Chapter 73 Colluding with the two of you, when...?
When Zhao Liangxu followed Anhe into the Qianqing Palace, Li Ying's voice reached Zhao Liangxu's ears before she even saw him.
"Zhao Liangxu! Is something the matter?"
Li Ying strode out, followed hurriedly by a eunuch who was calling out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, slow down."
When Li Ying saw An He next to Zhao Liangxu, she subconsciously shrank back, stopped her hurried steps, and stood dignified and serious.
"Your Majesty, I am fine. Thank you for your concern."
Zhao Liangxu responded to Li Ying in this way, but then turned to look at An He, doing so subconsciously.
An He was unaware of Zhao Liangxu's intentions, but he simply took a step forward and said to Li Ying, "Your Majesty, Princess Zhao was frightened at the small banquet and stayed at home for a few days before rushing to the palace. Your Majesty should appreciate Princess Zhao's sincerity towards you. Please invite Princess Zhao in and have a seat."
Li Ying nodded and said, "Eunuch An has considered everything. I have already prepared tea and snacks. Eunuch An, please bring Zhao Liangxu in quickly." Li Ying looked up at the eunuch who had rushed over earlier and said, "Wang Laide, you can wait outside. Eunuch An is fine inside the hall."
Wang Laide bowed his head in agreement, nodding and scraping as he watched Li Ying walk into the hall.
He also said to An He with a somewhat obsequious smile, "Ninth... Eunuch An, although His Majesty was anxiously waiting for you just now, he was still doing his homework. His Majesty is really working very hard."
Anhe paused, about to step inside, and turned around with interest, asking, "Oh? What does Eunuch Wang mean by saying this to us? It's our duty as servants to pay attention to His Majesty's daily life, but something about what Eunuch Wang said sounds rather strange to us?"
"Eunuch Wang has recently benefited from Wang Fu's good fortune, getting closer to the Emperor. He should be even more careful with his words and actions."
Wang Laide forced a smile and repeatedly said, "Yes, yes."
He just wanted to curry favor with Anhe and report a few more words about the daily arrangements related to His Majesty. Didn't Anhe not respond when he said a few more words to him a few days ago?
Why are you giving him a cold warning today?
Anhe was too lazy to talk to Wang Laide anymore, and led Zhao Liangxu into the palace.
Wang Laide felt he had been given the cold shoulder, but he could only close the door more diligently.
Zhao Liangxu asked, "His voice and name sound familiar?" Zhao Liangxu was referring to Wang Laide, "It was during that time with Fang..."
Zhao Liangxu didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Fang was forced by the Empress Dowager to form a relationship with a eunuch, Wang Laide, who was that eunuch.
Anhe hummed in agreement and casually said, "He was Wang Fu's godson. After Wang Fu died, he took over."
"So his current actions are to secretly monitor Eunuch An and His Majesty's words and deeds, and then..."
Zhao Liangxu whispered to An He, but was interrupted by Li Ying's voice: "Eunuch An, why aren't you here yet? What are you whispering about at the door?"
The two women didn't say anything more and went to the palace. Li Ying instructed the maid to set out the tea and snacks and then dismissed them. Because Li Ying wanted to know the details of the attack, she also asked the maid to leave the palace and wait outside.
"Zhao Liangxu, you've really had a lot of bad luck lately. Last time you were captured by that scoundrel Zhao, and what's the reason for this time?"
An He had been busy spending time with Zhao Liangxu these past few days, and had only briefly mentioned Zhao Liangxu's attack to Li Ying without saying much. Li Ying was still unaware of the reason for the incident.
"This time it's Zhao the traitor again, but this Zhao the traitor is even cursing me as well." Zhao Liangxu curled the corners of her mouth, looking at the rather sumptuous pastries on the table, and selected them with great interest.
"And what kind of Zhao traitor are you? There are plenty of people with the surname Zhao in the Southern Zhou. If you feel you've been implicated, I will issue a decree to the world to clear your name." Li Ying once again shone brightly on his foolish throne, saying whatever was most ridiculous.
The imperial decree was issued to clear Zhao Liangxu's name, and Li Ying, having learned his lesson, never forgot his own incompetence.
"What exactly happened? Did Zhao Chengxin plot to kill you? But you were attacked at Zhang Heye's residence. Did Zhao Chengxin collude with Zhang Heye just to kill you?"
Zhao Liangxu picked up a rose pastry and took a quick look at it.
She took a bite and put it down, picked up a handkerchief to wipe her hands, then grabbed An He's hand, which was still wrapped in a wound, and said, "If we only consider Zhang Heye's treason case, it should have been discussed in the court by now. My attack was just incidental. Zhao Chengxin's men probably realized that there was no chance of escaping, so they targeted me. You see, Eunuch An was next to me at the time, and he was the one who was injured."
Li Ying was aware of An He's wounds, and he was even surprised that the assassin had managed to injure An He, since An He had brought many Imperial Guards with him when he went to raid An He's home.
After giving Li Ying a brief analysis, Zhao Liangxu gently released An He's hand, treating An He merely as a prop to be used in her narration.
An He let Zhao Liangxu grab him and then let go, but his eyelashes fluttered, and he was filled with displeasure.
Zhao Liangxu said, "I'm fine. Instead of talking about things that have already been settled, why don't I tell His Majesty some interesting stories about the caravans?"
Li Ying was clearly also very interested in the caravan. As the emperor, he was completely confined to the palace and rarely had the opportunity to go out and play. The banquet for all merchants was a rare and interesting event, but he only sat at the head of the table and said a few polite words. When he interacted with envoys from other countries, he acted as a mascot and listened to the envoys' awkward Mandarin flattery.
Upon hearing that Zhao Liangxu was going to tell some interesting stories from outside the palace, he was naturally looking forward to it. Even Anhe didn't say anything to stop him, so Li Ying got ready to listen attentively.
Zhao Liangxu recounted the grand occasion in the capital to Li Ying in a soft tone, yet Li Ying listened intently, nodding or shaking her head occasionally in a serious manner to show her surprise.
While telling her story, Zhao Liangxu naturally continued to savor the pastries. She didn't like pastries that were too greasy, so she picked up a small red-lettered cake and took a bite. Her eyes lit up immediately.
It was exactly the flavor she liked.
The biscuits aren't purely sweet; they also have a salty and savory flavor with pepper and salt. The subtle saltiness doesn't overpower the sweetness but rather balances it out.
Zhao Liangxu rarely found a pastry that suited her taste, and she pointed to it and said to Li Ying, "This is good."
Then he beckoned Anhe to bend down, calling out, "Eunuch An."
An He didn't understand her meaning, only thinking that Zhao Liangxu wanted to boast about the pastry to him. He still lowered his head and approached Zhao Liangxu, but while lowering his head, he also memorized the appearance of the pastry, preparing to add some of the same pastry to the An residence.
Zhao Liangxu held the bitten biscuit to An He's mouth and said, "Eunuch An, you should try it too. It's both salty and sweet, and it's very delicious."
Salty and sweet? What kind of strange flavor is that?
Anhe smelled the aroma of the pastries. Zhao Liangxu, as usual, played these little tricks, pointing the part she had bitten at towards Anhe, waiting for Anhe's reaction.
Doesn't she seem to be trying to avoid suspicion at all by acting like this?
Instead of hiding her relationship with Anhe from Li Ying, she openly interacted with him in this way.
Anhe lowered her eyes, concealing her expression.
He obediently lowered his head and took a bite.
Since she had no intention of hiding anything, Anhe naturally wouldn't deliberately pretend.
He couldn't wait for others to know that Zhao Liangxu was his.
Anhe is not a fan of pastries, so he rarely has the opportunity to try various flavors of fruit pastry. Even though Zhao Liangxu handed it to him, he only took a few bites out of respect for Zhao Liangxu.
Anhe chewed slowly and found that the pastry was indeed as Zhao Liangxu had said, with a mixture of salty and sweet flavors.
He also thought the pastry was good.
"Grandpa An, is it delicious?" Zhao Liangxu asked.
Anhe nodded, which was his sincere admission.
“I also think it’s delicious. Our tastes are such a perfect match.”
Even if Anhe said it wasn't tasty, Zhao Liangxu would still have something to say.
For example, "Eunuch An thought it didn't taste good, but he still ate it. I feel so special for Eunuch An." Zhao Liangxu never needs to think before she speaks about things that make An He happy.
Unfortunately, while the two were enjoying the pastries, Li Ying froze, her outstretched hand startled.
Zhao Liangxu recommended this pastry, and Li Ying wanted to pick it up and try it. He had only reached halfway when he saw Zhao Liangxu turn to the side to feed the pastry to An He.
When did she and Eunuch An become so close?
A hint of worry followed: if she treated Eunuch An this way, wouldn't he be furious and punish her?
Then Li Ying saw that the eunuch An, whom he respected and relied on, the eunuch An who mocked and despised the court officials, actually ate the pastries so easily!
Eunuch An always had a gloomy and somber appearance, and Li Ying had only ever seen An He show a effeminate smile when he was kindly advising her.
Even though Anhe's attitude softened somewhat because of Li Ying's pale imperial status, her tone was still always forceful and deceptive.
When did he become so...obedient?
Right, he hadn't paid much attention to what Zhao Liangxu was saying, but now he remembered that Zhao Liangxu had taken An He's hand while she was speaking.
Grandpa An never allows anyone to touch him!
When Zhao Liangxu looked at Li Ying, she noticed that his still immature face showed surprise, confusion, and bewilderment, which was then replaced by fear after he suddenly realized what was happening.
Li Ying's voice trembled slightly: "You, you, Zhao Liangxu, you and An He..."
Why don't they avoid suspicion?
Zhao Liangxu's interaction with An He made Li Ying fear that Zhao Liangxu had already told An He about her situation.
What is the exact relationship between Zhao Liangxu and Tong Anhe?
She didn't seem to be coerced by Anhe...
What about him? Has he already been sold by Zhao Liangxu?
Li Ying stammered for a long time, only managing to say intermittently, "...What is the relationship between the two of you?"
Only then did he realize his mistake. Had Zhao Liangxu been An He's person from the very beginning? He began to reflect on whether he had ever spoken ill of An He before. Had Zhao Liangxu revealed all of this to An He? But he only had some fear of An He, which shouldn't be a big deal.
The two people in front of him were among the two he trusted most! But...
Zhao Liangxu watched Li Ying's ever-changing expression with amusement. She took An He's hand and waved it in front of Li Ying, saying, "This is exactly the relationship His Majesty saw."
Li Ying's face was ashen. He had no interest in listening to the caravan eat pastries anymore, and asked, unwilling to give up, "Then you...?"
“Your Majesty, Eunuch An has always known that you and I must have talked about something in secret,” Li Ying stared at her with wide eyes. Zhao Liangxu continued, “But I didn’t tell Eunuch An, did I, Eunuch An?”
Zhao Liangxu then passed the conversation to An He.
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Author's Note: Li Ying: I'm really out of ideas.
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