Chapter 490 Extra Chapter 9: Bright Light Shines, Still Waters Ripple
The Empress was deliberately avoiding him; the two hadn't seen each other for half a month, and waiting like this wasn't a solution.
Xiu Ningchuan put down the chess piece in his hand and called out, "Bring Zhenzhen over here."
Just as the eunuch was about to leave, Xiu Ningchuan changed his mind again.
"No need, you should go and rest too."
He's not so useless as to use a child as a shield when it comes to problems between the two of them.
Xiu Ningchuan thought so, but he walked to the door and then came back. He looked down at the plain brocade robe he was wearing and frowned.
He did not back down, but went back to change his clothes.
Having been married for many years, Xiu Ningchuan knew Empress Chenzhao's likes and dislikes, and what would make her unable to look away.
At first glance, his moon-white Guangling brocade robe with wide sleeves and collar looked no different from what he usually wore, but upon closer inspection, one could see that it was quite different.
The collar is adorned with lapis lazuli-colored seal script, the ink traces peeking through the light gauze, exuding the elegant demeanor of a renowned scholar.
He thought for a moment, then took a whisk with three peacock feathers wrapped in silver thread, which made the immortal's appearance even more radiant.
Xiu Ningchuan looked at himself in the bronze mirror again and again to make sure there was nothing wrong before he sighed and walked out of the Star Pivot Hall.
If someone had told him five years ago that he would one day have to use his looks to please someone, he would have cursed that person for being utterly ignorant.
On his way here, Xiu Ningchuan thought about many things, from the day he entered the palace, to learning that the Empress was pregnant, to the Empress giving birth to Zhenzhen, the Empress's victory and unification of the world, and the disputes between the two of them...
As the past unfolded before him, he remembered every detail about her.
Xiu Ningchuan walked to the foot of the steps of the Empress's Purple Palace and heard the laughter of many people coming from inside the palace, which sounded extremely lively in the quiet night.
Xiu Ningchuan paused slightly.
"I've heard that the handsome men at the Xijin Palace are young and good-looking, and what's most strange is that they all look very much like the hostage who was once at the hostage house."
Judging from that voice, it is Zhao Yunhuai, the eldest son of Prince Yong.
He tightened his grip on the whisk, took a few more steps, and heard another person's voice.
He was Yuchi Tingnan, the only son of Princess Huachang, and his voice was weak.
"After Xijin surrendered, Yuwen Tianqing became the King of Xijin. In my opinion, he still misses his elder sister."
Xiu Ningchuan had also heard about the King of Xijin. The successful subjugation of Xijin was inseparable from the assistance provided by Yuwen Tianqing, as well as the silver hairpin in the Empress Dowager's possession that could break the witchcraft of the Tianyue Clan.
Before the war began, the empress visited the hostage house late at night on several occasions without trying to hide it from anyone. The affair between the empress and the King of Xijin was the most widely circulated of her romantic escapades, as the love and hate entanglements between them were extremely complex.
Xiu Ningchuan did not believe this rumor.
The King of Xijin was much older than her, and he had even sent assassins to kill her father. The empress was only using him.
But now that these words are coming from the mouths of these princes and noblemen, they have gained credibility.
Xiu Ningchuan stopped at the entrance of the palace.
His newly changed moon-white wide-sleeved robe was bathed in the dim yellow light of the palace lanterns.
There were no palace servants outside the hall, so no one inside knew that he was already outside the door.
The laughter and chatter in the hall continued as they discussed the relationship between the King of Xijin and the Empress, but they did not hear a word from Empress Chenzhao.
She did not refute it.
A crack appeared on the jade handle of the whisk in Xiu Ningchuan's hand.
yes.
Amidst the deceit and manipulation, it's inevitable that some genuine feelings will be hidden.
However, it wasn't just King Xijin.
Xiu Ningchuan frowned, wondering how many people were truly in the Empress's heart.
Whenever these men came to the palace, the Empress would dismiss the palace servants and forbid anyone from serving them, which led to some rumors circulating in the palace.
However, after Xiu Ningchuan entered the palace, he was very strict with his subordinates. After publicly punishing more than a dozen talkative eunuchs, no one in the palace dared to talk about these unfounded rumors anymore.
Moreover, after he punished the inner court, Empress Chenzhao's behavior became much more restrained, and she no longer summoned them at night.
This time, however, the Empress not only gave him the cold shoulder, but also summoned Yuchi Tingnan and Zhao Yunhuai to the palace.
Xiu Ningchuan's heart grew colder and colder.
Inside the Purple Palace.
Zhao Yunhuai continued, "What Nan said makes sense. It's probably because Prince Jin wants the Emperor to always remember him and cherish their past relationship."
Longing...for past love...
Now that Xiu Ningchuan has come, there's no reason for him to turn back. Even if he's facing a wall, he'll have to break through it before he leaves.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, saying in a cold voice, "Your Majesty, I have something to discuss with you."
A brief silence fell over the hall.
Zhao Yunhuai and Yuchi Tingnan put down their wine cups in surprise and looked at Empress Chenzhao, but she seemed not to hear them. She was holding her chopsticks and scribbling something on the table, looking focused and absorbed.
Zhao Yunhuai reminded her, "Royal sister, someone is coming."
Empress Chenzhao didn't even raise her head, and said without much interest, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to disturb us?"
The man seated to the right of the Empress spoke up, "It's Xiu Ningchuan who's here."
Upon hearing this name, Empress Chenzhao stiffened for a moment, looking into the hall, but her gaze did not find his figure.
"Where is the Emperor Consort?"
Lu Songwen nodded and asked with a smile, "We're right at the door. Does His Majesty wish to see him?"
Xiu Ningchuan, who was just outside the door, pushed open the palace door and said, "It was my rudeness that disturbed Your Majesty's enjoyment!"
The group looked at him with different expressions.
They had all met this royal consort before, more than once. The earliest instance was before the wedding, when they secretly climbed over the Xiu family's wall to test whether he was worthy of the empress.
The results of the inspection were unsatisfactory in every aspect.
They were far from meeting the standard that the three men considered worthy of the Empress.
Xiu Ningchuan is a man of refined elegance, like bamboo and still water, always courteous and humble to everyone he meets.
At this moment, Xiu Ningchuan's expression was frighteningly cold; everything within sight seemed to freeze in his gaze.
Yuchi Tingnan was familiar with this expression.
Because he has a fairy-like mother at home, who looks like this when provoked by his shameless father. At such a moment, if Yuchi listens to Nan Duo, he will face being packed up and kicked out of the mansion.
Yuchi Tingnan shrank back and hid behind Zhao Yunhuai.
The two were about the same age, but Zhao Yunhuai was clearly bolder.
He clicked his tongue, seemingly not wanting to miss a chance to cause trouble, and said, "Since the Imperial Consort knows he is being presumptuous, yet still insists on disturbing our gathering with the Imperial Sister, is he deliberately being disrespectful?"
Xiu Ningchuan raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't even see the Prince here. It seems I have to add another charge against me."
He said, slowly and deliberately, "Blind to the truth."
Zhao Yunhuai understood the sarcasm in those words, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush over.
Yuchi Tingnan wanted to stop him, but didn't want to. Zhao Yunhuai was a few months older than him and had come of age. He had just been released from his alcohol ban and had drunk quite a bit. He was covered in the smell of alcohol. If he smelled like alcohol, his mother would definitely dislike him when he got home.
He cried out urgently, "Songwen, stop him!"
Lu Songwen was usually a man of few words and even less inclined to get involved in such matters. He sat quietly beside the Empress.
With a loud thud, the Empress lowered her eyes and slammed the chopsticks onto the table.
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