Zhu Xiao said, "Maid Caiyu! Just now, the prince..."
"Old Zhu!" Song Yinghuai sternly stopped Zhu Xiao.
He gave Caiyu a cold look.
This girl only believed that Sheng Jiangli had blocked that arrow with his body, but failed to see what he had done to save her just now amidst the rain of arrows and gunpowder.
If he had wanted to kill her, was there any need for such unnecessary actions?
In the end, Caiyu trusted Sheng Jiangli more than him.
He didn't want to refute, and it seemed there was no need to.
Silence filled the air between them. Thousands of Yan soldiers seemed to have vanished into the silence, as quiet as the night.
After a long while, Song Yinghuai let out a cold laugh, mounted his horse alone, and without a word, galloped into the rising sun like an arrow.
Caiyu stood there stunned, not understanding what Song Yinghuai meant.
But she knew that although she had narrowly escaped death this time, she had lost her relationship with Song Yinghuai.
It seemed they were about to return to square one.
All the Yan soldiers were men, and no one dared to carry Caiyu on their horse.
Zhu Xiao had no choice but to offer his horse and ride back with Han Fen on the same horse.
Han Fen complained non - stop, "General Zhu, my precious horse can't bear the weight of the two of us. Can't you feel its legs trembling?"
Zhu Xiao shamelessly replied, "I can feel it. Little Han, you should reflect on why you've eaten yourself so fat that the poor horse can't carry you."
Han Fen: ...
Shouldn't he take a look at his bear - like build before saying that?
It rained a lot in spring. The continuous spring rain made the warming weather gradually turn cold again.
As time passed, all of Caiyu's wounds gradually healed, leaving only faint scars.
Because Sheng Jiangli had escaped, the news of Huang Shan's death finally reached the capital, Shangjing, at the fastest speed.
Perhaps to absolve himself, Sheng Jiangli didn't mention Song Yinghuai at all. Instead, in his memorial to the emperor, he accused Huang Shan of extorting the common people's hard - earned money after entering Yanjing, delaying the imperial edict, indulging in pleasure houses, and finally drowning after excessive drinking.
And Huang Shan's imperial edict had not been announced before it sank to the bottom of the lake with him.
Since Huang Shan was the envoy recommended by the crown prince and was acting on behalf of the emperor, such a ridiculous thing had happened.
A eunuch indulging in pleasure houses during his inspection on behalf of the emperor?
This was not only Huang Shan's personal problem but also involved a huge scandal.
If a eunuch could play with women, then wouldn't the emperor's harem be as chaotic as the grasslands of the Tartars?
The emperor was furious when he heard the news. He not only severely scolded the crown prince but also ordered the Jinyiwei to take over the investigation of the Dongchang and the eunuchs in the palace to check if they still had their manhood.
Once anyone who had cheated was found, they would be immediately arrested.
Coincidentally, the Jinyiwei not only took the opportunity to control the Dongchang but also the evidence of the crown prince's private mining of copper ore and private minting of coins in Kaiping was presented to the emperor by Commander Lu of the Jinyiwei.
This copper ore incident also involved the Dongchang, the Ministry of Works, the governor of Hebei, and other people closely related to the crown prince.
The crown prince had repeatedly stepped on the emperor's red lines, and finally, the emperor flew into a rage, deprived the crown prince of his power to supervise the country, and returned to the court.
Even the Taoist priest Zhang Tianshi, who was recommended by the crown prince, was also ignored by the emperor.
Taoism, which had just started to flourish, declined. After re - consideration, the emperor vigorously built temples, and the Buddhist temples in Daye, which had been silent for a long time, became prosperous again.
But all these were later events.
Because of the crown prince's temporary failure, the Yan Prince's Mansion seemed extremely quiet. Even the Lianyin Pavilion had been unusually silent these days.
It was so silent that it was suffocating.
Everyone didn't know the reason, but they all felt that since Caiyu had been kidnapped by Sheng Jiangli in the middle of the night and then came back, the Lianyin Pavilion had become cold.
Song Yinghuai left early and returned late, and was hardly ever seen.
There was no longer the scene of him returning to the pavilion for meals almost every day.
The people in the Yan Prince's Mansion couldn't help gossiping in private. They all said that Caiyu had probably been taken advantage of by Sheng Jiangli that night, which was why the prince had distanced himself from her.
Therefore, when they looked at Caiyu, there was an extra look of curiosity in their eyes.
Some people even secretly gambled on when Song Yinghuai would dismiss Caiyu from the mansion.
Caiyu seemed like nothing had happened, but she talked less than before.
Because Song Yinghuai had disappeared, the Lianyin Pavilion was like a pile of loose sand without a master. Everyone didn't need to serve anyone, and they all looked listless.
Only Xiangye's face was as bright as the winter jasmine in spring, blooming every day.
"Sister Caiyu," Xiangye said while doing needlework with Caiyu. She bit her lip and said guiltily, "I'm sorry!"
Caiyu: ???
Xiangye: "At first, I wanted to match you with Han Fen. I didn't expect him to go to my family to propose marriage. I... I didn't mean to steal him from you!"
Caiyu: ...
So that's what it was about!
She was happy to see it happen!
Caiyu: "Guard Han is a good man. I'm happy for you two if you can be together. You don't need to feel sorry for me. I never liked him in the first place. I just want to ask if you like him?"
Xiangye looked blank: "I... I don't know..."
Caiyu twitched the corner of her mouth.
It seemed that Han Fen still had a long way to go!
Actually, Xiangye was just slow in matters of the heart. Every time she saw Han Fen, her bright eyes couldn't hide her feelings.
Xiangye thought she was happy because of the delicious food Han Fen brought, but Caiyu also knew that if you didn't like someone, the food that person brought would also seem disgusting.
Anyway, the relationship between Han Fen and Xiangye would just happen naturally.
Her own situation was full of difficulties. How could she have the energy to care about this young couple?
Because the crown prince had been stripped of his power, he couldn't hold back his impatience anymore.
The crown prince sent three secret letters in a row, urging Caiyu to speed up her actions.
These days, Caiyu had already adjusted her emotions. She had wanted to soften Song Yinghuai again, but unexpectedly, Song Yinghuai had disappeared and was avoiding her.
Even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice!
The crown prince also mentioned in the letter that a new envoy from Shangjing was bringing a new imperial edict to Yanjing.
Caiyu was extremely anxious. She knew that once Song Yinghuai received the edict, as a mere maid, she would be left in Yanjing.
If she didn't complete her task before the envoy entered the capital, she would become a useless pawn.
Would the crown prince directly target her family?
At this moment, Song Yinghuai was sitting in a quiet meditation room in the Great Baoen Temple.
The purple - gold incense burner on the table was in the shape of a delicate little beast, emitting the fragrance of agarwood, which smelled extremely refreshing.
Zhu Xiao, Master Guangzhi, and others were all gathered here.
Zhu Xiao sipped the plain tea and sighed, "Master, I remember the prince gave you several cakes of top - grade Biluochun..."
Master Guangzhi's old eyes flickered slightly, "We monks are used to living a simple and poor life."
Zhu Xiao: "Hehe, I think the master just doesn't want to waste the good tea on us rough guys."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Master Guangzhi also let out a few dry laughs, "It's better not to expose the truth. Once exposed, all the Dharma will be empty. General Zhu and everyone else didn't come to the temple to drink tea. Let's talk about business."
When it came to business, everyone's expressions became serious.
Fang Kuan said, "I don't know if that kid Sheng Jiangli did it on purpose or was just thoughtless. Why did he give Huang Shan such a cause of death... It actually helped us. It has given the crown prince a huge headache. Coupled with the evidence of the copper ore in Kaiping that the prince gave to the Jinyiwei, the crown prince has been stripped of his power."
"This has saved us a lot of trouble. In fact, we should thank that stinky kid!"
Fang Kuan, who had followed Sheng Jiangli that day, had also been tricked. He was very indignant in his heart, but now, objectively speaking, he was sincerely grateful for being tricked that day.
If they hadn't let Sheng Jiangli go, where would the crown prince's current difficulties come from?
Zhu Xiao: "I think he was just shot stupid by the prince's arrow. He came to Yanjing this time as the guard of Huang Shan's entourage. Since Huang Shan acted so absurdly, he was also accused of ineffective supervision. Fortunately, the emperor was magnanimous and only punished him by deducting one year's salary."
Song Yinghuai's slender fingers rested on the light - blue porcelain cup lid. His expression was calm, and he didn't even lift his eyelids:
"Not necessarily. He may have done it on purpose."