The Gilded Cage

Chapter 37: On New Year's Eve, a few days in Xiao Ke's mouth is about

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The New Year's Day is getting closer and closer, the nobles who stayed in Chang'an City have rushed from the Fuzhong to Mount Li one after another, and more and more envoys and local officials from the Pan State have also followed to the vicinity of Tangquan Palace, just waiting to participate in the New Year's Eve banquet. .

These few days were supposed to be the happiest and most relaxing time of the year. If it were changed to previous years, it would be rare for the emperor to slack off for a few days.

But this year's new monarch has absolutely no intention of letting go of political affairs. Three days before New Year's Eve, he decreed that five of the eight generals who had come to Beijing to report their duties were reprimanded, listed their crimes one by one, and was fired from their posts and imprisoned, waiting for the three divisions of the Censor Station, the Ministry of Punishment and the Dali Temple. Judge, convict again.

As soon as the news came out, the originally cheerful and relaxed atmosphere dissipated a lot, many of the generals and generals in the army were in danger, and even the civil servants felt chills.

Among them, Xiao Yu is the most serious.

Among the five people that Xiao Kezhi dealt with, four of them had shown interest in his initiative before. Such a precise gesture really made him tremble, and he had to completely break the mind of starting from the generals near Huazhou. .

Zhao Yu'e also felt urgent.

Previously, she and her elder brother Zhao Lun only guessed that there would be changes in the court, but they did not expect the emperor to be so resolute.

Once Zhao Lun failed to stabilize the King of Nanzhao in Bozhou and stabbed the past to Chang'an, the fate of their Zhao family could be imagined.

For this plan, we must first deter the King of Nanzhao.

At night, she sat under the lamp, holding the letter sent back by Zhao Lun who was far away in Bozhou and focused for a long time before slowly sending it to the flickering candle to light it, watching the flame devour the thin and fragile paper and burn it into ashes. .

"Ma'am, the ink has been polished." Chun Yan put down the Song Yan ink in her hand and reminded her softly that she could write a reply.

Zhao Yu'e nodded thoughtfully, picked up the pen and dipped in the ink, and wrote two or three lines, but she felt that it was inappropriate, and paused for a moment while holding the pen tube.

"Forget it, let's not write for now." She put down the pen, put the still ink on the stationery and burned it on the flames, then turned around and instructed Chunyan, "Go, bring me the things."

Chunyan pinched the corner of her clothes and didn't move, until she met her somewhat impatient look, and then hesitantly stood up, went into the inner room and took out a very small white porcelain jar, and placed it on the table in front of her.

"Yesterday, I asked you to find someone to try. How did it work?" Zhao Yu'e lifted the lid of the altar, pinched what looked like a silver carbon strip the size of a little finger's knuckle, and took a closer look under the lamp, then put it on the tip of her nose and sniffed lightly. A faint sweet and greasy scent suddenly penetrated into her nose, causing her mind to go blank, giving birth to a momentary trance.

"Slave let some of the most reliable guards in the mansion try it out, and the effect is immediate, almost in less than a moment, it's all..." Chun Yan recalled the trance and absurdity of those people after sniffing, and couldn't help blushing shyly, "It's really like The general said it was normal, and after they woke up, they didn't find anything unusual."

"In the end, it's the thing that my brother found, it's reliable." Zhao Yu'e put the thing back on the altar, with a nervous and relaxed smile on her face, "Tomorrow, I will rely on it."

This altar contains a kind of incense called "soul seduction", which her elder brother Zhao Lun tried to find for her from Nanzhao territory, and it was delivered to her the day before yesterday.

Bozhou has a humid climate and rugged terrain, and there are many rare and exotic herbs. The people near Nanzhao are very good at making all kinds of herbs and spices that are not found in the Central Plains. This soul-enchanting incense is a kind of incense that can make people hallucinate, stimulate desire, and experience bliss. Even after the effect is over, people will not find their abnormality after they really wake up, but they just think that they are confused and absurd. one.

This is exactly what she needs.

What she wants now is not the emperor's sincere favor, just one identity is enough.

As the emperor and a normal man, Xiao Kezhi naturally wouldn't care about having an extra woman beside him. "

"Does the lady really want to use this incense? If the matter is exposed, teach others to know about the lady's reputation..." Although Chunyan had followed Zhao Yu'e for many years, she was still timid and uneasy.

Zhao Yu'e glanced at her coldly, and said disdainfully, "No, I, and the entire Zhao family, have nowhere to go. Besides, has my reputation improved over the years?"

"But, it's different in the end..." In the past, it was nothing but vanity, but this time it's much more serious. Not only is it a matter of shame, it's not right to prescribe medicine, not to mention the emperor, who is caught, but will be punished.

"Okay, I've made up my mind, you just have to prepare the sachet for me, and if you talk more, you'll be punished yourself."

Zhao Yu'e stopped writing letters, stood up directly, and carried the porcelain altar into the inner room in person.

New Year's Eve is coming soon.

In addition to the night feast that starts in the evening, there are also many ceremonies to be held in the temples near Jinyangmen during the day.

Before dawn, Xiao Yu got up.

When Chu Ning put on his clothes and fastened the buttons on his face, he controlled the movements of his hands very lightly. She knew that he had been irritable and gloomy these days because of the handling of several military officers. The palace servants and servants around him would be beaten if they made him feel unhappy. Just these few days, she asked Cuihe to go to Fengyu's place. The wound medicine that I went to get back was more than the sum of the past six months.

Although he was not so harsh on her wife, she still did not dare to take it lightly. In front of him, her prudence and trepidation seemed to have been carved into her bones.

"Okay, pour me a cup of warm tea." He gently flicked away her hand that was holding his collar, and nodded his chin on the table beside him, but his eyes always fell on her.

"Here."

She turned around with her head lowered, knelt down on the couch, poured tea and served it.

"Why didn't Zhao Sizhi come to Lishan before?" After taking a sip, he put the teacup back on the case, "He used to come to see you every few days."

This seems to be a very ordinary question, but it reveals doubts about Zhao Yanzhou.

Chu Ning knew that he suspected that the personal contact with those generals had been revealed to Xiao Kezhi intentionally by the people around him, so he said softly, pretending not to care: "It's one thing that Zhao Sizhi cares about me, but he is Donggong after all. His vassal, he is indispensable for the general affairs of the East Palace, and it is inconvenient to travel between Lishan and Chang'an from time to time. Even the news of His Highness's return was only known to me when I sent people back to Chang'an the day before yesterday. When I arrived yesterday, I only saw him once. back."

She was reminding him that Zhao Yanzhou had been conscientious when he served in the East Palace in the past two years, and besides, he and Xu Rong had never disclosed to Zhao Yanzhou the matter.

She didn't know how Xiao Kezhi found out about him, but one thing was certain, it was definitely not leaked by Zhao Yanzhou.

"Yeah." Xiao Yu looked at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "He is indeed dedicated and responsible, and the documents he wrote for me are well-written and can't find faults. It's the New Year's Day, I will reward him more. Yes."

He didn't seem to dispel all his doubts, but he didn't say more. After sitting down and having breakfast, he got up and went to Jinyangmen.

After Chu Ning sent him away, he went back to the house and rested for a while before getting busy again.

In addition to preparing rewards for the palace servants and servants around you, you also have to prepare the next gift for the New Year's Eve. Fortunately, the number of people who would like to greet the prince this year was less than in previous years, which saved her a lot of effort.

In the evening, when everything was finally settled properly, she changed into a thicker dress, put on a little powder and makeup, and took Cui He and two other maids to the press table where the banquet was held.

The underground of Getai is lined with pipes that circulate the hot springs, like a huge earth dragon. Although Xiao Kezhi's style is frugal on weekdays, he is not too strict when he wants to meet the envoys of Fanbang. For today's night banquet, the people from the Inner Servant Province opened the floodgates early in the morning to make this large area warm.

When Chu Ning arrived, he immediately felt a warm heat wave, and the nobles who had already arrived had already taken off their shirts. I thought it was late spring and early summer.

She took off her cloak and handed it over to the maid, and after being saluted by everyone, she went to the seat and sat down, waiting for the arrival of the emperor and his ministers.

Seeing this, Mrs. Xu, who was not far away, lightly patted Guo'er beside her, and said a few words with a smile in her ear.

Guo'er twitched for a moment, lowered her head nervously and walked in front of Chu Ning, softly calling "His Royal Highness".

Seeing her coming, Chu Ning immediately laughed, pulled her to sit beside her, and said casually, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and Guo'er seems to be looking good again. How well did you learn to ride horses with Mrs. Zhao in the past two days?"

Guo'er remembered Zhao Yu'e's slightly perfunctory attitude. Although she didn't like her, she wasn't as timid as before. In the past few days, she has been able to trot slowly by herself on a horse, so she smiled and nodded: "I've learned a little bit. , Thank you, Your Highness."

As she spoke, she held out a small sachet and said with a blushing face, "Your Highness, I made this myself, as a gift for His Highness that year..."

Chu Ning hurriedly took it in his hand and looked at it carefully.

The sachet was made very simple, without any unique embroidery patterns, only a delicate network was woven with colorful rope on the top, but as long as you look at the sewed places, you can find that although the sewers are not skilled in craftsmanship , but must have worked hard, the slightly crooked stitches are densely arranged, there is no gap at all, I don't know how to make it carefully.

She stroked the row of stitches lightly and nodded solemnly: "This sachet is very well done, I like it very much, so I will replace it."

When Guo'er heard this, her face turned even redder, and she quickly shook her head and said, "Your Highness, no, it doesn't look good, you don't need to change it..."

Chu Ning didn't stop, but simply undid the pomegranate splendid sachet he was carrying, took out the fragrant pieces and put them in the new sachet, and meticulously tied it around his waist.

"Okay, this is Guo'er's intention, I have to cherish it."

Guo'er looked down at the sachet that had been used, blushing and her eyes brightening, she gave her a silly smile, then turned her head back to Madam Xu's side.

After a while, Xiao Yu also followed Xiao Kezhi to the press station.

He walked quickly to the edge of the couch and was about to sit down, but when he turned his head, he saw the simple sachet on her waist, and he couldn't help frowning: "In such an occasion, why did you wear such a sachet?"

Chu Ning glanced down at the sachet on his waist, which was simple and unobtrusive, sat down respectfully, and explained softly, "His Royal Highness, this is just given to me by the little lady of the Duke of Lu's family, she is full of heart. , I can't bear to live up to it."

Xiao Yu snorted coldly, took a sip of the tea she handed over, and said with contempt and displeasure: "As expected, Tian Shelang was born, and the things he gave are so unreliable, those who don't know it can be considered that they are intentionally giving it to me. This prince is embarrassed."

Chu Ning pinched his fingertips and didn't speak any more, but turned his head to look at the emperor and the empress dowager in the main seat just like everyone else.

I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but when she looked at it, she happened to meet Xiao Kezhi's deep, indifferent eyes.

There was a distance between them, and the two looked at each other for only a moment, and then they turned their eyes away tacitly.

But in this moment of time, the noisy human voices and the sound of the silk and bamboo orchestra suddenly disappeared, and there was only a quiet and distant place under the starry sky.

Somehow, Chu Ning had a hunch that that day at the racecourse, "a few days later" in Xiao Kezhi's mouth was about today.

After a while, the banquet began.

As usual, Xiao Yu got up first and led everyone to toast the emperor and the Queen Mother Qi together. After everyone was seated, the singing and dancing of Jiaofang Division really began.