The Gilded Cage

In the side hall, Chu Ning was forced to lie on Xiao Yu's chest, feeling the strong alcohol scent that filled his nasal cavity, and couldn't help but put his other hand between his chest, wanting to sit up straight again.

However, Xiao Yu vaguely felt her struggle, and the hand holding her wrist became harder, and the whole person also subconsciously rolled over, pressing half of her body underneath.

"A Ning..." He called her name faintly. Although he didn't listen to the call, he still subconsciously pressed his head to her neck and couldn't help but rub it up.

"His Royal Highness, don't—" Chu Ning couldn't help frowning, pressing against his chest, but was completely unable to push him away.

Although the light in the room was dim, she was still very afraid of being discovered by him.

Fortunately, after a while, there was a knock on the door in the room, and Cuihe's cautious voice sounded: "Your Highness, the sober soup is here."

"Come in!" Chu Ning endured the discomfort and shouted first.

The door was pushed open and closed again, and Cuihe walked to the side of the couch carrying the hangover soup, not hesitating at all because of the situation on the couch.

"His Royal Highness, it's time to use the sober soup." Chu Ning tried his best to soften his body, turning his face and whispering softly in his ear.

The air-conditioning coming in from outside seemed to make Xiao Yu a little awake. He frowned uncomfortably, turned over and lay back with difficulty, Chu Ning and Cuihe together helped him to sit up, and fed the sober soup spoonfuls into his mouth.

He just drank a lot of wine at the banquet but ate less food, so he became more drunk. After drinking half a bowl of chaos, he accidentally choked, and there was a water stain on his chest.

Chu Ning summoned the two servants in and took off the robes on Xiao Yu's behalf. Only the obscene clothes and trousers in it made him lie down again and covered with the silk quilt.

The light in the room was turned off again, and he lay on his back, and quickly fell asleep with his eyes closed.

The gentle breathing sounded extremely long in the silent room. Chu Ning looked down at him for a moment and confirmed that he had really fallen asleep. Then he stood up and walked outside with Cuihe.

"Lady, the maidservant told the supervisor." Cuihe's eyes flashed a little nervously, and her voice was extremely low. "The supervisor asked the lady to go to the third side hall inside the Yiqiu Gate to the west. go with."

Chu Ning's heart jumped when she heard it, and she subconsciously turned around and looked at the inner room. Seeing that Xiao Yu was still asleep and didn't feel anything, she calmed down a bit.

She bit her lip, and adjusted the clothes and buns that had been tangled and messy just now. She took a deep breath and nodded and said: "I know, you are here for me. If your Highness wakes up, he Said my bracelet fell on the road."

Cuihe responded, thought for a while, and said, "Lady, be careful."

Chu Ning nodded, took off the bracelet on his wrist and put it in his sleeve, turned and opened the door, and the two servants who rushed to the outside instructed: "His Royal Highness is asleep, I am afraid it will take an hour to wake up. You will take off the clothes you just took off. Send it back to the East Palace for pulp washing, and then send a clean set. Also, remember to have some congee prepared for your highness to use when he wakes up."

The two of them did not suspect that he was there, and after responding one by one, they hurried to the East Palace.

There was no one outside, and the surrounding area suddenly became empty and lonely.

Although it is not far from the main hall, it does not have the same cheerful atmosphere.

Chu Ning paused, and walked to the west along the path alone.

…

In the main hall, Qi Chenxiang finished the dance, consciously not making any mistakes, the guests were also extremely enthusiastic, and they were a little bit joyful in their hearts, but when they looked at the main seat not far away, they no longer saw Xiao Kezhi.

Her heart sank, and she barely kept a decent smile to greet the guests before coming down from the high platform. When she saw the maid next to her, she whispered: "Why don't you see the saint?"

When she went there to look first, Xiao Kezhi was clearly still sitting there, but how could there be no shadow in this moment of effort? Thinking of looking for Erniang who had just met, my heart suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"The saint... The saint said that he is tired, and I have to go to rest..." The maid said with some difficulty, considering the words. "However, the saint said that the lady danced extremely well, and he gave a hundred gold to the lady as a reward."

After she said, she hurriedly held the neatly paved golden frog in front of her eyes.

Qi Chenxiang cast his eyes down and glanced, the joy that had just disappeared.

The most indispensable thing in the house of princes and nobles is gold and silver treasures. Even if he praises it in person, it is more delightful than rewarding this hundred gold.

"Take it away."

She had a faint expression, no longer looking at these golden golden frogs, but swept her gaze over the seats of the female relatives.

The banquet was still arrogant and laughed constantly, but a familiar figure was missing alone.

Zhao Yu'e is gone.

Qi Chenxiang frowned, and after searching it twice, he couldn't find it. He couldn't help asking, "Where is Erniang Zhao?"

The maid was taken aback for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, her face suddenly paled: "After the maid saw the saint leaving, Zhao Erniang also left..."

Qi Chenxiang was silent for a moment, didn't change his dress, turned and walked towards the side hall.

Zhao Yu'e hadn't left for a while, and she called two servants along the way to ask questions, and she quickly found it near the west side hall.

I saw her sitting on the edge of a curved corridor with a bright light hanging above her, which happened to be on her. She held her forehead with one hand, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was a little drunk. It was clearly the cold season of late autumn and early winter, but she took off her outer robe, leaving only the thin dress inside. A few feet away, Qi Chenxiang could You can clearly see the alluring gully with her chest exposed under the lamp.

And not far to the north of the corridor where she was, Liu Kang was standing outside a side hall with two servants. The door of the side hall was closed tightly, and the bright yellow candle light was on, which was undoubtedly the place for Xiao Kezhi to take a break.

Qi Chenxiang's eyelids twitched, and her usual demeanor was almost unsustainable.

With this appearance, who knows what idea Zhao Yu'e made? It is nothing more than waiting on the emperor's necessary path for the reason of being drunk, so as to take the opportunity to "encounter" and do something, just like the previous behavior on the street, bold and disgusting!

Qi Chenxiang has always been dignified and self-sufficient, and he didn't put Zhao Yu'e like a girl from a family family in his eyes, but now he is consciously provoked and is very angry.

She was young, she was not as calm as her aunt, the Queen Mother Qi. She stood there and endured and endured, but she couldn't hold back, and said with a solemn face, "Madam, what's wrong with this cold weather? Sitting alone on the porch blowing hair, what if the wind chills out?"

Zhao Yu'e slowly sat upright when he heard the words, and looked at the deliberately drawn eyes with a smile but a smile: "It turns out to be the Liu Niang of the Qi family. Today is the birthday feast of the Queen Mother. I only returned to Chang'an. I haven't been so happy for a long time. I inadvertently drank a few more glasses, and I was a little drunk at the moment, so I drank a drink here."

She was clearly prepared very well, everything from her hair bun to clothing was carefully selected, and even her pink cheeks made it difficult to tell whether she was blushing or she was really drunk.

Qi Chenxiang was still a young girl who hadn't come out of the pavilion, and she had never seen such bold and explicit behavior in the past. When she felt uncomfortable, her cheeks were also quietly flushed.

"There are so many empty temples. If you are really drunk, why not enter the house and rest, but you want to stay where the saint's foot is?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Liu Kang not far away.

Liu Kang was still standing far away, and he didn't know if he hadn't noticed the strangeness here, or he didn't want to blend in with it at all.

Zhao Yu'e smiled, and was not annoyed when she saw her insisting on making things clear. She only asked the maid on the side to pass the heavy robe over her body, but the front was still not closed.

"Since Lady Qi wants to clarify what she said, I won't go around the corner." She stood up from the corridor and walked to Qi Chenxiang step by step, looking down from the slightly higher angle of her stature." What the Qi family means, no one in the ruling and the opposition should know it. Don't worry, I am not stupid and will not hinder your way."

Qi Chenxiang was startled, and she didn't understand what she meant for a while.

Seeing her stunned look, Zhao Yu'e couldn't help but smile, and a few sneer flashes in her eyes: "It's just that you need to be in the back of the family. As for other things-you can't be too greedy. You can't be too greedy. Guarding a woman, there are countless beauties in the Sannomiya and Six Institutes, I ask for a name for myself, isn't it too much?"

When the voice fell, Qi Chenxiang was blocked for a long time and could not speak.

She knows that this is true, since she wants to marry the emperor, she should not expect to be the only woman in the harem in the future. But even so, the fact that she was exposed face to face still made her feel embarrassed.

Moreover, the attitude of the saint is still unclear at the moment, everything is just an arrangement between the queen mother and her father, and she has not yet become a queen, she is already facing the provocation of other women!

All this made her feel hurt.

She took a deep breath, and reluctantly sneered: "But the lady will not be widowed soon, and she will do such a shameless thing before the filial piety period. Isn't she afraid of outsiders laughing? Everyone says that the second mother of the Zhao family is greedy for power and position, but does not abide Women’s morality, I didn’t believe it before, but today I know that the rumors are true!"

"I just told the queen mother about the filial piety period. After Cheng Lang went, I returned home. Now I am the daughter of the Zhao family, so I don’t have to keep filial piety. As for the rumors—" Zhao Yu'e also put a smile away and stared coldly. She said, "How am I greedy for power? If your Qi family does not love power, why do you need to marry a saint? What if you don't observe the virtues of women? You should ask the queen mother, the women who guard the virtues of women in the palace, they all went in the end. where."

She was born in a high class, and because she was a martial artist at home, she was often underestimated by others, and the unwillingness in her heart had been accumulated for many years. She admits that she is greedy for power and position, and has always wanted to go high since she was a girl. When she first chose the Cheng family, she also took a fancy to their family. She hoped that Cheng Lang could make a steady progress in the DPRK in the future. Who knows that Cheng Lang is weak. The incompetent mediocre person, wasted her years of youth!

Now that she is back in Chang'an, it coincides with the new emperor's ascendance. She will never let go of this opportunity. If she succeeds, she will not only be able to keep her elder brother, but also the Zhao family, but also a favor for herself.

"You!" Qi Chenxiang had never argued with people like this before, and was flushed with anger for a while, and could not speak for a while.

Zhao Yu'e glanced at Liu Kang, who had frequently frowned not far away. She knew that if she stayed here today, she would be embarrassed, so she didn’t wait any longer, she just closed her clothes like a smile, and left a sentence. After "each according to his ability", he turned and left.

A cold wind blew by, and the palace lantern hanging on the eaves of the gallery shook slightly, and the dim yellow light illuminated Qi Chenxiang's face flickering and dimming.

She stood there in silence, and only left with a calm face and the maid after a while.

…

In the moonlight, a mottled bamboo shadow rustled left and right under the cold wind.

Chu Ning stood in the darkness for a while, until Qi Chenxiang's back completely disappeared from his sight, and then gradually recovered.

Just when she came over, she saw the confrontation between Zhao Yu'e and Qi Chenxiang. Because of the distance, only a few words can be faintly heard, but even so, it is not difficult to guess that the reason for the two people to argue is nothing but Xiao Kezhi.

A damp chill oozes out of the temporarily withered grass and trees, slowly invading, and she can't help but shiver.

In the door behind Liu Kang not far away, the bright yellow candlelight was still burning quietly.

She couldn't tell what it was like in her heart right now, so she could only keep reminding herself that this path had been taken, and she couldn't look back.

However, just as she took a deep breath and tried to straighten her back toward the door, she suddenly stretched out two powerful arms behind her, clasped her waist tightly, and dragged her into a tree. Behind the towering giant tree.

With a sudden heartbeat, she struggled subconsciously to call for help. One of the big palms on her waist had moved up quickly, and she covered her mouth and nose before she shouted.

The palm was broad and powerful, covering most of her face at once, and the thick, rough calluses could not help rubbing her cheek because of her struggle.

"Say what?"

A familiar rough voice came from her ears with a scorching breath that could not be ignored, and then her back was completely taken into a strong embrace.

It is Xiao Kezhi.

Chu Ning's body stagnated, and his struggling movements slowly stopped, allowing the man to hold it in his arms.

Xiao Kezhi felt the change in her and couldn't help but chuckle, let go of the hand covering her nose and mouth, slowly sliding down her chest, stroking heavily, and the bridge of the nose near her neck did not live near her earlobe. Rubbing.

"Enough of the play just now?"

Chu Ning glanced at Liu Kang who was still standing outside the door of the house, and then he realized that there was no one in the house. Xiao Kezhi had just stood behind him and watched for an unknown amount of time.

She endured the heat and itching from time to time around her neck, bit her lip and whispered softly: "This is what you should ask your Majesty."

There should be no man who will not feel happy when two women are arguing for themselves.

Xiao Kezhi chuckled again, bit her chin with his teeth momentarily and momentarily, and said vaguely: "I only saw my impure niece hiding in the shadows of the trees. I don't know if I have to do something shamelessly. Thing."

He deliberately waited for her here.

Originally wanted to wait for her to knock on the door to enter, and then look at her expression when she found no one in the room, but after waiting for a long time, and the beauty was close at hand, he suddenly couldn't help appearing and dragged her into his arms. in.

This woman has made him scratch his heart and lungs for so long, and now she is holding her in her arms, but this moment of time has made him too hot to hold her back.

"Didn't your majesty let Aning come?"

Chu Ning was half-softened by his movements, but still barely maintained his composure. He turned his head when he heard the words, and stared at him with a pair of innocent and clear moist eyes.

The sound of clothing rubbing intertwined with the sound of grass and trees rubbing together, as if to ignite a fire in early winter.

Xiao Ke turned her around with one hand to face him, and his deep eyes looked at her pure white skin and delicate and moving facial features through the bright moonlight inch by inch, and finally fixed his gaze on her full red lips.

His Adam's apple rolled slightly, pinching her slender neck with one hand, forcing her to look up at him, and said with a smile, "When did I let you come?"

She flapped her long eyelashes, and the wetness in her eyes was like the mist of autumn night, which made her heart tremble in the dimness. His full red lips opened, and he slowly uttered a soft word: "Your Majesty doesn't want to know why my niece and daughter-in-law want to approach me on purpose?"

Xiao Kezhi sneered, but didn't answer, only slowly let go of her, turned and walked towards another room.

Chu Ning did not hesitate, followed him silently, and followed him step by step into an empty side hall.

The hall was pitch black, and only moonlight was drenched by the window. After the two servants came in silently and lit a lone lamp, they slumped their heads and exited.

The moment the door closed gently, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became ambiguous under the warm candlelight.

"His Majesty-"

Chu Ning wanted to tell the matter first, but he stopped talking before speaking.

"Hush—" He leaned close to her eyes, pressed against her forehead, and pressed an index finger lightly on her lips, staring at her with a certain degree of certainty in his eyes, "Now are you willing to confess with me?"

Chu Ning's eyes trembled, she nodded slightly, and said Chu Chu: "Niece-in-law dare not deceive Your Majesty."

The two plump red lips were opened and closed, rubbing the pad of his index finger, exhaling warm breath from time to time.

He gritted his teeth, stood up slowly, and gave her a push, pushing her back against the door frame.

"If you want to say it, you have to see if I want to listen." He slowly unzipped her clothes, with a bit of mockery and hatred in his eyes, as if he wanted to talk about the pain of being rubbed by her in the past these days. Come back, "Now, I don't want to listen to you."

After that, his index finger picked up her collar and flicked aside.

As soon as the originally tightly wrapped dress slipped down, what was revealed was a different kind of obscene clothes.

I saw that the clothes were half-length and not long, and the upper end was hung from her thin shoulders by two thin ribbons, which could be covered from the chest to a few inches above the knees, and the waist was even more deliberately tightened and outlined The narrow and soft lines, from top to bottom, wrap an exquisite body just right, and the half-covered style is even more vivid.

The dim candlelight reflected on the silk robes, illuminating a piece of smooth and soft. Chu Ning bit her lip and turned her back, revealing another world-a large piece of fabric was cut off from the back of Xie Yi, which happened to show her smooth back in front of his eyes, while covering the part of her right hip. On the skirt, there is an elegant and graceful lotus flower embroidered on the skirt.

Xiao Kezhi's muscles tightened all over her eyes, and her eyes were red. He pressed one hand on the door frame above her head, and the other hand took off her hair and threw it aside with distracted steps.

Cloud-like long hair poured down, covering half of his spine, bringing bursts of fragrance.

In the dimness, she turned her head to look at him faintly, a little golden flower on her eyebrows gleaming in the candlelight, like a goddess descending to the earth, trapped in the world.

"The temptress."

Xiao Kezhi gritted his teeth and felt that the string in his heart was completely broken.