Xiao Yu was really drunk.
After some tossing, he lay on his back gasping for breath, although he still had the heart, he had no strength.
Chu Ning didn't want to entangle with him too much. Seeing this, he got up to clean up for the two of them, and said softly: "His Royal Highness has to get up tomorrow, let's rest early at night."
Xiao Yu responded in a low voice and held her when she got up to go back to the house: "Don't go back, just stay tonight."
She naturally wanted to go back to the house to drink the medicine, but after seeing this, she hesitated for a moment, and called "Cui He" outside the house.
Cui He responded, and after a while, she brought the medicine in and put it in her hands.
Chu Ning was used to drinking it for a long time, took a few sips in his hand, rinsed his mouth again, and then turned back to the bed, but immediately met Xiao Yu's unintelligible gaze.
He didn't know how long he had watched her like this behind his back.
"His Royal Highness?" She sat carefully beside the bed, for fear that she might annoy him accidentally, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Yu glanced at her, slowly looked away, lay down on the pillow, patted the empty seat beside him, closed his eyes and said, "It's nothing, just sleep."
Chu Ning lowered his eyes, blew out the candle, and tried his best to lie down beside him.
The house fell into darkness.
Xiao Yu opened his eyes again and stared silently at the void above his head.
He always knew that she was drinking Bizi soup, which he promised himself, and he still agreed when he mentioned it last time.
But for some reason, when he just watched her drink it without hesitation, an inexplicable resistance and strangeness suddenly surged in his heart, as if he didn't know his wife.
Probably too much alcohol.
…
In the early morning of the second day, Xiao Yu got up and had breakfast according to the original arrangement. After getting up and having breakfast, he boarded the carriage that had been prepared for a long time, and took the attendants all the way to leave the East Palace and set foot on the road to Huazhou.
The huge East Palace lacked a master, and the atmosphere that had been slightly depressed was relieved a lot.
Last night was exhausting a lot. At this moment, Chu Ning unloaded a heavy burden on his heart and returned to the house. He felt tired from his limbs. After holding back for a while, he couldn't hold back. She went to make up her sleep in the inner room, and even Cui He was sent back to her room to rest.
This sleep is more than two hours, and when I wake up again, it is noon.
After she ate some snacks at will, she led a few maids to sit by the window and talk, watching them make needles and needles, while holding a storybook and telling them stories.
Several people were talking and laughing, and it was rare that they were very comfortable.
The storybook only mentioned the matter of young men and women staying for private meetings at night. After listening to several little girls, they lowered their heads and laughed, and one of them suddenly remembered something. With a "Yeah", he raised his head and said, "Just now, this servant will bring it to His Highness. During the snack time, I heard from the sisters in Seomyeon that the door next to Wude Hall is open today."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning slowly put down the words in his hand.
The Wude Hall is adjacent to the East Palace, and the gate is the link between the East Palace and the Taiji Palace. In the past, when the late emperor was still there, Xiao Yu used to go to and from the Taiji Palace on a daily basis.
Going from there saves a lot of effort than detouring from the main entrance. It was only later that the late emperor became seriously ill and the Tai Chi Palace was under martial law, so that door was closed and never opened again.
Another maid held the silk thread in her hand and said: "His Royal Highness was closed when he was there, but he left today, but suddenly opened, I don't know what it means..."
After saying this, the girls were a little silent.
All they thought of was the awkward and delicate relationship between the prince and the new emperor, for fear that this move would indicate a certain attitude of the one in the Taiji Palace, which would soon bring trouble to the East Palace.
Chu Ning was thinking of something else.
She stroked a pattern on her cuff and asked, "Can you see when it was opened?"
Several people thought about it and said, "It should be opened after His Highness sent the Prince away. Your Highness, should we send someone to ask?"
Chu Ning lowered his head, a faint smile flashed across his lips, and then shook his head and said, "No, there is no need to ask more about things that have nothing to do with us, we just stay at ease in the East Palace."
After a while, an internal attendant said, "Your Highness, Zhao Sizhi is here."
"Let him come over." She stood up and asked the maids to retreat down the porch, while she sat on the couch by the door and waited.
Zhao Yanzhou followed the rules and never stepped into her house for half a step. This time, he only walked two steps outside the threshold and stopped, bowing and salute.
Looking at his thin figure, Chu Ning couldn't help but sighed, "Brother, if you have anything to say, you don't need to be so polite, he's gone."
Zhao Yanzhou didn't move, his sleeves kept swaying with the cold wind of early winter, looking a bit cold and lonely.
"Your Highness, the ceremony cannot be abandoned."
There was still no ups and downs in the tone, but in Chu Ning's heart, he felt sour.
"Brother, you were not like this before..."
In her memory, Zhao Yanzhou was supposed to be a gentle and graceful gentleman. He was full of talents, had great ambitions, and had a bright future.
It was the incident two years ago that completely destroyed him.
At that time, she only married into the East Palace. She didn't know Xiao Yu's temperament. As long as he was sincere to her, she recommended her cousin Zhao Yanzhou to him, and wanted to find a chance for him to transfer to another place, so as not to stay in Chang'an and become a thorn in the eyes of others. .
Xiao Yu agreed to her with a smile, and she thanked him wholeheartedly.
Who knows, a few days later, it was 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 only relatives to be transferred from afar, and knowing that Zhao Yanzhou was indeed talented, she specifically allowed him to work in the Zhan Shifu.
But for several days, Zhao Yanzhou kept saying that she would take office in the future. She was worried and went to visit in person. Only then did she know that her talented and bright cousin had become a eunuch!
She felt extremely guilty and wanted to question Xiao Yu in person, but he endured the pain that was not yet good to stop her, and only said that everything was of her own accord.
He never said that all this was done by Xiao Yu, but she knew in her heart that apart from Xiao Yu's persecution, there was nothing else that could make a young and vigorous man suffer this catastrophe!
In the past two years, she did not dare to mention this matter, and kept a distance from him at all times, for fear of causing him another disaster, but fortunately, Xiao Yu gave him the last face, and did not tell others about it. Still let him serve in the James House as an ordinary person.
Now, as long as she thinks of this incident, the hatred in her heart will increase even more!
Zhao Yanzhou looked at her reddish eyes, her indifferent pale face finally fluctuated. He sighed lightly and said, "A Ning, people will always change. Brother A feels very good now. As long as he lives, as long as he looks at An Ning's well, everything will be fine."
Chu Ning looked at him with tears in his eyes, his eyes full of pity: "But, Brother A should have a bright future... Brother, do you hate him?"
Zhao Yanzhou's young but vicissitudes of life flashed a trace of melancholy in his eyes.
At the beginning, Xiao Yu forced him to make a choice, either to be a eunuch, or to leave Chang'an and never see her again. But she was his sister, and the only daughter of his aunt and uncle. When his uncle went, he swore in his heart that he would protect Aning. At this time, how could he stay away from her
It was a decision without hesitation at all—even as a scorned, lowly eunuch, he would stay.
How could he not hate it? But he hated Xiao Yu's sinister viciousness, and even more hated his own people who were soft-spoken and powerless.
He can only do his best to stay by her side and do everything she wants for her.
"A Ning, I just want you to be fine."
Chu Ning turned her face away, facing the folding screen next to her, holding back her tears for a long time.
After a long while, she suddenly took a deep breath, resumed her previous tone, and asked, "How is everything going?"
Zhao Yanzhou moved his fingers hanging on his side, swallowed the bitterness in his heart, and replied in a deep voice: "Recently, I watched 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 from the Queen Mother know about this matter?"
He had told Chu Ning the clues he had seen before, but he would never do anything behind the scenes that would harm the interests of the prince. Now that he knows the true face of the prince, his actions must be a little different.
Chu Ning thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "There is no need to take risks."
If Xiao Yu finds out, he will suffer. She has other ways to do this.
Zhao Yanzhou didn't say much, but said another thing: "Xu Shidu also deliberately paid attention to a few girls in the courtier's family who have not left the cabinet a few days ago."
As soon as these words came out, 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 is the meaning of the prince."
"I see." Chu Ning smiled, but felt that this was somewhat in line with Xiao Yu's actions.
The two talked about some trivial affairs in the East Palace, and it was not until half an hour later that Zhao Yanzhou retired.
At this time, it was nearly unitary time, and the sunset on the horizon gradually sank, and the golden red rays of light spread to the earth, strong and brilliant.
Chu Ning was in a very good mood today, and You Qi just said that to Zhao Yanzhou, and he felt more at ease. After standing under the eaves and watching the sunset for a while, he went back to the house and ordered dinner.
The dinner was a hot hoto with a few side dishes. When Cui He personally delivered it, he whispered in her ear, "Ma'am, a chariot stopped in the Wude Hall."
Chu Ning raised the chopstick's hand for a while, then returned to its original state and pulled her to sit on the other side to eat together.
After the master and servant were full, as usual, they walked around the East Palace in the twilight to digest their food, and did not return to the palace until the night was already dark. Then there was another bathing and grooming, joking and joking, without the slightest impatient intention.
…
In the Ganlu Hall, Xiao Kezhi has been sitting cross-legged on the couch since he came back. First, he was concentrating on reading today's memorials, and now he is reading and annotating with a pen.
In the early winter, before the ground dragon was burned, there was only a small charcoal basin in the house, which occasionally made a crackling sound.
The warm candlelight cast on the pen tube in his hand, leaving a slender shadow between the pages, which swayed with the movement of writing, making him seem completely focused.
But Liu Kang, who was beside him, frequently lowered his head and wiped his forehead, as if he was anxiously waiting for something.
In the past half an hour, the emperor's eyes have drifted out of the door four times!
He knew what the emperor was waiting for. But the door was open all day, but there was still no movement. In the evening, he was anxious, and privately arranged for someone to send a pair of chariots there, such a clear hint, but the other side of the East Palace still did not give the right words.
He was so anxious right now that he even thought about whether to let someone go to the East Palace.
But the East Palace is no better than the Taiji Palace. There are many eyes and ears there. If you are not careful, you will be discovered by others.
While hesitating, Xiao Kezhi, who kept his head down, seemed to have noticed something was wrong with him. He frowned at him and said, "What's the matter? The soul is not left behind."
Liu Kang opened his mouth and didn't know how to reply. There were hurried footsteps outside the hall. Then, the little servant standing by the door heard something in the crack of the door, and hurriedly approached and said a few words to him.
Liu Kang's eyes lit up immediately, and he cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, there is someone in the Hall of Wude."
Xiao Kezhi's expression loosened, and he put down the pen tube in his hand and wanted to get up and go over. But after only taking two steps, he suddenly stopped, returned to his seat, and continued to write with a pen.
"Go, bring her to the Temple of Nectar."