Jiaochu

Looking at the back, Ye Lingxi felt her nose was a little sore. She raised her head and blinked, walked over with a smile and asked, "What are you looking at, father?" As he said that, he lay on the window sill and looked left and right, and his little head followed suit. Tilting to the left and then to the right made Ye Lanchen smile. She tilted her head and asked, "Father, aren't you tired of standing?" After asking, she blinked her big eyes twice, and Ye Lanchen smiled. After sitting down, he asked her if she wanted to play chess. Ye Lingxi nodded confidently.

Eunuch De asked Xiao Anzi to bring the chessboard and put it on the table.

Then less than a quarter of an hour later, someone started to regret his move.

"Lingxi made the mistake. We should have gone here."

"You have no regrets when you make a move, but you can't cheat."

"Lingxi wasn't cheating. He just put it in the wrong place. Lingxi was originally going to be placed here."

"You see it clearly and you don't want to change it?"

"I won't change it."

……

After dinner, Yanjiang brought out a man wearing a black cloak from Yetingsi.

The bright lights in the royal study made the bloodless face under the cloak look even paler, as if it were made of paper that could be torn when poked.

"The emperor still refuses to see my concubine, even for the last time?" Zhou Guiren smiled sadly, "Does the emperor really hate my concubine so much?"

Ye Lanchen stood by the window with his hands behind his back and said in a cold voice: "I gave you a chance. If you say it or don't say it, I won't give you a second chance. Are you clear?"

Zhou Guiren smiled sadly, "The emperor is really ruthless. If it were Concubine Lan, would the emperor still be so hard-hearted?"

Ye Lanchen said nothing.

The light of the candle flickered slightly, like a trace of erratic mist.

"The emperor is ruthless to my concubine, but I still can't be ruthless to the emperor." Zhou Guiren smiled self-deprecatingly, "The emperor really thinks that Aunt Liu has the courage to murder his beloved concubine. Your Majesty, you dote on Concubine Lan. This Weiyang Palace Everyone above and below is taking advantage of it. If it is for her own glory and wealth, Aunt Li should fawn over Concubine Lan." At this point, a trace of cruelty flashed across her face, "Didn't the Emperor think that there is someone else behind Aunt Li? , or is it that the emperor has already thought of it, but just doesn’t want to investigate further?”

Ye Lanchen said: "Are you done?"

A trace of hatred flashed in Zhou Guiren's eyes, and he mocked: "Concubine Lan thinks that the emperor loves her, but she doesn't know that in the emperor's heart, nothing can compare to the throne. It's really ridiculous." She laughed loudly and stopped. After laughing, he said coldly, "Your Majesty really thinks that all the concubines in this palace are sincere to you, and they are all just acting to fawn over the Emperor for their own glory and wealth. They are afraid of the Emperor, so they never do anything with you." Tell the truth in front of the emperor, every frown and every smile is to please the emperor." Each sentence after another is like stepping on nails into people's hearts, and it has to poke a few bloody holes to be happy.

"So what." Ye Lanchen said.

Zhou Guiren sneered and said: "I know that the emperor doesn't care about the sincerity of us people. As long as we keep our peace, it will be fine. But if the concubine has an affair with a foreign minister, the emperor doesn't care, does he?"

Ye Lanchen turned around and said: "I originally wanted to keep your body intact, but now it seems that it is not necessary."

Zhou Guiren said: "There is no need for the emperor to be angry. The concubine is not referring to Concubine Lan. As for whether Lan Concubine and Mr. Wei are not clear about each other, the emperor must know better than the concubine. Otherwise, he would not have solved Concubine Lan's problem in the first place." Grounding, what I’m talking about is..." She curled her lips and smiled, "Concubine Xiao, Prime Minister Zhou has always been in love with the concubine. I'm afraid the emperor has been kept in the dark. If a concubine and a prime minister collude, wouldn't it be wrong? It is to cause trouble to Chao Gang and seize the throne."

Ye Lanchen said nothing with a sullen face.

Zhou Guiren said: "If the emperor doesn't believe it, you can go check on Prime Minister Zhou's wife and see where the prime minister's wife is now."

"I'm not interested in Prime Minister Zhou's family affairs." Ye Lanchen walked past her, returned to the Dragon Case, sat down, picked up the teacup, scratched it twice, and took a sip of tea. "Is the Emperor interested in the incident where the third princess almost fell from the Star-Zhaing Tower?" Zhou Guiren asked.

Ye Lanchen glanced over, "Is that you?" Zhou Guiren avoided the cold-sword gaze and said casually, "The emperor thinks highly of my concubine too much. The third princess is the apple of your eye, how dare I? Touch her, but the emperor seems to have forgotten that you also have a daughter, who is also a princess. One is held in the palm of your hand, and the other does not even dare to talk to you. Your Majesty, how can you make Concubine Liu feel comfortable?"

Ye Lanchen paused slightly as he put down the teacup, as if he heard something unexpected. After placing the teacup on the table, he said, "I know very well what kind of person Liu Concubine is."

Zhou Guiren smiled and said: "Your Majesty, please don't underestimate the jealousy of women. The third princess was lucky last time, but that may not be the case next time."

Ye Lanchen called out for someone, and Yan Jiang came in and took Zhou Guiren away. Before leaving, Zhou Guiren asked, "In all these years since entering the palace, has the emperor ever had any affection for his concubines?" Ye Lanchen did not answer. She smiled mockingly and said to herself, " It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen, it’s just hypocrisy.”

……

After a few days, vassal kings and military envoys from various places left Beijing one after another.

Ye Lingxi specially prepared rouge, gouache and food for King Pingnan to take back to Meng Jingxiu.

The next day, King Zhenbei also set out to return to the north, while Murong Ze stayed in the palace to recuperate.

Ye Lingxi quietly hid behind the pillars in the corridor, watching King Zhenbei leave with Murong Min and Rong Xian. Seeing that no one was around, she turned around to leave. After taking a few steps, a wall suddenly appeared in front of her. She stared intently. At first glance, it was Jingzhe. She looked around and saw Murong Ze not far away.

Jingzhe made a gesture of invitation.

"This princess is waiting here." Ye Lingxi said.

Jingzhe went back and reported, then pushed Murong Ze over.

"Princess is hiding here, are you afraid that Sister Wang will see you?" Before Ye Lingxi could say anything, Murong Ze said again, "I remember, the princess is not even afraid of ghosts, but she is also afraid of a living person like Sister Wang."

Ye Lingxi said: "But sometimes people are scarier than ghosts."

"Princess, are you saying that Sister Wang is scarier than a ghost?" Murong Ze joked.

Ye Lingxi turned around and said, "You said it yourself."

Jingzhe pushed Murongze to follow.

"Princess, don't you want to know how to eat that bead?"

"how to eat?"

"do not know."

"..."

When entering the imperial garden, Yan Fei walked towards him. His eyes darkened when he saw the two of them. Ye Lingxi was inexplicably nervous, as if she had been "caught in adultery". She immediately walked away a few steps to express her position, and then slipped away again. Beside him, Yan Fei's slightly frowned brows relaxed as he further expressed his position. Although the expression on his face didn't change much, there seemed to be a smile in his eyes.

"Let's go." Murong Ze signaled, and Jingzhe pushed him away without saying hello, with a somewhat indifferent attitude.