Three Years After Falling Off the Cliff

"Your Highness." The middle-aged man sitting opposite Prince Ning disagreed: "Impatientness is not a good habit. Even if the emperor appoints a crown prince, it does not mean that everything is foolproof. Aren't there many people who died young throughout history?"

"Now half of the people in the palace are the emperor's men, and the secret passage into the palace has been blocked. He pressed me step by step, but he got a good reputation for being lenient." Prince Ning sneered: "If this continues, I will have to sleep with one eye open in the palace to feel at ease."

"Why don't you let the princess handle the inner house affairs?"

"Princess?" Prince Ning looked out the window, his expression extremely cold: "How can I count on a woman whose heart is not with me?"
The middle-aged strategist frowned slightly. The princess was from the Lu family, so how could she go against the wishes of her family?
"Your Majesty." The counselor thought for a moment and said, "The emperor is suspicious of you. We should have someone divert the emperor's attention. You forgot that the prince of Ni still has a child alive."

"You mean the Marquis of Gongping?" Prince Ning frowned. "He was so scared that he didn't even dare to leave the house in the past two years. How could the emperor notice him?"

"I heard that Marquis Gongping bullied His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a few years ago?" The counselor smiled and said, "It's not surprising that people do stupid things when they are extremely scared."

At night, Caiyinfang is brightly lit and filled with laughter.
As the birthday girl today, Fu Yi was surrounded by everyone and forced to listen to her friends playing for her on the stage.

After they finally finished playing, Fu Yi quickly waved her hands and said, "Come down quickly, the guests are about to run away because of you."

The master personally poured a glass of wine for Fu Yi: "It is an honor for me that you gentlemen and ladies are willing to play here. Today is Miss Yun's birthday. I wish you peace, good fortune, and longevity."

"Thank you, Master." Fu Yi took the Master's hand, held the cup in her mouth and drank the fine wine in it, then took out a hairpin from her bosom and inserted it into the Master's hair: "I saw this hairpin when I passed by today, and I think it suits you very well. I wonder if you like it?"

"Thank you, Miss Yun." The owner stroked the hairpin beside her temple, a bright smile appeared on her face, and she bowed to Fu Yi: "Today is a good day, I will play a song for Miss Yun."

"Good!" Everyone applauded and cheered.
"Master, you are biased. Why didn't you play music on my birthday?"
"After all, Fu Yi has a lot of importance in the abbot's heart."

The abbot listened to these teasing words, smiled at Fu Yi, took down his pipa, and gently plucked the strings.
The cheerful tunes and bright candlelight are particularly moving at night.
Fu Yi stood up and said to the crowd, "If you have anything to say, come to me. I'm thick-skinned, so I'm not afraid of you making fun of me."

The abbot laughed so hard at Fu Yi's words that he even plucked the wrong strings twice.

Amidst the laughter, Fu Yi saw a man covering his face with his sleeves, sneaking into the crowd, as if he was afraid that she would discover him.

She rolled over the table and chair, grabbed his sleeve and pulled it down.

"Sui Xun?" She frowned and put down his sleeves: "It's you."

The second and third kings rebelled, and after their failure, they were both executed, and even their wives and children did not escape death. Only Sui Xun was out of town at the time, not in the capital. Later, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, he not only saved his life, but also granted him a low-ranking marquisate.

"What do you want to do? I didn't provoke you." Sui Xun stepped back helplessly, looking very timid.

In Fu Yi's memory, Sui Xun was very outspoken, always looking at people with his chin held high. But now the timid and cowardly Sui Xun was completely different from the one she remembered.

Seeing Fu Yi staring at him without saying anything, Sui Xun turned pale, bowed and said, "If I have offended you, I will apologize to you, my Lord."

"Go away." Fu Yi had no intention of making things difficult for him, so she turned around and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Sui Xun stopped her and said carefully, "I was ignorant in the early years and offended you, please don't take it to heart."

Fu Yi turned around and looked at the prince who had once been so high and mighty: "My Lord, you are worrying too much. Those were just the playful fights we had when we were young and ignorant. I have long forgotten them."

Sui Xun seemed to be relieved, and hurried out of the crowd with his head down. A drunk person accidentally bumped into him, but he ignored it and walked faster with his neck hunched.

"Don't look at it." Sui Anying stretched out her hand and hooked Fu Yi's neck: "His father committed the crime of treason. It is a favor from Your Majesty that he can save his life. How dare he go against you like he did back then?"

"You haven't been in the capital for a few years, so you may not be used to these changes. It will be fine after a while." Sui Anying handed the wine glass to Fu Yi: "Come, drink."
The victors take it all, it has always been like this since ancient times.

The banquet was over and the night was deep. Fu Yi sat in the carriage, drinking the sobering tea that Xia Yu had poured for her. She suppressed her drunkenness and asked, "Is there any unusual movement in Prince Ning's mansion?"

"Miss, your guess is correct. Today, the vegetable farmer from Prince Ning's villa delivered vegetables to the palace. It took him two full hours to leave the palace." Xia Yu asked, "He was wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, so I couldn't see his face and figure clearly."

"Unfortunately, this person is very vigilant, so I dare not follow him too closely." Xia Yu was curious: "Miss, how did you know at a glance that he is not a vegetable farmer?"

"Wearing a bamboo hat so early in the morning, you can tell at a glance that he doesn't look like someone who's working." Fu Yi put the teacup aside: "In the minds of these scholars, farmers are just bamboo hats, straw sandals and straw raincoats, regardless of the time of day or season."

It is not comfortable to wear a straw raincoat while working, so farmers don’t like to wear it except on rainy days. The same goes for a bamboo hat. Wearing it while working makes the head stuffy and hot, so most of the time, farmers don’t wear it if they can.
What serious farmer would put these two things on his body on a sunny morning?
Don't ask her how she knows it so clearly, she doesn't want to tell you.

The sound of another carriage passing by was heard outside. Fu Yi lifted the curtain of the carriage, and the person opposite also lifted the curtain.

"Your Highness?" Fu Yi stopped the carriage, lifted her skirt and got out to salute.

"Miss Yun, there's no need to be so polite." Sui Tingheng got off the carriage and smelled a faint smell of alcohol on Fu Yi: "Miss Yun, have you been drinking?"

"Today is my birthday, so I had a couple of drinks with my friends." Fu Yi looked at the Jinwu Guards following the prince's carriage and said, "It's so late, why is Your Highness still outside the palace?"

"Master Lu is ill, I came to see him." Sui Tingheng smiled gently: "Today is Miss Yun's birthday, I should celebrate for her."

"Your Highness has been very busy these days, but he still remembered to send me a birthday gift. I am extremely surprised." Fu Yi is very self-aware. Even if she has the merit of saving the emperor, the prince can do this, which is already a great favor to a meritorious official.

"Those are just external things, Miss Yun doesn't lack them." Sui Tingheng was already good-looking, and his smile was even more charming: "I heard that Miss likes to listen to music, why don't I play a song to celebrate Miss's eighteenth birthday?"

Fu Yi touched her face. How big was her face that could make a prince of a country condescend to play for her?
"I am presumptuous." Seeing Fu Yi not speaking, Sui Tingheng lowered his eyelids: "Three years ago, I saw the emperor's uncle playing a song for Miss Yun in the pear blossom forest. I thought the lady..." "Your Highness, it is not that you are offended, but I am flattered and dare not answer." Fu Yi drank some wine, and in front of Sui Tingheng, she was more casual with friends: "But please don't mention Prince Ning in front of your servant."

"Why?"

"Because it's unlucky." Fu Yi tilted her head, her eyes blurry with drunkenness.

"Okay, I'll pay attention next time." Sui Tingheng stretched out his hand in front of her: "Then please follow me into the carriage?"

"Thank you, Your Highness." Thinking of the unidentified man in Prince Ning's Mansion, Fu Yi handed her hand to Sui Tingheng and followed him into the prince's carriage.

Sui Tingheng had only been the crown prince for one day, but the emperor couldn't wait to let him use all the things that a crown prince could use, which showed that he was well prepared.

The carriage soon stopped in front of Prince Li's mansion. Sui Tingheng took Fu Yi and walked into one of the courtyards. Although the decoration inside was simple, the flowers and plants in the courtyard were very elegant, and it was obvious at a glance that the owner often took good care of them.

"This is the courtyard where I used to live." Sui Tingheng took a palace lantern from the palace attendant. "Although I have lived in the palace for the past two years, I still come here occasionally to take a look."

The palace servants brought hot tea and snacks. Sui Tingheng hung the palace lantern on a wooden frame, took out a jade flute from the house, and started to play it with a gentle look in his eyes.

The moonlight was bright. Fu Yi looked at the person standing in the yard. For a moment, she didn't know whether it was the beauty of the song or the beauty of the person.

Such a banished immortal-like character, just standing there doing nothing, is touching enough, not to mention that he also specially played a tune for himself.

Fu Yi held her chin with one hand, her drunken eyes a little dazed.

When the song ended, Sui Tingheng looked at the woman sitting at the table, his eyes intertwined with the moonlight, seeming to be filled with infinite tenderness.

"This song should only exist in heaven. I almost forgot that I am in the mortal world." Fu Yi praised sincerely, "There is indeed nothing in the world that Your Highness cannot sing."

"Miss Yun, do you like to listen to it?" Sui Tingheng sat down opposite her.

"I like it." Fu Yi nodded. "It's impolite not to reciprocate. I can also play a few songs. How about I play them for you?"

Xia Yu held Fu Yi's hand and said, "Miss, you are drunk."

"I'm not drunk." Fu Yi waved her hand: "Your Highness, please give me a pipa."

Xia Yu watched the palace servant bring the pipa to Fu Yi. The smile on her face could no longer be maintained. She winked at Qiu Shuang frantically and said, "Sister, please think of a solution."

Qiu Shuang closed her eyes silently.
There is no hope, just wait for death.

Dangdangdongdong.
The pipa music was intermittent and the melody was messy, making it difficult to tell what song it was.

Xia Yu secretly looked at the prince's expression, only to see that the prince had gentle eyes and a smile on his lips, without any disgust on his face.
Their family's adults have made great contributions, and the prince has a very good temper. Facing such a song, he can smile gently.

"Your Highness, how was my performance?" After the song was finished, Fu Yi felt a little unsatisfied.

"It sounds great." Sui Tingheng took out a zither and said, "Shall I play a duet with Miss Yun?"

"Okay." Fu Yi's eyes were bright, "One more song."

Qiu Shuang opened her eyes silently. The prince was a good prince, but his taste was a little weird.

"Your Highness, the ambush has failed." A man in black leaped down from the beam and knelt in front of Prince Ning.

"What's going on?" Prince Ning said calmly, "Did Sui Tingheng prepare for this?"

The man in black looked strange. "That's not the case. We waited for two hours tonight, but the prince didn't pass by there. I was worried that our people would be discovered, so I had to evacuate."

"That's the only way to get back to the palace from Lu Mansion. How could Sui Tingheng not pass through there?" Prince Ning frowned slightly: "What happened on the way?"

"On his way back to the palace, the prince met... Yun Fuyi. Somehow, the two of them went to the palace together."

Hearing the three words "Yun Fuyi", Prince Ning was silent for a moment: "Why are they going to Prince Li's Mansion?"

"I didn't do anything big..."
"Say!"

Man in black: "Two people... two people playing music together."

Prince Ning's face was as black as ink.

The man in black lowered his head and said that nothing big happened, but you insisted on asking.
Now it’s okay, it hurts.

(End of this chapter)