That night, Xiao Yi appointed Xiao Fangju as the crown prince. That night, everyone said that Wang Xuan was exceptionally beautiful and virtuous, and Fangju was exceptionally steady and intelligent. She saw Wang Xuan's surprise and excitement, like a peony in full bloom. Amid the congratulations and flattery of everyone, she and her son were pushed to the top of the happiest and most glorious peak.
Zhao Pei looked at all this indifferently, and she felt infinite sadness in her heart. Such beauty seemed to be just a dream. With an unclear future ahead, she wondered whether such glory and scenery were a blessing or a curse. She sipped the amber wine, but she thought of her Fang Deng. He could have been an indifferent hermit, but he died under the weapons of the Xiao family in this battle for the throne.
Thinking of this, she lost interest immediately, and immediately stood up, leaving the hustle and bustle in the room and walked out of the hall. As soon as she came out, a gust of cold wind blew, and Zhao Pei lost her balance and swayed. The quick-eyed and quick-handed palace maids hurried forward to support her, but were blocked by Zhao Pei.
She pulled her collar together and walked silently under the silver moonlight. In the cold night, she realized that winter had come. There was a platform outside the palace, and she could vaguely see the world outside the red wall from the other side of the railing. Zhao Pei leaned on the railing and looked around, not knowing whether she was sad or happy.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind: "What are you doing here alone, Madam?"
Zhao Pei was startled, then turned around and saw Yuwen Tai walking slowly with his hands behind his back. He climbed up slowly while looking at her carefully: "The wind is quite strong. Can you bear it, Madam?"
Zhao Pei avoided his burning and interested gaze and smiled faintly: "What is the purpose of the Prime Minister coming here alone? Is it that the wine, food, singing and dancing in Daliang are not to your liking?"
Yuwen Tai suddenly laughed: "Madam..." He paused, and then said, "Actually, I still hope to use the name I used outside the palace before."
Zhao Pei laughed and said, "At that time, I didn't know the identity of the Prime Minister. Ignorance is fearless. But now that I know, how can I just ignore it?" Her words were full of rejection. Yuwen Tai didn't get angry at her for not giving him face, and smiled awkwardly, "Yes, after all... Your Majesty and I have different positions."
Zhao Pei ignored his position and was about to bow and leave when he stopped her: "I heard that the queen has been living in the temple for a while?"
"That's right." Zhao Pei replied.
Yuwen Tai smiled slyly: "I guess there must be something in Yaoguang Temple that pleases you, my lady." Zhao Pei was slightly stunned. She didn't expect that he knew about Yaoguang Temple. Her face remained calm: "It's just quiet, nothing special."
Yuwen Tai raised his eyebrows, half questioning and half interested: "Is that true?"
Zhao Pei saw that he seemed to have a story in his mind, but she didn't dare to say more for fear of disturbing the situation. She raised her eyebrows like him: "What else do you think?"
Yuwen Tai looked at it, chuckled and shook his head: "I am guilty of presumptuous speculation of the Queen's mind." His words were full of frivolity, and Zhao Pei felt as if he was teasing his prey to make it dizzy first. This made her very uncomfortable, and she frowned and exchanged a few more pleasantries before turning around and leaving. After getting off the stage and walking far away, she couldn't help but turn around and look at him.
He stood in the wind leisurely, his brows deep and strange, faintly emitting a cold and desolate aura. Zhao Pei did not dare to look at him anymore and left in a hurry.
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She was disturbed by Yuwen Tai's meaningful words, and felt depressed. After bathing, she changed into a brocade robe and prepared to rest, but she heard someone calling her from outside the door: "My queen, the emperor is here." The mellow and unfamiliar voice came from her new maid, named Man'er. Whenever Zhao Pei saw her rosy cheeks and willow-like eyebrows, she would always think of that quiet midnight.
She did not respond, but lay down with her clothes on and covered herself with a blanket. It was a little cold in the hall, and the warmth from the stove was not enough to dispel the winter chill.
Maner could not wait for an answer, and whispered something in embarrassment. Then she heard a cold voice: "Go down." Then she fell silent. The door was pushed open, followed by a sound of light footsteps.
Zhao Pei knew it was him standing behind her. She didn't turn around, but just dozed off with her arm resting on it.
He stood silently a few steps away from the bed. Although he couldn't see Zhao Pei's face, he could see her slightly messy brocade robe and her silky black hair falling softly on the snow-white bed, which made her look even more... desolate.
He had thought that there would be a huge gap between them. But he couldn't stand it: even though they were so close, they were worlds apart.
"Xu Zhaopei." He called her by her full name in a cold voice. Zhaopei did not move, as if she was really asleep. "It doesn't matter, just listen to me."
She remained motionless, her eyelashes trembling slightly as she chose to close her eyes.
"I can spare his life." Xiao Yi was silent for a long time before he finally spoke these few words. She couldn't help but tremble all over, and her heart exploded. The unstoppable chill rose up, stirring up the surprise and pain, and it took a long time to calm down. She thought she knew who this "he" was referring to. Zhao Pei bit her lip tightly and endured it.
"That's what I owed him." Xiao Yi paused, then added, "But now we're even. So... if anything happens in the future, I won't let anyone off." He stated calmly, but every word was fierce and resolute.
The room returned to calm, with only the occasional footsteps heard between the flickering candlelight. The swaying light cast a shadow on his moody face, but it could not warm the chill. He silently looked at her stubborn back, sighed, and walked forward.
Zhao Pei bit her lip, her face pale. She felt a pair of hands lightly touching her back, and her whole body froze but she didn't move. He just pulled the hanging blanket to her neck, and his slightly cool fingers lightly touched her skin, causing her to tremble endlessly and feel unspeakable pain. "It's been a rough few days, don't move around."
Zhao Pei wanted to cry, but she didn't know why. Her nose was sore and her eyes were red. But she still tried to hold back and ignore the voice and the figure. Later, the room was quiet again. Zhao Pei was silent for a while and finally couldn't help turning around to look, but there was no one there. Only the high flames swallowed up the sadness that had not yet dissipated. (To be continued)