When the little eunuch was passing on the message, Princess Zhaohe happened to enter the door. After the people left, without waiting for others to speak, Zhao He said first, "I was about to go to greet the imperial grandmother, and I can go with Sister Miaolan." ”

As she spoke, the little girl stepped forward and grabbed Shen Miaolan's hand and smiled sweetly.

The Queen Mother summoned Shen Miaolan at this juncture, and she had something to do with the prince. Zhaohe is not a little girl who is ignorant of the world, but she is willing to walk with Miaolan, which makes Shen Guifei really surprised. reminded her daughter, "Zhaohe, my mother made your favorite pea pod, why don't you stay and taste it?"

Zhao He held Shen Miaolan's hand and did not let it go, but held it tighter. said to Shen Guifei, "Mother's pea pods can be eaten at any time, but you can't delay the time to ask the imperial grandmother for peace." Otherwise, the Imperial Grandmother would be displeased. ”

Shen Guifei was choked by her daughter and didn't know how to persuade her.

Shen Miaolan couldn't see Shen Guifei's worry, and patted Zhaohe's hand, "How long can you delay staying to eat a pea pod? I'll go first, wait for you there, and come back with you, okay?"

"Do you really want to go by yourself?" Zhao He looked at Shen Miaolan with some concern.

Shen Miaolan nodded firmly, her own affairs always have to be faced and solved by herself. Zhaohe's friendship with her, she understood it.

Zhao He let go of Shen Miaolan's hand a little unwillingly, "I will go to you as soon as possible." ”

"Good!" said Miaolan. turned around and saluted Shen Guifei, who was obviously breathing a sigh of relief, and the four princes, who had been silent, and followed the little eunuch who led the way out.

"I just saw the prince's brother going in the direction of Ci'an Palace. Zhao He sat beside the four princes and spoke with a little worry.

"What is the most taboo in this palace, have you forgotten?" Shen Guifei had a calm face, her daughter's actions today really made her dissatisfied.

"My daughter has not forgotten that if you want to gain a long-term foothold in this palace, you must learn to protect yourself. But my mother, that person is not a stranger, but a friend who has grown up with me since childhood. Zhao He paused word by word, and looked at Shen Guifei with firm eyes.

Looking at her youngest daughter's stubborn face, Shen Guifei seemed to see herself back then. "It's good that you can treat your friends like this. But you also have to pay attention to methods. Now that you have seen the prince go to Ci'an Palace, you probably also expected what the Queen Mother summoned Miaolan for. If you rush to accompany her, will you be able to turn the tide?"

"No," Zhao He hung his head in discouragement, "but I can say something that Sister Miaolan can't say, indicating that the incident of the private meeting in Nazhuang is a misunderstanding, and begging the imperial grandmother to fulfill her and the prince's brother." ”

Shen Guifei shook her head, "Silly boy, you only know that the Queen Mother wants to break up the prince and Miaolan, but you don't know that Miaolan actually doesn't want to marry the prince anymore." ”

Zhao He looked up in surprise and looked at Shen Guifei in disbelief. How affectionate and firm the prince and Miaolan are, others don't know, but she can see it clearly from the sidelines.

Zhao He said firmly: "Impossible, if the two of them take the initiative to give up, then my daughter will never believe that there is anything stronger than Jin Jian in this world from now on!"

Shen Guifei really couldn't bear to break Zhao He's heart, but she had to teach her this lesson. said slowly, "Miaolan has been in the palace for more than a few months, and she is often with you, can she talk to you about the crown prince?"

Zhao He thought about it for a while, but it was so, and shook his head. In her heart, she had already begun to favor Shen Guifei's statement, but she was still emotionally unacceptable, and retorted, "That's because there is an obstacle between her and the prince's brother now, and mentioning it will only increase my sadness." ”

Shen Guifei was not in a hurry to correct her, and continued, "Okay, just assume that she is afraid of being sad and refuses to mention it." But have you ever seen her in a trance and in her bedroom for many days?"

"Not yet. Zhao He replied, and then argued, "That's because Sister Miaolan is a strong person, even if she is sad, she won't show it in front of others." ”

"Genuine sadness or happiness is hard to control by willpower alone. It always reveals through the subtleties of the eyes, mannerisms, etc. If there is no clue, it can only be said that there are no emotional fluctuations. Shen Guifei said, "Miao Lan was raised in my Zhaoren Palace when she was young, and I think I know her character best. But after a few days of getting along, I found that she was different from when she was a child. Zhaohe, people will always change. Your childhood friendship with her is still the same as before, but there is no guarantee that she will be the same as you knew her when you were a child after all these years. The most difficult thing to predict in this world is people's hearts, and the most changeable thing is friendship. Do you understand what the concubine said?"

Zhao He is a smart child, and she naturally understands what Shen Guifei said. Born in the royal family, she has a deep understanding of the word hot and cold in the world. But it's one thing to understand the truth, and it's another thing to do it. She felt that as long as she was alive, her blood was still hot, and her heart was still soft, she couldn't do what Shen Guifei expected. She knew that no matter how she changed, Shen Miaolan was the same as her. The two cherish each other, not because of similar interests, but because they develop a similar outlook on life and values in a similar family environment and educational environment.

"Mother, you understand what you said about your daughter. It's just that the daughter now has to go and say goodbye to the royal grandmother. Princess Zhaohe got up and bowed to Shen Guifei. She didn't want to argue with her mother, and she didn't want to ignore her friends who were in danger.

Shen Guifei looked at the back of her daughter leaving, and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time. Many years ago, she also helped her own sister. But the result was that she cooled her pure heart, and she was secluded in this deep palace all her life.

"Mother, Miaolan is a person who values love and righteousness, and Zhaohe is also measured. You don't have to worry. My son will accompany you to play a game of chess, our mother and son have not played against each other for a long time. The fourth prince helped Shen Guifei and beckoned the palace maid to put the chessboard on the table.

Shen Guifei did not refuse the proposal of the fourth prince, and sighed quietly.

The light in Ci'an Palace was a little dim, and the Queen Mother was sitting on the soft couch of Hibiscus, her face blocked in the shadows, and she couldn't see her expression. Shen Miaolan knelt on the ground and said goodbye, not daring to raise her head. After a sentence of the Queen Mother Jin'an, there was no sound of the Queen Mother calling for a flat body. Miao Lan knelt stiffly on the ground, slightly nervous in her heart.

The Queen Mother looked at the girl kneeling on the ground, with a pretty posture and dignified manners. I couldn't say whether I liked it or got tired of it, I slowly twisted the string of rosewood beads in my hand, and the face of the eldest princess of Chaoyang came to mind, sighed, and said, "Get up and give Shen Fifth Girl a seat." ”

Shen Miaolan thanked her for sitting down, sat down slowly, still cautiously lowered her eyes, and did not dare to look directly at the Queen Mother.

"I didn't have any special reason for calling you here today, it's just that I haven't seen you for a long time, and I don't know if your painting skills can be improved. The Queen Mother's voice was low and hoarse, and her speech was slow, with a sense of majesty.

Naturally, things will not be so simple, Shen Miaolan thought quickly, and replied, "Now I am not as diligent as before, and I don't have much time to paint on weekdays, but I am afraid that I have not made any progress." ”

"Isn't it too humble? I originally wanted you to make a painting for the mourning family to give away, but you said this, but the mourning family didn't know how to speak. The Queen Mother looked at Shen Miaolan with a smile, unable to understand her anger.

"If the Queen Mother has orders, Miao'er should do her best, but she is afraid that she will be disappointed if she neglects to practice now. Shen Miaolan replied politely and respectfully.

The Queen Mother saw that she responded moderately, and her attitude was deferential but not humble. There was a little joy in my heart, "On the eighth day of the first month of next month, it is the birthday of my sister, she has always loved landscapes, and you are good at landscape painting, so I want you to make a pair for her." ”