I hugged her shoulders and gradually increased my strength, as if trying to pull her out of an endless whirlpool, but my heart was also empty. Looking up, I couldn't see any light or hope.

In the end, I chose to return to this space that I couldn't get rid of, let go of my hand, lowered my body, and half-knelt in front of her, so that she could look at me level, and then said to her, "Queen's words, please think twice, princess." ”

She stared into my eyes with tears in her eyes: "You also think what they said is right?" You're going to leave me too? ”

I avoided answering and found another topic: "The princess didn't like Concubine Zhang back then, because she abused her power in the palace when she was in a high position, did whatever she wanted, and used both soft and hard things to the official family because she was favored, seeking benefits for herself and her family and seeking rewards, but she did not have the virtue that the lady of the Son of Heaven should have." Now if the princess insists on staying by her side, in the eyes of the world, the princess's move must be the same as what Zhang Guifei did, which is an immoral behavior. ”

The princess was annoyed, "Why do you compare me to her? It's different......"

"It's no different in the eyes of others." I explained to her. "No one witnessed and cared about the cause and process of the princess's family affairs, they only saw the result, and the result they saw was that the princess did not want to continue to live with the princess, and insisted on keeping me, a courtier suspected of being a princess and a concubine, by her side, and committed suicide several times for this, coercing the official family to agree......"

"That's not it!" The princess vehemently denied it, preventing me from going on.

I suppressed the ups and downs in my heart, looked at her calmly, and explained to her the reality that I had to face: "Those who are discussing and judging this matter are distant bystanders, and it is impossible for them to approach us and explore the ins and outs of the matter, and all they can perceive is the final result. This result was taken out of context by them, and it may be very one-sided, but they will not have the interest and patience to understand the truth like the princess's mother, and they are immediately angered by this one-sided result, because all the princess's clothes and food are worshiped by the people of the world, and the princess's clothes are all dressed in gorgeous clothes, a furnace of agarwood, and every brick and tile in the princess's house are used by their tax money, and of course they hope that the princess they serve is a virtuous woman with perfect virtue, not a fierce wife who does not abide by women's morals, and not a favored minister, A wicked daughter who disobeys her father...... And this wish itself is reasonable and legitimate. ”

The princess cried, "In order to fulfill their wishes, we must let them be wronged?" I have to do what they want, to make a clay sculpture of grinding and drinking? ”

I should only smile and smile bitterly. If not, what can it be? The relationship between the princess and the courtiers will be ridiculous and ridiculous to anyone who does not know us. All they see is a princess who dislikes her husband and threatens her father, and a minister who sows discord, and they may even associate some dirty things, but they will never try to understand, let alone sympathize.

"Daddy, Daddy understands......" The princess cried as she mentioned her father, but her voice seemed weak and unreserved.

"Yes," I said, "he understands that he will try to protect you, but his protection will make the ministers even angrier, for whenever a king shows an unusual affection for someone, it always arouses special vigilance among his courtiers." When this happens to the princess, they must think of peace and happiness. The more the emperor defends the princess, the more the ministers will oppose it, and as the queen said, the official family will fall into the pain it is now. ”

The princess was speechless, just bowed her head and sobbed, and then asked me again, "What do you want me to do?" ”

I held her soft hair with one hand, pulled out the sleeve of the middle single with the other, gently wiped away the tears on her face as before, and asked her when she looked a little calmer: "The official family described the situation when the princess was born that day, and the princess must have heard it outside the palace?" ”

The princess bowed her head, her eyelashes drooping, and two more tears slid down my cheeks.

I once again wiped the wet marks for her, and said, "When I heard the official say that, I really envied the princess...... I lost my father when I was young, and my mother was a different person, and I haven't seen her since......"

"When you grow up, you have a chance to leave the palace, you can go to her!" The princess said.

"I also inquired about her residence later, and every year I would send someone to send her money, but I didn't go to see her, because she and her later husband had a few more children, and she would be embarrassed to see me, not to mention......" I smiled reluctantly at the princess, "I don't think anyone wants to see their son become a eunuch......"

The princess took my hand with her backhand and whispered comfortingly, "Waiji......"

I blinked my eyes, swept away the dampness in my eyes, and said to the princess, "My father gave birth to me, and my mother bowed to me." Raise me and raise me. Take care of me, return to me, and go in and out of my belly. If you want to repay the virtue, Haotian is reckless...... In the past 20 years, I have often regretted that I could not repay my parents' kindness, because I never even had the opportunity to be filial by their side. It is a rare blessing for the princess to grow up next to her parents, not to mention that they all cherish the princess so much...... The official family often mentions the grace of the Empress Dowager Zhang Yi, and the princess will not ignore the princess's kindness to the princess? ”

The princess hung her head and wiped away her tears, but did not answer. I gazed at her and earnestly exhorted, "As the poem says, there are two people in this world to whom we owe a debt from the time we were born, and that is our parents. They gave birth to us, comforted us, sheltered us, took the trouble to take care of us, cared for us all the time, and their kindness to us was as vast as the blue sky, which we could hardly repay in our lifetime. And the official family is the best father I have ever met, he can do everything for the princess, and he is willing to give up not only wealth, but also the dignity and principles of the emperor that he values the most. His love for the princess dwarfs everything, including the little tenderness I can give her. In the face of such a father, how can the princess still insist on going his own way, allowing him to continue to pay the price of his health and even his life to protect us? ”

I didn't say any more, because she couldn't stop crying. Her persistence was gradually disintegrated by tears, dissolved in the boundless sadness, her body slipped to the ground little by little, and her scattered clothes covered a handful of skinny bones, like a withered flower, which would be blown away by the rain and wind at any time.

The sorrow of the night made the princess sick, and she lay in bed for two days, and when she awoke she refused to eat or take medicine, but leaned against the head of the bed in a daze.

Later, Jinshang came to Yifeng Pavilion to see her, although he was also in a trance and faltered.

He had the princess serve a meal, and she glanced at her and turned her head away in disgust, as if she had no appetite.

"Is it a lack of appetite?" Imakami asked the princess with a smile.

The princess nodded.

The smile deepened in his eyes, and he took out something from his sleeve as if he was juggling, and handed it to the princess: "Look what this is." ”

The princess looked down, her eyes widened at once, and she looked back at her father in astonishment.

It was a plate of stuffed plums.

"I heard you didn't want to eat, so I brought this. Stuffed plum is appetizing, and you loved it when you were a kid...... But now you are only allowed to eat two, then eat some food, take the medicine, and Daddy will give you the rest......"

The princess listened silently, and in an instant burst into tears. Before Imasami could finish speaking, she suddenly lifted the quilt and got out of bed, kneeling in front of him.

"Daddy," she said, looking up at her surprised father, word for word, "I can part with Waiji." ”