The Gilded Cage

By the pavilion, Chu Ning's heart tightened, and he hurriedly withdrew his arm from Xiao Kezhi's palm, and walked away from him sideways, lowering his head in the direction of Xiao Yu.

The soft silk satin had been pressed out of the wrinkles, and she realized that he had just used a lot of strength to make her whole arm swell slightly.

Xiao Yu pulled her behind her with a sullen face, and sneered at Xiao Kezhi: "It's not early. My nephew should go ahead. Uncle Wang please do it yourself."

Without waiting for Xiao Kezhi's response, he turned and left.

When Chu Ning saw this, he knew that he was angry and did not dare to stay. He was too busy to follow him and headed to Wanchun Hall.

The atmosphere along the way was extremely cold, and the few servants and palace servants who accompanied them desperately lowered their heads, and no one dared to offend the prince at this time.

"roll!"

As soon as he entered the main hall, he shouted angrily and drove away all the people in the hall. Before the door was closed, he suddenly pointed to one of the shivering maids and said, "Drag her out and flog her for twenty."

Chu Ning looked at the maid who was so frightened and dragged out, it was the one who had just taken off his boots and was scolded for him.

"Pity her?" Xiao Yu's gloomy voice suddenly rang in his ears.

He stood behind her, followed her gaze and looked at the maid who was dragged out to block her mouth with a linen: "I didn't want to embarrass her, but now, I am very angry. Aning, you said, what should I do? "

Chu Ning looked at the door slowly closing in front of him, and couldn't help closing his eyes.

After a while, the sound of whips hitting the flesh came from outside the hall, making the scalp numb.

She endured the coldness in her heart, and slowly turned around to meet his deep gaze.

"His Royal Highness, just now in Houyuan, I was frightened by the beast, and King Qin was afraid that I would fall, so he stretched out his hand to help..."

Her voice was softer than usual, even with slight tremors and prayers.

However, Xiao Yu's thin lips were pressed tightly, unmoved, and there was no warmth in his tone: "Take off your clothes."

Chu Ning bit her lip and turned her face away, stretched out her hand to slowly unfasten the button and tie. The heavy clothing belonging to the princess was peeled off one by one, layer by layer, and fell to the ground, revealing the slender, undulating, beautiful body wrapped in it.

Xiao Yu approached, trapped her in the cramped space in front of the door, and stretched out his hand to stroke the line of her jaw. The weak and cold fingertips moved along the skin of the neck and chest, and finally landed on the arm that Xiao Kezhi had just grasped, bringing out her trembling uncontrollably.

"Aning, you shouldn't let others touch you."

He stroked her body like a check, and murmured as he approached her ear.

She did not answer, only gritted her teeth to endure the discomfort and embarrassment.

This is the gentle and honest gentleman in the eyes of the courtiers. He used his best to recruit courtiers, and the paranoia and cruelty that he couldn't hold back from time to time were exposed to her, the princess.

She always remembered that incident a year ago.

That day was the anniversary of her father's death. She took Cuihe to the Buddhist temple to enshrine the Buddha's lamp. On the way back, she stayed in the East City and met a shaggy little beggar.

The beggar, who was only seven or eight years old, was already dizzy with hunger. When she stepped out of the carriage, she rushed to the side of the carriage and hugged her feet, begging her to eat half a piece of bread.

She felt soft, so that Cuihe bought three sesame cakes and sent him away.

This trivial matter happened to be seen in the eyes of Xiao Yu, who was out to handle official duties.

That day and night, after he had eaten dinner with her as always, the little beggar was escorted in, and his arms were gagged and interrupted in front of her.

She was so frightened that she was in a cold sweat, and her stomach was rushing, but he held her hand and said softly: "A-Ning, I don't like other men to meet you. It's not a good idea to be a child."

But today, the person who touched her is no longer an insignificant little beggar. He can't get angry at King Qin, as long as he vents his anger on the poor maid.

Before not knowing it, the twenty floggings had ended, and silence was restored outside the hall.

Xiao Yu looked at her smooth skin with satisfaction, and pointed to the table beside her: "Sit down."

Chu Ning's heart was filled with shame, and the roots of her ears also turned red.

"His Royal Highness, now in the mourning of Emperor Daxing..."

According to the ceremony, the prince should stay away from the mourning for the Daxing emperor.

But Xiao Yu just looked at her indifferently.

She took a deep breath and sat down on the case with a difficult step, waiting for the rest.

…

By the side of the mountain pool, one of Xiao Ke stayed in the pavilion and did not leave.

The setting sun in the distance has completely sunk into the bottom of the water, the lights are beginning to shine on the side of the mountain pool, the water is sparkling, and the stars on the horizon are shining, and the night view of the Tai Chi Palace back garden is particularly moving.

The night wind blew by, bringing the chill of autumn, but Xiao Kezhi still stood motionless in the pavilion, looking into the distance, making people unable to see what he was thinking.

The attendant's internal officer Liu Kang waited for a long time without seeing any movement, and couldn't help but look up and take a closer look.

Somehow, he remembered the situation that he had just seen in the pavilion, and was shocked that the place where King Qin stood was where the Prince Chu was standing, and even the place where he was holding by one hand was stroked by Chu. The place…

He twitched in his heart, ashamed of his own random thoughts, but at the same time he felt that the idea had been stubbornly engraved in his mind and could no longer be waved away.

In a daze, Vimalakirti, who was just led to feed by the guards, was already full and returned to the pavilion.

As soon as it saw Xiao Kezhi, it whimpered happily, trot over, and sat down obediently beside him.

"Have you eaten?" Xiao Kezhi bends down and rubs its warm fur, with a rare smile on his cold face.

"Woo—"

After eating and drinking, Vimo raised his neck and called out in contentment, as obediently as a domesticated dog, completely different from the ferocious appearance of the palace man just before.

Not far away, a guard walked quickly into the pavilion and whispered back: "Majesty, it has been found. The prince really asked Xu Rong to contact more than 20 courtiers in private, from the sixth department to the Yushitai. It should be There will be actions before the post-great ceremony."

With that said, he offered a list rolled up in his hand.

Xiao Kezhi took the list and scanned it from top to bottom, without comment, but asked: "How about Baifu Palace? Can the Queen Mother take action?"

"There was no movement in the Baifu Palace. After worshipping the Emperor Daxing in the daytime, Da Xianggong Qi had been to the Baifu Palace once, and then returned to the mansion. There was no other movement. If you want to come to the Queen Mother, you should also know the intention of the East Palace and plan. Stand by."

What Qi Daxianggong said is the leader of today's group, and the book makes Qi Mu. He is the younger brother of the Empress Dowager Qi and the ruler of the Qi family.

"Yeah." Xiao Kezhi answered, put away the paper in his hand, and didn't ask anything else.

Speaking of the prince nephew, the first thing he thought of was not Xiao Yu, but the unusually beautiful woman next to Xiao Yu.

The temperature in the palm seemed to be burning again.

He held the chilly Langan on the side, and released his hand when the heat passed.

"My lord, do you want to send someone to ask about the queen mother? And the prince, should we do something so that we can deal with it?" The guard saw that he hadn't ordered anything else, so he couldn't help asking.

"No, let's just wait." Xiao Kezhi chuckled lightly, and his dark eyes showed a bit of evil spirit and determination to win.

He had long expected that the prince would not give up just because of the so-called "first emperor's edict". Before the dust settled, he would have to make a difference.

As for the reaction of the Queen Mother Qi, it was even more to his expectation.

If he was really an unambitious, weak and obedient puppet like his elder brother Xiao Lian, the Empress Dowager Qi would naturally take action to pacify Xiao Yu. But yesterday, he snatched Qian Niuwei from her hand on the spot, already showing sharp fangs, making her very angry. At this moment, she was naturally happy to see him and the prince fighting both sides.

Unfortunately, he won't let her get what she wants.

It is useless here for the courtiers to come and go and fight against each other over and under.

"But there are a few civil servants who can't pick shoulders and hands can't lift them. They won't make the climate." He stopped staying, and called Vimala, and walked towards the temporary residence of the Dragon Palace.

…

In the Wanchun Hall, the doors and windows were closed tightly, and the spring in the house gradually disappeared.

Xiao Yu sat on the edge of the bed, taking the pill with the tea that Chu Ning handed him, and staring at her slightly exhausted face. The hands underneath did not forget to firmly hold her waist.

"Tired?" After some tossing, he has returned to his usual gentle appearance, except that his face is a little haggard, everything seems to have not happened, "I am also tired, but when I meet you, I will always be unable to restrain myself. Myself."

Chu Ning couldn't help but constricted her eyebrows slightly.

He said this innocently, as if blaming her.

"His Royal Highness must observe filial piety and should not sleep with me."

Xiao Yu didn't answer the conversation. Instead, he put his arms around her and refused to let her leave. With one hand, he gently stroked her eyebrows and smiled and asked, "Are you angry with me?"

She quickly raised her eyelids to look at him, shook her head and said: "No, I am not angry with your Highness, but I am afraid that others will know that His Highness is sleeping with me, which is not good for Your Highness."

"That's good." He smiled slightly, "My Uncle Six, you stay away from him."

"I see." Chu Ning did not refute a word, and directly lowered his head to respond.

"Okay, you go. Cultivate your spirits, tomorrow will be the Xiaoying." He laughed again and patted her smooth shoulders.

With permission, Chu Ning immediately put on his clothes and left the main hall, enduring the weakness of his body.

In the partial hall, Cuihe has ordered people to fry the soup for refuge, and is waiting for her to come back.

She sat on the side of the couch without saying a word, first poured the warm soup medicine down, then let out a long breath, and slowly fell on the pillow.

She has been taking this medicine for two years.

At the beginning, she married Xiao Yu before her father's filial piety period. She was really helpless. She was very overwhelmed. So she asked Xiao Yu. During the filial piety period, she didn't want to have children, and he agreed.

At that time, she still felt guilty for him, but now she thinks about it, only fortunately. If she is really pregnant with the enemy's son, she doesn't know how painful it should be.

"Where did the wolf come from? Have you asked me clearly?" She licked one hand and asked softly with her eyes closed.

"The slave has inquired about it. It was a wolf raised by King Qin. It was called Vimalakirti. Since yesterday, many palace people have seen it in Houyuan. It shouldn't be directed at the lady." Cui Wei stretched out his hand for her lightly. Rub your forehead, and say what you have heard.

"It's so good, I actually put such a fierce beast in Houyuan." Thinking of the situation at that time, she still had a lingering fear.

"The King Qin came not long ago. People don't know much about it. The slave only heard that the wolf has been with King Qin since he was a child. It has been ten years since King Qin, and it seems that he has saved King Qin's life."

After listening to Chu Ning, she couldn't help frowning.

In Chang'an City, there were also many dignitaries who raised various rare and exotic animals, but those fierce beasts had been domesticated to be very docile, and the wolf next to Xiao Kezhi was obviously not like the beasts that had been detained.

A prince could have been saved by a wolf, and he didn't know what kind of life he lived in Ganzhou.

Thinking of the moment of contact with him in the pavilion, a strange intuition slowly surged in her heart.

The way he looked at her, from the initial pity to the wanton look just now, it was not the ordinary look of the uncle when facing his nephew, and there was no indifference or malice when facing strangers or even opponents. It seemed to have a special meaning.