The atmosphere was so quiet that Lingxi could swear He Yu could hear her heartbeat. Her mind traveled to what she thought He Yu wanted.
"What reward does your highness want?" she asked trying her best to steady her voice.
He Yu's eyes looked warm but carried a strong sense of mischief.
They were so close that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. They stared at each other for a long while.
Though nervous, Lingxi chose to remain calm. They were a married couple and for a month. It was only right for her to fulfill her marital duties. Whatever He Yu wanted to do was acceptable both morally and legally. She closed her eyes slowly holding her breath.
He Yu probably read her thoughts and could not help but smile.
He brought his face closer and what Lingxi thought was meant to be a kiss turned into He Yu whispering in her ear, "Fujun"
Lingxi opened her eyes a bit confused. He Yu withdrew and met her confused expression.
"I liked the way you called me your husband earlier today so I want you to call me Fujun everyday", he said.
There was a short pause as Lingxi recalled the time she had called him husband. She closed her eyes to hide her embarrassment but He Yu chose not to help matters.
"Was Zhizhi expecting something else?" he teased with a smile.
Lingxi whose hands were already fiddling her hair could not help but think he had done what he did on purpose. An urge to tease him back rose in her heart.
She stared straight back at him and placed her hands round his neck and slowly laid him down to his surprise.
Her eyes peered into his and with their bodies barely separated; she said the word almost in a whisper, "Fujun"
The surprise on He Yu's face vanished almost immediately and was replaced with gleaming eyes and a radiant smile.
"Yes, Zhizhi?" he answered teasingly.
Lingxi did not expect this reaction and was flustered. She pulled her hands away from his neck and went to sleep facing the wall. She could still feel He Yu's smile from behind her.
She turned back to scold him, "go to sleep", she said like she was giving an order with a reprimanding tone.
He Yu, like an obedient puppy, closed his eyes to sleep but that only made her more annoyed.
Seeing she could do nothing about him, she simply turned back to sleep.
He Yu, on the other hand, opened his eyes to watch her. She was adorable, he thought.
[Wei City]
The investigation team, on the other hand, had just finished reporting their findings to He Rui. The one who Shen Cheng'an used to poison the water was a charcoal supplier. He was asked to place it in the water in exchange for some medicine to save his dying mother. Liu ying was the one who gathered the information.
"As far as I know, Shen Cheng'an has no grudge with Minister Wei. Why would he suddenly kill him?" Lv Chi asked.
"Grudges are not necessarily the reason for killing", He Rui said.
"Are you saying someone else might be arranging this behind the scenes?"
There was a short pause and Fu Jiu broke the silence, "that reminds me. I heard His Majesty has arranged the marriage between Prince Cheng and Young Miss Li. The wedding is in two days"
Everyone was surprised.
"Isn't that too soon? Since when were imperial marriages arranged like this?" Liu Ying asked.
"The Ministry of rites said the next auspicious date would be four months so His Majesty chose the next two days", Fu Jiu explained.
"The timing is rather suspicious", Lu Qian said.
"How?" Lv Chi asked.
"Think about it - we are this close to solving the case and now there is a sudden imperial marriage. Isn't it suspicious?" he asked.
"Isn't that because of the auspicious date?" Fu Jiu asked.
"As long as you have enough power, you can create your own auspicious date", He Rui said.
"Let's look into Minister Li", he added.
[Outside the Palace Gates]
The gentle chilly breeze blew across the trees and the waters.
Li Min who was standing below the hills by the waters was patiently waiting for someone.
"Min'er", she heard a familiar voice.
She turned to see He Yan rushing up to her. He removed his cloak and wrapped it around her.
"It's windy, don't catch a cold", he said.
"Your highness, I asked you here to ask...." Li Min wanted to say but He Yan interrupted, "I know"
He paused to take a deep breath.
"I think your family is most likely to be in trouble soon but I don't know how" He Yan said.
"I knew something was off the moment I said the ministry of justice had found a new lead and he said what is meant to come will come", Li Min was worried.
"The ministry of justice?" He Yan was surprised for a minute, "could it be that your father is involved in the case?"
"I don't know", Li Min held his arms, "your highness, you must save my family"
He Yan held her hand, "although I don't know about what's going on behind the scenes, I'll try my best to find out. As for what comes after, no matter the outcome, I'll keep you safe", he promised.
Li Min nodded with moist eyes.
Up above the hills where the trees were dense and the grasses scattered below, He Yu and Jun Jie stood still quietly watching.
He Yu, as usual, had his folded low while Jun Jie was standing next to him with his sword in hand.
"I never knew He Yan was so romantic", He Yu said as he watched the couple below hugging.
"Everyone knows Prince Cheng and Miss Li have long had feelings for each other", Jun Jie said.
"Such a beautiful scenery accompanied by nature and moonlight .... too bad it doesn't match up to my anniversary preparation", He Yu said and turned to leave.
Jun Jie followed behind him.
[Channing Palace]
"Your highness, do you think Prince Cheng will find out the truth?" Jun Jie asked as they walked through the palace corridors.
"He is intelligent but he won't have that much time to figure out the solution", He Yu answered.
Jun Jie nodded in thought and something crossed his mind, "Xiao Huan sent a message", he said.
He Yu paused to listen.
"He said that Second Prince, Prince Jing, has decided to look into Minister Li"
He Yu smiled and continued walking, "That was expected. Li Changsheng and the empress probably thought that arranging the marriage earlier would prevent future troubles but doing that only attracted trouble"
"That's true. If they had stayed quiet and pretended nothing had happened, Prince Jing wouldn't have looked into them. But by doing this, they have aroused suspicion and the case would not be closed so easily", Jun Jie realized.
He Yu gave a short smile and then sighed lightly, "in situations like this, one must have patience. For a long term player like Shen Ruihua, this is truly unprecedented"
He Yu sighted his room from a short distance and saw that the lights were on. He stopped on his tracks and exchanged glances with Jun Jie before looking back at the lights.
'Didn't I turn off the lights?' he wondered.
"It seems Her Highness is awake", Jun Jie said looking at the room before turning to He Yu, "your highness has a long night ahead of you. I shall not disturb you any further", he bowed and left.
"You….." He Yu wanted to call him back, "you traitor", he could only mutter.
He breathed in and walked in the direction of his room. But on getting close, he saw Lingxi sitting on the balcony.
There was a game of Go on the table and a jar of peach blossom wine accompanied by two small round cups on its side. Qin Yan was standing behind her.
Lingxi was taking a sip of the wine when He Yu walked up to her.
His face looked like that of a child that had been caught doing something wrong and his smile read nervous.
Qin Yan greeted him with a bow while Lingxi calmly set her cup down.
"Zhizhi….." he wanted to say but Lingxi spoke first.
"Fujun, you're back" she said with a smile.
If this was a normal time, He Yu would have been over the moon by the title Lingxi used to address him but it felt like he was about to be judged.
Before he could respond, she directed him to sit with her gaze.
"Sit", she said.