Ning Wang stared blankly at the wine jar in front of Fuyi, unable to regain his composure for a long time. The gentle spring breeze sounded like a roar in his ears, sending his mind into a chaotic mess, and the overwhelming fragrance of peach blossoms choked him, tightening his chest with a sharp, painful pressure. He clutched at it, struggling to vomit but unable to do so.
Stumbling forward, he steadied himself by holding onto a tree trunk. The peach resin on the trunk stuck to his palm, sticky and clumping. As his vacant gaze fell on his hand, his thoughts drifted back to the events of five years prior.
Back then, she was still a young girl. After reading a storybook where the characters buried wine together, she insisted on doing the same, so he indulged her.
“After five years, I’ll be eighteen. When we unearth these jars, I’ll drink Daughter’s Red, and you’ll drink Peach Blossom Wine.”
‘“Whoever gets drunk first is a puppy!”‘
“Wangye, Wangye!” Cen Chu noticed Ning Wang’s face growing paler and said anxiously, “Wangye, shall we fetch an imperial physician?”
“No need.” Ning Wang wiped his palm clean, his tone indifferent. “It’s nothing.”
“Greetings, Wangye.” A palace maid passing by with a food box curtsied respectfully.
The commotion drew Fuyi’s attention; looking up, she saw Ning Wang standing under the tree, causing her hands to pause midway. She set the wine pot down and stood up. “This subject daughter greets Ning Junwang.”
The palace attendants held their breath and retreated to the corners. Though Ning Wang had been demoted to a junwang, few would specifically refer to him as such during formal greetings. After all, a junwang was also a wang, even though it wasn’t a proper qinwang. As such, most people would respectfully address a junwang with ‘Wangye.’
“Greetings to you too, Miss Yun,” Ning Wang approached the two with a faint smile. “Admiring flowers and drinking wine—my nephew has quite the delightful pastime.”
“Imperial Uncle, please have a seat,” Sui Tingheng invited Ning Wang to join them. “You’re still injured and shouldn’t drink wine; let’s have the servant bring us a pot of tea.”
“It’s just a few cups of wine. Why shouldn’t I drink?” Ning Wang took a wine cup and was about to pour himself some when Fuyi swiftly pressed her hand against the wine jar.
“Ning Junwang, this wine is not for you.” Fuyi’s smile was radiant as she gently pushed the jar away from him. “With your esteemed status, you ought to avoid anything that might harm your health.”
Ning Wang looked straight at her and slowly withdrew his hand. “Thank you, Miss Yun, for your concern.”
Fuyi raised her eyebrows slightly. “It’s nothing. This subject daughter is simply worried that Wangye might end up drinking yourself to death.”
The word ‘death’ was taboo in the palace, and the attendants recoiled in fear.
“Miss Yun, you’re drunk.” Sui Tingheng seemed oblivious to Fuyi’s inappropriate remark. He gestured for Mo Wen to take the wine jar away. “Let’s drink this wine another time. I’ll hold on to the rest for you.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness.” Fuyi lifted her cup. “Cheers.”
Sui Tingheng also raised his cup, smiling softly as he sipped his wine before turning to Ning Wang. “What brings you here today, Imperial Uncle?”
“I heard that Imperial Sister-in-law was admiring flowers here, so I came to pay my respects. But I see it’s just the two of you.” Ning Wang’s gaze lingered on the empty glass cup in Sui Tingheng’s hand. “Since she isn’t here, I’ll return another time to pay my respects.”
“Imperial Uncle, your timing is unfortunate. Princess Kangyang came to visit half an hour ago, so my mother returned to Zhaoyang Palace to receive her. Fuyi and I are about to join her for lunch. If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to join us,” Sui Tingheng offered warmly.
The image of Sui Tingheng and Fuyi’s intertwined sleeves returned to Ning Wang’s mind, causing his expression to turn distant. “No need. Thank you for the invitation, but I’ll come another time.”
He stood up, walked a few steps, then stopped and turned to look at Fuyi.
But it was Sui Tingheng who rose to see him off. “Is there anything else, Imperial Uncle?”
“Nothing.” Ning Wang averted his gaze. “I didn’t expect Heng’er and Miss Yun to be so close. I never heard you two having such a friendship before.”
“Imperial Uncle is an elder, after all. Even though your nephew’s young and ignorant, I wouldn’t trouble you with trivial matters like who I’m making friends with,” Sui Tingheng replied with a gentle smile. “Actually, I’ve known Fuyi for many years. Imperial Uncle is often busy, so it’s natural you wouldn’t notice the interactions of us younger folks.”
“Known each other for years?” Ning Wang glanced at Fuyi and chuckled. “It seems I’ve been ignorant.”
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and left. Fuyi watched him depart with a bright smile. “Farewell, Ning Junwang.”
Ning Wang left without looking back.
“Imperial Uncle has been doted on by Imperial Grandfather since childhood, so his temper can sometimes be difficult. Don’t take it to heart.” Sui Tingheng gently poured a cup of hot tea for Fuyi. “Some of his words earlier sounded a bit harsh toward you, so I made up a few things to smooth things over—hope you don’t mind?”
Fuyi shook her head. “Of course not. Your Imperial Highness was simply protecting my reputation, lest others start badmouthing me for being fickle and ingratiating toward those in power.” Taking the tea Sui Tingheng had poured for her, Fuyi’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Truth be told, this subject daughter didn’t expect Your Imperial Highness could lie. That’s quite novel.”
“Do I appear to be someone who never lies in your eyes?” Sui Tingheng’s finger rested on the rim of the steaming cup, the rising tea mist softening his already gentle gaze, giving him another layer of charm. “Sometimes, when I don’t want to write political essays, I lie too.”
“Did your teachers believe you?” Fuyi’s curiosity deepened.
“Well…” Sui Tingheng thought for a moment, then nodded. “They believed me.”
“That’s completely different from my situation,” Fuyi sighed. “When I was little and didn’t want to practice calligraphy, I told my father that a stray cat had run off with my papers. He chased me with a stick for half a street. Not only did I get beaten, but I had to stay up crying while copying books until midnight.”
“Later, when a stray cat really did take away my papers, no one believed me.” Recalling this incident, Fuyi still felt aggrieved and even forgot the proper courtesy of speaking with the future crown prince, “Could you believe it? Even Xiaowu and the others thought I was speaking nonsense.”
When she saw Sui Tingheng’s lips curving upward, her eyes widened in disbelief, “Your Imperial Highness, are you laughing at me?”
“I’m not laughing at you.” Sui Tingheng’s fingers gently stroked the cup. “I just think that when you were little, the way you copied books must have been very endearing.”
“Well… I wouldn’t say it was all that endearing.” Fuyi thought back to her childhood days—clothes stained with ink, the exasperated expressions of her tutors, and her father’s tightly furrowed brows. The more she recalled, the more she felt that her father’s love for her must have been immense for him not to beat her senseless back then.
“Even as a child, this subject daughter never enjoyed studying and often ran off to Cao Sanlang’s house to learn archery and horsemanship.” Fuyi laughed. “Eventually, Father gave up on me and let me spend my days at the Cao.”
Xiayu and Qiushuang frantically exchanged glances, sending silent signals to Fuyi, pleading with her to stop. ‘Miss, please stop! His Imperial Highness is renowned for his diligence and love of learning. Boasting about skipping classes and disliking studying in front of him—does that sound like something to be proud of?!’
“So it turns out that Miss Yun has been remarkable since childhood.”
“Remarkable?” Fuyi was puzzled. “Your Imperial Highness, what do you mean by that?”
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Did NW really send assassins?🤔
If Ning Wang knew what his late mother did to Yun Fuyi then him acting all hurt and still holding onto the pass act is really is disgusting. But if he doesn’t….but I still feel like he had to at least had some knowledge of what his mother did. So idk why he’s all surprised as to why Yun Fuyi is treating him the way that she is. Either way this Ning Wang in my eyes is a hypocrite 🤷🏻♀️