Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace: Fawning

Ruyi felt very uncomfortable. Was the emperor blaming her for not bearing him a child? But who was the cause of her years of infertility? Others might not know, but how could the emperor not know?

She became increasingly disappointed with Hongli. The child of Concubine Mei and Concubine Yi was killed. Hongli knew that she was innocent, but he still sent her to the cold palace. After she finally escaped from the cold palace alive, those who harmed her continued to live a life of luxury. Not only did they not receive any punishment, they were also given titles.

Is this the emperor's love for her? If he loves her, he will send her to the cold palace.

Is Jin Yuyan a daughter of the Yu clan? But when Ruyi was still Qingying, wasn't she also a daughter of an aristocratic family? At that time, she also had an aunt who was the queen, and there was an endless stream of people coming to propose marriage. Although her family's strength is indeed not as great as before, she is still the daughter of the Ulanara clan.

The Yu family was just a bondservant who submitted to the Qing Dynasty.

It seemed that Hongli was unwilling to seek justice for惢心. Ruyi stopped pleading and instead turned over and, with a force, rolled away all the quilt covering Hongli. Hongli was speechless and amused. He did not intend to continue sleeping and walked out of the inner hall wearing a bird's clothing.

This just happened to wake up Jinzhong, who was sitting on the ground keeping watch. When Jinzhong saw Hongli coming out, he immediately wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, poured tea and handed it to him, saying, "Your Majesty, why don't you sleep a little longer tonight?"

Hongli sat on the dragon throne and took the cup. "I can't sleep. Where's Li Yu? Isn't he on duty tonight?"

Jinzhong said vaguely, "I don't know either. When I came in, Eunuch Li was not here. Maybe he went to the toilet."

"Li Yu goes to the toilet at such a good time. He is not there every time I look for him." Hongli sneered.

After drinking tea, Hongli was completely sleepless. He walked to the window and looked at the moon in the sky. Suddenly, he saw a figure beside the moon. He rubbed his eyes, and the outline of the figure became clearer and clearer. It was Langya. She was holding Yongcong, and Yonglian was following behind her. Langya looked at him with resentment, as if questioning why he was unwilling to trust her and why she died with regret.

Hongli extended his hand towards her and said lovingly, "Empress——"

When Jinzhong heard Hongli talking, he thought he was calling him, so he hurried forward and asked, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Hongli came back to his senses, rubbed his moist eyes, and said, "It's okay."

When he looked up again, Langya was gone. It was all just a dream, and Hongli sighed. Suddenly, he noticed that one of the guards outside the door was missing. Where was Ling Yunche? Wasn't he on duty tonight?

Hongli pointed out the window, "Where's Ling Yunche? Did he go to the toilet too?"

Jinzhong looked in the direction Hongli pointed. "Oh, this servant doesn't know. I'm not familiar with Guard Ling, but I heard from the palace servants that Guard Ling has been going to Yimei Garden recently. Many people have seen Lord Ling picking plum blossoms and holding them in his arms. He then sent them to Yikun Palace. Could Lord Ling be going to see Miss Suo Xin?"

Perhaps it was a strange fate in the cold palace. Jinzhong's purpose was simple: he wanted Yanwan to completely give up on Ling Yunche. There were only two ways to do this: kill Ling Yunche. However, if Yanwan knew he was the one who killed Ling Yunche, she might fight him to the death at all costs. In this case, the only option was to let Ling Yunche marry, but he couldn't live too comfortably. So he took the initiative to tell the emperor about Ling Yunche's visit to the Yikun Palace to deliver flowers.

A gentleman should help others achieve their goals. Previously, when Ling Yunche was on duty in the cold palace, he repeatedly saved Ruyi. However, in order to conceal his actions, Hongli did not reward Ling Yunche properly. Even when rewarding him for diving to save Ruyi, he only gave him 100 taels of silver and promoted him to the rank of third-class guard.

Now Ling Yunche is serving him quite well, and Hongli has thought about marrying his imperial maid Mao Qian to him.

Since Ling Yunche already had a girl he loved, it was not easy for him to interfere. After all, he was also responsible for Suo Xin's disability. Rewards and punishments were clearly distinguished. Ling Yunche had deserted his post without permission, so Hongli still had to punish him slightly and give him a severe warning. He ordered Jinzhong to wait for Ling Yunche to return to the Ministry of Punishment to receive twenty lashes of the cane.

Jinzhong was naturally happy, and he even spent some money to bribe the eunuchs of the Ministry of Punishment to make them more severe when they took action.

After being punished, Ling Yunche was thrown out of the Ministry of Punishment. Fortunately, he had a good brother, Zhao Jiuxiao, who was worried about Ling Yunche and waited for him outside the Ministry of Punishment.

Ling Yunche's buttocks were beaten to pieces, and his face was pale. Zhao Jiuxiao carried the unconscious Ling Yunche on his back and cursed, "Damn it, are these beasts trying to kill my brother on purpose?"

When Yan Wan heard about Ling Yunche's caning, she immediately knew Jinzhong was involved. However, she still depended on Jinzhong for the future, so she couldn't do anything to him. As the emperor's concubine, she couldn't visit Ling Yunche at his residence. Helplessly, she asked Lan Cui to bring Ling Yunche some fine medicine and food.

When Lan Cui arrived outside Ling Yunche's room, she saw Ruyi and Sanbao coming out. She knew that the Imperial Noble Consort and Yanwan were not on good terms, so she had deliberately hidden herself. She poked her head out to check on the situation and saw Ruyi smiling and bowing to Zhao Jiuxiao. She said, "I'm grateful to Guard Zhao for taking care of Ling Yunche during this period. He's seriously injured, and Jiang Yubin can't come because he has to take care of惢心. But he asked me to bring some medicine for his wounds. Don't forget to apply it on time. As for the Emperor, when he wakes up, tell him not to worry. I will ask for leave from the Emperor on his behalf."

Zhao Jiuxiao was a rough man. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine. I would like to thank you on behalf of Ling Yunche."

"Guard Zhao, you are too polite. It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any more." After saying that, she left with Sanbao.

Seeing Ruyi walk away, Lan Cui came out from behind the door and called out to Zhao Jiuxiao's back, "Zhao Jiuxiao?"

Zhao Jiuxiao heard someone calling him and turned around abruptly. Seeing Lan Cui, his face immediately turned red, revealing shyness. "Lan Cui, you came to see me?"

In the harem, Lan Cui saw clearly that in three years, she would be old enough to leave the palace. She didn't have the complicated family situation of Yan Wan, nor did she have to work so hard to please the emperor. But even if she left the palace, what would she do? Would she marry a commoner, live in poverty, and have their children enslaved? No, that wasn't the life she wanted. Instead, she would rather find a guard and live a life of love. At least a guard could have a good future, and Zhao Jiuxiao was her best choice.

Lan Cui sighed sadly and said, "My mistress heard about Ling Yunche's situation and asked me to bring her the golden wound medicine." She pulled out a small, exquisite bottle from her bosom and handed it to Zhao Jiuxiao, "Here, here."

Zhao Jiuxiao took it and sighed as well, saying, "Your Excellency is really sentimental. She's really good to Ling Yunche. Don't worry, I'll tell him."

Lan Cui nodded, and suddenly remembered Ruyi who had just left, so she asked, "Is the Imperial Noble Consort here to see Lord Ling as well?"

Zhao Jiuxiao suddenly covered Lan Cui's mouth, pulled her over, and whispered something in her ear. After hearing it, Lan Cui felt embarrassed and annoyed. She stuffed the bag in her hand into Zhao Jiuxiao's arms and turned away.

"Hey, Lan Cui?" Zhao Jiuxiao touched his head, not knowing what he said wrong.