CH 112

Later, I will personally take you to enjoy the lanterns.

Xiao Yu slept alone at night, thinking about it for several hours, but finally gritted his teeth and made a decision in his heart.

The next morning, he got up and was back to his normal self. After having breakfast and leaving the Crown Prince’s Tang, he summoned Xu Rong to join him for a private discussion.

In the bedchamber, Chu Ning sat alone by the window, thinking back to last night’s situation in a moment of concentration until Cui He came in with the clean clothes folded. She then came back to her senses.

“Where is Zhao Sizhi? Have someone go find him.” She stood up, opened the cupboard for Cui He, and said softly.

Cui He nodded, put the clothes away, and then went out.

Half an hour later, Zhao Yanzhou hurriedly came from outside, stopped at the corridor, bowed, and asked, “Your Highness summoned me at this time. Is there something wrong?”

Chu Ning shook her head, “Nothing important. I just want you to ask the guards who went out with the Crown Prince last night to see if anything happened after the evening. If you can’t find out, it doesn’t matter.”

She then briefly described Xiao Yu’s anomaly.

Yesterday, Xiao Yu went out early in the morning and came back in the evening, but only when he came back at night did he appear abnormal. Not only did he not go to the banquet as planned, but he also said those puzzling words when he came back, so it was obvious that he had met someone or something after going out in the evening that made him so abnormal.

Zhao Yanzhou, without saying a word, directly bowed his head to answer, “I understand, this slave will personally go to ask.”

He was the Secretary of the Office of the Minister of Zhan, in charge of the affairs of the common people and the arrangement of carriage and horse guards. Although he did not need to personally ask every day, occasionally asking about the situation would not be strange.

The first thing one needed to do was to ask the person who was in charge to help you.

“Went to Duke Xu’s place?” Chu Ning repeated in a low voice, remembering Xiao Yu’s words, and said, “I’m afraid this matter has something to do with me.”

How was Xiao Yu going to condemn her?

She had nothing left except this body and the position of the Crown Prince’s Consort. Her body had long been occupied by Xiao Yu, leaving the position of the Crown Prince’s Consort…

Was he going to take a concubine at this time? Before, he never accepted the daughters of sycophants sent to the East Palace to preserve his dignity. Now, the situation changing made this decision make sense.

If this was the case, she wouldn’t feel aggrieved. She just pitied the woman who had to be given to Xiao Yu as a tool by her family.

But if it were something else, it would be hard to say whether it were good or bad.

She told Zhao Yanzhou what she thought and told him not to be anxious for now, but to keep an eye on Xiao Yu’s daily movements and just wait to see what happens.

……

A few days later, it was the Lantern Festival.

The Tangquan Palace held a lantern festival, following the example of the folk, and did not invite foreign ambassadors, but only the princes and nobles of Changan City, especially the young men and women.

Spring was approaching. The last of the snow on the mountain had melted away, and the weather was also getting warmer day by day only a short 15 days after the Lunar New Year. They no longer needed to wear overcoats, only slightly thicker garments.

In the evening, after serving Xiao Yu a meal, Chu Ning went with him to the stage of Ange.

On the way, Xiao Yu didn’t say a word. He was surprisingly quiet, even a bit abnormal. Chu Ning looked at him twice and felt anxious, so she couldn’t help asking, “Your Highness, why didn’t you say anything today? Is there something on your mind?”

Xiao Yu was lost in thought, and when she asked him this question, he froze for a moment before pulling the corner of his mouth and shaking his head, “It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired from dealing with business during the day, so I’m a little distracted now.”

In fact, early this morning, Xu Rong quietly brought him a message, saying that he arranged a meeting with Second Lady Zhao tonight at the lantern party— an opportunity to avoid the public’s ears, a private meeting.

Since he got the news, he was a little distracted, as if he did not understand why things have come to this point in general.

If there was no accident, he would have to temporarily abandon this wife by his side.

However, he could not tell Chu Ning. He only used business as an excuse for his strangeness.

Chu Ning naturally did not believe his words, but she smiled and said warmly, “Your Highness is always working hard on business matters, so you should pay more attention to your health.”

Xiao Yu did not say anything but only looked at her sideways.

Because today was the Lantern Festival, she wore a light violet outer garment as usual, looking generous and dignified, gentle and elegant. The inside of the garment was embellished with a delicate apricot yellow, making the originally bland dress lively and bright, and even the hairpin in her hair was not the usual emerald jade, but glittering gold and silver.

His eyes flickered. He slowly moved his eyes away, lowered his voice to an extremely low level and said, “A’ Ning, I will let you be my empress.”

Chu Ning’s heart beat even harder.

She looked around and saw that several attendants were still far away, then she gently breathed a sigh of relief. “Your Highness, be careful what you say. There are many people today, be careful of being overheard.”

Xiao Yu took a deep breath, nodded gently, and led her on in the direction of the crowd.

The Inner Chamberlain and the Sixth Bureau had already made all kinds of exquisite palace lanterns and hung them on the treetops and corridors near the Ange Stage, or placed them along the roads and among the trees.

Hundreds of young men and women gathered by the palace lanterns to talk and laugh. Not far away from the high platform, there is also the music and dance rehearsed by the Department of Education.

Not long after, Xiao Kezhi and Empress Dowager Qi arrived, standing on the high platform and waiting for the crowd to bow , after a few words, they let the crowd disperse and play at will, with no need for restraint.

Young men and women in groups and pairs walked around on the large stage according to the songs, enjoying the lanterns and music.

The lively grooms and brides immediately chose their favorite masks with great interest and put them on.

At once, there were many men and women wearing masks, and no one could identify their faces.