"Your Highness!"
Caiyu looked up at Song Yinghuai in shock.
The man's bloodshot eyes and extremely ferocious appearance crashed into her sight. His sinister gaze oozed endless chill, making Caiyu hold her breath.
It seemed that it was impossible to communicate with Song Yinghuai in his current mood.
Caiyu's throat twitched as if there was a ball of catkins stuck in it. She didn't understand how the two of them had become like this overnight.
Maybe it was her fault from the beginning. She hadn't taken his feelings into consideration.
But he couldn't take his anger out on Sheng Jiangli because of this!
If they were just bickering and fighting with each other, she wouldn't be worried.
But this time, Song Yinghuai had sent Sheng Jiangli to prison.
What about Brother A'li's future?
It was related to a man's entire life. How could she not be anxious? How could she not feel guilty?
She lifted her hand with difficulty, lowered her head and wiped away her tears. The bitter grievance filled her chest. She didn't know how other couples got along, but she felt it shouldn't be like this.
Maybe it was because both of them were hiding many secrets that couldn't be spoken out, so misunderstandings always came one after another.
Maybe it was because their social statuses were unequal from the very beginning. So his domineering nature clashed with her pride, always creating intense sparks.
Maybe it was because their relationship had started too intensely and hastily. So once there was suspicion, they wished to hurt each other to the core.
Maybe it was... they just didn't know how to get along in love.
Caiyu suddenly felt extremely exhausted.
Her fingers trembled slightly, and her eyes became a bit dim. Like a fleeting meteor, she looked at Song Yinghuai tiredly and said in a trembling voice,
"Your Highness, this servant won't plead for General Sheng anymore... But if something happens to General Sheng, this servant will never forgive you!"
"You..." Song Yinghuai suddenly looked over. His deep pupils were filled with a mixture of anger and shock. He watched as she struggled to get up from the ground and left the study without looking back.
She had threatened him for the sake of Sheng Jiangli...
Qingqing quickly chased after Caiyu and left.
Han Fen stood up and carefully looked at Song Yinghuai sitting in front of the table.
The man sat there like a clay statue, motionless.
But if you looked closely, you could see his body trembling slightly.
His once straight and upright back seemed to have slumped a bit, as if his shoulders were bent under some heavy burden.
"Your Highness," Han Fen called out softly.
"Yeah," Song Yinghuai responded absent - mindedly. He closed his eyes tiredly and finally leaned back on the chair. "It's okay."
Han Fen hesitated for a moment, but still summoned up the courage to ask, "Your Highness, are you really going to send General Sheng to prison to take the blame and just leave it at that? This subordinate can see that Miss Caiyu will really hate you if you do this."
Although Sheng Jiangli was the prince's love rival, Han Fen wasn't completely stupid.
Whether it was the banquet on the wine - boat or some other vaguely connected events before.
He had a faint feeling that the relationship between Sheng Jiangli and the Crown Prince wasn't as "solid" as it seemed.
The prince had always been just and magnanimous. He shouldn't do such a petty thing and really let Sheng Jiangli go to his death, right?
Song Yinghuai leaned his head against the back of the chair with his eyes closed. His mind was full of Caiyu's resolute words before she left:
"If something happens to General Sheng, this servant will never forgive you!"
"If something happens to General Sheng, this servant will never forgive you!"
...
When she left, she was like a tired little bird whose wings had lost their strength and landed on a withered branch.
He wanted to hold her in his palm and take good care of her, but she seemed to be looking at him with hatred, as if he was the master who had deprived her of her freedom.
After a long time, Song Yinghuai let out a snort of laughter. "What kind of person is Sheng Jiangli? Do you need to worry about him?"
So, the prince was certain that Sheng Jiangli had a way to get out of trouble, which was why he had gone to Luoyanju to resort to coercion and inducement?
Han Fen felt a bit more at ease. He couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, you could actually tell Miss Caiyu the truth. Then she wouldn't misunderstand you."
"Tell her what?" Song Yinghuai seemed to have returned to being the calm Prince of Yan. "I didn't want her to know about this in the first place because I knew that once she found out that the silver she sent had caused trouble, she would feel uneasy and act rashly... Who would have thought..."
Who would have thought that she still found out.
Han Fen lowered his head in shame.
It was all his fault for not handling things properly. He had forgotten about Qingqing, the most important person.
"Then, then..." Han Fen looked at Song Yinghuai eagerly. "Then should this subordinate go and explain things for Your Highness?"
"Don't bother!" Song Yinghuai interrupted his subordinate's well - intentioned suggestion angrily. "She even dared to threaten me. If I go begging to explain things, won't she ride on my head from now on?"
Didn't he have any dignity or face?
That girl had been with him for so long, but she still didn't understand him.
Why should he go begging her to explain things?
The trouble was caused by her, and he was the one who had to clean up the mess.
He also had to bear her anger and unjust blame.
Song Yinghuai had always been proud. Only Caiyu could make him experience such a mixture of jealousy, grievance, and anger. For a moment, he just couldn't accept it.
"Don't tell her anything!" Song Yinghuai slapped the table hard. "Let her be anxious! I can't be the only one anxious in this house!"
Han Fen sighed silently in his heart.
What on earth were these two people being stubborn about?
Miss Caiyu had already been riding on the prince's head for a long time.
What was the prince worried about?
He had seen that when the two of them were sweet on each other on normal days, the prince would even be happy when she was on his neck.
But once they quarreled, neither of them would give in.
They were really a pair of fated rivals!
Qingqing caught up with Caiyu and silently followed behind her.
Caiyu had always been full of vitality, but now she was like a tired flower. Her tender petals were listless, as if they were about to wither at any moment.
Qingqing felt a bit heart - broken. "Sister Caiyu, don't be too anxious. The prince is just being stubborn. He won't not listen to you... Besides, Big Brother Sheng is so smart and always has ideas. Maybe he has his own way out, which is why he agreed to the prince to replace Lord Xiao."
Qingqing's words seemed to remind Caiyu.
She stopped in her tracks, suddenly turned around, and her spirit suddenly perked up as she said,
"Qingqing, find a way for me to visit General Sheng in the Ministry of Justice prison... General Sheng is the Crown Prince's man. He should have some leverage against the Crown Prince. If he can send a message to the Crown Prince through this, and the Crown Prince comes out to rescue him, maybe he will be safe."
Qingqing hesitated for a moment. "Big Brother Sheng probably won't reveal such important words and evidence to me. Unless you go in person."
She was that little annoying ghost who had been driven away by Sheng Jiangli several times.
Qingqing was right.
Caiyu sighed and looked up at the sky. "Then I'll have to... crawl through a dog hole."
Qingqing looked completely confused:??
Half an hour later.
"This is the place," Caiyu directed Qingqing to work busily in the most remote corner of the abandoned garden in the northwest corner of the prince's mansion. "Move that pile of stones away, and you'll see the dog hole."
Qingqing was sweating profusely after moving all the stones away. Sure enough, a half - person - tall dog hole was revealed.
"Why did you dig a dog hole in the Prince of Yan's mansion, Sister Caiyu?" Qingqing stared blankly at the place that let in some light.
Caiyu hooked her lips proudly. "A cunning rabbit has three burrows. I've long anticipated that I would anger the prince sooner or later. So as soon as I entered the mansion, I dug a little bit on the wall every day. This hole was just dug through during the two days I was under confinement. I didn't expect it to come in handy so soon."
Caiyu patted the dirt off her embroidered shoes, knelt down on her knees, and just as she poked half of her body out of the dog hole, a pair of white boots embroidered with silver - lined auspicious cranes appeared in front of her eyes...
The familiar auspicious pattern made Caiyu's heart tremble.
Her slender fingers that were propped on the ground curled in the mud, and she refused to look up.
Qingqing squeezed out from behind, bumped into Caiyu's back, and forcefully pushed her between Song Yinghuai's legs. Finally, her head popped out, and she lowered her voice and urged,
"Sister Caiyu, hurry and crawl forward! You're blocking me and I can't get out... Uh!"
Qingqing's voice suddenly stopped. She looked at Caiyu kneeling between Song Yinghuai's legs in an indecent posture in horror...