Chapter 529 Zhuang Ji's Request
Climbing over the palace walls, hiding in the vegetable barrel, sneaking in from the guards, and stealing official uniforms...
After tossing and turning like this for a whole day and night, Yun Chen was finally too tired to continue.
When Huo Gan finished reading the morning court, Yun Chen was lying on the couch with his legs spread out, looking depressed.
Seeing this, Huo Gannian cleared his throat and said seriously:
"The palace walls aren't high enough, so I've ordered them to be reinforced. I've had the food barrels in the imperial kitchen replaced with larger ones, with seats, blankets, and snacks inside. This way, next time you play in there, you'll be more comfortable. Oh, and by the way, Li Taichang came to me this morning in tears, saying that he'd lived to an old age and had never had his clothes taken off. I comforted him by giving him a painting he liked. Chen'er, if you want to leave the palace, just tell me. Why do you want to leave?"
Hearing this, Yun Chen felt a little more energetic and immediately sat up from the couch, thinking it might be a good idea.
She thought quickly and realized that if Huo Gannian could allow her to leave the palace, even if she was accompanied by hundreds of guards, it would be better than being trapped in the palace.
At least after she gets out, she will have more opportunities and ways to escape, and she can even use a series of fancy tricks to escape.
Thinking of this, she asked uncertainly: "I want to leave the palace, will you let me go?"
"No."
He answered so simply that she choked and rolled her eyes, then lay back down.
He raised his fist to his mouth, pretending to cough, but his voice was filled with laughter.
"You should have a good rest. I'll go review some documents and come see you at lunch."
Yun Chen didn't want to pay attention to him, so he turned around and responded with a ruthless back gesture.
Perhaps because he was too tired after a whole day and night of tossing and turning, Yun Chen fell asleep on the couch in a daze after Huo Gannian left.
When I woke up again, the sky outside was gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain. The air was filled with the smell of soil and grass, filling the empty temple. There was an indescribable sense of loneliness.
She checked the time and it was not yet time for lunch.
Thinking that he hadn't washed properly for a day and a night, since he was going to have lunch with Huo Gannian, he might as well get up and clean up.
She sat up from the couch and realized that there was someone in the bedroom who had been there for a long time. She was startled.
Zhuang Ji sat quietly at the table with no expression on her face. It seemed that she had been sitting there for a long time, waiting for Yun Chen to wake up.
Seeing Yun Chen's somewhat surprised and wary expression, and the way he subconsciously grasped the dagger, Zhuang Ji laughed at herself, not knowing whether it was a fake joke or a true sarcasm:
"I'm just a court lady. Besides being a servant, I work diligently and thoroughly. I've never hurt a bird. Yet, I'm often attacked and killed. Why are you afraid of me?"
Yun Chen smiled embarrassedly, put down the dagger, stood up and greeted:
"Don't blame me, Sister Zhuang. I've been using a dagger to defend myself for so many years. It's not meant for you. Have some tea."
Zhuang Ji obviously didn't want to say these polite words. She looked at Yun Chen's face with scrutiny, stared at Yun Chen's eyes carefully, and asked:
"You really don't remember anything?"
Seeing Yun Chen's confused expression, Zhuang Ji lowered her eyes and muttered to herself:
"Forget it, you don't like to lie, so I don't need to ask."
Yun Chen didn't understand what Zhuang Ji was talking about. "Are you talking about me sleepwalking again? What happened? What happened to you while I was sleepwalking?"
Nothing, just wanted to kill me, my brother, and everyone. Zhuang Ji responded in her heart, and then her face became a little solemn:
"You really don't hate me at all?" Yun Chen was stunned for a moment, feeling that Zhuang Ji's words were still the same as before, with hidden meanings, mysterious and hard to understand. But then she remembered that Zhuang Ji should be referring to the matter of letting her into the palace.
Now, Yun Chen already knew that Huo Gannian had originally intended to keep all the truth hidden from her for the rest of her life.
He asked Zhuang Ji to bring the most secret Black Sparrow Guards to keep a close eye on her in Yan Mansion. After the mission was accomplished, he would come to pick her up with a perfect lie, recognize her with tears, and enjoy the joy of being resurrected and having accomplished his mission.
However, Huo Gannian had made all sorts of calculations, but he had not anticipated that a chess piece that had been quiet and obedient for eighteen years would become disobedient at the last and most critical moment, disobey his orders and let Yun Chen into the palace, and even helped Yun Chen conceal his whereabouts. In the end, Huo Gannian was unable to hide anything, leading to the situation today.
I guess it’s because Zhuang Ji is too good at disguising herself.
If she hadn't hidden her love deep in her heart and didn't let anyone notice it, Huo Gannian would never have ordered her to guard Yun Chen.
Eighteen years, earlier than Yun Chen appeared, and he knew and experienced more than Yun Chen.
The love that had been suppressed for too long finally broke out at the last moment.
Zhuang Ji naturally knew that what would greet her would be Huo Gannian's thundering wrath, but she did not regret it at all.
She has really been wronged for too long. If she doesn't fight now, when will she wait?
So she let Yun Chen into the palace. She hoped to see Yun Chen and Huo Gannian turn against each other. Only in this way would she have the opportunity to love the person she wanted to love and get closer to the throne that the Zhuang family wanted.
What surprised her was that Yun Chen didn't seem to hate her at all. He still called her "Sister Zhuang" as before.
"Why not hate? If you forgive too easily, it would be too cheap." Zhuang Ji said in a cold tone.
Yun Chen smiled knowingly, "You asked me to choose between the 'cruel truth' and the 'beautiful lie', and I chose the truth. I can't blame you just because I'm not satisfied with the result, can I? It's most appropriate to blame myself. As for contempt, the people I forgive are those who would never contempt me."
The last sentence left Zhuang Ji stunned.
She couldn't understand why this seemingly foolish and most pitiful person in the world could always use the simplest language to express the most profound truths.
It makes people feel guilty even for letting down and hurting others.
Zhuang Ji pondered for a moment and asked:
"If you can forgive me, will you forgive him?"
Yun Chen knew that "he" was referring to Huo Gannian.
After thinking for a while, Yun Chen answered seriously:
"cannot."
She could forgive everyone except Huo Gannian, a fact she herself did not understand.
Zhuang Ji, however, saw things much more clearly than she did, and forced a smile:
"I understand. But I still want to try again."
After a pause, Zhuang Ji's expression became extremely serious, and she said something that surprised Yun Chen:
"Yun Chen, can you leave and give An Nian to me?"
Zhuang Ji had a slim figure and a pretty face. When she smiled, there were two small dimples on the corners of her lips.
The beautiful lips painted with pink lip balm opened and closed gently, uttering the two words "Anian", as pleasant and light as the wings of a butterfly.
Yun Chen was stunned. It turned out that she was not the only one in the world who called him "A Nian"...
It also made her feel very sad.
He was so handsome that she couldn't love him, but she couldn't stop hating him. He was a man she couldn't let go of and couldn't forgive. Other girls would also call him "A Nian".
Forget it, it’s just a name. Everyone can call it and everyone can love it.
Yun Chen suppressed the sadness in his heart and comforted himself in this way.
"Okay, I promise."
After hearing Yun Chen's words, Zhuang Ji did not look happy as expected. Instead, she had a bitter smile as if she was particularly lost and helpless and resigned to her fate.
"I'll help you escape. Four days from now, at the Enthronement Hall, the Zhuang family will present a century-old wine from the Zhuang family winery. To preserve the aroma, it will only be unsealed at the evening banquet following the ceremony. Because the wine jars are made of precious and special materials, and they are large and fragile, the empty jars must be filled with clean water and transported back to the Zhuang family. When the time comes, hold your breath and hide in the jar. There's a partition dividing the jar into upper and lower levels. You hide in the lower level, and using the dim light and the water's shadows to block your view, you should be able to escape through the West Palace Gate guarded by my brother.
After saying that, Zhuang Ji nodded slightly to Yun Chen and left.
Yun Chen sat quietly on the couch for a while, then slowly fell into the quilt. He suddenly lost interest in washing and dressing up, and fell asleep again in a daze.
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