Solianer

When he returned to the palace, she was still sleeping soundly. Liu Che did not walk quietly as usual to avoid disturbing her rest. He and Jiang Chong were talking in the outer room, and the rustling sound woke up A Jiao.

When she put on her clothes and walked out, she saw a blood-red spot on Liu Che's chest, and Jiang Chong was holding a clean piece of clothes to change him.

"What's wrong with you?"

She frowned and walked towards him. Jiang Chong said, "Today, His Majesty interrogated Baili Xi and he was nearly assassinated."

She saw deep bloodstains on his dark clothes. The man looked unhappy and frowned slightly.

"Who dares to assassinate you? He was able to succeed with so many Yulin Guards here. I think it's useless for you to have so many people."

Jiang Chong was about to say something, but Liu Che gave him a look and he put his clothes aside and stepped back.

"Why did you ask him to leave?"

Liu Che said, "This matter is confidential. Besides, when you wake up, you can help me change clothes and apply medicine."

Ah Jiao sneered, "You have your own hands and feet, and you have so many palace servants to serve you, how can it be my turn?"

She pushed him away, stood up, and went straight into the inner room.

Liu Che didn't catch up with her. Through a blurry gauze curtain, she saw him clumsily unbuckling his belt. It seemed that his arms and chest were injured. The pain prevented him from stretching his body. Every time he moved, his cold and hard face became a little more fragile.

Suddenly, he took a deep breath, as if afraid of being heard, and bit his lip to hold it back.

Seeing the figure near the curtain suddenly walk out, Liu Che secretly curled his lips.

Her nimble fingers quickly untied his belt, neatly pulled off his outer robe, and then removed his inner garments. Gradually, she realized something was amiss. There was only a faint, dark red mark on the man's fair chest, but no wounds. It seemed to have been stained by his clothes.

"You're not hurt?"

She was puzzled at first, then realized she had been deceived and became angry.

She turned around and was about to leave, but was hugged by Liu Che. As she struggled, the hands around her waist dug deeper and deeper, squeezing tighter and tighter. She turned her head away angrily, "Liu Che! You..."

Thousands of words were caught up in the conversation, entangled in every way, retreated, and entangled again until she had no strength left.

They breathed almost simultaneously, feeling each other's heartbeats. He saw the glistening sheen on her lips, as delicate as a crabapple, and couldn't help but gently cover them.

She was too lazy to argue with him anymore and turned over with her back to him.

He was still shameless, put his hands on her waist and hugged her.

"Do you want me to die?"

A low voice sounded between the bed curtains, as if it was just a sweet whisper between a couple.

"My husband is deeply in the emperor's favor, and he is still far away in the northwest, fighting fiercely. If your majesty dies, the world will surely be in chaos. How could I want your majesty to die?"

The hand on her waist suddenly twisted, she cried out in pain, and turned around to glare at him with anger in her eyes.

"You were the one who didn't talk to me properly first."

"What did I say wrong?"

"Neither is right. You are my wife, and I am your husband."

"It's not the case anymore. Your current wife is Wei Yun. She also gave birth to your beloved prince. Empress Chen died a long time ago. You, Liu Che, killed her with your own hands."

Her tone turned cold, and Liu Che said, "If it really wasn't me, I can send..."

"There's no need to say more. No one cares about the truth of the past. I just want to wait for the general to come back."

Liu Che also sneered, "Waiting for him to come back and die?"

She looked at him with horror and threatened, "If you dare to kill him..."

"Don't you just want me to kill him? Or him to kill me? The hatred for stealing my wife is irreconcilable. There will be a dispute between him and me, and the emperor and his subjects will fall out, and the country will be in chaos. Is this what you want?"

Liu Che looked at her coldly, and she said coldly, "I don't understand what your majesty is talking about."

"The secret that Baili Xi revealed before his death was also yours. You used him to ask me to destroy the Gongsun family and kill Wei Junru. You wanted the Wei clan to be exterminated."

Ah Jiao seemed to be angry. "I don't even know who Baili Xi is, and I have no intention of killing Wei Junru. Liu Che, please wake up. I just want to live a good life with Changqing. There is not as much dirty stuff between us as you think."

He seemed not to hear her, and stroked her cheek with his big hand, saying softly, "I know what you want, and I can give it to you. But the prince is young and innocent, you can't touch him."

"You want to put me under house arrest here?"

"I'll take you hunting in Shanglinyuan in a few days. Are you happy?"

"Aren't you afraid that others will see me? They will point their fingers at you and scold you, and poke your spine."

"No one else is brought along. They are all from the palace, so they dare not say anything."

Gillian finally smiled, "Your Majesty is so kind to me."

Liu Che curled the corners of his mouth. That was great. She smiled so beautifully and spoke so nicely. Even if it was fake, he was willing to listen.

The next morning, the emperor dispatched Imperial Guards to the residence of Prime Minister Gongsun He. They discovered a Gu puppet inscribed with the emperor's birth date and time. Prime Minister Gongsun He and his wife were brought to the prison for questioning. True to the condemned prisoner Baili Xi's claims, Madam Wei had secretly colluded with the Crown Prince's tutor, cursing the emperor and practicing sorcery. Gongsun He, determined to uphold justice, immediately wrote a letter of divorce to Madam Wei, even disregarding his eldest son, who was imprisoned.

Madam Wei and her entourage were all beheaded, along with all the people involved in the case. Even those who spoke out for her were considered accomplices. For a time, the government and the public were shocked, and people were in panic.

"Your Highness, come and chase me, hahahahahaha, Your Highness, you are here."

To avoid suspicion, the gates of the East Palace were closed that day, and no guests were allowed to come and go. The palace maid Suo Lian'er was running and laughing in the courtyard with a little gray rabbit in her arms. Liu Ju was chasing after her with a smile, still holding a pen in one hand.

"Give it to me, don't scare it."

"Your Highness said he was quietly reflecting on his mistakes, so it's not disturbing. So, you're feeding the rabbit. In that case, why don't you come out and let it graze on its own?"

When Liu Che came out of Jianzhang Palace that day, he saw the eunuch Wu angrily scolding the palace maid and punishing her. He guessed that the palace maid had offended her superior because of the female rabbit, so he transferred her to the East Palace to take care of the female rabbit.

Today, he heard about his aunt's incident and ordered the palace to be closed and no external affairs to be heard. Feeling irritated, he went to the Weed Garden to play with rabbits. Unexpectedly, he ran into the little palace maid from that day.

Suo Lian'er said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. This mother rabbit is strong and healthy, and the rabbits she gave birth to are also healthy and strong. This little wind can't affect her."

Liu Ju nodded, "Everything is fine here."

"Thanks to Your Highness, no one bullies me. It's much better here than under the command of Wu the Eunuch in Jianzhang Palace."

"But it's not as good as the Jianzhang Palace. Here I have to stay in seclusion every few days to reflect on myself."

"Your Highness is kind and benevolent. Everyone in the Eastern Palace praises him. Even a female rabbit can earn your Highness's favor. Unlike Wu Yun, let alone this rabbit, he even ignored his own mother. He coveted so many rewards, and when his mother came to him for money when she was seriously ill, he had her driven away."

"No wonder he had no sympathy for the rabbit. Benevolence and filial piety are the foundation of being human. If a person is unfilial and unloving to his parents, what's the difference between him and livestock?"

"I think so too. Even if my parents made huge mistakes, they still gave me life. It was because of them that I was born and raised. It was only because of them that I had children and blood, and only because of them that I was able to live in this world. People like him only know how to flatter and treat Eunuch Jiang as their own father."

As Suo Lian'er spoke, she suddenly felt dizzy and was slapped to the ground by a strong palace servant. The little rabbit in her hand was also frightened and scurried under the skirt of the elegant woman.

When Liu Ju saw the person coming, his face turned pale. "Your son greets your mother."

Suo Lian'er knelt down in panic after hearing this, "Greetings to the Queen."

"I was wondering why you weren't in the palace. So you're here. You don't like all the exotic plants in the front yard, but prefer the wildflowers and weeds here. Prince, do you find it quite interesting?"

Liu Ju naturally heard the anger in Wei Yun's tone. In order to protect the Wei family, they naturally had to avoid suspicion, but out of selfishness, it was his cousin and aunt who died, but he was here playing and frolicking with the palace ladies.

"I was studying in the palace, but when I thought about this, I felt horrified and unable to calm down, so I came here to relax."

The palace maid nimbly picked up the rabbit that had its head sticking out from under Wei Yun's skirt. It moved its limbs, showing its two front teeth to her and squeaking.

Suo Lian'er said, "Leave it to me."

The palace servant slapped her in the face again, and a little blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. Suolian'er's tears immediately welled up.

Wei Yun looked at her coldly, "Are you the palace maid that the prince brought back from Jianzhang Palace?"

Before she could answer, Wei Yun sneered, "Drag her out and beat her until she dies."

Suo Lian'er was stunned on the spot for a moment, and immediately burst into tears and begged, "Queen, please forgive me, Queen, please forgive me! Lian'er doesn't know what crime I have committed, even if I die, I want to know the truth!"

Liu Ju also knelt down and pleaded on her behalf, "Please forgive me, my queen. I was just too playful for a moment. I will never neglect my studies again and indulge in pleasure. I will send these rabbits away right now. Please, my queen, spare this palace maid."

"Don't you know? You seduced the Crown Prince, flattered him with your words, and gossiped about the eunuchs in Jianzhang Palace. You two fools, do you know that there are spies everywhere in the East Palace? If someone hears you, are you going to kill the Crown Prince?"

"I didn't do that! The Queen is wise. I've only been in the Eastern Palace for a few days, and today was my second meeting with the Crown Prince. How could I possibly seduce His Highness? I'm innocent!"

Wei Yun was too lazy to argue with her anymore. He just winked at the servant, and the man dragged Suo Lian'er out of the yard.

"My Queen Mother, are you going to kill all those who are close to me, the ones I love, and leave behind a clay figurine that can be manipulated by anyone without any emotion?"

Wei Yun raised her eyebrows, a little surprised. This was the first time Liu Ju disobeyed her order and stood in front of the palace servant who was holding Suo Lian'er.

"It's not that I can't keep her, but these are turbulent times. Your aunt's affair has implicated a number of our people, and the Gongsun family has turned against us. His Majesty is suspicious. You've already offended Jiang Chong because of this woman. If you don't push her out, you'll make another enemy, one who's close and trusted by His Majesty. If you're not careful, the entire Wei family will be overthrown. Do you want to continue to see your aunt, uncle, and even mother suffer because of you?"

Liu Ju looked at Wei Yun with excited eyes, but the other party did not relax. After looking for a while, he gradually lowered his head and took a step back.

Wei Yun nodded. "Your Majesty knows you've grown up. Don't worry, Your Majesty will discuss your marriage with His Majesty. Once the Crown Princess enters the Eastern Palace, Your Majesty will feel more at ease."

Liu Ju wanted to say that this was not what he wanted, but looking at Wei Yun's cold face, he clenched his fists and said, "Everything is up to the Queen Mother."

"Your father will be going on the spring hunt in a few days. In the next few days, you should intensify your horse riding and archery training and don't embarrass your mother."