When Prime Minister Ling learned that Ling Yufei had gone to the prison, he was instantly enraged!
He slapped her twice in a row. "You're so stupid! All my decades of planning have been ruined by you."
Now, Ling Yufei had completely exposed this matter.
"Father, aren't you just trying to cultivate a new emperor and gain the merits of supporting the new ruler?" Ling Yufei thought she was being smart. "If I gain the favor of Prince Yu, I'll naturally be the future queen."
"Why do you still need to cultivate that infant?"
Prime Minister Ling hated himself for spoiling her excessively. "If Prince Yu wanted you, he wouldn't have tried to poison you!"
"My lord, now everyone outside knows that Miss Ling of the Ling family went to the prison to force Prince Yu to marry her."
"And they also say..."
"Say what!"
"They say it was you, my lord, who gave the order, in order to make your daughter the future crown princess. Since Prince Yu refused, you framed him and sent him to prison."
It was over!
Prime Minister Ling slumped into his chair. The current emperor was extremely suspicious. The situation he had just set up had been ruined by Ling Yufei. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that Concubine Qin was from his wife's family.
Previously, he had been cautious and upright, highly valued by the emperor. He had started to make his move after waiting for Concubine Qin to give birth to a prince. However, he had hoped to kill two birds with one stone, harming Prince Yu while also making the emperor pay more attention to the young prince.
But his daughter had been so stupid as to go to the prison and say such things.
Ming Ruyi looked at the evidence in front of her and smiled. Zhongli Mingye was really ruthless. From then on, she dared not underestimate him.
If a man could be so cruel to himself, let alone his enemies.
The matter of the young prince being poisoned was indeed self - directed and self - acted by Concubine Qin. But it was Zhongli Mingye who had managed to shift all the suspicion onto Prince Yu.
Even Ling Yufei's "recovery" had been part of his plan.
The show in the prison was really brilliant.
Not only had he lured Ling Yufei into saying something treasonous, but he had also taken the opportunity to express his determination to Song Jinyu. Ming Ruyi sighed and quietly passed the evidence to her informant in the palace.
Before long, the emperor lost patience with Concubine Qin and ordered her to hand over the young prince to Consort Jia for upbringing.
Then, in the court, he rebuked Prime Minister Ling for his poor upbringing of his daughter.
Naturally, Prince Yu was "wrongfully accused" and released from prison. Moreover, the emperor felt even more guilty and bestowed many rare antiques on Prince Yu's mansion.
In May, Prince Yong and his wife returned to the capital with their young princess.
Previously, many officials in the court had advocated making Prince Yu the crown prince, but their voices gradually faded. After all, according to seniority, Prince Yong was the third prince, and it was impossible for Prince Yu to be chosen.
Moreover, Prince Yong's mother had been promoted from a noble consort to a consort, second only to Consort Shu.
The emperor liked to use the art of balance. In this way, the adult princes would have to think twice before threatening the throne.
However, Prince Yong's smooth entry into the capital was also thanks to Prince Yu. Ming Ruyi couldn't understand. "If you become the crown prince, it would be great to be second only to the emperor."
"Crown prince?"
Zhongli Mingye scoffed. "Father is becoming more and more suspicious." He didn't want to be the crown prince at all.
"Uncle, I heard that Father intends to arrange a marriage for you!"
Although Song Jinyu didn't mention Ming Ruyi's rudeness to her, the first thing Zhongli Mingye did after returning was to arrange a "marriage" for Ming Ruyi.
The hand shaking the folding fan paused for a moment. His phoenix eyes turned cold. "It was you!"
It wasn't a question but an affirmation.
The chess game between the two men was not over. Ming Ruyi flung his sleeves and left. He never expected Zhongli Mingye to do such a thing.
The emperor intended to arrange a marriage for the King of Zhongzhou, bestowing Rong Shuang'er, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Rongguo's mansion, as his principal wife.
Zhongli Mingye raised his eyes and slowly put away the chess pieces.
Song Jinyu walked over with freshly picked cherries. "Where is he?"
"He left!"
Her beautiful eyes were full of innocence. She had only been there for a short time. "He must be overjoyed. After all, Father has arranged a marriage for him."
"...Is it Shuang'er?" Song Jinyu was delighted. "Great! How happy Shuang'er must be!"
"We have to prepare the dowry quickly! Once the marriage order is given, the wedding date will be approaching." Zhongli Mingye fed her a cherry.
He smiled. "Right!"
In the Duke of Rongguo's mansion, the duke and his wife were extremely happy. After the emperor arranged a marriage for Rong Shuang'er, the duke's son was also promoted.
It seemed that the glory of the duke's mansion was about to be restored.
But Rong Shuang'er was not happy. Because she knew that Zhongli Hong didn't love her.
She had seen the affection and understanding between Prince Yu and his wife. When they stood together, even if they did nothing, they seemed to be deeply in love.
But what about Zhongli Hong and her?
In the palace, Consort Shu looked coldly at Concubine Qin kneeling on the ground.
"Your ladyship, please have mercy."
"It's your fortune that the emperor has given the prince to Consort Jia."
Concubine Qin trembled and didn't dare to look at her expression. She knew that she had been muddle - headed some time ago and had listened to the prime minister's words. She had secretly plotted against Prince Yu.
Unexpectedly, that cold - faced prince had turned the tables on her.
Not only had he sown discord between the emperor and Prime Minister Ling, but he had also made her lose the prince forever.
"Concubine Qin, take good care of yourself." Consort Shu, even though she was a devout Buddhist, would not easily forgive the person who had slandered her son. She told the eunuch in charge of the inner affairs of the harem to take good care of her.
It was easy to gain favor in the palace, but also easy to lose it.
No one knew what Ming Ruyi had said to the empress dowager. Although the emperor's order for the marriage had been issued, the wedding date was still undetermined.
After the initial joy, the Duke of Rongguo's mansion quickly fell into silence.
At the same time, the news of Song Chuyu's military achievements in defending Qinghe Pass against Yanqiu reached the emperor's ears. He was promoted to the vice - minister of the Ministry of War and ordered to enter the capital to take up his post.
At the same time, Cheng Song took over the position of the General of the Tiger Ben Army in Qinghe Pass.
After getting the news, He Yi suppressed her excited heart. That man had been fighting hard for their future.
The day of his proposal was getting closer.
"This time, there's no crown prince to cause trouble."
At the Western Mountain Hot Spring Palace, Prince Yu and his princess went there again to recuperate. He threw aside all his affairs and didn't care what the court thought.
In the largest hot spring pool, there were only the two of them.
Although they had been husband and wife for a long time, Song Jinyu was still shy. In a daze, she remembered the last time when this "ruthless" man had killed the dancer from the Eastern Palace with a soft sword.
Until "plop", she was suddenly pulled into the pool by that man. She finally came to her senses!
Her clothes were wet, revealing her beautiful curves. She quickly hugged her arms, but she was gradually defeated by his burning gaze.
Zhongli Mingye got closer to her, looking carefully at her long eyelashes that were slightly trembling. Her eyes were full of affection, like rippling water. He gently pulled her delicate body into his strong embrace.
"My love, you're nervous again..."
The apricot - yellow ribbon was soaked in the hot spring water, and her outer robe had been removed at some point. The pool was filled with white steam, and the two of them were entangled with each other.
The moon rose above the willow treetops, and the lovers were in the hot spring.
Song Jinyu sighed. In this situation, she could only rest in the pool. Until a numb and aching sensation came from her wrist. She opened her eyes and saw that Zhongli Mingye was actually nibbling on her fair wrist.
"What are you doing!"