CH 68

Lotus Lantern - This flower is elegant and not bewitching, but you are very bewitching. (3)

This was almost nakededly losing face in court!

"Grand Chancellor, the Emperor has demoted Wang Sizheng of Dali Temple and He Shijun of Shangzhou last time, and this time he is going his own way on filling in the blanks. I am afraid he intends to rectify the court," a Zhongshu Provincial official beside him said worriedly.

Qi Mu snorted coldly, remembering that when the new monarch dealt with several courtiers of the Prince's party, he hadn't thought about it. Today, it seemed that that was too deceiving.

"I see." He pondered for a moment in the temple and nodded to a few people. "The Emperor is young, and he has only recently ascended the throne. It is inevitable that he will be a little anxious. I will go to the Feishuang Temple and ask the emperor to make a new decision."

After that, regardless of the fact that it was already night, he went directly from Jinyang Gate to the Emperor's bedroom.

...

In the pond, Xiao Kezhi leaned against the boulder, holding the weak-in-the-knees Chu Ning with one hand and stroking her back with the other.

The lotus lantern was not extinguished by the violently fluctuating spring water, but at this moment, it had also burned to the end and quietly extinguished.

The water brought the lamp closer, and regretfully, Chu Ning reached out to scoop up the half-wet lamp and put it on the edge of the pool.

"Like this lamp?" Xiao Kezhi raised his eyelids and glanced at her, then lowered his head and took a light bite on her chin.

Chu Ning ducked back, turned around to face him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her face to his chest.

"A’Ning thought it was Your Majesty's favor."

As soon as the coquettish voice came out, the two of them almost simultaneously remembered the situation in the pool just now.

He pushed the lotus lantern to a place near the edge of the pool and made her turn around. Then, he put both hands on the edge of the pool, circled the lotus lantern in the small space in front of them, and ordered her to endure so as not to put out the candle.

She couldn't. She tried her best to slump her waist, straighten her back, and raise her head to keep her breath away from the candlelight, but she could barely endure anything.

Thinking back to that, Xiao Kezhi stroked her back again, and even his voice became hoarse.

"I just like to see the light shining on you."

Chu Ning rubbed her face onto his chest and said softly, "Shangyuan Festival is coming soon."

Xiao Kezhi's hand paused. When she mentioned Shangyuan, he almost immediately thought of the upcoming New Year's holiday—the Crown Prince would be back.

He asked with a sullen face, "What, are you looking forward to seeing the Crown Prince soon?"

Chu Ning was a little surprised. She only mentioned Shangyuan because of this lamp, but he directly thought of Xiao Yu.

"Who A’Ning wants to see, does Your Majesty still not know?" She raised her head to meet his eyes, but something flashed in her mind, and she could not help but tentatively whisper, "Your Majesty, A’Ning heard that the Crown Prince went to see a few generals nearby."

She remembered what Zhao Yanzhou said. Since she didn't want Xiao Yu to succeed, the best way was to tell Xiao Kezhi directly.

Xiao Kezhi didn't speak. He just stared at her with a pair of bottomless eyes, as if trying to see something from her expression.

"Why tell me about this?" He stretched out his hand to squeeze her chin, and doubt flashed in his eyes, "Afraid that something that happens to the Crown Prince will affect you?"

He didn't ask who Xiao Yu wanted to see but directly asked her why she said it, which meant he knew about it already.

Seeing this, Chu Ning felt relieved, shook her head, and said, "A’Ning just wants to help Your Majesty."

Xiao Kezhi sneered and slowly let go of the hand holding her chin, apparently not believing her words at all.

No matter how stupid he was, he understood that this woman was using him, but she still pretended to help him.

Anger flashed from his eyes. He picked her up from the water with a cold face, put her on the couch, and after throwing a clean bath towel on her, he turned around and wiped himself.

"You don't have to take these detours with me. I often wonder if you are really Chu Qianyu's daughter."

Chu Qianyu was upright and righteous, but his daughter was as cunning as a fox.

Chu Ning's eyes froze, and she immediately remembered that when he was in the Taiji Palace, he also mentioned her father's name. He seemed to know her father very well, but she never knew that his father had a friendship with him.

"Your Majesty recognizes A’Ning's father?"

She asked carefully, with a hint of imperceptible anticipation. If he had a good relationship with his father, wouldn't it be logical for her to ask him to rehabilitate her father?

Xiao Kezhi glanced at her but didn't answer directly. He just said vaguely, "Who didn’t recognize the Duke of Chu back then?"

Chu Ning was stunned for a while and was waiting to ask again, but a nervous reminder came from the door of the front hall, "Your Majesty, Duke Qi has come to the Feishuang Palace."