Song Jinyu smiled faintly. Finally, it's here! It's not too late. She looked curiously at the official, who was none other than the Prefect of the Capital.
"Has this princess done something wrong?"
"Your Excellency, on what grounds are you arresting this princess?" Song Jinyu asked calmly. Rong Shuang'er, on the other hand, looked cold. "Your Excellency, the princess is a member of the royal family. You're... arresting someone without any evidence..." She didn't need to finish the sentence for the prefect to understand.
At the moment, he hadn't seen Song Jinyu meet anyone from the Prince Cheng's Mansion.
But the Crown Prince had said, "No matter what, as long as she shows up at the Sweet Spring Residence, arrest her!"
So, Song Jinyu, the Princess of Prince Yu, and Rong Shuang'er, the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion, were "invited" to "drink tea." When the Crown Prince heard the news, he cursed, "Stupid!"
It was unclear whether he was scolding himself or the prefect.
Chen Mingzhu, the Crown Princess, had been frightened since the palace banquet that day. She was constantly worried that the "secret" would be exposed, but she couldn't bear to abort the child. After all, it was so hard for her to conceive, and the Crown Prince had taken a higher view of her because of it.
However, if this matter were exposed, she would never be able to turn things around...
The concubine "Gui Yun" walked over gracefully to pay her respects. Chen Mingzhu sneered at her. "You were a proper Miss Shen. Now that you've been reborn, there's no need for such an act, right?"
Caught out, Shen Yingyun smiled. In the past two years, she had thought a lot and gradually suppressed her true feelings.
She flattered the Crown Prince and hated the Prince Yu's Mansion even more. On the other hand, she was extremely obsequious to the Crown Princess. The former reckless second Miss Shen was dead. The one who had survived was "Gui Yun," the concubine in the Crown Prince's Mansion.
"Your Highness, you can't say that... After all, this concubine is just here to serve you and the Crown Prince." She lowered herself in order to make Chen Mingzhu let down her guard.
Unfortunately, although Chen Mingzhu wasn't favored by the Crown Prince, she had always been the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion. She simply looked down on Shen Yingyun. "Since you've changed your name to Gui Yun, then live well. As for the past... those things," Chen Mingzhu laughed, "I hope the Crown Prince never finds out your true feelings."
Gui Yun's face turned completely pale. She had always had feelings for Zhongli Mingye. Now that she was living in the Crown Prince's Mansion, she had no choice but to serve him. How did the Crown Princess know about this?
Just as she was thinking, Chen Mingzhu thought it would be a good idea to make good use of her. "Song Jinyu is really favored. Not only is there no concubine in the entire Prince Yu's Mansion, but the Prince Yu also dotes on her very much."
"He's afraid that she won't be happy living in the capital, so he often takes the princess to the estate to play."
"Everyone in the palace knows that the Prince Yu dotes on his wife." As she spoke, she watched Gui Yun's expression. "It's a pity for Miss Ling of the Ling Family..."
"Just as she was about to enter the mansion, she suddenly fell seriously ill and had to stay in bed." Chen Mingzhu clicked her tongue. "It's really a pity. After finally getting the emperor's permission, the third miss of the prime minister's mansion was willing to be a concubine, but in the end, she couldn't even enter the mansion!"
This was also the reason why Prime Minister Ling had often been at odds with the Prince Yu. Rumor had it that Miss Ling's illness was closely related to the Prince Yu.
Some even said that the Prince Yu had promised the princess to be together for life, so no matter how much Miss Ling schemed, she still couldn't enter the mansion.
The more Gui Yun listened, the more jealous and hateful she became.
Why had she suffered so many disasters while Song Jinyu could enjoy happiness? A look of cruelty flashed across Gui Yun's pretty face. Chen Mingzhu felt secretly pleased.
No matter how much the Crown Prince doted on you, you're still just a fool.
"My lord, the princess has been taken away by the prefect..."
Zhongli Mingye supported his forehead with one hand and said helplessly, "Follow me into the palace!"
Song Jinyu and Rong Shuang'er were chatting merrily in the prison. The prison guards standing beside them were carefully attending to them.
The prefect was very troubled now. Why was it different from what the Crown Prince had said? The Crown Prince had sent someone to inform him that the Princess of Prince Yu had met someone from the Prince Cheng's Mansion at the Sweet Spring Residence.
He was told to arrest the person for interrogation to prove that the Prince Cheng's Mansion and the Prince Yu's Mansion were colluding. But... he had gone, and the princess was indeed there.
But the person she had met was Rong Shuang'er.
This was rather thought-provoking. The Duke Rong's Mansion was the maternal grandfather's family of the Crown Prince. Did this mean that the Prince Yu's Mansion was colluding with the Crown Prince?
The emperor was worried about the urgent situation on the front line. When the Prince Yu came to complain, he instantly flew into a rage! "The Crown Prince!" This stupid son had actually done such a thing.
The prefect knelt down. "It was arranged by the Crown Prince. I thought I had found evidence, so I went." Who would have known that the Princess of Prince Yu was with Rong Shuang'er today?
The Crown Prince's face turned ashen. He only hated Shen Yingyun for coming up with such a stupid idea.
Now he was in a difficult situation, and the Prince Yu was relentless.
After picking Song Jinyu up from the prison and taking her home, Zhongli Mingye looked at her happy face and got angry. They had agreed to act out a play, and she wasn't supposed to go to the prison with the prefect.
But in the end, she still acted on her own. "I said not to go to the prison! It's damp there. And what did you do!"
"Alright, alright! I just thought we should add more drama to the play,"
Trying to soothe the angry man, Song Jinyu's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her eyes curved. If she hadn't gone to the prison herself, this matter might not have caused such a big stir.
The emperor wouldn't have been so furious. The deposal of the Crown Prince was a foregone conclusion. It was just that the situation on the front line was urgent, and the court needed to be stable.
But Zhongli Mingye was very dissatisfied. Song Jinyu had actually stayed in the prison for two hours.
He kissed her hard until they got back to the mansion. "You listen to me clearly. Don't act on your own again!"
Song Jinyu was dissatisfied. "Wasn't I doing a good job?"
As if she could understand his entanglement, "I'm your wife. I can't avoid these things." She nestled into his arms and laughed softly. "The Crown Prince is really interesting. I wonder what he's thinking now!"
"Father... said today... that he wants me to lead the Qingyuan Army." His phoenix eyes locked tightly on her. "If anything happens to you in the capital, go and find the imperial uncle.
"Don't go out without good reason."
Song Jinyu looked at him seriously. "It's so soon? I'm going with you!" What was she going to do alone in the capital?
Zhongli Mingye pinched her pretty face. "No..."
"Father said that I can go alone, and my family members have to stay in the capital." There was a hint of sadness in his eyes. How could he bear to leave Song Jinyu? If the emperor hadn't given the order, he wouldn't have left her behind.
The battlefield was full of danger. He couldn't afford to lose her.
"Then I'll go secretly!" Song Jinyu made up her mind that she must follow Zhongli Mingye. "That's not possible. Wouldn't I be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
"Besides, you should take good care of your body... We..." He leaned close to Song Jinyu's ear and blew gently. "We'll have a child when I come back."
Song Jinyu blushed. She wrapped her arms around his slender waist and hugged Zhongli Mingye tightly. "Mingye..." She couldn't say that she didn't want him to go. Protecting the country was a man's responsibility.
It was his responsibility as a prince of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Thinking of this, she suddenly pulled him onto the bed. Zhongli Mingye's eyes darkened. "Um... My love... Why are you being so proactive?"
"..."