“Military Advisor Rong Ying, I feel that you are more like His Highness’s friend than his subordinate,” Yue Jiang said, since she couldn’t guess the answer, she shifted the focus to Rong Ying.
Rong Ying seemed to have her secret exposed by Yue Jiang, and a slight surprise appeared on her face, but it was gone in an instant.
He glanced ahead indifferently, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, "I will not delay the Crown Princess any longer; I will first go and investigate the rumors."
Yue Jiang stared at Rong Ying as she hurriedly left, confirming that she had successfully fooled her.
***
Jing Huaixu asked Rong Ying to investigate the source of the rumors, and Rong Ying did her job very diligently, spending three or four days to find out the truth.
They uncovered several sons and daughters from collateral branches of the Cheng family, as well as three or four of Cheng Suyun's friends outside the palace and eight or nine noble ladies from official families with whom she did not get along.
Among these people, there were those who harbored the dream of Cheng Suyun becoming the Crown Princess, flaunting their power, acting arrogantly, bullying and humiliating others.
It was a group of people who both disliked and envied Cheng Suyun. Seeing that she had fallen from her position as Crown Princess and ended up in an awkward position, they took the opportunity to mock her for being arrogant and having no integrity.
Rong Ying indiscriminately arrested these people, chained them up, and imprisoned them on charges of defaming the Crown Prince's reputation.
Although their crimes were not punishable by death, they could not escape punishment. In addition to being whipped, the evil words they uttered when their crimes became known to all quickly came back to haunt them.
The man's path to fame and fortune was cut short by his foul language.
Several young women were sent to temples to keep company with the ancient Buddha, and their families no longer allowed them to return home or show their faces.
This also cleared Cheng Suyun of her "grievances." Within an hour of receiving Rong Ying's memorial, Jing Huaixu issued an imperial edict ordering Cheng Suyun to return home.
Before Cheng Suyun left, Consort Cheng and Jing Shuo were both present.
Inside the Yongshou Hall, the incense from the incense burner rose gently, swirling around the ceiling. In front of the incense burner, Cheng Suyun knelt before Empress Dowager Cheng, reluctant to part.
“Grandmother, Suyun can no longer serve you. Please take good care of yourself.”
Empress Dowager Cheng touched Cheng Suyun's right cheek, thinking of how she had grown up in her presence since childhood, and felt a deep sense of reluctance to part with her.
"In the end, I am getting old. Jingyan is not as easy to control as His Majesty was back then. I have been counting on that little girl Jingyi, but she has not made a sound in front of His Majesty and the Empress."
"You didn't come today, so you're probably locked up in the Jiaofang Palace and can't get out. You should go back to the Cheng family first!"
"With your status as a princess, life won't be difficult. When I miss you, I'll summon you to the palace to see you again."
Consort Cheng was moved by the scene before her, her eyes reddening, and she said indignantly.
"Since losing the power of the orphan, His Majesty has become ruthless. This time, he is clearly disrespecting the Cheng family. The Changshou Palace will become even more arrogant in the future."
“Aunt, please stop. Perhaps Suyun is just not destined for it. If Suyun had won His Highness’s favor all these years, Yuejiang wouldn’t have had the chance,” Cheng Suyun bit her lower lip tightly, feeling extremely distressed.
She deeply regretted it. She had previously looked down on the way Empress Dowager Zheng acted and focused all her attention on the orphan, hoping to gain a good reputation in the eyes of outsiders.
If she had been bolder, perhaps she could have won His Highness's favor.
Cheng Suyun had nothing more to say; at present, she had been expelled from the palace.
Even if it's said nicely in name that she's allowed to leave the palace to marry, it still means she's no longer destined for the Eastern Palace. Even without her, her great-aunt can still raise other grandnieces to amuse her.
Even if the great-aunt still insists on sending a daughter of the Cheng family to the Eastern Palace, there will still be suitable women, so Cheng Suyun has no chance.
She hated Yue Jiang to the core.
After all, Empress Dowager Cheng and Consort Cheng had watched Cheng Suyun grow up. When Cheng Suyun left the palace, the two of them asked Jing Shuo to escort her.
The cousins walked together on the bluestone path in the palace. Jing Shuo listened to the occasional sobbing and looked impatient.
“I’ve never seen you cry so much before, but now you’re crying nonstop. If you had just cried in front of your brother, things wouldn’t be like this.”
"The Crown Princess has methods you don't know about, so it's only natural that you can't win the Emperor's heart."
For some reason, he thought of Yue Jiang again, and of her radiant face, which made him both hate and love her when she was angry.
If she cried to him, Jing Shuo would probably forget Yue Jiang's cold warning to him last time.
Cheng Suyun was used to not talking much to Jing Shuo, and their relationship was neither close nor distant. Hearing the teasing words, she wanted to retaliate, but then she heard something inexplicable.
Cheng Suyun pressed on curiously, "The Crown Princess's methods? Cousin, do you know anything about them?"
Jing Shuo was just saying it casually, but Yue Jiang's warning was still ringing in his ears, so he didn't dare to expose her recklessly and wanted to just brush it off.
Just then, they heard a burst of laughter and looked towards a moon gate.
Inside the cave entrance, flowers bloomed in profusion, the scenery was beautiful, and the artificial hill and flowing water made a melodious sound. Jing Lu, Jing Ning, and Zheng Yutong were playing inside.
However, Jing Ning sat blankly to the side without a smile, while Jing Lu and Zheng Yutong were having a great time folding flowers.
Jing Shuo glanced back at Cheng Suyun and sneered, "If you learned some tricks from them, the Emperor might be yours."
Cheng Suyun stared at Zheng Yutong with disdain, noticing that she had something as annoying about her as Yue Jiang: her smile, a smile that irritated Cheng Suyun.
She looked at Jing Shuo with a cold gaze and said bluntly, "My cousin isn't as popular as the Third Prince."
Even if things don't go well, he's still His Majesty's favorite youngest son.
Jing Shuo is nothing.
Jing Shuo snorted coldly.
The two couldn't agree on anything and didn't linger, continuing their walk out of the palace.
***
Jing Yan was about to return to the East Palace from the military camp. The moonlight was bright at night, and the camp lit another bonfire. This time, Jing Yan drank a bowl of wine and deliberately kept his distance from the surrounding soldiers.
He didn't rush back, but deliberately sat in the shadows of a large tree. After a while, Jing Yan heard familiar voices behind him again, and he listened carefully.
"Master, I miss my wife. We just got married a couple of days ago, and we've never even met before the wedding. If I go back, will she be distant with me?"
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