When Cheng Ning returned to Linhua Palace, he did not ask for a sedan chair to drive him away.
Wang Xi saw that she looked ugly and did not dare to say anything more, so he sent the guards to send Cheng Ning back.
After returning to Linhua Palace, Cheng Ning dismissed Chunhua and locked himself in the main hall until dark.
Chunhua was worried, but she didn't dare to disturb him.
She didn't know what kind of relationship Cheng Ning and King Yong had in the past, but she knew that the two grew up together.
When the late emperor was in power, it was known to everyone in Yanjing that Prince Wei Yanshu and childhood sweetheart Aning of the Cheng family were getting married soon.
Even when the late queen was in power, she had hired the Cheng family, and Cheng Ning often visited the East Palace.
Such feelings, in the afternoon in front of Kangning Palace, were just a few light words of farewell.
"Mom, would you like some dinner? Your health is already weak, how can you stand it if you keep going through this?"
Chunhua and another maid knocked on the door for a long time, but Cheng Ning didn't let go.
Not even a single lamp was lit in the hall, it was dark and filled with a solemn smell.
Chunhua was gone, so he didn't dare to send someone to invite Wei Yanzhou.
Your Majesty doesn't want your empress to see King Yong. If you ask him to see your empress sad again, he might get choked again.
When Wei Yanzhou walked into Linhua Palace, what he saw was Chunhua's sincere expression.
There was a sneer on his lips.
Wang Xi followed cautiously. His Majesty asked about Cheng Ning's movements in the afternoon and traced their meeting in detail.
Unable to hide anything, Wang Xi had no choice but to tell the truth.
This was the look on Wei Yanzhou's face after hearing this.
"Go and ask the imperial dining room to prepare a table of food and deliver it. I will have a meal with Concubine Xi today."
No one informed him that his voice suddenly appeared in Linhua Palace, frightening Chunhua.
Wang Xi hurried down to give instructions.
Wei Yanzhou climbed up the stairs and arrived in front of the palace door. He smiled and said, "Won't my beloved concubine come out to greet you?"
The emperor was smiling so much that every palace attendant present was frightened.
After a long time, footsteps were heard in the hall.
When the door opened, Cheng Ning saluted with no expression: "Your Majesty, Jin An."
She looked like she had slept a lot, her hair was slightly messy, and her face was a little pale when illuminated by the cold moon outside.
Wei Yanzhou grabbed her chin and forced her to raise her face: "Farewell to my brother, isn't it pleasant for my beloved concubine?"
"Pleasure."
"Really?" Wei Yanzhou pinched her chin till it turned white: "Why doesn't Yuan Yu smile?"
The light in his eyes dimmed, Cheng Ning sighed almost inaudibly, and then raised one corner of his mouth.
That smile was no better than someone pinching the corners of his mouth with his hands.
Wei Yanzhou let go and nodded: "Very good, just smile like this. You are not allowed to remove the corner of your mouth without my permission tonight."
The palace people filed in, took off the shading covers of the luminous pearls in the palace, and lit the rest of the palace lanterns.
Linhua Palace suddenly became as bright as day.
With a table of delicacies, the sound of silk and bamboo could be heard from the side hall.
It's really a festive atmosphere, just like every year's annual banquet.
Cheng Ning held up the corners of her lips as she served Wei Yanzhou the dishes, keeping her eyebrows low and submissive throughout the process.
Her fingers were long, thin and white after she took off her armor and no longer carried the sword.
Just because he is used to holding swords, his index finger has deformed and is a little bent.
In fact, her wrists still hurt when picking up vegetables, but she acted as if she didn't care and was as steady as if she hadn't been injured.
Wei Yanzhou poured her wine and raised his glass to clink with her: "Good times and beautiful scenery are worthy of a beautiful woman."
Cheng Ning then lifted it up, touched it with him, and drank it all in one gulp.
She drank wine, Wangchunhong from the northwest.
The winter in the northwest is too cold. Sometimes when marching at night, the wind makes people's bones hurt.
One look at the spring red color will make your body feel warm.
But she didn't expect that now that she was back in Yanjing, she could feel the cold in such a warm winter.
Cheng Ning poured herself another glass. She didn't frown even while drinking, and her smile didn't change either.
"Don't you have anything to ask me?"
Cheng Ning put down her wine glass and looked at him with sincere eyes: "Will your Majesty tell the truth if I ask him?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"Is the Cheng family's rebellion a reason for Your Majesty to be held in high position?"
Wei Yanzhou suddenly threw the cup to the ground. He dragged Cheng Ning over and held Cheng Ning's neck with one hand: "What did Wei Yanshu tell you? We have been friends with each other since we were young. You can understand him just by looking at him." What did he want to do? Did he say something to you behind Wang Xi's back?"
'Ding-clang', the golden bottle bounced up and down on the ground.
The palace people were originally afraid, but now they were even more afraid to breathe loudly.
Cheng Ning almost suffocated, but her smile was still hanging on her face. Looking at Wei Yanzhou, she felt that he had finally shown his true face.
She wanted an answer, but no one would give her this answer.
Wei Yanshu refused.
Wei Yanzhou also refused.
The smile on her lips was so dazzling that it made Wei Yanzhou feel like the person in his hand was a puppet.
Why does she believe everything Wei Yanshu says, but she can't see what he does?
After just seeing her once, she would lock herself in the palace and make such a pitiful expression again.
He threw Cheng Ning out: "Who can show you this expression of being beaten with a stick?"
Cheng Ning fell to the ground, with his hip bone just above the golden cup on his diaphragm, and pain spread throughout his limbs in an instant.
Even cold sweat fell down.
As for the cuffs, the golden hairpin given by Wei Yanshu in the afternoon fell out.
Wei Yanzhou had already heard what Wang Xi had said. He knelt down to pick up the hairpin, grabbed Cheng Ning's hair with one hand, and pinned it between her hair regardless of the severity, which hurt her bones.
"It's so beautiful." Wei Yanzhou looked at her face, jealousy and anger made him lose his mind: "It's a pity that Wei Yanshu can't see it."
Cheng Ning was actually in pain, but she had fought for seven or eight years and never surrendered.
When she was conscious, she wouldn't even cry out in pain.
While they were in a stalemate, a chorus came from outside: "The Queen has arrived!"
When Xie Nianyao first stepped into Linhua Palace, she almost frowned severely.
The Linhua Palace is brightly lit, and there is also the faint sound of silk and bamboo orchestral music.
There were many palace attendants, and the ostentation was even bigger than her Fengluan Palace. How could that bitch Cheng Ning live such a life!
But when they walked into the main hall, they discovered that Wei Yanzhou was also there.
At this time, Cheng Ning was lying on the ground in a state of embarrassment, with an obvious pinch mark on his neck.
"Your Majesty Jin An." Xie Nianyao said happily, a hint of pride flashed at the corner of his mouth.
She didn't know Wei Yanzhou was here, but it would be better if he was here.
Cheng Ning managed to kneel down and saluted: "Queen, Jin An."
"Why does Your Majesty look like he lost his temper?" Xie Nianyao ignored Cheng Ning and instead helped Wei Yanzhou sit back down and sat down next to him.
"What are you here for?"
Wei Yanzhou brushed her hand away. His anger had not subsided yet, and he stared at Cheng Ning from the corner of his eye.
The smile on Xie Nianyao's face froze, and the next moment she took out something from her arms: "I just passed by the East Palace, and I was afraid that King Yong might have missed something, so I went in to take a look, but I didn't expect to stumble upon some old things."
She threw the sachet in her hand in front of Cheng Ning and suddenly turned stern: "You sent a letter to King Yong, and you actually included some private items, how shameless!"
