Ah Ji knelt down with tears in his eyes and said with a sad face: "The little master forgives the sin, the slave didn't mean to eavesdrop on the little master's words." I just feel better on my body, so I got up to say hello to the little master, and I want to come and serve the little master. She was sick, her face was not half bloody, and her forehead was still wrapped in a strip of windproof cloth, and she looked haggard to the core.

Ruyi was a little unbearable, so she said, "You get up first." I'm just a stubborn sentence, where I'm going to send you out immediately, I have to pick someone well. ”

Ah Zhen cried so much that pear blossoms brought rain: "The slave knows that the slave and the maid are nothing if they leave the Forbidden City." If the little master really wants to let the slave and maid out, please keep the slave and maid for a few more years, so that the slave and maid can serve the little master well. The slave promised that no matter what, she would never make trouble for the little master again. ”

Ruyi saw her so sincere, and she didn't feel a little pitiful. After all, since he was twelve years old, Ah Ji has been by his side, watching him go from the arrogant Gege of the Zuoling family to the favored side Fujin of the prince's mansion who does not know how to restrain himself, and has become one of the increasingly quiet and quiet concubines in the palace. Ah Zhen's arrogance faintly carries a little shadow of his past, so sharp-toothed,-for-tat, and unwilling to forgive people easily. Ruyi thought in a trance, then, what she doesn't like is the arrogant Ah Ji who is as arrogant as she is now, or the self who didn't know the importance of the past?

Such a thought only frightened me for a moment. Thinking about it this way, Ah Jiu's mistakes also have his own mistakes. So, how can she still blame Ah Jiu?

Ruyi stretched out her hand and helped her up with pity: "It's cold on the ground, get up." ”

Ah Ji wept mournfully and begged, "If the little master does not agree, the slave and maid will not come up again." ”

Ruyi had to smile and said, "The age when the palace maid left the palace was twenty-five years old. If you want, stay until you're twenty-five. ”

A gleam flashed in Ah Zhen's eyes: "Really? The slave and maid thanked the little master. She was in a panic and wanted to salute and thank her, Ruyi took her hand and said gently: "Go, go and take care of your body." ”

With a rare gentle and humble smile, Ah Zhen withdrew. It's just that the moment she turned around, she secretly bit the smile into a mark on her lips that refused to fade.

The cool autumn in the Forbidden City always seems a little short. The autumn wind blew the verdant leaves of the branches, and they fell to the ground with them mercilessly, and scattered into mud and dust. With the silent invasion of the increasingly bare branches, the Forbidden City began to enter a long winter.

The air is forever soaked in a dry and faint cold smell, so the large daffodils raised in the clear water are particularly pleasing, fragrant and want to die, exuding a moist and delicate smell. The temperature inside the palace is always warmer than outside, as if the warm spring has never left. But this kind of warmth is also lonely, which makes people inseparable and reluctant to go far. In this loneliness, the unexpected winter snow makes the personality feel tender, even the angular and stiff palace wall blue bricks, those sharp wings like wings curled cornices, but also a lot of the usual majestic cold, giving birth to a bit of rare tranquility and serenity after being covered by snow.

The weather is getting colder, except for the morning and dusk that must be visited every day, Ruyi does not go out much. just vaguely heard that Yonghe Palace was not very peaceful, so she also went to see the Mei Guiren a few times with the crowd. Because it was the first child, the reaction of the Mei nobles in the first three months was extraordinarily large, almost not thinking about eating, and even the queen mother was alarmed, and she must have sent bird's nest soup every three or five days to reward. After March, she gradually became lazy, but her appetite was getting better and better, in addition to the imperial dining room, the concubines also sent some special dishes from the small kitchen, in order to show the concern between the concubines and the emperor, but also to please the emperor. Whenever the imperial doctor told Mei Guiren to eat more fish, shrimp and shellfish, so that she could give birth to smart and healthy children, she also gladly accepted that there must be this thing in every meal. The others also gave up, and Ruyi suffered a little. Just because the outside of her Yanxi Palace is the closest to the corridor where people enter and exit the palace to transport sundries, fresh fish and shrimp are sent outside the palace, and they must pass through her Yanxi Palace from Cangzhen Gate and Zhaohua Gate to Yonghe Palace.

Ruyi didn't dare to say much, but just asked the palace people to burn more incense, or offer narcissus and other things to get rid of the smell. Although the Mei nobles have a good appetite, the corners of their mouths are blistering due to body heat, and their teeth are sore, the emperor is distressed, and he must visit every other day, and the imperial doctors are also coming and going, which is simply lively.

On this day, Ruyi made an appointment with Hailan and Luyun to visit Mei Guiren, she was covering her teeth and crying, the two of the bosses bubbled up on the corners of her mouth, and she was coated with mint powder to reduce swelling. When she saw the three of them coming, she told them all how she had insomnia, dreams, dizziness, headaches, and tremors, and complained that the doctor had no skills and could not cure her illness. Hearing this, several imperial doctors who were waiting on the side forced out a cold sweat, and hurriedly wiped them and said: "The various symptoms of the noble person are all caused by pregnancy, so there is really no need to be anxious. When the melon is ripe and falls, it will naturally be fine. ”

Lu Yun was a person who had given birth and raised, so he persuaded with a smile: "It's uncomfortable to be pregnant, and you are the first child." I just heard you say this, most of these discomforts are caused by body heat, and it may be a male fetus. ”

Only then did Mei Guiren turn her anger into joy, and said with a smile: "Doesn't the pure concubine Niangniang deceive the concubine?" ”

Ruyi smiled: "It's okay for others to say." The pure concubine has given birth to her brother by herself, and she will not be wrong. ”

Hailan also said: "I remember that Sister Chun was always uncomfortable when she was pregnant with the third elder brother, but the child was stronger." ”

Everyone comforted Mei Guiren and then took their leave. When she went out, Concubine Chun thought that today was the first day of the new year, so she invited Ruyi and Hailan to go to the elder brother's house to see the third elder brother Yongzhang. Ruyi thought that it was just the right time to pick up Yonghuang from school, so she pushed it off.

To go to the Shang study room, you have to take a shortcut through the imperial garden, in the summer lotus leaf field, the green grass bush of the pond only has a few veins of dead leaves left, lonely and quiet.

In winter, it gets dark early, and there is no one walking in the garden. Ruyi wanted to bypass the rockery lotus pond with a heart, and suddenly heard a loud bang, even the sound of splashing water.

Ruyi was stunned, immediately understood, and said in a lost voice: "It's not good, someone has fallen into the water!" ”

In winter, the sky is dark, and the branches are intertwined in front of you, and half of the rockery is hidden, covering most of the sight. Ruyi heard the movement, and her heart was panicked, so she hurriedly ran around the rockery to the water's edge. The splash in the pool became smaller and smaller, but there was no cry for help, Sanbao was startled, and hurriedly shouted: "Save people-"

Ruyi immediately shouted: "What are you shouting to save people, it's better to save yourself when someone comes!" ”

Sanbao gritted his teeth, and he didn't care about the cold water to the bone, Huo Di jumped into the water, and desperately swam towards the place where the water wave rose. Soon Sanbao fished out a drenched person from the water, she was still coughing and wheezing, Ruyi's heart was relieved, knowing that there was still life, and she hurriedly called Xinxin to help her to the ground and lie down. In the haze, I only saw that the woman was dressed in a palace maid's clothes, but she had quite an identity. Xin Xin held up the lantern and shone it on her face, and unconsciously exclaimed: "Little master, it's Lotus Heart!" ”

Ruyi was also shocked when she saw Lianxin's face clearly, and she had calmed down in a blink of an eye, seeing that she was covered in water, her chest was weakly rising and falling, and she couldn't speak for a while. Ruyi made a look, and pressed her chest desperately to control the water in her abdomen.

Sanbao was so cold that he shivered, turned around and said, "Little master, the slave is going to ask for a doctor!" ”

Ruyi shouted: "Confused! She was quiet, "The closest thing to here is to nourish the sexuals, there is no one there, you hurry over and make a brazier to roast, and then find the eunuch in the nearby house to change into clean clothes." Remember, don't make a noise! ”

Sambo immediately agreed and trotted over.

Ruyi and Xinxin pressed hard for a while, only to see a lot of water spit out of Lianxin's mouth, her eyes opened, and her eyeballs slowly moved. She stared blankly for a long time, and finally hesitated to ask, "Concubine Xian......"

Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, took off the big hat on her body and draped it on her: "It's good to be able to speak." She saw that there was no one around, so she said, "Heart, the wind is too strong here, and Lianxin can't see people like this, so send her to the fast." ”

I agreed, half supporting and half holding my heart and going to nourish my fast. Yangxing Zhai was originally a two-storey pavilion in the southwest of the imperial garden, because it was usually uninhabited, but the eunuchs and palace maids cleaned it for the concubines to rest their feet temporarily, so it should be fully arranged. Sambo had already made a few braziers, and when he saw them come in, he said goodbye and went to change his clothes. Ruyi saw Lianxin sit down, and said: "Xinxin, you go to the palace to find a clean palace maid's clothes for Lianxin to change, remember not to make a noise." ”

Xin Xin hurriedly closed the door and went out.

Ruyi said: "So, you don't want to live?" ”

"It's better to die a day early than to live a day like this, since I can't commit suicide, then I can always fall into the water! What's so terrible about dying? It's just a matter of dying early and surpassing life early! ”

Ruyi stared at her: "So, on the night of your wedding, the screams in the room ......"

Lianxin's sad cry was like a cloth that had been torn indiscriminately, making a rough and frightening sharp voice: "Yes! From the day I was married to be his rival, my days were over. During the day, she is the most face-saving palace maid in front of the queen, and she is the counterpart of the deputy chief eunuch, looking at the infinite scenery and pleasing everyone. But at night, as soon as it gets dark, I'm afraid. He's not human, he's a beast! If you don't have a pout, you have to be a man's beast! ”

Ruyi said: "He beat you? ”

Lian Xin held back her tears and gritted her teeth and said, "Hit me? Which palace maid has not been beaten since she was a child, what am I afraid of? She rolled up her sleeves and rolled them high so that she was intact from the elbow down, and this did not prevent Lotus Heart from revealing her wrist with nine silver bracelets and jade bracelets as she worked. However, the places above the elbows that are not easy to be exposed, either blue or purple, accompanied by dozens of rows of deep tooth marks, as if there is a deep hatred, those tooth marks bite straight into the flesh, with dark brown blood scabs. Where it has not healed, there are new bites. Hardly an inch of skin is intact.

Ruyi was shocked: "Wang Qin hates you so much, why does he ask the queen to marry you?" ”

Lianxin sneered, tears condensed into a frosty cold light in the corners of her eyes: "Because he needs a woman, a woman who brings him dignity during the day and can be tortured by him at night." She sneered and made a trill like a night owl, "He can't kiss women, so he bites." He couldn't prick my body with a needle, every inch of my body, like a man did. He desperately wanted to be a man, to make up for what he was missing, and to stab me with everything he could think of. I begged him, I cried, but he was more and more happy! Concubine Xian Niangniang, do you know how I survive every day on such a day? ”

Ruyi's heart was chilling for a while, she didn't dare to imagine, as long as she thought about it, she felt extremely disgusting, and even her heart, liver and lungs trembled together. But partial birth, Lianxin lives in such days, struggling with ups and downs, unable to survive. Lianxin looked at her clutching her chest, and suddenly had a sad smile: "Concubine Xian, your face and your disgusting tell me that you are imagining the hard life I lived. Thank you, because I tried to tell the queen mother, but she just heard a sentence and recited Amitabha Buddha and asked me to marry a chicken and a dog and a dog. Luckily, you thought about it for me. ”

Ruyi endured the strong overturning of the river and the sea in her abdomen, and tried her best not to connect that bloody picture with Lianxin, but sincerely burst into greater surprise: "The queen actually knows? She won't help you? ”

Lian Xin shrank, and only the ashes of despair remained in her eyes: "Yes." The queen mother is willing to marry me to Wang Qin, also for an extra layer of protection, knowing what the emperor thinks. If I not only can't do this, but also want the queen to save me, how can she be willing? She would never tear her face for me and Wang Qin! Her tears were endlessly depraved and desperate, like a person who had fallen to the bottom of a cliff and was unable to get up, "Wang Qin and the queen mother both told me that they couldn't kill themselves, otherwise they would affect their families." But I really can't live, so it's always okay to fall into the water, right? ”

Ruyi held her breath and said in a deep voice: "If Wang Qin doesn't want you to die, if he doesn't want to lose his little fun, whether you commit suicide or stumble, he will treat you as a suicide and drag your whole family to hell together." If a beast hurts a person, and you feed it with its body, it still wants to eat your family, what do you say? ”

Lianxin's eyes lit up slightly: "You mean, kill the beast to prevent future troubles?" But I'm just a palace maid, what can I do? ”

Ruyi stared at her, and her tone was calm: "Anyone who wants to ask for a life will think like this." Wang Qin tortured you and hurt you, although he was shameless, he also saw that you didn't dare to resist and was ashamed to speak out. In that case, you pretend to be tame. Because you want to kill the beast with a sword, since you don't have enough strength, you can dig traps, poison, or even borrow someone else's hand to kill him. If you get rid of yourself in this way, it won't affect you and make you ridiculed. ”

Lianxin was a little timid, and said in confusion: "Concubine Xian Niangniang thinks that the slave can do it? ”

Ruyi smiled: "You are not even afraid of death, what else can't you do?" It's just that patience comes first in everything, and if you don't have patience and can't bear it, then you can't do anything. ”

Lianxin seemed to be very afraid of Wang Qin, and hesitated for a long time but still couldn't speak. was hesitating, and came in with a clean dress: "Little master, the slave has tried her best to choose a dress similar to that that Aunt Lianxin is wearing today, please change it immediately." ”

Ruyi glanced at her and motioned to Xin Xin to untie the big coat on Lianxin's body. Ruyi turned around and left, and said slowly: "My hair is already roasted and almost dry, whether you want to change into clean clothes or let yourself be so wet and jump in the lotus pond again, whatever you want." ”

Ruyi walked a few steps and was about to open the door to go out, only to hear Lianxin kneel on the ground, kowtow, and her tone was as resolute as cold iron: "Thank you Concubine Xian Niangniang's clothes, the slave and maid will go out after changing." ”

Ruyi smiled quietly, didn't look back, and walked out. Yi Xin covered the door behind him, and Ruyi said in a low voice: "Go and tell Li Yu to prepare, his day of emergence is coming." ”