Chapter 21
What is the consequence of the emperor’s anger?
Zhang Xihua, who had just finished eating Shunde white-cut chicken, felt dizzy as soon as he left the restaurant.
Several Jinyiwei disguised as civilians quickly put a sack on Zhang Xihua's head, then carried the sack on their shoulders, stuffed it into the carriage, and rushed back to Beijing to report to Emperor Huiyuan.
No matter how Zhang Xihua, who was sitting in the carriage with her hands and feet tied, tried to trick the Jinyiwei, they remained silent and only took good care of Zhang Xihua's diet and sleep.
Zhang Xihua also knew what to do and did not resist, because resistance was useless.
These Jinyiwei are masters among masters and they are not stupid.
Her tricks were of no use to them.
When Zhang Xihua met Zhu Mingji, the mastermind behind the incident, in the bedroom of the Qianqing Palace, he started to confront him.
"Is there something wrong with your brain? I was just enjoying the scenery in Guangdong Province and I didn't offend you. Why did you let your lackeys tie me up and take me back to the capital?"
Zhu Mingji felt sorry for the red marks on her hands and feet, but when he heard her say something bad about him, his face turned even colder.
"Zhang Xihua, wake up. Do you know who you are talking to?"
"I'm talking to my best friend."
Zhang Xihua answered without hesitation.
Zhu Mingji was stunned, and he could hardly suppress the raised corners of his lips.
But I didn't want Erlang to think that I was someone who was easy to please.
He turned his head away and did not meet Zhang Xihua's eyes.
"I saw you smile. Can you be more frank and just tell me what you want to do to me?"
Zhang Xihua was tied up like a worm and lying on the couch on his side. The feeling of having his hands and feet bound was very uncomfortable.
"This is the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Are you afraid that I'll run around? Could you please untie me first? I'm not feeling well."
"How do you know this is the Palace of Heavenly Purity?" Zhu Mingji untied the ropes that bound her hands and feet.
"I guessed it. I heard that the emperor lived in the Qianqing Palace." This was not the first time Zhang Xihua came here. The last time she traveled through time, it was a common occurrence for her to come to the Qianqing Palace. She knew exactly how many bricks there were in the Qianqing Palace.
"You are living a happy life in Guangdong, but have you ever cared about how I am doing in the palace?" Zhu Mingji finally got to the point.
"I did enjoy many delicious foods in Guangdong, but they would all go bad if I brought them back to the capital for Your Majesty." Privately, Zhang Xihua didn't care whether Zhu Mingji was the emperor or not. She just stared at Zhu Mingji. "Your Majesty is still as wise and vigorous as before, and full of energy. I believe Your Majesty is having a good time in the palace."
"If you want to seriously discuss the relationship between monarch and subject with me, you should kneel down and kowtow to me right now." Zhu Mingji looked at Zhang Xihua with a half-smile.
Zhang Xihua was also a decisive person. After getting off the bed, he lifted the hem of his robe and was about to kneel down.
Zhu Mingji reached out and pulled Zhang Xihua up, put his arms around her waist tightly, and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Lips and tongues entangled, breaths interacting.
Zhang Xihua felt increasingly breathless, and pounded Zhu Mingji's hard chest with her fists.
Zhu Mingji actually gave her some time to breathe, but she was clumsy and didn't know how to cooperate with him. In the end, seeing her pitiful appearance, he let her catch her breath.
Zhang Xihua raised her sleeves and wiped her lips vigorously, her cheeks flushed red.
"It's really annoying! You really are not picky about food when you're hungry. Although I look feminine, I'm a man of integrity. How can you bully me so many times?"
"How can there be three or four times? This is the second time." Zhu Mingji looked at the girl he truly loved. "Have you ever had sex with that Mr. Sun? I just kissed you, and you think I'm bullying you? How is Mr. Sun better than me?"
Zhang Xihua immediately understood, "What did Madam Cheng say to Your Majesty? Your Majesty actually took Madam Cheng's words seriously. I just wanted to politely decline Madam Cheng's advances."
"Even so, you can't just find someone as an excuse to fool Madam Cheng." Zhu Mingji was still angry.
Zhang Xihua misunderstood Zhu Mingji's meaning. "I know that Madam Cheng will be sad if she knows the truth, but sadness is only temporary. I dare not delay Madam Cheng's marriage."
"What I mean is, you are right to make excuses to Madam Cheng, but can't you just say that I am your concubine and we have had the pleasure of hugging and carrying each other?" Zhu Mingji was so angry that he held his forehead. Doesn't she understand that he cares about her the most?
Zhang Xihua: “…”
This, this, this, she finally understood that no matter whether she was a man or a woman, she could not escape the fate of being liked by Zhu Mingji.
"Zhang Xihua, you are so guilty that you dare not speak. When you were making excuses to Madam Cheng, you thought of everyone except me. You have never thought of me in your heart." Zhu Mingji looked at Zhang Xihua angrily.
"Slandering the emperor is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of your clan. I have the intention but not the courage. Your Majesty, you must believe me. I thought about you at that time, and I thought about it ten times but still felt it was inappropriate." Zhang Xihua indeed did not think about Zhu Mingji at that time, but he could only get away with it by lying with his eyes open.
"How many times have you thought about sinking the floating boat?" Zhu Mingji asked.
Zhang Xihua felt that she couldn't say the number of times was more than Zhu Mingji's, but she couldn't say she had never thought about it at all either, because that would be too fake.
"I thought about sinking the floating boat three times and still felt it was inappropriate."
"Three times!" Zhu Mingji laughed angrily, "Who is he to deserve you thinking about him three times? You should have thought about him once and then felt that the sinking boat was inappropriate."
"Oh." Zhang Xihua patted his forehead. "I remembered it wrongly. I really thought about it once and felt that the sinking and floating boat was not suitable."
"What's wrong with him?" Zhu Mingji asked.
Zhang Xihua knew this was another life-threatening question. After pondering for a long time, he said, "Who is he? How can I take him seriously? Even if I use him as an excuse to fend off Madam Cheng, Madam Cheng will think that my relationship with him won't last long. So if I use him as an excuse, Madam Cheng will not give up on me."
Zhu Mingji was quite satisfied with this answer and asked, "Then why am I not suitable? Besides the reason of slandering the emperor."
Zhang Xihua: "Your Majesty is like the sun hanging high in the sky. If I use Your Majesty as an excuse to evade Madam Cheng, Madam Cheng will not believe that Your Majesty would condescend to show love to a common man like me."
Zhu Mingji held up Zhang Xihua's face, lowered his head and kissed her cheek, again and again.
The kisses that fell on her face were like light feathers.
Her face was itchy and her heart was itchy too.
Zhang Xihua felt like a kitten, and Zhu Mingji was a cat lover. She had to let Zhu Mingji suck her cats to his heart's content before he would let her go.
"Erlang, can you please love me?"
He pressed his lips against her neck and sucked.
"If this is your Majesty's order, I dare not disobey your Majesty's will."
Zhang Xihua only felt her body getting hot and her heart pounding.
"If this is what you feel for me, can I refuse?"
Zhu Mingji was startled, stopped what he was doing, turned around and sat on the couch, lowering his head to hide his lost look.
"It's late at night. I'll have someone escort you out of the palace."
He raised his head and forced a stiff smile.
"Erlang, you are the only one in the world who dares to stab me in the heart."
"I dare not err on the side of your majesty's marriage."
Zhang Xihua was speaking the truth.
Zhu Mingji felt that this sentence was extremely harsh.
"Zhang Xihua, you dare not miss anyone's marriage. I am alone out of necessity, but you are alone of your own accord. Erlang, I wish I could dig out my heart and show it to you."
Zhang Xihua responded with silence. She didn't know how to respond to the boy's pure and passionate love.
Because in her memory, being with Zhu Mingji would not end well.
How can we trust that the emperor is sincere?
*
When Zhang Xihua returned to the Zhang Mansion, Mrs. Jiang, who had already gone to bed, got up, combed her hair, put on her clothes, and came to the courtyard where Zhang Xihua lived.
There were a few red marks on Zhang Xihua's neck left by Zhu Mingji's sucking.
Madam Jiang noticed the red marks immediately and asked hurriedly, "Why did you come back home so suddenly? Is there something urgent?"
Zhang Xihua naturally wouldn't mention Zhu Mingji, "I just miss home."
"What's with those red marks on your neck?" Mrs. Jiang suspected that her daughter had a lover, and that lover was in the capital.
Zhang Xihua knew that she couldn't hide it from Mrs. Jiang, "It's just what mother thinks."
"You've always had a good eye for people. That young man must be someone you can rely on." Madam Jiang sighed. "It's your mother who has let you down. If I hadn't raised you as my own son, you could have married and had children, and wouldn't have to shoulder these family responsibilities that should be borne by the eldest son."
Zhang Xihua: "I have never blamed my mother. I have a husband I love, and he understands my difficulties. Even if he doesn't give me back my body, given his love for me, even if we are not husband and wife, we can still be together until we are old."
There really is such a fool who loves her without hesitation.
But she was a coward and didn't dare to go beyond the line for fear of being doomed.
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