The Gilded Cage

Now that he was still uncertain about what he wanted from her, he thought that he should keep her alive.
After all, he always had tremendous patience.

…

In the Palace of Eternal Spring, Xiao Yu finally woke up after hours of sleep.

Chu Ning kept watch in the palace after Xiao Kezhi had left.
When she saw Xiao Yu waking up, she quickly ordered a servant to bring a bowl of warm medicine.
She fed him the medicine herself.

“Your Highness, are you feeling better?”

She took a cup of tea from a maid and gave it to Xiao Yu to clear his palate.

Xiao Yu drank two mouthfuls of tea before touching his forehead and nodded, “I’m much better.
I’m fine, I was just tired from the past two days.”

He pulled away the blanket, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked, “What time is it?”

Chu Ning wet a cloth in warm water.
She used it to wipe his face as she answered, “It’s now night.
Would you like to have dinner?”

“Send in some steamed bread and flax porridge,” Xiao Yu ordered.

As the maid rushed away to fulfill his order, Xiao Yu suddenly seemed to recall something, and his gaze flashed.
He grabbed her wrist, pulled her closer, and asked, “I think someone was here while I was asleep.”

Chu Ning stopped wiping his face and placed the cloth in a bronze basin.
Then, she nodded and said, “Yes, Sixth Uncle, the Emperor was here.”

Xiao Yu’s expression turned cold at the mention of the word ‘Emperor’.

“Why was he here?” He pulled her into his embrace.
Although his body was weak, his grip was firm.
He stared at her, “What did he say to you?”

“His Majesty came to see Your Highness.” Chu Ning placed her hands on his shoulders.
Her movement was gentle but it was able to create some distance between them, “He said that a Crown Prince is important to the kingdom and that Your Highness should not worry.
He said that he was still unmarried and had no son, so the Crown Prince position remains yours…”

Her voice grew softer under Xiao Yu’s gradually darkening gaze.

“Will he let me remain as the Crown Prince?” He sneered and tightened his grip on her slender wrist.
“Does he think that I am a child, so easy to trick?”

“Your Highness does not believe it?” Chu Ning couldn’t help but frown at the slight pain on her wrists, but she was unable to free herself from his grip.

“You believe him?” He directed a sharp and interrogative gaze at her.

Chu Ning avoided his gaze.
After a moment, she managed to wrench her wrists from his grip.

“It’s not whether I believe him.
I just thought that he wasn’t joking about it.
Furthermore, you have the support of many courtiers.
You can’t be removed from your position easily.”

However, her thoughts were the complete opposite of what she said.
If it were her, she wouldn’t have let him remain alive but would have killed him long ago to prevent future troubles.

She didn’t know what the new Emperor was planning.
However, she was quite certain about one thing.
She knew that the new Emperor did not dislike her.
In fact, he seemed to feel something for her.

After two years of marriage, Chu Ning was no longer an ignorant girl.
She knew well the things that happen between a man and a woman.
She also knew that she was beautiful.
When her father was still alive, she was eagerly pursued by many young men.
Later, when her family was in trouble, many young noblemen sought to make her their concubine.

Her past self would have dismissed this notion.
However, going through tribulations had eroded her reservations.
Now, she was not shy to fight for an advantage for herself.

Still, that minor difference in Xiao Kezhi’s treatment towards her did not signify anything yet.
She still needed to consider it carefully.

“Heh.” Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes.
He observed her for a moment before slowly looking away.
“Even if he really agrees to not harm me, once he is married and has a son, there will no longer be a place for me here.”

At this moment, two eunuchs carried trays of food in.
They arranged steaming mutton buns, flax porridge, and a few side dishes on the table.

Xiao Yu did not ask any more questions.
He ordered someone to call Xu Rong over and sat at the table to eat.

Chu Ning usually ate very little at night, so she only had two spoons of flax porridge before kneeling beside Xiao Yu to serve him.

Soon, Xu Rong rushed over.
Xiao Yu asked Chu Ning to return to her room before closing the door to talk to him.

Xu Rong listened to Xiao Yu and considered for a moment.
He seemed as doubtful about the matter as Xiao Yu was.
“Your Highness, is there a hidden condition in this? Nowadays, any misstep could result in serious problems.
I believe that Your Highness should be careful and not take his words for it.”

Xiao Yu put down his silver chopsticks and said, “True, I definitely don’t believe that he can be so merciful.
However, no matter what his intentions are, we must not leave any weakness for him.”

“Does Your Highness refer what happened to the Assistant Director?”

Yesterday, the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Works was killed suddenly.
They all suspected that it was not a coincidence.
There were many courtiers whom after they or their family members broke the law, needed the Crown Prince’s help to escape punishment.
This led them to support him.

“Correct.
Tomorrow, you should go to the Ministry of Punishments and get Wei Shangshu to secretly check whether there are any records remaining.
Tell him to destroy whatever that can be destroyed.
As for the Censorate, get more people to observe the situation.
The Censorate is under Qimu’s control, so we shouldn’t interfere.
Just get people to turn over the previous impeachment papers and deal with everything properly.
Don’t leave anything behind.
I don’t want others to have a chance to use it as evidence.”

What Chu Ning said just now had reminded him.
If Xiao Kezhi wanted to weaken his supporters gradually, he needed a good reason.
There was no better reason than punishing courtiers who had broken the law.

Xu Rong wrote down Xiao Yu’s instructions.
Before leaving, he couldn’t help but stop mid-step and whisper, “Your Highness is still mourning, so it is improper for me to mention this now, but I have been thinking for a long time, and I still believe that I have to be frank.
In the past, many courtiers offered their daughters to you for marriage, but you rejected them all.
The Crown Princess remained your only consort in the past two years.
This was not an issue before, but now, the situation has changed.
Your Highness, if you wish to maintain the courtier’s loyalty, you should consider getting another consort once the mourning period is over.”

Xiao Yu looked at the wavering candle light and did not speak.
A long while later, he finally said, “You should leave first.
Let me think about it.”

Xu Rong regretted not receiving the answer he desired, but he did not dare to advise him further.
As such, he could only choose to leave.