Three Years After Falling Off the Cliff

"Thank you for your concern, nephew." Prince Ning was talking to Sui Tingheng, but his eyes were always on Fu Yi: "I wonder who those three criminals are, and why they dug a secret passage in my palace?"

"Your Majesty, as the master of this mansion, don't know, let alone others." Fu Yi smiled, with a hint of sarcasm in her laughter: "Maybe some people are guilty of their crimes and run away when they see the Jinwu Guards. They are like rats in the gutter. They do something but are afraid of being discovered, so they hide in dark corners and attract people's disgust."

"Miss Yun, the prince is talking to His Highness, and it is rude of you to interrupt him." The housekeeper said, "If you do this again, I will ask you to leave."

"The princess hasn't said anything yet, but you're making the decision. I think you're being arrogant and rude." Fu Yi patted the dust off her cuffs and said, "I'm helping the palace catch the bad guys out of kindness, but your housekeeper wants to kick me out. What's the logic? Could it be that I'm not catching bad guys, but the three beloved treasures of Prince Ning's palace?"

"Fu Yi is of course the benefactor of Prince Ning's Mansion..."

"Please don't address me by my name, Your Majesty." Fu Yi interrupted Prince Ning and said, "I am extremely terrified."

"Uncle, Miss Yun is right." Sui Tingheng seemed helpless, and also like a younger generation who was puzzled by the behavior of his elders: "You are a married man, how can you call Miss Yun by her name? Isn't that tarnishing her good name?"

Prince Ning withdrew his gaze from Fu Yi and said, "Thank you for your reminder, my dear nephew. I was so obsessed with the old feelings that I forgot that spring water flows eastward and can never return."

"What is the fault of the spring water? Maybe it is the incompetence of the river that failed to retain the best spring water." Sui Tingheng picked up the teacup on the table and turned it around in his hands. "I don't understand what the emperor's uncle said, but you must never forget Miss Yun's help."

"Your Majesty, you don't have to be too grateful to me. I really want to do this for you." Fu Yi stood up refreshed and bowed slightly to Prince Ning and Sui Tingheng: "The Jinwu Guards are handling the case. I don't want to disturb you. I will take my leave first."

Sui Tingheng put down his teacup and was about to speak when he saw the Princess of Ning, who was sitting opposite him, stand up and say, "Miss Yun, please wait a moment. I just need to go to the garden outside to pick some flowers. Why don't we go together?"

"Princess, please." Fu Yi did not refuse Princess Ning's invitation.

Princess Ning looked at the famous Miss Yun in the capital without leaving any trace. Her scarlet skirt was stained with dust, but she didn't seem to care about it. Her movements were free and unrestrained. There was a smile on her fair face, and she looked in a good mood.

"Princess, is there something on my face?" Perhaps because Princess Ning looked too carefully, Fu Yi still noticed her gaze.

"Miss Yun is so beautiful that I was dazzled for a moment." Princess Ning didn't expect that she had stared at Yun Fuyi for so long and felt that it was a bit rude: "I am rude."

"To make the princess lose her mind for me is the greatest compliment to my appearance." Fu Yi knelt down and saluted: "Thank you, princess."

Princess Ning was amused by her, and the discomfort caused by her impoliteness disappeared without a trace in the laughter: "I just came to the capital not long ago, and I found that there are many differences between here and Lingbei."

"Every place has its own customs. The princess has only been in the capital for two months, so it's normal that there are many things she is not used to." Fu Yi smiled, "It will get better over time."

Given Prince Ning's current embarrassing situation, noble families would rarely invite Princess Ning to banquets. Royal relatives would invite her out of courtesy, but it would be more difficult for her to go to such banquets than not to go.
When it comes to understanding people’s minds and reading their faces, who can compare to the royal family?
It was said that they were picking flowers, but in fact it was Princess Ning who accompanied Fu Yi all the way to the gate.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and a few young men and women were peeking around not far away.
"Princess, my friends are waiting for me. Please excuse me and let me take my leave first." Fu Yi knelt down to Princess Ning, then rushed into the drizzle holding up her skirt.

When Princess Ning saw Fu Yi running over, she gathered with her friends. The servants and maids held umbrellas and hid in the corners, laughing and joking, with a happy vibe all over their bodies.

"Princess, the rain is getting heavier." The maid held an umbrella over her head and said, "Let's go back."

Princess Ning looked at the palace behind her, and couldn't help but look back at the direction of Yun Fuyi and others again, and slowly walked back to the palace: "Who among you is from the capital? Tell me about this Miss Yun."

“This…” The maid originally assigned to Prince Ning’s mansion by the Palace Department lowered her head and stammered, “When I entered the palace, Yun Junjun had already followed her family to Chongzhou to take up her post. I only vaguely heard a few rumors.”

"It's okay." Princess Ning looked at her softly, "It's just a casual chat. You don't have to be nervous."

Under the soothing gaze of Princess Ning, the maid recounted a few stories about Yun Fuyi, such as how much the late emperor loved her, how famous her reputation as a playboy was, and which young master she had fought with. However, she avoided talking about the past events between the prince and her.

Princess Ning asked, "I heard that Miss Yun encountered an assassination attempt on her way to her father's post?"
The maid turned pale upon hearing this, and lowered her head, not daring to look at her: "This matter, this matter I don't know much about, but at that time everyone in the palace said that Miss Yun was shot by an arrow and fell off the cliff and must have died. Later, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, I worked in the palace for half a year, and people outside said that Miss Yun was resurrected..."

When Miss Yun first got into trouble, many people speculated that the attack on the Yun family was related to Concubine Zeng, but how could she dare to mention these things in front of the princess?

In the corner of the outer wall of Prince Ning's Mansion.
"Why is the rain getting heavier?" Fu Yi sniffed, "It's a bit cold."

"Miss, let's go back quickly." Xia Yu looked at Fu Yi's left leg worriedly: "Doctor Liu said that your leg needs to be healed for another year or two. You must not let it get cold again."

"Shh." Fu Yi covered Xia Yu's mouth: "Don't let Xiao Wu and the others hear it, otherwise they will scream and make a fuss again."
"Fuyi, what are you talking about with Xia Yu?" Lin Xiaowu leaned his head over.

"You guys should have fun at Caiyinfang later. I want to go back to bed early." Fu Yi covered her mouth and yawned, "I'll treat you at the next party."

Seeing that she was indeed a little sleepy, Lin Xiaowu nodded and said, "Okay, let's play together next time."
When they heard that Fu Yi was going back first, everyone was afraid that Fu Yi would be attacked again, so they all wanted the servants around them to accompany her back.

"Don't worry about it. This is East Street. The streets are full of police officers. There is nothing to worry about." With this group of people's ability to stir up trouble, Fu Yi was really worried about not having anyone to serve them.

"Then I'll take you back first..." "Miss Yun." Sui Tingheng walked in front of the crowd, "It's cold in the spring rain, I'll take you back."

When Lin Xiaowu and the other playboys saw Sui Tingheng appear, they all shrank their necks and dared not say a word.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Fu Yi stamped her cold feet and followed Sui Tingheng into the carriage.

The carriage was warm, with a large stove in the middle.

"Wipe the water off your head." Sui Tingheng took out a clean handkerchief and handed it to Fu Yi.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Fu Yi took the handkerchief, slapped it on her hair, and started to wipe the rain off in a mess.

Sui Tingheng moved his fingers, looked at the hairpin that was about to fall off Fuyi's hair, and her hair that was made fluffy by Fuyi, and silently looked away.

"Your Highness has wasted two handkerchiefs today." Fu Yi took off the hair accessories from her hair, casually tied her hair into a bun, and fixed it with a jade hairpin.

"Miss Yun, there's no need to be so polite." Sui Tingheng picked up the teapot on the small table and poured a cup of hot tea for Fu Yi: "Thanks to your help, we didn't let those three people escape."

The tea was fragrant and warm. Fu Yi held the cup in her palm and said softly with her eyelids lowered, "I heard that when Concubine Zeng died in the fire, many palace maids and eunuchs did not escape and were burned to ashes?"

Sui Tingheng nodded: "Among the palace servants on duty in Xiangkun Palace that day, there were 32 eunuchs and 36 palace maids. In the end, only more than ten people escaped. These more than ten people were all registered. Wang San, who assassinated you the day before yesterday, was one of them."

Fu Yi did not ask why only so few people escaped. She was not supposed to know the royal secrets. In fact, the fact that His Royal Highness was willing to tell her so much was enough to surprise her.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped outside the Yun family's gate.
"Miss Yun." Sui Tingheng got off the carriage and called Fu Yi who was about to enter the house. He took out the purse from his waist and said, "I forgot to give you this just now."

Fu Yi turned around and took the purse. After opening it, she saw the earring she had dropped inside.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Fu Yi smiled at Sui Tingheng.

"Go back." Sui Tingheng took the open umbrella from Mo Wen and put it in Fu Yi's hand: "Don't catch a cold."

Fu Yi bent her knees while holding the umbrella.

Sui Tingheng turned around and got on the carriage. When the carriage started, he saw her turn around and go back to the gate of Yun Mansion with the maid.
Because he is a prince, if he doesn't leave, she will just stand there and wait.

He met her in the Imperial Garden three years ago.
At that time, she walked in front and the emperor's uncle followed behind.

There was something shiny glittering under the cushion. He picked it up in his hand and found it was a small hairpin with a golden cicada and jade leaf.

"If Prince Ning is smart, he should drag his sick body to the palace to apologize, saying that he was not strict in managing his family and allowed the bad guys to take advantage of the opportunity." Xia Yu put the medicine bag prescribed by Doctor Liu into the bathtub.
"Prince Ning is not stupid, but the Jinwu Guards guarding Prince Ning's mansion may not give him this opportunity." Fu Yi lay down beside the bathtub: "Besides, he has been raised by the stars since he was a child. Even if he has been more low-key in the past two years, the arrogance in his bones will not change in a short time."

Anyone who was shameless would have been kneeling at the gate of the palace and crying bitterly, letting everyone see his humility and his loyalty to His Majesty.
Your Majesty has only been on the throne for two years, and even if it is to maintain his reputation for benevolence, he will take this matter lightly.

It's a pity that arrogance is Sui Ruijing's biggest shortcoming.
If she didn't understand this, she wouldn't have deliberately come in front of him to provoke him.

On the second day, at the morning court, an official impeached Prince Ning, saying that he was harboring criminals, had evil intentions, and was plotting rebellion.
However, the royal relatives stood up and said that there might be a misunderstanding in this matter, and the two sides soon got into a fierce argument.

Suddenly, there was a sound of the emperor wailing from above. No one had ever seen such a scene before. In an instant, no one in the court dared to make a sound except the emperor's crying.

"Rui Jing is young and ignorant. Even if he is dissatisfied with me, his elder brother, it is my fault." The emperor cried and beat his chest, not caring even if his crown was crooked: "My dear ministers, please stop arguing. Although Prince Ning has the intention to rebel, he is still just a child. As the saying goes, if a son is not well educated, it is the fault of his father. After the late emperor passed away, it was me, his elder brother, who raised him. Even if he has many faults, don't I have any faults at all?"

The ministers were so shocked by the emperor's outrageous remarks that they were speechless for a long time.

"Please, for my sake, spare Prince Ning this time." Without waiting for the ministers to speak, the emperor continued, "If you are still not satisfied, then punish Prince Ning for another three years... no, eight years of salary. If he dares to do it again next time, I will punish him severely."

Dali Temple: "..."
The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have not yet found any solid evidence of Prince Ning's treason, so why is Your Majesty crying and begging for mercy?
"Your Majesty's kindness has moved me." Yun Wanggui stood up and said, "I just hope that King Ning can remember your Majesty's love and care today and not commit such treasonous acts again. Otherwise, I would rather die than spare King Ning."

The emperor continued to beat his chest and cry, muttering sad words such as "I did not teach my brother well enough" and "I am heartbroken and cannot bear it".

Even the royal relatives who were worried that the emperor would treat them badly were deeply moved by him.

They knew that His Majesty had them in his heart.
Compared with the kind and benevolent Majesty, Prince Ning is really nothing.

(End of this chapter)