The Gilded Cage - CH 110

Summoning Joys – The Emperor Summoned the Musicians and Singers to the Feishuang Hall (1)

Xiao Yu did not go to the appointment as scheduled, but went to Xu Rong’s residence instead.

In the small and simple house, the two officials sat opposite each other under the lamp, silent over a letter.

The letter was written by Zhao Lun, who was far away in Bozhou, with Zhao Lun’s seal as the general of the state at the end of the letter, and was carried by Zhao Yue’s maid to Xiao Yu wordlessly.

The letter was indeed the same as what Zhao Yue had said, that the two siblings intended to join the East Palace and help him to gain the throne.

Xiao Yu sat in silence for a moment, reached out to uncover the lampshade, lifted the letter to the fire and watched as the flames grew stronger and faster, devouring the letter paper and throwing it into the incense burner just as it was about to lick his fingertips.

“I’ve finished reading the letter. I wonder what Minister Xu thinks?”

As soon as Xu Rong heard it, he knew that the other was hesitant. He mulled it over for a moment and said softly, “Your Highness, this lowly one thinks this is a great opportunity sent from the Heavens to Your Highness. If you can hold the army in your hands, you no longer have to worry about being subject to the Emperor. You only need to plan carefully, just like the Emperor at the time of the death of the late emperor, and take Changan in one fell swoop.”

He had thought earlier that Second Lady Zhao had deliberately approached the Emperor, so she must have some hidden secrets. The Emperor’s nature was so unrestrained that he had no intention of accepting the Zhao family’s offer of friendship.

He knew that Xiao Yu was suspicious, so he thought about it and said, “The letter has General Zhao’s seal on it, and if we hand it over, the Zhao family will definitely die.”

Xiao Yu expressionlessly looked at the candlelight.

He naturally knew that the Zhao family did not dare to joke about such things. The crime of a general holding a heavy army privately befriending the Crown Prince with the intention of conspiring against the Emperor was no less serious than their four-way enemy in Bozhou.

Zhao Lun repeatedly hit a wall with the Emperor, so he was under the compulsion to stand on the crown prince’s side. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

It was Zhao Yue’s request that made his heart both unhappy and hesitant.

“How can a crown prince marry an impure widow? Besides, I already have a proper wife.”

Although he had moved to take a concubine, he had never thought of changing his wife’s status. A’Ning was his legitimate wife, and even if her family lineage were gone now, she was still the proper Crown Prince’s Consort.

Xu Rong heard, the Crown Prince was less repulsed by Second Lady Zhan and more unable to let go of Personage Chu.

But this opportunity could not be wasted. Although the identity of Second Lady Zhao was not worthy, the Zhao family’s military power was. In addition, if Your Highness ascended the throne in the future… who would be established as the queen? Would it not be Your Highness’s decision?

Xiao Yu’s face was solemn, rubbing the rough lines on the scroll with one hand, as if considering his words, and after a long time, suddenly asked, “But Zhao Yue has such an identity. If I rashly wanted to marry her, how can I avoid the suspicion of the other people? I’m afraid that the Emperor, and even the Empress Dowager, will not only disallow it, but will have doubts about it.”

When Xu Rong saw that he was wavering, he didn’t care that he hadn’t yet thought of a countermeasure in his mind and said, “Your Highness doesn’t need to worry about this matter, as long as Your Highness agrees, I will arrange everything properly.”

Xiao Yu looked at him expressionlessly and finally could not make up his mind, but got up and said, “Let me think about this matter more carefully. It’s late today, so I’ll go back first.”

Xu Rong replied and took the initiative to walk in front of him to guide the way, sending him to the carriage before he let out a long sigh and slowly straightened up to go back.

……

In the bedchamber, Chu Ning was sitting by the charcoal fire with a few maids to read a book with great interest.

The fire was filled with several round chestnuts, which were baked and rattling, emitting a rich and tempting aroma.

Halfway through the book, Cui He picked up one of the chestnuts with tongs and looked at it, saying, “Your Majesty, it’s ready!”

They giggled and brought hot chestnuts into the fruit plate, and when it cooled a little, they carefully peeled off the hard outer shell, revealing the yellow interior.

Chu Ning tasted one—powdery and sweet, but not overly so. Smiling and nodding, she let them eat together.

The Prince went out to the banquet today. According to the situation of the previous days, he should be very late to return, so the maids were not restrained, smiling and thanking, passing around the plate to share a large part of the food.

While they were giggling and joking around, pleasant string and wind instrument music floated in from the outside, seemingly from the direction of Feishuang Hall.

The maids stopped talking, looked at each other, and said, “This sound! I’m afraid the Emperor has called the musicians and singers to the Feishuang Hall again!”

The Crown Prince’s Tang is the closest to the Feishuang Hall. There was music clearly coming from there. In the past few nights, the sound of strings and woodwinds always came from Feishuang Hall.

“Somehow these days, there is that sound of music every day. Since the New Year’s Eve feast, the Emperor has become more unrestrained. Before, I had not heard of the Taiji Palace calling for singing and dancing.”

“Yes! Now, everyone says the Emperor is revealing his true nature. The past cleanliness, not entangling with women, is not true.”

……

Visit https://1 to read the latest updated chapters and novels.