Zui Gu🔞 ( mtl)

56

　　After leaving the thatched cottage, Xie Ciyan remained silent. Although his expression was not obvious, Yan Zhaozhao could sense his inner emotions.

　　She had heard what Eunuch Lu said just now, and her heart was still difficult to calm down, let alone Xie Ciyan. After many twists and turns, his father, the emperor, and his mother died at the hands of the empress dowager, and the source of all this was just to let the legitimate son who was only mediocre ascend the throne.

　　How ridiculous! Did

　　the empress dowager really want her legitimate son to ascend the throne?

　　No!

　　What she wanted was always the huge power to control the government! Once it was not his legitimate son who ascended the throne, it would threaten her position. If someone else ascended the throne, although she would be named the empress dowager according to the ancestral system, she would no longer be the only empress dowager. The emperor was not her biological son, so she was not worthy of the title of empress dowager, and would only be suppressed by the emperor's biological mother everywhere.

　　Therefore, even if she killed the emperor and murdered the imperial concubine, she would not hesitate. She ignored and sacrificed these innocent people, and stepped on the corpses of countless people to ascend to the throne she had always dreamed of. But she was afraid that those people she killed would come back to claim her life when she woke up in the middle of the night. The person who used to be the least believer in gods and Buddhas now kneeled down under the Buddha's seat with sins on her back.

　　Yan Zhaozhao looked at the somewhat lonely back of the man in front of her, and her heart was inevitably a little sour. Her body moved faster than her brain. Suddenly, she came forward and hugged Xie Ci Yan from behind. Her pair of white and slender hands were entangled in front of his abdomen, and her voice was a little muffled, "If you are unhappy, then say it."

　　He was silent now, and Yan Zhaozhao didn't know what he was thinking for a while. Instead of thinking about it alone, it would be better to talk to her. It is better to have someone to talk to than to keep it in your heart alone.

　　Xie Ci Yan's eyebrows softened instantly, and he patted the back of her hand lightly with his palm. Suddenly he turned around and hugged the woman tightly in his arms. He whispered, "Fortunately." Yan Zhaozhao was a little confused by his sudden words, but before she could ask, Xie Ciyan continued, "Fortunately you are still here."

　　He had lost too many people since he was a child, so he never dared to give his true heart to anyone, for fear that after giving his true heart, this true heart would become the other person's death warrant. He was used to loneliness and being alone, but the moment Yan Zhaozhao appeared, he seemed to feel that being alone was really lonely. It would be good if she was by his side.

　　"Don't worry, Zhaozhao, I'm fine." He stroked her black hair gently, his voice tender, "Someone will pick us up and leave later."

　　"Who?" She just felt that Xie Ciyan was really amazing, as if in a short period of time, he had arranged everything properly. Such a person should sit on the dragon throne and rule the world, instead of being feared and suppressed like now.

　　"General Huo who is stationed at the border of the hunting forest."

　　As soon as Xie Ciyan finished speaking, Yan Zhaozhao's body trembled suddenly, and she suddenly raised her head from his arms and looked into his eyes. "What did you say?" It's no wonder she was so shocked. General Huo Sui, who was stationed at the border of the forest, was a good friend of the emperor when he was young. He had always been loyal to the emperor, and the two were like close friends. With such a relationship, why would Huo Sui come here to pick them up? "Are you talking about that General Huo Sui?"

　　Seeing her so shocked, Xie Ciyan felt that she was so cute, but he couldn't bear to tease her any more, so he explained: "It was that General Huo, he is my man."

　　Yan Zhaozhao's pupils shrank. Before this, she only knew from the rumors among the empress dowager and the court officials that the regent Xie Ciyan had real power, but no one knew to what extent this real power was, and no one could investigate it in depth. All those mysteries that had been unknown for a long time were cleared up at this moment.

　　Who could have thought that the emperor's best friend from his youth to this day was actually a subordinate of Xie Ci Yan, and that the man in front of him had such a great ability to turn Huo Sui into his man.

　　Although Yan Zhaozhao did not ask, her face was already full of curiosity. Xie Ci Yan chuckled and did not intend to hide anything from her. "A few years ago, Huo Sui also led his troops to fight. He was careless for a moment and fell into the trap of the enemy and fell into the hands of the enemy leader. He immediately wrote a letter to the emperor, saying that if he wanted him to release Huo Sui, he would take a city in exchange. This was undoubtedly a lion's mouth. Huo Sui also planned to die at the time to stop the man's delusion, but how could he let him do what he wanted so easily?"

　　Xie Ci Yan's eyes darkened, and there was a hint of mockery at the corners of his lips, as if he was despising him. "It was for this reason that Huo Sui waited for the letter that allowed him to see the emperor clearly. In the letter, the emperor first reprimanded Huo Sui for being stupid and unworthy of being a general of his. He then made it clear to the enemy leader that he would never exchange Huo Sui for anything and that he could be killed or cut into pieces as he pleased." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Finally, someone sent a letter to me to save him, and I went. Naturally, Huo Sui was disheartened by what the emperor had done. There was no need to instigate a rebellion, as he had already lost the support

　　of the people." Yan Zhaozhao could not help but sigh at the emperor's ruthlessness once again. Huo Sui was the one who had saved his life several times, but when he fell into trouble, he ended up being an abandoned pawn. How could he not blame him?

　　"Now that my injury has healed, you can't stay out for too long, or you might get criticized. I've arranged for Huo Sui to come over, and he'll take you back to the palace when he comes. It's safest to have Huo Sui take you." This was the way Xie Ciyan had thought of to return to the palace early in the morning. Huo Sui was originally a general guarding the border of the forest. He saved Yan Zhaozhao, who fell off a cliff and survived. This was the most reliable way. And because of the incident that year, the emperor still felt a little guilty about Huo Sui. Even if he wanted to wrongly accuse Yan Zhaozhao of losing her innocence after wandering outside for many days, he couldn't throw dirty water on Huo Sui. As long as Huo Sui said that Yan Zhaozhao had been recovering in the military camp, no one could say that she had lost her chastity.

　　"What about you?" Yan Zhaozhao saw that he had thought about his retreat very carefully, but he didn't seem to consider what he should do. He suddenly disappeared in the hunting forest. If he didn't have any explanation, it would be disobeying the emperor's order, which was also a serious crime.

　　"Zhao Zhao, don't worry about me, just go back." He leaned down and looked at her at eye level. She saw a bit more determination in Xie Ci Yan's eyes, which was fleeting. "After returning to the palace, Zhao Zhao will call me the regent as usual. Don't come to Jinyuan to find me privately anymore. Just pretend that you don't know me, okay?"

　　Xie Ci Yan's voice was very soft, but his words were like long, thin needles that kept piercing her heart. She was not a stupid person, so she knew that he did this just because he didn't want to implicate her. If there was an accident in the future, she would at least still be the queen, and she wouldn't have to be involved with him.

　　But...

　　if there was no Xie Ci Yan in the world, what would Yan Zhao Zhao want the position of queen for?

　　If Xie Ci Yan was no longer in this world, what was the point of her clinging to this world?

　　The joys and sorrows of this world are all because of the people who care about them.