"Xiao Qi, isn't it your turn to be on night duty tonight?"
Ning Yan looked up at An Si and nodded.
"Be careful, and warn me immediately if anything happens."
Ning Yan: "I understand."
The original owner was a secret guard by the current Prince Yu's side. He was twenty-four years old this year and had been by Yu Chengrui's side for eight years. Prince Yu was granted the title of a prince of a different surname for his military achievements.
When he was on the battlefield, the entire Dark Guard Battalion went to the battlefield with him, not only to protect him in secret, but also to fight alongside him.
Therefore, the original owner suffered many injuries while protecting Yu Chengrui.
Upon returning to the capital, the emperor bestowed great rewards upon Yu Chengrui, who was then a first-rank general, while his group of secret guards received nothing but some silver.
Of course, the fate of the secret guards was already sealed the moment they entered the secret guard camp; they existed to protect their master.
They cannot marry, cannot have children, and cannot leave each other.
They died and that was it; no one would shed a tear for them, and they didn't even have proper names.
Fortunately, after returning to Beijing, they enjoyed two years of comfortable life, and Yu Chengrui was granted the title of prince, enjoying unparalleled prestige.
But problems arose two years later.
The prince fell in love with a resilient and unyielding maid named Shan Congyin.
Shan Congyin was the personal maid of the daughter of the Minister of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue was found guilty of embezzlement and corruption. Prince Yu was in charge of investigating the case. The Minister of Revenue was beheaded, his entire family was exiled, and his servants were sold into the Imperial Music Bureau and became government slaves.
Shan Congyin is beautiful. Because of her face, she was noticed by a wealthy young man and unexpectedly saved by the daughter of a high-ranking official. Grateful for her mistress's life-saving grace, she wanted to overturn the case against her mistress's family.
So, after entering the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), she tried every means to finally meet Prince Yu, and with a song called "Ambush from Ten Sides," she made Prince Yu remember her forever.
After gaining the favor of Prince Yu, Shan Congyin also lost her heart. Prince Yu was a man of great military achievements and handsome appearance. What woman would not like him?
Unfortunately, the Emperor arranged a marriage for him, and his fiancée was the third young lady of the Duke's mansion. How could Shan Congyin, a maid who had been sold into the brothel, be worthy of the dignified Prince Yu?
Miss Qiao also interfered, causing numerous misunderstandings between the two.
Just as she was struggling with whether or not to give up on this relationship, she received news that her young lady had died on the way to exile. She vented her anger on Prince Yu and went to assassinate the prince alone.
No one took her seriously, since the prince was a skilled martial artist and always had guards around him, so subduing her was a piece of cake.
But this seemingly simple task took an unexpected turn. Shan Congyin, carrying a hidden knife, arrived alone for the meeting. Unexpectedly, Shan Congyin launched a knife attack, and her moves were all aimed at fatal points. In just three moves, the prince was stabbed in the abdomen.
Hearing the commotion, An Er rushed into the private room and blocked Shan Congyin's fatal blow, thus saving the prince's life.
Dan Congyin seized the opportunity to escape.
The guards knew that the prince's life was of utmost importance, so they carried him back to the mansion and invited the imperial physician to treat him.
After the prince woke up, An Er was punished with thirty lashes for failing to protect his master, An Yi was punished with twenty lashes for requesting the capture of Shan Congyin, and those who pleaded for mercy were also punished in various ways.
Because of Shan Congyin, these secret guards had been punished more than once, and since then their lives had become even more difficult.
Prince Yu was highly accomplished, but he also offended many people. Some enemies took the opportunity to send assassins to kill him.
The guards were on high alert all day, fearing that something might happen to the prince.
When Ning Yan arrived, Prince Yu had just injured his left arm.
However, it wasn't an assassin who injured her, but rather Shan Congyin who was being harassed by Miss Qiao and was accidentally injured when the Prince intervened.
Ning Yan went to the study. The prince would read in the study until early 9 PM almost every night before returning to his room to rest.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), a slight noise came from outside the courtyard wall. Ning Yan heard it, and so did Prince Yu.
But Prince Yu gestured for him not to move, because he already knew who the person was.
The door creaked open, and Prince Yu looked quietly at the person who entered. "Yin'er, have you come to see me?"
Shan Congyin's gaze had been fixed on the prince's arm since she entered the room. Upon hearing this, she immediately concealed her emotions. "No, Your Highness, please don't flatter yourself. I'm here to deliver evidence."
Yu Chengrui wasn't angry. He got up, walked over, and was about to hug the person.
"Please, Your Highness, don't lay a hand on us. Our master and mistress are waiting for Your Highness to overturn their case."
Yu Chengrui sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, give me the evidence, let me take a look."
Ning Yan didn't know whether the evidence that could overturn the case should be handed over to a presiding judge, but the case of the Minister of Revenue's family was handled by Prince Yu, who had also benefited greatly from it. How could he possibly be so kind as to overturn the case of the Minister of Revenue's family?
After about fifteen minutes, Yu Chengrui finally put down the few pages of paper and sighed, "This only proves that the disaster relief funds were distributed on time, but it doesn't prove that Lord Yin didn't receive any benefits from me later."
Shan Congyin's expression immediately changed. Just as she was about to speak, Yu Chengrui said again, "However, these things are not entirely useless. I will send people to investigate based on what these testimonies say. I will tell you as soon as I have good news."
"It's time to change this damn law. The principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' means that no one has done anything wrong if there is no evidence. To prove my master is guilty, there must be solid evidence. I suspect that someone is deliberately framing my master."
Taking the opportunity, Yu Chengrui pulled Shan Congyin's hand and said, "I will also help Yin'er investigate. Just wait a little longer. As long as the evidence is conclusive, I will help Lord Yin overturn the case."
This time, Shan Congyin did not refuse the prince's touch, and the two quickly embraced. "Yinyin, you came tonight, besides delivering these testimonies, is there anything else you want to say to me?"
"It's been three days since we last met, don't you miss me at all?"
Prince Yu had already redeemed Shan Congyin from the brothel. She was now free and could go wherever she wanted. Prince Yu originally wanted her to live in the Prince's mansion, but Shan Congyin was afraid it would be inconvenient to refuse. Currently, she was staying in an inn not far from the Prince's mansion.
She moves freely and has counter-surveillance capabilities. The people the prince sent to follow her can easily be shaken off. Once she leaves the inn, it will really take some effort for Prince Yu to find her.
Although she didn't speak, her body language clearly told Prince Yu that she had indeed missed him, which was why she came over so late at night.
Ning Yan, lying on the beam, ignored the actions of the two people below. They were a pair of crazy people, chatting peacefully one moment and about to start fighting the next.
Sure enough, the two of them were only cuddling for a quarter of an hour before things started moving again down below.
Shan Congyin asked hesitantly, "What is this? Who gave it to you?"
Prince Yu said ingratiatingly, "This was Miss Qiao's insistence on putting it on me..." (End of Chapter)
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