The Sishui Palace is the most deserted and dilapidated palace in the harem. It is like water like water and the years are like water. Once the women in this harem live in the Sishui Palace, they have almost no chance to go out. The palace concubine who lived in the Sishui Palace, after a few months, lost her mind.
There are no gorgeous silks and satins here, no delicate steps, only cold walls and a group of crazy women.
Today is the third day that Ning Zhiqing came to the Sishui Temple. On the first day, she was almost bullied. On the second day, she witnessed Hong Yan's death with her own eyes. On the third day, she sat on the edge of the high threshold with a dull gaze. Looking at the courtyard, sitting around, brushing the blue silk and white frost, the Leng Gong concubines who laughed madly.
She pursed her lips lightly, and the more she looked, the more fearful her heart became. She was not afraid of the coldness of this cold palace, but she was afraid that one day, like these concubines, she would lose her mind and do things that were completely contrary to her original wishes. The Ning Zhiqing of that time is not the Ning Zhiqing of today.
"Thinking about what?"
The voice came from the side. Although it was soft and soft, it was able to pull her back to reality. She tilted her head, looked at A Xin's position, and smiled, "Mr. Lin Guiren, good morning."
"It's not early, the sun is up high." A Xin said coldly, "Come on."
Ning Zhiqing's previous depression was also swept away. Lin Guiren's words were a bit of a disappointment, and she specifically demolished her platform, but she did not forget what the two of them talked about yesterday. Is what Lin Guiren said true? He also asked her if she should be the female emperor, she is not the material.
Later, Lin Guiren said that she would let her sit under the curtain, and she would laugh out loud if she was replaced by someone else, but facing Lin Guiren's calm and indifferent face, she actually thought it was true.
It's just that the emperor didn't touch her, and she didn't have a son. The other concubines, except the queen, who was Helianzheng's first wife, and Helianzheng's husband and wife, did not even have any children. It is necessary to get a little emperor to come out of this curtain.
Ning Zhiqing followed into A Xin's house. She hadn't felt it before, but when she came in during the day, she realized that the room was colder and more dilapidated than where she lived. But this place is different from other houses. Even if the tables and chairs are old and the bedding is old, everything is clean and tidy. Ning Zhiqing thought, this place is not like a place where a talented woman lives, but a place where a simple and hard-working woman lives.
A Xin closed the door, Ning Zhiqing sat on the stool a little nervously, "Lin Guiren didn't joke with me yesterday?"
"I don't like to joke."
Ning Zhiqing took a deep breath, "As long as you can guarantee my father's life, I will do whatever you ask me to do."
"Um."
With a bit of a smile in her eyes, A Xin turned around and took out a stack of paper, pens, and some books from the closet. Ning Zhiqing didn't know many words. Her mother died early, and her father was a rough man. The reason why General Ning became General Ning was that he accidentally rescued the late emperor and helped him escape the pursuit of a "robber".
The late emperor believed that although General Ning did not know a few big characters, he was a good player in arranging troops to fight. He was a villager in the mountains. Unexpectedly, this became the number one general at the border.
Before General Ning went to the battlefield, he already had a wife and daughter. Later, he made a fortune and was never ungrateful, but his wife died not long after he left. Later, he took Ning Zhiqing to the mansion in the capital, and was busy guarding the frontier. He was a rough man, and he forgot to train Ning Zhiqing. As a result, when Ning Zhiqing first came to the capital, he made a lot of jokes. But Ning Zhiqing is not a disadvantaged person. She is beautiful and has inherited her father's boldness. After knowing that her father is a general, she is very good at bullying others. Before entering the palace, she held a whip in the capital all day long. No one dared to bully her anymore.
She doesn't like reading, and she doesn't like embroidering. She likes dancing with whips, beautiful dresses, and fine jewelry. After becoming a noble concubine, she didn't understand the horror of this deep palace. Even if she was threatened by Helianzheng, she only thought that Helianzheng was the kind of person who was like a jade for the person she loved, even if she didn't like her. As long as Helianzheng feeds her, wears her beautiful dresses, wears exquisite jewelry, and gives her more goodies every day, she will be very happy.
She has been in the palace for a few years, and she has really drawn a lot of hatred, and she has been framed countless times, but every time, Helianzheng helped her solve it. Just when she was about to be tempted, she found out that Helian Zheng was using her as a shield. Unfortunately, it was too late. The minister impeached her for being arrogant and extravagant, only for pleasure, and to confuse the king with sex. Such a noble concubine is really not worthy of being a noble concubine.
This year is Bai Xi's third year in the palace. Helianzheng has already paved the way for Bai Xi, and Ning Zhiqing has also blocked countless plots for Bai Xi. Bai Xi will get rid of the empress who hindered her and the four concubines. The queen lost her life, and only one of the four concubines was left in the Sishui Palace.
"Starting today, I will teach you to read." A Xin said in a light tone.
Ning Zhiqing looked at the pen and paper in front of her, as well as the densely packed words on the book that looked like ants crawling, her head was dizzy, she tried hard not to faint, and nodded, "Okay."
"Um."
A Xin is still satisfied, Ning Zhiqing is very repulsive to literacy, she can see that, she can directly let Ning Zhiqing go to the sky, but it is meaningless, something that is too easy to come by, is not profound, and people will not cherish it .
Even if she pushes Ning Zhiqing to a high position with strong means, if the other party has no ink on his chest and no ability at all, he will only become a puppet in the end. With another person, she might be able to solve it so effectively and quickly, but for this soul that awakened her, she is more willing to push people to a higher position step by step, watching her grow slowly, and even like to be with her Very kind soul spend more time together.
Every time she leaves the small world and returns to the dark and empty place, she will fall into a deep sleep, and she will not feel the loss of time at all. She is unwilling to wake up, and when she wakes up, she is only faced with darkness and emptiness, as if between the heaven and the earth Like something is missing.
She only remembered that she had been awakened many times in the past, and she fell into a deep sleep with satisfaction and pleasure. When she was awakened, those memories that made her satisfied and happy, somehow disappeared, and she couldn't find it. She could feel that the memory was still there, maybe hiding somewhere she couldn't find. She doesn't want to go looking for it either, she prefers to get along with this soul that makes her comfortable.
"Do you know your name?"
Ning Zhiqing nodded, "I know, but I can't write."
A Xin laid the rice paper in front of Ning Zhiqing, polished the ink, and put the brush in Ning Zhiqing's hand, "I'll teach you." Ning Zhiqing held the brush with trembling hands, followed by a pair of gentle and slender hands. Stop her and lead her to write the words "Ning Zhiqing" crookedly on the rice paper. She opened her eyes wide and saw that half of the three characters were written by her, and a sense of accomplishment came to her heart. In fact, literacy and writing are not so boring.
"Do you try it yourself?"
Ning Zhiqing nodded, her hands were still shaking, she held the brush hard, but the pen was not a whip, and the tighter you held it, the better the writing. In the end, she wrote three words that she couldn't recognize by herself, and she felt helpless. Comparing the two words, she thought, she really wasn't literate.
"I, I can't."
"Just practice more. No one is born. Just like a baby, it can walk without being born."
Ning Zhiqing felt that Lin Guiren was a little serious, and she spoke calmly, but told her that she couldn't go against it. Thinking of her situation and her father's situation, she gritted her teeth, "Okay, I'll practice."
After practicing for a long time, Ning Zhiqing was finally able to write at least three recognizable characters, and she was still somewhat satisfied.
"Lin Guiren."
"I... will there be something wrong with my father?" Bai Xi and Helianzheng's conspiracy failed, and he still had a reason to call her father back. When the time comes, the king wants the minister to die, and it's really easy to find any reason. .
A Xin said, "You can rest assured, I have already sent a letter to General Ning, he will find a reason not to come back."
"And, I have told him our plan."
"This..." Ning Zhiqing stood up abruptly, not because she was surprised that A Xin told her father these things, but how she conveyed the letter. She looked at the pen and paper in front of her eyes, where did she get these things. Well, let's say the pen and paper were secretly taken in the palace, so how will the news get out
At this moment, a bird flew in outside the window, circled around A Xin, and finally landed on A Xin's shoulder. A Xin took out a handful of rice and put it on the table, teasing the bird with a calm expression. Son. Ning Zhiqing can be sure that this bird is not a carrier pigeon. There are archers in the palace who specialize in monitoring carrier pigeons, and carrier pigeons of unknown origin will be shot down.
"Is it the letter it sent?"
A Xin raised her head and smiled at Ning Zhiqing, "Yes."
"It's not a carrier pigeon, what is it?"
"Letter bird."
"There is an archer in the palace, why hasn't it been shot down?" Ning Zhiqing asked, really curious, letter bird, why haven't I seen it before.
A Xin did not answer Ning Zhiqing's question, she took the prepared letter and tied it to the letter bird, raised her hand, the letter bird pecked her finger, heard her say "go", and flew away from the window .
A Xin pulled Ning Zhiqing out of the window, Ning Zhiqing thought she could see a letter bird flying far away, but when she looked out, she didn't see anything, and A Xin's voice sounded again, "This is a kind of legend that spreads letters. Birds, they fly into the air, they are not easy to see with the naked eye, and archers can't find them. In ancient times, many people hated this kind of bird. There was an emperor who ordered people to hunt and kill this kind of bird. There aren't many people in it."
"Is there still such a legend?" Ning Zhiqing thought that this was the difference between the rude and the scholar.
A Xin put a book into Ning Zhiqing's hand, "The story of the letter bird is in this book." She smiled faintly at Ning Zhiqing, "Learn well, you can find the letter within a month. The story of the bird."
Ning Zhiqing's eyes widened, looking at the thick book in her hand, incredulous, "Lin Guiren, isn't this too hard for someone to do? This book is so thick." Can it be... can it be two more months
"General Ning is waiting for you."
"Helianzheng doesn't know how he will deal with you one day."
"You are a noble concubine for a day, and Bai Xi will never let you go, even if you are in the cold palace."
With three words, Ning Zhiqing stopped her voice.
Holding the thick book, she pursed her lips and looked at the plain and stern woman in front of her. She couldn't refuse, "I see."
"Don't be discouraged, when you become the queen mother, you will have whatever you want. At that time, you won't need to be literate." A Xin said softly, looking at Ning Zhiqing's happy look, she lowered her eyes, at that time, the words I know them all, of course I don’t need to learn any more. As the queen mother who is under the curtain, it is enough to criticize the memorial every day.
Ning Zhiqing smiled, inexplicably felt that the room was a little cold, and sighed, as expected of a cold palace.
At noon, the palace servant who delivered the meal came.
Each person has a bowl of clear porridge, and there are not many grains of rice. Ning Zhiqing frowned and looked at a small wowtou. She took it up and gnawed at her fate, and she ate a mouthful of sour taste, and quickly spit it out, "Why is it sour? What?" She stared at the palace servant who delivered the meal, her eyes full of anger.
"Oh, my noble concubine, do you still think this is your luxurious imperial concubine's palace? This is the Sishui Palace, where is the Sishui Palace? The Cold Palace, what is the Cold Palace? The place where the concubines who come in have no chance to go out. It’s good to eat some, but I don’t think it’s sour.” The palace servant snatched away half of her sour nest, and took away the bowl of porridge, and gave it to the woman with disheveled hair next to her, who ate it when she grabbed it. , with smirk satisfaction, repeatedly said that it was delicious, Ning Zhiqing was angry and helpless.
"Since the imperial concubine doesn't like to eat sour food, then I'll save the wowotou in the future, and that bowl of clear porridge should be a lesson," the palace man looked down at Ning Zhiqing condescendingly. This is the Temple of Water."
Ning Zhiqing stood in the same place stupidly, looking at the palace and the mad women who didn't resist, rubbing her stomach and looking at the spit out of the place. At this time, she especially misses the once delicious taste of mountains and seas.
A Xin stood not far away, watching Ning Zhiqing cry, and finally walked in front of Ning Zhiqing, stretched out her hand, "Stand up."
Ning Zhiqing wiped away her tears, put her hand in A Xin's hand, and stood up. She looked arrogantly at the closed door of the Water Palace, "I, Ning Zhiqing, will go out one day." She said. To be the queen mother, she must follow the curtain and hold the power.
A Xin took Ning Zhiqing into the house, and Ning Zhiqing took the initiative to pick up the pen and paper to practice calligraphy. If she doesn't know how to read, she learns. She will let those who see people understand that Ning Zhiqing can whip people with a whip, and can also play dead people with a pen.
"Are you hungry?" A Xin asked with a smile.
Ning Zhiqing said stubbornly, "I'm not hungry." Touching her stomach, she was very hungry.
"real?"
Facing A Xin's eyes, Ning Zhiqing's voice was aggrieved, "I'm hungry, what should I do if I'm hungry? Those cheap servants stole all my food. Why didn't I find such a place in this palace before." She was hungry It's so bad, she's almost out of strength to hold a pen. She really wants to eat ginseng soup, red jujube porridge, steamed fish... The more she thinks, the more hungry she becomes.
A Xin turned around and took out a few steamed buns with white flour and a bowl of meat from the cabinet. When she brought it to Ning Zhiqing, she was stunned, and she couldn't concentrate on practicing calligraphy while she was eating.
"It's not easy to get clear porridge, just boil some water and eat it."
Ning Zhiqing took the steamed buns and chopsticks with white flour, her eyes were hot, "Don't go there in the future, what if you get caught," she looked at A Xin, "It's just plain porridge with only a few grains of rice, it's sour. Is it wowatou? I can eat it."
"Eat, they can't catch me."
"I'm afraid." Ning Zhiqing took a bite of the steamed bun, "Lin Guiren, you must not have an accident, I will listen to it in the future, learn to read and study hard, and achieve the talent to be able to follow the government as soon as possible. When I become a queen mother in the future, I will protect you forever."
A Xin listened to these simple words, and the corners of his mouth curled up with a smile, "Hurry up, eat and read, I will tell you about the current situation of the court and our next plan."
"Um."
…
"Those barbarians are harassing the people in my frontier again?" Helianzheng frowned tightly, "In this case..." General Ning really can't be recalled. Once he is recalled, the frontier will be in chaos. , you have to wait for the chaos to be able to bring people back.
Soon, Helianzheng frowned. In fact, he had already thought of a good solution. After the chaos was over, he rewarded General Ning and called him back, so that no one would be suspicious. As long as people come back, is it not easy to deal with
As for Ning Zhiqing, he will not demote her status as a noble concubine for the time being, lest the matter spread to the frontier and cause General Ning's vigilance, let her stay in the cold palace temporarily. Hong Yan didn't get things done, and she couldn't use the previous method. As for Ning Zhiqing's accustomed temperament, he would have to suffer a lot in the cold palace, so he didn't need to take special care of him.
At the same time, Bai Xi also received news, [When those barbarians are not in chaos, they want to be in chaos at this time, and they also ruin the affairs of this palace.]
[Host, don't worry, now Ning Zhiqing has been put into the cold palace, and when General Ning is recalled to pacify the chaos, Helianzheng will definitely kill him. Once he dies, Ning Zhiqing, the noble concubine, will end, and the host will be able to achieve The title of the concubine of the favored concubine level.]
[Can't I just become a royal concubine directly?]Bai Xi is very dissatisfied with the system, that he must follow the tasks it publishes.
[Host, when you become a noble concubine, you will be rewarded with a splendid gift bag, which contains something you like very much, a child birth pill, you can have a son after eating it.]
Bai Xi felt comfortable in his heart, "Okay, then I'll wait. If he doesn't give birth to another prince, Helianzheng won't be in a hurry, and those dead old men will be in a hurry. It's really troublesome. I really want to become queen mother directly and wait for my son to be The emperor, should I still look at Helianzheng's face?]
She was framed and coddled with others in her previous life. In the end, Helianzheng ordered him to be beaten to death with a stick. The end was as miserable as Hongyan's. How could she love Helianzheng so much that it was too late to kill him. She has regretted countless times. It would be great if the Concubine Concubine System was the Emperor System, so that she could achieve her goals, but the system said that she could not kill Helianzheng, otherwise she would be considered a mission failure and would be unbound with it. She will also be obliterated.
Time flies, three months have passed.
Ning Zhiqing had already found the story about the letter bird, and she could basically understand the book. After reading the book, this Lin Guiren did not urge her to learn to read, but she did not know where to pick up a lot of discarded memorials and let her read them one by one. After reading it, she had to express her opinion. Get praise, bad opinions, the other party will help her correct. After learning, she has indeed changed a lot, and she can think of many aspects when she thinks about one thing. Even so, she still doesn't like reading books, let alone reading memorials.
But now, she glanced at A Xin, who was sitting on the side with her eyes closed. She especially liked to see Lin Guiren smiling at her and saying good things about her. I don't know why, listening to this, I felt Very happy.
At this time, she noticed that the corners of Lin Guiren's mouth with her eyes closed, as if she was dreaming of a sweet dream, she was very curious, and squatted in front of A Xin, but A Xin suddenly opened her eyes, causing her to lean back.
A Xin grabbed her wrist, "Have you finished the approval?"
"Um."
"Lin Guiren, have you had a sweet dream?"
A Xin chuckled softly, "It's something even better than a beautiful dream."
"What's up?"
"Helianzheng is thirty." A Xin said lightly, that day must be very lively, and she will arrange a very special program for Helianzheng.
Ning Zhiqing was puzzled, "What if he turns 30, what kind of happiness is this?" After a pause, she said, "Did the Sishui Temple add meat that day, and it didn't get sour? Send us some steamed buns with white noodles, if that’s the case, it’s a good thing, and Lin Guiren doesn’t have to go and get food.” She was still thinking about what to do if Lin Guiren accidentally caught her, this palace is Where can eat people without spitting bones, Lin Guiren is the person she cares about most in the palace.
"Eat all you want." A Xin smiled softly and held Ning Zhiqing, "You are almost done, let's go meet another member."
Ning Zhiqing was led by A Xin in a daze to a remote location in the Sishui Palace. From a distance, she saw a five-year-old child in patched clothes sitting next to a gray-haired concubine. emaciated.
Seeing them coming, the gray-haired concubine snatched the wowotou from the child's hand and ran away madly. The child looked at the empty palm and cried.
"Want to eat?"
A Xin's voice made the five-year-old boy stop crying, and answered crisply, "I want to."
"Listen to me in the future, every meal will have a full meal."
The child glanced at A Xin, as if to confirm the truth, "What am I going to do?"
"Be the king."
The child's eyes widened, when... when he was the emperor, he slapped himself and dreamed.
Ning Zhiqing was taken back to the house by A Xin and was still in a daze, "Lin Guiren, is he He Lianzheng's son?"
"No, but he will be in the future." A Xin's eyes curled up, "I only knew a while ago that this is the child secretly born by the queen, hidden in the cold palace, but he is not Helianzheng's son, but a bodyguard's son. Just right, everyone has had a miserable life, and he has a grudge against Helianzheng. He avenged his mother, and you avenged yourself. One is the emperor and the other is the queen mother, which is perfect."
Ning Zhiqing: "..." Helianzheng was afraid he would die of anger when he found out.