I turned around and was about to leave, but subconsciously glanced at the high platform of the city gate in the distance, and I always felt as if a pair of eyes were looking at me from afar.
But after looking intently for a long time, there was no human figure in sight, only an empty gray-white retaining wall made of stone bricks.
Then I rubbed my eyes and really stepped over the threshold. The next time we met would probably be a few days before I faked my death and escaped.
By then, Song Yu had returned from the campaign with a full complement of soldiers and generals, and Song Heng had already deployed his forces at court, ready to go. The two brothers joined forces, laying a tight net within the palace walls, staging a brilliant scheme to capture the enemy within.
Behind the lifelike stone lions on the city wall——
Song Heng, clad in a golden dragon robe, leaned against the city wall. He looked at Ah Fu, who stood nearby with his head bowed slightly, and said to himself with a self-deprecating smile, "I never thought I would spy on others like this. It's really embarrassing."
Ah Fu stood respectfully without saying a word.
"You said," Song Heng's tired face still had a faint smile on it, which seemed a little cold under the winter sun. "Yesterday, when I persuaded Rushuang, I was very reasonable and told her that she should be considerate and trust Doctor Jiang, but when it comes to me..."
Song Heng laughed self-deprecatingly for a while, and Ah Fu suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, Prince Duan has returned, but Concubine Mu has not left. What happened before must have been a misunderstanding. Your Majesty need not worry about it."
Song Heng closed his eyes and said, "I'll arrange a few more people to look after the two princesses today..."
"She was in such agony when she came to Chengqing Palace yesterday, but when I went to Liuzhu Pavilion at night, she acted as if nothing had happened and even reminisced about her childhood with me..."
"Ru Shuang...is not someone who will give up easily." Song Heng placed his slender knuckles on the center of her eyebrows and rubbed them gently.
"Yes, I understand."
The night was as cool as water. I was flipping through the storybook that Song Heng had brought me from the library. My fingertips gently slid across the smooth pages, and I was lost in thought for a moment.
It was late at night, and I had already sent Xiaotao and Xiaocui back to the side room to sleep.
Maybe I had taken a long nap in the afternoon. I tossed and turned in bed in my underwear but still couldn't fall asleep. So I simply got up, picked up the fur coat on the hanger and put it on casually, got out of bed, lit the lamp and read at the table.
I felt sleepy because I was tired of reading, but I became more and more excited as I turned many pages.
The book is filled with resentment, anger, infatuation, love, separation, and unfulfilled desires, but in the end the author always manages to write a wonderful ending that makes people feel at ease and happy, which is really enviable.
I was just thinking about it when I heard the door shaking suddenly, followed by the anxious voice of Eunuch Ah Fu: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the door is locked, let me come."
When I heard this, I quickly got up and opened the door, wondering why Song Heng was still awake so late.
Today, he was in the Yamato Hall, sending the army off to war and bidding farewell to the Duan brothers and sisters. He must have been busy and tired all day. Why didn't he have a good rest at night?
The door seemed to be suddenly opened as soon as I pulled the bolt. Before I could step back, Song Heng pressed on me - the strong smell of alcohol was there.
His chin rested on my shoulder, and he fell sideways. I had no choice but to quickly hold him with both hands. Eunuch Ah Fu, who was standing beside him, was panicking and wanted to help Song Heng, but Song Heng waved him away.
"Go down, I have something to say... to Consort Mu."
Ah Fu gave me a worried look. I understood his good intentions and nodded to him while trying to support Song Heng. "Don't worry, I'll definitely call you if I need you."
"Call you..." Song Heng seemed to sense that I was about to collapse, so he stood up from me and steadied himself: "Come in when I call you..."
"Go out." Song Heng waved his hand. If it weren't for the strong smell of alcohol, he would have been no different from usual.
Ah Fu bowed his head and retreated, closing the door for us. I watched him close the door and was about to shut it tightly when Song Heng suddenly said, "Mu Zhaoyi."
I quickly came to my senses, only to see him so close that I had to raise my head slightly. Then, subconsciously, I took a few steps back and saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty, long live the emperor."
He seemed about to fall forward, so I hurried forward to steady him, and asked quickly, "Your Majesty, why did you drink so much today?"
"I was a little drunk just now," he shook his head lightly, but did not respond directly to me: "I am a little more sober now."
When I saw him stand up straight, I let go of my hand and stepped back, waiting for his next words, but he suddenly took a step towards me.
I looked up in surprise and subconsciously took another step back.
He rarely squinted his eyes, and looking at the blurred look in his slender eyes, I was sure that he was really drunk.
But he walked steadily and took another bigger step towards me, closer than before I stepped back.
I didn't dare to act rashly anymore, so I just lowered my head and took a tiny step back.
He was wearing the navy blue crane cloak today. The white crane's red crown was shrouded in the dim yellow light. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, revealing a bit of the emperor's coldness.
"If Mu Zhaoyi retreats any further, there will be no way out." He spoke slowly, his eyes still half-closed as he looked at me.
"Ah?" Just as I was about to turn around to see where I had retreated to, he suddenly leaned closer. I hurriedly stepped back, but my feet touched the wooden wall - there was really no way out.
One of his arms was resting directly on the wooden board beside my ear. I saw the knot of the gold laces of his cloak, and a strong aroma of wine wafted over.
His somewhat cold voice fell from above: "I didn't lie to you."
My heartbeat quickened as we were so close. I pressed myself against the cold wooden wall and spoke as calmly as possible, "Your Majesty seems drunk today. I'll prepare some hangover soup for you to avoid a headache tomorrow."
After saying that, I wanted to move away from the empty space on the right, but his other arm quickly supported the other side, directly cutting off my idea of turning around and leaving.
I looked up at him in surprise, and he was looking down at me: "I don't want to drink the hangover soup."
"Then..." I could only respond to Song Heng's moves, trying my best to deal with him. Song Heng was acting so abnormally today because of his drunkenness. "I'll go find some sobering pills..."
"I don't want to take hangover pills either." He seemed quite patient and talked to me one sentence at a time.
Besides the hangover soup and pills, I didn't know if there were any other sobering things. Just as I was racking my brains to think of something, he spoke first: "There's also hangover cream. Would you like to ask about that, Zhaoyi?"
"Hmm..." I really couldn't figure out what Song Heng was trying to do, so I just followed his lead and said, "Your Majesty, do you want some hangover cream?"
"No," he shook his head casually, "I don't want to apply hangover cream either."
His hands were still on either side of me, with no intention of lowering them. I was about to discuss with him whether we should sit down aside and talk first, when he suddenly lowered his head even lower, his eyes fixed on mine, and said in a low but clear voice:
"Mu Zhaoyi."
"I want you."
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