Chapter 112 Rumors

The next morning, at the court session, the entire court was in an uproar over Sui Yanli's collusion with foreign countries. Even Song Xian joined in and had a fierce argument with the people from the Dali Temple.

The emperor looked down at the people from the Dali Temple arguing with several old ministers. His eyes moved slightly and his gaze gently fell on the prince beside him.

Ever since Sui Yan entered the Ministry of Justice last night, Duan Mingchong has not stepped out of the East Palace. He seemed to be unaware of anything and was eerily calm.

The emperor stared at Duan Mingchong's expressionless face for a long time before he looked away thoughtfully and said, "Stop arguing."

The quarrel stopped abruptly, and everyone nodded slightly, but their expressions were still somewhat unwilling to admit defeat.

It would be too arbitrary to draw a conclusion about the relationship between the current marquis and the princess of the previous dynasty in southern Xinjiang based solely on those letters. The emperor knew that this would be difficult to convince the public, so he asked the Dali Temple to continue investigating the matter and promised to find out the truth within three days.

After the court was dismissed, people from the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice were about to go to the prince to discuss the matter.

But before he got close, he saw Duan Mingchong, who had been standing there indifferently with a gloomy face, turned around and left without saying a word.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

As the day dawned, Duan Mingchong walked to the Ministry of Justice with a sullen face and asked the official at the gate, "Where is Sui'an?"

The man was still dozing off, and when he saw Duan Mingchong he was startled awake and said hurriedly, "Inside, Your Highness, please follow me."

Duan Mingchong took a deep breath, straightened his sleeves, forced himself to suppress the cold and stern look on his face, and then followed the crowd in.

The people from the Ministry of Justice did bring the person here yesterday, but Sui Xun insisted on following them and even threatened the Minister of Justice in a serious manner, scaring him half to death.

They didn't dare to put Sui Yan directly into jail, nor did they dare to release him against the emperor's order. They could only treat him well and worship him like a Buddha.

The small side room on the west side of the Ministry of Justice was usually used to store files, but it was now cleared out and a soft couch was placed inside, making it barely habitable.

Duan Mingchong saw four officers with knives guarding the door of the ear room, and his brows furrowed, seeming a little unhappy.

But Sui Yan had been captured by the Ministry of Justice, and he was not kept in a prison cell that was filled with drafts from all sides. This was probably all thanks to the evil spirit Sui Xun, so Duan Mingchong did not have to make it difficult.

The lock on the door was opened. Duan Mingchong waved his hand gently, asking them to leave, and then he pushed the door open and walked in.

The place where the files are stored is often not very big, but fortunately it is ventilated and sunny, so it is not as cool and damp as imagined.

The files in the room were moved away overnight, leaving only two low shelves in the corner with two burning charcoal braziers next to them.

Sui Yan was sleeping soundly on the soft couch by the window. There was an exquisitely carved small incense burner on the small table beside him. The calming powder in it had been burned out, leaving only the lingering fragrance in the room.

Duan Mingchong walked up gently and sat beside the couch, staring at Sui Yan's sleeping face.

Even though he had fallen to this point, Sui Yan was still extremely heartless, as if living in this narrow, shabby house was no different from living in the East Palace's bedroom.

One of his hands was exposed, and on his finger he was still wearing the ring given to him by Duan Ming Chong. The emerald green color contrasted with the knuckles, making his fingers look even paler.

Duan Mingchong knew that he was extremely sleepy and would sleep until noon if no one called him, so he didn't call him. He just sat beside the couch and stared at him in a daze.

About half an hour later, sunlight shone through the gaps in the window lattice and fell into Sui Yan's eyes.

Perhaps it was too dazzling, he frowned restlessly in his sleep and said something in a daze.

Duan Mingchong was about to extend his hand to block the light for him, but before he could do so, Sui Yan had already woken up.

He opened his eyes dazedly, staring at Duan Mingchong for a while before he stretched out his hand to him and said in a soft voice, "Your Highness."

He opened his hands, and his clean white sleeves slid down to his elbows, revealing a section of his fair forearms.

Duan Mingchong knew that he was not awake when he saw that his eyes were half closed. He smiled helplessly, leaned over, hugged him gently, and blocked the slanting light for him.

Sui Yan squinted his eyes and clung to Duan Mingchong's neck, snuggling against his neck dependently, rubbing against him like a lazy cat.

Before Duan Mingchong came, he was full of worry and anger, but when he touched him like this, all his tenderness was shattered, and he wished he could hold this man in his arms and never separate again.

Duan Mingchong chuckled and put his hands over Shun Yan's eyes, saying softly, "What time is it? Why are you still asleep?"

Sui Yan instinctively rubbed for a while before suddenly stiffening and blinking in confusion.

Duan Mingchong's palm was brushed by Sui Yan's long feathery eyelashes, which made him feel numb and itchy. He moved his hand away half an inch, revealing one of Sui Yan's eyes.

Sui Yan was now fully awake. He reached out and held down Duan Mingchong's hand that was covering one of his eyes, and whispered, "What time is it now?"

Duan Mingchong moved his hand slightly, letting the light shine into Shun Yan's eyes for a moment, and then immediately moved it back.

"It's already past noon."

Sui Yan gently turned to the side, pulled Duan Mingchong's hand to rest his face on it, yawned lazily, and said, "There's nothing to do here anyway. I can't go out, and I can't play. I might as well sleep for a while."

Duan Mingchong burst out laughing. He leaned over and gently touched his forehead to Sui Yan's, and whispered, "Aren't you worried that you'll never be able to get out again?"

Sui Yan said: "With Your Highness here, I don't have to worry about anything."

Duan Mingchong was stunned.

Sui Yan smiled at him and said, "Didn't you say that you would protect me no matter what happened?"

Duan Mingchong looked at him in silence, and after a moment he held him tightly in his arms, muttering, "I said that."

Duan Mingchong stayed with Sui Yan until noon before he got up and left.

Sui Yan didn't know why he was extremely sleepy during this period. After Duan Mingchong left, he opened the window to bask in the sun for a while, and then fell asleep again in a daze.

When he was sleeping soundly, he always seemed to be having a dream of unknown content, but when he woke up, he didn't know what it was, only a heart full of lingering fear and terror.

Sui Yan also often had nightmares when he was sick before, but he just thought it was just mental illness and didn't take it seriously.

The Ministry of Justice brought people to search the side courtyard of the Marquis' Mansion thoroughly, but they found no evidence of collusion with the Princess of Southern Xinjiang. For a time, those in the court who firmly believed that Sui Yan would not do such a thing became more confident.

After two days of quarreling, Sui Yan spent the whole day eating and sleeping in the Ministry of Justice, and he actually gained some weight.

On the afternoon of the third day, Sui Yan was taking a nap on the couch when he heard the sound of someone talking outside the room.

Duan Mingchong was here this morning, so it couldn’t be him.

Just when Sui Yan was still confused, the door was opened, and Song Xian and Jiang Enhe were led in with a bunch of things in their hands.

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan sat up slightly and asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

Song Xian asked someone to close the door, turned around, and said maliciously: "You are here to add insult to injury, what else can you do?"

Jiang Enhe kicked Song Xian's calf, glared at him, and said, "If you keep talking nonsense, get out."

Song Xian curled his lips, and together with Jiang Enhe, he placed the things in his hands on the small table next to Sui Yan.

Jiang Enhe was good-tempered, not as demanding as Song Xian, and said directly: "We have heard a lot of interesting rumors outside these days. You may be bored and rotten being locked up here, so we came to talk to you and relieve your boredom."

Sui Yan stood up and casually opened the box, and found that it was full of snacks wrapped in oil paper, and there were also several bags of frosted candied fruit.

Sui Yan's face was full of disgust, but he immediately finished everything and unceremoniously took two bags into his arms and started eating.

Song Xian and Jiang Enhe also pulled up a stool and sat around the small table. If you didn't know, you would think that the three of them were drinking tea and watching a play in a teahouse.

Jiang Enhe said: "The news that you were arrested and brought to the Ministry of Justice has spread all over the capital. Many young masters who were bullied by you before are trying to retaliate against you, but they were all stopped by the Crown Prince and General Sui."

Song Xian said: "Tsk tsk, this shows how much people hate you."

Sui Yan glanced at him and said, "I understand why Enhe came, but what are you here for?"

Song Xian was immediately furious. He poked the preserved fruit in Sui Yan's arms with his finger and said, "This! This! And this! I bought all of them!"

Sui Yan said hurriedly: "Okay, okay, I'm looking for someone to hate, I'm guilty of a heinous crime, let's go on, what have you been listening to these days?"

Jiang Enhe chewed the sugar-fried peanuts until they made a clattering sound. He looked around, closed the window, and then whispered mysteriously, "I heard that the prince has a habit of cutting off sleeves."

Sui Yan paused while holding the candied fruit and tilted his head: "Oh?"

"Anyway, someone spread the news in Beijing a few days ago, and now almost the entire city knows about it. It's really scary." Jiang Enhe ate peanuts to suppress his surprise and said, "Just think about it, the current crown prince, the future emperor, actually likes a man. Tsk tsk, many people are lamenting that the country's destiny is worrying."

Sui Yan continued eating: "Oh."

Song Xian ate on the side while looking at Sui Yan secretly, and said nothing to Jiang Enhe's words.

Jiang Enhe did not notice the difference between the two and continued, "And who do you think is the person who drove His Royal Highness the Crown Prince crazy according to the rumors?"

Sui Yan acted with him and blinked: "Who is it?"

Jiang Enhe patted the small table and said mysteriously, "You."

Sui Yan: “Oh.”

Jiang En had been chattering so much before just to say this sentence and see Sui Yan's surprised look. At this moment, he was stunned by Sui Yan's reaction.

Jiang Enhe said dryly: "Ah... so what, you, you are not surprised?"

Sui Yan said: "Didn't you say that these are just rumors? Don't take them seriously."

Jiang En and Nana said, "That's what you said, but you... you're really not surprised at all?"

Song Xian sneered and said, "Why is he surprised? Whether these rumors are true or not, they may save his life. So what if he gets a bad name?"

Jiang Enhe: "Why do you say that?"

Song Xian said: "Wang Gui was framed this time. The evidence is solid and there is no one to testify. It is difficult to deal with. It is rumored that the Dali Temple Minister has a close personal relationship with the Second Prince. He will definitely not let go of this opportunity easily. If they insist that Wang Gui really has collusion with foreign countries, do you think Wang Gui can really get away with it completely?"

Jiang Enhe originally believed that Sui Yan was innocent, so he brought some things to talk to him about rumors to relieve his boredom. When he heard this, he was completely stunned.

"Then, what should we do?"

Song Xian looked at him with a look of dismay.

Sui Yan was still leisurely eating preserved fruits, and said calmly: "If this rumor gets out, and His Majesty punishes me severely, it means that he is guilty and wants to get rid of me, the evil minister who has bewitched His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. What is the difference between this and directly admitting that the future Crown Prince really loved the previous man?"

Jiang Enhe was a little dazed and was stunned for a long time.

Sui Yan stuffed a candied fruit into Jiang Enhe's mouth and said with a smile, "And our current emperor is the one who cares most about his reputation. In this case, do you think he will still punish me severely?"

Jiang Enhe blinked blankly before coming to his senses.

Sui Yan stretched his back and said lazily, "So even if I really wanted to collude with the Princess of Southern Xinjiang to murder the Emperor, he would never kill me."

Song Xian said: "And the reason why Wang Gui is in the Ministry of Justice is that the Dali Temple is holding on to those letters. However, everyone with a discerning eye in the court can see that, apart from those overly deliberate letters, the Princess of Southern Xinjiang of the previous dynasty also died after the incident. There is no evidence to completely convict Wang Gui."

Jiang Enhe frowned: "So this matter is big and small?"

Sui Yan reached out and flicked his head, then said with a smile, "Everything depends on your majesty's decision."

And now that this has happened suddenly, even if the emperor wants to kill Sui Yanyu, he will not let it go.

Jiang Enhe finally came to his senses and murmured, "The person who spread the rumor really did succeed by accident."

Sui Yan couldn't help laughing. What a coincidence! After thinking it through, he could guess that Duan Mingchong must be behind this. Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence that as soon as Sui Yan got into trouble, his relationship with Duan Mingchong was revealed so blatantly.

Sui Yan looked at Jiang Enhe who was patting his chest, and suddenly he got naughty and wanted to play a trick on him.

He leaned forward slightly, approached Jiang Enhe, tilted his head, and said softly: "And the fact that the prince and I are in love with each other is not a rumor."

Jiang Enhe was about to grab some peanuts to eat, but when he heard this, he was stunned for a moment and said blankly, "Ah?"

Sui Yan curled his lips and smiled, lowered his voice, and said: "I said, this is not a rumor, the prince and I have already secretly decided to spend our lives together."

Jiang Enhe: "..."

Song Xian's face turned green.

Author has something to say: Gann He: Ah? Ah? Ah?

At this moment, everyone is Yuejian.