It was night.

The favored concubines in the harem have all participated in the birthday banquet, and those who have not been favored and have been neglected for many years can only blow out all the candles in the house, hide themselves in hidden cabinets, and pray that the night will pass soon.

The security bureau in the palace is not allowed to enter the harem without special permission, this is a long-standing rule, and for the Praetorian Guard, even if they really want to enter the harem, I am afraid it is difficult to fulfill the duty of protecting a mother.

It is said that the harem is ruthless, but no one says that the entire palace is a ruthless tomb that buries the youth of so many women.

The darkness is like a violent beast, swallowing the dawn step by step, swallowing the hope of all the harem women.

The dew of the spring night hides the moonlight, and when it is crystal clear, the night gradually deepens.

The birthday banquet is about to start, Su Chaowei's sedan chair has also entered the palace, and the birthday banquet is crowded, Jiang Jiuyuan and Gu Zijiu and a few people also returned to the birthday banquet.

The birthday banquet was placed in the Qiande Palace, and when you look out of the hall, you can see the scenery of the entire capital, and now it is night, and after a while it will be curfew, and many places have completely fallen into calm, blending with the darkness.

Everyone in the Qiande Hall is dressed in gorgeous clothes, and the night pearls illuminate the whole palace as if they don't need money, the wine is fragrant, and the barbecue is fragrant, which is a rare hustle and bustle in the whole capital.

However, there is always an opposition to such excitement, and the more lively the place, the more likely it is to have an accident.

Behind the palace, there was a man dressed in Praetorian Guard clothes talking to the bushes, and in the moonlight, the man's appearance was illuminated for a moment.

It was the man who was said to be a traitor by Gu Zijiu at that time.

"The little one has already inquired, and Lord Jin thought that there were two groups of people who broke into the palace, so he divided a large number of people from the twelve divisions to guard the treasure pavilion and the library building."

"Inside the Qiande Palace." Completely hidden in the darkness is naturally Chai Yi, surprisingly, even if he is notorious, his voice is unexpectedly feminine, and after the reputation of a flower thief is buttoned, it gives people goosebumps no matter how he listens.

"I didn't see any danger, after all, it was the emperor's birthday banquet, and it was impossible for King Jin to search in front of so many people."

Chai pauses in the dark and says, "That means that there is only one person in the Qiande Hall now, Jiang Jiuyuan?" ”

"Yes."

Vaguely I seemed to hear Chai Yi laughing, and the man who was a traitor waited for a while, and was about to speak again, when he found that Chai Yi didn't know when to leave.

The man was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly woke up and immediately left the darkness.

At this time, on the Qiande Palace, Gu Zijiu sat next to Jiang Jiuyuan as usual, secretly spread the program list on the ground, and took advantage of Jiang Jiuyuan's cover to move away the food he wanted to eat little by little.

And Jiang Jiuyuan himself barely moved.

Jiang Li was still sitting next to them, seeing this, he poked Gu Zijiu's arm, bit the shrimp, and said, "Zijiu, if you eat like this, it is estimated that you will be exposed, the fifth brother is not a foodie, you pay attention." ”

Gu Zijiu nodded and said, "What you said also makes sense, I will take what you have at that moment." ”

Eri: "......"

Gu Zijiu, who had just inadvertently become a "bandit" again, was very calm, and when he saw the end of the show, he immediately dutifully drew a black line on the program list, counted down two or three, and then said: "Why hasn't the Sumerian program arrived yet, I'm in a hurry." ”

Jiang Jiuyuan squeezed the hand of the wine glass, glanced at her, and asked very calmly, "What do you care about her so much?" ”

Gu Zijiu immediately showed a look of longing and said, "Didn't they all say that she is very beautiful!" I'm ready to take care of my eyes. ”

Jiang Jiuyuan "......" He took a sip of his wine, and was pretty sure that she was telling the truth, and not something angry because of some emotional upheaval.

This realization upset him, though he didn't know why he was so upset.

"If you want to catch your eyes, don't say it early, wouldn't it be good if this king bought a mirror for you and put it on your forehead."

Gu Zijiu was stunned for a long time before he realized that Jiang Jiuyuan was praising himself, and quickly pretended to be shy and patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Lord Wang, can you not be so subtle in praising people, thanks to my cleverness, otherwise I really won't be able to hear every compliment you say hidden behind the poisonous tongue!" ”

Jiang Jiuyuan: "......" I think you're stupid.

Jiang Li listened on the side, and gnawed on another chicken leg a little speechlessly, and suddenly envied Jiang Chen sitting opposite.

Although I was a little lonely, I didn't have to hear the speechless conversation between the two all the time.

His dearest and most beloved fifth brother, the fifth brother who talks the most, seems to have been infected with chatterbox after meeting Gu Zijiu, and it has become different from before.

The fifth brother in the past was the kind of person who would give clothes to women.

Although Jiang Li also likes Gu Zijiu, he still feels that Jiang Jiuyuan's changes are very abnormal, he looked at Jiang Chen, who was dressed in white and very elegant, worriedly, and thought sadly, could it be that even the fifth brother suffered from an incurable disease?

In fact, if Jiang Li had widened his gaze, he would have found that he was not only worried about Jiang Jiuyuan at this birthday banquet, but also those daughters who were waiting to be written.

It's just that because of his own reserve and Jiang Jiuyuan's identity, he could only grit his teeth angrily and look at Gu Zijiu with the appearance of looking at "Little San".

Even who they were, Jiang Jiuyuan still didn't know.

Among them, the biggest resentment is actually Jiang Yong.

She originally wanted to send someone to find Chai Yi, but Chai Yi didn't know if he was a coward or what, so he didn't be fooled and didn't show up until the birthday banquet began.

Jiang Yong was very unwilling, so he came up with another method.

She chose to show an unhappy face from the beginning to attract the emperor's attention.

But there is another biggest disadvantage in this regard, that is, to make the emperor unhappy.

After all, it's his own birthday banquet, and his daughter doesn't bless it, and she keeps putting on a stinky face, who to show it.

Sure enough, the emperor had already noticed Jiang Yong's expression, but he didn't say anything, and there was even an expression on his face, "Whose child is so depressed, hurry up and take it back".

But Jiang Yong is favored after all, the emperor doesn't care, the queen always has to take care of it, she has a concerned face and asks, "Yong'er, what are you unhappy about?" Speak it out and listen to it. ”

Jiang Yong was happy in his heart, but he still had an unhappy face on his face, and shook his head in the face of the queen's questioning.

The queen immediately smiled and said, "Yong'er, you are looking at the palace with an unhappy face, why are you suddenly wronged?" Say it, and the Queen Mother and your father will definitely make decisions for you. ”

Those who were closer to the side had already heard the movement and looked towards Jiang Yong.

Jiang Yong squirmed for a long time, and finally waited for the right opportunity, and when the queen finished speaking, she immediately sniffed aggrievedly, lowered her head, pulled her dress, and suddenly got up and knelt down in front of the emperor.

Somehow, the crowd was amazed.

Jiang Jiuyuan narrowed his eyes, while Jiang Li and Jiang Chen looked directly at Gu Zijiu.

At first glance, it was aimed at Gu Zijiu, but the person concerned still looked fine, he only knew how to eat and eat, Jiang Li threw away the chicken legs, poked Gu Zijiu again, and motioned her to look forward.

The emperor frowned and asked directly, "What's the wrong thing to make trouble at my birthday banquet?" ”

Jiang Yong gritted his teeth and said very aggrieved: "If you go back to your father's words, your son's retainer doesn't want to disturb your interest, but Erchen is really wronged, and he doesn't want others to think that Erchen is an unfilial person, so the more I think about it, the more sad I become, and I make my father unhappy......"

The queen patted the emperor's hand and said gently, "What's wrong?" ”

Jiang Yong sniffed again and explained: "That's the case, Erchen originally prepared a picture of the mountains and rivers painted with precious jade and gold for his father's birthday banquet...... And so on. ”

When the emperor heard this, his eyes lit up.

"Yong'er has a heart, this painting has passed through Yong'er's hands, I'm afraid it's a priceless treasure!"

The emperor smiled happily, and the people below also applauded, while Jiang Yong pursed his lips and said nothing, the emperor who had just begun to be happy finally noticed that something was wrong, he frowned, and asked in a deep voice: "Why didn't you present this painting?" ”

Jiang Yong hurriedly kowtowed a few times: "Erchen also wanted to order someone to pick it up, but the palace maid who went to get it said that she couldn't see it......"

"Gone!?"

"There are traces of someone breaking into the house, and some palace maids say...... said that he had seen a person who looked very much like the maid ring next to the fifth brother appear. ”

Jiang Yong said, and added: "Maybe the palace maid was so scared that she saw it wrong, the fifth brother's maid ...... How could such a thing be done? ”

She said that she had vetoed the idea for herself, but the emperor had a lot of thoughts.

"Yuan'er, has that girl beside you ever left your sight?"

Jiang Jiuyuan shook his head and said, "I have been following Erchen and never leaving." ”

Jiang Yong gritted his teeth and said, "But the Angry Swallowing Mountains and Rivers Diagram has indeed been stolen!" And that's true! ”

Jiang Jiuyuan laughed and said, "My girl doesn't know the slightest martial arts, and I'm not very smart, how can I have such a great ability to steal in the heavily guarded palace?" ”

"It's not certain, maybe there are accomplices."

Jiang Jiuyuan snorted, stood up with Gu Zijiu, and walked to the center of the hall, but Gu Zijiu still had food in his mouth, so the emperor was angry, so she had to lower her head and chew carefully.

Jiang Jiuyuan raised his hand, looked at Gu Zijiu, and said: "She is dressed in red, and she is in the limelight at noon, and she is the king's maid, there are countless pairs of eyes staring at her wherever she goes, how many skills can she have to go through the sky, and she can come and go freely in your palace?" ”

"But! ……”

"If there are misbehaving people around me, how can I manage the Twelve Divisions for so many years? Xiao Shi, aren't you taking advantage of your father's birthday banquet to give me a dismount? ”

Jiang Yong immediately burst into tears, looking completely wronged, and explained: "Fifth brother, why are you helping an outsider to speak!" I'm your sister! Is a mere girl worthy of your trust! ”

As soon as Jiang Yong was excited, he was easy to say nothing, just like when he met Gu Zijiu for the first time that day, seeing that she was about to get out of control, the emperor immediately slapped the table and said angrily: "What a noise!" What does it look like! ”

The atmosphere froze all at once.

At this moment, the man who had been watching Gu Zijiu eat like a little squirrel finally stood up, walked to the front with a smile, and said without humility or arrogance: "Your Majesty, there is one thing that is not to blame, but I am very curious, why are the twelve divisions who have always only arrested criminals all in the palace now?" As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Jiuyuan, although he didn't say much in his words, but just with this sentence, he could already make people have countless thoughts, "But do you think we will be unfavorable to you?" ”

Of course, the emperor chose to deny it, but before he could say anything, the man said: "If it wasn't for us, could it be that there are some criminals in the palace?" ”

The man who met Gu Zijiu in the imperial dining room was the prince of the neighboring country, Zhao Wuyi, who has always been mild-tempered, has a good reputation, and likes to fiddle with some poetry and articles on weekdays, so even if he puts aside his status as a prince, he is also a beautiful son.

At this time, seeing him suddenly stand up and speak, the daughters who were present immediately exclaimed several times.

The emperor knew his reputation, and he also knew that he had never told lies, but he felt a little confused that he was alert.

Zhao Wuyi didn't let the emperor's embarrassment last long, so he smiled and said: "Wuyi is just guessing casually, and it doesn't mean anything else, but if there is anything that needs to be done without blame, the emperor just asks." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, you don't have to be nervous, if there are really gangsters infiltrating the palace, you can use our place, just ask! I'm going to let that hairy thief have nowhere to go! ”

The one who spoke was the messenger who came with Zhao Wuyi, who had a straight temper, and hurriedly followed Zhao Wuji's words and spoke.

Zhao Wuyi smiled and continued: "Your Majesty, this princess's angry swallowing mountains and rivers map was stolen, maybe it was done by the snitch, if you wronged this little girl ring for no reason, I'm afraid it won't be good to spread out." ”

When the queen saw that even Zhao Wuji from neighboring countries stood up to speak for Gu Zijiu, she felt that this seemed to be an opportunity to improve her favorability, so she secretly pulled the emperor's sleeve and whispered: "Your Majesty, it is rare that this matter makes the relationship between the two countries so good, it is better to take advantage of the situation to have a good relationship with Zhao Wujiao." ”

The emperor naturally felt that this was a rare good thing.

Although Chai Yi's appearance made him feel a little gloomy, if he could have a good relationship with Zhao Wuyi and them because of this, it would be a blessing in disguise.

"You're right, I trust the Twelve Divisions, and I trust you, so naturally I won't get along with a little girl."

When the emperor said this, he also felt resentment in his heart, stood up and said to the courtiers and Zhao Wuyi and others: "But the reason why the Twelve Divisions are in the palace is that Yuan'er attaches too much importance to this birthday banquet, and I also said it, but Yuan'er always said that caution is the best, which makes people misunderstand." ”

Zhao Wuji smiled and said, "Lord Jin is cautious, naturally the emperor's safety is the priority. ”