Time flickered, and it was early autumn again.

At this time last year, Ah Ran and I were on our way to Juyuan.

I had been very sluggish in those days, and now that I think about it, Ah Ran has already begun to prepare for his departure.

He went from Ling Niankong to the palace to the restoration of the country, and then to the rectification of the court and the revival of all kinds of waste, in only one month. It's simply unthinkable.

At that time, I always wondered why Ah Ran was so anxious and desperate. It was only when I remembered it later.

When we were attacked on the border on our return trip, he took me to Tingyang non-stop, partly because the wind and rain were in Tingyang, but to a greater extent, because he knew that he was running out of time, and he was worried that if I didn't have him, I would have to face the danger alone, so he ran for two days regardless of it......

Ah Ran, you always say I'm stupid, you're the real stupid......

"Auntie, why are you crying?"

Qiqi, who was sitting in my arms, noticed my abnormality and raised his hand to help me wipe my tears.

"Auntie doesn't cry, aunt doesn't cry."

Five-year-old Qiqi is already like a little adult and very sensible.

The first time I saw him after he ascended the throne, I called him Your Majesty, but he pouted:

"I don't like it when my aunt calls me that, it's too distant. My aunt also calls me Qiqi in private, and I like it when my aunt calls me Qiqi......"

When I heard him say this, I couldn't help but be stunned for a while, and my mind drifted back to when I was a child.

I remember that on my seventh birthday, Ah Ran said something similar to me:

I asked him why he called his mother not "mother" but "mother", and he said that the title "mother" was too raw, and it was not as close as "mother......

"Auntie, does she miss her father and is so sad?"

The soft and glutinous voice of Qiqi made me withdraw from my memories:

"Auntie, don't be sad, Daddy will always miss us wherever he is. This is what my mother told me, and it's true! ”

I groaned and touched Qiqi's little head.

Obviously, Ah Ran's death caused him the most damage, but he comforted me in turn.

Qiqi is right, I shouldn't be so sad. Ah Ran, watching us.

I wiped away my tears, hugged Qiqi and asked:

"How are you doing lately? My aunt was so busy that I didn't go to see her for some days. ”

In fact, I have always been indebted to Ling'er:

Ah Ran passed away, and Qiqi ascended the throne. As the queen mother, Ling'er should have been listened to by her, but now she is in a somewhat embarrassing situation.

During Ah Ran's funeral, I had the energy to go to see Ling'er. She was plain, haggard, and in a trance.

Although Ah Ran has never liked him very much, I already know that she loves Ah Ran.

When I saw her wearing a plain white silk flower on her head like a shell of a lost soul, I knew that it was the Yan family who owed her.

"My mother is very good, but she still doesn't like to laugh and is often distracted. I guess my mother, like my aunt, misses my father.

Auntie, would you like to go and see your mother's parents? I don't want her to be alone all the time. ”

I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable:

After Qiqi ascended the throne, he no longer lived with Ling'er, although he could see it every day, but Ling'er was only accompanied by palace maids most of the time.

"Okay, let's go see your mother together."

******

When we arrived at the Queen Mother's dormitory, Ling'er had just finished dinner. She is embroidering, which looks like perch's clothes.

When Ling'er saw us, she stood up and saluted, and Qiqi pounced. Ling'er picked him up and asked him about his homework today.

I watched from the sidelines, and my heart was mixed.

Ling'er was born in the folk and has a gentle personality, and she is a simple ordinary woman. When Ah Ran first drafted the secret purpose, why did he have such an explanation?

Among the two secret edicts he left at the beginning, no matter which one of them was written at the end: When the new emperor succeeds to the throne, give death to Ling'er.

The last four words were so glaring that I didn't even dare to look at them, let alone implement them.

But Ah Ran has always done things for a reason, could it be that Ling'er is not as simple as it seems?

But even so, I couldn't bear to kill Qiqi's mother without knowing why. So he could only install his own people by Ling'er's side and pay close attention. However, nothing unusual has been found to this day.

If there is no problem with Ling'er, I plan to ignore this last clause in Ah Ran's edict and keep this matter a secret forever.

Ling'er said a few words to Qiqi and handed him over to Mama. "Qiqi, go to the yard to play for a while, my mother has something to say to my aunt."

I was stunned, but I didn't move.

"Good!" Qiqi responded, and was taken out by Mama by the hand.

Ling'er sent everyone in the house out, but she was not in a hurry to speak.

She seemed to have finished embroidering the dress in Qiqi, and she took it off the embroidery stand.

She took off her clothes and brushed her hand lightly over the embroidery pattern, as if she was very satisfied.

"This dragon pattern is embroidered with peacock silver silk from the south, and it is really beautiful. Would the princess like to see it? ”

Although Ling'er is a folk woman, the embroidery is not bad.

I took the clothes and went to see the precious peacock silver embroidery.

The silver light of the silk thread is tinged with seven colors, which is indeed rare.

I was about to open my mouth to praise, but the tip of my right index finger hurt.

Only then did I realize that there was an embroidery needle on the dress, and my fingertips were punctured by the needle, and blood gushed out.

The light in the room was not bright, and the blood beads were dark in color.

"Ah, it's pierced. Can it get in the way? ”

Ling'er took the clothes back into her hands, removed the needle, folded the clothes and put them in the cupboard.

Looking at her series of actions, a strange feeling rose from the bottom of my heart:

She said this with concern, but there was no surprise in her tone, as if she knew I was going to be stabbed.

She put her clothes away, walked back, and poured me a cup of tea.

The tea was so hot that I couldn't drink it for a while.

Noticing that I was looking at her suspiciously, she smiled. "Does it hurt to prick your hand?"

I just wanted to habitually say that it was not in the way, but I was shocked to find that the place where I had just been pierced was numb. I looked at her in amazement.

She was still laughing.

"It doesn't hurt, does it? Wait a little longer, and you'll be completely painless. Am I being kind? ”

Her words were as soft as usual, but my hairs stood on end.

It seems that Ah Ran was right, but I realized that it was a little too late.

The numbness in my fingertips spread all the way up my arm, spreading all over my body, preventing me from moving at all.

"Don't stare at me like that, if you want to blame, you can only blame Yan Chexiao. Who let him die and not let me go, but will cure me to death?

Actually, I'm quite grateful to you. If it weren't for you, Yan Chexiao would have killed me when he learned that I was pregnant. So, as a debrief, I'll let you go without pain. ”

"Why?" My muscles were stiff all over my body, and I struggled to speak.

"Why? Because you have in your hand that secret decree that can put me to death at any time, you can't understand such a simple truth?

Or do you actually want to ask me why Yan Chexiao wanted to kill me?

Don't worry, I'll let you die. I'll tell you all about it. ”

She approached me, a weird smile on her face.

"He wanted to kill me because I knew his secret, the last thing I wanted you to know.

Do you want to know? What is he hiding from you? ”

She suddenly chuckled twice and sighed, "Yan Chexiao...... He died well! It's so good that he died! ……”

"Shut up!" Her words stirred my chest with blood swelling.

"What? Defend him like this? Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed in him after what I'm going to say next...... Do you know how I got pregnant? ”

I watched her warily, guessing her true intentions.

"That night he drank too much and took me ...... It's your ......."