The Gilded Cage

Xiao Yu slept alone at night, thinking about going for a few hours, finally gritted his teeth and made a decision in his heart.

In the morning of the next day, after he got up, he returned to normal. After taking breakfast and leaving Prince Soup, he summoned Xu Rong to discuss privately.

In the sleeping hall, Chu Ning was sitting by the window alone, thinking about the situation last night, and she was in a trance, until Cuihe came in with the clean clothes that she had just folded, and she came back to her senses.

"Where is Zhao Sizhi? Let people find him." She stood up, opened the cupboard for Cuihe, and whispered softly.

Cuihe nodded, put the clothes on, and went out.

Half an hour later, Zhao Yanzhou hurriedly came from outside, stopped under the corridor, and asked after saluting: "His Royal Highness summoned the minister at this time, but what happened?"

Chu Ning shook his head: "It's nothing big, I just want you to ask the guard who went out with the prince last night, and see if anything has happened after the evening. Ask more casually. If you can't ask, don't worry."

As she spoke, she briefly talked about Xiao Yu's abnormality.

When I went out early in the morning and came back in the evening, Xiao Yu's performance was very normal. It was only when he came back in the night that there was an abnormality. Not only did he not go to the banquet as planned, but after he came back, he said those puzzling things. It can be seen that it was After I went out in the evening, I met someone and something that was so abnormal.

After Zhao Yanzhou listened, without saying anything, he directly replied: "The minister understands, then I will ask myself."

He is the director of the Zhan Shifu, in charge of general affairs, and although he does not need to personally intervene in the small matters of arranging chariots and horses, it is not surprising to ask about the situation occasionally.

After a while, he came back and directly replied softly: "His Royal Highness, the minister asked, those people are the prince's pros and cons. It happened to be on a shift today, and the tone was quite strict. Only the prince met someone on the road last night. So he went straight to Xu Shidu's residence, without saying clearly what happened."

"Where did you go to study with Xu?" Chu Ning repeated in a low voice, remembering those few words of Xiao Yu, and said, "This matter, I am afraid it has something to do with me."

How could Xiao Yu wrong her?

She had nothing left, except for this pair of skins, and only the crown princess behind her. Her body|The body has long been occupied by Xiao Yu, leaving the crown prince...

Could it be that he wants to take a concubine at this time? In the past, many of his followers deliberately sent their daughters to the East Palace. He never agreed for his own reputation. Now the situation has changed, and his thoughts make sense.

If so, she didn't think it was wronged, it was just a pitiful woman who had to be given to Xiao Yu as a tool by her family.

But if it's something else, I'm not sure whether it is good or bad.

She told Zhao Yanzhou of the conjecture in her heart, and asked him not to worry for the time being, just pay attention to Xiao Yu's daily movements and watch the changes.

...

After a few days, it will reach the upper yuan.

The Tangquan Palace hosted a lantern festival following the example of the folks. No foreign envoys were invited, only the princes and nobles in the city of Chang'an, especially young men and women.

As the spring is approaching, the last snow on the mountain has melted away, and the weather is getting warmer every day. Although it’s only a short fifteen days after New Year’s Eve, you don’t need to wear cloak when you go out. You only need to wear thicker clothes. The skirt will do.

In the evening, after serving Xiao Yu's meal, Chu Ning went to the song press station together.

Along the way, Xiao Yu didn't say a word. The quietness was strange, and even a little abnormal. Chu Ning looked at him twice, feeling anxious, and couldn't help asking: "His Royal Highness, why don't you speak today? But what's the matter? "

Xiao Yu was in a trance. When she was asked like this, she was stunned, then twitched the corner of her mouth, shook her head and said, "It's nothing, it's probably because I'm a little tired of handling official duties in the daytime. I'm a little distracted at this moment."

In fact, Xu Rong quietly brought him a message early this morning, saying that he and Zhao Erniang had made an appointment for him. At the lantern show tonight, he would look for opportunities to avoid everyone's eyes and ears and meet in private.

Since he got the news, he has been a little bit distracted, even a little dazed and confused, as if he didn't understand why things had reached this point.

If nothing happens, he is about to temporarily abandon the wife beside him.

However, he couldn't tell Chu Ning these words, he could only use official business as an excuse to prevaricate.

Naturally, Chu Ning would not believe what he said. He just smiled and said softly: "His Royal Highness is always working hard for official business, so he should pay more attention to his body."

Xiao Yu didn't speak, but looked at her sideways.

Approximately because it is Shangyuan today, although she wears a light crimson coat as usual, she looks generous and dignified, gentle and elegant, but the inside of the coat is embellished with delicate apricot yellow, which makes the original plain dress lively and bright. When I get up, even the hairpin in the hair is not the jade of the past, but the shining gold and silver, plus a touch of flower tin in the forehead, it is more dazzling and beautiful like a goddess.

His eyes flashed, he slowly looked away, suppressed his voice to a very low level, and said, "Aning, I will let you be my queen."

Chu Ning's heart beat even harder.

She looked around and saw that some of the attendants were still far away, and then she lightly breathed a sigh of relief: "His Royal Highness is careful, there are so many people today, so be careful to be heard."

Xiao Yu took a deep breath, nodded lightly, and continued to walk in the direction of the crowd with her.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Sixth Bureau had already rushed out various exquisite palace lanterns, which were hung on the treetops near the song platform, along the promenade, or placed on the side of the road or among the trees.

Hundreds of young men and women gathered around the lanterns to talk and laugh, and on the high platform not far away, there were music and dances rehearsed by the Jiaofang Division, which warmly and cheerfully set off the originally quiet night.

In a short while, Xiao Kezhi and the Queen Mother Qi arrived, stood on the high platform and waited for the crowd to salute, and after a few words, they let everyone go away and play as they pleased without being restrained.

For a time, young men and women walked in groups in groups, walking around the huge song platform, enjoying the lights and frolicking.

There were servants and palace servants holding many exquisite masks to hang on the treetops, and the lively princes and ladies immediately picked out their favorite masks with great interest, took them off and put them on.

Suddenly, there were many men and women wearing masks who could not distinguish their faces and identities.

Daliang has always been open-minded, with a lot of occlusion. People who laughed wantonly don't need to hide it. They are bolder, walking side by side, and even quietly holding hands.

Chu Ning watched with great interest, but Xiao Yu didn't want to appreciate it, waiting for someone to send a letter.

After a while, a confidant next to him crossed the crowd, walked closer, and whispered something to him, his expression moved slightly, and he turned to Chu Ning and said: "Well, I still have something to do, so I won’t be with you today. You have looked at the lamp, and in a while, you will go home earlier by yourself."

Naturally, Chu Ning would not stop, let alone ask more, just nodded respectfully, and after watching him leave, let the other two younger maids go to play by themselves, while taking the green lotus to continue admiring the lights.

Without him, it was much easier.

The two walked for a while, watched a few little ladies under a few lights and guessed the riddles for a while, and were about to turn to the other side, but suddenly saw Liu Kang walking towards him.

Several little ladies who were laughing suddenly fell silent and looked at Liu Kang nervously.

But Liu Kang walked straight to Chu Ning, in front of everyone, respectfully saluting, and smiled: "It can be considered that you have found your Royal Highness, the river in front of you, the saint is calling your Highness to pass."

Chu Ning was taken aback, and almost subconsciously grabbed Cuihe's sleeves. In front of others, she didn't dare to show the strangeness, so she could only try her best to stabilize her mind, smiled slightly, and asked: "The troubled supervisor will come in person. Xun, I just don’t know what the saint is calling, why?"

The people next to him were also attracted at this time, and they stopped after hearing the words, waiting for Liu Kang's answer. After all, the relationship between the emperor and the prince, but suddenly summoned the prince and concubine, which is really unbelievable.

Liu Kang didn't rush, and smiled: "Mrs. Lu is taking Miss Wei to talk to the saint. Miss Wei is very handy and made two lamps by herself. One is for the saint, and the other is for the saint. Give it to His Royal Highness, and then the saint let the old slave come and invite His Highness to go with him to help the little lady light up the lamp."

It turned out to be for the little lady of the Lu family.

It suddenly dawned on everyone that Mrs. Lu and the princess had always had a good relationship, and the saint paid much attention to the family of Lu Guo, which is not surprising.

After listening, Chu Ning quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and followed Liu Kang to the riverside in response to everyone's gaze.

There really were a lot of people gathered there.

Little Guoer stood beside Madam Xu, holding her hand tightly, and was raising his head to talk to Xiao Kezhi, seemingly trying to overcome the shyness in his heart.

When someone called "His Royal Highness", she immediately turned away from her eyes, let go of her mother's hand tightly, and walked quickly towards Chu Ning, smiling and whispering: "His Royal Highness is finally here!"

Chu Ning squeezed her red face, only to feel that she was a lot smoother than when she first came to Chang'an, and she was a little relieved, and said: "Guoer made me a lantern, I will come naturally."

As she said, she saluted Xiao Kezhi who was not far away, and responded to her with a smile that seemed like nothing.

There were two older women nearby with a smile: "I can't imagine that Miss Wei is young, although she doesn't like talking, but her hands are very clever. In the future, she will be able to make her wedding dress beautiful."

Guo'er blushed again, and subconsciously leaned against Chu Ning's side.

Chu Ning quietly stretched out her hand, encouraging generally to caress her back.

She squeezed the corners of her skirt, and did not avoid it because she was shy, but lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Thank you for the compliments of the two ladies."

In a few short words, she can take the initiative to say it, which is much better than when she first came a few months ago.

Mrs. Xu was so surprised that she patted her daughter's head and whispered "good boy" in a low voice.

Guo'er's eyes were shining, showing a well-behaved and joyful smile, and she pulled Chu Ning aside to look at the lamp she made.

The one given to Chu Ning was a lotus lantern, with an emerald green base underneath, and a few light pink petals. Although it was not as exquisite as other lanterns, it could be seen that it was done very carefully. The paste and knots at the joints are reinforced by several layers.

The other one, resembling a fish and a dragon, is long and broad, with a bit of style, as if it were given to Xiao Kezhi. The golden scales on the top were all pasted one by one by one's own hands, densely packed, and obviously it took several days to finish.

The two watched for a while, and waited for Xiao Kezhi, who was silent on the side, to walk over slowly, and said in a deep voice, "My nephew and daughter-in-law are here, so let's put the lights on."

As he said, he took the fire fold from the side attendant, lit a candle, and then handed the flame to the candle in the lamp to ignite.

Seeing him personally, Chu Ning was about to turn around to retrieve a red candle, but he silently passed the one in his hand.

She stretched out her hand to pick it up, a little shining light shining between the two, reflecting a faint gentle halo, making the atmosphere ambiguous.

She couldn't help raising her head quietly, facing his two-point candlelight eyes and a smile that seemed like nothing.

With her face burning, she quickly lowered her head as if being burned, turned around holding the red candle, and turned her back to him to light her lotus lantern.

But as soon as she saw the lotus lantern, she couldn't help thinking of his powerful arms and the scorching temperature in the steamy Tangquan pond that night, making his face even redder.

Others couldn't see the seeming ambiguity between the two. They only felt strange that the uncle and niece were standing together inexplicably, but at the same time, there seemed to be some harmony. For a while, they couldn't help but look at them more.

At this time, the prince did not know where to go, and was not with the prince. But the saint didn't ask, and others naturally didn't dare to talk too much, they could only wonder in their hearts.

Fortunately, everyone is well-measured, watching and smiling while talking auspicious words for the occasion, setting the atmosphere very natural.

Guo'er, who was standing closest, looked at the two in silence, moving his eyes to the left and right, as if he wanted to see something.

Mrs. Xu hurriedly came over and pulled her back: "You, the light has been turned off just now, but you can't go anymore. You have to stay away from the river. Be careful to fall in!"

Guo'er nodded and followed her mother back, but couldn't help but turn around between the two.

Except for the two servants, there was no one else by the river.

Chu Ning held the lamp in his hand, followed Xiao Kezhi half a step away, and followed him toward the river.

By the side of the flowing water, the two turned their backs to the crowd, bent over shoulder to shoulder, and put the lights in their hands into the waves.

The slowly moving waves of water bring the two lamps away. His one is in front, and the end of it touches the lotus leaf base of her which is behind from time to time, like a picture of fish playing with lotus leaves. .

While drifting, the two lights slowly merged into the middle of more and more lanterns downstream, until they could no longer see clearly.

The people behind her laughed and cheered, but she heard him speak softly in her ear.

"For a while, I will personally show you the lights."