Song Yinghuai stared blankly at her.
Caiyu was really hurt by his actions that time.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the sourness in his heart, and forced a smile. "Okay, I'll do everything as you say."
They had plenty of time.
No matter how deep the wound or how wide the rift, he could mend it.
At least Caiyu was willing to talk to him again and let him stay in her room.
So he would surely win back that willful girl.
Once he did, he would tell her:
You can do whatever you want.
You can even turn the whole world upside down.
The night was still long and dark, but the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the imperial city was brightly lit.
The crown prince, Song Chengyuan, knelt at Emperor Guangwu's feet, sobbing. "Father! I'm innocent! I don't know why the fifth and seventh brothers suddenly decided to rebel. I really had no idea!"
Emperor Guangwu kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling on the ground. He roared, "You had no idea!"
Song Chengyuan let out a wail and rolled on the ground. Then Emperor Guangwu slapped him across the face. "Those two have always followed your lead and obeyed your every word. Without your orders, would they dare to rebel?"
"Father!"
Song Chengyuan didn't know how to explain this. The news of the two idiots' rebellion was so sudden that it caught him off guard.
At this moment, all he could do was to express his loyalty.
He hugged Emperor Guangwu's leg tightly again and cried, "Father! I really know nothing! Father, this doesn't make sense! Think about it. I'm already the crown prince. I have no reason to rebel! I would never conspire with them on such a stupid thing!"
Hearing the mention of the crown prince, Emperor Guangwu's eyes became even more unfathomable.
Recently, because of Song Chengyuan's continuous blunders, he had been reducing the power of the Eastern Palace.
Could it be that this fool was afraid of being deposed, so he decided to stage a rebellion out of desperation?
Song Chengyuan rambled on to prove his innocence. "Father, to prove my innocence, please allow me to lead an army to the Qin and Jin regions. I'll capture those two traitors myself!"
Capture the traitors?
Emperor Guangwu's anger subsided a bit. He looked at Song Chengyuan with a complicated expression.
After all, he was his favorite son.
Should he trust him one more time?
Should he give him a chance to prove himself?
The struggle in his heart raged like a flood.
He thought of his late wife in the Hall of Eternal Spring and the first life he had welcomed in the difficult days before he had conquered the world...
After a long time.
Emperor Guangwu finally softened his expression and said in a deep voice, "Go! Bring those two unfilial sons back to me!"
The autumn rain was mixed with a hint of chill. When dawn broke, Song Yinghuai woke up.
He looked down at the woman sleeping soundly on his arm. His heart finally settled.
Caiyu seemed to have had a restless sleep last night. She tossed and turned and murmured something he didn't understand from time to time.
Worried, he didn't dare to sleep in the middle of the night. He kept patting her on the back to comfort her.
The girl had dark circles under her eyes, obviously not having slept well.
Song Yinghuai wanted to let her sleep a little longer, but there was a knock on the door. "Your Highness, the Princess of Nan'an requests an audience."
The knock woke up Caiyu, who was already sleeping restlessly. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and struggled to sit up. Then she looked blankly at Song Yinghuai.
It was hard to tell whether she was questioning him or still half - awake.
Song Yinghuai felt a chill on his scalp and quickly explained, "I didn't tell the princess that I was in the post - station. I guess she went to the palace on business and Ji Ming told her."
He knew that Caiyu was always jealous and minded his involvement with other women.
There had been a lot of official business on Qixia Mountain before. He had neither the energy to avoid it nor the time to explain everything to Caiyu. But now it was different. Now he could explain.
Unexpectedly, Caiyu nodded obediently. "The princess has something to talk to you about. Go quickly!"
This unprecedented tenderness and consideration should have made Song Yinghuai happy, but it made him feel uneasy.
What did it mean that this girl was suddenly so magnanimous?
Was it because she trusted him or because she didn't care about him anymore?
Before Song Yinghuai could sort out his thoughts, he was pushed out of bed by her.
He had no choice but to put on his outer robe and angrily opened the door.
Xu Buyue was standing outside.
The man's tall figure almost blocked all the scenery inside the room, but Xu Buyue still saw through his shoulder that the woman on the bed had a disheveled hair, was in a disheveled dress, and had an extremely charming look on her face.
Her heart ached for a moment, but she quickly shifted her attention to the matter at hand.
"Fourth brother, His Majesty has ordered me to lead an army with the crown prince to suppress the rebellion in the Qin and Jin regions immediately. I'm here to ask if you have any plans."
She didn't know what Song Yinghuai's specific plan was, but she just wanted to take this opportunity to say goodbye to Song Yinghuai before leaving.
Song Yinghuai didn't seem surprised by this news at all, as if it was within his expectation.
It was he who had secretly arranged for the crown prince to go and suppress the rebellion himself.
As for Emperor Guangwu's decision to let someone from the Xu family lead the army, it was also within his expectation.
Emperor Guangwu was willing to give Song Chengyuan a chance to prove himself, but he couldn't fully trust him.
If he let Song Chengyuan lead the army to suppress the rebellion himself, who could guarantee that he wasn't setting a tiger free back to the mountains?
After much thought, Emperor Guangwu would surely select a loyal general in the court to accompany the crown prince.
The Xu family, a powerful family that was not afraid of the crown prince's authority and was loyal to Emperor Guangwu, naturally became the first choice.
Xu Buyue was upright and would never be coerced by the crown prince. She was also the only female general in the Great Ye.
Naturally, this important task fell on her shoulders.
Song Yinghuai hesitated for a moment and glanced into the room.
Caiyu seemed not to care about anything. She just focused on washing up in the room.
This time, Song Yinghuai didn't close the door. Instead, he said calmly, "The princess doesn't need to do much. Just sit back and watch the tigers fight."
Xu Buyue was stunned.
Sit back and watch the tigers fight. Did it mean that she should just watch the crown prince and the kings of Qin and Jin fight each other?
But the crown prince had no troops under his command. If she didn't care, then Song Chengyuan...
Before the shock in Xu Buyue's heart had subsided, she heard Song Yinghuai say, "Once the crown prince is dead, the princess should suppress the rebellion with all her might and be sure to behead the kings of Qin and Jin on the spot!"
This was to make sure that there were no witnesses!
Xu Buyue was greatly shocked. She suddenly looked up and took a deep breath.
Eliminating three kings at once!
What a grand scheme!
Under the heavens, only His Highness the Prince of Yan would dare to play such a spectacular game.
But this grand plan seemed so trivial in his mouth, as if he was just talking about the weather.
At the same time, she was touched that Song Yinghuai trusted her and the Xu family, so he had entrusted this important task to her.
Xu Buyue's admiration and loyalty for him suddenly deepened.
She nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, fourth brother. I'll surely live up to your trust!"
Xu Buyue left reluctantly. When Song Yinghuai saw her back disappear, he closed the door and looked for Caiyu. "Yuer..."
But Caiyu pushed him towards the door. "Your Highness has something to do. Go quickly. Don't worry about me."
Song Yinghuai was forced to take a step back by her push. As he stepped back, he quickly explained, "Yuer, I'm not busy now. I..."
"Bang!"
His Highness the Prince of Yan was pushed out of the door, and the door was slammed shut in front of him.
Song Yinghuai stared blankly at the quiet door panel. He couldn't tell whether the girl in the room was throwing a tantrum or being truly considerate and magnanimous, allowing him to go about his business.
He stood outside the door for a long time before sighing and turning away.
The girl who had been standing behind the door for a long time leaned against the door panel. Listening to the footsteps fade away, she slowly slid down the door panel and sat on the ground.
A crystal tear slowly slid from the corner of her eye and disappeared into the ground.