Yan Xun was also stunned. It had been seven years and Emperor Xia had never summoned him. Was it a blessing or a curse that he suddenly summoned him today?
"What should we do?" Chu Qiao's face was heavy. She turned around and said in a deep voice.
Yan Xun thought for a long while, and finally said: "Don't panic, it shouldn't be a problem, I'll go take a look."
"Yan Xun."
Yan Xun just turned around to leave when he was suddenly grabbed by Chu Qiao. The girl's hands were slightly sweaty and as cold as snow. She held him tightly with a worried look in her eyes, yet she was determined to perish together with him. "Be careful and come back soon."
"Don't worry." Yan Xun's heart warmed up. He held Chu Qiao's hand and patted her shoulder. "I'll be back soon."
Luliu came forward and put a fur coat on Yan Xun. Yan Xun left Yingge Courtyard with a few servants.
Chu Qiao was restless the entire afternoon, always feeling that something was going to happen. In the evening, Ah Jing suddenly came back. Chu Qiao was overjoyed. She ran up to him and asked in a deep voice, "Where's the prince? How is he? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
Ah Jing looked a little embarrassed, but still said slowly: "The prince is fine, he is attending a banquet in the front hall now."
Chu Qiao heaved a long sigh and said with relief: "It's good that he's alright. What did the emperor summon him for?"
Ah Jing glanced around and saw several maids following Chu Qiao, all looking at him with confusion. For a moment, he was speechless.
Chu Qiao frowned slowly, vaguely feeling that something was unusual, and asked in a deep voice: "What's going on?"
"Your Majesty..." Ah Jing hesitated, and finally said in a deep voice, "The Emperor has just summoned His Highness the Crown Prince, to... to grant His Highness a marriage, and has already pointed out the Princess Chun who just had her coming-of-age ceremony."
The girl was stunned for a moment, and wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She glanced around, her brows gradually furrowed like a river, and asked in a low voice, "A marriage granted?"
"Girl..." Ah Jing called out worriedly.
Chu Qiao nodded and murmured, "A marriage is granted."
"Girl, the prince was afraid that you would worry, so he asked me to come back and tell you. He said..."
"I'm fine," Chu Qiao shook her head and said, "There are too many people at the royal banquet. You should go back to him and protect him. Don't make any mistakes. I'm just a little worried that the emperor will do something bad to him. Oh, I understand about the marriage."
Ah Jing showed a look of reluctance and whispered softly, "Girl..."
"I'll go back to my room first, you go quickly." Chu Qiao turned around, her back straight, without any sadness, and just murmured, "I still have a lot of things to do, Lu Liu, send all the letters from the flower room to my room, I need to review them."
The snow was vast, and the woman was wearing a goose yellow dress today, and a cloak of the same color, revealing a rare bit of girlish charm. The wind blew in the distance, rolling up the snow on the ground and hitting her back. The cloak fluttered, and she seemed a little cold.
The sun sets slowly in the distance, and the sky is fiery red, but no matter how colorful it is, it will eventually set. The candlelight is lit with red tears.
The third watch drum had already sounded, but Yan Xun still hadn't returned. The little maid held the brazier and carefully pushed open the door. She saw a dim light in the room. The thin and slender figure of the woman was still bent over the desk. She did not raise her head when she heard the noise. Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something.
"Miss," the little maid looked reluctant. Although she was only twelve or thirteen years old, she understood something. She carefully said to her usually serious and taciturn master, "It's getting late. You should go to bed early."
Chu Qiao didn't say anything, but just raised her hand slightly, motioning her to go out.
Lvliu carried the replaced brazier to the door and suddenly turned around and said, "If the prince comes back, I will come to call you."
The slender woman slowly raised her head, her eyes slightly raised, and looked at Lvliu indifferently, and said in a low voice: "Are you very free?"
The little maid was startled, and immediately fell to her knees on the ground, and said quickly: "I am sorry for being nosy, please punish me, young lady."
"Go down." A clear and sharp voice suddenly came out. The girl didn't say anything else, but just lowered her head and continued to look at the letter in her hand. Lvliu walked out tremblingly with her head down. The door was closed and the room suddenly became quiet.
The candle flame was dimly burning, emitting a spark from time to time. The candlelight dragged the girl's shadow very long and thin, and her outline could not be seen clearly in the dimness.
He did not do anything unusual. He was busy as usual, thinking as usual. Even the tone of his replies did not change in the slightest. But on those sheets of white rice paper, the ink is so deep that it penetrates through the back of the paper.
The winter night was long. At five o'clock in the morning, the sound of a door opening was heard in the front yard. The writing brush paused for a moment. Chu Qiao listened attentively for a while, then stood up and lit all the lights in the room.
The light suddenly became brighter and could be seen even from a distance. Chu Qiao stood in front of the window and lifted up a corner of it. The night wind blew along the window lattice, blowing up her long ink-black hair. The girl's eyes were calm and she remained silent.
She was waiting for a result. Just one glance would tell that she was still awake and that she was waiting for him. If he comes over, it means there is still room for change. Otherwise, it means he has made up his mind and will not change it.
Time passed slowly, and the lights in the front yard never moved. The man was wearing a silver fox fur cloak with the hood half-retracted and a blue shirt. Ah Jing stood behind him, holding a green bamboo umbrella over his head, and white snow fell lightly on the top of the umbrella. A small breeze blew from afar, rolling up the snow on the ground, swirling in the corners, forming tiny whirlpools, and sweeping across his white boots and the corners of his fur coat.
"Prince," Little Li bowed and walked forward, following Yan Xun's gaze to the end of the corridor. There, between the shade of the plum trees and behind the rockery, there were bright lights pouring out from afar.
"The girl should not be asleep yet."
Yan Xun pretended not to hear anything and just stood there quietly. He knew that behind the numerous houses, in front of the green bamboo window curtains, there must be a figure standing silently. Between them were three corridors, two red doors, a pool of clear spring water, and a garden full of plum branches. It only took a blink of an eye to walk across them.
However, a heavy feeling of powerlessness gradually arose in my heart. Why did this seemingly short journey seem so far away?
His eyes were peaceful and leisurely like water. He did not speak, but just looked quietly. His gaze penetrated every moment of the past seven years, and passed through the joys and sorrows of the passing years. The past was like the wind, like a dream, and they shared weal and woe.
A strong wind suddenly blew up, and the bamboo umbrella in Ah Jing's hand was blown away as soon as she lifted it. The young guard was startled and turned to chase the bamboo umbrella. The heavy snow fell on Yan Xun's shoulders. Although he was wearing a thick fur coat, he still felt so cold.
"Walk."
A short word came out of the man's mouth. Little Li was delighted and immediately led the way in front, saying as he walked: "The girl must not have slept yet, Prince..." Before he finished speaking, he saw Yan Xun and A Jing walking in the completely opposite direction. Little Leo was slightly stunned, holding the lantern with his mouth wide open, at a loss for a moment, not knowing what to do.
With a soft "puff" sound, Chu Qiao gently lowered the window, slowly took off her outer robe, wearing only a single layer of clothes, and walked to the lanterns in the four corners and blew them out one by one, her movements were slow and her face was calm.
Finally, there was a slight sound, and the candle on the desk was blown out, and the room was suddenly plunged into chaotic darkness.
She groped her way to the bed, pulled back the quilt, and lay down in it. The wind was silent, unusually quiet. In the darkness, the girl's eyes were wide open. There were no tears in her cold eyes. Instead, there was something indescribable that gradually sank, layer by layer, like endless fine sand and ocean waves.
The next morning, Chu Qiao went to the front yard to eat breakfast as usual. Yingge Courtyard was unusually quiet today, as if everyone was carefully restraining themselves from making any noise. Chu Qiao and Yan Xun sat opposite each other, still eating their meals as usual, occasionally looking up to chat.
The masters behaved in a normal manner, as if nothing had happened. Ah Jing, Lvliu and other servants looked around in confusion, but finally sighed helplessly: Maybe, we were really wrong.
After breakfast, everything became calm, everyone was doing their job, and there seemed to be a hint of joy in their expressions.
After all, from now on, Yinggeyuan no longer has to act according to other people's wishes in this huge palace.
At noon, Yan Xun opened the door of the greenhouse and saw Chu Qiao leaning quietly on the railing of the flower stand, looking like she had been waiting for a long time.
"My Xuetilan!" Yan Xun cried out and ran forward hurriedly.
Chu Qiao was startled, and turned around, only to see Yan Xun holding a broken orchid behind her, shouting in annoyance, "My Blood Orchid!"
"It wasn't me."
The girl immediately raised her hands, trying to stay out of the situation. "I wasn't leaning there."
"Don't you see the silk ropes between the flower stands?"
Chu Qiao was stunned, and after a closer look, she found that it was indeed the case. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Even if I am fine, at most I can compensate you with another pot."
Yan Xun shook his head, put the flower pot aside, sat on the chair, and said seriously: "What do you think about this matter?"
Chu Qiao thought for a while, then said, "The emperor has murderous intentions towards you."
Yan Xun smiled faintly, and said, "It's not the first time that he has been wanting to kill me."
"This time is different," Chu Qiao shook her head and said in a deep voice, "He doesn't really want to make peace with you, but just wants to stop the world from talking about it and find a way out for himself. He wants to get rid of you and stay out of it." The girl looked solemn and analyzed clearly, "Now the clans are powerful and the fiefdoms are vast. The emperor has almost no military power except for the army in the capital. The military, political and financial power are all in the hands of the elders and the scattered families. Zhao Zhengde wants to take back the kingship. In addition to relying on Meng Tian, Le Xing and other few generals who support the imperial power can only pin their hopes on the princes and dukes in the border areas. Therefore, he must not kill you blatantly, for fear of causing unrest in Yanbei and stimulating the crazy assassination of the Datong Guild's death warriors, and for fear of chilling the hearts of the royal families in the world, so as to avoid another rumor of reducing the power of the vassal. After all, the clans are waiting for the princes and royal families of each family to rise up, so as to seize the opportunity to fight for the fiefdom and expand the family power. Once the power of the princes and dukes is eroded by the clans, it will be more difficult for the royal family to regain the imperial power. "
Yan Xun nodded in agreement. The girl continued, "So if he wants to kill you, he has to use someone else's hand to make it seem true, and then put the blame on others and keep himself out of it. But now as long as you die, the whole world will point the spearhead at him, so he chose to marry his daughter to you at this time, pretending to be tolerant and generous, making the world think that he really wants to let you go back to Yanbei and not pursue the past. Then he will personally kill you. Once you die, his most beloved daughter will become a widow, and naturally no one will suspect him at that time."