Except for Princess Yongming and Princess Yongqing, none of the children in the attic that day and the palace people who followed and served were spared.

There was a cry in the Kunning Palace, and Empress Xie fell from the steps of the rockery and fell unconscious on the spot.

No one could take care of Mei Xue anymore, so she took the two little princesses and Li Mingze to live in Cining Palace together.

Princess Chenyang and the county lord of Changle cried together, and the Empress Dowager Jing'an didn't say a word, and sat quietly alone until dark, and then went to the door of Zhaoyang Hall to kneel.

The old man in plain clothes knelt with her head down, she was no longer able to kneel straight, and she was barely supported by the crutches in her hand.

Under the moonlight, the Empress Dowager Jing'an's white hair was particularly dazzling, and Mei Xue was by her side, tears flowing.

When she came to this world, she never cried easily, because rarely was she so sad as she is now.

Li Jinyu never appeared, and no one ever let people say a word.

The Empress Dowager Jing'an knelt until the sky was light and fainted, and Mei Xue carried her back to Cining Palace.

But after waking up, the Empress Dowager Jing'an insisted on going to the gate of Zhaoyang Hall and knelt down.

Three days later, the second prince and the third prince were buried, and Li Jinyu's will was transmitted from the Zhaoyang Palace: Wu'an Houfu, except for girls under the age of eight, the rest were beheaded, and Meng Shuyi was sentenced to Ling Chi's punishment.

The county lord of Changle immediately ordered someone to go out of Beijing to find Shen Qingyang for help, the Meng family is now the enemy of all the clan relatives and important ministers, these girls will be sent back to their hometown in Yuezhou, if no one takes care of them, they will definitely die.

The Empress Dowager Jing'an described it as withered, and almost no water and rice entered. She refused Mei Xue's diagnosis of her and slept alone in bed.

Mei Xue knew that she was waiting, and knew that she hoped to see her children and grandchildren again before she died.

But Li Jinyu never appeared in Cining Palace again, only a message came, but it had nothing to do with the Empress Dowager Jing'an, she just told Mei Xue to go to Zhaoyang Hall to see him.

The county lord of Changle instantly became nervous and said to Mei Xue:

"The Shu army has already attacked the Lushan defense line, and it will take four or five days at most...... Is he going to take you ......?"

Mei Xue shook her head, instructed the county lord of Changle to take care of several children, and said to her:

"The King of Shu will not let the prince go to the front line, let alone give His Majesty any chance to negotiate with him.

What's more, it may be possible to use me to threaten the prince, but if you want to use me to threaten the Shu army, it is completely impossible.

Your Majesty will not fail to understand this. ”

After speaking, Mei Xue patted the hand of the county lord of Changle and walked out.

Gao Qiang waited at the door, accompanied by a smile and said to Mei Xue:

"Miss Mei, Your Majesty said that you should take the emperor's eldest son to Zhaoyang Hall together."

Mei Xue glanced at him and didn't speak, silently returned to the bedroom and picked up Li Mingze out of Cining Palace.

The weather was already very cold, Mei Xue wrapped Li Mingze in a hug quilt, and slowly walked on the palace road with him in her arms.

The Shu army was like a bamboo, and people inside and outside the capital were already panicking, and more and more people fled from Beijing to the north.

It's just a little better in this palace, but the palace people who come and go still have panicked expressions on their faces.

The palace people talked in private, Mei Xue actually knew something, it was nothing more than saying that the prince of Shu was benevolent, and the king of Shu would definitely miss the queen mother, as long as the queen mother of Jing'an could hold out until the day the king of Shu arrived in Beijing, the palace city may not be free from bloodbath.

Nowadays, people are more afraid of Li Jinyu, after all, the blood of the women and children of the Meng family at the entrance of the Jingxi Cuisine Market has not dried up.

After all, the tragic scene of Meng Shuyi being Ling Chi is still vivid.

There was no one waiting in the imperial study, only Li Jinyu sat quietly alone.

There was more gray hair on his head, and his two sideburns were white.

As soon as he entered the imperial study and saw Li Jinyu, Li Mingze became nervous, he grabbed Mei Xue's clothes with his right hand, and hid his face in her arms.

Li Jinyu smiled bitterly and pointed to the round chair to signal Mei Xue to sit down.

After Gao Qiang took the tea and snacks, he withdrew and closed the door, Mei Xue glanced at Li Jinyu and said:

"Your Majesty, in about half an hour, the eldest son of the emperor should take a nap."

Li Jinyu nodded and didn't speak, got up and pushed open the window.

The autumn breeze was bleak, but it also dispersed the stuffiness in the imperial study.

Li Jinyu turned her back to Mei Xue, her voice was very soft, she seemed to be talking to Mei Xue, and she seemed to be talking to herself:

"In the autumn of that year, you and Qingyang went to the north, I went to the palace to visit Mingze, and drank two glasses of freshly brewed osmanthus wine with Jinzhi."

Mei Xue was silent, looking up, and could see the corners of Li Jinyu's eyes that were gradually reddening from the side.

No matter whether they regret it or not, whether it is right or wrong, they will never be able to go back to the past.

Gao Qiang sent a cup of hot milk in, and Li Mingze fell asleep in Mei Xue's arms after eating half of it.

Mei Xue stood up at this time, tried her best to move lightly and put Li Mingze into Li Jinyu's arms.

"Miss Mei, you go and wait outside, I want to stay alone with Ming Ze for a while."

Li Jinyu didn't look at Mei Xue when she spoke, but only looked down at Li Mingze with a gentle expression.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The emperor's eldest son will not take a nap for more than an hour, and if he wakes up, please ask someone to call Weichen. ”

Li Jinyu nodded, and when Mei Xue turned to leave, Li Jinyu finally burst into tears.

Rarely, there are no ministers coming and going in the Zhaoyang Hall today. Mei Xue stood under the eaves, quietly looking at the empty courtyard.

Here, Shen Qingyang was once blamed in the heavy snow because he took Li Mingze out of Kunning Palace without permission.

Here, Concubine Shu's mother and son rebelled, and hundreds of people were in different places.

Here, Li Jinyu accepted the congratulations of hundreds of officials, and he finally ascended the throne and fulfilled Empress Shen's lifelong wish.

Here, Li Jinzhi knelt under the blazing sun, in order to refuse his marriage to Meng Shuyi.

The stone and brick floor here is always washed with clean water, but everyone knows that every brick crack here has been soaked in blood.

Almost an hour later, Li Jinyu personally took Li Mingze out and handed it to Mei Xue.

Li Mingze was still asleep, Mei Xue wrapped him in a quilt and turned around to leave.

Li Jinyu stopped her, smiled and said:

"Miss Mei, thank you and Jinzhi for taking care of Mingze for so many years, Yongming and Yongqing...... Please take care of it in the future. ”

Mei Xue turned around, glanced at Li Jinyu deeply, didn't speak, just nodded.

She and Li Jinzhi once thought that Li Jinyu was different, but the story between them was still clichéd.

She believes that Li Jinzhi has never regretted it like her, but the poor ones are just the children who died unexpectedly, and the people who were displaced in the war.

The county lord of Changle had been waiting outside the Zhaoyang Palace, and when she saw Mei Xue coming out with Li Mingze in her arms, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

took a soft sedan chair back to Cining Palace together, but was stopped by Aunt Hai halfway.

Aunt Hai was so haggard that she said to Mei Xue with tears in her eyes:

"Miss Mei, Niangniang said she wanted to see you."

The county lord of Changle sneered and took Li Mingze back to Cining Palace.

She hated Empress Xie deeply, and thought that if it weren't for Empress Xie's single-mindedness to win over and use Meng Shuyi, she would not have given Meng Shuyi the opportunity to poison so many children.

In Kunning Palace, the imperial doctors came and went, but Empress Xie didn't look better, her face was sallow, and even her lips were white.

The decoction on the table was cold at first glance. Aunt Hai didn't dare to persuade her, so she withdrew with the medicine bowl.

Queen Xie struggled several times and still couldn't get up, so Mei Xue bent down to help her up, and put a soft pillow behind her.

The palm on the brocade quilt was pale and thin, and Empress Xie coughed for a while before she calmed down, and asked Mei Xue in a hoarse voice:

"Miss Mei, you hate this palace very much, right?"

Mei Xue shook her head and sat down on the brocade stool next to the bed, her expression calmly lowering her eyes and saying nothing.

She knows Empress Xie, the battle has been decided, and she has lost her two sons at the same time, and Empress Xie's time is running out.

Empress Xie smiled, her already dry eyes were slightly red, she turned her face to look out the window and said:

"I haven't had friends since I was a child, and after entering the palace, I always guarded against everyone.

Anyone who stands in my way, I can get rid of it without hesitation.

Only you, I always felt different, I thought we were already friends, we could ....... forever

After all, I'm sorry for you, but I don't want to say I'm sorry because it's useless. ”

Mei Xue raised her eyes, looked at Queen Xie and whispered:

"Niangniang, you don't have to feel sorry, because Wechen has never complained about you.

Your difficulty, Wechen has always been very clear.

Therefore, Weichen never regretted that he had helped Niangniang, nor did he feel sad about our drifting away.

We all have our own last resort, just ask for peace of mind. ”

Empress Xie smiled bitterly, tremblingly shook Mei Xue's hand and begged:

"Mei Xue, my mother and sister have offended you, but my father has been cautious all his life and will never do anything out of the ordinary. I beg you one last time, if that day comes...... Please, ...... Jinzhi takes care of my family. ”

Finally, tears fell from Queen Xie's eyes, but Mei Xue was silent.

Li Mingze's sister and brother are still young, and she will definitely do her best to take care of them. But for other things, she has no right to make promises.

Seeing Mei Xue get up and walk out, Queen Xie choked up, cried and stopped her, saying:

"Miss Mei, I have a guess to tell you, if it is true, I beg you to grant my request."

Mei Xue stopped, looked back at Empress Xie and said:

"Mother, what I can do for you, you don't need any conditions to exchange. I can't do it for you, no matter what the conditions, I can't promise you. ”

Empress Xie cried and nodded, but continued to say:

"Your Majesty's imperial study has a secret room, and this book is not surprising, but I suspect that the person who is locked up there is the one you have been worried about."

Mei Xue was stunned for a long time before she said:

"Niangniang, are you suspicious....... suspect the first princess......"

In this world, who else can make Li Jinyu die and refuse to let go, except for the former crown princess Yang Shumin?

But how can he, how can he be willing to ............. Keeping a loved one in the dark?

Empress Xie wiped her tears, and then said to Mei Xue:

"Miss Mei, I have been fighting for half my life, and after all, I ended up with nothing, and I don't even say "I'm sorry" to you.

The same is true for Sister Yang, ......"

Suddenly thinking of Li Jinyu's request to be alone with Li Mingze just now, Mei Xue's lips trembled, probably believing Queen Xie's guess.

She walked back to the bedside quickly, held Empress Xie's hand and said:

"Mother, I can't promise you anything, but I will definitely do my best."

After saying that, Mei Xue ran out quickly.

Li Jinyu was simply crazy, and Mei Xue had a hunch that he wanted to take Yang Shumin to Huangquan together.

During the time when Mei Xue was waiting outside just now, he must have taken Li Mingze to see Yang Shumin.

(End of chapter)