The Gilded Cage

Xiao Yu was really drunk.

After some tossing, he lay on his back and gasped, although he still had the heart, but he had no energy.

Chu Ning didn't want to entangle him too much, so he got up and cleaned up for the two of them, and said softly: "His Royal Highness can get up tomorrow. Let's rest early at night."

Xiao Yu replied in a low voice, and pulled her back when she got up to go back to the house: "Don't go back, stay tonight."

She naturally wanted to go back to the house to drink the medicine, but hesitated for a moment when she saw it, and called "Cuihe" outside the house.

Cuihe responded, and soon took the medicine in and offered it to her.

Chu Ning had been used to drinking for a long time, took a few sips in his hand and rinsed his mouth, then turned back to the bed, but met Xiao Yu's unclear gaze.

He didn't know how long he looked at her like this behind his back.

"His Royal Highness?" She sat on the side of the bed cautiously, for fear of annoying him, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Yu glanced at her, slowly looked away, lay on the pillow, patted the empty space beside her, closed his eyes and said, "It's nothing, go to sleep."

Chu Ning lowered his eyes, blew out the candles, and lay down beside him as softly as possible.

The room plunged into darkness.

Xiao Yu opened his eyes again and silently stared at the void above his head.

He always knew that she was drinking avoiding soup, which he personally agreed to, and he still agreed when he mentioned it last time.

But somehow, when he just watched her drink without hesitation just now, an inexplicable resistance and strangeness suddenly surged in his heart, as if he didn't know his wife.

It's probably because I drank too much spirits.

…

In the morning of the second day, Xiao Yu got up and had breakfast after having breakfast, then boarded the carriage that had been prepared, and took the attendants all the way out of the East Palace and embarked on the road to Huazhou.

The huge East Palace lacked the owner, and the atmosphere that had been slightly depressive was relieved a lot.

A lot of energy was spent last night. At this moment, Chu Ning lifted the burden of his heart before returning to the house. He felt tired and struck from his limbs. He endured for a while, but finally couldn’t hold back. He confessed a few words from the maid beside him, and then returned. She went to sleep in the inner room, and even Cuihe was sent back to her house to rest.

This sleep was more than two hours, and when I woke up, it was already noon.

After she used some snacks at random, she took a few maids to sit by the window and talked, watching them make needlework, while holding up a notebook to tell them stories.

A few people talked and laughed, it was rare to be very comfortable.

In the script, I only talked about young men and women staying in private meetings at night, and the little girls listened to them and laughed straight down. One of them suddenly remembered something, "Yeah", and raised his head and said: "Just now the slave and maid will take it to your majesty." While having a snack, I heard from the sisters in the west that the door next to Wude Hall was opened today."

Upon hearing this, Chu Ning slowly put down the script in his hand.

Wude Hall is adjacent to the East Palace, and that gate is where the East Palace communicates with the Taiji Palace. When the first emperor was still in the past, Xiao Yu used to go in and out of Tai Chi Palace from there.

Walking from there can save a lot of effort than going around the main entrance. It was only later that Emperor Xian became seriously ill and Tai Chi Palace was under martial law, and the door was closed and never opened.

Another maid squeezed the silk thread in her hand and said: "His Royal Highness is closed at the time. He left today, but suddenly opened. I don’t know what it means..."

When these words were said, the girls were a little silent.

What they thought of was the awkward and subtle relationship between the prince and the new emperor, for fear that this move would indicate a certain attitude of the Tai Chi Palace, which would soon cause trouble to the East Palace.

Chu Ning thought about another matter.

She stroked a line on the cuff and asked: "When did you see when it was opened?"

Several people thought for a while, and said, "It should be after your Royal Highness sent the prince away. Your Highness, should we send someone to ask?"

Chu Ning lowered his head, a very faint smile flashed on his lips, and then shook his head and said: "No, don't ask more about things that have nothing to do with us. We just stay in the East Palace with peace of mind."

After a while, an internal servant said: "His Royal Highness, Zhao Si is here."

"Let him come over." She stood up and told the maids to retreat to the porch, while she sat on the couch by the door and waited.

Zhao Yanzhou obeyed the rules and never stepped into her room for half a step. This time, he only walked two steps beyond the threshold and stopped, bowed and saluted.

Chu Ning looked at his thin figure and couldn't help but sighed slightly: "Brother, what can I say bluntly, don't have to be so polite, he is gone."

Zhao Yanzhou didn't move, and his sleeves swayed constantly with the cold wind of early winter, looking a bit cold and lonely.

"His Royal Highness, the ceremony must not be abandoned."

It was still a tone that didn't fluctuate, listening to Chu Ning's heart, but feeling sour.

"Brother, you weren't like this before..."

In her memory, Zhao Yanzhou was supposed to be a gentle gentleman, he was full of talent, ambitious, and a bright future.

It was the incident two years ago that completely ruined him.

At that time, she married into the East Palace. She didn’t know Xiao Yu’s temperament, so she recommended her cousin Zhao Yanzhou to him only if he was sincere to her, and wanted to find an opportunity for him to transfer outside, so as not to stay in Chang'an and become a thorn in the eyes of others. .

Xiao Yu smiled and agreed to her, and she thanked him wholeheartedly.

Who knows, what I got a few days later was the news that Zhao Yanzhou was transferred to the East Palace. At first, she thought that Xiao Yu was looking at her and didn't want her remaining relatives to be far away. Knowing that Zhao Yanzhou was indeed talented, she specifically allowed him to work in Zhan Shifu.

But for many days, Zhao Yanzhou always said that she was sick in the future. She was worried in her heart and visited the house in person. Only then did she know that her talented cousin had become an eunuch!

She felt so guilty that she was going to personally question Xiao Yu, but he had endured the pain that was not yet good and stopped her, only saying that everything was voluntarily.

He never said that all of this was Xiao Yu's work, but she knew in her heart that apart from Xiao Yu's persecution, there was nothing else that might make a young man of strength suffer this disaster!

In the past two years, she dared not bring up the matter anymore, and kept her distance from him at all times, for fear that he would suffer unwarranted disaster again. Fortunately, Xiao Yu left him the last face and did not tell others about it. Let him still serve as an ordinary person in Zhan Shifu.

Now, as long as she thinks about it, the hatred in her heart adds another point!

Zhao Yanzhou looked at her reddish eyes, and her cold and pale face finally fluctuated. He sighed softly and said, "Aning, people will always change. Brother now feels very good. As long as he lives, as long as he looks at Aning well, everything will be fine."

Chu Ning held back tears and looked at him, her eyes full of pity: "But, brother should have a great future... Brother, do you hate him?"

A trace of melancholy flashed in Zhao Yanzhou's young but vicissitudes of life.

Xiao Yu forced him to make a choice, either to be an **** or to leave Chang'an and never see her again. But she is his sister, and the only daughter of his aunt and uncle. When the uncle went, he swore in his heart that he would keep Aning. At this time, how could he leave her?

This is a decision that you don't need to hesitate at all-even if he is a castigated, humble eunuch, he will stay.

How could he not hate it? But he hated Xiao Yu's sinister and viciousness, and even more hated his own people for their slight words and powerlessness.

He can only do his best to stay by her side and do everything she wants to do for her.

"Aning, I just want you to be well."

Chu Ning turned his face away, facing the folding screen next to him, holding back tears for a long time without speaking.

After a long while, she suddenly took a deep breath, resumed her previous tone, and asked, "How has everything been going?"

Zhao Yanzhou moved his fingers hanging beside him, swallowing the bitterness in his heart, and replied in a deep voice: "Recently, the minister looked at Xu Shi's daily deeds and guessed that the prince might have the intention of secretly communicating with several generals near Huazhou."

He said, reported a few names, and asked: "Should the people on the Queen Mother's side know about this matter?"

Previously, he told Chu Ning the clues he had spied, but he never did anything behind his back that harmed the interests of the prince. Now that he knows the true face of the prince, he always acts a little differently.

Chu Ning thought for a while, shook his head and said, "You don't have to take risks."

If Xiao Yu finds out, he will definitely suffer. She has other ways of doing this.

Zhao Yanzhou didn't say much, but only said another thing: "Xu Shidu deliberately paid attention to a few girls who were not out of the cabinet at the homes of courtiers a few days ago."

As soon as he said this, Chu Ning raised his eyebrows: "He wants to take a concubine, or—?"

"He" naturally refers to Xiao Yu.

Zhao Yanzhou shook his head: "I don't know if it means the prince."

"I see." Chu Ning smiled, only to feel that this is somewhat consistent with Xiao Yu's behavior.

The two talked about trivial matters in the East Palace, and Zhao Yanzhou didn't retreat until half an hour later.

At this time, it was almost unitary, the setting sun on the horizon gradually sank, and the golden-red rays of the sun spread to the earth, strong and brilliant.

Chu Ning was in a very good mood today, especially the words he had just said to Zhao Yanzhou, which was even more inexplicable. At this moment, after standing under the eaves and watching the sunset for a while, he went back to the house and ordered dinner.

The dinner was served with steaming hot noodles and some side dishes. When Cuihe personally delivered it, he whispered something in her ear: "Madam, there was a pause in Wude Hall."

Chu Ning raised the hand of the chopstick for a meal, and then returned to her original state, pulling her to sit on the other side to have a meal.

After the master and servant had eaten enough, as usual, they took a walk around the East Palace in the twilight, until the night was dark before returning to the hall. Then came a bath and freshening, jokes and jokes, without any sense of impatientness.

…

In the Temple of Ganlu, Xiao Kezhi has been sitting cross-legged on the couch ever since he came back. First, he concentrated on reading today's memorandum, and now he is holding a pen while reading and making notes.

In the early winter, the earth dragon hadn't been burned yet, and there was only a small charcoal basin in the room, which occasionally made a crackling sound.

Warm candlelight was placed on the pen tube in his hand, leaving a slender shadow between the pages of the book, which swayed constantly with the writing motion, making him seem indifferent.

But Liu Kang on the side frequently bowed his head and wiped his forehead, as if waiting anxiously for something.

In this half hour, the emperor's eyes have floated out of the door four times!

He knew what the emperor was waiting for. But the door was opened all day, and there was no movement. In the evening, he was anxious, and privately arranged for someone to send a pair of steps there. With such a clear hint, he was still not allowed to speak on the other side of the East Palace.

He was anxious now, even thinking about whether he wanted to let someone go to the East Palace at all.

But the East Palace is no better than the Taiji Palace. There are a lot of eyes and ears there. If you are not careful, you will be discovered by others.

While hesitating, Xiao Kezhi, who was always bowing his head, seemed to have noticed something wrong with him, and frowned at him and said, "What's the matter? I'm not alive."

Liu Kang opened his mouth and didn't know how to reply. There was a rush of footsteps from outside the hall. Then, the little servant standing by the door heard something in the crack of the door and hurriedly approached him and said a few words.

Liu Kang's eyes suddenly brightened, and he said, "Everyone, from the Hall of Wude-here is someone."

As soon as Xiao Kezhi's expression relaxed, he put down the pen tube in his hand and got up to go over. But after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped, returned to his seat, and continued to write.

"Go, bring her to the Temple of Ganlu."