Empress Chu

"Then don't be a censor!" The masked man shouted, "Drag out!"

The guards stepped forward, picked up the official and dragged him out.

"My officer—"

The official's voice was immediately silenced.

The hall quickly returned to silence. The masked man glanced over and asked, "Who wants to investigate?"

No one in the hall spoke again.

The masked man sat back and waved his hands: "Okay, let's stop here today, I'm tired, I'll talk about other things next time."

Tired... He really didn't take it seriously, the officials retreated one by one, and the officials waiting outside the door also hurriedly dispersed.

The Taifu Hall returned to silence.

"My lord." The servant asked respectfully, "Do you want to eat?"

The masked man looked at the memorials piled up on the table, and said: "Carry these and send them to Your Majesty." He stood up, "Dine by the way."

……

……

Inside the emperor's palace, the servants came in and out to deliver the imperial meal, and the maids served the dishes deftly and silently. It seemed that there were a lot of people, but they felt like stagnant water without any vitality.

Xiao Yu sat in front of the desk and ate in a daze, eating whatever the maid handed him.

Someone steps in.

There was no servant to report back, and there was no communication. Seeing him, the servants gave way one after another.

He approached the table, pulled out the chair and sat down.

The court lady set the table and chopsticks for him.

Then all the servants and maids withdrew, and there were only two people left in the hall.

"The memorial is sent to your study room, go and have a look after dinner." He said, never looking at Xiao Yu from the beginning to the end.

Xiao Yu raised his head: "Uncle——"

"Good nephew." The man said with a half-smile, stretched out his hand to hold down the mask and took it off, revealing a pair of phoenix eyes, "You don't have to look at it if you don't want to, I'll take care of it for you."

His eyes were smiling, and his words were very gentle. He also called his nephew, which he never called his nephew before, and only called him His Majesty.

But there was no warmth in this scene, and Xiao Yu couldn't feel any warmth, only Sen Han.

Just like what I saw in front of the palace gate when I was a child.

It's just that there is no warm hand around him now.

Chapter 4 Night Cage

Xiao Yu looked at the smiling man.

Earlier, my sister didn't tell him that Xie Yanlai was still alive.

When he learned that Xie Yanlai had died, he was still very sorry.

Now that he is still alive, he is not surprised.

"Okay, thank you Uncle." He said, lowering his eyes again, "Thank you Uncle."

Xie Yan came and said, "You're welcome, everyone wants to do such a good thing."

Xiao Yu said: "But uncle, you don't want to." He clenched his chopsticks and raised his head: "I know you were threatened by Xie Yanfang, you could have gone with my sister—"

"Your Majesty, you are thinking too much." Xie Yan came to interrupt him, then shook her head and clicked her tongue twice, "Your third uncle will be sad if you say that, he is doing this for you."

Xiao Yu stood up and said: "He's not for me, he's just for the world, he can't move now, so he forced you to do things for him." His eyes were red, "Uncle, I didn't expect him to harm my sister— —”

"Your Majesty." Xie Yan came to interrupt him, pointing to the table, "I'm here for dinner, don't talk about such an unappetizing topic."

Xiao Yu's eyes were gloomy, and he sat down: "Yes, I know, I won't talk about it in the future."

Xie Yanlai finished the food in the bowl in a few mouthfuls, and then looked at the aggrieved young boy with red eyes.

"There are many things in this world that you can't think of." He said, "For example, if someone is gone, don't even think about letting her come back."

He stood up, reached out and tapped Xiao Yu's shoulder lightly.

"Just be your emperor in peace and stability. Don't try to provoke me and Xie Yanfang. Even if Xie Yanfang dies, Chu Zhao will not come back."

"Empress Chu has been convicted, and you will never have such an empress again."

Hearing these words, Xiao Yu, whose eyes were originally red, was covered with water vapor.

Xie Yanlai didn't care at all whether the emperor was about to cry, and then said: "I stay here for the sake of the world, but not for Xie Yanfang, nor is he threatened."

He withdrew his hand and stood up straight, looking down at Xiao Yu from above.

"This world is actually not yours."

"You have this world because of your blood, and it is her hard work that this world can have today."

"I can't let you people waste her hard work."

After finishing speaking, he put on the mask on the desk case and strode away.

The hall was quiet again, and the retreating maids and servants came in quietly.

Xiao Yu sat in front of the table, the moisture in his eyes receded, and he regained his dull expression, and said, "Add more food."

The maids hurried forward to add food to him.

Xiao Yu quietly ate another bowl of rice, got up and walked outside.

"Is Your Majesty going to the study?" A servant asked respectfully.

Xiao Yu said: "I just finished eating, so I won't read the memorial."

Only with energy can one be diligent.

When you are not energetic, it is better to have a good rest.

This is a habit his sister taught him.

Xiao Yu's voice paused.

"Go to the Imperial Garden." He said, "Let's play Cuju for me to see."

The servants happily responded yes.

The atmosphere in the palace is really suffocating recently, but fortunately, His Majesty is still the same as before.

The servants called their friends and surrounded the emperor lively and went to the imperial garden.

Xiao Yu played in the imperial garden for half a day, watching the servants kicking the ball, kicking a circle himself, then went back to the study, carefully read the memorial sent by Xie Yanlai, until he saw the lamp being held.

"Your Majesty, take a break."

"Does Your Majesty want sweet soup?"

"Does Your Majesty want to play chess?"

The servants and maids were busy serving him. After Xiao Yu had supper, he played a game of chess with the two servants. When it was time to rest, he washed and went to bed. The lights in the bedroom were turned off one by one.

As before.

……

……

Xiao Yu lay on the bed, clutching the bamboo tube tightly.

Sister Chu kept this bamboo tube for him all the time, but he seldom used it afterwards.

He has been sleeping alone for a long time.

Although he slept alone, he knew that sister Chu was next door, where he could find it within a few steps after getting up.

Even if sister Chu was away on an expedition, he knew that she would come back.

But it's different now, and she's never coming back.

Xiao Yu got up, lifted the quilt, jumped off the bed, and ran out barefoot.

"His Majesty--"

The night in the dormitory was disturbed.

……

……

Eunuch Qi is not on duty at night, but he can't sleep even when he is old, especially because of recent accidents.

This incident was unexpected, and it was not unexpected.

This is the case in the imperial city. People who were joking and laughing at one moment will kill each other the next moment.

There are winners and there are losers.

There is nothing fair to say, let's see fate, see whose fate is harder.

That girl's life is hard, but not in a place like the Imperial City.

But he wasn't too sad, instead he was relieved, it's good to leave here, this imperial city is not a good place.

If you stay here for a long time, people will change.

He didn't want the girl to change, too.

Eunuch Qi thought wildly for a moment, and finally felt drowsy, but he heard footsteps outside the door.

Who came to him in the middle of the night?

Since he stopped coming to the emperor, even his godsons and grandsons ran away.

A thought flashed across Eunuch Qi's mind, and he got up to look. The door had already been pushed open, and a figure rushed in with the early autumn night wind and hugged his waist.

"Eunuch Qi."

Looking at Xiao Yu who flung himself into his arms, Eunuch Qi was in a daze. That night that child was so tightly huddled in his arms, with a small hand clutching the corner of his clothes.

It was not as tall as his legs at that time, but now it has reached his shoulders.

"I thought I could do a lot of things."

"I can control a lot of people, make them revolve around me, let them do what I want to do."

"I thought I could reap the benefits."

"But when the harm was imminent, I realized that I was nothing and I couldn't do anything."

Xiao Yu looked up at the old servant, tears rolled down his face.

"It turns out that what I call powerful can only hurt people who are not guarded against me, love me, and trust me."

There are so few people who don't guard against him and love him.

When he wanted to cry freely about his sadness and fear, there was only this old eunuch.

Eunuch Qi looked at the face of the little boy in his arms, sighed softly, did not push him away, and gently patted his back.

"Your Majesty, you are too eager to become an adult." He said softly, "You don't even know what it means to lose."

The loss wasn't the night he watched his parents die.

The real loss is not the loss of the person, but the loss of the heart.

……

……

In the night, the lights in front of Xie's house were brightly lit, and the servants shouted loudly, "Young Master is back."

Accompanied by shouts, many people from the house came in a hurry, besides the housekeeper and servants, there were also young princes.

They stood in front of the door, watching a black car approaching surrounded by guards.

The masked man gets out of the car.

"Young Master is back." Everyone shouted in disorder, saluting in unison.