Only after watching them leave in batches did she quietly retreat.
Master had said that Tianmen Mountain was in great chaos at the moment, and the only people he could trust were his eleven disciples. However, Song Jinyu only trusted Yan Fei. Seeing that Senior Brother Bai showed no signs of anything amiss, she felt relieved. Nevertheless, she still left two jars of spiritual pills as a precaution.
Considering that Yan Fei would surely go to Liuzhou to deliver a message to her, Song Jinyu decided to set off early the next morning.
Although the spiritual root base on Tianmen Mountain had been destroyed, spiritual pills had still been refined. These pills could not only reassure the emperor but also intimidate the Golden Water Palace and the ambitious crown prince.
Back at the inn in Yuzhou, she looked around and found nothing out of the ordinary. The man was still lying there obediently.
"Are you awake?"
The medicine could only keep him unconscious for a few hours! The man in the bed didn't respond. Song Jinyu walked closer to him.
She said, "Stop pretending..."
The Silver - Masked Gentleman opened his eyes and glared at her fiercely. "Are you done with your business?"
The woman burst into laughter. "I've said before, I don't need you to follow me."
"Now you know how capable I am, don't you? Hmm?" The woman sat at the table, propping her head up with her hand. She was a bit sleepy and yawned lightly.
The Silver - Masked Gentleman felt a twinge of pain in his heart and said, "I heard that you're on good terms with Prince Yu. Why don't you ask him for help?"
Forcing herself to stay awake, Song Jinyu replied, "Our stances are different. I don't want to implicate him."
"I didn't expect you to think so much about him. Maybe he really wants to help you?" The Silver - Masked Gentleman said slowly, secretly observing Song Jinyu's expression.
Only to find that she was already nodding off and had fallen asleep on the table.
She must be extremely tired! A look of tenderness flashed across his eyes. He carried her to the bed. Looking closely at her thin cheeks, he involuntarily reached out and stroked them.
When it was dawn, the Silver - Masked Gentleman had already left. Niaoniao served Song Jinyu as she got up to wash and dress, and then they left the inn.
Just as they were riding on the official road, Song Jinyu suddenly touched her chest. She felt uncomfortable at the wound. Niaoniao was worried about her and wanted to stop, but Song Jinyu waved her off.
"Yan Fei is still waiting for me!" The spiritual pills must reach the emperor in the palace.
Forcing herself to continue, unexpectedly, a carriage blocked their way ahead.
When she saw Qingfeng, Song Jinyu knew that Prince Yu must be in the carriage. She was stunned for a while. Sitting on her horse, she didn't dare to move for a long time.
How could she explain her appearance on this official road when she was supposed to be on Tianmen Mountain? While she was struggling, a voice came from the carriage: "How much longer are you going to take?"
She had no choice but to dismount. Qingfeng lifted the pearl curtain for her. It was extremely luxurious. To keep cool, they even used pearls as curtains.
Muttering to herself, she looked up and saw the man sitting in the middle in his regular prince's attire, looking at her with a cold and piercing gaze, as if he could see through her.
"What a coincidence, Your Highness!"
"Yes, it is quite a coincidence. You're back so soon?" Although Zhongli Mingye was smiling, his smile didn't reach his eyes.
Song Jinyu replied awkwardly, "I met my senior brothers in Yuzhou, so I'm changing my route back."
"This isn't the way to Tianmen Mountain, is it?" The man didn't give her any face.
Uh, she didn't dare to look at his expression. She changed the topic and said, "Why is Your Highness in Yuzhou?" In such a short time, he must have been waiting for her here. For some reason, her heart felt a bit warm. But his next words made Song Jinyu so angry that she stopped talking.
"Yuzhou is my fief. Is it strange for me to be here? But you, daring to deceive me. Do you know your crime!" His words were very serious, as if he really wanted to punish her. Song Jinyu opened her eyes wide angrily. "Do I need to report to you wherever I go?"
"Besides, I haven't done anything wrong!" Why should she be punished? Frowning, she ignored him.
She unconsciously touched her chest with one hand. She hadn't had a good rest for several days. Now, with the sudden rush of emotion, the wound started to ache again.
Suddenly, a hand pulled her into his embrace. Zhongli Mingye hugged her without any explanation.
Song Jinyu blushed. Although they had been betrothed, this was still too ambiguous. She wriggled her body, trying to get up. The man lowered his head and looked at her seriously. "Do you believe that I'll throw you out?"
Humph! She knew he would threaten her! But she was really too tired. Smelling the familiar sandalwood scent, she soon fell asleep.
Zhongli Mingye recalled what the shadow guard had said, "Miss Song has the best relationship with Yan Fei on Tianmen Mountain." His well - defined hand stroked Song Jinyu's face, and his expression darkened involuntarily.
The best relationship with Yan Fei? Heh...
The waters in the capital were getting murkier. Once Prince Cheng married into the Duke of Duan'an's mansion, the crown prince would be restless in the Eastern Palace. The emperor was happy to see his sons fight. Every emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty was born after a bloody battle.
The crown prince? Thinking of this, a strange look flashed in Zhongli Mingye's eyes.
Since returning to Liuzhou City, Song Jinyu had been staying at home obediently. Under the pretext of self - cultivation, in fact, she was avoiding Prince Yu Zhongli Mingye.
That day, he had carried her back to the Song Mansion. For a moment, everyone in the Song Mansion had seen clearly. Song Qinzhou was extremely angry about this. He talked with Prince Yu in the study for a long time before calming down.
"Yu'er, you've grown up. Stay at home obediently and go out less." Song Qinzhou couldn't quite describe his feelings. He was vaguely worried in his heart. A royal marriage was no joke. He was afraid that his daughter would get into trouble.
Now that the betrothal had become a fact, he could only ask his daughter to stay at home obediently.
But this couldn't stop Song Jinyu. Soon, Cheng Song brought news from Yan Fei. That night, she put on a black combat suit and quietly slipped out of the house to meet Yan Fei.
"Senior Brother Yan!"
Song Jinyu rushed over and grabbed Yan Fei's hand. "I haven't seen you for a long time."
Yan Fei smiled and stroked her head. "You!"
"Did you cause trouble again?" Otherwise, why couldn't she leave the mansion?
Thinking of the reason for her father's grounding, Song Jinyu suddenly remembered the betrothal. She was hesitating whether to tell Yan Fei about it.
Then she heard Yan Fei talking about the news from the Golden Water Palace. "Ouyang Jinse was seriously injured. I heard it was you who did it?"
Song Jinyu had no choice but to tell Yan Fei the whole story. She had only done that to buy time. It wasn't her intention to seriously injure Ouyang Jinse. Now, it was actually a good thing. Ouyang Jinse hated her to the core.
Hearing that she had returned with Prince Yu, Yan Fei couldn't help feeling jealous.
"You and him..."
He hoped it wasn't what he was thinking. But seeing his junior sister's blushing face and shy eyes, Yan Fei seemed to understand something. He couldn't help feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart. Did his junior sister have someone she liked?
Not knowing where to start or how to speak, Song Jinyu was silent for a while and then changed the topic. "Have those spiritual pills reached the palace yet?"
"Fortunately, you sent them in two batches. Sure enough, someone tried to disrupt our plan halfway."
Song Jinyu was very worried. "And then?"
"The second batch successfully entered the palace. Eunuch Li delivered them to the emperor."
She felt relieved. This crisis was finally over. Master could also recuperate in peace.
"However—"
Yan Fei told Song Jinyu his doubts. "Someone secretly helped us. When many people were attacking us, a group of black - clothed men suddenly appeared. In the chaos, our people were able to get rid of them smoothly."
Who did these black - clothed men belong to? Song Jinyu was a bit confused.
In Prince Yu's mansion, Zhongli Mingye was very satisfied after hearing the report from the shadow guard.
In this way, she should be at ease.
He already knew very clearly about the matter of the spiritual pills. The emperor had been injured many years ago. Although he was over sixty years old, he was still in good health. He had been taking spiritual pills for more than ten years. The crown prince must be impatient.
His eyes became colder and colder. In the royal family, father and son could be the most secret enemies.
Seeing the crown prince gradually going crazy, Zhongli Mingye was happy to see such a situation. By using the conflict between father and son to stir up the court, it might not be a bad thing.