"I ...... I just passed by and didn't do anything. Zhu Zhijie couldn't say why she was so weak-hearted, but the old woman in front of her always made people feel furious when she looked at her.

"Passing by? You don't know where this is? ”

Zhu Zhijie took a closer look at the old woman and found that although she was wearing cloth clothes, she was clean and tidy, and her makeup was exquisite. There is an indescribable majesty in his gestures, and his words have the momentum of a person who has lived in the palace for a long time.

"Not long after I first arrived in Cangwu Kingdom, I am not familiar with the various places in the palace, if there is any disturbance, I hope you will forgive me."

The old woman smiled: "You are the princess of Bihai who married the crown prince?" ”

Zhu Zhijie saw that she revealed her identity, but she didn't have the slightest sense of respect, and she was even more sure that this person's identity should be extraordinary, and she wanted to ask but was afraid of being abrupt, so she just responded:

"Exactly".

The old woman's face looked a little better, and she beckoned to her, and said:

"Here you go."

"Dare to ask...... Where do the elders want me to go? ”

"Don't you want to see this garden? You don't know the way, I'll lead you. ”

Zhu Zhijie was a little scared in her heart, the garden here only took a few peeps, and she felt that it was so desolate that it didn't look like it was inhabited, how could this old woman be familiar?

Hesitant to move forward.

The old woman laughed and said, "What? Scared? This blue sky and white day is just a garden, what's so scary? I'll show you there, there's something good in the garden. ”

"What's good?"

"There is my herb garden, and I grow a lot of herbs that can be eaten, as well as the unique spice leaves of Cangwu, which are the most delicious for stewing food."

When Zhu Zhijie heard that it was the local spices of Cangwu Country that could be eaten, she immediately became a little interested. Although she is quite confident in her cooking methods, the crown prince Li Chongyan still sometimes can't get used to the cold side dishes she makes, after all, there are still differences in taste between the two countries. What's more, there are new flavorings, how can you not be itchy and want to see them.

The old woman did not wait for her to answer, but went up to the wall, came to a bush, and with a stretch of her hand, pulled out a door, revealing a winding path.

Only then did Zhu Zhijie see clearly that the door had already blended with the trees because it was crawling with vines, and it was impossible to see that there was a door on weekdays.

"If you don't come, if you don't come, I'll go by myself, and I haven't watered the flowers and plants for a few days." The old woman stared at Zhu Zhijie and asked.

Let's just go with her and have a look.

Zhu Zhijie lifted the bottom of the skirt of the robe, lowered her head and carefully followed the old woman into the small door.

After entering, the old woman closed the door again before turning back and leading the way. The path was very narrow, only enough for one person to pass, and Zhu Zhijie followed behind her, looking around.

The trees and grass here are denser than outside, and the sunlight is barely letting in. In this big summer, Zhu Zhijie actually felt a chill on her body.

The old woman didn't seem to feel anything at all, and muttered as she went:

"I've lived here for over 50 years. I'm very familiar with every plant and tree here. Do you see the crooked neck tree? It was the jujube tree that I planted with my own hands when I entered the palace, and it didn't grow like this before, Feng Yun...... Bongyun ...... How many years? Alas, I can't remember what year it was, in short, when the first emperor was still there, a certain year of land collapse caused the tree to be crooked. Later, it became more and more crooked, and then later, the dates did not bear fruit at all, and only the leaves grew. Alas, just live and live, and live well...... It's good to be alive. ”

Zhu Zhijie glanced at the crooked neck tree, although the trunk was thick, it was twisted as if it was broken, and most of the trunk was leaning against another big tree, as if it was still alive.

"Look over there, by the pool, there's a spring. In the whole palace, there is only one spring, and all that comes out of it is excellent water. At that time, I didn't need to water these herbs, and it was enough to simmer for a while. Then one day, all of a sudden, the spring dried up......"

Zhu Zhijie saw that the old woman was turning around, walking extremely familiarly. I secretly wondered what kind of place this was.

"Dare to ask, where is this? I never knew there was such a desolate place in the inner courtyard of the palace. ”

"Desolation?" The old woman snorted coldly, "This was once the most gorgeous and noble place in the palace, and even the Evergreen Hall of the First Emperor was three points inferior to here. ”

Zhu Zhijie was silent, she didn't want to touch too much on the old things in the palace, since this old woman was an old man in the palace, there must be some reason for living in such a desolate place now.

Every royal family has secrets.

Such a secret is safest only by pretending not to know.

Zhu Zhijie instinctively regretted stepping here, but she had already arrived here, so she had to follow along, not to mention that she really wanted to see those herbs for eating.

After walking for a while, a corner of the palace was revealed behind the bushes, although the vines had encroached on the palace gate to the point that it was almost unrecognizable, Zhu Zhijie could still recognize the grandeur and beauty of the entire palace gate, perhaps...... In the past, this place was really more gorgeous than the Evergreen Palace.

The old woman stopped, pointed to the side of the temple, and said:

"This is my medicine garden"

Zhu Zhijie took a closer look, and in a vacant space next to the hall, the bluestone floor tiles were all dilapidated, and the exposed soil had become an independent open space, in which herbs were planted, some flowers were blooming, and some had already borne some strange fruits.

"You, go there, and find me a stick."

The old woman knew Zhu Zhijie's identity, but she unceremoniously sent her.

Zhu Zhijie secretly thought that she should not worry about these things at this time, so she obediently rummaged through the grass next to her, picked a small wooden stick and handed it to her.

The old woman took the stick and poked it at one of the walls, and one of the bricks on the wall was immediately poked in a way, revealing a gap, and a stream of water shot out of the crack, which was poured right in the nursery.

"Behind this wall, there is a big tank, and when the rain is collected, it will be hoarded there, and my old bones can't pick up water, and there is this live brick, every time I poke it, it is enough to water this whole piece. When the pouring was finished, the bricks blocked the water again. ”

Zhu Zhijie secretly sighed that this method is good.

"Well, I'll have to pour it for a while, I'll show you these treasures."

The old woman took the small stick and pointed to a piece of green grass in front of her, the leaves of which were like jagged teeth.

"This is wolftooth grass, which looks verdant, spicy and spicy, and it is best to eat it cold with other dishes."

"That's ten miles of incense, chopped and smeared on the meat to roast, to remove the smell and increase the freshness."

"This, something like wheat, this is purple grass, tied into bunches, dried under the sun to remove the fine hairs at the top, wrapped in fine yarn and tied tightly, and then wrapped in sachets, mosquito repellent is the best."

Zhu Zhijie listened interestingly, pointed to the red and bright flower on her right hand and asked:

"What's that?"

The old woman smiled: "That's the fruit of forgetting worries, now you can't see the fruit before the flowers, wait until the autumn to pick the fruit, just take some husks and throw them in the soup, it is delicious enough, and it also has the effect of cough and expectorant." ”

"That'...... What about the white lily of the valley? ”

"Hehehe, that's not lily of the valley, that's snake whip orchid."

"Snake whip orchid? What is the use of this grass? ”

"This grass is a good thing, as long as you take off the stamens, dry them, grind them into powder, and then quietly pounce on people's skin, you can ...... without noticing."

The old woman suddenly laughed, "Well, if I don't teach you this, I'll show you something else." ”

Zhu Zhijie was so cold that she was upside down by her, and was about to say that she wanted to go back, but the old woman suddenly began to cough, and the more she coughed, the more severe it became, and she was a little out of breath.

The old woman pointed in the direction of the temple door and motioned for her to come over.

Zhu Zhijie walked over and saw that a teapot and a few teacups were placed on the steps in front of the hall.

Zhu Zhijie guessed that she wanted to take a sip of tea to slow down, and hurriedly poured a cup. I saw that the color of the poured water was clear, but it was pale yellow, like tea but not tea. Zhu Zhijie was hesitating, and the old woman hurriedly beckoned, choking and said:

"That's it, ...... Get it. ”

Zhu Zhijie handed it over as she said, and the old woman drank it in one gulp, and immediately felt a lot more relieved.

"As soon as I didn't pay attention to getting closer to the Soul Defeat Grass, I coughed like this, that's it, let's pull this grass next time."

Zhu Zhijie felt horrified when she heard the name of this grass, and when she saw her coughing so violently, she secretly wondered if it was a poisonous weed, and turned around to escape, but was grabbed by the old woman's wrist.

"Since you're here, sit down with me and talk. Anyway, this deep palace is lonely, and you are idle, so how about we chat? ”

"Elder, I've been out for a while, and it's time to go back, why don't you chat with the elders another day?" Zhu Zhijie was scared and wanted to break free, but the old woman coughed like a tuberculosis ghost, but now her hand strength was not weak at all, and she couldn't move.

"Elders? Hehehe, it's so strange that you call me that. Well, you're also my granddaughter-in-law, aren't you? ”

Zhu Zhijie was stunned by her.

"Who are you, you say?"

The old woman let go of her wrist and slowly walked to the steps of the palace entrance, and sat down in a dignified manner, as if she were sitting not on the stone steps, but on the throne of Fengluan.

"I am the owner of this Weiyang Palace, the most favored concubine of the first emperor when he was alive, and the biological mother of the current saint, the Empress Dowager Zhuang Shunjing."

Weiyang Palace? Jing...... Dowager?

Zhu Zhijie's mind was in chaos, her father's biological mother, that ...... Isn't it the crown prince's imperial grandmother?

But the Empress Dowager Zhuang Shunjing didn't ...... long ago Is it gone?

Zhu Zhijie at this moment, not only a little scared, but also a little regretful, if she really learned the art of contemplation from her sister, at this moment, she would be able to know whether this person in front of her was talking about human words or nonsense, or...... It's a human being and a ghost.

The old woman saw her surprised expression, and was not surprised at all, and smiled:

"You think I'm dead, do you?"