"When will the Qingyuan Army of the Great Xia Dynasty return to the capital?" Song Jinyu's bright eyes made Ming Ruyi's heart skip half a beat.
He waved his folding fan and smiled faintly. "It will be in a few days!"
If she hadn't entered the palace, he might never have seen Song Jinyu. He Yi knew what her uncle was thinking, but she still thought that the Fourth Prince was more suitable for Song Jinyu.
After all, Ming Ruyi was unpredictable, and his actions were often without a set pattern.
"Oh..."
He Yi mentioned the cherries that Song Jinyu had sent the day before. "Those cherries were so delicious. Are there any more?"
"None left, none left, none left!" Song Jinyu waved her hands repeatedly. She couldn't give any more, as she was saving them for Ming Ye to eat when he came back.
She had managed to preserve them in the ice cellar. He Yi pouted. "You saved them for the Fourth Brother, right?"
Caught out, Song Jinyu felt a bit embarrassed. Ming Ruyi waved his folding fan, the movements getting slower and slower.
The Zhongzhou Prince's Mansion had also received the cherries from Song Jinyu the day before. Ming Ruyi had enjoyed them alone. When Ming Qiyun found out, she was furious.
She went to the Empress Dowager Ming and laid the matter bare. The Empress Dowager Ming was also surprised and just advised her niece not to jump to conclusions. After all, she had been married into the Zhongzhou Prince's Mansion for quite some time but still had no children.
Ming Qiyun felt wronged. "The prince always gives me contraceptive soup. I'm helpless!"
So,
the Empress Dowager Ming summoned Ming Ruyi and gave him a good scolding.
Ming Qiyun still wasn't satisfied. She invited several officials' wives to the mansion to chat and slandered Song Jinyu.
Just as she was enjoying herself, Ming Ruyi unexpectedly returned to the mansion.
"She already has the Prince Yu, but she still has her eye on our prince."
"Indeed. She's really a vixen."
"Don't you know? She's from a small border town. She's really not decent enough." Ming Qiyun took a sip of tea and was about to say something else when she looked up and saw Ming Ruyi. Immediately, she fell silent in fear.
Ming Ruyi looked at her coldly and then at the officials' wives one by one. "Come! Take the concubine away!"
"See these ladies off."
He tapped his palm with his folding fan again and again. Ming Ruyi's eyes were sharp, as if he were looking at a dead person.
It made Ming Qiyun panic. She had just wanted to vent her anger today.
"Did you discover something?"
Ming Qiyun suddenly realized that he might not necessarily care about Song Jinyu's reputation, but rather about this secret being discovered.
Until those jade - like hands touched her neck, Ming Qiyun gradually widened her eyes. "You're right. This prince... does have feelings for her."
"But you shouldn't have exposed this..." Ming Ruyi's voice gradually turned cold. Listening to the words squeezed out of Ming Qiyun's throat, "She's already... married!"
He tightened his grip slightly. Ming Qiyun's neck was about to break.
"So what?"
Ming Qiyun was unwilling to die. Why was Ming Ruyi so cruel and heartless to her? "So what? How can you compare with her?" Throwing away the handkerchief that he had used to wipe his hands, Ming Ruyi calmly ordered, "Send some special gifts to those officials' wives..."
The special gift was exactly Ming Qiyun's tongue.
That evening during dinner, all the officials' wives who had been to the Zhongzhou Prince's Mansion during the day received something extremely bloody.
The ladies all fell ill one after another. After they recovered, they never dared to gossip again.
Song Jinyu didn't know what had happened in the Zhongzhou Prince's Mansion. She only cared about when Zhongli Ming Ye would return to the capital. Occasionally, she would secretly change into men's clothing and slip out of the city gate to wait.
Of course, Ming Ruyi always noticed whenever she did this.
He looked coldly at that charming figure. The tightly - held fan handle betrayed his feelings.
"Uncle..." Oops, she had been seen by Ming Ruyi again. Song Jinyu felt embarrassed. She greeted him and wanted to leave.
But Ming Ruyi wouldn't let her. "The sun is strong today. How about having some wine with this prince?"
Song Jinyu looked at him in surprise. Suddenly, she thought of Zhongli Ming Ye and refused. "Uncle, the imperial concubine has told this concubine to take care of her health..."
"I'm not suitable for drinking."
Taking care of her health, was it to have a child for him? Ming Ruyi's eyes grew darker. These days, he had neglected the court affairs and indulged himself. Now, he increasingly realized that all his aberrations were because of the woman in front of him.
He couldn't help but step forward and reach out to grab her. But Song Jinyu was very alert and took a few steps back.
After bowing, she was about to slip away directly.
Mi Cui saw this and felt extremely contemptuous. The prince was not in the capital, yet as an uncle, he lusted after his nephew's wife.
Immediately, she stood in front of Song Jinyu.
When Song Jinyu returned to the mansion, she saw Song Chuyu waiting for her. "Yu'er..." His face was very solemn. Song Jinyu had a bad feeling.
"Chengsong sent news..."
"Zhongli Ming Ye is missing!"
What did it mean that he was missing? Song Jinyu didn't react at first. Her beautiful eyes stared blankly at Song Chuyu. "Brother, what are you talking about?"
Zhongli Ming Ye was gone? She became more and more agitated. "How could this be?" What did it mean that he was gone!
He was the prince of the Great Xia Dynasty and the famous "War God"! Seeing her agitation, Song Chuyu immediately comforted her. "Chengsong is still looking for his trace..." What he didn't say was that Zhongli Ming Ye had been attacked on his way back to the capital and had since disappeared without a trace!
Song Jinyu seemed to lose all her strength. She staggered, but luckily Niaoniao supported her in time.
"Don't worry! Brother will lead people to look for him personally!" Seeing Song Jinyu's pale face, he was extremely heart - broken. He had watched their loving relationship all along and naturally knew what Zhongli Ming Ye meant to Song Jinyu.
"Brother, you go. I want to be alone for a while." Back in the bedroom, Song Jinyu couldn't hold back anymore. Big tears rolled down.
She looked at the empty bedroom. For the first time, she felt how cold this room was.
"Ming Ye, where are you?"
Her suppressed sobs made Niaoniao and Mi Cui, who were guarding outside, extremely sad.
At this time, the palace also received the news. Concubine Shu fainted on the spot and was unconscious.
The emperor was extremely angry and ordered a thorough investigation of the matter.
Ming Ruyi stopped his hand that was watering the flowers. His phoenix eyes flashed with an inexplicable light. Missing? Was his nephew so easy to die?
Wouldn't Song Jinyu be extremely sad?
Immediately, he stopped watering the flowers, changed out of his prince's formal clothes, and entered the palace.
By now, the emperor was deeply convinced that there must be someone in the court jealous of Zhongli Ming Ye's great achievements, or even neighboring small countries, fearing the "War God" of the Great Xia Dynasty, so they had carried out an assassination on his way back to the capital.