“Greetings, Your Imperial Highness.” Fuyi calmly stuffed the shawl into Fatty Liu’s hands and bent down to curtsy toward Sui Tingheng.
Fatty Liu hurriedly threw the shawl aside and tried to stand up to greet the Prince, but the shawl tangled his feet, and with a thud, he fell back down again.
The Deputy Minister of Justice glanced at the man who had been nearly flattened by Liu Shizi’s butt and said to his colleague, “Go quickly and find two physicians.” So many spectators were around; they must never let these suspicious guys die here.
Sui Tingheng took a few steps forward, but the voice of the deputy minister brought him back to his senses, “What is going on here?”
No one dared to speak up. Wang Yanhe and his buddies looked at Fatty Liu, while Fuyi’s group silently exchanged glances with one another. Eventually, all eyes fell on Fatty Liu.
“Keep a close watch on these three,” Sui Tingheng handed the emperor’s edict to the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. “Deliver this to Ning Wangfei and strictly guard the Ning Wang Manor. No one other than the officials working on the case is allowed to enter or leave, so as not to disturb the women in the inner courtyard.”
“This subject obeys the order.” The chief justice took the edict and left the clothing shop. A sizable crowd had been drawn by the commotion, gathering in front of the shop’s entrance. Among them were the grandson of Grand Perceptor Du, the second son of the Minister of Public Works, and even the delicate daughter of the Minister of Rites, who seemed to be… holding a piece of inkstone?
Noticing the chief justice’s gaze on her, Lu Yan quickly hid the inkstone behind her back and discreetly tucked it into her sleeve.
“It’s late. Why are all of you here?” The exasperated chief justice wished these youngsters would go home rather than crowding here.
“Good evening, Sir. The night is lovely, so we came for a stroll.”
“We came for a drink.”
The chief justice sighed. “Just go home, alright? I’ll be taking my leave.”
“Take care, sir.”
After the chief justice left, the group gradually dispersed into smaller clusters, though none of them was in the mood to go home.
Young Master Du quietly walked to Lu Yan, “Don’t worry, Miss Lu. Yun Fuyi won’t suffer any loss.”
Lu Yan turned her head and softly whispered, “I know.” She lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, tiptoeing to get a better view of the shop’s interior. With such a huge commotion, her biggest concern was that the Prince might be displeased with Fuyi.
…
Seeing that no one was speaking, Sui Tingheng didn’t get angry. “Liu Shouchang, you explain,” he directly asked Fatty Liu.
“Your Imperial Highness, this subject is just here following Yun Fuyi,” Fatty Liu, always one to pick on the weak and fear the strong, didn’t dare to stall when being addressed directly by the Prince. “I don’t know who these three people are.”
“Pardon us, Your Imperial Highness,” Fuyi chimed in, “This subject daughter was just curious about what this clothing shop was selling, so we came to take a look. Who would’ve thought three people would suddenly crawl out from beneath the stone slab? We thought they were just fooling around, but the moment they saw us, they pulled out daggers threateningly. It was truly terrifying.” She shifted aside, as if genuinely frightened.
“…” The Deputy Minister of Justice looked incredulously at the trio, who had been beaten beyond recognition.
Fatty Liu also shot a sideways glance at Fuyi. What kind of person climbs over walls just to visit a shop?
Remembering that the three had crawled out from under the stone slab, the deputy minister quickly realized something. His expression grew serious as he forcefully lifted the stone slab Fuyi had mentioned and saw that there was actually a tunnel underneath.
“Your Imperial Highness, there’s a hidden passage here!” The deputy minister felt a chill down his spine. To secretly build a hidden passage on East Street while remaining undetected—what kind of power was behind this?
Sui Tingheng walked toward the tunnel but was stopped halfway by Fuyi. “Your Imperial Highness, we don’t know where this passage leads. It’s possible that some bad actors are still hiding inside. Please don’t get too close.”
“I understand.” Sui Tingheng noticed the dust on Fuyi’s skirt, her hairpin askew, and that she was missing one of her earrings. His gaze swept the courtyard before settling back on her. “Miss Yun, are you hurt?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Imperial Highness, but this subject daughter isn’t injured.” Fuyi, noticing Sui Tingheng’s gaze lingering on her left ear, reached up and realized she had indeed lost an earring. She raised her right fist, pretending to cough twice. “Your Highness, where do you think this passage may lead? I’m a bit curious.”
The corners of Sui Tingheng’s mouth lifted slightly. “Once the Jinwu Guards have confirmed the tunnel is safe, if you’re still curious, Miss Yun, you can go with them to take a look.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness.” Fuyi’s eyes sparkled. ‘What a thoughtful and understanding Prince!’
Seeing that the Prince agreed to let Fuyi follow along to watch the spectacle, Fatty Liu quickly stepped forward to make his own request: “Your Imperial Highness, this subject would also like to—”
“No can do,” Fuyi heartlessly cut him off. “You’ll block the tunnel.”
Fatty Liu glared at Fuyi, gritting his teeth, but he could do nothing because she had quickly moved to hide behind the Prince, raising her eyebrows smugly.
“Miss Yun is concerned for your safety, so you should wait outside,” Sui Tingheng said with a smile. “Don’t waste her good intentions.”
Fatty Liu: “…”
‘Good intentions?’
‘Your Imperial Highness, you’re fooled by Yun Fuyi!’
Fatty Liu was unwilling to accept this, but he did not dare to refute Sui Tingheng, so could only move aside angrily and squat in the corner to sulk.
…
After entering Ning Wang Manor, the Jinwu Guards did not forcibly break into any rooms. Instead, they informed the chief steward that they first wished to greet the Wangfei.
Unsure of their true intentions, the chief steward made an excuse, saying that Wangfei was busy tending to Wangye and thus was unavailable.
“Shouldn’t you summon an imperial physician to attend to Ning Wangye, considering his serious condition?” The commander of the Jinwu Guards looked extremely concerned. “If His Majesty finds out, he’ll be heartbroken.”
“Thank you for your concern, General. Wangye has already taken his medicine and should recover soon,” the steward replied with a strained smile. He turned his head and saw an attendant give him a signal. Finally feeling relieved, his smile became more relaxed in an instant. “This servant doesn’t know where you plan to search, General, but please feel free to proceed.”
“What are you talking about? Our orders are to protect Ning Wangye, not to search the manor,” the commander said, giving the chief steward a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Rest assured, we’ll find any criminals hiding here and keep him safe.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the steward replied with a bow, cupping his hands respectfully. “Then we’ll leave it in your capable hands.”
‘Let’s see if you can find anything here!’ He sneered inside.
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I’m moving over to google translate the raws. This is so good