The Gilded Cage - Chapter 175

Pregnancy (3)

When they rested, it was already midnight.

The curtain beside the bed was slightly closed, and after the waiter delivered the water, towels, etc. to the desk beside the bed, a wide hand stretched out from the curtain, took the towel that had been watered dry, and retracted it again.

Because of this movement, the curtain undulated slightly, revealing the spring light within.

The servant desperately lowered his head, while complaining in his heart to Chief Supervisor Liu who had arranged him to watch the night, while not daring to stay for a moment, he quickly walked out of the hall and closed the door again.

“Your Majesty, I’ll do it…” Chu Ning half-closed her eyes, turned her back and lay on her side, took the hand towel from Xiao Kezhi, and wiped it off.

Xiao Kezhi didn’t object either. He just lay down behind her with his head propped up, his eyes fell on her curves, wandering a little bit admiringly.

It was so easy for the two of them to deal with it properly. Chu Ning wanted to fall asleep, but remembering what she had said to Cuihe during the day, he regained consciousness. He stretched out his slender index finger and stroked Xiao Kezhi’s chest once and for all.

“Why, aren’t you tired?” The candles had already been extinguished, and the surroundings were pitch-black, but Xiao Kezhi grasped her fidgeting little hand with extraordinary precision, squeezed it in his palm, and kneaded, “It turns out that you are getting more and more cunning!”

“Your Majesty, I’m so tired!” Chu Ning hurriedly laid her head on his chest, rubbing against his chest, begging for mercy softly, making his heart feel so comfortable, “I just have something to say. When Your Majesty came back, I was never allowed to speak.”

“Well, let’s talk. I’m listening. I have to listen to every word that A’Ning says.” Xiao Kezhi changed his posture so that she could fit perfectly in his arms while stroking her long hair.

Chu Ning laughed, poked the tip of his nose, and said, “It’s no big deal, but today I met Cuihe and asked her about her marriage. Your Majesty also knows that General Jin is interested in her, but Cuihe still has some concerns.”

As she spoke, she shared Cuihe’s words.

“Someday, I ask Your Majesty to mention this to General Jin again. I don’t think Cuihe was unintentional, but she has too many worries, and she is always afraid of dragging me down. If this matter can really be accomplished, she will be spared any regrets in the future.”

Xiao Kezhi listened, nodded, and said, “Understood, I will mention it to Jin Jiang in just these two days. His temperament is also a boring gourd, and when he meets a lady he likes, he doesn’t know what to do.”

Chu Ning glanced at him and said with a half-smile, “General Jin is an honest man.

He had been with His Majesty for so many years, but he had not learned the slightest bit of coaxing skills from His Majesty. ”

“You mean I’m dishonest?” Xiao Kezhi felt it when he heard this and hurriedly tried to find out from her, “I’m an honest person just like him, and I only know how to do practical things.”

“Your Majesty? Why didn’t I see it? When Your Majesty was in front of me, he was clearly very good at talking, and it made me almost confused.”

“You are different.” In the darkness, Xiao Kezhi’s cheeks were inexplicably hot, and his eyes were also shining when he was staring at her closely, “Maybe I was born to be husband and wife with you. When I am in front of you, I don’t have to do anything. What I said in the past was by no means coaxing you, it was all sincerity.”

Listening to what he said, Chu Ning seemed to think of many things.

She wanted to say that it was only two years since she met him, but she felt as if she had met him a long time ago in her previous life. She obviously didn’t say anything, didn’t understand anything, so she was willing to believe him.

She also wanted to say that every time he came in front of her, he lost the majesty and sternness he had when he was outside, and his solemn face was full of smiles as if he was very good at talking. She saw all these.

But in the end, when the words came to his lips, it was just “I know.”

In the darkness, the two hugged each other quietly, and no one spoke for a long time until Chu Ning was about to fall asleep in a daze when she heard a low sigh in her ear again.

“A’Ning, I am very pleased that you are willing to fight for the people around you.”

Chu Ning closed her eyes and smiled, and said in a daze, “Your Majesty taught me to fight for myself. Now, I want others to learn too…”

…

On the second day, the soldiers from Ganzhou also arrived in Changan in anticipation of countless people.

Xiao Kezhi was overjoyed. Not only did he take Chu Ning to meet him at the city gate, but even before Liu Jiping entered the city, he promoted them to official ranks, which drew cheers from the onlookers.

Next, with a few days left before New Year’s Eve, Xiao Kezhi personally received all the soldiers, big and small, in the Taiji Hall, and listened to them talk about their experiences on the battlefield one by one.

Among these soldiers, he had some impression of most of them.

After all, after staying in Ganzhou for more than ten years, even though the Ganzhou Army had hundreds of thousands of people, he patrolled the camp several times a month, and he could still remember those familiar faces with his excellent memory.

Letting them talk was also a way to let the courtiers and officials not slack off.

More than half a month later, it was New Year’s Eve, and the New Year’s feast was held in Liangyi Hall.

During the day, Xiao Kezhi met officials and envoys from various countries in the Taiji Hall, accepted congratulations, and distributed rewards. In the Qianqiu Palace, Chu Ning accepted congratulations from the female officials of the Sixth Bureau and the wives of Changan City, and also bestowed new year gifts.

The empress is the head of women, and the furnishings of the Qianqiu Hall were similar to the Taiji Hall, just like a lesser-regulated imperial court, ordering women and female officials to be arranged in an orderly manner.

At night, the emperor and empress went back to Ganlu Hall to change clothes for a while and then took each other to Liangyi Hall for a banquet.

In the hall, all the officials, envoys, and wives had already sat down and were chatting with each other with laughter. Seeing the emperor and empress enter, they got up and saluted one after another.