Chapter 55 Chapter 55 You are allowed to climb over the wall, but I am not allowed to...

When all the lights dimmed, Nie Xiangyi still felt a sense of unreality as if she were in a dream.

Did Xie Zhi like her too? She still couldn't believe it. When did it start?

Her mind was like boiling porridge, emitting scalding hot steam and bubbling. She just let Xie Zhi take her hand and leave.

It wasn't until the familiar scenery outside the carriage caught her eye that she came to her senses, stunned. "Why is it this road?"

This is the way back to the residence of Magistrate Xie.

Xie Zhi remained calm, "It's too late for the carriage to go to Liuyun Temple."

"But I..." She still felt unspeakable uneasiness in her heart.

Happiness gained after experiencing misfortune always seems like stealing and unreal.

Nie Xiangyi vaguely felt that she seemed to have become the person who was timid in doing everything after losing her mother.

Even though Xie Zhi had already told her how much he liked her now, she couldn't help but wonder, what about when he married her in the first place? Why was that?

There is also the death of my mother and the death of my grandfather. Is the only thing that stands between them the word "love"?

As his thoughts raced, the carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion. Nie Xiangyi looked up at Xie Zhi, his eyes filled with confusion and uneasiness. "Your Highness... I want to think about this for myself..."

She turned and walked towards her own villa, closing the door as if she was escaping from it.

Xie Zhineng could sense her uneasiness.

She was like a kitten that had been abandoned several times and had long lost her sense of security after experiencing so many losses.

She needs patient nurturing and direct, definite love before she will cautiously stretch out her claws and reveal her former domineering demeanor again.

Moreover, he couldn't let her think too much. Otherwise, who knows where she might go astray.

It was a dark night. He glanced at the tightly closed gate, then looked up at the high wall and pursed his lips.

Nie Xiangyi herself couldn't understand what was troubling her. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could always think of the swaying lanterns today, the thousands of lights lighting up the starry sky, and what Xie Zhi had said to her in that bright firelight.

She didn't know what the ending would be for her and Xie Zhi, but she knew that the throbbing in her heart was uncontrollable.

"who?"

She was about to push open the door when she suddenly heard a slight movement inside. Having experienced several incidents in the past, she became wary and hesitated, not daring to go forward.

The lights in the dark room gradually came on, and the door was suddenly opened with a creak.

The night wind suddenly rushed into the house, causing the candlelight to flicker for a moment, and only then did Nie Xiangyi see who was coming.

"Your Highness?" She widened her eyes. "You! Why are you…"

She wanted to ask Xie Zhi why he was here, but the words were on the tip of her tongue but she stuttered and stopped.

She stared at Xie Zhi, almost unable to take her eyes off him.

Xie Zhi was still wearing the same crimson shirt he'd worn today, but the front of his shirt had been slightly loosened, revealing the firm muscles beneath. He looked as if he was about to rest, a laziness Nie Xiangyi had never seen before.

Xie Zhi was a man of self-discipline and respect for propriety, always dressing himself properly, with his hat and shoes in perfect order. He had never before dressed so casually.

The flickering lights added a vague halo to him, making him look like a high and mighty god, walking down the altar towards her step by step.

Xie Zhi half-closed his eyes, with the corners of his eyes slightly raised, looking at her with a smile, "What's wrong with me?"

This appearance made Nie Xiangyi's mind explode, as if it had been blown up by fireworks. He couldn't think of anything. He stuttered for a long time before saying, "You...you...why are you here?"

Xie Zhi leaned closer to her, and his handsome face enlarged in front of her, almost making her forget to breathe.

The clear and smooth voice was tinged with a barely perceptible teasing chuckle, "You're allowed to climb over the wall, but I'm not?"

His thin lips opened and closed in front of Nie Xiangyi, but she seemed not to hear a single word, and her heartbeat was deafening at this moment.

She stood on tiptoe, and as if possessed by a magic spell, she gave Xie Zhi a light kiss on the lips.

Suddenly a spring breeze blew that night.

As they embraced, Xie Zhi's fingertips brushed through her hair. He kissed away the tears that spilled from her eyes, his voice gentle and hoarse.

"Ah Si, don't worry. I will give you an explanation."

At this moment in the East Palace, Xie Chengxin's face was so gloomy that he almost wanted to kill someone.

"A bunch of useless things actually fell into Xie Zhi's hands!"

The fear he felt years ago returned with a vengeance. He couldn't imagine the uproar that would ensue if the secret were made public. He would surely lose everything.

He couldn't just sit there and wait for death.

"Go and ask the imperial concubine to come to the East Palace." He said with a cold face, "Just tell her that my cough has come back."

Half an hour later, the imperial concubine hurried over, her expression filled with worry. "Are you all right, Yuru? Your cough is prone to relapse! How come even the imperial physician hasn't informed you yet?"

Xie Chengxin just gave a look and dismissed the outsiders, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

"Yu Ru, what's going on..." The imperial concubine looked puzzled.

Xie Chengxin just curled his lips and smiled coldly, "Tell me, should I call you Imperial Concubine, or Mother?"

The imperial concubine's pupils suddenly constricted.

Xie Chengxin rarely addressed her as "Mother Consort." Most of the time, he maintained the aloofness that a prince should have, and addressed her indifferently as "Royal Consort."

She looked at Xie Chengxin in horror, "You... Yu Ru... what did you know?"

"Switching the sky for the day, substituting Li for Tao." Xie Chengxin sneered, "Mother, the child born to Empress Wencheng and you on the same day is actually Xie Zhi, right?"

The imperial concubine seemed to have her breath strangled by someone.

The secret hidden in her heart for many years was finally revealed, and the imperial concubine fell heavily on the chair behind her as if she had lost her strength.

After a long while, she slowly exhaled a breath of foul air and asked him with a slightly trembling voice, "When did you know?"

"When you were discussing killing Madam Wen An."

The imperial concubine couldn't even believe it, "You were only eight years old at that time!"

She couldn't believe that after knowing this secret, the eight-year-old boy could have kept it to himself until now, not even asking her about it. He just treated her as an adoptive mother and said nothing.

It is clear how scheming he is.

But she couldn't help but feel distressed. After knowing this secret, he was still so young. What kind of mood must he be in to get to where he is today?

She choked up in her throat, "Yu Ru... I'm doing this for your own good..."

"I don't care whether you are doing this for my own good or out of resentment towards Empress Wencheng."

Xie Chengxin's cold, venomous gaze made her shudder. "Since you've dealt with Madam Wen An, why didn't Mother know to do it more cleanly?"

The imperial concubine's grip on the chair tightened little by little, "Yuru, what do you mean?"

"Lin Qiao, does mother still remember?"

"She's still alive?" The imperial concubine suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide with inexplicable fear. She muttered to herself, her tone filled with unspeakable regret and hatred, "She was the only one who escaped from the palace! Only her! I've sent people to hunt her down over the years, but I couldn't find any trace of her! She's still alive!"

Xie Chengxin met her gaze, his eyes dark as he spoke word by word, "Not only is he alive, but he has also fallen into Xie Zhi's hands."

The imperial concubine's heart sank little by little.

Whenever she thought about the consequences of the truth being revealed, her teeth could not help but tremble.

"Mother, you wouldn't want all these years of hard work to go to waste, right?"

Xie Chengxin's words made her feel like she had grabbed a life-saving straw. She looked at Xie Chengxin intently, "Do you have a solution?"

"As long as this secret is not exposed before I successfully inherit the throne, isn't that enough?"

"But Xie Zhi has already captured Lin Qiao. How long can he keep it a secret?" The imperial concubine wanted to say something, but when she saw Xie Chengxin's half-smile, she seemed to understand in an instant and her eyes widened suddenly, "You don't mean to..."

Xie Chengxin did not deny it, "Mother, removing the firewood from under the cauldron is our last resort."

"You're crazy! This is a serious crime of treason!"

"When my mother was trying to steal the world, she should have thought of this moment." Xie Chengxin smiled darkly with a ghostly air.

"Do you want to be a prisoner, or do you want me to call you mother? It's your choice."

When Nie Xiangyi woke up in the morning, Xie Zhigang came in with porridge.

He helped the sleepy Nie Xiangyi up and wrapped her tightly with a brocade quilt, like a small mountain, with only her palm-sized face exposed, staring at Xie Zhi in a daze.

"I want to sleep a little longer."

She still felt tired, her eyes only half open, and her voice was nasal and unclear.

Xie Zhi fed the porridge to her mouth, "Eat before going to sleep. You complained last night that you were tired and hungry."

If she were awake, Nie Xiangyi would surely be surprised that the cold and noble Xie Zhi would one day serve others like this, patiently and gently, even with a soothing tone in his voice.

But she was really tired and sleepy at the moment, so after eating a few mouthfuls of porridge, she fell back asleep.

Faintly, she heard Xie Zhi's voice, "I have something to do today. I have to go to the Shen Ce Division and will probably be back in the evening. If you wake up later, Ah Si can go back. Go back and see Xi Shi."

He leaned over and kissed the corner of her lips, "He really missed you."

When Xie Zhi arrived at the Shen Ce Division, Pei Jue had been guarding there all night. To prevent the Crown Prince's men from attacking him, he had barely slept a wink.

Supporting Xie Zhi is the choice of the entire Pei family.

In the eyes of discerning people, this was a foolish decision. After all, the crown prince was the legitimate son of the late queen and was also favored by the emperor.

But Pei Jue had worked with Xie Zhi for several years and realized that he was actually more suitable to be a monarch than the prince.

This is probably why my grandfather chose him.

"Your Highness."

He looked up at Xie Zhi entering the prison. Today, he still had a blank expression on his face as usual, but one could vaguely sense that he seemed to be in a good mood.

Pei Jue thought that she might have gone to a date.

He even wondered if everything would be different if he had met her a few years later.

It's a coincidence, but there is always someone who is just right.

Xie Zhi hummed, then asked calmly, "Did you find anything out from the interrogation last night?"

"No." Pei Jue shook his head. "She didn't say anything, just said she would wait for His Highness to come."

The woman in the prison was curled up on a straw mat, eyes closed, as if she was fast asleep. Xie Zhi glanced at her and was about to order someone to wake her up, but he didn't expect that the emperor's eunuchs suddenly appeared in the palace.

"The Emperor was overjoyed to hear that the Third Prince had captured the leader of the Jin King's remnants. He ordered the Prince to behead him and display his head in public, to serve as a warning to others and deter them."

Xie Zhi's eyes darkened and he just nodded in agreement.

After ordering the eunuch to be sent away, the woman in the prison slowly opened her eyelids and looked at Xie Zhi expressionlessly, "Boy, spare my life."

Her voice was hoarse from not having eaten or drunk anything, but there was no pleading tone in it, as if she was just talking about an ordinary little thing.

"You're very useful."

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The author has something to say: Xiao Xie did everything he could to get his wife to go [狗头]