It's another day and it's begun.

Chu Zhaoying sat quietly by the window, watching the glow in the sky crawl out of the clouds, emitting that extremely dazzling light.

There was a "ding" sound of lifting the bead curtain behind him, and it was Jinluan who came in with the morning washing utensils: "Niangniang, let the slave maid come to freshen up and put on makeup for you." ”

"How many times have you said that you don't have to call yourself a slave anymore." Chu Zhaoying sighed softly and picked up the green salt that gargled her mouth, "You are really a dead-eyed person-" As soon as the words came out, she felt that her words were very inappropriate, and quickly stopped her mouth.

"Poof." Jin Luan glanced behind her, and only laughed after confirming that there was no one, and joked to her, "No matter how long it takes, Niangniang's character has not changed at all." ”

"You look like this, who else can stand you except this palace." Chu Zhaoying looked at herself in the mirror, although her beautiful face was well-maintained, the fine marks of the years on the corners of her eyes and eyebrows could be faintly seen. She touched her cheek and said, "Jinluan, do you think he will like me like this?" ”

"Do you think he'll like me like that?"

Jin Luan was stunned, and suddenly thought of Chu Zhaoying more than twenty years ago, her eyes were clear, her face was a little dizzy, and she held her hand shyly, and she also asked this sentence.

"Didn't he come to marry the princess? If you don't like it, why bother to come all the way from Tianqi to our Shenchu? Jin Luan put her hand over her, wanting to pass on the temperature of her hand to her, "Don't worry, princess, everything is still planned by the emperor and the crown prince for you." ”

"But I looked...... Xiao Xi seems to dislike him very much. Chu Zhaoying frowned, feeling a little sad, "Xiao Xi doesn't like him, and he will definitely tell his father and queen mother, so what should I do?" ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't like him, there must be a reason...... Princesses, too, must not be fooled by the appearance of men. Jin Luan patted her hand, pulled up her long jet-black hair, and combed it into a bun after a few strokes, "It is said that he is just the son of a concubine who is not favored, and he used to be a hostage in Gongzi...... Now that he has returned to Tianqi and has become the heir of the queen, I am afraid that he is very scheming. ”

"What about the son of a concubine, and what about the hostage?" Chu Zhaoying stuck a golden hairpin in her hair bun and looked at herself in the mirror, "He had a hard time in the past, and I have to treat him more sincerely." ”

"Look at what the princess said, there is no such thing as a word, haven't you already thought about how to marry and teach children in the future?" Jin Luan carefully looked at her makeup and dress, silently amazed in her heart, but still teased her, "The courtier is here to bless Her Royal Highness the princess - both children and daughters, and husband and wife are loving." ”

"If it is a husband and wife, they will definitely have both children and daughters." Chu Zhaoying lifted her sleeves, and her eyebrows were full of the shyness and arrogance of her daughter's family.

Husband and wife are loving, and children are both complete - this is the beautiful expectation of many boudoir women in the world.

At that time, how did she know that husband and wife were not loving, but they could have both children and daughters.

Chu Zhaoying sat on the phoenix seat of the Zhaoyang Palace, quietly looking at the woman in front of her who was bowing three times and bowing nine times to herself.

The pulse and the eye waves, the flowers are in full bloom.

It's really an unforgettable beauty, no wonder he thinks like crazy when he doesn't see him for a day.

Concubine Zhao Tianyuan.

It is said that long before he married him, he had already married her in Gongzi, and even their children were three years older than his own.

She had never seen him look like that, such a gentle and affectionate look, which she had never exchanged for with any sincerity.

"Queen, it's me who is disappointed." He took her hand and said, but his eyes passed over her and fell on Zhao Tianyuan's body.

One is called "Queen", and the other is called "Dumping Yuan", and they are close to each other.

She didn't express any dissatisfaction, only hugged her daughter who had just been born, and said softly: "The concubine understands." ”

"It's the last day of the month." Jin Luan coaxed the sleepy baby girl in swaddling clothes, and said softly, "Since Zhao Guifei entered the palace, His Majesty is either in Yiyuan Hall or Xingfei Palace, and everyone in the harem is already extremely dissatisfied with Zhao Guifei......

"It's not that this palace hasn't been persuaded." Chu Zhaoying didn't care, and sewed the cuffs of the small clothes in her hands in three or two, "There are still these three children in this palace...... At least in this palace, only this palace is full of children and daughters. ”

Jin Luan paused, trying to ignore the choking in her tone, and said slowly, "Yes." ”

The baby girl in her arms seemed to notice the unusual sad atmosphere around her, and hurriedly stretched out her hand to pull the person holding her, until she touched Jinluan and couldn't laugh. She hugged the baby girl in front of Chu Zhaoying and said, "Niangniang, look, the princess is trying to find a way to make us happy!" ”

Chu Zhaoying put down the needle and thread in her hand and the half-sewn little clothes, took the baby girl over, touched her porcelain white and delicate little face, and smiled silently: "Our A-Yao is really a smart child-I really hope you will always be so carefree." ”

And the daughter in her arms didn't understand what she meant, just looked at her smile and grinned at her.

Seeing this, Chu Zhaoying and Jinluan couldn't help laughing, and the depression in their hearts dissipated a lot in an instant.

"Why do you have to care so much, it's best if the three highnesses can grow up safely." Jin Luan teased Luo Liyao, who was leaning on Chu Zhaoying's arms and laughing, and patted her shoulder and comforted.

"Yes......" Chu Zhaoying let Luo Liyao in her arms grab her fingers, but her eyes kept looking in the direction of the palace gate, "Our three children will definitely grow up safely." ”

Jin Luan had to sigh in her heart - from beginning to end, her heart for him had not changed, and she had been waiting for his arrival in Zhaoyang Palace.

It's a pity that she waited from sunrise to sunset, and there were very few days to wait for him.

After her three children were enlightened, they were given to live in another hall, and the Zhaoyang Hall became more and more deserted without them.

According to Tianqi's law, maids can be gifted out of the palace when they are twenty-five years old, and Chu Zhaoying will naturally not treat them harshly. So the maids in the Zhaoyang Palace changed batch after batch in this way, and the only one who was still with her was Jinluan.

Such days were dull and difficult, but Jinluan has been silently accompanying her, and she has survived more than ten years in a flash.

From their young and beautiful, to half-aged, to Luo Yinghua, Luo Yuanjing and Luo Liyao grew up one by one.

"Niangniang knew that the princess would not like General Meng, why did she directly decide this family affair for her?" Jin Luan rubbed her temples for her and asked softly, "The princess's temperament is rather bent than bent." ”

"Ah Yao is filial piety, and she will not easily disobey the wishes of her elders." Chu Zhaoying only paused when she heard this, but the scale in her heart still did not loosen, "For her, covering her face is the best choice." ”

"Didn't my mother always say that a woman should marry someone she likes?" Jin Luan sighed, still a little sorry in her heart, "Look at the way she looks now, the princess doesn't like General Meng at all, so ...... she"

"She'll understand." Chu Zhaoying waved her hand, indicating that she didn't really want to continue this topic, "There are so many princes and grandsons in Qiushui City, do you know...... Why did I fall in love with the mask? ”

"The slave maid boldly guessed that it was because of the Montessori family and the family, there were not so many twists and turns." Jin Luan lowered his eyes and continued to move on his hands, "And according to Tianqi's law...... The courtier, Princess Shang, is not allowed to take concubines. ”

"Yes, concubines are not allowed." Chu Zhaoying closed her eyes, and her fingers gently tapped the dressing table in front of her, "No matter how you look at it, A-Yao is more free." ”

"But if the princess and the young general have no relationship at all, they ......"

"Neither can they be reconciled." Chu Zhaoying patted her hand on her temple and said firmly, "Let her marry someone she loves but doesn't love herself, which is the biggest harm to her - it is too difficult for this palace to survive all these years, and I don't want my daughter to feel this kind of despair anymore." ”

Despair?

Jinluan was very surprised.

Although she knew how disappointed Chu Zhaoying was in Luo Zhuangxi, she didn't feel that she was completely desperate - after all, just now, Chu Zhaoying had also instructed her to prepare something that Luo Zhuangxi liked to eat for dinner.

Where does this look like he is already desperate for him?

However, when Chu Zhaoying said "despair", Jinluan was a little happy in his heart - in Jinluan's heart, Luo Zhuangxi was not worthy of Chu Zhaoying's dedication at all, maybe it could be said that he was worthy of anyone's dedication.

Chu Zhaoying naturally understood, so when Luo Zhuang Xi died, when she had the will to die, she directly broke Jinluan away.

"Mother, it's windy here, you're still-"

"You go down first." Chu Zhaoying didn't look back, and continued to go higher on the platform.

The little maid didn't dare to say any more, so she had to hesitate and bow her head.

Chu Zhaoying finally stood on the top of the platform, looking down at the Tianqi Palace illuminated by the sun, her eyes fixed on the direction of the Yiyuan Hall covered with white flags—she smiled slightly, her eyes were as clear as if she had seen him for the first time when she was eighteen years old.

"Men regard women as dispensable flowers, but women regard men as indispensable pillars." Jin Luan touched the little maid's shoulder, looked at her expression that seemed to understand or not, and shook his head silently in his heart.

"Auntie, what do you mean by that?" The little maid's little head was full of big questions.

"Just remember...... Don't easily believe what men say to you, especially how good he will be to you......" Jin Luan smiled and pulled her towards the palace gate, "You said before that your family has already arranged a family affair for you?" ”

"Ah...... Oh, yes. Hearing her mention this, the little maid's face turned red in an instant, and she was so ashamed that she didn't dare to look at her, "When I entered the palace, he told me that he would wait for me to leave the palace...... Marry him as a wife. ”

"Really?" Jin Luan stopped and smiled slightly, "No matter what...... Be kind to yourself and don't let yourself be wronged. ”

"Hmm...... I get it! The little maid's eyes were shining, full of anticipation for the better days ahead.

You don't understand at all. Jin Luan thought to himself.

But she didn't say anything more, because she knew that the girl in front of her was full of joy because she was about to marry her beloved, and she couldn't listen to anything at all, and she didn't have any sense of crisis at all.

Her eyes were just like Chu Zhaoying back then.

"Go ahead, remember what I said to you." Jin Luan waved softly to her and said goodbye to her.

"Thank you, Auntie." The little maid saluted upright, and walked out of the palace gate with joy—to her new life.

Jin Luan silently looked at her distant back, and didn't come back to her senses for a long time, until a little attendant ran to her in a panic, and the words she shouted made her eyes black with shock, and she almost fainted: "Auntie-Queen Mother, she ...... It's gone! ”

"Auntie—"

Jin Luan stabilized his mind, but his face was calm and terrifying: "What is it called!" Go and inform the palaces, do you still need me to teach you what to do? ”

"Yes...... Be! The little waiter did not dare to say more, and ran back in a panic.

Jin Luan's trembling body could no longer support it, and he suddenly sat down on the empty palace road, letting the blood gubble out of his fingernails in his palms, and he never shed a single tear.

"Zhao Ying...... Zhao Ying ......" she called the name out of her mind.

It turns out that your feelings have always been as warm as Zhaoyang and have never changed.