Yan Mingyi's eyes trembled as she stared intently at the person on the ground. She walked forward with difficulty, lifted the person's chin, and her lips trembled as a name was forced out of her hoarse throat:
"Ah Hui, is that you?"
She couldn't recognize the person in front of her who looked so haggard. In her memory, the other person was clearly just a gluttonous little girl who often sneaked snacks. How could she have turned out like this in the blink of an eye?
Unbeknownst to her, tears streamed down her face. She could only nod, her voice choked with sobs, "Your Highness, it's me!"
Yin Fang, who was standing next to her, was also startled. She looked at the other person in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock and astonishment, and her eyes gradually reddened.
Yan Mingyi's gaze fell on the horrifying half of her face, her eyes flashing with grief and shock. Her fingertips trembled involuntarily as she leaned down and hugged her tightly.
She clenched her teeth, which chattered, and her eyes suddenly reddened: "I thought you were dead..."
The eldest princess has always been dignified and elegant, and rarely has she lost her composure like this.
Shen Tangning lowered her gaze at the right moment, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes.
Yan Mingyi managed to calm herself down and pulled Hui Niang to her feet: "Yin Fang, take Tang Ning out for a walk."
Shen Tangning knew that the two of them, mistress and servant, must have a lot to talk about, and it would be inconvenient for her to be an outsider present. So she tactfully curtsied and withdrew.
...
Yin Fang led her out, a trace of red still lingering in the corner of her eye, and she looked somewhat absent-minded.
Shen Tangning glanced at her without changing her expression, unable to resist asking with curiosity, "Aunt, who exactly is Huiniang?"
Yin Fang paused, glanced at her with a complicated expression, and sighed wistfully: "Fine, it won't hurt to tell you."
Amid the dull tolling of the bell, her gaze drifted into the distance.
“Hui Niang’s real name was Er Ya. She entered the palace at the age of ten and was originally a maid in the imperial kitchen. One day, His Highness happened to pass by and saw her being punished by the nanny. He then took her and gave her the name Ming Hui.”
Minghui was quick-witted and nimble, and was soon transferred to serve the prince. She was young and innocent, so everyone took good care of her.
If nothing unexpected had happened, she should have had an extremely smooth life...
A trace of sorrow flashed in Yin Fang's eyes: "That year, the late emperor was seriously ill, and His Highness personally went to Wanfo Temple to pray for blessings. The prayer required seven days and seven nights, and I went with him. Minghui was also supposed to go, but she suddenly had an upset stomach and had to stay in the palace."
A strange light flashed in Shen Tangning's eyes; it seemed she knew the rest of the story.
What followed was that the eldest princess hurriedly returned to the capital, only to be greeted with the devastating news that the late emperor had passed away and the throne had been passed to the second prince!
Overnight, the situation reversed. The eldest princess, who was originally the most likely to inherit the throne, not only lost her loving father, but also the throne, and was even put on the hot seat!
There is no kinship in the royal family. If she stays in Yanjing, she will inevitably become a thorn in the side of the new emperor, and she won't even know how she dies one day!
Therefore, Yan Mingyi had no choice but to retreat. She entered a Buddhist monastery to avoid his sharp edge, and this retreat lasted for more than ten years.
Because of the army left to her by the late emperor, as well as the princess's own connections, the emperor dared not easily touch her.
But only she herself knows the bitterness and pain she endured during those ten-plus years of living a life of quiet contemplation and Buddhist practice!
...
"Ah Hui, who injured your face?" Yan Mingyi asked coldly, already having some guesses in her mind.
In recent years, she has kept a low profile, not because she truly ignores worldly affairs, but because she has been secretly investigating what happened back then and has made some progress.
Hui Niang covered her face, pretending to be nonchalant under the other person's distressed gaze: "Your Highness, I did it myself."
Yan Mingyi was shocked. Had she done it herself?
Just how desperate must she have been to have the heart to ruin her face?
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