The worries of the heart are like bandits. These days, I really feel like my meridians are going to crack, and my head is buzzing and hurting from time to time.

Now that King You's made it clear that he didn't want to see me, the Queen Mother didn't know why she was enveloping me in every way, and she was surrounded by the Queen Mother's people, and she couldn't distinguish the intentions of these people at all. If I want to get close to the King of You, I must first find out the purpose of the Queen Mother before making a plan.

Besides, since I have promised to find a way to let Dongfang Fuxian and Mrs. Raindrop meet, I must first find the key to open the door, but I am a newcomer, how can I get the key?

Today walked these roads, Fang Jue and Ming Hall chiseled is different from the ordinary palace, not to mention the lush and unique flowers and trees, the shape of the pavilions and pavilions is exquisite, the place occupied is also large enough, there are four or five places in the courtyard residence alone, in addition to the main hall "and Ming Ju" in the center where I live, there are also the east courtyard "Liuxiang Pavilion", the west courtyard "Jinse Pavilion", the south courtyard "Hehuan Garden", the north courtyard "Qingfeng Garden", it can be said that the four corners are complete. In addition, there are three gardens for sightseeing between each courtyard, which are "Scooping Water", "Warm Snow", and "Pine Wind". Although it is located in a remote place, it is really original.

And the Ming Palace, the meaning of Qin Se and Ming, seems to be just a man's good intentions for his beloved woman. But in the whole world, only my father can take only one scoop of weak water for 3,000 years, and in this palace where most of the time since ancient times there is only you living and living, and most of the relationship between the emperor and the concubine is just a game of power and interests.

I couldn't help but break my thoughts, and my heart sank again, sinking to the bottom of the sea.

"The princess is back. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard gate, he saw Gan Tang, who looked nervous, kneeling and saluting.

"Get up and speak. I left Nian Yuan but I didn't see you, why are you in such a hurry at this time?" I said in a calm tone, with a deliberate hint of displeasure on my face.

"No. I also asked the princess to forgive my sins, and at that time, the palace maid Yun Chao came to look for me, saying yes, saying that the agarwood had been found, but ...... Person...... People have ...... It's gone. Gan Tang said and sobbed softly.

I was shocked: "Where are the people?"

"I have ordered someone to carry it to the firewood room, and the internal affairs supervisor has reported the matter to the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother, and only two deacons and aunts have been sent. said that the agarwood drowned and let it be left to the princess to dispose of herself. ”

"Take me there. ”

Gan Tang was still crying, and I was in a panic, so I had to try my best to keep my composure. I hurried to the firewood room, and when a group of people saw me coming, they knelt down and saluted.

There was a gruffy smell in the room, and I saw a piece of broken grass sweeping the corpse on the ground, revealing a skirt and a pair of feet.

The two deacons and aunts of the internal affairs supervisor came forward to give a salute, and one of them said softly: "The slave and maid internal affairs supervisor Qiu Su asked the princess to say goodbye, and the slave and maid next to her are Ximian, and the two slaves and maids are ordered by the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother to hand over the body of the drowning palace maid Agarwood in the Ming Hall to the princess for personal confirmation and dispose of it themselves." ”

Qiu Xu said, turned around and went to open the mat, just now the greasy smell of fishy smell came to my face, although I have been somewhat mentally prepared, but seeing the agarwood that has been blistered with a pale face, I still feel terrified in my heart, and I can't help but take two steps back. The people of the womb were already so frightened that they covered their eyes or their mouths and retreated, crying and crying.

Gan Tang helped me and whispered next to me: "Don't look at the princess, let the slave maid test it for you, the agarwood was brought into the palace by me, and she has followed me since she entered the palace. He whimpered softly.

Before she could react, Aunt Qiu Xu had already saluted again: "According to the rules of the palace, please also ask the princess to come to inspect it in person, after all, it is the princess's personal maid in the palace, and the princess has personally inspected it, so the slaves and maids are easy to deal with." ”

This Aunt Qiu Xu obviously came prepared, and she intended to let me conduct an autopsy in person, although I don't know what the intention is, but it is extremely inappropriate for me to prevaricate.

I settled down, approached the body of Agarwood step by step with Gantang's support, looked at the immature face, and was almost suffocated with fear in my heart, the greasy and fishy smell was close to breathing, so that I couldn't help but squat aside and vomit, Gantang and Qian Yuan quickly helped me away and wiped it for me.

"Aunt Qiuxu, the princess has personally tested it, this is indeed no different from the agarwood of the palace maid of the Ming Palace. "Qiang Xiang seemed a little angry.

I saw that the autumn silk came to me unhurriedly and came to give a salute, and said quietly: "Can the princess confirm it? ”

My stomach was so sick that I felt more and more that Agarwood had died a strange and pitiful death, and the internal affairs supervisor had determined that she had accidentally fallen into the pool and drowned, and when I got closer, I accidentally saw a little purple thread the size of a sesame seed between the nails of the girl's little finger - the same color as the jade thread on the jade pendant on the waist of King Zuo Xian last night, and I didn't dare to think about it anymore.

"I have already tested it, and it is no different from the agarwood of the maidservant in my palace. Please go back to your aunt and hand it over, I will order someone to handle the body of this agarwood, and the two aunts are tired. I felt that I was almost prostrating, but I still tried my best to keep my composure, and ordered the palace people beside me: "Qianqiu, quickly take the two aunts of Qiu Xu and Xi Mian to receive some hardship fees." ”

"No. Qian Qian seemed a little reluctant, but she had to go, so she turned to the two and said softly, "Two aunts, please come with me." ”

"The slave thanked the princess. The two of them thanked each other, and a smile rose at the corner of their mouths, and they followed Gantang to receive the reward.

As soon as the internal superintendent left, he sat there paralyzed, feeling that he had no strength in his body.

"Gantang. ”

"The slave is here. ”

"Is there anyone else in the Agarwood family?"

"Yes. Gan Tang choked and said slowly: "Agarwood's father died of a serious illness the year before last, and there is a mother and young brother at home, after the death of the father, the family lives like a year, and the mother relies on laundry and sewing to subsidize the family on weekdays, and Agarwood entered the palace with the slave maid in order to support the family, this is good, if something like this happens, the slave and maid don't know how to explain to her mother?"

"Send a few more people to bury her, and give her mother and brother more money, and appease her well, see what else she needs at home, and do everything she can do." You do it yourself. I clutched my chest and retched again.

"No, the princess is so kind-hearted, Gan Tang thanked the princess for her great kindness in this generation of agarwood, if the agarwood is known under the spring, she will definitely repay the princess for her great kindness in the next life. Gan Tang cried and knelt down to thank me.

"Yun Chao and Yun Xi helped me back to the temple to rest, and the rest of the people stayed here to listen to Gan Tang's dispatch. With that, he got up, and walked over with his strength to cover the corpse with the straw mat himself.

"No. Behind him, a group of people knelt in response.

In the evening, leaning on the couch, thinking about the death of Agarwood, the fear in my heart is still difficult to calm. After a long breath, he felt bored and panicked, so he called Yunxi to get the scroll, opened the window again, and looked around carefully, and felt more and more that the furnishings and directions of this room were somewhat similar to the "Maolan Palace".

Yunxi, this girl is very smart, a pair of pear nests are shallow, and she always smiles all day long, but it doesn't make people feel bored and annoying. While handing the scroll with both hands, he smiled and said, "In the past, Mrs. Raindrop was as fond of reading as the princess. ”

I was shocked in my heart, only smiled lightly, and pretended to be inadvertently tentative: "Oh, I guess that Lady Raindrop was also very popular in the palace back then, otherwise how could people miss it so much, can you tell me about it." ”

"That's natural, our lady ......" As soon as Yun Xi spoke, she felt rude, and quickly lowered her head and changed her words: "Mrs. Raindrop, she treats the slaves and maids very kindly, and rarely scolds, when the former king was alive, she was also extremely kind to her wife, but it is a pity that ......"

Na Yunxi lowered his head, his nasal voice was pantothenic, and he seemed to be a little timid and worried.

"It's a pity, but it doesn't hurt to say. I continued to whisper tentatively.

Who knew that this girl actually knelt on the ground with a thud, and said with teary eyes: "I wonder if the slave can dare to ask the princess for something?"

"Let's hear it. I whispered.

"No. The slave thanked the princess for her kindness. Na Yunxi paused, looked around, and saw that there was no one else, before he continued: "Does the princess know about the fire with the south courtyard of the Ming Palace yesterday?"

"Oh, how?" I pretended to flip through the book, nonchalant.

"The one who lives in the southern courtyard is Mrs. Raindrop, that is, the biological mother of King Zuoxian. ”

The girl still knelt there with her head bowed slightly, and continued to herself: "After the death of the first king, the eldest son ascended the throne, and Mrs. Raindrop is still good here, and the new king has never treated the Heming Hall badly. It's just that I don't know why, the sacrificial ceremony was held that day, and the head of the queen mother's side suddenly invited a few witch gods from Xiqiu, saying that they wanted to eliminate the harm for the practice of the hidden country, and actually said that there was a flower demon in the southwest of the palace, and it must be found out immediately, and it will be cremated to sacrifice the wrath of the gods, so as to protect the peace of the country and the people, and the country and the country will be safe for thousands of years. The wizards pretended to be ghosts, and pulled Mrs. Raindrop, who was sitting on the seat above, down. Even if the Queen Mother listened to Wumiao's words and asked the wizard to tie up the lady, if it wasn't for the Queen Mother and King Zuo Xian to arrive in time, I am afraid that the lady would have died that day. ”

After that, he cried again, and prayed while clasping his head: "Mrs. Raindrop treats the slave maid as kind as a mountain, and the slave maid has no money for treatment because of her father's illness, so she stole her jewelry and wanted to secretly send it outside the palace to sell it for her father's treatment, but was found by the guards guarding the door, and almost killed me with a cane. This kind of kindness cannot be repaid by slaves and maids. The slave and maid had the courage to beg the princess to save Mrs. Raindrops, if it continued like this, Madame was afraid that it would be more than lucky. ”

Seeing her burst into tears, I sighed unhurriedly, "You are a loyal servant. After a pause, he continued: "When I first arrived in this palace, I was not treated by the king of You, and I lived in this Heming Palace, and I didn't know where the road ahead was, how could I help you?"

I gently blew into the tea bowl, and the hot aroma came to my nose, and before I could eat it, tears were already raining down in my throat. I couldn't help but taste it, and the taste was indeed only six-point, but this tea was not found anywhere else except for my aunt. Suddenly, he grabbed Yun Xi's sleeve, almost speechless, and choked up: "It's gentleman's tea, but this tea has plum blossoms, orchids, and a taste of peach blossom nectar added to it?"

Xu was frightened by my appearance, Yun Xi looked at me a little at a loss, and said in a panic: "Slave, slave maid doesn't know, this tea is cooked by Sister Qiao, who is in charge of serving tea on weekdays." ”

"Hurry, go and get her. I eagerly asked Yun Xi, eager to know where she learned this concoction, this "gentleman's tea" was originally created by her former uncle and mother.

"No. ”

Looking at the back of Yunxi leaving in a panic, my heart sank suddenly, and I looked at the furnishings in the hall in a daze, and I always felt that there was something abnormal, but I couldn't find it.

I still remember that in the past, every time I cooked tea, my uncle and mother always had to teach carefully, although the orchid is a gentleman in the flower, it is weaker in the end, the plum blossom has a proud bone to fill, and then there is a peach blossom delicate and not flattering, the sweetness and softness of honey, the aura of heaven and earth of the water of the first snow, a woman like this can be regarded as a real gentleman, so it is called "gentleman's tea". If you want to cook this tea, you have to take the orchids that bloom in the warm winter sun, wax the plum blossoms that have not bloomed in the cold spring, wash them all and dry them and seal them, and collect the first snow in winter and store them in the jade altar, bury them under the peach tree, and wait for the peach blossoms to bloom before they can be taken out for cooking tea. Orchid about three dollars, plum blossoms about two dollars, snow water about three bowls, and finally add a taste of peach nectar, that is, this "gentleman's tea", the taste is sweet and not greasy, fragrant and not depressed, and it feels wonderful.

Such a ingenious way of cooking tea can only be imagined by his uncle and aunt in Xiqiu.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Qian Xiang and Yun Xi come to give a salute.

I let out a long breath, came back to my senses, and said softly, "How did you get this tea, and how did you make it?"

"Back to the princess, this tea was taught by the slave's aunt, that is, the aunt Yun Gu who was in charge of the Queen Mother's side. Qian Qian said unhurriedly, looked up at me, and then said slowly: "The slave's aunt is one of the best palace maids in this palace in terms of tea and needlework, and my aunt said that she accompanied the Queen Mother back to Xiqiu to visit relatives and lived in the palace of Xiqiu, and the Queen Mother drank this tea and praised it, so Queen Xiqiu personally taught this recipe to the slave's aunt. The tea that the princess drank today was prepared in a hurry by the hands of the slave maid, not exactly according to the recipe. ”

I see. I almost forgot that the Queen Mother is also the princess of Xiqiu, and when it comes to seniority, I should call her "aunt". Seeing that I came back to her senses a little, Qian Yuan said softly: "The princess may think of Queen Xiqiu, right? It's just that the slave maid is stupid, and the skill of cooking tea is a little clumsy, if this tea can make the princess have some hope for Queen Xiqiu, the slave and maid will definitely learn more from the slave maid's aunt in the future." ”

She was really a talking girl, with insight into people and silence, and she knew all my preferences so clearly. The people sent by the Queen Mother are all clever people, not only good at observing words and feelings, but also handling things safely and responding very quickly. It is natural that such a shrewd person will not come to serve me in vain, but it seems reasonable, after all, although I have no friendship with the Queen Mother, I am a relative of the same clan, and perhaps she needs me more than I thought.

The hazy moonlight, the haze stopped the clouds, and I half-lay on the couch for a long time. The death of Agarwood did not calm me, the first few days I came, the good people around me disappeared all of a sudden, and I couldn't help but panic. Repeatedly guessing the reason why King Zuo Xian killed Agarwood, as if he had subconsciously identified the murderer as King Zuo Xian, thinking that Yun Xi knelt down and begged for half of the words, could it be that Agarwood was related to the fire in the South Courtyard? Or did Agarwood know some shocking secret, forcing King Zuo Xian to kill her with his own hands to get rid of future troubles? Otherwise, how could a small palace be worth his own life, and accidentally left traces.

Do you want to go to King Zuo Xian and ask him face to face? No, I don't know the bottom of this King Zuo Xian, so wouldn't it be easier for me to expose my thoughts in front of others, in case he doesn't know what to do, and he has murderous thoughts on me again, wouldn't it be bad? Besides, that person came and went without a trace, and his whereabouts were strange all day long, and he was by no means a good person, so how could I easily take risks.

Now that I know that he has something to do with Agarwood's death, that is, I have his handle, and when I need his help, wouldn't it be more reasonable to exchange it with him. How can a person like him easily trust a person, I must make a deal with him before he can rest assured.

In the morning, Yun Xi came to serve and freshen up, and in a daze, he thought it was agarwood, and almost called the wrong one, and just said the word "Shen", and stopped. Seeing that Yunxi was waiting cautiously, I reached out and took the jade and silver silk mahogany hairpin in her hand, and said politely: "Look at your age, you have been in this palace for several years, right?"

"Back to the princess, the slave has been in the palace for the sixth year. Yun Xi retreated to the side, and when he saw me trying it in front of the mirror, he immediately took out the white hosta I was wearing when I came from the hairpin box, and presented it to me with both hands.

I was surprised. This and the Ming Hall are really not to be underestimated, and everyone in the palace seems to be proficient in the art of mind reading. I gently picked up the hairpin and stuck it diagonally on the side of my bun, and said with a shallow smile: "What nationality are you?"

"The slave is from the Yan country. Yun Xi said respectfully.

"Yan Guoren, then how did you come to Youguo with your family?" I couldn't help but wonder, remembering that she had just said yesterday that her father was seriously ill, so her family must be in Youguo.

"This is a long story, the slave's hometown is at the junction of Yan and Youguo, because the two countries often go to war, the slave's father took our family to flee to Youguo, and then the slave and maid never returned to Yan. With that, his eyes darkened.

"Are there still relatives in Yan Kingdom?"

"Yes, there is. Most of the slave's father's family have died in the war, and the relatives have also died and scattered due to fleeing, but the mother's family is from Xiqiu, and the family is thin, and the slave and maid seem to have an uncle. ”

"No wonder I couldn't help but look a little more when I saw you, it turns out that your mother is a citizen of Xiqiu, and your mother's family is still in Xiqiu?"

Yun Xi shook his head and sighed: "I haven't seen this uncle since the slave was born, but I heard my mother mention it, my uncle has been sensitive and studious since he was a child, can write and martial arts, likes to travel around, and later followed his teacher to travel around the world, there is little news, and I don't know where it is." My mother has an old illness, and her health has deteriorated in the past two years, and she often talks about her uncle, looking forward to seeing her again. ”

Seeing that she was already a little sad, I subconsciously bowed my head slightly, looked at her and said softly: "Presumably your uncle is now a great man, maybe where he has been shouldering a heavy responsibility, now wars often happen, the road is not smooth, maybe it is just that it is not yet time to reunite with you, your mother will definitely be able to reunite with her relatives." ”

"Slave and maid, thank you princess for her good words. Yun Xi was quite moved, knelt down to give a salute, and continued: "The princess treats the slave and maid as kindly as the lady of the raindrop treated the slave and maid back then. If he is really as good as the princess said, the slave's mother can reunite with her uncle, and the slave will repay the princess in three lives and three lives. As he spoke, he leaned closer to me, lowered his voice and said secretly: "The slave's uncle is also proficient in alchemy, and he is also quite good at the Taoist method of the fairy family. ”

I've heard of this alchemy technique, there is a Zhang Wang clan in the area south of Xiqiu who is good at pills, and there is a method of immortality, but I don't believe it to be true. The so-called Immortal Dao method is also available in Xiqiu, but it is rare to come into contact with such strange people. This Yunxi can already think of the future in a few words, and it is not ordinary.

After a broken thought in his heart, he sighed softly: "Get up, it's enough for you to have this thought." You have also seen my current situation, and it is also your bad luck to follow a master like me. I can't even protect my own personal palace maid, so what else can I talk about?"

"The princess is still worried about the death of Agarwood?" Yun Xi said cautiously, seeing that I was silent, she continued to say slowly: "The slave doesn't know whether to talk about something or not. ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say that. I stretched out my slender hands and put them in front of my eyes, as if I were looking at myself, pretending to be careless.

"No. Yun Xi looked around to make sure that there was no one, and then continued: "The slave maid heard that the agarwood is the hand of the Queen Mother. ”

"What a boldness!"

"She is just a palace lady, but she drowned accidentally, you dare to pull the queen mother, if such nonsense spreads, the consequences are unimaginable. I pretended to be angry to hide the horror in my heart, and the appearance of the man next to the Queen Mother came to my mind, and a chill oozed from my back.