The Gilded Cage

In the sleeping hall, the heat receded, Xiao Yu leaned on the couch and watched as Chu Ning gathered his messy and thin clothes to send hot water in.

She sat on the side of the couch, facing him with her slender back, her black hair draped behind her, and she couldn't help swaying layers of soft waves as her hands reached into the copper basin and stirred the towel.

Night had come, and the maids lit a few red candles in the room. The golden candlelight projected on her, just to outline a section of exquisite curves, glowing with a layer of halo, hazy and ambiguous, and Xiao Yu's mind was calmed down. Was moved again.

He couldn't help but sit up on the couch, grabbed a lock of her hair and tangled it between his fingers, and then gently pulled it, forcing her to turn her face to face him.

"I will wipe it for Your Highness—"

Her wet eyes looked over. Before she could finish her words, Xiao Yu stretched out her hand to touch her vermilion lips, leaned over and kissed, moving all the way from her eyes to her earlobes, and finally chin rubbed against her neck. When she bit her skin, she said dumbly: "Aning, let's have a baby, okay?"

Chu Ning's heart trembled suddenly, and the decisive "No" word almost reached her lips, and she swallowed it again.

"How could your Highness suddenly talk about this? But what happened?"

She quietly pinched the tip of her left finger, forcing herself to calm down, turned her head, and tried her best to stare at him without any abnormality.

Xiao Yu looked at her for a moment, put the tip of her nose close to her dark hair, sniffed the fragrance in it, and shook his head: "It's nothing, I just suddenly felt that more than two years is not too short, and it's time to have a baby."

Somehow, since he missed the throne, he had to be wary of the addition of Xiao Ke, and there was a lot of anxiety in his heart from time to time, as if something he didn't know was getting out of control step by step.

And his princess was the one who made him suffer.

He knew she was different from him.

To him, his father was just someone who had given him useless affection for several years when he was young. When he was young, he felt that his father was the best person in the world, honest and kind, and gentle and considerate to his wife and children. But when he was sensible, he gradually understood that his father was the weakest person in the world.

It was this weakness that allowed the Qi clan to overtake the court and control the government, which made him, the prince, always have to be held hostage by others. When the man was hiding in the sensual dog and pampering the concubine and the youngest son, he never considered what kind of situation his eldest son, the first wife, was facing.

Years ago, he knew that he despised and even hated his father.

But Chu Ning is different.

Her father, Chu Qianyu, is an upright person, and his love and care for his daughter has never been concealed. In the same way, she has a deep affection for her father, even to the point where she can sacrifice herself.

And he happened to be the one who killed her father, because he lied to her and got everything afterwards.

He has never forgotten what he did at the beginning, and even more than once imagined that if one day, she knew the truth, would she still treat him as before.

He has been a prince for many years, and the dirty things he has gone through are unknown. Only this one can never let him go.

It's just that in the past two years, he has deliberately avoided these thoughts, but recently he has been inexplicably unable to control himself and feels uneasy from time to time.

Chu Ning leaned his head lightly on his chest, tried to soften his voice, and said with a slight sorrow, "Yes, it's been two years... It's not that Aning doesn't want to, but His Highness promised, my father— —The filial piety period has not passed yet...

When Xiao Yu heard the words, he moved for a while, and suddenly remembered what he had said before.

He did promise her that she would not let her have children before she passed her filial piety period. Seeing that the filial piety period of the past three years is not a few months away, he shouldn't be so worried.

"Okay, I'm in a hurry, wait a minute." He closed his eyes, let go of the hand that rubbed her, and leaned back on the couch again, letting her sit on his knees and wipe him off. Dirty.

The people who knew about Chu Qianyu back then, except for him and the confidants around him, are no longer there, and no one will tell her the truth at all.

Besides, what can she do if she knows it? She has nothing left, besides relying on him, the husband who once pityed her and saved her, who else can she rely on?

Thinking about this, Xiao Yu temporarily settled down and just looked at her sideways.

On the side, Chu Ning supported his weak body, putting the towel back into the copper basin, and carefully observing his look, which happened to meet his eyes.

She didn't dare to continue the topic just now. Seeing him come over, she hurriedly said: "Can you set a date for your Royal Highness to go to Huazhou? It's set, so I can pack your clothes and bags for your Royal Highness."

"Yeah." He thought about what he had just said to Xu Rong, absent-mindedly, "After the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, no accident, he will leave the next day."

If he and the Empress Dowager Qi are not in harmony, it is between the elders and the younger generations. The courtesy cannot be abandoned. If you leave without waiting for the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, there will always be filial piety.

Chu Ning counted the days, and found that it was the seven or eight days: "Then I will clean up the winter clothes for your Royal Highness these few days. Huazhou is not more prosperous and rich than Chang'an, and His Royal Highness often goes to the river. , You have to be well prepared."

Speaking of official duties, Xiao Yu's gaze became a little more dazed, and his eyes were staring directly at the top of his head, as if he was thinking about something. Hearing the words, he said indifferently, "It's all up to you," and didn't say more.

Upon seeing this, Chu Ning tidied himself up, picked up the outer shirt on the side and put it on, and walked out of the hall with very light steps.

Cuihe, who had been guarding not far away, hurried over to introduce her into her bedroom, and delivered the prepared refuge soup.

Chu Ning didn't care about anything else, he held the porcelain bowl and drank it at once, until the bitter and sour taste spread from the entire mouth to the abdomen, and he felt relieved temporarily.

"Lady slow, take a sip of the tea and press it down quickly." Cuihe was startled by her impatient movements, "What happened just now?"

Chu Ning took the tea cup, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, until she smelled the faint tea fragrance, then gently shook her head: "It's nothing, it's just that I suddenly feel a little uneasy in my heart."

She didn't know why Xiao Yu suddenly wanted her to have a child. She only knew that she was not willing to give this hypocritical murderous father and enemy a child!

It's just that the words he just said made her a little nervous, and she wanted to tear her face with him immediately and leave the East Palace from then on.

But her home had been completely destroyed by him, and she would completely lose everything if she left here.

Can only continue to endure.

She squeezed the corner of the table with one hand, holding it tighter and tighter, until her palm was hurt by the hard and cold wood, and then slowly let go.

"Go and get two of my next-to-neck clothes." Suddenly she got up from the bed, walked quickly into the inner room, turned out the small bamboo basket with needles and thread, and placed it on the long table.

Cuihe was very surprised when she heard the words. She didn't know what she was going to do. After a while, she quickly walked to the cabinet and found two sets of Chu Ning's most commonly worn clothes from dozens of clothes, and held them to the top.

"What is the lady going to do? Can you let the slaves come?"

Chu Ning shook his head, first took one of them and spread it out flat in front of him: "I want to change the style."

As she said, she thought about it for a moment, then took out the copper ruler and pen from the bamboo basket, first made a mark on the collar, and then drew two marks on the back.

Subsequently, the ruler and pen were replaced with copper scissors.

Under the bright candlelight, she held the scissors in one hand and the fabric in the other, carefully cutting along the marks just made.

Most of the women in Daliang know tailoring and embroidering. She was born in a high class, and naturally she has learned it. Although she doesn't like it, this craft is not too unfamiliar after all.

In a short while, an ordinary obscene garment was changed to a new look: the original conservative neckline was lowered, and a slit was opened in the middle of the back, until the waist and hips were not enough to hold, even the clothes on both sides The sleeves were also cut off mercilessly, and only two thin shoulder straps remained, which could be hung on the shoulders.

"Lady, this—"

Cuihe was stunned, his face even flushed.

However, Chu Ning was very calm, without any shame or embarrassment. He only carefully looked at the "unrecognizable" clothes in his hand.

She stood up, took the clothes in front of her and compared them, and made a mark on the waist. Then she continued to take out the needle and thread and sew two stitches against those two places.

With just a few stitches, the waist is tightened, forming two narrow arcs, which can set off the curve of the waist.

However, within half an hour, this ordinary lewd garment has become unworn, and it can make people blush and heartbeat, and can't stop thinking about it.

Cuihe faintly understood what she was going to do with this obscene clothes, and she rose even more red for a while, but she never said a word of exhortation.

"What else does the lady have to do, let the slaves come."

This time it was no longer an inquiry, but a direct request.

Chu Ning put down the things in his hand and looked up at her. For a moment, his eyes were a little moist.

What she is doing is to be reviled and hated by ordinary women. Although she kept telling herself that she didn't need to care about the eyes of others, and she didn't have to let herself fall into the worst situation for the so-called etiquette and morals, but in the dead of night, she would still feel guilty and uneasy.

Fortunately, there are still people on their side.

She blinked, pressed the mist, lifted a pen to draw a beautiful lotus, and said, "Embroider this for me."

Cuihe stretched out his hand to take it, and nodded without hesitation: "Don't worry, maid, the slave and maid will be able to embroider in a few days."

...

In the next few days, probably because the days of leaving Chang'an were getting closer, Xiao Yu also became busy.

He seldom tells Chu Ning about his outside affairs. Chu Ning can only learn from Zhao Yanzhou that he has been busy feasting with various former supporters recently, probably because he is afraid that he will be caught by Xiao Kezhi if he leaves for at least one month soon. Or the Queen Mother Qi took advantage of the loopholes.

He has always been incapable of drinking, drinking a few times at a banquet, and almost every time he comes back, he is half drunk. After letting a few housekeepers help to freshen up, he just lies in bed and sleeps, saving Chuning a lot of energy.

She has stayed in the East Palace for the past few days and never went out. During the day, she took a few maids to take out Xiao Yudong’s clothes one by one in the Guangtian Temple, dried them, smoked them, folded them and put them in a cage, etc. When the time comes, take him to Huazhou.

In the night, she sat under the lamp with Cuihe, embroidering the lotus pattern on the garment.

She had already thought about it, taking advantage of the birthday of the Queen Mother Qi, confess her purpose to Xiao Kezhi.

Although there were many people with mixed eyes at that time, everyone's eyes should be on the Qi family, and she wouldn't care too much about her, the princess. As for Xiao Kezhi, the entire Tai Chi Palace is under his control, so there is no need to worry.

More importantly, as a princess, apart from staying in the East Palace, she has few opportunities to go out, let alone encounter Xiao Kezhi, or even have the opportunity to be alone with him.

Although there is only one door between the Taiji Palace and the East Palace, to her it is like a moat. It is really difficult to cross. She has to seize the few opportunities to see him.

But she was also faintly worried.

As a result, when I was in the Baifudian last time, I learned that Qi Chenxiang was going to perform a dance at the birthday banquet. This is obviously the reason why the Queen Mother Qi insisted on hosting this birthday banquet. At that time, I wonder if they will be watching Xiao Kezhi closely. .

Secondly, it was Xiao Yu. On the eve before leaving, he will not let her go easily. He still needs to think carefully about how to deal with it then.