The Gilded Cage - CH 93

Love – You Are Not Willing, You Just Accept Your Fate. (1)

What Xiao Kezhi recalled was his mother, who had died in the Taiji Palace many years ago.

He was the son of a palace maid, unloved by his father, unaccepted by his adoptive mother, and even his brothers and sisters looked down on him.

Only his birth mother loved and protected him wholeheartedly.

In order to let him live in peace for the rest of his life, she devoted almost all her efforts, even before her death, to sending him away from the snake den that was Changan.

When he was young, he was very grateful to his mother. But later, he gradually grew up and matured. When he looked back on the past, he felt more guilty.

When his mother was an ordinary palace maid, she lived a hard life, but she was carefree, ordinary, and happy. But after having him, she never lived a day for herself.

She spent the rest of her life living for others.

He didn’t think it should have been like that.

Now, facing the woman kneeling in front of him, he had the same idea.

He had seen too many people living for others and having long forgotten what they wanted in the first place. He didn’t want her to be the same.

“Myself?”

Chu Ning knelt on the ground and repeated it in a low voice with a bit of confusion flashing in her eyes. Her resolve became firm again quickly, and she said, “I, of course, want to live. But I want to clear my father’s name. For my father, I can let go of anything.”

She just thought he was testing how determined she was, so she answered decisively.

But a trace of disappointment flashed through Xiao Kezhi’s eyes.

She was a tough girl, forced by circumstances to put away her original innocence and beauty. Until now, she seemed to have lost herself.

She thought this was selfish, but in fact, she didn’t know how to think about herself, fight for herself, and naturally she didn’t consider the feelings between men and women…

“Of course you will live.” He shook his head gently, staring at her with complicated eyes, “If I don’t let you die, you won’t die.”

“Your Majesty means…” Chu Ning’s eyes flashed, thinking about his words carefully, almost daring to think that he meant to help her.

Xiao Kezhi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his disappointment was gone.

He stretched his hand over the desk in front of him, and the pen in his hand touched her chin and lifted it gently.

“Tell me, what does your father have to do with me? If you want me to help a dead ‘sinner’, what will you give me in return?”

Chu Ning stared blankly at his eyes, and a thin layer of mist appeared in hers.

This sentence seemed to be frivolous, but it was enough to make her feel at ease and even dream.

She bit her lower lip lightly, lowered her head, and bowed obediently to the ground, voice trembling but tone firm. “Anything according to Your Majesty’s instructions.”

As long as he said it, she would give everything, and she would not hesitate.

Xiao Kezhi stared at her exposed slender and white neck for a moment, then laughed lightly, slowly got up from his seat, walked in front of her and leaned over. He supported her up with one hand and held her cheek with the other, making her look up at him.

Looking into her eyes, he enunciated word by word, “I want you to leave him and be with me.”

When his voice fell, Chu Ning didn’t say anything for a long time. She just stared at him blankly, unable to discern the feelings in her heart.

The “him” naturally referred to Xiao Yu.

She didn’t expect this to be his request at all. Could it be that he had other thoughts about her?

This idea appeared, but she immediately denied it.

He was the emperor who held the power of life and death. She was his niece-in-law, and she was a bad woman who was shameless, did not know how to hold back, and was deeply scheming. How could he have affection for her?

It wasn’t the first time he said such a thing, but she couldn’t believe it at all.

Her status fell down overnight. The experience of everyone’s contempt made her unable to believe that there were people in the world who would be kind to her for no reason. Instead, it was direct exchanges that made her feel more at ease.

She lowered her eyes and said softly, “As long as Your Majesty has an Imperial decree, A’Ning will obey.”

Uncles and nieces-in-law, whether in the common people or in the royal family, would not be tolerated by the public. But as long as he didn’t care about his reputation, she would never care either.

“Will you be willing?”

“I will be willing.”

She spoke calmly, but Xiao Kezhi did not show a satisfied look.

“No,” he frowned and shook his head with some disapproval in his eyes, “You didn’t do it willingly. You just accepted your fate.”

This was not the “willingness” he wanted. What he wanted was that she could truly treat herself as a complete person, and that she could take the initiative to fight for what she wanted.

He stretched out his hand and gently covered her heart, conveying a warm and powerful touch to her, “What I want is willingness. It should be you who comes to me with your own initiative, not for anyone else, but only for yourself.”

Since she wanted to achieve her goal by fair exchanges, he would go along with her.

He could no longer escape the strange feelings he had for her in his heart.

He liked her, loved her, wanted to have her, and wanted to keep her by his side for a long time.

But he didn’t want to force her, and he didn’t want the relationship between the two to be so cold and clear. If he directly promised her, then he would become the same as the crown prince who married her when she fell into the quagmire and took advantage of her like that.

“Your Majesty, I—” Chu Ning was confused by what he said. She wanted to ask something, but couldn’t ask anything. She only felt a little sour and shocked.

“Okay, it’s almost time.” Xiao Kezhi pulled her up, rubbed her thin shoulders, and said, “It’s time to send you back.”

As he spoke, he summoned a palace maid to come in to redo her clothes and hair while he sat on the side and stared at her silently.

There was silence in the air. Only the sound of the swishing of fine cloth and the sound of the hairpins being picked up from the case, put on, and lightly colliding with each other could be heard.