When the news of the move to Mount Li reached the East Palace, Chu Ning ordered someone to pack up his clothes and luggage, and only waited for the departure in five days.
In the eyes of others, this is just a consistent rule, or even a means - if the prince is not in Chang'an, he must keep a close watch on the prince and not leave any opportunities to take advantage of.
But in Chu Ning's eyes, this is a hint that all her efforts have not been in vain, and the next opportunity is at hand.
She thought about it for a while, but she didn't bring all the maids in the dormitory with her, except Cui He, she only picked four more to be close and safe, and the rest were all chores outside.
On the eve of her departure, she received a letter from Xiao Yu from Huazhou, saying that she would come back to Chang'an around the New Year's Day, and asked about the East Palace.
This is a practice, maybe it is out of meager feelings, maybe it is out of anxiety after cheating, he has been away from Chang'an for a long time, and he will write back to ask her about her situation.
Looking at the handwriting on the paper, Chu Ning couldn't help but sneer.
Only if he did something wrong and lied to her for two whole years, would he feel uneasy all the time, for fear that one day he would teach her to discover the truth.
One day, he found out that not only did she already know the truth, but she even secretly communicated with his most hated uncle under his nose, begging the uncle not only to pluck his wings bit by bit, but also to force him. He pleaded guilty for the evil things he did in the past, what should be his reaction
With a cold light in her eyes, she put the letter paper full of his ink on the candlestick and lit it until it burned to ashes. Then she took out the pen and ink, wrote two greetings in a respectful tone as always, and said that she would accompany him to Lishan. It was sent out.
…
The next morning, the weather was clear and sunny.
Outside the Chengtian Gate of Taiji Palace, hundreds of princes, nobles, courtiers and family members have gathered here, waiting to follow the holy car to Mount Li.
In the cold wind, BMW cars filled the road, and the laughter of men, women and children was endless.
Chu Ning came from Changle Gate in the East Palace. After the audience came to pay homage, he consciously stood at the front of the female relatives, just waiting for the emperor and Queen Qi to come.
The ladies and girls around were still afraid to talk to her. Occasionally, they came to greet her specially, and they hurriedly avoided after only saying a word or two.
No one wanted to be found out in the public eye to have a close relationship with the East Palace.
Only Mrs. Xu of the State of Lu brought her daughter Guo'er over and sincerely greeted her.
Lu Guogong and his wife had the protection of the emperor in Chang'an, and no one dared to face them disrespectfully. But they have the simple temperament of Yanzhou Tianshelang, even if they put on brocade beads and jade, they will always point behind the rich and powerful, and no one is willing to take the initiative to make good friends with them, for fear that they will become an outlier among the rich and powerful. for the laughing stock.
In the past two months, Mrs. Xu has seen the thoughts of these people. Although she is still trembling, for fear of making mistakes, she no longer works hard and wants to integrate into the life of the upper-class nobles.
"I haven't seen you for a long time, how is Madam?" Chu Ning looked at the mother and daughter beside her and greeted them with a smile, "Guo'er seems to be more rounded than when she came here."
Madam Xu nodded, then pulled Guo'er in front of her, and said, "This child was a little unaccustomed to the environment on the way to Chang'an. In those days, he was vomiting and diarrhoea, and his face was sallow. Now he is probably used to it, and he has eaten a lot. That's getting better."
She and Lu Guogong, Weishou, both came from peasant families. They worked all year round and suffered from famine in the past. They were married for many years. Because of their poor health, they never gave birth to a child and a half-daughter until they were nearly 30 years old. Such a daughter, both husband and wife love them very much.
Guo'er blushed, raised her head and smiled at Chu Ning, and then cautiously reached out and pulled her sleeve.
Chu Ning touched her little hand, bent over to see her smiling and turned in a small circle in front of her eyes, as if she was showing off today's clothes. Only then did she realize that she was showing herself that the clothes she was wearing today, It was on the first picture in the picture book given back last time.
"Guo'er's clothes are beautiful." She complimented her and nodded at the child with a smile, "The bracelet on my wrist is also a good match."
Guo'er was very happy when she received the compliment, and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Your Highness."
After a while, Xiao Kezhi and Empress Dowager Qi finally came down to the open Chengtianmen, surrounded by the palace and guards.
Seeing this, everyone stopped talking and laughing, turned around and saluted the two of them respectfully.
When he stood up straight again, Chu Ning heard Guo'er beside him pulling Madam Xu's hand and saying timidly, "A-niang, your majesty seems to be coming towards us."
She couldn't help but look up, just in time to meet a pair of familiar sharp eyes.
Xiao Kezhi did not take a carriage, but rode on a high-headed horse, coming here step by step.
Everyone thought that he was here to talk to Madam Lu and her daughter, but in fact, after turning over from the horse, he did pass Chu Ning, who was standing at the front, and walked straight to Madam Lu and Guo'er. .
But Chu Ning knew in his heart that when his eyes met each other just now, he was indeed looking at her.
"I heard from my uncle a few days ago that in the past, due to work, I often had back pains, and my aunt also suffered from cold for the past two years, and her legs were not very flexible. I will go back to the hot spring palace. I ordered the imperial doctor to prepare some herbs. When I use it for my uncle and aunt, it may relieve the chronic ailments of old age."
He stood sideways in front of Chu Ning, taking good care of Madam Xu with a normal attitude.
Mrs. Xu was overwhelmed and hurriedly brought the two Guoer to thank them.
After some care, he didn't leave, but looked sideways at Chu Ning who was standing silently beside him, and said, "These days, thanks to my niece who took care of my aunt and cousin for me."
When he said this, he passed her body with a bit of oppressive eyes. As if she just told Madam Xu a perfunctory sentence.
Chu Ning raised his head, a very light, charming smile that he was very familiar with appeared on his gentle and dignified face. When his eyes flashed slightly and his eyes darkened, he quickly put it away, as if he had done nothing, and responded softly. : "Sharing your Majesty's worries and honoring your elders is what a niece should do."
There was a subtle change in the atmosphere at a distance of two steps.
Xiao Kezhi looked at the well-dressed woman in front of him with a half-smile, but what came to his mind was that she was wearing that bold underwear, her mouth was blocked by a silk handkerchief, her hands were tied, her eyes were tearful and she whimpered at him for mercy. It looks like the blood in the body is boiling.
It's been ten days, enough is enough, maybe it's time to close the net.
He made a meaningful "uh" and left a sentence, "Then continue to share my worries for me", then turned to leave, got on the horse again, clamped the horse's belly, and urged the horse to trot to the front.
The team departs soon.
Mrs. Xu took Guo'er and Chu Ning in the same car, chatting and laughing along the way, and listening to Guo'er's "Thousand-Character Writing" that she learned by memorizing, she didn't find it boring. It was not until she arrived at Tangquan Palace in the afternoon that they separated and went to the palace. Go to their respective residences.
Tangquan Palace is the palace of the emperor, built on the hillside of Mount Li. Unlike the Taiji Palace, not only the emperor can live in the palace city, the relatives and nobles who are closer also live in the palace palace city, but there are more distances and barriers between the emperor's residence and the relatives and nobles.
There is no special east palace here, but there is a prince soup, which is dedicated to the prince's residence. As the prince's concubine, Chu Ning naturally lives here alone.
She recalled the layout of Tangquan Palace, and immediately remembered that the Xingchen Tang and Jiulong Tang, which belonged to the emperor, were just west of the Prince's Tang, almost separated by a wall on both sides, but Yichun Tang, where the Queen Mother lived, was slightly farther east.
This is a convenience.
After more than two hours of bumpy rides in the car, she only felt a little tired. After changing clothes, she ate a few snacks, and then went to the sleeping hall to rest for a while, and didn't wake up until evening.
Dinner is ready, and the soup pond under the pavilion outside the hall is also full of soup springs, and the steam is steaming out, immediately surrounding one courtyard like a fairy palace.
She leaned on a noble concubine's couch for a moment, then summoned Cui He and gave a few words in a low voice.
…
After Xiao Kezhi arrived at Tangquan Palace, he did not immediately go to the inner bed to rest, but first went to the outer court to convene the courtiers, dealt with the political affairs that fell down one by one today, and stayed in the palace to read all the memorials before relaxing.
When we headed towards the inner bed, it was already nightfall.
It was a cold winter night, and it was rare for him to not go back to the dormitory, but to go back by foot, so that he could spare some energy to think about what he had just done. But when I was not careful, I found that the route back seemed to be a little different.
Going back from the Chaotang near Jinyangmen, he can directly reach the Feishhuang Palace, but now, he bypasses the apse first, and needs to pass through the Rihua Gate to return to the Feishhuang Palace.
Although he had never lived in the palace emperor's bed before, he had driven here several times when he was young, so he was naturally familiar with the layout of it, and immediately felt that something was wrong, he immediately became vigilant, and frowned, "Why do you go around here? ?"
Liu Kang laughed nervously, bowed his waist and replied, "Everyone, the scenery here is better. The old slave saw that everyone was too tired to handle government affairs, so he made his own decisions and let him go."
Xiao Kezhi glanced at him and said coldly, "You are becoming more and more self-assured."
Having said that, he didn't change the route. There was no other reason. He only thought about it for a while, and then he remembered that if he took a detour around this road, he happened to pass by the courtyard where Prince Tang was.
He didn't even have to ask to guess that Liu Kangding was instructed by the temptress to lead him there on purpose!
For some reason, as the distance got closer, a little excitement and nervousness flashed in his heart, and even his whole body became hot, and even against the winter night wind, he did not feel cold at all.
Under the night, except for the places illuminated by the palace lanterns, everything is pitch black. Although he knew that no one else lived nearby, the vigilance he had developed over the years still made him wonder what would happen if someone saw it.
This vigilance also turned into excitement, making his heart thump.
"Everyone, there is the Prince's Soup ahead." Liu Kang has been secretly observing his words, and now he is busy pointing not far away to remind him softly.
Xiao Kezhi pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes were already looking in the direction he pointed.
I saw that there was only one wall separated from his residence, the door was slightly open, as if it was deliberately waiting for someone, and the looming lights made people want to go in and find out.
With a sullen face, he didn't say a word, he turned his head again with just one glance and didn't look any further. But just as Bu Nian was about to pass the gate, he still clenched his fist.
"Stop."
Under the short and low command, the chariot stopped steadily and landed in front of the half-open door.