The Gilded Cage

As soon as Chu Ning came back in the Wanchun Hall, the maid who had just left beckoned to her from a distance, and pointed to the Zhizheng Hall again.

The candle in the main hall was lit, and the door of the room was slightly open. Xiao Yu was obviously awake.

Chu Ning hurriedly approached before stepping into the room, and saw Xiao Yuzheng, who had just come out of the bath and changing clothes, pushing the maid who was tying his clothes aside with a face full of impatience: "Clumsy, go out."

The maid bent down uneasily, and when she saw Chu Ning coming back, she breathed a sigh of relief and timidly called "His Royal Highness".

Chu Ning waved her out, and walked into the inner room by bypassing the screen.

"A Ning." Xiao Yu stopped the hand tied with his clothes and turned around to see her figure, his expression subconsciously softened, but then he frowned again as if thinking of something again, "Where have you been?" I woke up without seeing your shadow."

He has been raising it for a few days, and his spirit is getting better every day. After drinking the medicine, he slept more than half an hour shorter than usual. Just when I woke up and saw the empty bedside, my heart was vaguely unhappy.

Chu Ning stopped next to him, first gently stroked the back of his hand, and then proceeded to tidy up the laces on his clothes for him.

"I don't know that His Royal Highness woke up so early today. After eating dinner, he felt a little support in his belly, so he walked outside and didn't come back until he was better."

Xiao Yu looked down at her face close at hand, stretched out his hand to caress, and squinted and asked, "Where have you been?"

Chu Ning's heart jumped, for fear that he knew something, he was busy thinking about it carefully in his heart.

The servants in the Tai Chi Palace have been changed a lot by Xiao Kezhi, and no one among them dared to spy on the new emperor. Moreover, just by the pavilion, the emperor's servants were guarded, let alone others.

And the Wanchun Temple is not the East Palace. Xiao Yu would never let people stare at her in Taiji Palace. Besides, she had just left two maids to pay attention to, so he shouldn't be aware of it.

Thinking of this, she calmed down and said truthfully: "Go out from Shenwumen and walk along the Qianbu Corridor to the mountain pool."

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment, meaning unclearly said: "You always love to go to the mountains and pools."

Chu Ning deliberately ignored the strangeness in his words, bowed his head to arrange the last ribbon, and explained: "We are in Wanchun Temple, the closest to Shenwumen. If we go further west, we will be close to the sleeping hall of the saint and the queen mother. Headed towards the mountain pool."

What she said made sense and reasonable, and finally made Xiao Yu no longer doubt it.

He looked at the flattened shirt with a smile, and pulled her into his arms: "It's better for Aning to come. Those maids have served for so many years, but there is no such thing as Aning who understands my mind. "

Chu Ning leaned in his arms and whispered: "That is the kindness of His Highness, he never scolded me."

Where is it because she understands his mind? He was obviously suspicious, always picky and dissatisfied with the maid around him.

When she first married into the East Palace, she remembered that Xiao Yu had a young maid next to her who had served for more than a year.

At first, the maid was still on duty, but later, relying on a little bit of beauty, she gradually became thinking about Xiao Yu, and one day she quietly hid in the bath room, and suddenly approached while he was taking a bath.

If it is an ordinary noble son who sees a beauty taking the initiative, he is naturally happy to accept it, but Xiao Yu was panicked by the repeated pressure of the Queen Mother at that time. Seeing her deliberately seduced, he subconsciously suspected that she was sent by the Queen Mother. , She immediately ordered her to be dragged outside the temple and tortured.

However, the handmaid was indeed not a spy arranged by others, until she was dying, she still did not say the answer Xiao Yu wanted.

She couldn't bear it in her heart, and when he calmed down, she ordered someone to send the maid out of the palace.

Later, he was no longer willing to let other maidservants serve personally, and if she was the princess, he would let her come in person.

He didn't trust and love her much, he just knew that she was helpless and could only live by relying on the East Palace, and he mistakenly believed that the Queen Mother Qi was behind the death of her father, so he was slightly less wary of her. .

Once at night, he came back after seeing his father in Tai Chi Palace, holding her for a long time and couldn't fall asleep.

He said: "Aning, you will be obedient and stay by my side obediently, right?"

She had forgotten how she answered at the time, only remembered his red eyes and the pain when she squeezed her shoulder blades.

Thinking of the old things, Chu Ning couldn't help shivering.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Yu noticed her strangeness and stretched out **** to lift her chin. The flickering candlelight reflected on her snow-white delicate skin, revealing a hazy soft light.

"It's okay, maybe I just caught a cold outside." She pressed her mind and smiled and replied.

Xiao Yu replied in a low voice, his eyes fell on the red lips that were close at hand, and slowly moved closer, gently holding on.

"It won't be cold in a while."

The placket that had just been tidied up then slowly loosened, and even the filial attire he was wearing with her was untied.

The temperature in the inner room gradually increased, and the quilt that had been flattened by the maid on the bed was lifted again. Xiao Yu held her waist and pressed her down. As he was about to cover her body, he heard the maid’s cautious voice: " Your Highness, Zhao Sizhi is in a hurry to see your Royal Highness."

When it heard that it was Zhao Yanzhou, Chu Ning subconsciously wanted to stand up.

Zhao Yan knows how to measure on Monday, and it is indeed important to go back and forth at this time.

Only half of her body was supported, and a force came from her shoulders, pressing her back on the bed again.

"Don't go." Xiao Yu looked at her coldly.

"His Royal Highness, it is Zhao Sizhi who is in a hurry." Chu Ning put one hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.

"No." He leaned down and got close to her, grabbing a strand of her hair, causing her to raise her jaw, "Let him wait."

It is his limit to allow Zhao Yanzhou to appear next to her on weekdays. If it weren't for the friendship between the two of them, he would have liked to beat Zhao Yanzhou out now.

"Your Highness—"

Chu Ning was really anxious, for fear that something happened to Uncle Fang.

"Is he so important to you?" Xiao Yu's face became more and more gloomy, and there was a faint tendency to explode.

Chu Ning bit her lip and looked at him, but finally did not dare to insist anymore, only raised her head and kissed him actively.

After being comforted, Xiao Yu's hostility disappeared little by little, and he held her again and moved.

…

It wasn't until more than half an hour later that she put on the clothes again, tied the scattered hair in a simple bun, and opened the door to go out.

This time, Xiao Yu didn't stop her again.

"Where is Zhao Sizhi?" she asked, closing her sleeves.

"Waiting there." Cuihe had a hint of anxiety in his eyes, pointing to the corridor not far away, and Zhao Yanzhou was standing there respectfully, "Lady, it seems that it is Fang Bo's business, Zhao Si bluntly said that Fang Bo was injured. I'm anxiously waiting for treatment."

Chu Ning's heart jumped and hurried over: "What happened to Bo Fang?"

Zhao Yanzhou has been waiting for a long time, and when he saw her, he said with a calm face: "Your Majesty, just after the minister left the palace, there were servants from the Yongchang Fang Mansion rushing over, saying that two hours ago, there were suddenly a few fierce and strong men After breaking in, punching Fang Bo violently, he drove away, unconsciousness under his eyes, I am afraid it is not good. I have asked the doctor in the workshop to see it before. The doctor has no way, so the minister will make his own opinion. Come and ask your Royal Highness to send the imperial imperial palace to take a look."

In the palace, except for the empress dowager, emperor and other medicines, which were personally in charge of the emperor's order, most of the others asked a few officials for consultation, and many high-ranking officials in the city often invited them to go there. Although not comparable to the medical skills of the imperial physician, it is definitely much better than ordinary doctors in the market.

Without saying a word, Chu Ning immediately let Cuihe take the token of the East Palace to invite Feng Yu.

"Do you know who it is?"

Uncle Fang's status is special and it is inconvenient to report to an official. The Chu family had no old enemies, and even if they did, they wouldn't know that Uncle Fang was back. Although she asked, she had guesses in her heart.

"I don't know who." Zhao Yanzhou shook his head, and at the same time knew her guess well, who else could be besides the prince?

Neither of them spoke again.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly stared at the side of her neck and said in a low voice: "The prince was in the palace just now—with you?"

He waited for more than half an hour, although he was anxious to guess what she was doing in the temple from time to time, but he never thought of it!

But they were nearly half a metre apart, and he still clearly saw the mark on her neck!

Chu Ning didn't answer, but looked at him quietly, which was a tacit understanding.

"The prince-it is still the time of the national funeral, and I simply ignore the human relations and etiquette!" Except for the day when he learned the truth of Chu Qianyu's death, this was the first time Zhao Yanzhou was so angry, "Aning, you-hey, I blame Brother Brother. At first, it was Brother Brother who failed to rescue you, so you had to marry the prince."

He feels distressed and blames himself, and he doesn't even care about the usual rules.

"No, brother, don't blame you, we were desperate at that time." Chu Ning shook his head, his eyes were a little moved, "In the future, if I do something wrong, will Brother forgive me?"

Zhao Yanzhou's eyes were filled with distress, and he shook his head without hesitation and said, "Why? No matter what Aning does, Brother will always be there."

Chu Ning felt relieved, only to feel that the guilt and worries that had been suppressed for a long time were eased. She endured the flushing eyes and whispered, "Everything will be fine."

After a while, Cuihe led Feng Yu back, and Zhao Yanzhou stopped staying, busy taking people out of the palace.

Chu Ning stood for a moment in the cold night, slowly turned around, and returned to the hall.

Xiao Yu frowned and looked at her flushed eyes and asked, "Aning, what else? What did Zhao Yanzhou say to you?"

Chu Ning endured the anger and hatred in his heart, squeezed his fingers, and silently dropped two lines of tears, and said sadly: "His Royal Highness, Zhao Sizhi said, Fang Bo-I'm afraid it will be bad."

Xiao Yu was stunned, only then did she remember that she was talking about the old steward that she had found earlier. With a move in his heart, he squinted his eyes and asked the matter again, his face suddenly not looking good.

…

In the Ganlu Hall, after Liu Kang whispered for a while, the same servant, Liu Kang walked into the case and said: "Everyone, just now, Feng Yu was invited to the Wanchun Hall."

After he said, he paused, and glanced at Xiao Kezhi, who did not pause at all when he was writing. He added: "The maid next to His Royal Highness personally brought her token to invite her."

When the voice fell, the pen in Xiao Kezhi's hand stopped for a moment, and then he continued writing.

He didn't slowly put down the pen tube until he finished writing the letter in his hand, and looked at Liu Kang, who was still arching his waist underneath, and said, "Is she sick?"

Liu Kang naturally knew who "she" was, and hurriedly replied, "It was not for the princess, but a general from the East Palace who led to Yongchangfang."

Yongchangfang is very close to Taiji Palace and East Palace, where many princes and nobles lived in the city. But as far as he knew, the prince had no private residence there.

If you think about it this way, it belongs to the Chu family.

He pondered for a moment, and said, "Let people go and see what happened."

"Here."