The Gilded Cage - CH 108

The Night Visit – He Really Had Her in His Heart (2)

Xiao Kezhi deeply respected and cared for his mother’s only relatives, she knew, but apparently, Duke and Madam Lu treated him with more awe than affection. His usual unsmiling appearance was probably too frightening.

“Madam, you and Duke Lu, and Guo’er, are related to the Emperor. Since you are relatives, what words cannot be spoken politely? The Emperor only looks cold-faced. He actually cares about your family very much.”

Madam Xu listened and slowly remembered that after Changan, the Emperor had taken care of their family in many ways, although maybe not so much vocally, but enough to inspire familiarity. If they still did not dare to speak honestly, it indeed seemed a bit strange.

“Your Highness makes sense…” She smiled gratefully, with admiration in her eyes, “Your Highness is truly a thorough person. When we see the Emperor, we dare not breathe too loudly. How can we be like Your Highness, so knowledgeable of the Emperor’s intentions?”

However, when she finished speaking, she thought of the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor and felt that she had said the wrong thing, so she hastily shut her mouth and looked over carefully.

One was the Emperor, the uncle, one was the Crown Prince’s Consort, the niece-in-law. How could they understand each other?

Luckily, Chu Ning naturally changed to other topics and did not seem to keep it in mind.

……

On the other side , in the Feishuang Hall, Xiao Kezhi returned from the court, bathed and dressed, and ordered the scrolls of politics he had to read today to be brought.

After being busy for a long time, he only had time to sit down at this time.

He did not hasten to put pen to paper to read the scrolls, but rather drank a mouthful of tea, summoned Liu Kang, and asked, “Earlier you said that someone from Lady Chu’s household had come, what was the reason?”

Liu Kang said, “Don’t worry, this slave had people take care of it in advance. No one said anything.”

Xiao Kezhi nodded his head, but his knitted brows did not loosen. The Crown Prince’s distrust was so heavy, no wonder he couldn’t amount to much. Once upon a time he only felt some negative emotions, but now that he was with Chu Ning, he began to feel uncomfortable for her.

He pondered for a moment and quietly made a decision in his heart before he loosened his frown.

“Well, let’s not talk about this, I heard that news came from the south today too, call Jin Jiang over.”

Liu Kang answered, not long after that, Jin Jiang came.

“Tell me, how is the situation in Bozhou?”

Jin Jiang bowed his hand, then took out a sealed letter from his sleeve and presented it, saying, “Five people have been selected from the local clans, and they are now serving in different official positions. They are only waiting for Your Majesty to decide who can take the position of General Zhao.”

Xiao Kezhi opened the letter, recorded several names one by one, and browsed through their biographies, pointing out three of them, asking, “Have you found out their family backgrounds?”

Jin Jiang nodded, “Already checked, they will be sent along with the Ministry’s files.”

“No, the Ministry of Justice… do not touch them for the time being, so that no one will notice.” Xiao Kezhi put the letter away and instructed, “Check their family backgrounds first. If someone in the family has committed a crime, how they are dealt with is very important. In addition, we need to have someone to keep an eye on them for two months to write down their daily administration and military training. Then, I will make a decision.”

The number of troops in Bozhou is huge, and they were on the southern border, so even if Nanzhao and the other border countries were all small countries, they cannot be taken lightly.

“Understood.” After Jin Jiang answered, he reported two more things about the city defense, and then withdrew.

Xiao Kezhi organized the things at hand and asked Liu Kang: “Is there anything unusual at Second Lady Zhao’s place?”

He warned Zhao Yue a few days ago. If she were upset, she might make a move.

“Replying to Your Majesty, Second Lady Zhao has been claiming to be sick for the past few days, shutting her door and not doing anything else. Except that, the day before last, General Zhao from Bozhou wrote her a letter, and she had someone send the reply.”

As for what was written in the letter, well, that was probably the happenings of the past few days.

“Hmm. I’m afraid Zhao Lun has already noticed that someone is secretly investigating in Bozhou, so we have to keep a closer eye on it.” Xiao Kezhi nodded and said, “What about the Qi family?”

“The Empress Dowager seems to be interested in having Minister Qi write a letter to persuade Your Majesty to get married and establish an empress. In these few days, Minister Qi has started to contact the ministers in the court. According to this situation, by the middle of February, they will jointly submit a letter.”

“Hmm.” This was to be expected. He did not ask more questions but talked about other things.

“The Secretary of the East Palace named Zhao Yanzhou… I heard that his articles were very good. Not only are his words clear, but he can also critique current problems. Go find two of his past articles for me to read.”

He loved talent, regardless of origin, and listened to what Chu Ning said. His sympathy and pity for Zhao Yan Zhou naturally deepened a few points, and if he were really a real talent, he would not hesitate to promote the other in the future.

Liu Kang looked at him and went out without a word. He understood that the Emperor was not just toying with the lady from the East Palace but really had her in his heart.

……

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