Chapter 310 Bargaining

When Emperor Zhaowen arrived at the side courtyard where Xie Zhuoning was imprisoned, he saw her trying to fix the leaking windows.

The weather in the coldest month of winter was freezing cold, and she had to blow warm air into her palms from time to time to prevent them from freezing.

A good young lady from a marquis's family, she fell to this state, but she did not blame anyone. Instead, she was in the mood to hum a little tune.

This Xie Zhuoning is really interesting.

He walked straight in and Emperor Zhaowen looked around the neatly organized room. "I see you seem quite contented."

Hearing the noise, Xie Zhuoning turned around and saw the person coming. She was surprised for a moment and hurried over to pay her respects, "Your Highness."

"It's well cleaned." Emperor Zhaowen nodded in approval, and when he saw that the chair had been wiped clean, he lifted his robe and sat down.

"Wait a minute..." Xie Zhuoning suddenly remembered something and when he wanted to ask him not to sit, it was too late.

Emperor Zhaowen leaned back and sat down on the ground.

Xie Zhuoning twitched his lips, "Well, I forgot to mention that one leg of the chair is broken."

Li Mingying, who was standing by, hurriedly helped Emperor Zhaowen up and frowned, scolding him: "Since it's broken, why don't you take it out and throw it away?"

"Uh..." Xie Zhuoning thought for a moment and explained, "Is it possible that this is already the best chair in the room and I want to clean it up and sit on it myself?"

Li Mingying: “…”

Emperor Zhaowen: "...Send someone to clean this place and replace some good furniture."

Seeing this, Xie Zhuoning immediately added: "It would be even better if His Majesty could have the roof and windows repaired, and get me some charcoal and quilts, and three or five home-cooked dishes."

After taking a deep look at her and seeing that she was continuing to push her limits, Emperor Zhaowen's expression became somewhat gloomy.

"Why didn't I see before that you were so shameless?"

Xie Zhuoning smiled with his lips bent, "This person, when he had enough food and drink, he still cared about etiquette and manners, but I am almost freezing and starving here, how can I not be thick-skinned?"

Emperor Zhaowen narrowed his eyes and said, "You stabbed the crown prince, which is a heinous crime. Aren't you afraid that I am here to take your life?"

She actually dared to propose conditions to him. She is really brave.

Xie Zhuoning curled his lips slightly. He knew that he would die, but Emperor Zhaowen would never let him die now.

What's more, he is the king of a country, and he came to see me in person in the cold winter. Isn't it because I still have value that he wants to use?

She said in a clear voice, "Because I know that Your Majesty is the best Your Majesty. You have a sharp eye and can see through everything. How could you wrongly accuse someone?"

"Oh? So you're being wronged?"

"Although I am not wrongly accused, it is clear that the Crown Prince was the one who first set up the situation against me, and I had no choice but to take action. Even if you want to punish me, shouldn't you also punish the Crown Prince to be fair?"

Hearing this, Emperor Zhaowen couldn't help laughing, "You're talking to me about fairness?"

An official of a higher rank can already oppress others, let alone the fact that he is the emperor, the supreme ruler.

Whether I kill or take, it is all the will of the emperor.

Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor.

Even if she was asked to die immediately, would she dare to disobey?

Xie Zhuoning lowered his head, neither humble nor arrogant, "Of course I dare not. But I know one truth very well: those who are righteous have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous have few. You can take the life of one person at will, but what if there are hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people? Can you kill them all?"

These words made Emperor Zhaowen look at her with new eyes.

When she broke off the engagement with the prince, she looked crazy and manic, not at all like a lady from a noble family.

But now I see that her eyes are clear and bright, and it is obvious that she is talented and intelligent.

In the past, she was looked down upon because she was a woman.

Folding his heavy cloak, Emperor Zhaowen asked casually, "Xie's girl, do you know medicine?"

When Xie Zhuoning heard this, she immediately understood why Emperor Zhaowen came to see her in person.

I had saved up a bargaining chip to save my life, but I didn't expect it would come in handy so soon.

She shook her head decisively, "No."

Emperor Zhaowen narrowed his eyes, his expression stern, "Yunheng said that you cured me last time. Now you say you don't know any medical skills, are you trying to deceive the emperor?"

Xie Zhuoning looked innocent, "Your Majesty, I have never lied to you. I don't know any medical skills. However, I did come across a method of prolonging life in an ancient book."

The way to prolong life!

When Emperor Zhaowen heard these four words, his eyes brightened.

"Tell me, how can we continue?"

"The method of prolonging life can only be used when a person is about to die. As for how to prolong life, I seem to be frozen and can't remember it for a while."

Can't remember, or don't want to say it?

Emperor Zhaowen knew that she wanted to keep some means to save her life, so he did not force her.

After all, how long he can live may be in her hands.

There's no benefit in pushing her into a corner.

Now that I have not yet reached the end of my life, I will keep her for a while.

Emperor Zhaowen raised his eyes and looked at her meaningfully, "It doesn't matter if you can't remember it now, just don't forget it next time I summon you."

The next time he is summoned, it will be a matter of life and death.

Xie Zhuoning naturally understood what he meant, and lowered her head and smiled, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I think my memory will recover after a few days of rest."

She emphasized the four words "cultivate yourself well".

Emperor Zhaowen understood immediately and immediately asked Li Mingying to call the guards in charge of watching over Xie Zhuoning, "If the eldest daughter of the Xie family needs anything in the future, just satisfy her. Just one thing, don't let her leave here, and don't allow anyone to enter this yard."

"yes."

After some bargaining, Xie Zhuoning respectfully saw Emperor Zhaowen off.

The dilapidated palace soon became warm and comfortable at her request.

She took a look and felt that something was missing. "Oh, yes, curtains. We need to hang more curtains in the house."

The captain of the guard frowned in disapproval. "In winter, charcoal fires are lit in the house. There are too many curtains, so it is very easy to catch fire."

Xie Zhuoning refused to give in. "I am a girl after all. With so many eyes on me, how can I maintain my dignity? Otherwise, you should ask everyone to evacuate and only guard the outer courtyard. No one is allowed to peek into the house."

It would be even worse if we evacuated people outside.

The captain of the guard had no choice but to agree to the request to add more curtains.

Xie Zhuoning looked at the layers of draperies that blocked his view inside the hall and nodded with satisfaction.

She walked into the house, carefully punched a hole in the inner wall, and pressed it.

A secret door slowly opened in front of her.

The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she smiled, "Not bad, it can still be used."

She had stayed in this palace for so many years in her previous life, and she was very familiar with every place in the palace.

At that time, she wanted to do something practical to clear herself of the charge of being a witch, so she wanted to renovate the dilapidated palaces in the palace and make the best use of them.

This is one of them.

This was originally the residence of one of Emperor Gaozong's favorite concubines. It was said that the concubine was as beautiful as a fairy, but one day, she suddenly turned into a butterfly and flew away in full view of everyone.

She naturally didn't believe it, so she came to look for it once, and sure enough, she found the secret passage.

At that time, she felt sad and thought that it was no wonder that the favored concubine did not live in those bustling palaces, but chose such a secluded place on the grounds that she liked quietness.

It's just a cover-up.

But when she was about to find out the truth, Xiao Bicheng called her back and told her not to bother, so the renovation was put on hold.

So when she was caught and locked up here, she cleaned up so actively, just to find the location of the secret door.

"I don't know where this secret passage leads to."

She looked back and walked down the stairs.