Clearly, he wakes up on time every day and devours his meals, all just to be a good companion for Ah Yu. As for enticing him to play together and neglect his studies, that is utterly unfounded.
He merely advised him to balance work and rest, and to take walks after long periods of reading, which is beneficial for the body. This update ıs available on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥
Could Qing Er really distort his original intention this way?
But it doesn’t stop there. Qing Er has started to blame Jun Ning for Jun Yu’s recent struggles in studying.
"The young prince’s decline in studies lately is all due to his instigation. How is he here to be a companion? He’s purely here to cause trouble."
"The young prince is almost led astray by him."
The unwarrantedly implicated Jun Yu: "..."
Life is unpredictable, like a sausage within a sausage.
Upon hearing these ’outrageous’ claims, the Empress was evidently angered, but she insisted on hearing everything, "And today? What exactly happened today that makes you unwilling to stay with him?"
"Today, while he was eating, he was a bit slow. Worried about missing the companion study with the young prince, I gently urged him. Who would’ve thought he’d get angry and call me the Empress’s flunky, only knowing how to flatter the Empress."
"I believe loyalty to one’s master is our duty as servants. I disagreed with his words, felt a hint of anger, and retorted a bit, little did I know he would..."
As Qing Er spoke, she raised the sleeve of her arm. Immediately, large patches of bruises underneath were revealed, looking quite shocking.
The Empress glanced once, quickly looked away, and gasped. Once she calmed down a bit, she asked furiously, "What on earth happened?"
"It was Young Master Yi Yi, he...he... squeezed me... and threatened me not to tell anyone, or else, or else he would..."
Qing Er, sobbing as she spoke, covered her face in tears. The latter part seemed difficult for her to articulate, stuttering for quite a while without finishing.
She suddenly kneeled in front of the Empress, kowtowed several times, begging the Empress to seek justice for her.
The Empress gave Jun Ning a once-over, preparing to punish him, but before doing so, she asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Jun Ning asked back, "Doesn’t the Empress want to ask me if what she said isn’t true?"
"If it’s not true, then is it false?"
Jun Ning blurted out, "False."
The Empress’s tone was certain, evidently trusting Qing Er’s words.
Yet, from where did her trust stem? Was it because Qing Er, being one of her people and having served her for years, was trustworthy? Or, were the deliberate targeting, verbal abuses by Qing Er and other palace maids over the past month, and even today’s baseless accusations, all orchestrated by the Empress, fully knowing, thus siding with Qing Er and trusting her unconditionally?
The truth is unknown.
Jun Ning planned to probe, to test, and soon reach a conclusion.
Once the outcome was clear, he would know how to properly address the matter moving forward.
After exhaling several deep breaths, he innocently said, "Empress, if you don’t want me as Ah Yu’s companion, and wish to choose someone else, you can tell me directly, and I would resign voluntarily. Why go to such lengths?"
If Qing Er’s and others’ malice were indeed at the Empress’s behest, then the Empress’s sole purpose would be to remove him as a companion but felt constrained by Emperor Yongning’s presence, thus leading to these events to have a righteous reason to dismiss him.