In Kunning Palace, Xie Nanjia followed the eunuchs into the palace and paid great respects to the empress who was sitting in the main seat.
Queen Meng sat upright, her eyes full of majesty, looking solemnly at the person kneeling down.
Before this, based on the descriptions of Song Jingxing and Wang Lu, she thought that Xie Nanjia was just a pretty, seductive girl. But when she appeared in front of her in person, she realized that she had underestimated her.
A girl of fifteen or sixteen, in her prime, full of youth, lively and dignified, bright and innocent, elegant and noble, with charm that cannot be concealed in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, and because of her slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes, that charm exudes an awe-inspiring aura that cannot be desecrated.
It is true. Even though she was stranded in the countryside and became a maid, her nobility was innate. In comparison, although the Princess Jinping was equally beautiful, she obviously lacked the aura that a daughter of a wealthy family should have.
No wonder the prince couldn't forget her after seeing her once. With her appearance, any man would be fascinated by her.
For a moment, Queen Meng herself was shaken and almost wanted to change her previous decision and let her replace the fake one and marry into the Eastern Palace.
But when she thought of the fact that the prince had smashed half of the things in the bedroom because of her, she immediately gave up the idea. No matter what, she would never allow the prince to indulge in beauty.
Even being a concubine is not allowed.
"Do you know why you were called here?" Queen Meng asked.
She didn't call out, and Xie Nanjia didn't dare to get up either. She knelt down and replied obediently, "Your Majesty, I am stupid and don't dare to guess what you are thinking. If you have any instructions, just let me know."
"You are quite good at talking." Queen Meng nodded and said, "I don't have any instructions. I asked you to come here because I was simply curious. I wanted to see what the person the prince specifically requested looked like."
After saying this, he carefully looked at her expression and thought to himself that if she showed any sign of joy, he would not let her leave the palace easily today.
Xie Nanjia knelt quietly without saying a word, not even his eyebrows or eyelids moved.
As smart as she is, how could she not see the Queen's ulterior motives
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Queen Meng was very surprised by her behavior. She wanted to see whether she was pretending or was really not interested in the prince.
"I heard it." Xie Nanjia said respectfully, "Please rest assured, Queen, I am a self-aware person."
What I mean is that I don't have any desire for your precious son.
Queen Meng nodded: "Very good, you can get up now!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xie Nanjia slowly stood up and stood straight despite the pain in her knees.
Queen Meng continued, "Yesterday, I summoned the Duke's wife to the palace to discuss your identity. The dignity and respect of the royal family cannot be violated, and your presence will make the Eastern Palace a laughing stock. Therefore, I want you to continue to stay in the Marquis' Mansion and let the Duke's Mansion declare that the rumors about your identity are all rumors. Are you willing?"
Xie Nanjia's heart trembled, but her expression remained calm. It seemed that her guess was correct. The Queen Mother would do anything to save her face. She would rather let the Prince make a mistake than let others laugh at the East Palace.
As for whether the fake county lady was worthy of being the crown prince, based on her understanding of the queen, once Song Jingxing successfully succeeded to the throne, the fake county lady would either die or go mad, or at worst be banished to the cold palace to spend the rest of her life.
Xie Nanjia was not interested in other people's life and death. As long as she was not allowed to marry Song Jingxing, she would do anything. She was just afraid that the Queen would want to kill her in order to make the Duke's Mansion and Song Jingxing give up.
It's not that she has to think the worst of people. The Queen Mother has prevented the harem from giving birth to a prince for many years, so it is only normal for her to kill her, a stumbling block.
Therefore, no matter what happens in the future, the only thing she has to do today is to leave the palace safely.
"The Empress is the mother of the country. She always considers the overall situation. I have never been to school, and my thoughts and vision cannot be compared with yours. Whatever your Majesty says is good, it must be good. I will do whatever your Majesty orders. Your Majesty does not need to care about my opinion. As for the Duke's Mansion, I believe they will also act in accordance with your Majesty's orders." She replied respectfully.
Queen Meng was even more surprised. If these words had not been spoken to anyone before, she would have suspected that someone had leaked their thoughts to this girl in advance and told her the correct strategy for dealing with them, so that she could speak so flawlessly and she didn't even have the chance to make things difficult for her.
Although she was surprised, since she had seen the person and the little girl had no complaints about her decision, she had no reason to keep him any longer and could only angrily order the eunuch to send him away.
Xie Nanjia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, bowed deeply again, bid farewell to the queen, and followed the eunuchs out of Kunning Palace.
After she left, Queen Meng asked Wang Lu, "What do you think?"
Wang Lu rolled his eyes and replied, "He is impeccable, but too steady. There was no mistake from beginning to end. Even the way he performed the ceremony was flawless. He didn't look like he was entering the palace for the first time. He seemed to be well prepared."
After he reminded her, Queen Meng realized something was wrong. She suddenly remembered that Wang Lu had sent people to investigate the girl some time ago and said that she was cunning, eloquent and good at flattering her. Could it be that she had just been deceived by her
She had known for a long time that this trip would be dangerous, so she had already prepared a plan to deal with it. If this was really the case, then she was being too scheming.
For such a person, is she really willing to give up her noble status and continue to stay in the Marquis' Mansion as a servant
What if she is unwilling, with her many cunning schemes, will she stir up some trouble and force the Duke's Mansion to recognize her and the Prince to marry her
Thinking of this, Queen Meng's face changed drastically, and she ordered Wang Lu repeatedly: "Quick, go and get him back, find a place to lock him up quietly, and don't let others know."
Wang Lu was stunned for a moment, then asked carefully, "What if the Marquis's Mansion comes to look for someone?"
"Are you stupid? If the Marquis's Mansion comes to look for you, just tell them that the person has left. Can they still come in and search the palace?"
After being scolded, Wang Lu did not dare to delay and hurried out to chase the person. He chased for a long distance and finally met the eunuch who was seeing Xie Nanjia off at the edge of the West Garden on the west side of Chunjing Palace. The eunuch was standing there alone, as if waiting for someone.
"What are you doing here? Where is the person you were asked to send off?" Wang Lu asked.
The eunuch pointed to the garden and replied, "The girl said her inner belt was untied, so she asked me to wait here while she went to the garden to tidy it up."
"How long have you been gone?" Wang Lu frowned slightly, vaguely feeling that something was wrong.
"It's been a while." The eunuch said, "Why don't I go in and urge her."
"Go!" Wang Lu nodded and watched him walk and shout as he entered the garden.
In winter, all the flowers and plants in the garden have withered, leaving only some evergreen trees and dozens of red plum trees. Apart from that, there are pavilions and rockery, making it difficult to hide.
The young eunuch shouted a few times but no one answered. He looked around inside but didn't see anyone. He suddenly panicked and ran out to report to Wang Lu.
When Wang Lu saw his panic-stricken look, he knew that the person was missing, and his heart skipped a beat.
That girl was really cunning and slippery. She must have guessed that the Queen would come to her senses and call her back, so she tricked the eunuch and slipped away.
"Hurry, hurry and chase after them at the west gate!" he urged repeatedly.
The servants could only enter and exit the palace through the West Gate, so if the girl wanted to go out, she had only that one way.
The young eunuch lost his person and was afraid of being punished, so he ran towards the west gate without saying a word, and Wang Lu followed closely behind him holding a whisk.
After they walked away, two people quietly emerged from the stone cave behind the rockery. One was Xie Nanjia and the other was Su Jincheng.
Su Jincheng held a set of guards' clothes and handed them to Xie Nanjia expressionlessly: "Put them on, and I'll take you out."
Xie Nanjia was very curious about how he suddenly appeared just now, but now was not the time to talk, so she quickly changed her clothes, took off the cumbersome jewelry on her head, let her hair down, casually tied it into a men's bun, put on a round-top wide-brimmed guard hat, stuffed all her original clothes into the cave, and hurriedly left with Su Jincheng.
"Don't forget to take the clothes away later. Keep them for me and don't damage them." She lowered the brim of her hat and said to Su Jincheng as she walked. "The clothes were specially prepared for me by the old lady. They are made of top-quality materials and I like the styles very much. Remember to have someone send them to me later."
Su Jincheng walked forward without looking around. Hearing her voice without a trace of nervousness, he couldn't help but glance sideways at her.
The brim of her hat was pulled down, and her head was lowered as well, so that only half of her face could be seen. Her skin was white and translucent, her lips were bright red, and her chin was pointed. She looked like a frail person no matter how you looked at her. But no one knew where she got the courage to play hide-and-seek with the Queen's people in the palace.
But then he thought of the pot-tossing competition in the Xishan Paddock. In order to get back Zhao Jingyu's face, this girl defeated the Crown Prince in front of the Emperor. So, is there anything in the world that she dare not do
Is she really my sister
Su Jincheng couldn't help but feel dazed, and a strange feeling passed through his heart.
He lost his sister with his own hands and has been living in deep self-blame for many years. He once secretly swore that he would never get married until his sister was found. And he would never get married until his sister was found.
Twelve years passed in a blink of an eye, and there was still no news from his sister. No matter how his family urged him, he always stuck to his oath and did not talk about marriage or blind dates. Apart from working, he spent all his time looking for his sister.
He thought he might never see his sister again in this life, but his sister was suddenly found some time ago. The whole family was overjoyed and held a banquet for his sister. All the brothers ran to see his sister, gave her gifts, played with her, and doted on her in every way. However, he, the biological brother, always felt that something was wrong and subconsciously rejected her and refused to get close to her.
His mother said that he must still be feeling guilty about what happened back then, which is why he was "timid around his sister." Plus, he had been very serious over the years, so he might not be able to change all of a sudden.
He also thought so and tried hard to change, thinking that maybe things would get better over time. But before he could come to his senses, his mother suddenly told him that this sister was fake and that the maid named Xiu'er in the Marquis' Mansion was his real sister.
He was stunned for a moment, recalling his previous encounter with Xiu'er, who was disguised as a servant, in the West Mountain Paddock. He felt mixed emotions. It turned out that he had seen his sister before anyone else in the family, but at that time, he knew nothing and just passed his sister by.
Recalling that encounter, he discovered that he indeed had different feelings when facing Xiu'er, just like Xiu'er's natural kindness towards her uncle and cousin Nanfeng.
Ever since he learned the truth, he wondered every day when and how his sister would return to the Duke's Mansion, and how he would greet her when he saw her. He thought of countless possibilities, but he never expected it to be this situation.
His mother said that the Empress Dowager refused to let her recognize her sister and would not allow her to go home in order to save the reputation of the Eastern Palace. The secret guards who stayed with her sister last night even caught someone who was going to harm her sister. His mother was afraid of gossip in the family, so she did not dare to make it public. She only told him quietly and asked him to secretly check if there was anyone from Kunning Palace. Just as he started to investigate, his mother sent another letter in, saying that his sister was summoned to Kunning Palace by the Empress Dowager, and asked him to find a way to protect his sister no matter what.
Fortunately, he received the news and had been paying close attention to the movements in Kunning Palace, otherwise, who knows what happened to the little girl now!
This girl was really clever. He just hid behind a tree in the garden and threw a stone at her, but she understood everything and immediately deceived the eunuch and entered the garden. It was rare to find someone so clever.
It would be better if you could act a little timid and give him some sense of accomplishment.
Unfortunately, this girl seems to have no idea how to write the word "timid". At this critical moment, she is still thinking about her clothes.
"Let's get out first!" Su Jincheng said helplessly, "You're almost dead, and you're still thinking about your clothes."
Xie Nanjia chuckled, held the brim of his hat and glanced at him, jokingly saying, "Commander Su, you actually speak so long?"
Su Jincheng's face flushed immediately. He raised his hand and knocked on her hat, saying seriously, "Don't talk. Go!"
Xie Nanjia shrank her neck, but instead of shutting up, she said in surprise, "So you can blush."
Su Jincheng: “…”
Is she escaping or sightseeing in the garden? She is so relaxed, isn't she
They quickly traveled all the way to Donghua Gate. Led by Su Jincheng, the guards didn't even look at Xie Nanjia. They just bowed and let the two of them go out.
After walking for a while, they saw the sedan chair sent by Sheng Qingyun waiting there. Su Jincheng still had work to do, so after sending Xie Nanjia onto the sedan chair, he watched the sedan chair swaying away, and then he took a detour and entered the palace through the Xuanwu Gate.
Wang Lu failed to catch the person, so he took the young eunuch back to Kunning Palace to report to the queen.
When Queen Meng heard that someone had escaped, she couldn't believe her ears and flew into a rage at the two men: "Useless things, you can get someone lost in broad daylight. Why don't you go to the other gates and ask to see which gate she went out from? If there is none, she must still be hiding in the palace. As long as you guard the door well, I don't believe she can grow wings and fly away."
At this time, Xie Nanjia had already gone away in a sedan chair.
Ever since she saw the sedan waiting there, she had completely understood what had happened with Su Jincheng falling from the sky.
The Duke's Mansion must have received the message sent by the old lady, and then notified Su Jincheng, who was close to the water, and asked him to take the opportunity to protect himself.
Thinking of Su Jincheng's blushing face just now, she couldn't help but laugh. After all these years, she really didn't know that this cousin would still blush.
Well, it feels pretty good to have a brother who walks around in the palace.
"Miss, which mansion are we going to?" asked the person outside the sedan chair.
"Let's go... to Fengming Terrace outside the city!" Xie Nanjia originally wanted to go back to the Marquis' Mansion, but after thinking about it, he changed his mind.
The ancestral tomb of the Zhao family is on Fengmingtai, where Zhao Jingyu is supervising the construction of Qin's tomb. She wants to go there to find Zhao Jingyu.
Fengming Terrace was ten miles away from the city. The sedan chair bearers had trained their legs so well that they passed through the streets and alleys and out of the city gate. In less than half an hour, the sedan chair was already in sight.
"Girl, we're almost there. The road ahead is difficult to walk on, so please sit tight." The person accompanying the sedan reminded outside.
Xie Nanjia thanked him and grabbed the sedan chair pole to steady himself.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard from behind, and two horses came galloping towards us, raising a cloud of dust.
The one following the sedan shouted, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
The sedan bearers hurriedly carried the sedan to the side of the road to avoid it, but unexpectedly the two horses came straight towards the sedan, sandwiching it on the left and right. The two men on the horses drew their swords at the same time and stabbed at the sedan.
(End of this chapter)