The Gilded Cage

A crab feast ended in a strange atmosphere, and when everyone left, each had their own thoughts.

Xu has always been an honest person. After returning home with his daughter, thinking about the day-to-day affairs, Xu always felt both worried and guilty.

On the one hand, I was worried that today’s meeting with the prince concubine would cause trouble, and on the other hand, I felt a little sorry for my attitude towards the princess.

She has been a peasant woman for nearly forty years. Although she has little knowledge, she can tell good from bad.

Although the Empress Dowager Qi was the one who ordered the people to bring their family back to Chang'an and hosted a banquet, she despised them from the bottom of her heart. Among the dazzling ladies today, apart from the princess, none are waiting to see their mother and daughter jokes.

Such a person, she was really ashamed because she avoided it after hearing about her identity.

Lu Guogong Weishou saw her frowning and couldn't help asking: "What happened? Did it make a joke at the banquet?"

Not to mention the Xu family, Wei Shou also made a lot of jokes when he saw those imperial relatives and relatives these days. Fortunately, his majesty didn't care, and even comforted him privately, which made him relax.

Xu Shi shook his head: "Where is the joke? I'm so worried just because it didn't happen." Then, she carefully recounted what happened in the day.

After listening, Wei Shou frowned and said, "You repeat the words of the saint and I will listen."

Xu hurriedly repeated Xiao Kezhi's words one by one.

Wei Shou was silent for a long time and clapped his hands: "Whatever the saint says is what we are. We are the saint's maiden family. No matter what others say, we only listen to the saint!"

He was born in a peasant family. Although he is not a lowly nationality, he is too shabby when compared with the high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang'an. They don't understand the twists and turns between the nobles. Why bother to think about it, and then it will be thankless?

He only knew that he was the uncle of the current saint, no matter what, he would stand on the saint's side, and he would listen to whatever the saint said, nothing else.

Xu's eyes blinked for a moment, and tentatively asked: "The saint said, "Guoer likes to befriend whoever he wants to befriend...I will make a payment to the princess in a few days?"

"Go, it doesn't make people think we are the snobs."

After the two discussed, they felt relieved and fell asleep.

…

A few days later, the East Palace received a post from Mrs. Lu, inviting the princess to go to the Da Ci'en Temple in Jinchangfang to worship the Buddha.

When Xiao Yu saw it, he was surprised at first, and then sneered again: "Qi Mu eagerly got people here, but not only the saint does not appreciate it, but the Wei family does not seem to appreciate it. On the contrary, he is close to the East Palace, and I don't know where he is. Do you regret it?"

Chu Ning didn't answer the conversation, and only subordinated the post, saying: "Your Highness does not object to me."

"It's just two illiterate stupid people. It's not worth my thoughts." He adjusted his clothes to the bronze mirror and said nothing.

Chu Ning felt uncomfortable.

In this regard, Xiao Yu is exactly the same as the Empress Dowager Qi. In the bottom of his heart, he does not look down on people of ordinary or even mediocre backgrounds. Therefore, the fights between the two parties over the years have mostly been between the upper-level officials and the lower-level ones. Officials were all abandoned.

On the contrary, it was Xiao Kezhi, because he was always far away from the center of power, and most of the people he secretly made were ordinary small officials from a humble background. It is precisely because of this that he not only escaped the eyes of the Queen Mother Qi and others, and quietly strengthened his strength, he was also able to learn from these people. Catch clues that are good for you.

However, both the Queen Mother Qi and Xiao Yu, whose eyes were above the top, didn't seem to realize this problem.

She smiled, and after sending him out of the Temple of Light in a proper manner, she went back to the house to pack her clothes and went out of the palace by car.

Outside the gate of Chongrenfang, the Wei family’s mother and daughter had waited for a while. When people came, Mrs. Xu changed her previous vigilance and panic, and smiled and pulled Guo'er forward to greet.

On the carriage, she offered the prepared food box with a little embarrassment on her simple face: "I heard that your Royal Highness was sick a few days ago. We are ordinary villagers, and there is nothing that can be easily obtained. I personally made some Yanzhou dim sum for your Royal Highness to taste. It is definitely not as good as the food in the palace. I just ask your Royal Highness not to be surprised."

Chu Ning took it, unambiguously, and immediately opened it, seeing the cakes that were much rougher than the court desserts, and smiled, directly took a piece and sent it to the entrance.

Undoubtedly, the taste is naturally not as good as that made by the imperial royal kitchen, but because of the more Yanzhou characteristics, it does not have a taste, and more importantly, there seems to be a faint fragrance of medicinal materials.

She moved her eyes and asked under Madam Xu's nervous gaze, "Madam, did you add medicinal materials to it?"

Madam Xu was overjoyed when she saw that she had eaten it, and she nodded her head again and again: "Yes, yes, I think I can't take out these snacks, and I remember that I heard that my Royal Highness is ill, and it happens that there are nourishing medicinal materials given by his majesty at home. I went to the doctor in the city, picked a few samples, grind them into powder, and mixed them in when making the noodles, also to make up for your Highness..."

Speaking of this, she was a little worried: "But it tastes bad?"

Chu Ning shook his head, carefully packed the food box, and told Cuihe to take good care of it. Then he said: "It tastes very good, it has a special flavor, Madam is interested, today my dinner should be finished."

Mrs. Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Ning asked Cuihe to take out a few rouge gouaches and picture albums that he had prepared long ago, and hand them to Guo'er: "Although the madam is here for the first time, she can be taken care of by your majesty. There is nothing missing if you want to come, and I have nothing else here. , There are only some rouge gouache used by cute little ladies. The pictures on this album are also the fashionable dress styles of the girls in Chang'an City this year, so I will give them to Guo'er to take a look."

Guo'er thanked him shyly, then flipped through the album, and soon fell in love with it.

Mrs. Xu glanced at it and saw that the portraits were not only lifelike, but also the clothes, makeup and jewellery worn by each one, and she understood her intentions at once.

This is to prevent them from being underestimated because they don't wear it out of time.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Madam Xu's face became more and more red. "I didn't know good or bad when I was in the palace that day, and I betrayed the kindness of Your Highness. Coming today, I also want to make a payment with Your Highness..."

"Speaking of, Madam is my elder, where is the reason for the elder to apologize to the younger generation?" Chu Ning patted her hand without concealing his purpose, "Besides, I treat my wife well, of course, it is from my sincerity, at the same time But there are other reasons."

Seeing that she didn't look like a joke, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but froze for a while, and then laughed again: "No matter what, I owe your Highness."

She felt more at ease when the other party could say so bluntly.

After a while, the carriage drove to the Dacien Temple, and the three of them went to the temple together.

After getting along this way, Mrs. Xu was no longer as nervous as before, and even the shy Guoer slowly let go, willing to touch the corner of Chu Ning's clothes, and raise her head to talk to her.

The temple had already notified in advance and set aside a three-person meditation room. After worshipping the Buddha, they stayed in the meditation room and used Suzhai, listening to Zen, and did not leave until Shenshi.

On the way back, Chu Ning accompanied the two of them to the outside of Chongren Fang, and then drove by car to the Tai Chi Palace to the north.

However, when they arrived between Yongxingfang and Anxingfang, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"His Royal Highness, there seems to be a team going through the road ahead. It will take a while." After looking at the road leading from Tonghua Gate to Yanxi Gate, the servant hurried back to report.

"Got it." Chu Ning sat in the car and raised the curtain to look out. Sure enough, he saw dozens of magnificent slaves and servants slowly passing by a particularly spacious and gorgeous carriage.

The breeze blew, and just a corner of the car curtain was lifted, revealing one of the well-dressed and charming faces.

Chu Ning stared, and slowly remembered that the person was Zhao Yu'e, the second mother of the Zhao family who had been away from Chang'an for several years.

Zhao Yu'e was born in a family of military generals, and his father was the second-ranking general of the country, Zhao Kui. He guarded against Nanzhao all the year round in the Bozhou area. After he died last year, his eldest son, Zhao Yu'e's elder brother, Zhao Lun, was named Zhen Guo. General, continue to town in Bozhou area.

The Bozhou army is controlled by the Zhao family all the year round. It is not small in scale. Looking at the entire Daliang, it is the only local army that can compete with the Ganzhou army.

With such a strong family background, even if the Great Liang emphasizes culture and does not martial arts, going out like this is not a problem for the Zhao family.

However, Zhao Yu'e was a bit older than Chu Ning, and he had left Chang'an for four or five years after getting married. How could he suddenly come back at this time?

Seeing Chu Ning frowning and thinking, Cuihe reminded him softly: "Lady forgot, Madam Zhao was a new widow and returned to Chang'an last month."

Only then did Chu Ning remember the matter.

After Zhao Yu'e got married, he took the post of her husband to Xiangzhou. Last year, it was indeed vaguely heard that her husband had died due to illness.

But why did she return to Chang'an alone before the three-year funeral?

The more doubts in Chu Ning's heart, he could not help but let the coachman drive the car closer to the intersection, so that he could see the situation on the road from the car window.

At this look, I was a little shocked.

I saw that the Zhao family's large team had stopped along with the gorgeous carriage, blocking the entire road impassable.

And another team of more than ten people coming from the direction of Tonghuamen met him head-on.

At the forefront of the team were two young lords riding tall horses. The one on the left was dressed in silver armor, standing tall and wearing a long sword at the waist, with extraordinary momentum, and it was the new Qianniuwei general Jin Jiang. And the one on the right, with a cold face like a knife cut, and a chilling suffocating aura from all over his body. Although he was only sitting on a horse, he still taught people not to ignore it, but it was the new emperor Xiao Kezhi.

The road was blocked, Xiao Kezhi reined lightly and motioned to stop. He was dressed in ordinary black clothes and obviously did not put on the emperor's ceremonial frame. He was about to take people to avoid him, but the magnificent carriage not far from him suddenly opened the soft curtain by the servant.

Zhao Yu'e stepped out of the car, went to his horse, and saluted him softly.