CH 60

Choppy- It was really his first time (1)

As soon as Liu Kang heard this, he knew that the emperor had mistakenly thought that the person from the Wude Hall was the Crown Princess.

He couldn't help showing an embarrassed look on his face, laughed dryly, and said, "Your majesty, Your Royal Highness is to be awaited. It is Cui He, Her Highness’ trusted maid, who is here to deliver a message..."

At the end of his speech, looking at Xiao Kezhi's distorted face for a moment, his voice suddenly dropped.

"What?" Xiao Kezhi seemed to calm down after being extremely angry, leaning back onto the wooden armrest and speaking lightly.

Liu Kang carefully said, "Her Royal Highness will come later, when it’s bedtime, please don't be impatient..."

……

The hall fell silent.

Sitting on the couch, Xiao Kezhi didn't know what to do. He got up from the couch and put on an extra robe and boots to go out. "Weimo? Come out for a walk with me."

He was indeed impatient, and that woman was indeed more slippery.

But now, she almost belonged to him, so why was he so anxious? Since she was coming sooner or later, he would just wait patiently.

The door of the hall opened wide, and the cold wind blew inside.

Weimo, who was released by the guards, trotted to his side. Its eyes flashed with excitement, like a predator ready to go in the dark night.

"Let's go." He reached out and rubbed a handful of gray fur, pointed to the Jinshui River to the north, and said softly, "Let’s go catch some prey."

...

In the East Palace, after taking a bath, Chu Ning spoke with her maids until hai period* and then lay down in bed as usual. Her maids turned off the lights, closed the door, and exited the main palace wing to rest.

*Haishi, or hai period, was the 2 hour section of Ancient Chinese time between 11 pm and 1 am.

In the darkness, everything was quiet. She lay motionless on her back, listening to the sounds of movement outside.

She had always asked for only one person to attend to her at night. Tonight, it happened to be Cui He.

About two minutes later, the inner servants who were guarding outside also went to bed, and Cui He's low voice trailed in from outside: "Mistress, everyone has left."

Only then did Chu Ning get up from her bed. She didn't even pause to do her hair or make up and donned a thick, hooded cloak with a hood. Gently pushing open the door, Chu Ning departed on the most secluded path towards Wude Hall.

Although the Taiji Palace was near her residences, even if the doors were opened wide, it would not be easy to pass through without being noticed.

Fortunately, she usually managed the affairs of the East Palace and knew a little about the inspections and patrols of every palace.

Near the Wude Hall, the delicate chariot was still parked in the corner. When a few servants saw her coming, they hurriedly stepped forward with smiles, led her onto the chariot, and carried her to the Ganlu Hall without saying a word. .

The road was unobstructed as expected, and no one was walking around. It was obvious that someone had ordered this in advance.

For this reason, Chu Ning still lowered her head under her hood. She only looked up again when greeting Liu Kang, who approached her with a smile.

"Head Eunuch Liu."

When Liu Kang saw her, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his forehead, and offered a hand-warming stove that he had prepared a long time ago.

"It's cold, Your Highness, don't catch a cold. Right now, His Majesty is still in the back garden. Your Highness, please accompany thos old slave into the hall to wait for a while."

Hearing this, Chu Ning couldn't help but be a little surprised, wondering if she had come too late and annoyed her emperor-uncle again.

But today, she didn't keep him hanging on purpose. She just wanted to be more discreet.

It seemed that today, she had to obey him and not have any other thoughts.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, before the doors could even close behind her, there was a steady sound of footsteps.

She turned to look and saw that, under the night sky, Xiao Kezhi was walking steadily, trailed by a few guards, and the gray wolf Weimo was loping by his side.

"Everyone is back." Liu Kang hurriedly bowed and saluted, without saying a word, he led the crowd and silently retreated, leaving a large space between the two of them.

Xiao Kezhi didn't walk closer, leaving a distance between the two of them. He just stood there and quietly stared at the woman in the hall.

Two people, one standing in the dark night, the other waiting under the bright candlelight, as if two unrelated paintings were put together by chance, creating a sense of strange harmony.

Weimo seemed to smell the subtle changes in the air. After looking up at its master, it suddenly pranced into the hall, circling around Chu Ning twice.

It was very close to her, and its gray fur brushed lightly over her drooping cloak and fingertips, accentuating more and more its built figure compared to her delicateness.

Chu Ning was nervous and stood stiffly, not daring to move, for fear that the belovedly fierce pet would suddenly bare its sharp fangs at her.

She couldn't help but look pleadingly at Xiao Kezhi not far away, her moist eyes showing weakness.

"Sixth Imperial Uncle…"

Xiao Kezhi was appreciating the strong contrast between the beast and the beautiful woman in front of him. Hearing her pitiful sound, he felt his heart tremble, and a comfortable fluttery feeling gradually spread.

This was her asking him for help.

He chuckled lightly, approached slowly, and called out, "Weimo!"

The gray wolf immediately turned tail and loped out of the hall.

Chu Ning's tense body relaxed a little.

However, the next moment, the doors of the main hall were slammed shut. Xiao Kezhi prowled towards her step by step.

She straightened her back. Her dewy eyes met his deep, burning gaze, and she couldn't help trembling.