What Xiao Kezhi remembered was his mother who died in the Taiji Palace many years ago.
He is the son of a palace maid, not loved by his father, not accepted by his first-born mother, and even his brothers and sisters of his age look down on him.
Only his mother loved and protected him wholeheartedly.
In order to let him live in peace for the rest of his life, she devoted almost all her efforts, and even before her death, she was all concerned about sending him away from Chang'an, which is like a tiger's lair in Longtan.
When he was young, he was very grateful to his mother. But later, he gradually grew up and matured, and when he looked back on the past, he felt more guilty.
When my mother was an ordinary Ye Ting maid, she lived a hard life, but she was carefree, ordinary and happy. But after having him, she never lived a day for herself.
She spent the rest of her life living for others.
He didn't think it should be like this.
Now facing the woman kneeling in front of him, he has the same idea.
He has seen too many people, always living for others, but he has long forgotten what he wanted in the first place, and he didn't want her to do the same.
"Myself?"
Chu Ning knelt on the ground and repeated lowly, a bit of confusion flashed in his eyes, and then he became firm again: "I, of course, want to live. But I want to clear my father's injustice. For my father, I can do nothing. ."
She just thought he was testing how determined she was, so she answered decisively.
But Xiao Kezhi's eyes flashed a trace of disappointment.
She is a tough girl, but forced by life, she had to put away her original innocence and beauty. Until now, she seems to have lost herself.
She thought it was selfish, but in fact, she didn't know how to think about herself, fight for herself, and naturally she wouldn't consider the feelings between men and women...
"Of course you will live." He shook his head gently, staring at her with complicated eyes, "If I don't let you die, you won't die."
"Your Majesty means..." Chu Ning's eyes flashed, thinking about his words carefully, almost thinking that it was meant to help her.
Xiao Kezhi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his disappointment was gone.
He stretched his hand over the desk in front of him, and the pen in his hand touched her chin and lifted it gently.
"Tell me, what is your father doing to me? What do you give me in return for helping a dead 'sinner'?"
Chu Ning stared blankly at his eyes, and a layer of water light appeared in his eyes.
This sentence seems to be frivolous, but it is enough to make her feel at ease, even her dream.
She bit her lower lip lightly, lowered her head slowly, bent her waist and neck, and fell obediently to the ground, her voice trembling, but her tone was very firm: "But according to Your Majesty's instructions."
As long as he said it, she would give everything, and she would not hesitate.
Xiao Kezhi stared at her exposed slender and white neck for a moment, then laughed lightly, slowly got up from his seat, walked in front of her and leaned over | She half-supported and half-supported to pull up, and the other hand held her face, making her look up at herself.
Looking at each other, he said word by word, "I want you to leave him and come to me."
When the voice fell, Chu Ning didn't say anything for a long time, just stared at him blankly, unable to discern the feeling in his heart.
The "he" in the words naturally refers to Xiao Yu.
She didn't expect this to be his request at all. Could it be that he has other thoughts about her
This idea appeared, and she was immediately denied it.
He is the emperor who holds the power of life and death, and she is his niece, and she is a bad woman who does not know how to be shameless, does not know how to hold back, and has a deep scheming. How could he have feelings for her
It wasn't the first time he said such a thing, but she couldn't believe it at all.
Falling down overnight, the experience of everyone's contempt made her unable to believe that there were people in the world who were kind to her for no reason. Instead, it was the direct exchange that made her feel more at ease.
She lowered her eyes and said softly, "As long as your majesty has an imperial decree, An Ning will obey."
Uncles and nieces-in-law, whether in the common people or in the royal family, are not tolerated by everyone. But as long as he doesn't care about fame, she will never care.
"Will you be willing?"
"Will be willing."
She spoke calmly, but Xiao Kezhi did not show a satisfied look.
"No," he frowned and shook his head, with some disapproval in his eyes, "You didn't do it willingly, you just accepted your fate."
This is not the "willingness" he wants. What he wants is that she can truly treat herself as a complete person, and that she can take the initiative to fight for what she wants.
He stretched out his hand and gently covered her heart, conveying a warm and powerful touch to her: "What I want is willingly, it is you who came to me on your own initiative, not for anyone else, but only for yourself."
Since she wants to achieve her goal by taking what she wants, he will go with her.
Up to now, he could no longer escape the strange feelings he had for her in his heart.
He likes her, loves her, wants to have her, and wants to keep her by his side for a long time.
But he didn't want to force her, and he didn't want the relationship between the two to be so cold and clear. If he directly promises her, as she said, he immediately orders her to reconcile with the prince, then he will become the same as the prince who married her when she fell into the quagmire. She will probably have a hard time in her life. Actively approached him.
"Your Majesty, I—" Chu Ning was confused and hesitant by what he said. He wanted to ask something, but couldn't ask anything. He only felt a little sour and bloated.
"Okay, it's almost time." Xiao Kezhi pulled her up, rubbed her thin shoulders and said, "It's time to send you back."
As he spoke, he summoned a palace maid to come in to change her clothes and hair, while he sat on the side and stared at her silently.
There was silence in the air, only the sound of the rubbing of fine cloth and the sound of the hairpin ring being picked up from the case and put on, and then lightly colliding.
When everything was in order, the maid picked up the remaining pair of earrings and put them on for her.
The luster of gold and jade flashed before her eyes, reminding her of an earring she had lost last time.
She turned her head to look at him, and the swaying steps in her hair were shining brightly, which made her look picturesque and charming.
"Has Your Majesty ever seen one of Aning's earrings? It's a pair of turquoise and gilt earrings, similar to this pair."
Xiao Kezhi was swayed by her appearance, so he couldn't help asking the maid to step back, walk behind him in person, and leaned over to pick up the pair of earrings and put them on for her.
The earrings swayed gently beside the cheeks and neck, like a pair of butterflies flapping their wings.
He couldn't help hugging her waist, leaning close to her ear, kissing all the way along the skin behind the ear, and lingering on the side of the neck, intimate and gentle, with the previous pressing her in the temple and wishing to eat her The vicious appearance of the belly is the exact opposite.
"That earring, I put it away." He returned to her ear and kissed her auricle lightly, causing her to tremble.
"I have not only your earrings here, but also your handkerchief, your underwear..."
Chu Ning was reminded of the previous few times by what he said, his cheeks became hot, and he shrank his head sideways.
But he chased after her relentlessly, found her lips and kissed her little by little, until her eyes gleamed again, and then he slowly let go.
"Your Majesty, it's time for Aning to go." She panted and pushed him away, stood up with her back to him, and straightened her slightly wrinkled dress before leaving.
Xiao Kezhi didn't stop her, he just stood up straight and followed her to the door before stopping.
The snow outside the hall had been falling for a full hour, and a thick layer had accumulated on the ground. The side of the door was swept by the waiter, leaving a path, but the falling snow quickly covered it with a thin layer of frost.
Bu Ning stopped not far down the steps, Chu Ning was wearing a hat and stepped on the snow carefully, for fear of slipping.
Xiao Kezhi watched for a moment, then suddenly stepped out of the threshold and directly picked her up, disregarding the thin robe and silk shoes on her body, strode over the snow to the front of the chariot, and sent her to the seat to sit down.
"Everyone! Be careful of catching a cold!" Liu Kang was startled, staring straight at his wet silk shoes, wishing he could immediately step on the two stoves underneath.
Xiao Kezhi laughed heartily, waved his hand and said, "The wind and snow in Ganzhou is much more than that in Chang'an. When I was twelve years old, I could walk in the snow for two days and two nights with only an ordinary cotton coat. What is Xue afraid of?"
Liu Kang was trembling and wanted to persuade him to come back quickly, but the words were held back again. Instead, those staring eyes turned to Chu Ning, who was sitting on the carriage, and kept beckoning her to speak and persuade.
Even though Chu Ning was wearing a hat, he couldn't block his urgent line of sight.
She lifted the tulle under her hat, looked at Xiao Kezhi standing in the snow, and said softly, "Go back, Your Majesty, it's very cold outside."
Xiao Kezhi suddenly restrained his smile, stared at her with dark eyes for a moment, and slowly retreated to the steps and under the eaves.
Liu Kang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go." Chu Ning put down the tulle and said softly.
The chariot was lifted and walked steadily in the direction of Rihua Gate.
She couldn't help but turn her head, and through the hazy tulle, seeing him back in the bedroom, she turned her eyes away and started to stay stunned.
What happened that night, while she was relieved, made her even more confused and hesitant. She had some guesses in her heart, but she couldn't believe it.
She thought about it for a while, and said to the few servants who carried the chariot: "Today's abnormality of Your Majesty, can you find out who did it?"
These servants have been with Liu Kang all the year round, and now they are in front of the imperial palace, they are very trustworthy and naturally know the inside story. When Zhao Yu'e entered the imperial palace, there was a lot of commotion. Many people saw it, and they didn't have to hide it. , then replied: "It's Zhao Erniang, the saint was detained before, but now he has reprimanded it and sent it out."
Chu Ning responded and didn't ask any further questions, but said in her heart, "It's really her."
Zhao Yu'e is bold, she has always known that today, only she can do it.
Somehow, she suddenly realized Xiao Kezhi's different attitude towards the two of them, and she was also shocked, and did not dare to think about it.
After a while, Bu Nian stopped outside Rihua Gate, and Cui He was just being led over.
One of the servants said: "His Royal Highness, the slaves can only take you here."
Chu Ning took off the cap and handed it back to them.
A few people didn't stay much, and they left in a hurry after salute.
Prince Tang was close at hand, and he arrived after crossing the Rihua Gate. Chu Ning took a deep breath, looked at Cui He, turned around and walked past.
Outside the dormitory, a maid rushed out in a panic. When she stepped into the snow, her foot slipped and she fell to the ground. She was about to endure the pain and cold to get up and continue walking, but her eyes suddenly fell on the person from far and near. On Chu Ning, there was an instant joy.
"His Royal Highness is back!"
She waved at Chu Ning, as if she wanted to meet her, but after a moment of hesitation, she hurriedly turned around and went back to the bedroom.
As soon as Chu Ning saw the situation, he knew that Xiao Yu must have woken up.
She couldn't help pinching Cui He's hand.
Fortunately, with his temperament, he is only now asking people to find her, and he must have just woken up soon.
She gave Cui He a wink and told her to go back to the house by herself, instead of entering the main hall, she bit her lip, put on a gentle and dignified smile, and stepped into the lit hall.
"His Royal Highness is awake." She stopped by the door, took off her cloak and clogs wet by the snow, and then quickly walked to the bed, knelt on the feet, looked up and sat on the bed with a sullen face Xiao Yu.
Her expression was very natural and flawless, but her heart couldn't help beating.
"If you don't come back so late, where have you been?"
Xiao Yu squeezed her wrist tightly, the corners of his lips pursed, his eyes full of displeasure and doubt.