Ming Ruyi listened to Xiaotao's complaints without showing any emotion.
However, her eyes were fixed on Song Jinyu. She noticed that Song Jinyu's eyes were always on Zhongli Mingye. Although Song Jinyu's subtle movements escaped others' notice,
Ming Ruyi knew that the two of them must be whispering to each other.
Xiaotao was rather noisy. If she weren't of any use, she wouldn't even catch Ming Ruyi's eye. Ming Ruyi gave the woman beside her a cold glance, which finally made her shut up.
"Xiaotao is really something!"
As soon as they got home, Song Jinyu couldn't help complaining, "Why does Ming Ruyi like her?"
Zhongli Mingye smiled and told her how Ming Ruyi had met Xiaotao. Finally, he concluded, "Maybe they just hit it off."
"His taste is really bad!"
Seeing Song Jinyu so indignant, Zhongli Mingye laughed. His uncle's taste wasn't bad at all. However, he definitely couldn't tell her this, otherwise... who knew what kind of trouble it would bring.
"Yes, Uncle's taste is really bad!"
However, Song Jinyu wasn't stupid. "No! Ming Ruyi is always a cunning man. How could he easily fall for such a person?"
Her thoughts went back to the just - ended banquet. Song Jinyu clearly felt that Xiaotao had an ulterior motive for approaching Ming Ruyi. Any person with a bit of sense would check into Xiaotao's background.
Was Ming Ruyi so desperate that he would choose a girl who had just sold herself to bury her father?
Moreover, while still in mourning for her father during the fifty - seventh day after his death, she dared to act so rudely and openly become a concubine of a prince?
"Did you eat the plum just now?"
What?
Song Jinyu was interrupted by Zhongli Mingye's sudden question. "I ate it ages ago!" It was just a plum. There was no need to be so mysterious.
"Oh?"
Zhongli Mingye walked around in front of her and whispered, "The prince also wants to eat that plum." Song Jinyu was still thinking about Ming Ruyi. "That plum isn't anything rare. Just ask Niaoniao to bring one for you!"
Unfortunately, before she could say the next sentence, he sealed her lips with a kiss. He didn't let her go until she was almost out of breath. "The prince wants to eat this plum!" His voice was slightly hoarse. "I learned this from you, my love..."
Learned from her? Song Jinyu was silent for a while. When had she ever done such a thing?
Suddenly, she remembered that on his birthday, wasn't that how she had "drunk wine"?
Seeing that she had remembered, Zhongli Mingye was in an even better mood. He picked up the dazed beauty horizontally. "Come, let the prince taste if that 'plum' is delicious?"
It wasn't until dawn the next day that the question "Is the plum delicious?" still echoed in Song Jinyu's ears.
"Your Highness, the prince asked this servant to bring you a plate of plums."
After Niaoniao served her breakfast, she placed a plate of pickled plums in front of Song Jinyu. Immediately, Song Jinyu flew into a rage. "… I don't want to eat plums!!!"
Not understanding why she had such a strong reaction all of a sudden, Niaoniao took the plums away with a strange look on her face.
"Zhongli Mingye! You bastard!!!"
Rong Shuang'er had thought things through. Instead of chasing after him aimlessly, it was better to let him go.
Thinking that the man she loved had easily fallen in love with someone else, she realized that he was not the right man for her.
He Yi had tried to persuade her a few times but then gave up.
Unexpectedly, as the New Year was approaching, Ming Ruyi suddenly left. He went back to Yezhou and didn't take Xiaotao with him when he left.
When Rong Shuang'er first heard this news, she felt a bit disappointed.
Since his release from prison, they seemed to have lost touch. The initial flutter in her heart had gradually faded away, leaving only a faint trace in her heart.
After Ming Ruyi left, Xiaotao caused a lot of trouble in the Zhongzhou Prince's Mansion. The first person to bear the brunt was Ming Qiyun, the concubine who had been given to the Zhongzhou Prince.
Relying on her new - found favor, Xiaotao didn't put Ming Qiyun in her eyes. After repeatedly provoking Ming Qiyun, she finally offended the concubine and was given a beating with a board.
Although she survived, her face was beyond recognition.
Song Jinyu found it very strange. Why did Ming Ruyi allow them to make such a ruckus? When she asked Zhongli Mingye, she only got this answer, "In the royal family, some people have to struggle just to survive."
Was he talking about Ming Ruyi?
She felt a pang of pity for him for no reason. Such a carefree man was helpless just because he was born into the royal family.
After Rong Shuang'er heard that Xiaotao had been punished, her face remained unchanged. The man had never belonged to her. How could she feel any pleasure?
"Your Highness, the prince is drinking on the Bright Moon Terrace... He seems to be in a bad mood." Xing Jian came to invite Song Jinyu, but as soon as she heard about the Bright Moon Terrace, she waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no. Let him finish drinking."
She was afraid of the Bright Moon Terrace...
However, she was still worried about the man's bad mood. She just paced back and forth in the room. Should she go or not? Thinking of the two experiences on the Bright Moon Terrace,
her face inexplicably turned red.
Xing Jian refused to leave and still maintained the posture of invitation. It seemed that if she didn't go, he wouldn't leave. Suddenly, she remembered that in Liuzhou City, Zhongli Mingye had also sent someone to invite her to the prince's mansion like this.
Alas, she made a bitter face.
Go then. Who asked him to be in a bad mood!
Taking "heavy" steps, she climbed up the ancient steps. Song Jinyu looked as if she was going to sacrifice herself, which made Zhongli Mingye very helpless.
"I heard that you've been investigating a guard in the Crown Prince's Palace."
"…"
Well, Qingfeng was his man. How could her every move escape his notice? Song Jinyu had no choice but to sit down beside him. "I'm just a bit suspicious!"
"Stop investigating. That man was arranged by the prince to go in." Zhongli Mingye's voice was cold. There was no stove lit on the Bright Moon Terrace, so it was a bit cold.
He put his arm around Song Jinyu. "Didn't you say you wouldn't come to the Bright Moon Terrace?" He looked at her increasingly blushing face proudly and couldn't help but kiss her.
"Xing Jian said you were in a bad mood..."
"But now that you're here, the prince is in a good mood." Song Jinyu looked at him sideways. "Do I have such a big influence?"
"Of course..."
Suddenly, Song Jinyu remembered something. She looked at him seriously. "Now all the people around me are yours. Are you going to lock me up in a cage?" Although this was also a form of protection, Song Jinyu always felt something strange.
"Um..." His phoenix eyes were fixed on her. "The prince has always liked to be in control of everything, including your heart and your person."
"So... Jinyu, you..."
Song Jinyu looked at him with bright eyes. They had been married for so long, and he still liked to threaten her. "Why are you in a bad mood?"
"Today, Father asked me what I would do if the Crown Prince was unworthy."
"Father suspects you..."
What's the point of the father and son in the royal family constantly scheming against each other? "The prince said that it was Father's business. As a son and a subject, I have my duties."
He looked at Song Jinyu. "These things shouldn't have been known to you." Song Jinyu leaned against his chest and said softly, "I'm your wife. I should know."
"Ming Ruyi left at this time and made the mansion in a mess. Maybe he was trying to reassure your father."
On the surface, the palace seemed peaceful. Both the court and the harem seemed to have calmed down a lot. The Crown Prince was gradually regaining his strength, but Song Jinyu knew that this was actually the prelude to a coming storm.