It was already dark.

After Miss Bai came out at that moment, there was no movement in the room.

Qiu Rong couldn't rest assured, and knocked on the door gently, "Princess." ”

After a while, there was a muffled "come in" from the house.

Qiu Rong pushed open the door, the room was dark, she stood for a long time to get used to it, barely saw the small black silhouette sitting on the edge of the bed, hurriedly stepped forward to find the fire fold, and turned on the lamps in the room one by one.

"Why does the princess sit alone and not light the lamp?"

As she spoke, she suddenly smelled a faint smell of ointment in the air, her heart tightened, and her eyes suddenly fell on the small porcelain bottle that Shen Ruolian was holding in her hand.

She stepped forward and said in an anxious tone, "The princess is injured?" ”

It wasn't until Qiu Rong walked in front of her that Shen Ruolian seemed to wake up suddenly, and followed her line of sight to the porcelain vase in her hand.

She stared at it for a long time, and suddenly asked in an urn voice, "Qiu Rong, you say, what kind of horse will Your Highness choose for me?" ”

Qiu Rong didn't know what Shen Ruolian had been doing in the past two days, she only knew that the princess had suddenly become sullen in the past few days, and now that she heard her, Qiu Rong realized that it was the princess who was worried about her family.

She tilted her head and thought about it, shook her head, and said:

"The slave doesn't know."

"However, according to His Royal Highness the Prince's love for you, he will definitely choose a son of a family with noble character and handsome appearance for you, and the princess does not have to worry."

"But when I got married, I was about to leave the palace—"

Qiu Rong smiled:

"When the princess becomes a relative, she naturally wants to live out of the palace with the horse, and since ancient times, women have not lived with their husband's family when they get married."

Qiu Rong said it as a matter of course, and Shen Ruolian also knew that she was right.

She lowered her head and silently fiddled with the tassels hanging from the medicine bottle, and did not speak again.

She is an orphan girl who was abandoned by her parents.

When the iron horsemen of Xijon stepped on, her parents tricked her into picking up things under the carriage in order to make the carriage run faster.

As soon as she picked up the burden and smiled and said, "Father, I have picked it up," the carriage suddenly started and left her far behind.

She cried and stumbled after the carriage until she was too exhausted to take a step, and watched as the carriage carrying her parents and brother disappeared from sight.

At that time, when there was a time of chaos, she was left alone, a six or seven-year-old girl, and everyone knew what she was going to face, but her parents still took her younger brother and left her without hesitation.

Later, she was rescued by the prince's brother from the knife of the Xirong people, and he also brought her back to the East Palace and raised her pampered.

Her mind is simple, she has lived heartless in the East Palace for so many years, and the prince and queen are both spoiled, she actually can't remember the pain of being abandoned at the beginning.

But now that she suddenly heard that she was going to leave him and leave the palace where she had lived for nine years, the pain of being abandoned when she was a child seemed to be infinitely magnified, overwhelming her.

Shen Ruolian picked at her fingernails, looked at the royal blue on the side of the pillow, and bit her lower lip gently, a little embarrassed, or ...... Try again.

-

Early the next morning, Shen Ruolian went to the queen's Fengqi Palace to ask for peace.

Before he entered, he heard Yan Ling's laughter coming from the hall.

Shen Ruolian crossed the threshold with her skirt in her arms, "What did the Fourth Emperor Brother say about something interesting, it sounds so lively." ”

"Jianing is here? Come and sit. ”

The queen's voice was also laughing, and it was obvious that she was also amused by Yan Ling.

Shen Ruolian saw that the queen sitting on the top had a soft face, saw her come in and beckoned to her, and then turned her head to Yan Ling and said:

"Go sit down, there's a stove here, let your sister sit here."

Yan Ling pretended to exaggerate to the queen, "The queen mother is too partial, I just said that the son is good, and now my sister is here, I dislike the son and the minister!" ”

Saying this, he moved neatly, got up straight and gave up his place next to the stove, and finally poured a cup of hot tea into her hand.

"The royal sister warms her hands."

Shen Ruolian thanked him with a smile and sat down obediently beside the queen.

She looked up at the queen, and suddenly frowned slightly, "How is it okay for the queen mother to go to Hanshan Temple this time?" Erchen looks at you and seems to have lost some weight, and the queen mother can come back to have a good birth and raise, otherwise Erchen will be distressed. ”

The queen was stunned for a moment, her eyes overflowed with a smile, and she held one of Shen Ruolian's hands, "It's still our Jianing meticulous, and the queen mother will pay attention." ”

The queen went to Hanshan Temple to pray for Dayan from the fifteenth day of the first month, the temple is simple to eat, and can not be stained with meat, it is indeed reduced.

However, her sons came to ask for peace a few times, but they didn't see any of them, even the prince, who has always been careful, didn't see it this time, but Jianing saw it at a glance.

"Speaking of which, this time, thanks to Jianing, you gave the queen mother's knee pad a lot of use."

Hanshan Temple is on the mountain, the weather is wet and cold in early spring, and she kneels day by day to chant sutras, if it is not for a pair of knee pads made for her by Jianing, her knees are afraid that she will suffer a lot.

Shen Ruolian was happy when she heard her say this, and couldn't help hugging the queen's waist, pillowed her head on her knees, rubbed it gently, and there was a little coquettish in her tone:

"The queen mother is good, Jianing is happy, as long as she can be good to the queen mother, not to mention knee pads, Jianing next to her can also do it."

The smile in the queen's eyes was even worse, and she touched Shen Ruolian's head.

Yan Ling looked at the two of them from the side, and laughed alongside.

When Yan Wen came in, he saw such a warm and harmonious picture.

He paused, his gaze inadvertently brushing over the girl, and the fingers between his sleeves curled up slightly.

"The Queen Mother."

The clear and warm voice suddenly fell into her ears, Shen Ruolian's body stiffened suddenly, and she hurriedly got up from the queen's lap, and a pair of clear Ling Ling eyes looked straight at Yan Wen, her eyes were full of expectation and flattery.

But I saw him walk to the other side and sit down relatively far away from her without squinting, and his eyes never fell on her.

Shen Ruolian's originally cheerful mood fell to the bottom at this moment, his chest was stuffy, and his nose was a little sour.

She buried her head and sniffed quietly.

He still ignored her.

"How is it that the prince looks more haggard than yesterday? But didn't you get a good night's rest? ”

Shen Ruolian was sad to herself, and when she heard the queen's question, her eyelids jumped, and she hurriedly went to see him, and she really saw a faint layer of dark blue under his eyes.

Although his expression did not look unusual, she still saw a trace of imperceptible tiredness in his eyes when she looked closely.

Yan Wen hooked his lips slightly, his smile was like a spring breeze, and the original tiredness on his face disappeared in an instant, "Mother Xie cares, and the sons are fine, but the government affairs have been busy recently, and it will be fine after a while." ”

The queen also heard that the emperor had recently handed over an important matter to the crown prince, and although she was distressed, she didn't want to say anything more, but only told him to pay more attention to his body.

She always felt that her son was good everywhere as a prince, but his temperament was too gentle, and his body looked weaker.

"You, there is no one in the harem, and you pay more attention to yourself on weekdays."

Yan Wen responded with a smile, "The queen mother is bothered, and my son understands." ”

After talking with the queen for a while, Yan Wen asked the fourth prince a few more questions about his schoolwork, and he sat there, still gentle and respectful.

Shen Ruolian was not in a good mood, and only reluctantly followed Ying He twice.

Except for the beginning when Yan Wen came in, Shen Ruolian plucked up the courage to look at him a few times, and after clearly seeing the coldness in his eyes, she didn't dare to look at him again, and kept lowering her head and wringing the handkerchief in her hand.

"By the way, are you ready for Jianing's entry into the jade?"

Shen Ruolian was thinking about how to talk to Yan Wen after going out later, when she suddenly heard the queen suddenly mention her entry into the jade, her whole heart fluttered, and she couldn't help but look at Yan Wen boldly.

The crown prince sat upright on the other side of the queen, holding a teacup in his hand, and his expression did not change at all when he heard the words, and said:

"It's almost ready."

As she spoke, she felt that he seemed to glance at her, Shen Ruolian's back straightened unconsciously, and then she listened to him continue:

"Jianing's name will also be changed when the time comes, and Erchen has already asked the Internal Affairs Office to prepare a few, and let his mother go back to Jianing."

The queen also looked at Shen Ruolian with him, and quite agreed:

"Indeed, the name Ruo Lian sounds a little bitter, should I change it, or should the prince think thoughtfully."

Among her own sons, the prince loves Jianing the most.

Those little ones used to be ignorant, in the years when Jianing was brought back, they always bullied her, every time Yan Wen protected people, if anyone bullied Jianing, he would never be soft on the lesson.

He even taught Jianing personally to make up for the lessons she had missed.

As long as Jianing calls "Brother Prince", he has a dark face to others, and he can turn into a smiling face in an instant.

In the study of the East Palace, where others were not allowed to step into the East Palace, he let her come and go at will, and let her use his pen, ink, paper, and inkstone to write and scribble.

Others only said that the prince was gentle but unkind, but she knew that they had never seen him treat Jianing.

The queen patted the back of the prince's hand and looked at her children with satisfaction, "Jianing will be your sister in the future, and the prince will have to treat her well." ”

Yan Wen's voice was warm and calm, "Yes, Erchen understands. ”

Shen Ruolian listened to the conversation between the two of them, her heart became cold, and her back couldn't help but collapse.

He didn't care about being his own sister.

He even thoughtfully thought about changing her name for her.

He was all for her good, but she was not happy at all, as if she had been lightly stabbed in her heart.

Later, what they said again, Shen Ruolian didn't listen to it anymore, and when she reacted again, Yan Wen had already gotten up and was about to leave.

Shen Ruolian hurriedly said to the queen that she wanted to go out of the palace today to find Bai Yuewei to swim in the lake together.

She is good friends with Bai Yuewei, and she often went out of the palace to play with her in the past, and Bai Yuewei is still her niece, the queen did not object when she heard this, "It just so happens that the prince is also going out of the palace, Yan Wen, you take your sister for a ride." ”

The footsteps of the prince, who had already walked out, stopped.

Suddenly, Shen Ruolian heard him say "yes" meaninglessly.

She didn't dare to raise her head, saluted the queen, chased Yan Wen out of the door, and followed him into the carriage.

The heavy curtain of the carriage kept the air out of the sun, and the atmosphere in the carriage was stagnant, and the cold smell of mint faintly lingered in the air.

Shen Ruolian sat down beside Yan Wen lightly, not daring to get too close to him, her fingers were twisted helplessly, and she looked at him carefully.

She had been looking for a chance to see him for the past few days, but when she really sat with him, she didn't dare to say anything.

- I'm afraid he'll bother her.

Yan Wen's skin is pale, and a light cyan blood vessel can be faintly seen on the side of his neck, like the sun with a cold feeling in winter.

He just sat there with his eyes closed, noble and cold, like pine and bamboo after snow, making people unable to take their eyes off.

One of his hands hung between his legs, and between his fingers hung the bracelet of rosewood Buddhist beads that he often wore on his wrist, and his thumb was rubbing slowly one by one.

The carriage was so quiet that only the sound of beads colliding with beads could be heard, and all of a sudden, as if to nail a certain nervous emotion into Shen Ruolian's heart, encouraging her heartbeat to become heavier.

It's been a long time since she's been so close to him, and it's been a long time since she's seen him so unscrupulously.

When she was a child, she was always slimy by his side.

Every day after dinner, she would wait at the door of the East Palace, and as soon as she saw him, she couldn't wait to pounce on him, lean on him, and talk to him about what happened today.

There was always softness in his eyes, he touched her head with a smile, and asked her in a soft voice, "Jiaojiao misses her brother?" ”

Jiaojiao is the nickname he gave her, he said that Ruo Lian listened too bitter, and he said that he hoped she was like a delicate flower.

In those years, he gave her love and pampering that she had never felt.

It's just that later, after he found out about her thoughts, he didn't let her get close to him anymore, and after hastily giving her a title, he drove her out of the East Palace.

Shen Ruolian thought of the past, and felt a little sad in her heart, all kinds of complex emotions that could not be expressed touched her tear ducts, making her eyes faintly sour.

She looked back at his face.

The man's expression was very calm, and after the thin eyelids were pressed down, the long and thick black eyelashes curled, adding a bit of softness to his face, which was somewhat similar to before.

Maybe it was because he closed his eyes, she couldn't see the indifference in his eyes, and Shen Ruolian felt a little restlessness in her heart.

She licked her lips and secretly puffed herself up for a long time, and then quietly moved her body closer to him, and stretched out her fingers to hook his little thumb.

The movement of turning the Buddha beads in Yan Wen's hand suddenly stopped, Shen Ruolian's breathing stagnated, her heart beat violently, and she froze in place.

The atmosphere suddenly sank, so quiet that she didn't dare to breathe hard.

The collision of the bells outside the carriage was very similar to Shen Ruolian's mood at the moment.

After a suffocating silence, the man slowly opened his eyes, and the gentle breath faded in an instant, exuding a cold alienation and impatience all around him.

"Shen Ruolian, how long are you going to make such a fuss?"