The Gilded Cage

Probably because of the sudden change of identity, Mrs. Xu stood at the gate of the palace, always a little bit cautious and embarrassed. It seemed that she didn't know how to face Chu Ning for a while. Even after sitting down, she was a little at a loss. She came to Chang'an and entered the palace. It looks a bit like now.

Don't say it was her, even Chu Ning was a little uncomfortable.

She is now the queen, Xiao Kezhi’s wife, and Lu Guogong’s nephew’s wife. With such a relationship, she should call Mrs. Xu "aunt" just like Xiao Kezhi. There is always something unspeakable.

The two looked at each other frontally, thinking about how to break the embarrassment, but Guoer on the side suddenly took Chu Ning's hand and whispered "Auntie" in a low voice.

This child, when he was in front of the imperial court, never dared to call Xiao Kezhi's "cousin", but when he came to Chu Ning, he rarely called "Auntie" so naturally.

Both Chu Ning and Madam Xu were taken aback, and the awkward atmosphere just now seemed to disappear suddenly.

"Oh, this kid, it's no rules!" Madam Xu smiled and patted her daughter's head, and she looked at Chu Ning carefully and looked a little more tentative, as if she wanted to see if she was still the same as before.

Chu Ning also laughed, and personally scooped up the brewed tea and sent it to Mrs. Xu: "Where is there no rules here? It's me, I have met my aunt, and I haven't served tea yet."

"Hey, hurry up, your Highness, I'm not a serious elder, how dare you let your Highness serve tea?" Madam Xu declined, and shook Chu Ning's hand as she did in the past, "I, hey, come here today. In the past, I was always worried that I didn’t know how to face your Highness, but now it’s better, and it’s the same as before. Both my husband and I came from the countryside of Yanzhou, and there are no twists and turns in the hearts of others. I am two, but there are only two in this life. My wish, firstly, is that Guo'er will be well, and secondly, I hope that the Holy Master will be well. Now that the Holy Master has His Royal Highness by his side, we are all relieved."

Chu Ning listened patiently to her words, and there was an inexplicable warmth in her heart.

It has been a long time since she left her dearest, and she has rarely been so cared and loved by her elders, but now it sounds very rare. During the New Year's Day, when Lu Guogong's family found that the prince had the intention of marrying another, they did not forget to say a good word for her in front of Xiao Kezhi. Now there is no malicious speculation about her because she has changed from the emperor’s niece to the queen. This sincerity is really commendable.

"Thank you auntie, I will serve your Majesty with all my heart."

"That's it. I know what your Royal Highness is. It's the most reassuring and reassuring." Madam Xu said, she felt relaxed, and even the posture of sitting on the couch became loose.

Chu Ning sent people the cakes and fruits that Guo'er liked, and the three of them were talking and laughing in one place, not much different from before.

"This child has become more and more diligent in reading and literacy these days." Mrs. Xu glanced at the book table sitting aside while looking at Guo'er, who looked carefully at a copy of Chu Ning's copybook, and said, "Her father said, this child It's the same as when the Qianwei Queen Mother was young, she can read and hyphenate. It's a pity that her family was poor and her father couldn't read, and the woman had nowhere to learn."

The "Queen Dowager Wei" in her mouth was rightly called Wei Cairen, Xiao Kezhi's biological mother, who was named the Queen Mother only last year.

Chu Ning didn't know much about Xiao Kezhi's mother, and he couldn't help but pay attention: "It turns out that the Queen Mother is also easy to learn. It's no wonder that the Holy Master is so diligent and hardworking, never slacking in studying and managing politics every day."

"Hey, yes, I heard Guoer's father said that when the Queen Mother was in Yanzhou, she secretly went to the rural school to hear the corner of the wall for two days. Later, there was a famine, and she was busy picking up grassroots every day, and she couldn't care about anything. She saved the rations to her parents and younger brother. When she was hungry, she wrote and painted on the ground with branches... Fortunately, she later entered the palace and enjoyed the blessings for several years. The female officials in China learned to read and paint."

Chu Ning listened carefully, but did not answer the last sentence.

She knew in her heart that the female officials who could get official ranks in the court were all women who came from official households, and they could not make mistakes in their education and knowledge since they were young. Have the opportunity to learn to read and write.

It's just that, she wouldn't tell Mrs. Xu, she could only keep it in her heart.

The three of them sat in the hall for a while, until after noon, Mr. Xu got up and took Guo'er to leave.

Before leaving, Guo'er smiled and sat next to Chu Ning, pulling the corner of her clothes and whispering in her ear: "Guo'er feels that His Majesty and His Majesty match very well, much better than before!"

Chu Ning looked at her blushing face, her eyes brightened, and suddenly remembered when she was on the Lishan Racecourse earlier, did Guo'er have already noticed it?

She glanced again thoughtfully, couldn't help but shook her head with a smile.

This child is pure and kind in nature and delicate in mind. Although he is a little timid, he is a clear and polite, and he will be able to live smoothly in the future.

"Okay, don't bother your Highness anymore." Madam Xu looked at her daughter close to Chu Ning, and smiled and pulled her.

After the two saluted, the maids took the gift from Chu Ning and sent them away.

The carriage was waiting outside Yong'an Gate to the south. After the mother and daughter got up, they drove slowly eastward.

"Madam, little lady, there seems to be the frame of the princess in front of you, shall we stop and greet?"

It took only a quarter or two to get out, and the maid outside the car asked aloud.

From Yong'an Gate to the east, you will always pass the Jiafu Gate, the main entrance of the East Palace. It is not surprising to meet people in the East Palace. But in the previous two or three months, Lu Guogong and his wife had listened to Xiao Kezhi's instructions. They were worried about Guo'er, so they had been living with their daughter. Therefore, they had not seen Zhao Yu'e for a long time. They suddenly met today, which was really unexpected.

Mrs. Xu thought for a while and pulled Guo'er softly: "If we meet, it's not easy to avoid it. Let's just go over and leave with a greeting, okay?"

Guo'er thought of Zhao Yu'e's fierce look that he had seen before in Lishan, but she was still a little distraught, but did not refuse, she only obediently nodded, followed her mother out of the car, and rushed to the Donggong frame that was parked in front of the road. go with.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu'e, who had just come out of the East Palace in front, also had no intention of talking to the mother and daughter. Seeing them salute, he only looked at them coldly, and after showing a estranged smile, he turned to the car.

It was almost time, and she was leaving the East Palace at this time, just to follow Xiao Yu to leave Chang'an quietly.

When this was so important, she shouldn't have time to think about anything else, but somehow, when she saw the mother and daughter of the Lu family who hadn't seen for a long time, she suddenly remembered what happened in Lishan.

She always felt that the marriage with the prince was unexpectedly smooth. In addition to the pre-planning and well-thought-out response, there are always other reasons, especially afterwards, the maid beside her once mentioned, on On the night of Yuan Dynasty, Lu Guogong went to Feishuang Palace to see the emperor in private.

The family of Lu Guogong had no foundation in Beijing, and she didn't care about it at all, but she kept remembering this matter for no reason, never forgetting it.

Even if they have nothing to do with Lu Guogong, they still have a close relationship with the Chu family. If the Chu family reveals the prince's affairs to the emperor, Lu Guogong, the mother and daughter, may know something about it.

Seeing this time to leave, it was time to fight to the death and the net broke. She couldn't help but stop, suddenly turned her head and looked at the mother and daughter.

"Little Lady Wei," she looked at Guo'er with a faint smile, but she fell on Mrs. Xu's reaction, "Are you still learning to ride horses lately? Before, but I didn't teach well?"

Guo'er was taken aback by her sudden gaze, staring blankly at her empty wrist without any jewellery, and timidly stepping back in the direction of her mother.

Mrs. Xu was also a little nervous. She quietly calmed her daughter’s back, and apologized crampedly: "No, your Royal Highness is exquisite in riding skills. He is a cowardly man. Letting your Highness teach you is really succumbing to your talents. Your Highness must not be surprised... …"

This nervous and bewildered look fell in Zhao Yu'e's eyes, making her guess what the mother and daughter must know.

She slowly put away her smile, snorted softly, stepped directly into the carriage, and left with the maid and the servant.

Mrs. Xu looked at the carriage going away, feeling anxious. She always felt that something was going to happen. She patted her daughter with lingering fear: "Okay, okay, let's go back soon. From now on, let’s go around somewhere else, don’t Come here again."

Guoer was stunned, without saying a word, letting her mother take her back to the car again. It wasn't until the carriage was on the road again that she suddenly said, "Mother, Ms. Zhao-Your Royal Highness, she didn't wear any jewelry today..."

In the past, Zhao Yu'e paid the most attention to dressing, but when he went out, he always had heavy makeup and luxurious and dazzling clothes. Today, although the dresses are still as exquisite, there are almost no hairpins on the wrists, necks, or even between the buns.

Mrs. Xu couldn't help thinking deeply after such a reminder.

A lady who always loves to dress up, suddenly travels by car without wearing jewelry, and she doesn't know what she is going to do...

Thinking of the conspiracy between the Zhao family and the prince she had heard in Lishan, her heart was tight, and she thought for a long time, instructing the coachman outside to pay attention to the carriages of the East Palace, and let the closest maid return to Tai Chi Palace. Report the situation to the Temple of Ganlu.

...

Near Pingkangfang, Zhao Yu'e's carriage slowly passed through the bustling crowd, and then drove towards the sparsely populated alley after a round of twists and turns.

While the carriage swayed, she took off her luxurious clothes and replaced them with sarongs worn by ordinary street women. Taking advantage of no one around, she quickly got out of the carriage, stepped onto another narrow and simple carriage, and drove away again. The laneway merged into the stream of carriages and horses, and the previous luxurious and spacious car headed towards the Buddhist temple to the south.

"Lady, Mrs. Lu Guogong did send the maid back to the palace." After the maid Chunyan followed her into the carriage, she whispered what she had just seen.

The carriage drove to the east of Chunmingmen without hurriedly. Except for Chunming Gate, he went outside Chang'an City, and then went south, and after meeting with Xiao Yu, they could join together with the main force of the Banju Army that had quietly lurked near Gyeonggi.

But somehow, the emptiness in her heart grew wider and wider.

"I haven't heard from my brother this month?"

Chun Yan's expression was also a little solemn, and he shook his head and said, "No, the general said earlier that long-distance communication is not safe enough. After the matter is set, there will be no hope of coming again, so no news has come."

This is true, but the more at this time, the more Zhao Yu'e feels that there is something wrong. If the emperor really knew their plot, what would he do? If all of this today is just a pre-set bureau, they have already become a turtle in the urn, how should she deal with it?

People like Xiao Yu are unreliable anyway...

"Lady, we are at the gate of the city." The coachman outside whispered something inside.

Zhao Yu'e did not speak, gritted her teeth, struggling repeatedly in her heart, and suddenly said: "Stop, bring the Wei family mother and daughter, hurry up!"