Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Fawning

Ever since Rong Xin was released from the Ministry of Punishment, Li Yu had been running to the Yikun Palace every few days. Every time Hongli called for Li Yu, he was nowhere to be found.

The sky was dark, and the people from the Jingshifang had handed over the green cards early. Hongli's fingertips swept over these cards, and finally landed on the green card of "Shupin". He flipped it casually and saw that Hongli had chosen the destination for tonight. The eunuchs from the Jingshifang hurriedly withdrew and prepared to serve him in bed.

Jinzhong was disappointed and happy to see that Hongli did not choose Yanwan. He walked forward with tea and wanted to make his presence felt in front of Hongli while Li Yu was away.

He placed the best Longjing tea in front of Hongli, and the aroma of tea filled the air. Hongli, who had been reviewing memorials all day, was already tired. He picked up the tea and took a sip. His eyes swept over Jinzhong, and suddenly his brows furrowed. He hadn't seen Li Yu today.

Hongli placed the teacup on the table and asked, "Where's Li Yu? Is he so busy?"

Jinzhong didn't dare to look up, and said submissively, "Your Majesty, Eunuch Li is ill, and I didn't come to worry about infecting you. I only need this servant to serve you well."

Hongli snorted coldly. Did Li Yu think he was stupid? He had served him for so long, how could he not see through his little tricks? Langya had tried to bribe Wang Qin, the former Grand Chamberlain, but ended up losing more than she gained. Add to that the false accusation of Ruyi having an affair with An Duo, and Li Yu was so preoccupied with it that it was hard for Hongli not to suspect that the two were secretly working on something behind his back.

Jinzhong didn't know what the emperor was thinking, and of course he wouldn't tell anyone even if he knew. Ever since Wang Qin and Lianxin's affair failed in the palace, Hongli had ordered that eunuchs and palace maids were not allowed to do such dirty things behind the scenes, otherwise they would be beaten to death. Jinzhong knew that Li Yu loved惢心, but惢心 wanted to live an ordinary life with children. Of course, rootless people like them couldn't satisfy her wishes. Li Yu didn't get angry, but silently blessed惢心, gave her velvet flowers, and wished her a life of glory. But things didn't go as planned.惢心 not only didn't have a life of glory, but also lost half her life.

Jinzhong sighed secretly in his heart. Originally,惢心 was only supposed to have one leg broken, but he secretly went to Guanju Palace in the middle of the night to inform Lanqi. Lanqi felt that one leg was useless, so she might as well let惢心 be injured more seriously, so as to arouse the hatred of some people and make the next game more interesting.

The weather is gradually getting colder, and there was a heavy snow a few days ago. The plum blossoms in the Yimei Garden have already bloomed. However, with so many things happening in the palace recently, no one has the heart to appreciate the flowers.

One day, when Ling Yunche was patrolling through Yime Garden, he saw the plum blossoms in full bloom. Suddenly, he remembered that when he was on duty in the cold palace and chatting with Ruyi, she mentioned that she loved plum blossoms, especially green plum blossoms. Ling Yunche kept this in mind, so when he saw such beautiful plum blossoms, he wanted to pick some and send them to Yiku Palace.

This is what Ling Yunche thought and did.

He asked the guards behind him to continue patrolling, but he plunged into the Yime Garden. After wandering for a long time, he found two branches of the most luxuriant plum blossoms and picked them up. Then he carefully put them in his arms and ran towards the Yiku Palace.

When she saw Ruyi, she was talking with Jiang Yubin in the courtyard. Jiang Yubin saw Ling Yunche and thought he had something to ask Ruyi, so he consciously retreated to make medicine for惢心.

Turning around and seeing Ling Yunche and the red plum in his hand, Ruyi's smile grew wider, and even the corners of her eyes and eyebrows revealed a smile uncontrollably. She just looked at Ling Yunche quietly without saying a word.

Ling Yunche stared at Ruyi, the corners of his lips gradually curling up slightly. He slowly approached and said, "Your humble servant pays his respects to the Imperial Noble Consort."

Ruyi waved the handkerchief in her hand and said, "Lord Ling, please stand up. I haven't had time to thank you for what happened last time, but you came to Yikun Palace first."

Ling Yunche smiled. Ruyi glanced at the red plum in his hand and asked with some confusion, "Master Ling, what is this?"

Ling Yunche then remembered the purpose of the Yikun Palace. He offered the red plum blossoms with both hands, bending his body slightly. "Just now, I passed by the Yimei Garden and saw that the plum blossoms there were in full bloom. I heard Your Majesty mention her love for plum blossoms before, so I wanted to borrow some flowers to offer to the Buddha. I hope Your Majesty will not despise it."

How could Ruyi dislike it? She was so happy that she couldn't contain herself. She didn't like Wei Yanwan because she always felt that Wei Yanwan climbed onto the emperor's dragon bed because of her face that was somewhat similar to hers. She took the red plum from Ling Yunche's hand, put it close to her nose and smelled it. It was so fragrant.

"Ling Yunche, do you think I look alike to your noble lady? Then who do you think is more beautiful between us?"

Ling Yunche's head buzzed. This really stumped him. He didn't understand why Ruyi asked him such a question. He looked up and stared at Ruyi carefully for a while. Ruyi and Yanwan did have some similarities. Both were very beautiful. Ruyi was the kind of woman with a lingering charm, while Yanwan was charming with a little purity, which made people feel a strong desire to protect her at first sight. But Ruyi was different. In Ling Yunche's eyes, she was a woman with her own opinions.

He lowered his head with a red face, and just when he was about to give the answer, he heard the sound of something falling to the ground in惢心's room.

Ling Yunche sensed something was wrong and quickly kicked open the door to惢心's room. 惢心 was naked, with injuries all over her body. She seemed to have used up all her strength to crawl from the bed to the dressing table, reaching out to grab a pair of scissors to end her miserable life. Unfortunately, she was disabled and couldn't reach the scissors at all. After finally getting them, they fell too far away. Before she could grab them, Ling Yunche barged in. There was nothing else wrong with her, but she was naked and had been seen naked by a man.惢心 wanted to bang her head against a pillar and die.

Ruyi also ran in. Ling Yunche's eyes did not move away from惢心. Seeing this, Ruyi immediately took the quilt and covered惢心 with it, scolding: "惢心, what are you doing?"

惢心 lost hope of living and threw herself on Ruyi in agony, crying, "My Lady Imperial Concubine, I am now a useless person. Please fulfill my wish and let me die."

Ruyi certainly wouldn't let惢心 die. She knew Jiang Yebin and Li Yu were both deeply in love with惢心, and only with惢心 by her side could they be used to their advantage. She was imitating Langya's methods, though Ruyi's mind was more meticulous. 惢心, unaware of this, believed that loyalty alone would secure her a smooth path.

Jiang Yebin heard the noise in the house and ran in immediately. He kicked the scissors on the ground far away. He put down the herbs in his hand and reached out to help惢心 feel her pulse, but惢心 seemed to be very resistant. She twisted her body and kept whimpering, and refused to let Jiang Yebin touch her.

Ruyi grabbed惢心's hand and comforted her, "惢心, be obedient. Jiang Yebin won't hurt you."

惢心 shook her head, still resisting. Her voice was as cold as the wind in December, and she dragged out the last note: "My Lady, please let this servant die. This servant is already a useless cripple. What's the point of you keeping a useless person by your side?"