*

"Uh-huh......" Scarlet Feather, who was lying on the bed, snorted from her throat and slowly opened her eyes.

Zuo Ying looked at Scarlet Feather's pale face and asked softly, "Yu'er, how are you?" ”

Scarlet Feather turned sideways, as if she wanted to get up, but after all, she didn't have the strength to stand up, and said angrily: "Scarlet Feather is very good......"

"Don't move." Zuo Ying reached out and gently pressed Scarlet Feather's shoulders, "You need to get some rest." ”

At this time, two guards came in from outside the door, and together they were carrying the food table that was originally in the Hede Pavilion, on which were placed the lunch dishes that Zuo Ying had just eaten a little bit.

After the two guards put down the food table, Zuo Ying motioned for them to go out. She leaned over and carefully examined each dish on the table to make sure it hadn't been touched by a second person.

Things like poisoning and murder are probably not new in the court, and she has experienced it twice in the past few days. But she also knew very well that the probability of someone who had just poisoned the emperor coming to poison her at this time was very low. In a short period of time, there are two descendants of the Helan clan who are violently ill, and the people who benefit from it may not be able to block the mouths of the people. On the other hand, if the other party didn't even care about this layer, she would have died in the palace a long time ago.

Zuo Ying turned her head to look at Scarlet Feather and said, "These are your food today, I have tasted them all, at least there is no sign of poisoning until now." You can't eat any more food that anyone else brings to you. The medicine prescribed to you by the imperial doctor, I will personally supervise their cooking. ”

Scarlet Feather suddenly moved her gaze away from Zuo Ying's face, her eyes became redder and redder, and two lines of tears quickly flowed down the corners of her eyes to her temples.

"Yu'er, is it still painful?" Zuo Ying grabbed the hand that Scarlet Feather was exposed outside the quilt and felt if her palm was cold because of the pain.

"No, no...... It doesn't hurt...... Scarlet Feather hurriedly nodded her head hard, but the tears couldn't be stopped, and her choked throat took a while before she continued: "The princess brought Scarlet Feather from the streets of the market to the palace, and she was originally rebuilt; Now he has saved Scarlet Feather's life, and he cares for Scarlet Feather very much...... Scarlet Feather ......"

Zuo Ying suddenly understood that she shed tears of excitement because she was deeply moved.

"How can you be so easily moved? This will only be taken advantage of by others. Zuo Ying's brows furrowed slightly, and the light smile on the corner of her mouth carried a rare tenderness - albeit fleeting, "Once I leave here, there will be no one to protect you." After I'm gone, even if you're uncomfortable, you're going to have to brace yourself and not show like you're giving them a chance, you know? ”

"Princess...... Where are you going......" Scarlet Feather's question rushed out of her mouth before she suddenly realized her faux pas, but a feeling that had never been felt before dominated her, and it was taken for granted in her heart. The hand she was grabbed by Zuo Ying just now unconsciously held Zuo Ying's soft little hand tightly.

"I'm going to make the next bet." Zuo Ying's eyes showed a pretended mysterious smile, "If I win the bet, I'll be back before dawn tomorrow." ”

In the past few days, Scarlet Feather has adapted to Zuo Ying's weightless attitude, knowing that even a seemingly light-hearted joke may be a decisive decision behind her. What's more, in today's palace and court, there is no room for Princess Rong to play jokes, and even the action that she herself has never called "betting" may be a gamble that costs her life, not to mention the thing that she personally defined as "betting"? The danger behind this, Scarlet Feather didn't dare to depict the imagination at all.

Scarlet Feather held Zuo Ying's hand tighter, "What if...... If ......" she couldn't bear to say.

"If I lose the bet," Zuo Ying smiled mischievously, "you may never see me again." But I must have gone somewhere else better, and maybe you'll get my postcard every year. ”

Scarlet Feather didn't have the heart to study what a "postcard" was, she looked at Zuo Ying with pleading eyes, "Princess, no matter where you go, please take Scarlet Feather with you......"

Zuo Ying pulled out her hand and brushed a few strands of hair covering Scarlet Feather's forehead, looking as if the big sister who was a few years older than the other party was her, "Don't worry." All of them were aimed at me. Although you don't have no choice, it's barely forced by the situation. As long as I disappear, they know who you are and won't be too embarrassed by you. You're here to recuperate, what if I come back? There are so many people who hate me, you still have to be strong to protect me, don't you? ”

Scarlet Feather's lips moved, and she seemed to have a lot to say in her heart, but she stopped because of Zuo Ying's last words. She suddenly realized that with her current physical condition, even if she followed Zuo Ying, it would only get in the way, and she couldn't protect her at all, so she nodded lowly and watched Zuo Ying's back get up and leave until she was blocked by the door.

*

In the evening of the same day, a chamberlain holding a token for the entrance and exit of the Yongning Palace drove a simple carriage through the gate of the palace.

The guards intercepted the carriage, checked the tokens, and asked what it was carrying and why it left the palace.

The chamberlain got down from the horse, opened the door of the carriage cooperatively, and said, "This afternoon, one of our palace maids suddenly died violently. Because the weather had begun to get hotter, she was worried that the corpse would deteriorate and spread diseases in the palace, so she was in a hurry to send her out of the palace first and put it in Yizhuang on the outskirts of the city, waiting for her family to collect it. Her body is in the car, and several big brothers please check it. ”

The interrogating guards looked into the carriage and saw a corpse hastily wrapped in a straw mat and bound by several cloth ropes. From the edge of the straw mat near the end of the door, you can faintly see a pair of small feet wearing apricot-yellow embroidered shoes that palace maids usually wear. I secretly thought in my heart, it seems that the rumors that the palace maid was killed in Yongning Palace today are true.

The palace is so big, and there are thousands of palace maids and attendants inside, and it is common for them to send old and sick people out of the palace. In particular, it is not known that those who claimed to have died violently were beaten to death by their masters or were secretly executed for mistakes. Even if he dies like this, it is only worth a dozen taels of pension, and no one will want to bother with it.

The leader of the guards, who was familiar with these unspoken rules, frowned rather unexpectedly, and raised his hand to signal for passage. The attendant of Yongning Palace closed the car door, climbed on horseback and raised his whip, walked through the palace gate in the sunset, and walked towards the bustling Luoyang downtown in the distance.

The carriage passed through the West Market and left Luoyang City just before the gates were closed. After walking along the dirt road, the fields on both sides gradually lost their color, and the smoke from the distant cooking slowly disappeared into the afterglow of the canopy.

*

*