Want to tease the prince, the cat is soft and delicate

The cold wind is biting and the rain is pouring.

The light was dim in the empty hall. A man sat behind a dragon table with a gloomy figure. Below him, Zhao Zhen held a whisk in his hand and lowered his head, pretending to be silent.

Sitting on the armchair diagonally opposite Zhao Zhen, Xuanyuan Che was holding a cup of hot tea and sipping it with his eyes lowered.

"How long do you want to hide this from me?" Perhaps because he choked on the water, Emperor Shunde's voice was hoarse and low like the dark night.

Xuanyuan Che did not make a sound, only the crisp sound of the jade cups colliding could be heard.

"I'm asking you a question!" When he didn't get a response, Emperor Shunde slammed the table, making a loud noise.

After he finished yelling, he began to cough violently. Zhao Zhen hurried forward to comfort him: "Your Majesty, please be careful of your body. The imperial physician said that you have a cold and need to stay in bed to rest."

Emperor Shunde waved him away, with a sharp light in his eyes, and stared at Xuanyuan Che: "I am definitely not mistaken, it is the cat that your mother left for you, right!"

With a "bang," Xuanyuan Che put down the cup and looked back with the same sharp gaze: "You are wrong."

"Didn't you tell me that the cat was dead? Do you think my eyes are really too old to recognize it?" Emperor Shunde sneered.

"No wonder the palace is full of rumors that you are loved by everyone, but I have never seen you. Now I know that you are hiding it on purpose. Why? Are you afraid that I will snatch your love?"

Xuanyuan Che's eyes were dim, and his tone was full of warning: "Why don't you try to touch Su Su?"

"How dare you!" Emperor Shunde slammed the table and stood up: "I am the emperor! Your father! If you speak to me like this, I will chop off your head!"

His voice was very loud and roaring.

Zhao Zhen was both frightened and shocked, and had to step forward to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, I am worried about your health."

Emperor Shunde strode out from behind the desk, pushed Zhao Zhen away, took two steps to Xuanyuan Che, and trembled with anger.

When he raised his hand, he saw that his whole arm was shaking, and the hand pointing at Xuanyuan Che was shaking uncontrollably. He wanted to speak, but under Xuanyuan Che's cold gaze, he ended up saying nothing.

Xuanyuan Che straightened his sleeves, stood up and stood face to face with Emperor Shunde.

As the saying goes, a son takes after his father, and Xuanyuan Che did take after Emperor Shunde, but not in appearance, but in the ambition and coldness in his eyes.

Even Emperor Shunde couldn't look him in the eye for long.

Xuanyuan Che's voice was cold and clear, just like the drizzling rain outside the palace.

"I believe it," he said.

His eyes were dark: "After all, this is not the first time you have done this, so why not do it again."

"Shut up!" Emperor Shunde raised his hand and wanted to slap him.

But when his hand was only half a centimeter away from Xuanyuan Che's face, it stopped abruptly.

From beginning to end, Xuanyuan Che didn't even blink, let alone dodge.

His expression was calm and composed, with only a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

Emperor Shunde dropped his arms in frustration, swaying as he sat down on a chair beside him.

“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

He burst into laughter for no apparent reason, and Zhao Zhen, who was standing beside him, was so frightened that he shrank his neck and dared not say a word.

"Good, good, you are worthy of being my son. You have the courage of your father back then."

Emperor Shunde looked towards the window with a smile, as if lost in some memories.

"Jin'er, our son has grown up. Have you seen it?"

Xuanyuan Che found his behavior ridiculous. Before he died, he had three palaces and six courtyards, and was surrounded by beauties.

It's ridiculous and hateful that people pretend to be affectionate after someone dies.

"The person who assassinated you today is a very skilled martial artist and has a good ability to hide. If you want to abdicate, I would be happy to see it happen." Xuanyuan Che did not intend to continue talking to Emperor Shunde and raised his foot to leave.

Emperor Shunde called him, "Stop."

Emperor Shunde stood up and said, "You haven't answered my question yet. Is that cat the one your mother left for you?"

Xuanyuan Che turned around and looked at him, throwing him an ambiguous remark: "Everyone knows and can see it, but you are the only one who doesn't hear, doesn't ask, and pretends to be deaf and dumb."

After saying that, Xuanyuan Che walked out of the hall in the cold wind and rain. When the hall door opened, wind blew in, blowing the paintings on the wall down with a noise that was neither loud nor soft.

Zhao Zhen stepped forward and picked up the fallen painting. After seeing the person in the painting clearly, he was a little surprised. He turned to look at Emperor Shunde in the shadows, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong?" Emperor Shunde keenly noticed his abnormality and asked.

Zhao Zhen hesitated for a moment, then walked forward with the painting.

"Your Majesty, this is a painting of plum blossoms playing in the snow that was painted by the late Empress herself."

Emperor Shunde reached out to take it. In the dim light, he stared at the painting for a long time with eyes as clear as water, without moving.

He wanted to reach out and touch it, but was afraid of dirtying the painting, so he rolled it up and placed it beside him: "Hang up another one."

Zhao Zhen was not surprised and agreed immediately.

When Zhao Zhen came back, Emperor Shunde looked at him and asked, "Did you know the origin of that cat a long time ago?"

Zhao Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed and said, "I only found out about this recently."

"Why don't you report it?"

Zhao Zhen knelt on the ground with a thump. "I deserve to die. I was afraid that someone would deliberately spread rumors. After all, it happened so long ago. There might be some bad guys who want to use this to confirm something."

Emperor Shunde did not make things difficult for him. He sighed and asked him to stand up.

"Jin'er is still blaming me, blaming my original decision. Otherwise, how could she have the heart to do that scene, making me think that the cat was dead and not leaving me with any thoughts."

His voice was plaintive, as if he was extremely sad.

Zhao Zhen recalled that the last time he went to Chaoyang Palace to deliver a letter, he said that the cat looked so familiar and he thought he was just being too suspicious.

I never thought that it was the cat left behind by the late queen.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince protected the cat so well that not only had His Majesty never seen the cat's true appearance over the years, but even he had only seen it once last time.

There were constant rumors in the palace, nothing more than that the Crown Prince loved the cat dearly and so on. There were also rumors that the cat was left by the late Queen, but the rumors were not to be believed and it was not his fault.

"Your Majesty, I dare to say something." Zhao Zhen bowed respectfully to Emperor Shunde.

Emperor Shunde replied with a yes.

Zhao Zhen then dared to say, "I dare to say that no matter whether the cat is the one left by the late Queen, it is still the favorite of the Crown Prince. If Your Majesty wants to ease the relationship with the Crown Prince, you must not touch the cat."

As he said this, he approached Emperor Shunde and gave him an idea: "Your Majesty might as well take this opportunity to visit the Crown Prince's palace more often. Didn't Your Majesty complain to me a while ago that you didn't visit the Crown Prince's palace enough?"

"Nonsense!" Emperor Shunde said sternly, "When did I say that?"

Zhao Zhen quickly corrected himself: "I misremembered it, please punish me lightly, Your Majesty."

"Ahem." Emperor Shunde covered his lips and coughed a few times, then returned to the dragon table with his hands behind his back: "But you are right, that cat saved me today, no matter what, I should go and take a look."

"Zhao Zhen."

"The slave is here."

"I remember there is a piece of green jade in my storehouse, right? Find it out, and I will go to the East Palace in person tomorrow."

"The slave obeys the order."