The Gilded Cage - Chapter 132

Taoist Temple – What a Day It Is (2)

“Send someone to keep an eye on Eunuch Zhao.” He put down his hand, opened his eyes to face the glaring light, and ordered coldly, “Also pay close attention in Chuzhou, and manipulate the situation when necessary.”

Chuzhou was where the young masters of the Chu family studied.

Xu Rong bowed in response, and his heart gradually relaxed. The prince was still clear after all, and he was not blindly bewitched by the Chu family. The more this was the case, the less his mind would be disturbed by meaningless trifles.

“Speed up the Zhao family deal.” After a while, Xiao Yu had recovered his former appearance. Except for his strange pale face, he looked gentle and refined.

He didn’t have many paths to choose, so he could only follow the path in front of him. The sooner the better.

…

In the TaiJi Palace, under the guidance of the servants, Chu Ning walked through the Shenlong Gate, entered the back garden, and walked in the direction of Guizhen Temple.

Cuihe followed her, the luggage in her hand was nothing more than a treasure box and a small parcel, as if she were just going out for a day or two.

Along the way, some palace servants who didn’t know about it called her “Your Highness” and bowed to salute her. She smiled, patiently explaining to them one by one, “I am no longer the consort, so I don’t need you to salute me.”

The servants all showed surprise on their faces, but they didn’t dare to ask in detail. They could only watch her walk by and discuss quietly behind her backs.

The Guizhen Temple was on the west side, and they led her to turn around and walk up a narrow and winding pebble path.

She saw a girl with a maid walking towards her, dressed in a goose yellow skirt, beautiful and generous, steady and dignified. It was Qi Chenxiang.

While walking, Qi Chenxiang listened to the maids beside him, her face didn’t look calm as usual, but she could not hide her surprise. She was in a daze with downcast eyes and didn’t notice Chu Ning’s appearance. She didn’t come back to her senses until the maid beside her gave a signal.

“You…” She stopped, frowned and looked at Chu Ning’s plain dress, “I heard that you are going to Guizhen Temple.”

She never liked Chu Ning.

In the past, when Chu Qianyu was still there, the girl from the Chu family was the most sought after in the capital. When the sisters in her family talked about Chu Ning, they always had a bit of envy or even jealousy. Naturally, she didn’t like Chu Ning either.

Later, when something happened to Chu Qianyu and Chu Ning was in trouble, marrying the crown prince Xiao Yu made the separation from the Qi family even more clear.

But today, when she entered the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, she heard that Chu Ning had asked to give up her position as wife and practiced in a Daoist temple just because she had been married for two years and had done nothing.

It was clear that she was also a noble daughter of a family sought after by thousands of people, even if she fell into trouble later, she shouldn’t be so weak and spineless!

She looked at Chu Ning’s pitifully small luggage, and the disapproval in her eyes became clearer, “How can you let yourself fall into such a situation? You don’t even have a way out!”

Chu Ning was stunned by her question, for a moment she didn’t know why she looked at her with such disapproval, but after thinking about her current situation, she gradually realized.

Others didn’t know about her, let alone Xiao Yu’s true face. From their point of view, she, the consort who left voluntarily, was probably a pitiful and deplorable weak woman. After leaving her husband, she will have nothing.

It’s just that Qi Chenxiang, who had always been generous and decent and can’t make mistakes, would be such a proud person who couldn’t tolerate sand in her eyes, which was much different from the Empress Dowager Qi.

She paused, then showed a gentle smile towards Qi Chenxiang, “Thank you, Sixth Lady for your concern. I am very satisfied to be able to reach this day.”

Before that, she didn’t even dare to imagine that she could leave Xiao Yu so smoothly, but now the only thing she cared about was her father.

Qi Chenxiang looked at the other’s humble personage, felt very disappointed in her heart, and couldn’t help shaking her head, “Forget it, you are so weak. No wonder you can’t make your life better. No matter how much others worry about you, it won’t help.”

She didn’t waste any more words, nodded slightly, and left with the maid.

Chu Ning stood there for a while, looking at her back, and felt that today was the first time she truly knew the other.

After a while, the servant led her to Guizhen Temple.

The wing room in the temple has been tidied up. After the nuns came to see her, they all went back.

She stayed in the room with Cuihe and listened to the servant’s explanation, “The furnishings in the lady’s house are all supervised by Eunuch Liu personally. The clothes in the cupboard, the jewelry in the dowry, and the usual expenses are all prepared. It’s all right.”

As the servant said, he took her for a walk around the small courtyard, looking around everywhere.

Sure enough, there were many exquisite clothes stacked in the cupboard, some were gorgeous and some were plain and elegant, and they were no worse than what she had in the East Palace.

These seemed to be arranged by Xiao Kezhi after he learned that she was going to leave the prince.

She looked at it carefully, thanked him solemnly, and after sending him away, picked out a blue lotus-colored large-sleeved shirt that was closest to other nuns. She sat down before the bronze mirror, let down her hair, and put her hair in the severe buns of nuns.

The hair accessories, which were the same as men’s, made the originally gentle and graceful face look a bit heroic.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she suddenly felt as if an invisible mask that had been worn for two or three years had been removed from her face.

Her eyes were shining. Her spirit was flying high. She was clearly wearing the most simple clothes, and she even took off all her usual jewelry, but she was vivid and eye-catching when she looked around.

“My Lady…” Cuihe watched from behind, and her eyes suddenly turned red.

Chu Ning smiled, and said in a low voice, “Don’t cry, what a day it is.”

As long as Xiao Yu remarried, she would really have nothing to do with him.

Cuihe tried to stop crying, but a few tears still slid down her cheeks.