The Gilded Cage - Chapter 126

Not Scrupulous – He Was Now More and More Reckless. (3)

“Tired again?” Xiao Kezhi patted the cheek of the beauty in his arms, his tone was full of ridicule and insatiable, “It’s only one hour. I see you are lacking in drills.”

Chu Ning half closed her eyes, stretched out her fingertips, and gently poked his strong and hard arm, dissatisfied, “Your Majesty is treating A’Ning like a sergeant in the barracks! This kind of drill, every time, makes A’Ning too tired to crawl, maybe for the rest of her life.”

Somehow, Xiao Kezhi listened to “her life” in her mouth. He felt a touch of sweetness, along with the already satisfied and pleasant mood, and became happier and happier.

“Time is still long. There is always time for you to adapt.”

Calm for a moment, Chu Ning gradually felt a coldness from the sweaty back, could not help but burrow towards his arms, remembering the incident just now, and could not help but say, “Your Majesty replied to the Empress Dowager like that just now. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate?”

She knows that Xiao Kezhi was not afraid of the Empress Dowager, but the Qi family was deep-rooted. If he rashly offended them, it would always bring trouble.

“No need to worry. I have the right measure.” Xiao Kezhi smoothed her hair, and said carelessly.

The actual fact was that he was not unaware of the Dowager’s intentions, but he had been busy tidying up the former dynasty and had not yet freed up his hands for the time being.

Chu Ning saw him with a clear mind, so had no more questions. She then relayed everything Xiao Yu and Xu Rong said to her a few days ago.

Xiao Kezhi listened carefully, and when she finished, asked, “How did you respond?”

“The Crown Prince is suspicious and would never let me go, so I disagreed first, and when Squire Xu asks me to give up my position as the Crown Prince’s Consort, I’ll simply ask His Majesty to allow me to enter a Daoist temple and become a nun, okay?”

In this way, the prince may think that she just has grievances. Becoming a nun was also considered to be free from all the secular world’s titles, so she would naturally no longer be one of his concubines.

Xiao Kezhi understood her intention and nodded, “Good. If you can be calm, that’s good. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

Chu Ning let out a low “mmm”, already sleepy.

“A’Ning, sleep here today, alright?” He asked quietly close to her ear.

Chu Ning, who had already narrowed her eyes, first subconsciously nodded her head, and then, as if she had reacted, suddenly rose up against his chest and shook her head, “No, the people of the East Palace will find out.”

The subordinates got up early; if she returned to the East Palace early tomorrow morning, it was likely to be discovered.

Xiao Kezhi’s heart panged, but he also knew that this was too risky, and did not say more, instead directly carrying her upright and putting on her clothes for her..

This time, the action of dressing her has become more proficient, but with those accessories, he seemed to still be fumbling up.

“I’ll do it.” Chu Ning watched his movements. Even her sleepiness was gone, and she couldn’t help but to reach out and take it over.

“No, I’ll do it.” He stubbornly refused to move aside.

Chu Ning could not do anything about it and had to wait patiently, and from time to time tell him how to put on those bracelets, finger rings, jade pendant, and necklaces. It was a long time before he was done.

“His Majesty has been crowned for several years. These years in Ganzhou, how come there is no wife around?”

She couldn’t help but ask the words she had been wondering about for a long time – even if he didn’t care about a wife, why didn’t he even have a concubine?

Xiao Kezhi paused, looked at her expression through the bronze mirror, and slowly said, “Why should there be a concubine?”

“His Majesty, in the end, is an Imperial son, at first in Ganzhou. It is also the prince’s dignity, which a noble man will for so many years have been alone…”

She remembered the first time she was with him in this Ganzhou Hall, his rawness and haste.

“Others are others, I am me, and if I don’t see someone I like, I will naturally be alone.”

He answered simply, no taboo or concealment at all.

It was Chu Ning who was frozen by his words.

She had seen the Changan noblemen, except for her father and a few older upright uncles who only had one wife at home. Almost everyone else had more than one concubine, and even taking people home was not enough, many of them also have courtesans, outside the house, and more than one.

She thought they do not have many emotions for those women. It was just the impulse and pleasure of the moment.

The fact that he said this was another way of telling her that he really liked her.

Her heart twitched, and for a moment she felt a complex taste.

“What are you thinking about?” He pinched her soft earlobe and put a delicate earring into the tiny ear hole, “If you wander off like that again, I won’t let you go.”

Chu Ning couldn’t help but shrink towards the side, hiding her lips and smiling to avoid his move to kiss her, and went straight to the outer room to open the door. “Okay, A’Ning is going back.”