Xin'er struggled to pick up the boxes of rouge gouache in the warehouse, including the box of valuable Xihua lipstick, and she staggered towards the west wing. It seemed that her somewhat swaying body could not bear the weight of the fat powder, so she had to put these boxes of things on the side of the corridor, and then she kept patting her back, as if she was exhausted.

Qin'er slowly came to Xin'er's side, she glanced at the boxes of fat powder on the ground, and said curiously: "Xin'er, the queen doesn't like fat powder, especially these fat powders that are too showy, why did you think of going to the warehouse to get these things." ”

"Niangniang said, these are all high-grade fat powder, originally prepared for the concubine, but unfortunately the concubine is sick like this now, and there is no need for it, the lady thinks that it is a pity to put these things in the warehouse, let me take it to the west wing, she will give it to the other palace concubines after she sees it tomorrow."

As soon as she heard this, Qin'er's eyes lit up a little, she leaned over and gently opened the box of lipstick, took a bottle from it, and said with a hippie smile: "Other fat powder is okay to say, but this lipid is a Xihua thing, only Concubine Shu likes it, even if the queen mother gives it to other harem girls, they probably won't like it, good sister, I'll take a bottle, don't tell others." ”

Suddenly, Aunt An was walking towards the corridor with a group of palace people, Qin'er turned to look at them, and just as Aunt An also looked at her, Qin'er was frightened, and quickly threw the lipstick in her hand back into the box.

"What are you doing?" Aunt An asked sharply.

The palace people behind her also looked curiously at the boxes of fat powder on the ground and whispered. Aunt An frowned, and said unhappily: "Why don't you send the things to the queen mother quickly." ”

Xin'er and Qin'er immediately picked up the fat powder on the ground and hurriedly walked to the west wing.

A strong wind blew, and the branches and leaves in the Qingfeng Garden rustled, and in this silent late night, under the bright moonlight, it seemed to add a chill of early winter. Suddenly, a dark color flashed outside the west wing, and in the faint moonlight, it gradually disappeared into the west wing.

There was a faint light of fire in the dark room, and a man was looking for something lightly. For a while, she seemed to have found what she was looking for and was just about to leave.

"Is that all there is to it?" A loud voice sounded from behind the man, and the man trembled slightly, standing motionless.

Ling Xi slowly came out of the inner room, and Aunt Yan also slowly and methodically lit the palace lamp in the outer room, and the entire house was brightly lit in an instant.

"As the saying goes, if you don't ask yourself, you're a thief, Aunt An, don't you have anything to say to this palace?" Ling Xi said with some excitement.

Aunt An turned around slowly, the expression on her face was a little complicated, she knelt on the ground, and said softly: "Queen Mother, the slave maid is just greedy for a while, coveting these precious fat powder, the slave maid is confused, please forgive the mother." ”

As she spoke, she slammed her head on the ground, prostrate on the ground and remained motionless.

Ling Xi glanced at Aunt Yan, and Aunt Yan walked to Aunt An's side knowingly, took out the bottles of Xihua's lipstick from her arms, and placed the lipstick on the ground in front of Aunt An.

Ling Xi sneered and said, "Aunt An, you have served this palace for so long, and this palace doesn't even know that you are Concubine De's person, Aunt An, you are hiding very deeply." ”

Aunt An's body twitched, she was lying next to her face on the ground, she was already drenched in cold sweat, Ling Xi knew everything, tonight was a game, she was already in the game. She raised her head with difficulty and looked at Ling Xi, she was unwilling, the harem had been hard to climb for many years, and it was going to be destroyed at this moment?

"Niangniang, what are you talking about, since Niangniang entered the palace, the slave maid has served by your side, Niangniang, how can the slave and maid be the person of Concubine De Niangniang? Do you think that slaves are the kind of people who can be easily bought? ”

Ling Xi slowly came to Aunt An's eyes, she excitedly picked up the salva on the ground, and said: "This palace has suspected Xin'er, suspected Qin'er, and suspected any palace person in Qingfeng Garden, but Dudu has never doubted you, because you accompanied this palace through frustration and palace changes, this palace asked itself if you treated you well, what benefits did Concubine De give you, you would actually betray this palace." ”

As he spoke, Ling Xi threw the lipstick in his hand in front of Aunt An's eyes, and in an instant, the porcelain bottle was torn apart, and the bright lipstick in the porcelain bottle was also scattered everywhere, like blood that had not been wiped clean, and the spots were all soaked into Aunt An's heart.

Aunt An's eyes were closed in fright, the only time she remembered Ling Xi being so angry was when Ginkgo died. Her body trembled violently, perhaps because of the shattered salvae, or perhaps because of Ling Xi's affectionate indignation.

"Queen Mother, the slave has never thought of betraying you."

"But you betrayed Hongu in the end." Ling Xi roared angrily.

Aunt An raised her prostrate body on the ground in fear, she calmed down and said, "Queen Mother, you used to trust the slave and maid very much, but since Aunt Yan came, the slave and maid are no longer the only housekeeper aunt that Niangniang relies on. ”

"Are you going to be a traitor just that?"

Aunt An swallowed her saliva and said with difficulty: "If you just eat it, you won't let the slave betray you, but Concubine De has a reason why the slave can't refuse." ”

"What is the reason?" Ling Xi asked puzzled.

Aunt An took a deep breath and said: "The slave's maid's name is Sumei, the slave maid is not surnamed An, the original surname is not important, the slave maid is from the nobles of Nanchang State, that year followed the Duke and his wife to this city, and then the Duke and his wife died mysteriously, in order to survive, and in order to end this panicked day, the slave and her family escaped from the fiefdom and lived incognito in Dongyu. It's a pity that the harem selected palace people that year, and the slave maid unfortunately walked into the harem, and since then, the slave and maid have never had a chance to leave the palace. ”

"Every day in the harem is hard, but after a long time, the slave maid actually adapted to the life of the harem, and then the slave and maid almost forgot that they were a southerner, until one day the slave and the maid met Lord Zhou Xun in the harem, once the slave and the eldest sister of Lord Zhou were close friends in the boudoir, Lord Zhou recognized the slave and maid at a glance, and a Sister Sumei made the slave and maid have mixed feelings. After that, the slave maid became Lord Zhou's eyeliner in the harem, not for anything else

It is only for the southerners to help the southerners. And Concubine De Niangniang is also from the south, and Concubine De's position is not only glorious and rich, but she can also bring dignity to the southerners. Queen Mother, the slave doesn't want to betray you, but the slave can't refuse Concubine De. ”

An Sumei prostrate on the ground again, she cried to Ling Xi, and hung her helplessness and sadness to Ling Xi to see, Ling Xi was a little dazed, she thought that An Sumei's betrayal was due to interests, but An Sumei told her that it was because of the hope of the southerners, An Sumei's betrayal was shameful, but it was beyond reproach.

Aunt Yan silently came to An Sumei's side, she gently helped An Sumei's body lying on the ground, and said, "Since Aunt An wants to say it, let's say it thoroughly, is the rumor about resentful spirits in the harem also related to you." ”

An Sumei looked at Aunt Yan in surprise, her body and mind were trembling, it seemed that Aunt Yan knew everything, so what about Ling Xi? Does it still make sense for her to say it or not to say it?

"You don't have to say it, some things can be found out sooner or later." Aunt Yan said coldly.

After saying that, Aunt Yan got up and returned to Ling Xi's side, and after An Sumei glanced at Ling Xi desperately, she lowered her head and said, "After Concubine De became a concubine, she was very worried that Niangniang would give birth to a prince one day earlier than her, so Concubine De wanted the slave maid to give Niangniang an abortion pill. The slave maid remembered that when Niangniang had a miscarriage for the first time, Aunt Yan secretly disposed of Niangniang's medicine residue in the backyard, and the slave maid thought that the bowl of soup and medicine that Niangniang drank in Dongnuan Pavilion was not so simple. ”

Aunt An raised her arm and pointed tremblingly in the direction of Dongnuan Pavilion, Ling Xi was stunned, she followed the direction of An Sumei's finger and stared at Dongnuan Pavilion for a long time, suddenly her body twitched, and her son's sick and weak appearance appeared in front of her, and her eyes were full of red.

She walked quickly to An Sumei's side, grabbed her collar, and gritted her teeth and said, "Say, explain to Bengong word for word, how Bengong's son died." ”

"Concubine De originally didn't want the queen to give birth to the prince, but Imperial Physician Chen felt that if Niangniang miscarried again, it would make people suspicious, so Imperial Physician Chen asked the slave to reduce the dose of abortion pills, and Imperial Physician Chen also added micro-diluted abortion pills to the fetal pills prescribed to Niangniang. An Sumei said timidly.

"Where did you get the abortion pill?" Ling Xi roared angrily.

An Sumei wept, and she replied in horror: "Candied fruit, Niangniang has the habit of eating candied fruit, especially when drinking medicine, every time Niangniang takes medicine and eats candied fruit, it is a slave servant, and before God knows it, the slave and maid put the abortion pill on the candied fruit." No one will doubt it, because there is nothing wrong with the preserves. ”

Ling Xi pushed An Sumei down, she never thought that her favorite candied fruit would become her son's soul-breaking elixir. In the past, those countless bitter days in Pingyuan Hou were all accompanied by these sweet candied fruits, and the candied fruits in her memory were sweet, Jiang Shuangxue's love, or happiness, but today An Sumei told her that honey

Sweet was the poison that took her son's life, and she was a little confused, what is happiness in the end?

"The death of the second prince, what else did Concubine De do besides letting you secretly put poisonous lipstick to Xiyan Palace?" Aunt Yan on the side asked faintly.

"In fact, the second prince did not die of the poison of Mrs. Zhao at all, the poison found by Mrs. Zhao will only make people weak, and it will take a long time to kill people. Because the second prince was poisoned through Concubine Shu's milk, in fact, the amount of poisoning was very small, in addition to making the second prince weaker, it was impossible to kill him, Concubine De was very worried, that day the second prince began to have a fever, Concubine De asked Imperial Doctor Chen to halve the dose of the antipyretic decoction for the second prince, so the second prince would have a high fever for a few days. And the decoction in His Majesty's hand that day was the medicine of the tiger and wolf that really killed the second prince. ”

Ling Xi was stunned, she couldn't help but tremble, Xiang Minghao actually died from the decoction that Xiang Hongxuan personally took, if Xiang Hongxuan knew the truth, then Xiang Minghao's death would become a scar in Xiang Hongxuan's heart that could never heal, and it would also be the reverse scale of the Son of Heaven.

"Then what's the matter with the Five Princes?" Aunt Yan continued to ask.

Concubine De is just afraid of the rising Xue family, and she is worried that Xue Meiren's son will become a threat to her. She set up a bureau to take Mrs. Zhao to curry favor with Xue Meiren, and even her aunt bought off Mrs. Zhao's personal palace maid, and put the poison in the cheese that Mrs. Zhao sent to Yaoguang Pavilion, Concubine De wanted to kill two birds with one stone, poison the five princes, and get rid of Mrs. Zhao, so that no one would know the truth about the death of the second prince. ”

Ling Xi glanced at An Sumei, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling, Ling Xi thought of Xiang Hongxuan's difficult choice when sending a decoction to Xiang Minghao, if there was no suspicion of Xiang Hongxuan, and the urgency to help Xiang Minghao to take the position, how could Xiang Minghao come to be a disaster? Her son died of candied fruit, Xiang Minghao died of the decoction that Xiang Hongxuan personally delivered, and Xiang Zimo died in the ruse of framing Zhao Xinyue.

An Sumei secretly glanced at Ling Xi, Ling Xi's pale face seemed to have no red of anger just now, An Sumei immediately prostrated at Ling Xi's feet, she begged: "Queen Mother, the slave maid knows that she is guilty of great evil, but the slave and maid really don't want to, the queen mother, please spare the slave maid's life for the sake of the slave maid's many years of service." ”

Mutual affection? Ling Xi looked down at An Sumei, the thing of affection is really amazing, the longer the affection is separated, the more black and white it can't be distinguished, it seems that with affection, you can act recklessly and smear poison in affection, such as An Sumei under her feet now.

"Aunt An, this palace will not kill you, and this palace will also let you out of the palace and go to the East Tailing Tomb of the Imperial Tomb to guard the tomb for the three princes, but before that, you have to do something for this palace."

"What's the matter?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Ling Xi said faintly.

(End of chapter)