Chapter 13
The cold wind blew slowly, the night was as cold as water, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse above the head, and pieces of clear light fell on the eaves and roofs, as if covered with a light layer of frost.
Xiao Yanxing stood in the courtyard, looking quietly above his head.
This is Chang'an.
Xiao Yanxing has not spoken a word since entering the city. He sat in the carriage and listened to the bustle of people outside, merchants hawking, children playing, such a lively and prosperous scene, all telling He, he arrived in Chang'an.
But he never thought that as soon as he entered Chang'an, he would enter the Yongning Palace.
Because of Xie Lingyu's instructions before leaving, He Lanfang did not dare to neglect him.
After parking the carriage, He Lanfang personally took Xiao Yanxing to the front yard to rest. However, he did not dare to arrange Xiao Yanxing into the main yard, so he could only temporarily find a side yard to accommodate him.
Fortunately, although Xie Lingyu has not been in the palace for a long time, the front yard of the palace has long been without its owner.
But the maids did not dare to be lazy and still kept the yard clean and tidy.
They hadn't had dinner yet, so Helan sent someone to prepare meals for them.
That's why Xiao Yanxing was able to stand alone in the courtyard. He was wearing a dark round-collared robe with a long body, and the belt tied around his waist was extremely narrow. The cold wind passed through the courtyard, and the sleeves of his robe were flying. There is a kind of cool and immortal appearance that is independent from the world.
Until a flickering palace lantern gradually approached from a distance.
The candle in the palace lantern was swaying in the wind, as if it could be extinguished at any time, but it stubbornly led the lantern holder until it was in front of him.
He looked at the girl who appeared in front of him. Under the clear moonlight, her dark eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of light mist. They were so bright that he could clearly distinguish the faint smile in her eyes.
Xie Lingyu was indeed smiling. She held the lamp and looked at Xiao Yanxing.
The girl's anxious voice then sounded: "Mr. Sir, are you waiting for me?"
At this moment, a trace of unbelievable absurdity appeared on Xiao Yanxing's face, as if he didn't expect that she would say such a thing.
But his rare and vivid expression pleased Xie Lingyu.
She smiled even more, as if she had found something interesting and could finally take the opportunity to laugh.
Just at this time, He Lanfang rushed back with a food box.
Xie Lingyu had ordered Xiao Yanxing to enter the house secretly, so He Lanfang personally brought the food box.
As soon as he appeared and saw Xie Lingyu, he immediately said: "I have met His Highness."
Xie Lingyu glanced at the food box in his hand.
He Lanfang explained: "Xiao Langjun hasn't had dinner yet, so I went to the dining room to get him some food."
It turns out he wasn't waiting for her.
After listening to this, Xie Lingyu showed no trace of embarrassment on his face.
Instead, she tilted her head slightly: "It turns out that your husband has never eaten, and I happen to be the same, so why don't we eat together?"
Hearing this, surprise flashed across Xiao Yanxing's eyes.
Earlier, this young highness had clearly gone into the palace to meet her mother. Why did she not even have a meal for her when the mother and daughter met?
"Your Highness, how can you condescend to someone of high status," Xiao Yanxing said lightly.
Xie Lingyu blinked and looked at Xiao Yanxing: "Are you disgusted with the meals at Prince Yongning's Mansion?"
These words really choked Xiao Yanxing.
His original intention was that Xie Lingyu had a distinguished status and should not condescend to eat with him, but she misinterpreted it to mean that he felt that the meal was not good enough.
Xiao Yanxing said quietly: "That's not what I meant."
"Then let's go together." Xie Lingyu had an easy-going attitude and didn't seem to mind at all.
He Lanfang, who was standing beside him, was holding a food box and was stunned for a long time.
However, Xie Lingyu suddenly turned around and asked, "Can you bring some wine?"
"Never," He Lanfang said.
"Go get a pot of wine. The moonlight is beautiful tonight, so you should have a few drinks," Xie Lingyu seemed to be in a good mood.
But the two maids standing behind her had a little worry on their faces.
But I couldn't say anything to dissuade him.
Finally, He Lanfang handed the food box to Chunxi and went back to the dining room to get wine for Xie Lingyu.
Xie Lingyu entered the room and saw Qingfeng packing things in the back room. She glanced at it and said, "The residence here seems a little small. Why don't I have someone clean up the yard again."
"This place is very nice. Your Highness, don't bother," Xiao Yanxing declined politely.
Xie Lingyu thought for a moment and nodded: "This is the courtyard closest to the main courtyard. If you live here, it happens to be close to me."
Chunxi and Tinghe were opening the food boxes and taking out the meals and placing them on the table. When they heard His Highness's words, they subconsciously glanced at each other.
They all knew that His Highness had a special regard for this husband, but they did not expect that it would be to such an extent.
Xiao Yanxing felt inexplicably blocked.
It was as if he was not born to reject this Highness, because she always found a way to make him speechless.
After a while, Chunxi and the others put the meal on the table by the window. A charcoal fire had already been lit in the house. It was as warm as spring, so the windows were half open and they didn't feel cold.
After He Lanfang brought the wine over, Xie Lingyu waved his hand: "Okay, I don't need you to wait on me anymore. Let's go and have a meal."
"Your Highness, this servant is not hungry," Tinghe dared to leave like this.
After all, His Highness cannot be left alone.
However, Chunxi looked at Xie Lingyu, gently tugged on Tinghe's sleeve, and finally pulled her out.
When the two of them went outside, they heard He complain softly: "Why did you pull me out? How can there be no one around Your Highness to take care of you?"
Chunxi was older than her after all, so he reached out and poked her forehead: "You idiot, you didn't realize that His Highness deliberately pushed us away."
"On purpose?" Tinghe was confused.
Chunxi glanced inside and lowered his voice: "Your Highness just wants to be alone with Xiao Langjun."
ah?
Tinghe was about to turn around and look at the window lattice, but Chunxi grabbed him and walked out of the courtyard.
*
When everything was quiet, only the two of them were sitting by the window. A cold breeze blew into the room. Xie Lingyu reached out to pick up the wine glass and poured it into the glass in front of her.
The clear wine is in a sky-blue cup, and the candlelight falls on it, swaying gently.
She raised her head and handed the wine bottle to Xiao Yanxing opposite.
The other party was silent for a moment, then reached out and took it.
But just as Xiao Yanxing poured the wine into the glass, the girl opposite had already raised her glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Cough cough cough.
A series of uncontrollable coughs overflowed from Xie Lingyu's mouth. A thin blush instantly appeared on Xie Lingyu's cheeks, which were like tender peach petals blooming in spring, bright and lovely.
Seeing this, Xiao Yanxing hesitated for a moment, and then persuaded: "If your highness is not good at drinking, you can drink slowly."
Xie Lingyu gently pinched the wall of the cup with her fingers, and turned the wine cup gently under the light. Her fingertips were crystal clear. She lowered her eyes and looked at the cup. The last time she drank was a cup of poisonous wine.
It was the same that day. She drank it without giving herself a chance to regret it.
The girl seemed to be deep in thought. Xiao Yanxing did not disturb her, but just sat quietly across from her with lowered eyes.
Until Xie Lingyu looked up at him, resting her chin on her palm: "I haven't asked yet, do you have a name?"
Xiao Yanxing didn't expect that she would ask this question. He raised his eyelashes and saw the girl opposite him. The loose cuff of the arm holding his chin gently slid down, revealing the skin on the wrist that looked like white jade, which was even more beautiful in the light. It's a dazzling glistening white.
He pursed his lower lip slightly before saying slowly: "The elders in the family gave me a word of farewell."
"Goodbye," Xie Lingyu said these two words softly, in a slow and slow tone, as if he had tasted it carefully, and then said slowly: "I will call you goodby from now on."
It's not that no one has called Xiao Yanxing by name, but the girl's overly sweet voice seems to have put a layer of honey on these two words.
Xiao Yanxing lowered his eyelashes: "If your Highness is willing, just call me like this."
Xie Lingyu picked up the flask again, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it all in one gulp.
This time, even Xiao Yanxing could see that this young highness, even though he was smiling and laughing from beginning to end, was deeply worried.
But why should he pry into such a noble person's thoughts?
On the contrary, it will lead to unfounded speculation.
Xiao Yanxing made up his mind to use the Yongning Palace before the Spring Festival to keep a low profile in Chang'an, so he would naturally not commit the taboo of not repenting.
To say that the two of them drank together, it would be better to say that Xie Lingyu poured the wine for himself.
Xiao Yanxing only drank two glasses, and she had already drank four or five glasses, and the blush on her cheeks became heavier and heavier.
"Why do you think people are partial?" Xie Lingyu looked at him with her head slightly tilted.
At this moment, under the flickering lights all around, the girl's apricot eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of water, and her eyes were filled with innocence and ignorance.
Xiao Yanxing was stunned for a moment, and said in a calm voice: "The five fingers are still different in length, not to mention the human heart, which has its own preferences."
Xie Lingyu suddenly laughed when he heard this: "Yes, there are many things in this world that people can't figure out, such as why some people are so partial to outsiders."
This statement means something.
Xiao Yanxing still didn't ask further questions. There were some things he shouldn't have asked.
But the girl in front of her, her innocent and clear eyes just now, seemed to be hiding unspeakable grievances. The water gradually gathered in the corners of her eyes, seeming to be on the verge of collapse.
Xie Lingyu took a deep breath, as if to relieve his emotions.
But in my mind, what just happened in the mother's courtyard resurfaced again.
When she was about to drive Zhang Hanning's maid out of the palace, before Zhang Hanning could show her aggrieved expression, Concubine Han was the first to get angry. She looked at Xie Lingyu angrily: "What are you going to do? On the first day after returning to the palace, , do you want to disturb the peace of this family? The punishment for your servant's mistakes is just that, why should you drive people out of the house?"
In fact, that's all. What really made Xie Lingyu laugh was the last sentence she said.
"You drive the maid next to Han Ning out of the palace and let her live in the palace in the future."
In the end, Concubine Han didn't care about a maid. What she cared about was that Xie Lingyu expelled Zhang Hanning's maid from the house, which was a step on Zhang Hanning's face.
She was afraid that Zhang Hanning would not be able to hold her head up in front of the palace servants in the future.
As the saying goes, if parents love their children, they will have far-reaching plans.
Looking at it now, Concubine Han cares so much about Zhang Hanning, Xie Lingyu seems like an outsider.
But in the past, Xie Lingyu might have given in in order to win her favor.
But now she has no longer expected to receive such illusory care.
Now that he has returned to the palace, he should let everyone know who the real owner of this palace is.
Therefore, she made her decision until the end and never changed her tune.
Seeing how strong she was, Concubine Han didn't know how to turn around. In the end, she was so angry that she ordered her to be kicked out on the spot, saying that she suddenly had a splitting headache. She refused to let her have a meal and asked Xie Lingyu to go back and rest early.
She is obviously her biological daughter whom she has not seen for several years, but she is not as good as an outsider.
What Xie Lingyu never understood in his previous life is still something he can't see through now.
Fortunately, now that she has seen through this early, she does not have so many unreasonable expectations.
"I have lived in Shangyang Palace for a long time. Others say that my mother and concubine took an outsider back to the house to be with me because she missed me too much. But now that I am back, why does she still prefer others so much."
There was a hint of drunkenness in the girl's originally clear voice.
She seemed to be a little drunk, and she unknowingly expressed all the grievances in her heart.
After saying that, she said to herself again: "Do you think I care too much about this?"
It's just that this girl's grievance made Xiao Yanxing feel a little strange and excessive.
Even though he was as resourceful as a demon and had the ability to make every plan, he never imagined that the person opposite came here at night because of this incident.
"Your Highness has a noble status and deserves to be loved by all."
Xiao Yanxing raised his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him, with gentle comfort in his eyes.
After hearing these words, Xie Lingyu's beautiful almond eyes flashed twice, and she raised her pink lips: "Ci'an, you are so kind."
It was just a word of relief that wasn't too careless, but it actually made her feel happy from the bottom of her heart.
Even Xiao Yanxing was touched by this overly beautiful smile.
*
When Chunxi and the others came back from dinner, they watched the time and prepared to go back to the courtyard to wait in case His Highness asked them to wait on them.
As a result, when they arrived at the courtyard, they saw Xiao Yanxing arriving at the door. They looked relieved and said, "His Highness is drunk. Please help His Highness go back to rest."
Upon hearing this, Chunxi quickly took Tinghe into the room.
They looked at Xie Lingyu lying quietly on the table, as if he was fast asleep.
While he breathed a sigh of relief, he was also a little embarrassed.
"Tinghe, support His Highness with me," Chunxi ordered.
But as soon as they stepped forward, they wanted to help Xie Lingyu up one by one, but the sleeping girl seemed to be broken from her sweet dream. She was so irritable that she waved her arms to open the two of them.
Chunxi had no choice but to call out in a low voice: "Your Highness, my servant will help you go back and have a rest."
But Xie Lingyu did not respond.
However, Xiao Yanxing, who was standing aside, saw this and asked: "There is a Buyu in the mansion, why not ask someone to carry it and take His Highness back to the courtyard."
Chunxi was embarrassed: "That's fine, but if I call someone here in the middle of the night, the concubine might know about it tomorrow."
Forget about other things, if a living young man like Xiao Langjun is here, if people know that His Highness is drinking with such a handsome young man here in the middle of the night, wouldn't there be some criticism.
Besides, His Highness had a little dispute with the Dowager today.
Chunxi was afraid that the concubine would use some excuse to cause trouble tomorrow.
"Your Highness," Chunxi called again, and she whispered: "It's time for us to go back. How about my maid ask someone to carry the baby boy."
This time Xie Lingyu seemed to hear it. She opened her eyes in a daze, but her eyelids were as heavy as a thousand pounds. In the end, she just muttered: "Just say good-bye and see me off."
Farewell?
Chunxi and Tinghe instantly focused their attention on the only man in the room at this moment.
But even Xiao Yanxing, who was involved, couldn't help being surprised.
This young highness seemed to trust him a little too much.
"Xiao Langjun, how about," Chunxi saw His Highness giving such an order, and after much thought, she actually felt that this was a good idea. She whispered, "Please carry His Highness back."
Xiao Yanxing lowered his eyes and looked at the girl lying on the table, sleeping soundly and peacefully, without any precaution at all.
After a moment, he squatted down and let the two maids help him onto his back.
Xie Lingyu seemed to feel the sense of security brought by the warm and broad shoulders, and suddenly reached out and hooked his neck.
In this way, Xiao Yanxing carried Xie Lingyu step by step back to her courtyard.
Fortunately, Tinghe returned early and ordered the servants in the courtyard not to come out.
So they arrived at Xie Lingyu's dormitory together, and no one saw them.
After Chunxi and Tinghe quickly removed Xie Lingyu's hairpin, they splashed water on her face again, kicked her and wiped her face, and this time quietly retreated.
Chunxi's voice sounded outside: "Xiao Langjun, His Highness has gone to bed. You should go back and settle down early."
He waited outside until Xie Lingyu fell asleep quietly before leaving.
"This Xiao Langjun is particularly concerned about His Highness," Tinghe's voice sounded after a while.
Chunxi chuckled: "That's natural. Your Highness treats him with sincerity, and he deserves to repay you."
"Okay, I'll keep watch tonight, and you should go back and rest early," Chunxi said in a low voice.
After a while, it became completely quiet outside.
But at this moment, the girl who had her eyes closed quietly on the bed suddenly opened her eyes and stared directly at the curtain above her head. In the boundless darkness, her eyes were clear and clear, without any hint of drunkenness.
When it comes to subduing Xiao Yanxing, Xie Lingyu has a natural disadvantage compared to the new emperor in his previous life.
She didn't have such a grand ambition as taking charge of the world, which was enough to make his heart move.
In the previous life, the new emperor relied on Xiaozhi to subdue him with reason, so she would be moved by emotion.
