The Gilded Cage - CH 106

In the Past, You Only Had a Bad Two Years, and It Will Get Better in the Future. (2)

Xiao Kezhi noticed her subconscious little movements. A smile flashed across his lips, and a feeling of being depended on by her also appeared in his heart.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

After a while, the horse came to a stop on a narrow, slightly elevated slope.

Xiao Kezhi rolled over with Chu Ning in his arms, tied the horse aside, and dragged her forward.

“Your Majesty, where are we going?” Chu Ning looked around and recognized that this should be a highland in the west of Lishan.

Xiao Kezhi smiled without saying a word, and took her on the slope that was not very wide, pushing aside a pine and cypress branch to go in. After a while, he arrived at a place with a wide field of vision. Looking around, he could see the entire Tangquan Palace.

“I have only been to Tangquan Palace twice before, but before that, I could only take a sneak peek at the place. After looking around more, I will know where it is easy to walk up, and I can see the best and most complete scenery.”

Chu Ning couldn’t help but take another step forward, unable to move her surprised eyes away.

Tangquan Palace was built by moving mountains and had a huge shape. Now it was sunny again after the snow, and everywhere was covered with a layer of white snow.

“When has Your Majesty been here? So familiar to this day.”

Behind Xiao Kezhi’s hands, his thick, straight body stood in the snow, blocking most of the cold wind for her, “For the past eight years, I have come every year.”

“The past eight years? Your Majesty was not in Ganzhou…” Chu Ning looked back at his profile in surprise.

“If you want to achieve something, naturally you can’t just be trapped in that closed place. Thanks to the obscurity over the years, other people have long forgotten about me, and I successfully entered the military camp so that I can walk outside unimpeded.”

Over the years, no one had taken him seriously. Even those who originally went to Ganzhou with him to monitor him left after only two years.

It sounded abject and ridiculous, but it was indeed giving him a chance.

“It’s a blessing in disguise…” Chu Ning didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or to be happy for him.

Xiao Kezhi looked at her, knew what she was thinking, and said solemnly, “I brought you here on a whim just to relax. People’s experiences are inherently determined, but the situation can be changed by one’s own actions. You’ve only had a bad two years, and you’ll get better in the future.”

After listening to his words, Chu Ning nodded lightly and took a deep breath, as if she had spit out all the stagnant qi that had accumulated in the past two or three years.

Compared with the hardships he experienced, hers were nothing.

“Okay, it’s almost time to go back.” Xiao Kezhi reached out to her and seemed to be waiting to hold her.

Chu Ning looked at the wide palm in front of her, stunned, and slowly put her small hand on it.

“Let’s go.” There was a smile on his lips, and he turned around and led her back to the horse.

In the Taoist temple, Zhao Yanzhou and several servants and guards had returned.

He saw that Chu Ning was riding with a strange man with extraordinary bearing. His face stiffened, but fortunately, he suppressed the horror in his heart. He did not show any strangeness, but stood in the same place and bowed.

He had seen those guards before and knew that the person who stayed with them in the Seven Saints Temple last night was the emperor, so he naturally guessed that the man with her was Emperor Xiao Kezhi.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be more frightened or sad.

“Your Majesty, the mountain road has been cleared and can be passed.” Jin Jiang knew the inside story long ago, so he was not surprised.

“Understood.” Xiao Kezhi said, holding Chu Ning down and adjusting the cloak for her, “You go first, I will leave later.”

Chu Ning immediately understood that he was trying to avoid suspicion and nodded immediately. After saluting him, she hurried to Zhao Yanzhou’s side and said softly, “Let’s go, it’s time to go back.”

According to Xiao Yu’s temperament, she was afraid that people would come to find her. If they encountered his bunch, it would be troublesome.

Zhao Yanzhou opened his mouth but swallowed down what he wanted to ask. He led her to the carriage and walked some distance along the mountain road until he could no longer see the shadow of the Seven Saints Temple, then went back the carriage and asked softly, “Your Highness, just now-”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was very clear.

There was silence in the carriage for a moment before Chu Ning’s voice came, “Brother, A’Ning once asked you, if I did something wrong, would Brother forgive me. Today, I did something wrong.”

Zhao Yanzhou was also quiet.

He understood that this was what she had done wrong – as a Crown Prince’s Consort, she secretly had an affair with her husband’s uncle, the current emperor.

This was a shameful thing that could not be tolerated in the world, and she would be ridiculed by countless people.

But could he blame her? He couldn’t.

He knew her intentions, and he had no right to accuse her of anything she did.

“I understand.” Bitterness and sourness flashed in his eyes, and he said softly, “As long as you are fine, Brother will not blame you.”

In the snow, there was only the sound of the carriage creaking and the horses treading on the snow.

“Thank you.” Across the curtain, her voice was low and choked up.

After a while, Tangquan Palace was approaching. Sure enough, a servant from the prince’s court came to him. When he saw the team, he hurriedly greeted, “Her Highness is finally back. The prince has asked this slave to look out for your return.”

“Understood, let’s go back quickly and not ask His Royal Highness to wait for a long time.” Chu Ning let them get up with a smile and immediately asked the driver to hurry up, but she didn’t feel excited at all.