The Gilded Cage - CH 103

Snowy Scene—You’re seven years younger than me. Aren’t you a little maiden? (1)

“Brother?”

Xiao Kezhi touched the back of her neck and repeated these two words meaningfully.

Chu Ning felt a thin layer of goosebumps underneath his rough palms. He couldn’t help but straighten his body forward, but it happened to move her closer to him.

“Yeah, he is my closest brother.” She blinked and looked at him innocently, as if she didn’t understand what he meant at all, so she had to ask him clearly.

Xiao Kezhi really did not want to mince his words, so he asked, “Do you have any other affection for him?”

The Chu family only had one daughter, Chu Ning, and Zhao Yanzhou was also surnamed Zhao. This “Brother” was probably just a cousin. It was not uncommon for cousins

to be childhood sweethearts and have secret feelings.

“What do you think, Your Majesty?” She put her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

His face was expressionless, but the dark light in his eyes shone, and his voice was firm, “I thought you did not, and naturally I hope this as well.”

Chu Ning stopped joking and looked at him earnestly. She comforted softly, “He is an elder brother, like a real elder brother.”

There was no love of the type between men and women, only brotherhood.

Xiao Kezhi’s expression slowly softened. He was not a distrusting person, and since she said so, he naturally no longer had any doubts.

But this time, Chu Ning was a little surprised and even a little skeptical.

“Is Your Majesty not angry?”

She had said this to Xiao Yu a long time ago. Xiao Yu responded with a nice face but still committed a travesty against Zhao Yanzhou.

Everyone knows that women were small-minded and jealous, but weren’t men just the same?

“You’ve made it clear, so of course I’m not angry.” Xiao Kezhi turned around, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her to rest her head on his chest. The tension in his tone was indeed gone. “Why, you don’t believe me? I don’t even mind that you are married, so would I doubt myself because you have a cousin?”

Chu Ning was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled. He was a prince who had been neglected as a child, so who knows how he was raised so confidently. Maybe this was the grace of a natural ruler.

The warmth in her heart expanded, and she was not in a hurry to fall asleep. She simply leaned back into his chest and explained the fact that her cousin was raised by her parents when she was young. When she mentioned his talents, her tone was regret and distress.

“…He was named a child prodigy at the age of fourteen by some disciples. Such a proud young man should have a bright future, but he was wasted by the affairs of my family.”

Xiao Kezhi listened very seriously and then gradually remembered that he had indeed heard many years ago that a young cousin in Chu Qianyu’s family was talented, so it turned out to be this one.

“It’s really a pity. Obviously, he could have entered the Hanlin Academy, but now, he can only manage the general affairs in the East Palace.” He also knew a little about Xiao Yu and understood that all major events in the East Palace were presided over by Xu Rong, a butler. Although Zhao Yanzhou was also of high position, he rarely showed up and was not known to most people.

However, thinking of his nephew’s temperament, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart, “With such a talented person, and him being close to you, can the Crown Prince tolerate him?”

“Naturally he can’t tolerate it.” When she mentioned this, her eyes became darker and darker. “He paid… a lot in order to stay in the East Palace.”

She wanted to speak out about the prince’s private punishment of Zhao Yanzhou, but it was a matter of human dignity, and she didn’t want to expose her brother’s pain in front of others.

Xiao Kezhi didn’t ask any further questions. There weren’t many methods to deal with a man who made people feel uneasy. He could guess it after only thinking about it.

Sure enough, it was his nephew who was generous and tolerant on the face, but sinister and vicious on the inside.

He hesitated suddenly. Before, he wanted to treat her well, and when she slowly realized his goodness and became as willing to step out bravely as he was, he would take her away from the prince. But every time he got to know her more, he would also know more about how much damage the prince caused her.

He was a little reluctant to let her continue to live the depressing and fearful life that she used to be.

“Do you care about fame?” He put his arms around her, stroked her back gently, and mentioned it inadvertently.

If he brought her back to the harem, gossip was inevitable. He naturally didn’t care, but if she cared, he would have some scruples.

Chu Ning thought for a while, then shook her head and said, “I’m already like this, how can I care about that anymore? Now, I just want to prove my father’s innocence.”

She didn’t even want dignity, so why would she care about reputation?

Xiao Kezhi looked at her with complicated eyes, as if he wanted to get to know her thoroughly, and after a long time, he said, “I understand.”

No one was born to disregard their reputation. He didn’t care because he was used to it for many years. If he was too swayable, he would not have been able to make it to today. But she was different. She was a woman of good background who faced a dilemma.

Many people knew that the case of Chu Qianyu was a misjudged case, and no one believed that he would really do those abhorrent things. Even though he was convicted, there were still many courtiers who admired and mourned him very much.

Under such circumstances, she still wanted to restore her father’s posthumous name, which showed that she cared, but the situation she faced made her have to give up.

He was superfluous.

Since she cared, he would endure it for a little longer. If he acted in a hurry, he would put her on the cusp of the storm and risk her being attacked by countless rumors.