Chapter 126 I actually felt guilty…
In the evening, the lights in the yard gradually went out. Only a lantern hung in the porch, shining the entire courtyard dimly yellow.
The shadows of the trees were whirling in the breeze, accompanied by the sound of insects and frogs, and the smell of lotus perfume, which was really a special scene.
Yun Fenghuang specially ordered Xi Le to be on duty tonight and sent the others away. She felt that it was too stuffy after the doors and windows were closed, so she opened the rear window. As she was about to sleep behind the screen, some fern leaves rustled outside the rear window, and then she heard a slight sound of something falling.
She opened her eyes subconsciously and saw the figure flashing. Qi Jiulu, wearing a black robe, walked in and pulled off the veil.
Seeing Yun Fenghuang was not asleep yet, and there was no surprise when she saw him, so he showed a knowing smile. He hugged her, kissed her, and asked her with a low giggle, “Why do you know that I will come?”
“How cannot you come?” Yun Fenghuang lazily touched his arm with a circular fan, and said with a little sleepy nasal sound in her lowered voice, “When we started off, there were five reading partners, but when we came back, Ji Minggan and Yuan Ke disappeared. Although you don’t want to come, how cannot Gong Xiangxiao persuade you into getting some information from me, like how does Chunjia think?”
Regarding the identities of Ji Minggan and Yuan Ke, in fact, the Emperor couldn’t handle them alone at the moment, so he must discuss with Prince Regent. But Gong Xiangxiao, the Shizi of the Prince Regent, was in an embarrassing position. Inquiring some news from his own father was actually more difficult than having secret communication with the inner Imperial Harem. So he had to only count on Yun Fenghuang.
However, Yun Fenghuang didn’t see the Emperor at dinner, so she still didn’t know what was going on.
Just thinking about how to answer Gong Xiangxiao, with the chest she was snuggling pumped slightly. It was Qi Jiulu who stroked her hair, and chuckled lightly, “Shizi didn’t say anything, and still wanted to wait and see. It was me who couldn’t help persuading him to help me… How couldn’t I come when you watched me all the way in the carriage during the day?”
Yun Fenghuang rubbed her cheeks on his chest, and smiled, “I only wanted to take a look. Who knows that when I saw you, I remembered that we had ridden horses on the plain before, and I was lost in thought unconsciously. Finally, I was caught by Chunjia when I got off the car!”
“Then how did he treat you?” Although she was unharmed in front of him, Qi Jiulu was still shocked, and the arms that held Yun Fenghuang’s waist were subconsciously taut.
“How can I wait for you here if something bad happened?” Yun Fenghuang was very satisfied with his attitude, jokingly raised her head and kissed him on the cheek, and said, “He was fooled by me… you know that he doesn’t care about anyone in the Imperial Harem except for Ms. Yuan. How it is possible for him to carefully investigate?”
Speaking of this, Qi Jiulu was somewhat jealous and said, “I heard that he often stayed with you these days. This time he specially kept you here as he stayed in Wannian County for prosecution.”
“Can’t he keep me here?” Yun Fenghuang got up and supported his chest with her elbows. She didn’t care that this action would make Qi Jiulu uncomfortable. She straightened her long and dark hair. The exposed skin under the dim light was so white and fascinating.
Qi Jiulu subconsciously swallowed since he had noticed that, and he became a little absent-minded.
Yun Fenghuang didn’t care about this. She said lazily, “The Empress Dowager is too old and sick to stay in the county for a long time. Queen Mother Ji is pampered and definitely cannot live under such condition. Since these two have to go, while the Emperor needs to stay, how cannot the Empress serve them on behalf of the Emperor and continue on their way?”
“Of course the Queen Mother worries about the Emperor. She will not let the Emperor stay in the county alone these days. So some concubines need to stay and serve the Emperor. It’s only me who was the most intimate one with the Empress among all the concubines. The most important thing is that I can’t give birth now, and this fact satisfied many people especially Chunjia. The Queen Mother arranged me and Ji Pin to stay, how cannot Chunjia agree with her?”
“…” Hearing that, the little desire that just rose in Qi Jiulu’s heart disappeared. He touched her cheek with pity, and whispered, “It’s all because me that made you like this. I am useless.”
If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t persuade the tribe not into breaking off the engagement of the two families, Yun Fenghuang would not have to travel far to Dijing City. She would not have a relationship with the Emperor in the deep palace from thousands of miles away. And she would not be barren now.
Thinking of the culprit, his eyes were deep, and he swore in a deep voice, “Even if that bitch is supported by Ms. Ji, I will kill her one day!”
As soon as Yun Fenghuang heard this, she knew that Gong Xiangxiao didn’t tell him anything. This man knew that it was Ji Muzi who made her barren, just as the rumor said outside. That’s all he knew about her sterility.
He called him “Brother Xinyun” when he needed, even kept helping him in front of Yun Fenghuang. Gong Xiangxiao felt distressed before Qi Jiulu got angry… Only a few days passed did he start playing tricks. He could actually keep the secret when others told him not to talk about it. He did cover everything.
Oh, man!
She rolled her eyes in her heart, but she didn’t mean to correct her lover. She only said, “Don’t worry. I have my own plan about this. You need to know that Yuan Lianniang’s position was far above me. Being the hostess of the palace where I live, she still has nothing to do with me. Not to mention that Ji Muzi is now in a lower position than me, and the Empress Dowager, the Queen Mother and the Empress are not here.”
“…Every time something happened to you since we were young, you always acted coquettishly and asked me to help you.” These words did not comfort Qi Jiulu, and his tone was very sad, “At that time, I thought, you can’t do this or can’t do that. If I can’t help you one day, what will you do? But now that you have only been in the palace for a few days, you have done very well. It can be seen how difficult it has been since you came to the Dijing City!”
There was no need to look up at his face, and Yun Fenghuang knew that this person must have imagined the miserable situation when she lived in her aunt’s house at this moment. She didn’t clarify deliberately, but only smiled, “Although it is a bit difficult in the palace… when I see you now, I feel that all the grievances in the past are nothing.”
She felt guilty when she said this. After all, she was busy setting others up recently. In fact, she didn’t even think of Qi Jiulu…
If it were not because that Gong Xiangxiao brought him to her today, Yun Fenghuang would have been focused on studying why Ji Muzi’s temperament changed drastically…
But Qi Jiulu was convinced — otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt that his former fiancée was “just a little spoiled and wilful before and became tactful after entering the Dijing City” — and moved after hearing what she said.
He kept silent for a moment, because his emotions were too intense for him to make any sound. Then he sighed lowly, stroked Yun Fenghuang’s shoulder, hesitated, and then choked up slightly, “Do you blame me?”
Before Yun Fenghuang asked, he said anxiously like he was afraid that he would regret it, “After I heard that you were unable to give birth because you were harmed by Ms. Ji, I felt distressed and a little bit happy… because I really don’t want to see you give birth to children for other men, even if they are also your children! Even if I know you will have a much better life in the palace with a child!”
This person was so honest, and Yun Fenghuang couldn’t bear to coax him. She groaned and said directly, “Actually… I framed Ji Muzi up. I don’t know whether she harmed me privately or not, but I ate the contraceptive pill myself.”
Qi Jiulu’s hands on her shoulders suddenly froze, “For me?”
“…” Of course it’s for herself!
Yun Fenghuang subconsciously wanted to tell the truth, but when she thought that it was already difficult to meet now, and it was not known what would happen in the future. It was uneasy to be happy for a while, so it would be better to make this person happy. She didn’t say anything which meant that she tacitly approved.
Greatly shocked, Qi Jiulu held her tightly with his arms, and murmured, “I always feel… I always feel that you abandoned me for the sake of your family, and you don’t care about me as much as I do to you… now I know… You… I…”
Hearing his incoherent speech, Yun Fenghuang felt even guiltier, and she quickly changed the topic with a dry cough, “Chunjia went to Yi Fengyi’s palace tonight. I didn’t have a chance to talk. What happened to Ji Minggan and Yuan Ke?”
“I didn’t hear anything from Shizi. Maybe they have done something.” Qi Jiulu finally remembered that he had come tonight for inquiring about the news as he promised Gong Xiangxiao. “After His Majesty got out from the lake, he called many people to talk upstairs. I immediately asked the Imperial City Division to lock up the two alone, and immediately escorted them away after they went ashore.”
Yun Fenghuang said, “He asked me to go into the cabin at the time. I had no idea who he saw… Well, let’s see tomorrow. If he comes, I will try to ask something. But don’t let Shizi count on me too much, after all, I am not Yuan Lianniang.”
Qi Jiulu hummed, “How can that bitch be worthy of comparing with you? Although His Majesty is noble, his taste is not very good. But it is not surprising that he is the son of a concubine and is raised by the legitimate mother. Since his legitimate mother intends to betroth his maiden niece to him, she definitely would talk about the good things about Ms. Yuan. He would take it seriously since he had heard it too much when he was young. In fact, everyone who is discerning can tell what kind of person Ms. Yuan is.”
Yuan Lianniang was the first person in the Imperial Harem to make things difficult for his lover. It was strange that he could say something good for her.
In the future, whenever there was an opportunity to ruin the Yuan’s family, he would never let it go!
When he was bitterly hateful, he thought that Yuan Lianniang was pregnant now. He couldn’t help but frown slightly and reminded Yun Fenghuang, “I know that you are not afraid of her, but it is better to stay away from her these days. This bitch in the Imperial Court and Harem has a bad reputation. It is said that she has countless feuds in the palace, so don’t let others set you up!”
Fearing that she would disagree with that, he supplemented, “Since these Pins and Consorts in the Imperial Harem are difficult to get along with, you need to be very careful and don’t be set up by them.”
“Is it necessary for you to remind me?” Yun Fenghuang couldn’t help but glance at him, groaning, “Do you forget how Ji Muzi failed?”
She was one of the best in terms of being rascal and good at calculation.
Qi Jiulu immediately said, “Can it be the same? It is known that Ms. Ji is arbitrary and tyrannical. What kind of person can her daughter be? Even if you don’t frame her, she will definitely hurt you sooner or later, so you just protect yourself in advance!”
In short, whatever things his lover was doing was perfectly justified.
Thinking for a while, he felt that the word “frame” was not suitable, and then said, “Moreover, there are so many people in the palace. Why is Ms. Ji charged in the end? Isn’t that clear that she had a problem originally? What is the matter with you?”
He said all of these words with absolute certainty. Yun Fenghuang was about to believe that all of the Pins and Consorts in the Imperial Harem were all depraved, and she was the only innocent one.
It could be seen that she still had a conscience… Jie Yu Mao thought so. She actually felt guilty…
The two flirted again, and Yun Fenghuang finally brought the topic back. She pretended to inadvertently ask, “How are you with Ms. Chao recently?”
“What can I do with her?” Qi Jiulu said with disdain, and did not hide his boredom and dislike of his wife. “I used to stay with the maidservant sent by Prince Regent’s mansion. I scolded her since she had mocked the maidservant privately. After that, she hadn’t played any tricks for a few days. But she said that she wanted to go home lately, maybe because she had nothing to do with me…”
Yun Fenghuang replied with a simply “hmm”, she knew that Chao Jingyou could not set her heart at rest if she didn’t go there in person, since this matter was so important. Then she asked, “Had she mentioned when she would be back?”
“Who knows?” Qi Jiulu sneered, and said maliciously, “Dijing City and the north are far apart, and it not very peaceful these years, and it is best that she never come back!”
“Nonsense!” Yun Fenghuang scowled and patted him, “Your family and the Chao family are now united by marriage. If Chao Jingyou were dead, the Chao family would marry her sister to you. I already felt bothered by her, so do I need to see you marry the Chao family’s daughter one after another?
Qi Jiulu quickly confessed his mistake, and vowed that the patience nowadays was temporary. Once he was strong enough and Ms. Chao was useless, then it was not only Chao Jingyou, but also the Chao’s family could be disposed as Yun Fenghuang wanted, because he would dispose them in a crueler way!
Yun Fenghuang enthusiastically listened to his sweet words and vows, and watched the daylight come, and reluctantly pushed him, “Soon it will be morning, and you should go.”
Qi Jiulu’s expression suddenly dimmed, and he sat motionlessly for a while. Under the repeated urging of Yun Fenghuang, he left reluctantly. But when Yun Fenghuang looked at the traces that he left when sitting on the brocade mattress and lost her minds, the man ran back like a gust of wind!