As I walked back, I was physically and mentally exhausted, cold and stiff.

In the back garden, the palace people are still drinking and playing, and several palace maids who are usually submissive also drink boldly, and there are large and small wine jugs on the table and the ground, which is so lively. After staying in the palace for a long time, they have been lonely and lonely for a long time, and they have no boundaries when they indulge.

It is no wonder that they have always been extra cautious even in answering their master's words, thinking carefully and carefully, lest they will not please their master with a word but will be beaten badly.

I was not infected by this pleasure, and tonight's night was too long for me to seem to be able to get through it.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw a palace maid with a raw face bringing hot tea for me, her head hung low, but her back was very straight, and she felt a little unwilling to be subservient.

I took the tea, warmed my hands, and stared at the charcoal fire: "What's your name?" ”

Her voice seemed to be hoarse after smoking, and she responded: "Slave Mingyu, I have been transferred to serve the princess for ten days. ”

If this is her real name, then she is probably from a rich family, and she should never enter the palace as a maid. Every day by my side is so clearly calculated, this is another woman with a story.

Following the last incident, I rarely chatted with the palace maids waiting on the side, and they were alienated if they could, not too close, and experienced such a life hanging by a thread, I was inevitably wary of them, and they had an impartial attitude towards everyone, they saw that I was not easy to please, but they were more attentive to doing things, and did not dare to relax.

"Why don't you go when they drink and have fun?" I had never noticed that I would have such a palace maid here.

She suddenly knelt on her knees, bent down her straight back, buckled her forehead on the back of her overlapping hands, and plucked up the courage to say: "The slave maid's family was killed by a traitor, the house was burned down by fire, the slave maid lost her voice and picked up a life, the poor parents and young brother did not escape, and the slave maid entered the palace to take revenge and comfort the souls of her relatives in heaven." ”

She said this long list, and I watched quietly as she knelt humbly before me, silent for a long time, and from where I stood, I could clearly see the twisted scars on her pale neck, crisscrossed and ugly. She is less than ten years old, and it is the age of Aimei, and this scar not only brings her physical pain, but also reminds her of what has happened.

I sighed lightly, and then sat down, holding the tea lid in my hand and stirring the tea for a while, there are too many poor people in this world, I feel very cruel: "Your life experience deserves sympathy, but I can't help you." ”

My refusal was blunt: "I don't want anyone else to be the next Cloud Shadow." ”

The expulsion of Cloud Shadow was not my intention, it was just a trade-off I made in my own situation, and it was by no means fair to her, and she might have been better off if I hadn't transferred her out of the Eighth Prince. Yunying didn't have hatred in her heart, and unlike Naruyu, who was kneeling and begging me in front of her, her obsession would only sink her deeper. A cloud shadow that has been blocked is enough, and I don't want anyone to hurt others and themselves by clinging to power.

She understood what I meant, but slowly raised her head more firmly, her eyes were as bright as stars, and the more daring she became: "The princess has met a character like King Xuan, no matter what happened in the past, it will only be better in the future; But the happiness of the slave and the maid was taken away by the enemy, and she only lived for revenge, and there was no mercy of the princess for a long time, this is the life of the slave and the maid, and the slave and maid can't earn their lives. ”

Her words were full of sadness, and the unwillingness in her eyes was unreserved, like a little beast in urgent need of appeasement.

"You're right, you and I have different circumstances, I can't feel your hatred, and I can't exchange one heart for another."

She solemnly knelt down to me again, and choked up: "Please fulfill the wish of the slave and maid, and the slave and maid will repay with their lives." ”

So many people raised their glasses and drank tonight, but she left to stay awake and wait for me to come back, avoiding the crowded garden, just to tell me these buried words alone, this is the opportunity she has only had for ten days, and she doesn't know how long she will have to wait if she loses this time.

She has been in the palace for several years, and there are several masters who have served from time to time, and few have received holy favors, and the number of times she has seen the emperor can be counted on one hand. Seeing a lot of people of all shapes and shapes, she understands that the most important thing for people in this palace is to use each other, and most of their minions gather for interests, where is it easy to find someone who can really help her?

She didn't want to come to the Hidden Moon Hall on an errand, just because it was surrounded by water, and the palace stood in the middle of the water, which was extremely secluded, so I guessed that I was also a not very favored master. It wasn't until she knew who I was that she rekindled hope.

I said coldly: "I'm just a down-and-out princess, you can see what the emperor's attitude is towards me, I have no intention and no power, you don't have to bother with me." I took a sip of hot tea, looked at her expression without a trace, her eyes were red, her teeth bit her lower lip fiercely, and she tried her best to hold back her tears, her appearance made me very uncomfortable, maybe Long Xiao was right, I am a naturally affectionate person.

She calmed down her ups and downs, and said as if she was competing with me: "With the wisdom of the princess, what can't be done? The princess wants to be alone and calm down, but in exchange for assassination again and again, even the slave and maid can see that the two maids are scapegoats, and it is clear that some people regard the princess as a thorn in the flesh, and the slave and maid are willing to test the princess and confirm the mastermind behind the scenes. ”

My face was like frost, and I looked at her coldly: "You don't have to provoke me, as you said, someone wants to get rid of me quickly, but I don't want to know who that person is." Guarding against people but not harming others, that's the difference between me and them. ”

"Stand down, I'll think about you."

I had a splitting headache at this time, and I just wanted to rest early, so Mingyu got up and gave me a grateful look and withdrew.

Untied my wide clothes, changed into moon-white silk bedclothes, I lifted the brocade quilt and got into it, tossing and turning for a long time, thinking carefully about Mingyu's words. I have never been wary of the queen, she has always defended me like a sister, and I never thought that she would harm me.

I still remember that after marriage, the first time I entered the palace to meet the emperor, I was ignorant of many court rules, and the queen took pity on my frail health at that time, and specially allowed my soft sedan chair all the way to the outside of Fengyi Palace. After I got off the sedan chair, I saw Li Xuan standing under the palace wall in official clothes waiting for me from a distance, he entered the palace with me, I was a little cowardly, obediently followed him, and walked forward with my head down.

The emperor and queen sat on the top seat, and before I stepped into the hall with my feet, I felt two cold rays of cold light shooting straight at me, as if I wanted to stare at the flowers on my face, I looked up curiously, and the emperor looked at each other, and suddenly a cold air penetrated the whole body, what kind of eyes were that?

The man with these eyes presides over the life and death of the people of the world, he is in a high position and looks down on everyone, arrogant and superior, no one dares to disobey his orders, and only submits to him because of the kingly aura he exudes. He is the emperor of the entire Great Qi, Long Xiao. The true Son of Heaven is the dragon, and the dragon is the surname handed down by Daqi since ancient times, and only the most orthodox bloodline of the royal family can be used.

I couldn't take my eyes off it for a long time, so I had to be embarrassed on the spot, Li Xuan noticed my strangeness, and was about to speak, but the queen had already started a round for me: "The palace is negligent, Princess Xuan has been in the palace for a long time, and she has not yet given a seat." ”

The queen feels like a spring breeze, I have never met her, and I have a little more cordial affection.

I said sincerely: "Thank you, Queen Niang, the courtiers are fortunate to see the holy face, and they are terrified in their hearts, please forgive me." ”

She said: "When I first saw the emperor in this palace, I was not much better than you. ”

The tension in my heart was suddenly relieved, I sat down with Li Xuan with my eyebrows lowered, and between drinking tea, I secretly looked at the queen through the gap in my hand, she was a famous lady, with a beautiful appearance, and her temperament was even more graceful and luxurious, with the demeanor of a mother in the world. Her maternal family, Shangguan family, is the home of Zhong Ming Dingshi, her father is the prime minister Shangguan Ao, who assisted the two emperors, and her marriage with the emperor is a natural match, and the emperor's wedding is a rare event in Daqi after the emperor ascends the throne.

is such a gentle woman who takes care of me, several times to poison me, to put me to death, what I see, hear, feel and think is a play she conspires with others, although there is Xiaoye's betrayal in front, but I know the truth after I am still depressed, unspeakable loss.

The hearts of people in this world are unpredictable and make people's hearts hurt.

At this time, what is Li Xuan doing? The war between the two armies has lasted for three or four months, and I stayed in this palace where mosquitoes and flies could not fly in, and I couldn't hear any news from the battlefield.

With more than half a year to go by, I'm going crazy. Long Xiao locked me up in this Hidden Moon Palace, nothing more than imprisoning me, using me as a bargaining chip to control Li Xuan, he cut off my contact with Li Xuan, could it be that Li Xuan What happened on the battlefield?

Thinking of this, I couldn't sleep anymore, so I flipped over violently, and the moment I opened my eyes, I was so frightened by the dark shadow standing in front of the window that I almost didn't cry out.

I picked up the soft pillow and threw it at the black shadow, and took the opportunity to sit up, but the black shadow did not move, and after my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I quickly got out of bed, and I didn't even care about wearing shoes and socks, I fumbled for the fire fold to light the red candle at the bedside, and turned my head to look, and it was the last person I wanted to see who broke into my room.

Long Xiao's whole person looked like he had fallen into a kind of extreme decadence, the expression on his face was very solemn, he looked at me with pity, my heart was pounding, a bad cold came out, I looked back at him in disbelief, he silently pulled me forward, didn't want to hug me gently, his resolute chin fell on my right shoulder, and said gloomily: "I heard an urgent report in the queen's Fengyi Palace. ”

"When I heard the news, my first thought was to come to the Hidden Moon Palace, and only you will understand how uncomfortable I am."

His abnormality made me even more frightened for no reason, I pushed him away hard, grabbed his arm tightly, and shouted: "Long Xiao, what do you want to say?!" Almost trembling, he said: "Is it Li Xuan, he-he-" I really don't have the courage to say the latter words, if something happens to Li Xuan, I don't know if I can support it until tomorrow.

"No, it's not Xuan."

Hearing this, I was almost ecstatic, Li Xuan is still alive and well, there is nothing more reassuring to me, my nervous nerves relaxed, my body was paralyzed, and I had the strength to stand only by holding on to Long Xiao.

"It's Mrs. Tilting Moon who died, Li Xuan's mother."

I looked up at him and wondered, "What did you say?" ”

"Lady Tilting Moon gave birth to Li Xuan before becoming the concubine of the Southern Emperor, and she is Li Xuan's biological mother."

I never knew that Li Xuan's mother was in the harem of the southern country, and he never mentioned his father and mother to me, only once he said that his mother sent him to the mountain to learn art when he was very young in order to save his life, and since then the mother and son have been separated and have never met again. I remembered that Li Bo once said that Li Xuan was young and sluggish, and his wife was not by his side for many years, and he had always grown up with his master.

It turned out that Li Xuan's mother remarried the emperor of the southern country, and he has always been fighting against the southern country, does he hate his mother for abandoning his own children for the sake of glory?

The truth is far from what I thought, and Lady Tilting Moon was also a poor woman.

"Li Xuan's biological father is the king of the southern county, and the king and his wife are very affectionate, and they did not take any more concubines after marrying their wife. At a palace banquet by chance, Nandi met his wife and fell in love with his wife's elegance at first sight, and at that time his wife already had Li Xuan in her womb. In order to include his wife in the harem, Nandi forced the commander of the county king, who had no combat experience, to go out to fight, and the county king died mysteriously on the battlefield. Later, in order to preserve the only bloodline of the county king, the lady entered the palace as a concubine, committed to the Southern Emperor, and entrusted someone to hand over the infant Li Xuan to the old man Jiuyin, who lived in seclusion. ”

I am very sad about what happened to Mrs. Tilting Moon, not only because she is Li Xuan's biological mother, but also because a couple who were originally in love with each other broke up the greedy Southern Emperor, and Mrs. Tilting Moon and Li Xuan's mother and son have been separated for more than 20 years and cannot see each other, how sad should it be for a mother to give birth to a child who has to abandon it? The days and nights of her life in the harem of the southern country must be like a cone piercing her heart.

"Since the Southern Emperor loves Lady Tilting Moon, how could he let her die?"

Long Xiao said weakly: "The Southern Emperor is seriously ill and bedridden, the palace is controlled by the second prince Chu Hong inside and outside the palace, the southern army is led by the abolished prince Qi Ao, when the two armies are in a stalemate, Qi Ao tied Mrs. Tilting Moon outside the city gate to force Li Xuan to surrender in order to win, Mrs. Tilting Moon saw Li Xuan's heroic posture in front of the battle, and committed suicide by biting her tongue on the spot, she endured humiliation and secretly lived in the southern harem for 20 years, just to see Li Xuan grow up and slash the Southern Emperor with her own eyes, and avenge her husband who died in vain, she didn't want to be an obstacle for Li Xuan to avenge her father. ”

At the end, Long Xiao didn't forget to add: "Qin Xi, it was Qi Ao who killed Mrs. Tilting Moon." ”