Chapter 128 Anhe's Thoughts After Leaving the Palace
Li Ying dared not speak out against her anger.
Ever since Anhe exposed him, he has become much bolder, as if he doesn't care since things have already come to this point.
Li Ying also slightly toned down her usual fiery temper.
This surprised everyone in the palace.
Therefore, the court officials originally had some doubts about Li Ying, and thought that Li Ying's behavior in court that day was all arranged by An He behind the scenes.
However, in the morning court sessions that followed, although Li Ying still maintained his carefree attitude, he began to participate more.
They could even offer some insights.
The minister then realized that Li Ying had been keeping track of the content of their arguments.
Li Ying, though smugly enduring the astonished gazes of the ministers, was still easily terrified when she turned her head and saw An He standing to the side with a half-smile on his face.
Aside from that night when things were brought up, Anhe never said anything too direct or explicit again.
But both of them knew it in their hearts.
Li Ying resignedly looked at the books. Although she had learned more, An He still only selected simple and harmless memorials for Li Ying to read.
Even though Li Ying is cunning, she also has a playful side.
Rather than striving for progress, he inevitably misses his previous life of eating and sleeping.
Just then, Zhao Liangxu interrupted An He and said to Li Ying, "Your Majesty, do you still remember Zhou Wenyue, Zhou Feng's daughter?"
She is still in the palace, and her fate remains unknown.
Li Ying remembered this person and guessed Zhou Feng's plan to send him to the palace, so he rarely contacted Zhou Wenyue. He nodded.
Speaking of this, Li Ying touched her arm with some doubt and unease.
What if Zhao Liangxu mentions her to Eunuch An, and Eunuch An remembers her and executes the daughter of a disgraced official? Although Li Ying is not familiar with her, he knows that she is about the same age as him and is probably an innocent person.
An He, amused by Li Ying's subtle actions, asked, "What is Your Majesty thinking now?"
Li Ying's voice was a little soft: "I have no thoughts. Although I don't want to see her, she has done nothing wrong. She was even used as a pawn by my father." He looked at Zhao Liangxu, "You brought her up, surely not to remind me to kill her?"
Zhao Liangxu stared at Li Ying and smiled, "Of course not, but letting her out might cause trouble. The Empress Dowager has met her and said she's a good child, so let's keep her in the palace. What do you say, Eunuch An?"
When Zhao Liangxu asked him, he naturally replied, "Then so be it." It wouldn't be a problem to keep another little girl in the palace; it would be good to have her under our noses.
Li Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
He had just relaxed when Anhe said to Li Ying, "Your Majesty, please have someone else serve you these next few days. I know you know what you're doing."
Li Ying looked up: "And what about you, Eunuch An?"
Why did you suddenly ask someone else to serve you?
Anhe said, "I never expected that Your Majesty would still care about me so much." When Anhe was in a good mood, he would refer to himself as a servant in front of Li Ying, always putting on a good show.
"I have been in the palace for a long time these past few days and have taken care of many things. However, my injuries have not fully healed yet, so I have come here to ask for leave to recuperate for a while."
Li Ying almost forgot that An He had a rather large wound on his back.
Anhe's complexion has been paler than usual these past few days. Even the strongest person would be exhausted after several days of such exertion, with no time to properly heal their wounds.
Li Ying frowned, slightly worried: "Then Eunuch An should go back and recuperate properly. If you are worried, you can have Zhang Sheng accompany me for the next few days."
Li Ying always felt that she needed An He and his friends around her to feel more at ease.
Although Anhe was a source of fear for him in the past, he also brought him some peace of mind. Compared to other people whose background he didn't know, Anhe was more trustworthy.
An He lowered his head and chuckled softly, "Then I thank Your Majesty."
*
After spending these days in the palace, Zhao Liangxu and An He finally had the opportunity to return to their residence.
On the carriage, Zhao Liangxu asked another question she had wanted to ask for a long time, but she had been too busy these past few days and had put it out of her mind. She hadn't even thought of it when she was alone with An He earlier.
But after seeing An He and Li Ying talking, Zhao Liangxu remembered this matter.
“Eunuch An, you avoided the main point earlier, but there is a question you haven’t answered for me.”
Anhe sat relaxed, but the injury on his back prevented him from leaning back. He could only sit sideways, supporting himself with his shoulder against the inner wall.
Zhao Liangxu sat close to him, with one hand resting on An He's arm.
The carriage was clearly spacious, yet the two of them insisted on sitting in this corner, with Zhao Liangxu even squeezing in next to An He.
But Anhe found it very helpful.
Hearing Zhao Liangxu's question, he asked in confusion, "So many questions today? Why didn't you ask them all at once earlier?"
He twirled a strand of Zhao Liangxu's hair between his fingers, held it up to admire it from afar, and said in a gentle tone, "When have we ever avoided the important points? Would we not answer you? Just ask whatever you want; we have nothing to hide from you."
Zhao Liangxu said, "I just remembered, why does Eunuch An want to groom Li Ying? Why not keep him firmly in his grasp?"
"This is really not like Eunuch An's style."
Anhe paused, then continued stroking Zhao Liangxu's hair as if nothing had happened, saying, "You always ask such tricky questions."
"I want to know what Eunuch An is thinking."
Anhe pondered for a moment and said, "There's nothing to hide, of course I can tell you, but I just don't want to tell anyone, for fear of being laughed at."
“Of course, I know. You won’t laugh at me, right?” Anhe asked.
Zhao Liangxu said, "That's for sure."
Anhe smiled gently and said, "Actually, it's nothing serious. I was surprised to find out that Li Ying was a bit cunning. Zhao Liangxu, actually, I also have things I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of losing power and influence, losing the fear others have of us, and not having a good end."
He never thought of telling anyone these things, because they were the deepest things hidden in his heart. He had to pretend to be arrogant and indifferent, so how could he let others know?
But if it were Zhao Liangxu, Anhe felt it was okay to talk to her. And so the words came out so easily.
He always liked to touch things on Zhao Liangxu's body, whether it was her clothes, hair, hands, or face; touching them made him feel at ease.
"But now, our family is more afraid of losing you."
Anhe squinted his eyes: "But even if you can see that he is somewhat clever, to be honest, he is not a wise ruler. Even if he becomes the real emperor, he can at most leave behind a reputation of being neither meritorious nor demeritful for future generations to judge."
“Such a ruler, if handled properly, is easier to control than a mere puppet. Moreover, he should be somewhat grateful to our family, after all, it was our family that gave him this position back then.” As for An He, he couldn’t say whether a few lingering childhood fantasies were still at play, but his current decisions were mostly based on considerations of self-interest.
He lowered his voice: "Tell me, is our family crazy or not? Actually, we're already starting to regret it. We're really afraid that once he slowly takes back power, our family will be the first one he kills."
Zhao Liangxu reached out to touch his droopy eyelashes, which looked obedient when he lowered his eyes, causing Anhe to dodge away somewhat resentfully.
"But you still did it, Eunuch An."
Anhe nodded: "Yes, that way, things will be easier for us in the future. At least we won't have everyone watching us, all wanting that treacherous eunuch in the court who's causing trouble everywhere to die. This way, we can also spend more time with you." As she said this, Anhe still vaguely felt that she was being ridiculous.
How could he have imagined that making such a foolish decision would be simply to live a more peaceful life and spend more time with Zhao Liangxu?
"This doesn't seem like Eunuch An," Zhao Liangxu commented.
“It doesn’t seem like it. Of course, our family can’t let ourselves become someone who completely relies on Li Ying. It’s best to have a balance of giving and receiving,” An He’s voice became low and somber. “He wouldn’t want to make a move against our family. Who said that the late emperor’s edict was only for him to ascend to the throne? We must be prepared for everything.”
If Li Ying were wise, she would not have allowed this will to ever appear.
Zhao Liangxu laughed out loud, which puzzled An He.
She leaned closer and said, "Eunuch An is really something, he never lets me look down on him."
Zhao Liangxu understood An He's personality.
Before An He could speak again, Zhao Liangxu touched An He's fingertips together and said, "In that case, Eunuch An, please stay with me a little longer."
Anhe became enamored with the touch of his fingertips.
-
After getting off the carriage, Zhao Liangxu planned to return to her residence first to let Zhu Mu and the others know that she was safe.
Although someone had been sent back to the mansion to inform them beforehand, they still felt at ease only after seeing the person in person.
An He originally thought Zhao Liangxu would go back to the bedroom with him, but when he saw that Zhao Liangxu was going in a different direction, he paused for a moment.
He didn't say anything.
He thought to himself, "This is normal."
Besides herself, Zhao Liangxu had many other people around her.
He couldn't stop Zhao Liangxu from associating with other people. She liked him to be a little possessive, but if he went too far, he would probably get her to roll her eyes.
Anhe composed herself and headed straight back to her bedroom.
Remembering something, Zhao Liangxu turned to An He and said, "Eunuch An, I'll come find you in a bit."
Anhe slowed down and simply replied with a slightly relaxed, "Mm."
In the end, she's still thinking about our family.
Anhe felt even happier.
After Zhao Liangxu returned to the courtyard, she was immediately surrounded by Zhu Mu.
“Princess, you have been in the palace for so long and you are still injured. I heard that there was a big dispute at the morning court. It is really worrying.”
Zhu Mu was worried about Zhao Liangxu's wounds after she returned from the lake. However, she hadn't rested for more than a few days when Zhao Liangxu and Anhe went to the palace again. After waiting for several days, she only received news that everything was alright. Zhu Mu couldn't see her and was still worried.
She preferred a stable and peaceful life, but Zhao Liangxu's experiences were full of ups and downs, causing even Zhu Mu to worry.
Zhao Liangxu patted her on the shoulder and said, "Alright, see, I'm perfectly fine."
Zhu Mu examined Zhao Liangxu's wound and found that it was indeed healing well. Zhao Liangxu also had no other injuries, which put Zhu Mu at ease.
Zhao Liangxu comforted Zhu Mu with a few words, and after settling the rest of the people, she went to find An He.
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