Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Fawning

The next day, Yihuan and Yanwan went to Guanju Palace to visit Lanqi. Lanqi was leaning against the window, holding a Buddhist scripture in her hands. Seeing the two of them coming, Lanqi hurriedly stood up to greet them and asked Ji Tao to serve some tea and snacks.

Lan Qi said, "I haven't seen Concubine Chun for quite some time."

Yi Huan looked sad and sighed, "Alas, ever since the Emperor scolded him at Empress Xiaoxian's funeral, the eldest prince has been ill. I heard from the eldest concubine that the eldest prince has been lying in bed all day and has difficulty getting up."

Yan Wan shook her head, her eyes reddening. "I once served the eldest prince for a period of time, so naturally I have feelings for him. Not to mention Imperial Concubine Chun. They have a deep mother-son relationship. Imperial Concubine Chun feels that it is her fault that he is so ill, so she has been staying in Anhua Palace to pray for the eldest prince."

As the three of them were talking, Ji Tao suddenly ran in and said, "My dear ladies, something bad has happened to the Imperial Concubine."

Lan Qi looked at Ji Tao calmly. She had known that Yuyan would take action, so she didn't react much.

Yan Wan's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, then she put it down as if nothing had happened. "What's going on?"

Yi Huan sighed softly and said helplessly, "You're always causing trouble."

Ji Tao shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. I heard it was about a string of Buddhist beads. The news has been circulating throughout the palace these past few days, and I've heard others mention it, saying that the assassin who entered Yikun Palace that day was none other than Master Anji from Anhua Palace. To prove her innocence, the Imperial Concubine has requested to be confined to her room, begging the Emperor to seek justice."

"What?" Yan Wan exclaimed, looking at Ji Tao in disbelief, "How is this possible? How could the Imperial Concubine..."

This matter had already spread throughout the harem.

Yi Huan sighed in mock helplessness, "Who knows? Perhaps in this harem, there's so much truth and falsehood, so much falsehood and truth, who can really tell?"

Lan Qi lowered her eyes to hide the gleam in them, and said nonchalantly, "Sister Shupin seems to dislike the Imperial Noble Consort very much."

Yi Huan smiled faintly and said, "It's hard to say whether I like her or not. I used to be close to the Imperial Concubine because I thought she loved the Emperor as deeply as I did. But later..."

Yihuan smiled bitterly. When she was young, she always thought that the women in the harem would enter the palace to be the emperor's women and would have some feelings for the emperor. However, after coming into contact with Lanqi, Yanwan and Langya, she understood their helplessness. The family's honor and survival were both more important than "love".

Yan Wan smiled faintly and said, "I'm glad that you understand, sister."

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Hongli was sitting at the table when Li Yu came in with tea.

Li Yu had sharp eyes and immediately saw the red agate bracelet in Hongli's hand. The color was bright and lustrous, and it was obvious that it was not an ordinary item.

"Li Yu, do you think the Imperial Noble Consort will really betray me?" Hongli looked lonely.

Li Yu put down the tea in his hand and stood aside to carefully comfort him, "Your Majesty, I have seen how hard it has been for you and the Imperial Concubine. It would be too unfair to deny the Empress's sincerity to you based on a bracelet."

Hongli was still uneasy. Ever since he heard the rumors about Ruyi and Master Anji, he had been holding a grudge. Although his reason told him that Ruyi was not that kind of person, there was always a thorn in his heart that made him unable to sleep or eat.

But the scene of Master Anji holding Ruyi's hand that day could never be erased from his mind.

The more he forced himself to stay calm, the clearer the scene became. From holding hands to interlocking their fingers, to looking at each other lovingly, he really couldn't help but doubt that the two of them were really as the rumors said.

Li Yu also has his own little thoughts. He is not really good to Ruyi.惢心 is a good girl. If Ruyi is disliked by the emperor and sent to the cold palace again,惢心 will definitely be implicated again.惢心 suffered in the cold palace before. Not only did she have to help Ruyi with rough work, but she also had rheumatism that has not healed yet. He really couldn't bear to see惢心 suffer for Ruyi again.

But what Li Yu worried about still happened.

The rumors became more and more outrageous. There were even palace maids who said that they saw the Imperial Concubine and Master Anji secretly meeting in Anhua Palace when no one was there. Master Anji also gave Ruyi a seven-treasure bracelet as a token of love.

Hongli became suspicious of the rumors and ordered Li Yu and Jinzhong to search the Yiku Palace.

A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. Ruyi held her head high and asked惢心 to move a chair and sit quietly beside her, watching the scene in front of her.

A moment later, the guard found a brocade box under Ruyi's dressing table.

After Li Yu looked at惢心 worriedly, he asked Jinzhong to take the brocade box and the letter back to the Yangxin Palace to report.

When he saw the physical evidence, Hongli frowned slightly, "What is this?"

Jinzhong opened the brocade box, and inside lay a seven-treasure bracelet.

Hongli's face turned pale and he felt a chill on his head. He took the bracelet and the letter to Yiku Palace and questioned Ruyi.

Seeing this, Ruyi took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and asked, "Your Majesty, do you not trust me?"

"On the wall and on horseback..." Ruyi wanted to arouse Hongli's affection for her through poetry.

But Hongli is not a fool.

He shouted sternly, "Royal Concubine!"

Ruyi knelt down, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Your Majesty, do you still not believe in my character? I have discussed this with Master Anji privately, but it was because I wanted to have a child with Your Majesty. Master Anji told me that if I wore the Seven Treasures bracelet, my wish would come true. But I have never seen the Seven Treasures bracelet in your hand."

"Oh?" Hongli lowered his eyes, seemingly disbelieving Ruyi's words, and said calmly, "Then what's the matter with this letter?"

Hongli sat down on the stool, waved his hand, and threw the letter in front of Ruyi. Ruyi unfolded the letter and read it at a glance. Her face suddenly turned ashen. There was a faint fragrance on the letter, and the handwriting was beautiful, which was exactly Ruyi's handwriting.

The letter reads:

"Master, be merciful! I have admired Buddhism since childhood, but I was trapped in the mundane world and could not find liberation. Thankfully, Master has shown me the way out of this maze, and I have suddenly realized the truth. Master, I burn the incense you gave me every day and worship the Buddha. I only hope that we can continue our relationship in the next life..."

As Ruyi looked at the contents of the letter, she felt dizzy. She had never written such a letter before. It was obvious that someone had deliberately framed her.

She threw the letter away and said defensively, "Your Majesty, this is indeed my notes, but I never wrote them. Besides, it is not difficult to copy my handwriting."

Hongli was so angry that he sneered, "Really?"

Then he clapped his hands, and Jinzhong appeared in front of Ruyi with Ai'er.

Ai'er knelt down and saluted, "Your servant greets the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine."

Hongli said with a cold face, "Tell the Imperial Concubine what happened again."

Ai'er knelt on the ground and said tremblingly, "That day, I also wanted to go to Anhua Hall when no one was around to pray for my family, but I accidentally ran into the Imperial Noble Concubine and Master Anji being intimate and whispering. Then the master personally put this bracelet on the Imperial Noble Concubine's hand and said..."

"What?" Hongli's voice was as cold as ice.

Ai'er trembled with fear and said in a trembling voice, "They said it was... a token of love."

"That's a bunch of nonsense," Ruyi shouted angrily. "I have never done anything like this. Which palace are you from? How dare you frame me?"

Ai'er lowered her head and sobbed softly, "Every word I said is true. The letter was from the night of the assassination. When I was delivering ice to Yikun Palace, I saw Aunt Suo Xin sneaking out and dropping this letter. I kindly picked it up and wanted to find an opportunity to return it to Aunt. However, before I could return it to Aunt, Eunuch Jinzhong sent people to search my room. Your Majesty, please forgive me, and your Royal Concubine, please forgive me."

As he spoke, Ai'er kowtowed continuously.

Hongli asked Jinzhong to take Ai'er away.

"Your Majesty, I..." Ruyi wanted to explain but was interrupted by Hongli.

Hongli looked at Ruyi with complicated eyes. He really wanted to believe Ruyi's character, but the evidence before him made him doubt.

After a long while, he said, "Since the Imperial Concubine is crying out for justice, let's start the investigation with惢心. Come, take惢心 to the Ministry of Punishment."

惢心 was so scared that she fell to the ground. What kind of place is the Ministry of Punishment? It holds serious criminals there. If she goes in there, will she be able to come out alive?

She cast a pleading look towards Ruyi, hoping that Ruyi would save her because of her service. Ruyi's tears were in her eyes, and her lips were trembling. She covered惢心's hand with both hands and said, "惢心, I'm sorry for wronging you. When I prove my innocence, I will go to the Ministry of Punishment to pick you up in person."

Ruyi's voice was icy cold in惢心's ears, as if it came from the depths of hell.

She was so heartbroken that she couldn't even remember how she was carried out of Yikun Palace. Only Li Yu was willing to plead for her, and the master she had served for half her life actually wanted to use his own life to prove her innocence.

Li Yu was extremely anxious. When he heard that惢心 was going to be imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment, he immediately panicked and lost his composure.

She knelt down and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Punishment is such a filthy place. If a weak woman like Suo Xin were to go there, wouldn't that be a death sentence for her? Your Majesty, please have mercy."

Hongli ignored her and asked the guards to take惢心 away.