Chapter 244 "Escape"

After Jun Zechen finished reviewing all the memorials in his study, he slowly raised his head and looked out the window at the sky. The rosy clouds in the sky were as gorgeous as brocade.

Before I knew it, it was already this time.

He stretched his slightly stiff body, stood up and walked towards the bedroom.

The steps were steady yet a little anxious.

As soon as I stepped into the bedroom, a palace maid from Yude Hall came out of the bedroom.

"Your servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The maids bowed quickly, their voices filled with awe.

Jun Zechen nodded slightly and walked straight in without looking around.

At a glance, the bed was empty, and the beauty was no longer there.

"Where's the concubine?"

Jun Zechen's brows slightly frowned, his face darkened, and his voice unconsciously became a little louder.

"Your Highness, the Concubine just said that she was feeling tired and had no appetite, and she has already returned to Shuining Palace."

The palace maid at the door had been waiting at the door of the bedroom since she saw His Highness coming. When she heard His Highness' question, she immediately walked in quickly and answered respectfully, with her head lowered all the time, not daring to look up at the prince.

Jun Zechen sat on the bed, his face changing from gloomy to bright, his emotions difficult to fathom.

Is he being petty again?

Because I wasn't with her this afternoon?

But I just told her when I left that we would have dinner together in the evening, so why did you suddenly go back to Shuening Palace?

Jun Zechen was full of doubts.

He raised his eyes and looked at the palace maid, his gaze seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts.

"The concubine has been resting in the bedroom this afternoon. Has she done anything?"

"Your Highness, the Concubine woke up half an hour ago and seemed to like the flowers on your bedside. She even asked me to bring a small basin of water. Then she sat on the bedside and fiddled with the orchid."

The maid lowered her head and answered respectfully.

I can still recall the scene at that time.

The concubine looked really beautiful.

She had just woken up, wearing a thin gauze dress, her cloud-like hair casually tied to one side, with a few strands hanging beside her cheek.

Her slender jade fingers lightly dipped in water, and water droplets sparkled on the fingertips, as crystal clear as pearls. Then, Concubine Ce lazily and casually touched the wet fingers to the cymbidium in the vase.

The posture is charming and attractive, and the flower beauty is even more delicate.

It’s no wonder that His Highness likes such a beauty. He even lets the concubine rest in his bedroom, which is an honor that even the Crown Princess has never had before.

After recalling the past, the maiden straightened her expression.

She continued, "The Concubine doesn't like other people in the bedroom. When she was fiddling with Huilan, the servants all left. A quarter of an hour ago, the Concubine suddenly felt unwell and returned to the Shuining Palace."

She paused and added, "At that time, the concubine's face was a little pale, and she looked uncomfortable, and her steps were a little flustered."

After hearing this, Jun Zechen turned his head to look at Huilan at the head of the bed, his eyes filled with indescribable complex emotions.

She...found out?

"You all stand down."

Jun Zechen's voice was cold and he didn't say much.

After everyone left, Jun Zechen moved his gaze to Huilan. There were drops of water on the petals, and there seemed to be traces of water drawn by fingers on the long leaves.

The water droplets on the leaves are swaying, as if they will drip at any time.

But Jun Zechen's gaze did not stay on the flowers for too long. Instead, he moved his gaze downward and stared at a delicate pattern in the middle of the vase.

He reached out his hand and touched it gently.

wet.

Jun Zechen's eyes became darker, like an abyss of ice with no bottom.

Then he pressed the switch, and the secret letters inside remained intact. Jun Zechen took out all the secret letters, without even changing the order.

Did she restore them on purpose? Did she not want him to know that she had read these secret letters?

Jun Zechen took out several secret letters related to the Su family. When he turned to the last page, he found water stains on it.

Is this... a tear?

Jun Zechen had a complicated expression and he tightened his grip on the letter paper.

Are you crying?

Isn't he very brave? Since you saw it all, why didn't you question him face to face?

What was she thinking when she saw these letters?

Fear?

Jun Zechen never had women living in his bedroom, and his Yude Hall was guarded by secret guards every day. He protected his place very strictly.

However, some ministers would be summoned to the study in the East Palace from time to time, so Jun Zechen would put some secret letters in the bedroom.

Unexpectedly, she was discovered the first time she was allowed in to rest.

This is a smart move.

Sometimes Jun Zechen thought she was stupid, because in a place like the palace, disguise was the most necessary, but she was open about her emotions, never hiding them, including her vanity and her scheming, she was honest and fearless.

He thought she was smart because she was a talented woman who could appreciate poetry with him and a chess friend who was on par with him. Now he discovered another advantage of hers: she was very considerate.

To Jun Zechen, the closer something is to him, the less deliberate it is. So Jun Zechen just put such a confidential letter openly, which did not arouse suspicion.

But I didn't expect that this little girl had such sharp eyes.

Jun Zechen also has a headache about the Su family.

Ever since he realized that he couldn't bear to be kind to her, Jun Zechen has hinted to the Su family many times, but Su Hongyu, that old fox, has been mediating with him and has not shown his attitude.

Originally, Jun Zechen thought that if Su Hongyu still hindered him from unifying the surrounding countries after he ascended the throne, he would directly strip him of his power. For Su Jingyao's sake, he could give him a title as a token of favor.

However, when these secret letters were written, the treatment of the Su family was not what we think now, it was much more severe.

she......

Jun Zechen put all the secret letters back, slowly stood up and walked out of Yude Hall.

After carefully decorating everything in the Yude Hall to look the way she wanted, Su Jingyao almost "fled" under the gaze of the palace maids.

She hurried back to Shuigning Palace with her skirt flying in the wind, looking panicked as if something terrible was chasing her.

Su Jingyao would not be so foolish as to impulsively point at the pile of secret letters in Yude Hall and question a former emperor regardless of the consequences.

Was she going to ask him, "Is your love for me fake?"

"Is your favor just a smokescreen to confuse the Su family?"

Or "Do you really want to deal with the Su family? Do you want to destroy the Su family?"

......

Different positions lead to different actions. These "whys" are meaningless.

Moreover, no matter what she asked, it would be beyond the rules for an emperor without love, not to mention that it was a taboo for women in the harem to touch upon state affairs. Su Jingyao would not be so stupid as to put herself in such a passive and disadvantageous position.

She just "accidentally" discovered the secret letter.

If Jun Zechen didn't care about her and was just using her, then he would either kill her or pretend he knew nothing.

If Jun Zechen cared about her, he would definitely ask her clearly and "force" her to speak out what was in her mind instead of her asking on her own initiative.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Su Jingyao, who was sitting on the couch thinking, had a serious expression on her face. Her delicate face, which had been carefully powdered after coming back, now looked pale and bloodless.

Her brows were furrowed, her eyes seemed to contain deep worry and uneasiness, and her lips were tightly pursed.

First, build up the emotions.

Jun Zechen should be here soon.

"Master, His Highness will be here soon."

Miaoyun reported that she didn't know what happened to her master in Yude Hall.

Su Jingyao chuckled, but there was no trace of joy in her laughter.

"Let's go out and welcome His Highness."

She seldom waited for Jun Zechen to come outside the palace, but today she naturally had to follow the rules for him to see.

She slowly stood up, straightened her clothes and hair, straightened her back and walked out.

Before Jun Zechen arrived at Shuening Palace, he saw from a distance a graceful young girl standing outside the palace, with her head slightly lowered, waiting for him quietly.

The figure looked somewhat thin and lonely in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Today is quite well behaved.

Jun Zechen's eyes darkened instantly.

He quickened his pace and walked over with big strides, creating a breeze.

"I pay my respects to Your Highness."

Su Jingyao tried hard to keep her voice calm, but the slightly trembling ending of her voice seemed unable to completely hide the turmoil in her heart no matter how hard she pretended.

Jun Zechen helped her up and was about to take her hand to lead them into the hall, but Su Jingyao shrank back reflexively. Then, as if she realized something, she took the initiative to put her hand into Jun Zechen's.

Jun Zechen glanced at her sideways and didn't say anything about her abnormal behavior.

Inside the hall, the two sat opposite each other. Su Jingyao lowered her head with her hands folded, looking very well-behaved and seemed a little uneasy.

Miaoyun poured the tea swiftly and then retreated quietly with everyone else.

The atmosphere in the hall froze for a moment.

Su Jingyao raised her eyes cautiously, raised the corners of her mouth, and tried hard to force a smile, but the smile seemed forced.

"Your Highness, would you like some tea?"

Jun Zechen looked at her quietly, pretending to know nothing. Did she know that her smile was ugly?

For the first time, I felt confused and wondered what the woman in front of me was thinking.

After seeing the secret letter that the family was being targeted by him, shouldn't we question him or even beg him not to do this?

"Didn't I ask you to wait for me for dinner?"

Jun Zechen's voice was low and no emotion could be heard, and he seemed to be testing her.

"I am not feeling well and I am afraid I can't eat anything. I don't want Your Highness to see me and affect my appetite, so I went back to Shuining Palace."

Su Jingyao's voice became smaller and smaller.

"Your Highness has not eaten yet. I will ask the palace servants to bring your meal."

Jun Zechen looked at her and found that she was completely different from the bright and cheerful girl she was in the afternoon, and he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Her eyes, which were always bright when she spoke before, were now a little dim, and the smile at the corners of her eyes disappeared. Instead, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes deliberately avoided him.

Jun Zechen's ring turned on his slender finger.

"No, I'm not hungry."

His tone was cold, and then he asked casually, "Did you water the orchids in the Solitary Bedroom today?"

When Su Jingyao mentioned Huilan, she shook uncontrollably.

"I saw that the orchid was blooming beautifully, so I got some water to moisten it." Her voice trembled slightly.

Jun Zechen lowered his eyes, his deep gaze falling directly on the top of her head.

"Did you see the letter inside?"

"not......"

Su Jingyao subconsciously wanted to deny it, but when she looked up in an instant, she saw the man's eyes as deep as the sea, as if he could see through everything.

Everything about her was exposed in front of him.

Su Jingyao's voice suddenly stopped.

She lowered her head and bit her lower lip lightly, leaving a faint mark on her pink lips.

No more words were spoken, and the hall fell into dead silence.