Chapter 84 I Want You to Carry Me
Li Chu pretended to be stunned at first, then showed a very surprised expression: "Uncle Cui, what do you mean by this?"
Patriarch Cui drank a sip of wine slowly, and then said, "My dear nephew, don't act in front of me. Don't tell me that you haven't received the news that your aunt disappeared in the manor."
Seeing that the head of the Cui family was getting straight to the point, Li Chu was too lazy to pretend anymore and said indifferently: "I wonder what Uncle Cui wants to do by taking my father's concubine away?"
Patriarch Cui said, "Nephew, don't panic. We just invited her to our house to ask her some questions. She only told us the reason why your father fell down, but I found some interesting information from it."
"Oh?" Li Chu's expression remained unchanged. "What interesting information?"
Patriarch Cui smiled and said, "Your brother's cause of death seems to have something to do with you."
Li Chu hesitated for a moment and sighed, "It is indeed related to me. My father and I are too used to Xiao Ao, which is why he has no respect for the law and has caused such a disaster, ultimately hurting others and himself."
Seeing that he was still making excuses at this point, Patriarch Cui did not get angry, but said, "I know that you have already dealt with all the evidence regarding your father's illness and Li Ao's death. We won't find anything even if we investigate. But my nephew has heard a saying, 'People's words are scary.'"
Li Chu looked at him coldly.
Patriarch Cui continued, "I know that your father is still alive because you haven't really taken charge of the Li family yet. You still need your father to stabilize the situation. Your uncles are eyeing the position of the head of the family. If we spread the news of what you have done, and your father and aunt are the witnesses, what is the chance that your uncles will take the position of the head of the family from you?"
Even if there is no evidence and it is just a rumor that he murdered his father and brother, once it is made public, his father, aunt, and uncles will definitely do everything they can to prove his guilt. Even if he wins, he will probably suffer a great loss.
If Cui Chen and other aristocratic families take advantage of the situation again, not to mention him, it will be a problem whether the entire Li family can be preserved.
Li Chu lowered his eyes, tightly gripped the wine glass in his hand, said nothing, and frowned.
After a long silence, Patriarch Cui and Patriarch Chen looked at each other. Patriarch Cui played the bad guy, so Patriarch Chen had to play the good guy.
"My dear nephew, we don't mean to embarrass you." The head of the Chen family spoke up. Li Chu looked over and continued, "Now that the emperor is becoming more and more arrogant, we, the noble families, are the thorns in his side. Naturally, we must unite to deal with his persecution together. If we fight alone, we will be easily defeated one by one, which is really not worth the loss."
Li Chu seemed to be suppressing his anger, and sneered, "So the two uncles can't bear to see me stay out of this, so they found these handles to threaten me to continue to be a shield for you?"
The head of the Chen family said, "My nephew, you can't say that. The confrontation in the court is also a kind of war. Some people are responsible for command, some are responsible for logistics, and naturally some people have to be responsible for charging and breaking through the formation."
Li Chu looked at him: "Charge and attack, just like the He family?"
Patriarch Chen was silent for a few seconds, his expression obviously worsening: "My dear nephew, do you have to be sarcastic when you speak?"
"You asked me to go to death, and you won't let me vent my emotions?" Li Chu raised his head and drank a glass of wine, his eyes red.
The head of the Chen family forced a smile and said, "It's not as serious as you say, my nephew. It's still unclear who will win or lose between us and the emperor. Why are you asking for death?"
"Uncle, do you believe what you said?" Li Chu said sarcastically, "If you are so confident, why don't you let the Chen family take the lead? I believe you understand the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when they are gone". If the He family is gone, my Li family will be next. What about the Li family?"
The head of the Chen family understood what Li Chu meant, but he could not resist the Cui family and could only choose to oppress the Li family. Even if it was just a last-ditch effort, he had to buy more time for the Chen family. And what if the aristocratic family won by then?
As if he could see through his thoughts, Li Chu had a smile on his lips but his eyes were desolate.
He said, "Congratulations, uncles. Your plan has succeeded. From now on, I will follow your orders and will never disobey you."
Patriarch Chen turned his head and looked at the dead grass beside him, his eyes seemed to be sympathetic to his own kind. However, Patriarch Cui always had a decent smile on his face.
When Li Chu left, he was unable to take his aunt away from the Cui family, and he didn't even get to see her. As a handle to use against him, the Cui family would definitely keep his aunt under strict protection.
On the way back, even when he arrived at Li's house, Li Chu had a look of despair. It was not until he met Li's mother and knew he was safe that he took off the disguise on his face.
Before going to the banquet, Li Chu guessed why they asked him to go, so what he said in front of Cui Chen and the others was more of a performance.
But Li Chu still felt unhappy that his secret was discovered and used to threaten him.
Li's mother guessed what happened to her son. Seeing that he did not look panicked, she asked him, "Has my son figured out a way to deal with it?"
Li Chu sat down and smiled at his mother: "Mom, you forgot that they don't know that I have surrendered to the emperor."
Mother Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.
"Go with the flow and take advantage of the situation?"
In the palace, after Rong Yin heard the news that Li Chu conveyed to Zong Zhengxiao, he immediately thought of these two idioms.
"Not bad." Zong Zhengxiao said, "I had no choice but to do this. I wanted to let him stay hidden for a little longer so that he could play a greater role, but I didn't expect that the Cui and Chen families would still discover his secret."
Rong Yin understood: "They want to use Li Chu to deal with us, but Li Chu is temporarily in our camp. If the family wants to take action against us, Li Chu will definitely inform us in advance. But if the family's plan fails repeatedly, the family will definitely suspect that Li Chu is an undercover agent."
Zong Zhengxiao frowned, "Yes, this is actually a big loss for us."
Rong Yin raised her hand, gently smoothed his brows, and comforted him softly: "Before Li Chu, the aristocratic families were still no match for us. He is just the icing on the cake. Your Majesty, you are so powerful, you will definitely not let the aristocratic families succeed in their evil schemes. I believe in you."
Zong Zhengxiao held the man in his arms and said with a smile, "Are you so confident in me?"
Rong Yin nodded: "Of course, my Majesty is the most powerful Majesty in history."
"Ayin has such a sweet mouth." Zong Zhengxiao smiled and went over to kiss him.
Rong Yin hugged his neck and was about to have a deeper conversation when a dark shadow suddenly jumped in and almost bumped into the two of them.
"Woof woof woof!" Student Xiao Ai circled around the two of them, her big eyes sparkling.
Zong Zhengxiao subconsciously hugged Rong Yin and hid for a while, looking at the energetic Gou Zi, he said coldly: "Do you know that you came at the wrong time?"
"Awoo?" Xiao Ai had a natural fear of Zong Zheng Xiao. When she heard his cold tone, her ears drooped instantly.
At this time, the palace maid who was taking care of Xiao Ai also ran in, bowed and apologized, saying that she had not kept an eye on the dog and accidentally let it run in.
Rong Yin went over and kissed Zong Zhengxiao on the face, saying, "Okay, don't be so mean to the girl. We've been busy these days and haven't played with it for a long time. It just misses us. Now we have time, let's go and take it for a walk. Just think of it as a stroll."
With Rong Yin's comfort, Zong Zheng Xiao's expression immediately turned from gloomy to bright, and he said with a gentle smile: "Okay."
As late autumn turns to winter, the trees, flowers and plants wither and the palace becomes desolate.
Except for Rong Yin who was not afraid of the cold, everyone else wore thicker clothes. Si Xi followed behind Zong Zheng Xiao and looked at Rong Yin who was racing with classmate Xiao Ai in front of him. Like Zong Zheng Xiao, he showed a relieved smile on his face.
Zong Zhengxiao's eyes were as gentle as water, and he smiled and sighed: "You are so old, but you are still like a child."
This tone is exactly the proud mentality of a parent showing off his or her own child.
Si Xi said, "Master Rong Yin has a cheerful personality. With your Majesty's protection, and at an active age, it is normal for him to be a little childish."
Seeing Rong Yin jumping around tirelessly, Zong Zhengxiao's smile deepened, "I also hope that he can always be as happy as he is now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Yin in front of him turned around and waved at him excitedly: "Your Majesty! You are far behind! Come here quickly!"
"Okay, come right over." Zong Zhengxiao responded and followed quickly.
Finally, the three people and the dog came to a courtyard where there was a ginkgo tree that was estimated to be hundreds of years old. Its golden leaves covered the ground like a soft carpet.
Xiao Ai was the first to rush in. Her head and face were covered with ginkgo leaves. She was as excited as a chicken with blood taken up.
Rong Yin also squatted down and started to pick up the clean and intact leaves. Zong Zhengxiao was curious: "Why are you picking these?"
Rong Yin chuckled and said, "Keep it a secret for now."
Seeing this, Zong Zhengxiao also squatted down and started to help him pick up.
Si Xi was a perceptive man. Seeing that Rong Yin wanted a lot of ginkgo leaves, he winked at the palace servant next to him and asked him to find a clean small cloth bag, put the leaves in it, and took the initiative to help carry the bags.
After the two of them finished picking up the fruits, Xiao Ai had had enough fun and returned the same way.
Halfway through the walk, Rong Yin shook Zong Zheng Xiao's hand, and when Zong Zheng Xiao looked over, she said softly, "I'm tired and don't want to walk alone."
Si Xi said hurriedly, "I'll ask someone to bring the walking stick here."
"No." Rong Yin refused, "I want Your Majesty to carry me back."
"This..." Si Xi looked at Zong Zheng Xiao.
Zong Zheng Xiao did not hesitate, turned his back to Rong Yin, and bowed: "Come up."
"Hehe." Rong Yin jumped and landed directly on Zong Zhengxiao's back.
Fortunately, Zong Zheng Xiao stood steadily, otherwise he would have been knocked off balance by him.
"Are you ready to lie down?" Zong Zhengxiao hooked his legs.
戎音一只手攀着宗政逍的肩，一只手朝前指，朗聲道：“陛下牌車車，請朝着銀鲛園，出發！”
宗政逍：“遵命，戎音大人！”
“汪汪汪！”小艾同學也跟着湊熱鬧。
小艾同學跑在前面帶路，路上時不時會遇見路過的宮人，看見皇上來了，紛紛退避到一邊低頭行禮，等一行人離開後才敢擡起頭。
他們自然是知道宗政逍背上那人是誰的，銀鲛園的主子戎音，受盡陛下恩寵，這個宮裏除了陛下外最尊貴的人。
有宮人感慨：“他若是女子，這帝後之位，應當非他莫屬了吧。”
“當然了，能讓陛下親自背的人，這世間能有幾個？”
“可陛下是君王，以後總要娶妻納妃繁衍子嗣的，你們說，到時候這位貴人該以何種身份自處？”
“誰知道呢，反正榮華富貴落不到咱們頭上，走吧走吧，要是遲到了，待會兒管事又要罵人了。”
幾個宮人匆匆離去，他們的話語也随着秋風消逝，再聽不見。
戎音趴在宗政逍肩上，盯着宗政逍的側臉，忍不住感慨：“陛下，你對我這麽好，要是沒了你，我該怎麽辦呀？”
宗政逍的濃密的羽睫被風吹動，他笑着道：“我會永遠把你圈禁在我身邊，永遠對你好，所以你不用擔心。”
戎音抿唇傻樂：“陛下，你好霸道啊。”
宗政逍問：“那你喜歡嗎？”
“喜歡。”戎音語氣跟頭頂的太陽一樣軟和溫暖，“我也會永遠喜歡陛下，永遠愛陛下。”
“我也愛阿音。”宗政逍回複。
兩人一路都在撒狗糧，還好小艾同學是真正的狗，四喜也早就習慣了，不然他倆在這深秋，真要感到孤獨寂寞冷了。
回到銀鲛園，戎音拎着一袋銀杏葉火急火燎回了房間，宗政逍知道他估計又要做什麽小玩意兒，也不去打擾他，自己去小書房處理政務。
晚飯後，戎音牽着宗政逍的手進屋，還讓他閉上眼睛，說要給他一個驚喜。
宗政逍聽話照做，只聽一陣窸窸窣窣後，戎音的聲音在他面前響起，“可以睜開了。”
掀起眼皮，首先映入眼簾的就是一捧金黃色的重瓣花朵，十分奪人眼球。
宗政逍也是愣了幾秒才發現，這些“花”其實是銀杏葉做的，乍一看還真像漂亮的花朵。
原來這就是戎音撿葉子的原因。
戎音把花遞給宗政逍，笑得眉眼彎彎：“皇帝陛下，收下我的花，可是要跟我約會的哦。”
銀杏花束是用一張彩紙包裹起來的，宗政逍接過花，伸手揉了揉戎音的頭：“能跟阿音約會，是我的榮幸。”
戎音握住宗政逍的手，踮起腳尖靠近他：“約會的流程，散步，吃飯，我們都已經完成了，那接下來該進行哪個步驟了？”
宗政逍伸手圈住戎音的腰，微微往自己身上帶：“我不懂，阿音告訴我好不好？”
“好啊。”戎音摟住宗政逍的脖子，輕吻住他的唇，低聲道：“該接吻了，我的陛下。”
“收到。”宗政逍一手扣住戎音的後腦勺，重重回吻。
銀杏花束擱在兩人中間，被好一番蹂躏，最終還是宗政逍心疼戎音的努力成果，及時将它放到了旁邊去。
……
為了讓李楚能繼承他爹的衣缽，在朝堂上有資格跟宗政逍叫板，崔陳兩家通過各種關系，讓他官複原職，繼續做禮部侍郎。
接近年關，宗政逍和各部門都比較忙，一忙起來，難免會産生摩擦，也就有了各種大大小小的矛盾。
比如戶部因為銀子跟某個部門吵起來了，比如吏部因為官員調派的問題被罵了，又比如刑部因為公正執法被哪位大人物威脅了……
有些矛盾會鬧到宗政逍跟前來，這時候就輪到李楚出場了。
跟他爹之前一樣，李楚老是站出來反對宗政逍的言論，也就是為了反對而反對，總之就是不讓宗政逍安生。
李楚每次站出來跟宗政逍争論，都需要莫大的勇氣，因為争論是假的，宗政逍對他的懲罰卻是真的。
他爹以前作死是什麽待遇，他也是什麽待遇，三天兩頭被針對，比他爹的遭遇更甚，讓他苦不堪言。
李楚有理由懷疑，宗政逍就是故意的，這是在借着由頭向他撒氣呢。
感覺身累心累的李楚來到清秋閣，對寧月道：“寧月姑娘，現在戎老板不樂意見我，他要是到你這裏來，勞煩你跟他講一聲，讓他跟陛下說說，放我一馬呗。”
寧月舉起白棋放到棋盤上，神情謙和：“奴家與戎老板只談風月，不論朝政，恐怕幫不到李公子您。”
李楚盯着她看：“果真？”
寧月垂眸：“當然。”
“那好吧。”李楚這樣說着，但那表情明顯是不信的。
這日寧月又受某位公子邀約，前去晚宴上唱曲兒。
一群纨绔子弟聚在一起，多喝了幾杯，又美人在懷，嘴巴自然是幹淨不到哪裏去的。
寧月裝作沒聽見，又唱完一曲，輪到其它節目，她就被請到了旁邊去喝茶休息。
她身份擺在那裏，即便那些公子哥們都喝大了，也沒人敢對她做什麽，最多只是跟她開幾句下流玩笑，但真正動手是沒有的。
寧月今日接待的客人比較多，嗓子都唱疲勞了，她垂眸飲茶，正想着明日得去醫館請大夫給她開幾副養護嗓子的湯藥，前方忽然傳來一陣驚呼。
她尋聲看去，只見一個醉醺醺的男子闖入正在跳舞的那群女子中間，一把抓住了其中一位貌美舞女的手，漲紅着臉大笑：“哈哈哈哈，賀鳶兒，真是你啊，之前聽說你淪落風塵，成了一點朱唇萬人嘗的妓子，我還不相信，如今一見，果然不假！”
賀鳶兒，賀家人！
寧月驚訝，沒想到這麽巧，又讓她遇見了賀家女。
不過看樣貌，這位賀家女應該不是上次那位，她看起來更年輕，大概只有十五六歲。
她被男人拽出人堆，神情驚恐又不安，明顯是不知該如何應對這種情況。
還好這時，負責帶她們過來的一位媽媽上前擋在了賀鳶兒面前，滿臉堆笑：“這位客人，表演還沒結束呢，您要是想點鳶兒伺候，待會兒我就把人送去您房裏，現在勞煩您先放開她，讓她把舞跳完吧。”
媽媽說得客氣，但這個醉鬼明顯不想跟她講道理。
“你算什麽東西，老子想什麽時候要她就什麽時候要，用得着你管？”
說着，他直接抓着媽媽的衣領就将人摔到了一邊去。
媽媽哀嚎一聲，爬起來後見宴席的主人也沒有要幹涉的意思，知曉賀鳶兒逃不過這一劫了，也只能無奈地搖搖頭，躲到了旁邊去。
媽媽都管不了，剩下的舞女們更是毫無辦法，只能眼睜睜看賀鳶兒被醉鬼拽進懷裏，舉止粗魯地對待。
“好疼……”醉鬼在賀鳶兒腿上狠狠掐了一把，痛得她眼淚都出來了。
“再叫大聲點兒，爺就喜歡聽你叫喚。”醉鬼說着，手上的動作越發出格。
賀鳶兒一邊驚叫一邊哭泣，看起來萬分可憐，但那些公子哥都坐在旁邊看戲，沒有一點要制止的意思。
寧月蹙眉，這醉鬼是京城哪家的公子？自己似乎沒見過。
聽他之前的話，應當是認識賀鳶兒的，這是有什麽仇什麽怨，要這樣為難一個弱女子？
寧月正疑惑着，不遠處兩位公子的交談聲就傳進她耳中，告訴了她答案。
“李兄，這周兄怎麽一來就沖賀鳶兒去了？”
“王弟你不知，當初賀家風頭正盛，周家不過五品官員，就想讓自家小兒子跟賀家嫡幼女賀鳶兒結親，結果惹得賀家主大怒，不僅使手段讓周家主降了職，還将人趕出了京城。只不過賀家嫌這件事容易壞了自家名聲，就設法瞞下了，是以知道賀周兩家恩怨的人不多。”
“我記得周兄就是周家最小的孩子，那周家主當年就是想要他娶賀鳶兒吧。”
“然也，周家一直對賀家懷恨在心，現下賀家倒了臺，周家今年又重返京城，你說說，周兄對賀家的人能有什麽好臉色？”
“想來今晚有好戲看了。”
聽完前因後果，寧月再轉頭看向周公子跟賀鳶兒。
其他舞女都撤下去了，被賓客包圍的舞臺之上，只剩下兩人站在中央。
賀鳶兒本就輕薄的舞衣已經被周公子撕了大半，她徒勞地掙紮着，臉上滿是淚痕。
“求你，求求你，放過我吧……”賀鳶兒哽咽着求饒。
周公子神情猙獰：“當初我爹求你父親放過我家的時候，你父親怎麽不答應？不過是一時興起開了個玩笑，你爹就狠心将我家趕出京城，這樣惡毒，你賀家落得現在的下場就是活該！”
他瘋狂撕扯着賀鳶兒的衣服，冷笑道：“你爹這會兒應該就在天上看着你吧，當初他瞧不上我周家，不肯把我嫁給你，那我今天就當着他的面把你給上了，看他還敢不敢狗眼看人低！”
As Master Zhou spoke, he threw He Yi'er to the ground, as if he really wanted to do something indecent to He Yi'er in front of everyone.
The young men sitting in the seats either drank too much or had no intention of stopping it, they just watched the atrocities happening in front of them without blinking, and some even shouted "good" a few times.
"No! No! Save me! Someone come and save me!"
He Yier fought back desperately, her voice filled with pain and despair.
The dancers who came with him turned their heads away in pity, some looked pale, while others shed tears with empathy.
Ning Yue clenched her hands on her knees into fists, but she couldn't help it and stood up.
The maid beside her quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Miss, we can't help her, so don't get yourself involved."
Ning Yue patted her hands, indicating that everything was fine, and then walked towards the host of tonight's banquet.