Great Seclusion, Eighty-four Years, Winter.

Holy City.

"Mother, I'm not leaving." Five-year-old Chen Nianqi hugged the woman's arm and pleaded, the flickering candle flame crackling in the dark night. The woman held the girl and wept silently.

"Miss National Teacher, please hurry up, this is unacceptable!" Chen Zhong and Chen Xiao hurriedly knelt down.

"Arrest someone! Resist the escapees, shoot and kill! With the loud sound of the gate of the National Teacher's Mansion being slammed open, there was a shout of killing in the National Teacher's Mansion.

"Chen Zhong, Chen Xiao, you are the stewards of the Inner Palace, not many people in the Holy City know you, so the little girl will entrust it to you." Chen Kaiyun held Chen Zhong's hand tightly and entrusted his daughter. There were more and more shouts and screams outside, getting closer and closer, "Hurry up, take Nianqi into the dark passage and walk from the corner gate, the farther you go, the better!" Hearing the sound outside, Chen Kaiyun pushed the housekeeper and his daughter into the dark passage, and let his daughter cry heartbreakingly inside.

"Nianqi, my son, you remember that your name is Chen Nianqi, if you want to live, you must live well!" Mrs. Chen screamed as hard as she could towards the entrance.

"What's the matter? Hurry! Not a spark of decency! A little eunuch wanted to rush in without a head, but was stopped by the big eunuch You Gonggong at the door.

"Father-in-law You!" The little eunuch was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt down, "Father-in-law You forgive your sins!" ”

"Get up." Gonggong You waved the dust and called out to the little eunuch, "What's wrong?" Gonggong You pulled the little eunuch aside and asked in a low voice.

"Concubine Yun of Huancui Palace is gone." Although the little eunuch's voice was small, it startled Gonggong You, and the little eunuch paused and continued, "According to the palace people of Huancui Palace, it was Niangniang who was sleepwalking in the middle of the night, fell, and hit her head on the pillar in front of the door, breaking her neck. By the time the Imperial Doctor went, he was gone...... The doctor, the doctor also said that it was one corpse and two lives. ”

"You mean ......"

"Yes, the imperial doctor said that Niangniang was pregnant for two months......" The little eunuch's words made Gonggong You stunned and at a loss.

"Father-in-law You, go and tell the saint!" The little eunuch urged.

Gonggong You looked back at the candlelight dancing in the window, hesitated, and sighed softly: "You go back first."

The little eunuch saw that Gonggong You had no intention of going in to spread the word at all, and his mind was full of Concubine Yun's gentle appearance on weekdays, so he didn't feel red-eyed, and shouted loudly: "Holy Lord! Concubine Yun is gone! ”

"Bastard!" Gonggong You kicked the little eunuch to the ground, "Don't die!" ”

The little eunuch got up one by one and shouted again: "Concubine Yun is gone!"

Before the dust in Gonggong You's hand was pumped on the little eunuch, the door behind him opened, and a low, slightly old voice came: "Okay." I see. ”

"Holy!" Gonggong You and the little eunuch hurriedly knelt down, and before the words could land, the door creaked and closed again.

"Shengshang~" A delicate voice came from the room.

"Get out!"

"Are you done?" In a broken grass hut, flickering by candlelight, a man in a black cloak with his back to the door.

"The subordinates are incompetent, and the counting of the dead bodies found that two housekeepers and their little daughter are missing." A masked man stood in the doorway and replied.

"Rubbish! Do you know the names of the two butlers? ”

"Chen Zhong, Chen Xiao."

"Chen Xiao." The black cloak sneered, "Alright, pack it all up and go get the reward." ”

"Mother!" The girl woke up from her dream with a scream and sat up. I've been dreaming of this for two years. When she was five years old, she was forced to leave home, and in the hazy eyes of tears, she saw the scene of her father and mother being hacked to death from behind, until her mother vomited blood from her mouth, and her lips still called her name one by one, Chen Nianqi. The blinding red color that smeared from her father's body was a lingering nightmare for her.

"What is it called! Lao Tzu will be scared awake by you every day, and if this continues, Lao Tzu will be scared to death by you sooner or later! The scolding in the dark night frightened Chen Nianqi to cover his mouth.

A few days ago, Chen Zhong and Chen Xiao said that they would go out to get something to eat, and they never came back after that. Chen Nianqi hid alone in the ruined temple. A drunk man found Chen Nianqi huddled in the corner, and he couldn't help but drag it out and sell it to people. Chen Nianqi covered his mouth and curled up in a ball, crying all night.

"Yo, Mother Xu." The scarred man beckoned to a middle-aged woman who looked slightly chubby and wore silk, holding a silk embroidered handkerchief in her hand, covering her mouth and nose, walking back and forth, looking at a dozen dirty and coarse cloth children in front of her.

"This doll is good, it looks like a child from a big family." Mother Xu stopped in front of Chen Nianqi, raised her hand and pinched Chen Nianqi's chin and examined it carefully, "Leper monk, make a price." After speaking, he pinched Chen Nianqi's shoulder and looked back and forth before looking up at Renyazi.

The leper monk looked at Xu's mother's face, smiled and stretched out a finger, thinking that it shouldn't be a problem.

"A string of copper coins?" Mother Xu raised her eyebrows, but she didn't smile.

"Mother Xu, you're laughing." The leper monk smiled and withdrew his fingers.

"What's the matter? Could it be that this girl is going to ask me for ten taels of silver? Leper monk, you must know that if the young lady who abducts and sells a big family is discovered, you will not be able to eat and walk around. Mother Xu sneered and knocked on people's teeth.

"No, no, no, one or two, one or two, this girl will be yours in the future." Renyazi rolled his eyes, scratched his head with leprosy scars due to poisonous sores, and accompanied him with a smiling face.

"That's right, put this girl there, change her name, hide it, and we will have to do business in the future, right?" Mother Xu's face regained a smile, "Does this child have any diseases brought out of his mother's womb?" She looked at and checked Chen Nianqi's hands and feet with some anxiety, Chen Nianqi was like a puppet with a broken thread, let Xu's mother fiddle.

"No, no, don't worry." The human tooth lowered his voice and waved his hand repeatedly.

"Alright, you can take the silver." Mother Xu threw down a silver ingot, took Chen Nianqi's hand, and left the bustling city.

"Gotcha! You go slowly! Ren Yazi picked up the silver on the ground, nodded and watched Xu's mother leave.

"Queen Mother, Concubine Yun has been dead for almost two years, why is the saint still depressed every day, and he can't come to this harem." One by one, the concubines dressed plainly and quietly gathered in Jingyang Palace to chat with the queen.

"Concubine Yun had an accident with a dragon son, and the saint has not many heirs, so sadness is inevitable." The queen sighed slightly, the saint didn't come to the harem, and she was not happy.

"The last time I served the Queen Mother, I listened to the Queen Mother's meaning, it seems that there is going to be a new person coming, let's be old, I'm afraid that we will never have the opportunity to face the saint again."

"Concubine Rou, you are in the concubine position, so it's better not to talk nonsense about uncertain words. Concubine Yun had the best relationship with you during her lifetime, and you should take care of Concubine Yun's children more, there has never been a shortage of young women in the harem, and what the saint lacks is a young and promising son. The queen knocked on Concubine Rou lightly and heavily.

"The queen can rest assured, I will treat Concubine Yun's children as if they were my own."

"Okay, let's disperse if there's nothing to do, and the palace will go to the Queen Mother's Palace to copy the scriptures for Concubine Yun." The queen stood up and said.

The concubines looked at each other, got up and saluted, and bid farewell to the queen.

"Concubine Rou, you can go with this palace." The queen called out to Concubine Rou.

"Luzhu, you take her to wash up, and then change into clean clothes to see me." Xu's mother summoned a girl who was about eleven or twelve years old and ordered her to take Chen Nianqi down.

"Yes, Mom." The girl named Luzhu was slightly blessed and took Chen Nianqi's dirty and cold little hand.

After a cup of tea, Luzhu took Chen Nianqi back to the front hall. Chen Nianqi was wearing a goose yellow gown, her hair was washed clean, wet and draped over her shoulders, she held Luzhu's hand tightly, her eyes were lowered, looking at her toes, and she didn't dare to raise her head.

"Come on, come and I'll see." Mother Xu put down the bowl and beckoned to Chen Nianqi, smiling with her eyebrows.

Chen Nianqi hesitated for a moment, slowly let go of the small hand that was clenching Luzhu's fingers, lowered his head, and moved forward little by little.

"Well, yes, I know the rules." Mother Xu took Chen Nianqi's little hand and patted it gently, "Raise your head and look at me." ”

Chen Nianqi hesitated for a moment, but the warm hands and words of Mother Xu in front of her made her let down her inner guard, slowly raised her head, and looked at the kind-eyed, graceful and luxurious woman in front of her with a pair of watery eyes.

"How old are you?"

"I'm almost eight years old." Chen Nianqi's voice trembled a little.

"Oh, you're almost eight years old, when was you born?"

"The sixth day of September."

"Autumn, I don't ask you what your name used to be, since you were born in autumn, and now you have been bought back by me, from now on, you will be called Qiu Tang." Mother Xu straightened the broken hair in Chen Nianqi's ears and said softly.

"Thank you, ma'am." Chen Nianqi lowered his eyelids a little down, but he still thanked him.

She wanted to tell the woman that her name was Chen Nianqi, but she knew that she couldn't say it. From now on, Chen Nianqi changed his name to Qiu Tang.

Chen Nianqi felt as if something had been forcibly pulled out of her heart, and her tears kept rolling in her eyes.

"Well, it's the upbringing of the official family, not bad. In the future, you will call me Mrs., what about me, continue to teach you literacy, reading, piano, and female popularity. Those things that everyone will meet, we will do everything in Qiutang. Mother Xu said softly, and at the end, she reached out and gently patted Qiu Tang's little face.

"Luzhu, you take Qiu Tang around and tell her about the rules of our Linglong Pavilion. From Ming'er, it's up to you to take Qiu Tang to learn to do all kinds of things. Don't break the rules. Mother Xu explained without being salty, without anger and self-authority between her words, Qiu Tang couldn't help but tremble, and involuntarily hid behind Luzhu.

"Yes, don't worry, Mom." The green bamboo face does not change color, and the low eyebrows are pleasing to the eye.

"This is the Linglong Pavilion of Lingcheng, the girls who come here must forget their former home, no matter who you used to be, from now on, you are Qiu Tang. You have to do your own laundry and sweep your own yard, and from now on you can only wear colorful clothes. When you see your mother and Master Quan about to salute, when you talk to them, you must stand, your eyes must look at your toes, your body must not stand straight, you must lean forward slightly, and you must not resist what they say. "Lu Zhu took Qiu Tang around in the Linglong Pavilion, babbling about the rules here.

"Every night I have to embroider and make shoe uppers, and I hear that the drum has been beaten three times upstairs before I can sleep, and I have to get up before dawn in the morning to wash clothes. I can only sleep for two and a half hours a day. "Green bamboo took the begonia to a small courtyard. This courtyard is at the back of the Linglong Pavilion, there is only one room, and there are many bamboo shelves in the courtyard, which are full of all kinds of dripping clothes.

"See? You will have to wash these garments later, and if you don't wash them, you won't have anything to eat, and you'll be beaten. Come on in. Luzhu took Qiu Tang into the house, in addition to a dresser, there was a huge Chase shop, and there were more than a dozen quilts neatly placed on the Chase Bunk, and Luzhu pointed to a position on the wall and said, "You will be there in the future, sleeping next to me." ”

Qiu Tang walked over as if he didn't understand, stretched out his hand and touched it: "Sister Luzhu, this bed is so hard."

"It's good to get used to it." Lu Zhu touched Qiu Tang's little face a little helplessly.

"Alright, I'll take you to breakfast." Luzhu stood up and walked towards the kitchen with Qiu Tang.

Qiu Tang followed the green bamboo into the kitchen, and a smell of oil and dirt came to his face, which made Qiu Tang nauseous and retching.

"From now on, I will eat here every morning, and there is rice porridge in the wooden barrel, and I will serve it in a bowl by myself." Lu Zhu took out a black bowl with no patterns from the closet, and scooped a spoonful of rice porridge as clear as water in a large wooden barrel, "Eat, it's just two meals a day, if you don't eat, there will be no more." Luzhu took a sip and handed another bowl to Qiu Tang.

Qiu Tang held the bowl, looked at the deep wooden barrel, and tears fell uncontrollably: "Sister, I want to eat japonica rice porridge and osmanthus crisp."

"Ma'am, the pigeon has been released." A whisper disturbed the flickering candle flame in the room.