Drunk Bamboo

Xie Yuzhu was stunned for a long while.

Hua Qinfeng bent down and came in front of her, his dark eyes full of sincerity:

"Do you want to know me? I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Xie Yuzhu: What happened to this naughty kid?

Could it be that you like me?

Or did he misunderstand what I said in the palace at noon?

To live a peaceful and stable life is just what it says on the tin, there is no deeper meaning!

Xie Yuzhu opened her mouth with difficulty: "I, I think it would be better for us to understand each other slowly, bit by bit in life."

He straightened up: "You're right. Anyway, we have plenty of time to learn about it slowly."

After thinking for a while, she carefully chose her words and explained: "Your Highness, actually, I think it's good for us to be like this now. We can keep some mystery and have our own privacy. It's good to respect each other. Your Highness, do you understand what I mean?"

"Is it like father and mother treating each other with respect?" He frowned and shook his head. "But I don't like the way they get along. They are uncomfortable talking and laughing. Shouldn't husband and wife say whatever they want and share their joys and sorrows together?"

His eyes were clear, yet mixed with doubt.

Xie Yuzhu was thinking about how to break up his budding love, and said earnestly:

"No one will accompany another person for a lifetime. People come into this world naked and leave alone. They are alone forever. A wife or husband is just someone who accompanies you for a longer distance on this long road. Your Majesty, the person you should care about the most should be yourself. To love others, you must first love yourself..."

Love is not the most important thing, and all love is unreliable.

The longest and most stable relationship between a couple is when they become family members.

But before he could finish his sentence, Hua Qinfeng had a look of sudden enlightenment on his face:

"I understand! I will cherish myself more in the future, not be reckless, and not get hurt, so that I can better protect you!"

"My Lord, what on earth do you understand?!"

"You explained it so clearly that I understand. You can read the book while I fetch you some water. You can drink it when you are thirsty."

With that said, he ran away in a flash.

Xie Yuzhu lowered his head: Forget it, with his simple brain circuit, he wouldn't think so complicated.

It's because I'm overthinking it.

Love?

He probably thinks that a couple is just friends who get along well and can talk about anything.

The next morning, Zhang Xinghe came to the door.

He was wearing a scarlet official robe, and it was obvious that he had just come straight to Prince Feng's Palace after leaving court.

Hua Qinfeng was in good spirits and sat in the hall with a serious face.

Xie Yuzhu yawned twice in a row, and there was a dark circle under his eyes.

Zhang Xinghe glanced at the couple and said seriously:

"After investigation, it was found that the wooden stakes of the stage were finally installed by a carpenter from the Ministry of Works. The carpenter was from another place and was alone in Zhongdu. He refused to admit it. He hit the wall last night and died on the spot."

Hua Qinfeng's expression froze.

Xie Yuzhu's sleepiness disappeared completely.

Zhang Xinghe looked calm and continued, "The poisoning was indeed not caused by raw almonds. As the princess said yesterday, it was caused by food incompatibility."

Xie Yuzhu quickly asked: "What food?"

"The chef replaced the rice flour in the red bean cake with millet flour. The red bean cake is bright red in color and looks normal. Eating millet and almonds together will cause food poisoning. That's why some people get poisoned while others are fine."

This trick is too deep. The raw almond powder sprinkled on the surface of the almond biscuits is a trick to deceive people? !

Xie Yuzhu's brows darkened. "Did the royal chef sprinkle the raw almond powder there? Is he deliberately confusing the royal doctors and taking the opportunity to point the finger at the queen?"

Zhang Xinghe nodded: "That's right."

Xie Yuzhu asked again: "Do the carpenter and the imperial chef have any hatred against the Empress? Or is there someone behind the scenes?"

He lowered his eyes, his gaze solemn: "I don't know, the royal chef also committed suicide by taking poison this morning."

After he finished speaking, Hua Qinfeng slammed the table and stood up, furious: "How can the Ministry of Justice do things? They can't even protect one person? Have you investigated it clearly?"

Zhang Xinghe's face was gloomy, but he did not deny it. "Your Majesty has already ordered the harem to be rectified, and the Queen's house arrest has been lifted, and the jurisdiction of the harem has been restored. Your Majesty has no more orders, and this case is closed."

"House confinement? Father has confined mother to house arrest before the matter has been thoroughly investigated?" He said in disbelief.

"Your Highness, how many people in this world dare to attack the Queen?" Zhang Xinghe asked, looking up.

Hua Qinfeng remained silent, as if he had thought of something, but also as if he had thought of nothing.

Xie Yuzhu rationally expressed his guess:

"Master Zhang, are you saying that the Queen Mother framed herself?"

Zhang Xinghe turned his head the next second with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Xie Yuzhu then said something even more shocking: "Your Majesty may think so. So it is of no benefit to the Queen Mother. Then it can only be someone else's plan. Who can do it?"

Could it be, the Imperial Concubine? !

Her eyes met Zhang Xinghe's, and they both seemed to have thought of the answer.

Zhang Xinghe withdrew his surprised gaze, and his expression quickly returned to normal:

"Now that the matter has passed, Your Majesty and Princess should not think too much about it. I have told you the truth and I will take my leave now."

Hua Qinfeng sat on the wooden chair in silence for a long time.

Xie Yuzhu walked up to him and said softly:

"Although the facts have been investigated, my mother has been wronged in the end."

With her eyelids drooping, her thick eyelashes covering her pupils, she spoke in a disappointed tone:

"Father has always been like this. He only believed rumors and lies and grounded Mother without finding out the truth. Why did he never believe us?"

He raised his eyes and looked at Xie Yuzhu.

Gently stroking his hair, she said, "He is the emperor, at the highest position, so he naturally thinks more than ordinary people. It is hard for us to understand that it is lonely at the top."

He put his arms around Xie Yuzhu's waist and buried his head in her chest.

"Xie Yuzhu, I have been very careful, but sometimes I can't help but regard him as my father, not the king. Just an ordinary father, who can tell the truth, speak from the heart, and ignore the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects. But it still doesn't work, right?"

The voice was low and full of loss.

"At the banquet, I just told the truth, but my father frowned. When you found out, you made up a white lie to please my father. After reciting poems and dancing with swords, my father was really happy. But I didn't really mean to perform for my father, but he was very happy."

"Xie Yuzhu, I don't understand. Tell me, why?"

This was the first time that Hua Qinfeng appeared so decadent, spiritless and lifeless.

It seems that everyone is full of disappointment in this world.

"Perhaps only those who have sat in that position can understand." He sighed softly.

He hugged the person next to him tighter; only her body temperature and her breath could make him feel warm.

"When my mother was still alive, she never restricted me, and I have been nurturing this temper since I was a child. My mother's face is becoming more and more blurred, and I don't remember many of the things she taught me. The only thing she told me to do is live according to my heart, and I always remember it."

"Your Highness is getting better step by step. If your mother is still alive, she will be pleased to see this." Xie Yuzhu let him hold her, stroking his back and comforting him, "Your Highness, don't doubt yourself. Just try to do whatever you want to do. I will help you."

"Xie Yuzhu, do you think I am thinking too simply?"

"It's not complicated actually. Shall I accompany you to the palace to see the Queen Mother tomorrow?"

Xie Yuzhu: Oh... it's too complicated. I don't want to think about it anymore.