The Gilded Cage

In the side hall of Feishuang Hall, Xiao Kezhi sat on the couch with no expression expression and closed his eyes and rested. The upper half of his face happened to be covered by a shadow, making people unable to see the emotions, only the corners of the tight lips showed a little Awe-inspiring and coercive.

He held a small silver sachet that had been extinguished and cooled by his hand. Next to the sachet were several knuckle-sized silver carbon strips, which were found from Zhao Yu'e.

"Everyone, people are here." Liu Kang's voice came from the door, and then two strong servants came in with Zhao Yu'e, who was described as embarrassed.

Zhao Yue's hands were tied, her hair was messy, her clothes were no longer as exquisite and tidy as before, and her reddish eyes were filled with anxiety and anger. However, a bunch of coarse cloth was stuffed in her mouth, not to mention her usual beauty.

She was pushed forward and staggered two steps forward. Because she couldn't move her hands, she knelt down in front of the couch without checking.

The candlelights on both sides were flashed and flashed by the wind brought by her dress, and the scene in the room was also extinguished.

She couldn't help but look up at the man on the couch.

He did not know when he had opened his eyes, and was looking down at her, his eyes cold and waveless, as if a ruthless iceberg was weighing down.

"You are very courageous. You crossed the boundary several times. I ignored it, but still didn't give up. I even dared to make this thing today."

The things on the couch were thrown in front of her eyes, and the spherical silver sachet was instantly divided into two halves from the middle, and the incense ash in it was scattered and fell on the ground.

Zhao Yu'e stared at the messy ground, the original anxiety slowly cooled, leaving only stubbornness and confusion. She wanted to speak, but because of the coarse cloth in her mouth, she could only stare at him silently with her eyes.

She knew that the matter had been exposed and could no longer be restored, so she simply did not make senseless struggles.

"Why, have something to say?" Xiao Kezhi met her gaze, not seeing too much happiness or anger, only reached out his hand and pulled out the coarse cloth from her mouth, "I will give you a chance."

Zhao Yu'e didn't show any timidity at all. Once he was free, he straightened up and said simply: "Yes, Yu Niang has something to say. Yu Niang would like to ask your Majesty, why others can but Yu Niang can't? Is Yu Niang not enough? Beauty, is not gentle enough? Or, your Majesty dislikes Yu Niang and widowed her father? Yu Niang does not ask for her majesty's love, she only asks for a place in the Tai Chi Palace, why does her majesty refuse?"

The "others" she said were naturally the unidentified woman she saw on the racecourse last time, and it was precisely because of that woman's appearance that she gave birth to the thoughts of tonight.

There was a hint of surprise in Xiao Ke's eyes.

He had seen this Zhao Erniang's temperament a little earlier, and she was probably also a very assertive and bold woman. Looking at it today, it turned out to be so, even more direct than he thought.

But somehow, when he looked at this rather colorful woman in front of him, another woman flashed in his mind uncontrollably, and that woman was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom.

Suddenly he wanted to ask himself why he had the same scheming and didn’t ask for anything from him, but his attitude was completely different. He was calm and self-sufficient and unwavering when confronted with one of them. But when confronted with the other, he was already messed up. Mind, body can't help it.

This is about his miasma.

He seemed to be no longer interested in her words, slowly looked away, and said indifferently: "Who do you think I am? But as long as you are a woman, should you refuse to come? The woman I like, she is the lowest slave girl It’s okay. What I don’t like, even the goddess in the sky is useless. Do you understand?"

Zhao Yu'e bit her lower lip, her eyes hurt a bit.

She understood. It had nothing to do with beauty, identity, or personality. He just didn't have the slightest interest in her.

This is about the words that hurt her self-esteem the most in her 20-odd years of life.

In the past, many of the noble girls in Chang'an City had laughed at her from a family of military commanders, but she never lied about herself because of this. She always felt that it was just because she was not tall enough. When everyone is stepping on her feet, no one will dare to despise her like this.

She was born beautiful and had a bold and straightforward temperament. No man would ever ignore her like this. Today's words really embarrass her.

"Your Majesty, Yu Niang is the wife of the Zhao family. Looking at the entire Great Liang, she can be compared with her Majesty’s Ganzhou Army. Only the Bozhou Army in the hands of her brother Yuniang. My Zhao family has been operating in Banzhou for many years. For Your Majesty, it’s a big one. Help, why does your Majesty refuse?" She gritted her teeth and continued to ask.

This time, Xiao Kezhi suddenly smiled.

He stood up from the couch with his hands behind his back, and when he stood in front of her, he appeared more burly and sturdy.

"Compared with the Ganzhou Army? I'm afraid it's just the wishful thinking of outsiders."

He has been in the army for many years, and the Ganzhou army has been trained by him to become an invincible team that can block the cavalry of Beirong several times his own. It is not an exaggeration to call them the copper and iron walls of the frontier.

As for the Bozhou Army, perhaps it was comparable to it twenty years ago, but now in Zhao Lun's hands, he can only use the terrain to block Xiao Xiao Nanzhao.

However, in recent years, the DPRK and China have rarely focused on the military, and most people are unaware of the changes.

In his tone, there was an undisguised look of attitude, and he seemed to be indifferent to the large number of Bozhou Army, which made Zhao Yu'e feel terrified.

His tone became more and more meaningful: "Besides, who owns the Bozhou Army, doesn't it matter to me? If your Zhao family is so useful, why are you so eager to approach me?"

At this time, Zhao Yu'e froze completely, looking at him pale, unable to say a word.

"Okay, let's do it for today. Next time if you don't know how to measure, I will send you directly to Dali Temple torture prison, so that your brother will come back from Banzhou to see you. Do you understand?"

He did not intend to punish Zhao Yu'e severely today. First, he really looked down on this woman's tricks, and his own face didn't look good because of the trouble. In the past few days, he has attracted a lot of discussions about women, so he really doesn't need to provoke himself. Secondly, the candidate who can succeed Zhao Lun has not yet been determined.

Zhao Yu'e gritted her teeth and stared at him nervously, but she didn't dare to ask questions directly like just now. He could only nodded with a blank face, let him let people come in, and again escorted her out of Feishuang Temple.

His words made her wonder. He knew her brother's situation in Bozhou a long time ago, and even her father's relationship with Nanzhao had also been found out.

At this time, humiliation and injury are no longer important. If he really knows, then their Zhao family can't be long anyway.

…

In the sleeping hall, Chu Ning slept for more than half an hour before waking up in the dim silence.

The inner room was empty, only a solitary lamp flickered on the candlestick beside the screen.

She got up from the bed sideways, hugging Jin's sore arms and waist, waiting for her thoughts to slowly return.

She had no idea that she would sleep for so long in a completely unfamiliar bedroom and full of the breath of a man.

When I was with Xiao Yu in the past, she would always tidy up afterwards and force herself to go back to her room to sleep. Xiao Yu was suspicious. Although he married her, he still slept alone every night, not worrying about sleeping with anyone. It just so happened that when she was by his side, she was always very tight, not daring to relax, so happy to have the opportunity to relax alone.

If occasionally he stayed with her to sleep with her, she would have slept extremely shallowly at night, and she would return to her room to make up for sleep only when he left the next day.

Tonight is a bit abnormal.

She smiled helplessly, thinking that the trace of thoughtfulness that Xiao Kezhi had before going to bed made her dazed. After all, no one else had treated her like this.

The dress of the maid had been taken away, and the original dress of the princess was folded by the bed. She brushed the long hair behind her head, put on the clothes inside, and put on a slightly wider sleeved shirt, and then stepped barefoot on the ground.

There is also a Tangquan tube under the sleeping hall, which warms the ground.

She stood in a daze for a moment, saw the bright lights outside, and walked lightly.

On the couch outside, Xiao Kezhi was looking at the scroll under the light, holding a pen in his hand, and writing a series of notes from time to time. The whole person was under the bright yellow light, and his concentrated appearance made people unable to move his eyes.

She stood by the screen and stared at him silently, somehow she suddenly remembered that it was New Year's Eve today.

She remembers that when she was young, every New Year's Eve, her father went to the palace for a banquet, no matter how late, he would rush back to stay with her. Later, when she got older, she was able to attend the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace with her father, but her father still insisted on taking her home to reunite with relatives and taking her to worship her dead mother.

At that time, New Year's Eve was a warm and tender day for her. As long as she thinks about it, she will feel happy.

But later in the East Palace, Xiao Yu didn't like this day when the monarchs and ministers gathered together to celebrate the whole world.

He didn't want to see the empress dowager Qi condescending, nor did he want to see how the first emperor and his concubines were enjoying themselves, nor did he want to see himself forced to be humble and submissive in front of them. On this day, he always pretended to laugh and socialize with everyone, and when he returned to the East Palace, he returned to his gloomy side.

Therefore, the whole East Palace did not dare to have any cheerful and loose atmosphere.

The New Year's Eve of the past two years, in her memory, was like a winter night with snow outside, cold and lonely.

Today is different-it's not touching, warm, or even a little thrilling, but it's unique enough.

"Wake up?" Xiao Kezhi, who had never looked up, had discovered her existence at some point, and asked in a deep voice while writing.

"Yes."

Chu Ning replied, hesitated for a moment beside the screen, and suddenly knelt down before the book table, lowered his eyebrows, and said: "Aning has something to say, please allow your majesty."

Presumably expecting what she was about to say, Xiao Kezhi's hand holding the pen tube tightly tightened silently, but did not stop, and only said lightly: "Let's talk, today, I agreed."

Chu Ning was dressed in plain clothes, his back straight, his eyebrows lowered, and said: "Your Majesty once asked Aning why he deliberately approached him several times. Aning does not ask for it-Your Majesty already knows it."

As she said, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes again, and continued: "Aning wants to ask your Majesty to clear the unreasonable charges for Aning's father and criminal minister Chu Qianyu, and pay him back. An innocent."

Without waiting for him to ask again, she explained how she discovered the truth and learned that Xiao Yu was the culprit clearly and without any concealment.

She thought that when she talked about these things, her emotions would be difficult to hold on her own, but now she really said it, but she felt a sense of relief. The pain, hatred, depression, grievance, and helpless emotions were temporarily worn away from the sharp thorns. , Was wrapped up in a calm attitude.

In front of him, she finally didn't have to pretend to herself anymore, and finally she was able to reveal the most secret side.

Now, she just waited for his answer.

"I beg your Majesty to answer Aning's request." She slowly bowed and bowed, with a calm and sincere tone. Although it was a plea, she did not see humbleness or embarrassment.

Xiao Kezhi on the couch didn't speak, but the pen tube he was holding in his hand for constant writing had stopped unknowingly, and the ink dripped from the pen tip, fainting a ball of ink on the paper.

"You're going slanting and doing all this for your father?" He still stared at the handwriting on the book, his tone was flat, making people confused.

"Yes, for the sake of my father, I am willing to do anything."

She answered decisively, without hesitation, and finally caused him to look up and stare at her with complicated eyes.

"What about yourself?"

How much have you thought about yourself and how much have you fought for?