The Adventures of the Crying Princess

At three quarters past five in the afternoon, Eunuch Chen issued an imperial decree, ordering Yuwen Ji to enter the palace.

"Okay, you should go back to Jingzhao Prefecture soon. Don't come to me all the time when you have nothing to do. If someone doesn't know you, they would think you are a guard in my mansion." Yuwen Ji waved his hand to signal Su Beichen to leave quickly.

They were so familiar with each other that they didn't even need to be polite. When Yuwen Ji turned his head, his eyes were full of smiles. He patted Bai Yimeng's head and gently said, "Xiaobai, be good at home. When I come back, I'll bring you crab dumplings."

Su Beichen rolled his eyes, too lazy to continue eating dog food, turned around and climbed over the wall to leave Prince Yi's Mansion.

Yuwen Ji guessed something about his father's summons, so he dressed neatly and entered the palace.

When they arrived at Qian'an Hall, Emperor Chengde was reviewing memorials. When he saw Yuwen Ji coming, he waved his hand and said, "No need to greet me, please sit down."

This kind of courtesy was something Yuwen Ji had never enjoyed before. This made him feel uneasy. He politely greeted the emperor and stood aside, "Your Highness, I greet you, father."

"Forget it, you are such a troublesome kid, do whatever you want." Emperor Chengde threw the memorial aside and looked up at Yuwen Ji. "The prince said that he was knocked unconscious. What do you think?"

"Son, you don't know. That day, I was taking care of Xiaobai in the mansion. After Xiaobai came back from the Ministry of Justice, she was very timid and couldn't leave me for a moment." Yuwen Ji didn't answer directly, but he also revealed a message. 'I'm very busy and don't have time to think about anything else.'

Emperor Chengde's eyes were filled with scrutiny. "Some things don't necessarily have to be done by you personally. It's the same if your subordinates step forward."

"Father, do you doubt your son?" Taking the initiative, this was a new trick that Yuwen Ji and Bai Yimeng had learned, and it was a good opportunity to practice on his father.

Emperor Chengde pulled the corner of his mouth awkwardly, "Third brother, what are you talking about? You are my son, how could I not trust you? I am just worried that you might go astray, so I can't help but remind you."

"Yes, my son will follow my father's teachings."

The prince said that he was knocked unconscious in the East Palace. This lie was not clever at all. Yuwen Ji knew that this was his father's warning to him, "Don't learn from the King of Qi and don't go astray."

Emperor Chengde's expression softened slightly. "By the way, Prince Mu's palace has filed a complaint against you, saying that you flirted with his daughter. I was always worried about your marriage, but I didn't expect you to be a child with your own ideas.

Although the little princess of Prince Mu's Mansion is sometimes crazy and silly, she is the daughter of Prince Mu after all. Your life in the future will surely be harmonious.

But the wedding date may have to be postponed. Firstly, the Crown Prince has just got married and the treasury is empty. Secondly, your grandmother is still in the villa, so we have to make plans after spring. What do you think?"

"Father, I only want Xiaobai. I thought she was dead and planned not to marry again for the rest of my life. But now that she is back, I can't possibly marry anyone else." Yuwen Ji turned his head away, as if refusing to communicate.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing? If you don't like the princess of Prince Mu's Mansion, why do you treat her with disrespect? How could you ruin a girl who is still unmarried?" Emperor Chengde was so angry that he took off his boots and wanted to hit him.

"My son didn't flirt with her. Father, think about it. It's not the first day that my son has known the little princess of Prince Mu's Mansion. If I had any interest in her, I would have told you and mother long ago. Can I wait for Xiaobai to come back? It's obvious that someone is framing my son."

"What's your purpose?" Emperor Mingde asked calmly, as if he had expected Yuwen Ji to say so.

"Prince Mu's sister became your consort, and you married your eldest daughter to the crown prince. Now you want to push your youngest daughter to your son. Father, you must be careful, because one day..."

"Okay, okay, you are getting less and less talkative." Emperor Chengde denied it verbally, but the expression on his face agreed with his point of view. "Now, Prince Mu said that you defiled his daughter and wants to marry his daughter to you. What do you say?"

"My son didn't defile his daughter. The princess is unconscious. Doctor Guo at my son's house checked her pulse last night. How can the words of a madman be taken seriously?"

Emperor Chengde glanced at Yuwen Ji, "Prince Mu, there are witnesses and physical evidence. They say that someone saw you knock the princess unconscious and take her away. Who would believe you if you said you didn't do it?"

"My son has Su Beichen to testify that he was at my house last night." Yuwen Ji naturally would not say that it was Su Beichen who stole the person out last night. That would be too unfair.

Emperor Chengde seemed dissatisfied with this answer. He said sternly, "Third brother, you are not young anymore. You should learn to share your father's worries. I wanted you to go to the Ministry of Justice to gain some experience. I didn't expect that your comprehension ability... Never mind."

Seeing that Emperor Chengde was hesitant to speak, Yuwen Ji approached tentatively, "Father, how about you enlighten me, maybe I will understand?"

Ever since Bai Yimeng came back, Yuwen Ji had long wanted to do a job, and when he heard about the Ministry of Justice, he couldn't help but be tempted.

"Well, the boy is teachable." Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingde smiled with a mysterious smile and nodded slightly, "You can also see the purpose of Prince Mu's action."

"I see it."

"Right, but I can't refuse him, and I don't want to fall into this trap. Ji'er, what do you think we should do?" Emperor Chengde looked at his son with loving eyes.

……

Prince Yi's Mansion

It was almost time for dinner, but Yuwen Ji hadn't come back yet. Bai Yimeng felt extremely anxious for some reason.

Although I clearly don't care about that person, my heart is drawn to him at this moment, and I feel a little bit at a loss.

"Don't worry, Brother Long. His Majesty will sometimes keep you for dinner, or ask the Queen to stay for a talk, so he may come back late." Wang Xun saw Bai Yimeng standing in the snow looking at the sky, and couldn't help but go up to comfort her.

Bai Yimeng nodded slightly, said nothing, and continued to look at the starry sky.

In an instant, the gate of the palace opened. A group of people came in. Yi Tong was carrying a person on his back, who looked like Yuwen Ji, and several servants followed him into the palace with their feet lifted.

"Quick, go get Dr. Guo..." Yi Tong ran into the house in a panic, "Get some hot water..."

In a moment, the people in the mansion were in chaos. There were almost no women in the palace, and the servants who served Yuwen Ji were boiling water and inviting guests. For a moment, the whole mansion was in chaos.

Bai Yimeng followed him back to Lanyue Pavilion. She wanted to go in and take a look, so she walked to the door. Yi Tong came out and stopped her, "Brother Long, don't go in. Our master was beaten. Please stand back. Everyone is too busy to take care of you."

Yi Tong was still vague about Bai Yimeng's identity and gender at the moment, and he just called him Brother Long out of habit.

Bai Yimeng was a little puzzled. Yuwen Ji had not participated in anything, so why was he beaten for no reason? Was it possible that someone had framed him?

She tried hard to recall the details of her past life, and remembered that year when Emperor Chengde forced her into marriage, the situation was exactly the same as today.

The whole mansion was busy until late at night, and Lanyue Pavilion finally calmed down.

Bai Yimeng had been standing outside the door for two hours. Her mind was in a mess. There were several moments when she wanted to rush in, but was always pulled back by reason.

She hated herself for being like this, hated herself for being worried, and hated herself for worrying about Yuwen Ji.

"Don't worry, I'm not seriously injured." Yi Tong stepped forward and draped Yuwen Ji's coat over her. "Brother Long, I care about you the most. These days, everyone will be very busy and may not be able to take care of you. You must protect yourself. Otherwise, when I get better, I'm afraid you will blame us."

"I want to see him." As soon as Bai Yimeng said this, she was frightened. But she took the words back.

"Wait a minute, go back to sleep first. We can wait until tomorrow morning..."

Before Yi Tong could finish, Bai Yimeng broke in. Yuwen Ji was sweating all over his face from the pain, and his consciousness was very weak. He thought it was Yi Tong who came in, and he unconsciously said, "This king is thirsty."

As soon as the weak voice came out, Bai Yimeng could no longer control her tears. She reached out to grab the teacup and poured water into it randomly.

Tears blurred her vision, and her hands holding the teapot trembled. She hated this man so much that she wanted to eat his flesh. But seeing him like this, her heart felt like it was being tortured.

She tested the water temperature and accidentally dropped a tear into it. When she walked to his side, she saw the quilt stained with blood. Bai Yimeng bit her lip, trying not to cry out loud.

"Water!" Another weak cry.

Bai Yimeng then came to his senses, took out the pain-relieving pill from his arms, crushed it and sprinkled it into the water.

Yuwen Ji had lost his sense of taste due to the pain, so he drank it carelessly, "Don't...don't tell Xiaobai. These few days, keep an eye on her and don't let her run around.

Remember, go buy her crab meat dumplings in the morning. She has a very picky palate and will only eat the ones from Xinghuaxuan." After saying that, she couldn't help coughing.

Even after all this, he was still thinking about her. Bai Yimeng could not control himself. He walked forward and pressed his acupoints. Yuwen Ji fell asleep instantly.

Yi Tong had come in a long time ago and was standing at the door like a sculpture.

Bai Yimeng turned his head and glanced, "Close the door, do you want to freeze your prince to death?"

Yi Tong finally came to his senses and quickly closed the door. He couldn't help but whispered teasingly, "What do you mean by 'my prince'? You're talking as if you're not from the palace."