At the gazebo, Chu Ning's heart tightened, and he hurriedly pulled his arm out of Xiao Kezhi's palm, turned sideways away from him, and walked towards Xiao Yu with his head lowered.
The soft satin had been pressed out of folds, and she realized that he had used so much strength that her entire arm swelled slightly.
Xiao Yu pulled her behind him with a gloomy face, and sneered at Xiao Kezhi: "It's not early, my nephew is a step ahead, and Uncle Wang will do it for you."
Saying that, without waiting for Xiao Kezhi's response, he turned around and left.
When Chu Ning saw this, he knew that he was angry and did not dare to stay, so he followed behind him in a hurry and went to Wanchun Hall.
The atmosphere along the way was extremely cold, and the several servants and palace servants who accompanied them all lowered their heads desperately, and no one dared to offend the prince at this time.
"roll!"
As soon as he entered the main hall, he shouted angrily and drove away all the people in the hall. Before the door was closed, he suddenly pointed to one of the shivering maids and said, "Drag her out and whip her for twenty."
Chu Ning looked at the maid who was paralyzed with fright and was dragged out. It was the one who had just taken off his boots for him and was reprimanded.
"Do you have pity on her?" Xiao Yu's gloomy voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
He stood behind her and followed her gaze to the maid who was dragged out and blocked her mouth with sackcloth: "I didn't want to embarrass her, but now, I'm very angry. Aning, what do you say? "
Chu Ning looked at the door that was slowly closing in front of her, and couldn't help closing her eyes.
After a while, the sound of whips hitting the flesh came from outside the hall, making the scalp numb.
She endured the coldness in her heart and slowly turned around to meet his heavy gaze.
"His Royal Highness, I was in the back garden just now. I was frightened by the beasts. King Qin was afraid that I would fall, so he stretched out his hand to help me..."
Her voice was softer than usual, with even subtle tremors and prayers.
However, Xiao Yu pursed his thin lips tightly, unmoved, and there was no warmth in his tone: "Take off your clothes."
Chu Ning bit her lip and turned her face away, and reached out to slowly untie the buttons and ties of her clothes. The heavy clothes belonging to the crown princess were peeled off one by one, layer by layer, revealing the slender, undulating, smooth and flawless beautiful body wrapped in it.
Xiao Yu approached, trapped her in the cramped space in front of the door, and reached out to stroke her jawline. The slightly cold fingertips that were weak due to a long illness moved along the skin of her neck and chest, and finally landed on the arm that Xiao Kezhi had just held, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
"A Ning, you shouldn't let others touch you."
As he stroking her body in a probing way, he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
She didn't answer, just gritted her teeth and endured the discomfort and embarrassment.
This is the gentle and honest gentleman in the eyes of the courtiers. He used his best side to attract courtiers, while the paranoia and cruelty that he could not suppress occasionally were exposed in front of her, the crown princess.
She still remembers that incident a year ago.
That day was the anniversary of her father's death. She took Cuihe to the Buddhist temple to offer Buddhist lanterns for her father. On the way back, she stopped in Dongshi and met a unkempt beggar.
The beggar, who was only seven or eight years old, was probably dizzy with hunger, and when she stepped off the carriage, he rushed to the side of the carriage and hugged her feet, begging her to give her half a cake to eat.
She was soft-hearted, so Cuihe bought three Hu cakes and sent him away.
This trivial matter happened to be seen by Xiao Yu, who was out on official business.
That day and night, after he finished dinner with her as usual, the little beggar was taken in, and his two arms were broken by gag in front of her.
She was so frightened that she was covered in cold sweat and her stomach was tumbling, but he held her hand and said calmly, "A Ning, I don't like other men touching you, not even a child."
Today, the person who touches her is no longer a trivial little beggar. He can't get angry at the King of Qin, as long as he vents his anger on the poor maid.
Before I knew it, the twenty lashes had ended, and the hall was silent again.
Xiao Yu looked at her smooth skin with satisfaction, and pointed to the table beside him: "Sit down."
There was a burst of shame in Chu Ning's heart, and the roots of his ears also turned red.
"His Royal Highness, now in the mourning of Emperor Daxing..."
According to the ceremonies, the crown prince should keep away from the sound and appearance of the mourning for the Emperor Daxing.
But Xiao Yu just looked at her indifferently.
She took a deep breath and took a difficult step to sit on the case, waiting for what happened next.
…
By the mountain pool, Xiao Ke stayed in the pavilion alone and did not leave.
The setting sun in the distance has completely sunk into the bottom of the water. The lanterns beside the mountain and water pools are beginning to light up.
The night wind blew through, bringing the chill of autumn, but Xiao Kezhi still stood motionless in the pavilion, staring into the distance, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.
Liu Kang, the internal official who was accompanying him, waited for a long time without seeing any news, so he couldn't help but look up carefully.
For some reason, he remembered what he saw in the pavilion just now, and was shocked to realize that the place where King Qin was standing was exactly where the Crown Princess Chu was standing, and even the lantern he was holding with one hand was touched by Chu. The place…
He felt a stun in his heart, and while he was ashamed of his wild thoughts, he felt that the thought had been stubbornly imprinted in his mind and could never be shaken away.
In a daze, Vimalakirti, who had just been led to feed by the guards, was full and returned to the pavilion.
As soon as it saw Xiao Kezhi, it whimpered happily, trotted over, and sat down beside him obediently.
"Are you full?" Xiao Kezhi bent down and rubbed its warm fur, with a rare smile on his stern face.
"Woo-"
After eating and drinking, Vimalakirti raised his neck and called out in satisfaction, as obedient as a domesticated dog, completely different from the vicious appearance of the palace servant just now.
Not far away, a guard walked quickly into the pavilion and reported in a low voice, "Your Majesty, we have found it, and the Crown Prince really asked Xu Rong to contact more than 20 courtiers in private, ranging from the Sixth Division to the Censor's Terrace. There will be action before the ascension ceremony in the future."
With that said, he presented a list rolled up in his hand.
Xiao Kezhi took over the list and scanned it from top to bottom. Without making a decision, he asked, "How about Baifu Palace? Does the Queen Mother make any moves?"
"There has been no movement in Baifu Palace. After worshiping Emperor Daxing in the daytime, Duke Qi once went to Baifu Palace once, and then returned to the mansion. There was no other movement. I think the Queen Mother should also know the intention of the East Palace and plan to Stand by and watch."
The Grand Chancellor of Qi said that he was the head of the current group of ministers, the Zhongshu Ling Qi Mu. He is the younger brother of the Empress Dowager Qi and the ruler of the Qi family.
"Yeah." Xiao Kezhi responded, put away the paper in his hand, and didn't ask anything else.
When he mentioned the prince's nephew, the first thing he thought of was not Xiao Yu, but the unusually beautiful woman beside Xiao Yu.
The temperature in his palm seemed to be on fire again.
He held the cold lanai on the side, and let go after the heat passed.
"Your Majesty, do you want to send someone to ask the Queen Mother? And the Prince, do we have to do something so that we can deal with it?" Seeing that he had not ordered anything else, the guard couldn't help asking.
"No, let's just wait." Xiao Kezhi chuckled, his dark eyes showing a bit of suffocation and determination.
He had long expected that the prince would not give up because of the so-called "last emperor's edict". Before the dust settled, he had to do something.
As for Empress Dowager Qi's reaction, he was more than expected.
If he really is an unambitious, weak and obedient puppet like his eldest brother Xiao Lian, the Queen Mother Qi will naturally settle Xiao Yu. And yesterday, he snatched the Qianniu Guard from her hands on the spot, and his sharp fangs were already exposed, making her very angry. At this moment, she is naturally happy to see him and the prince fighting with each other.
Unfortunately, he will not let her do so.
Between the courtiers, you come and go, fight openly and secretly, all of which are useless here.
"But a few civil servants who can't be picked up by shoulders and can't be lifted by hands, they won't make a good climate." He stopped staying, called Vimalakirti, and walked to the Shenlong Palace where he was temporarily staying.
…
In the Wanchun Hall, the doors and windows were closed, and the spring was gradually dissipating in the house.
Xiao Yu sat on the edge of the bed, taking the pills with the tea that Chu Ning handed over, while staring at her slightly tired face, and the hands underneath did not forget to hold her waist firmly.
"Tired?" After some tossing, he has returned to his usual gentle appearance, except that his face is a little haggard, everything seems to have happened, "I am also tired, but when I meet you, I will always be unable to restrain myself. Own."
Chu Ning couldn't help frowning slightly.
He said this innocently, as if blaming her.
"His Royal Highness must be filial and should not sleep with me."
Xiao Yu didn't answer. Instead, he put his arms around her and didn't let her leave. He gently stroked her eyebrows with one hand, and asked with a smile, "Are you mad at me?"
She quickly lifted her eyelids to look at him, shook her head and said, "No, I'm not angry with His Highness, I'm just afraid that it will be bad for His Highness to be known by others that His Highness is sleeping with me."
"That's good." He smiled slightly, "My Uncle Sixth King, stay away from him."
"Got it." Chu Ning didn't refute a word, just lowered his head and responded.
"Okay, let's go. Keep your spirits up. Tomorrow will be a small funeral." He laughed again and patted her smooth shoulders.
With permission, Chu Ning immediately put on his clothes and left the main hall with the soreness on his body.
In the side hall, Cui He had ordered someone to cook Bizi soup and was waiting for her to come back.
She sat on the edge of the couch without saying a word, first poured the warm soup medicine in one breath, and then heaved a sigh of relief, and slowly fell softly on the pillow.
She has been taking this medicine for two years.
Back then, she married Xiao Yu before her father's filial piety.
At that time, she had felt guilt towards him, but now that she thinks about it, she can only feel fortunate. If she was really pregnant with the enemy's son, she didn't know how painful it would be.
"Where did the wolf come from, do you know?" She asked softly with her eyes closed.
"The slave has inquired about it. It is a wolf raised by King Qin, and its name is 'Wei Mo'. Since yesterday, many palace servants have seen it in the back garden. It should not be for the lady." Cuiwei stretched out her hand to help her. Rubbing his forehead, he said what he heard one by one.
"It's so good, to put such a vicious beast in the backyard." Thinking of the situation at that time, she still had lingering fears.
"King Qin has only recently arrived, and others don't know much about it. I heard people say that the wolf has been by King Qin's side since he was a child. It has been ten years since he was a child, and he seems to have saved King Qin's life."
After Chu Ning heard this, she couldn't help frowning.
There are also many dignitaries in Chang'an City who keep all kinds of rare beasts, but those beasts have been domesticated very docile, and the wolf beside Xiao Kezhi is obviously not like those beasts that have been deprived of their claws.
A prince, who was saved by a wolf, has no idea what kind of life he lived in Ganzhou.
Thinking of the momentary contact with him in the gazebo, a strange intuition slowly emerged in her heart.
The way he looked at her, from the initial pity to the wanton scrutiny just now, was not the usual uncle's eyes when facing his niece, nor the indifference or malice when facing strangers or even opponents.