Madam, she always wants to run away

Chapter 2
In the dark prison of the Ministry of Justice, the candlelight flickered with the sound of whips falling one after another, and the air was filled with a disgusting smell of blood.

Xiao Lian washed his bloody hands carefully before striding away.

He had just finished interrogating a key criminal. Although it was late at night, the matter was of great importance, and he had to report it to the emperor.

"Pa—" After reading the interrogation transcript, the emperor was so angry that he threw the copy on the ground, "These old things are so lawless!"

"Your Majesty, rest your anger."

"Punish, punish me severely! Let them know what will happen if you commit crimes under my nose!"

"The minister obeys the order."

Looking at the blood stains on Xiao Lian's coat that Shanghai hadn't had time to wipe off, the emperor's tone softened: "It's late at night, and you should go back to the house to rest earlier. If your imperial grandmother knows that you work day and night for business, she should feel distressed."

"Yes."

While walking, Xiao Lian was thinking about what to do to achieve the goal of killing chickens and monkeys, but he heard rustling noises coming from the imperial garden that should have been completely silent.

He was alert for a moment, restrained his footsteps, and quietly approached the source of the sound.After hearing what the voice was saying, he relaxed again.

It was a woman's voice, as if looking for something.

It's just late at night, looking for things in the imperial garden without sleeping?If something goes wrong, there must be a demon. Xiao Lian's intuition is wrong, so he stopped behind the woman and observed quietly.

Unexpectedly, it frightened the seven souls of the people out of the six souls.

The woman yelled and called herself "King of Hades" to her face, which was simply out of place.Fortunately, she was able to justify herself, and it was a misunderstanding for the time being.

The strange thing is that Xiao Lian, who had taken so many lives on his hands during the day and could fall asleep with a pillow on his hands, couldn't sleep this night no matter what.For some reason, he always felt that this was not the first time the two met, especially the way the woman looked at him. Apart from the shock at the beginning, there was something else, but he couldn't tell.

What he turned over and over in his mind was the woman's face, every word she said, every movement, every expression.

Until Yinshi, Xiao Lian couldn't lie down anymore, so he simply got up and went into the palace. He wanted to investigate the origin of this woman.

After much deliberation, it is only appropriate to ask the emperor's grandmother for advice on this matter.

The Queen Mother has been in poor health for more than a day or two, and her headaches have become more and more serious in recent years, so she is very quiet.Xiao Lian stepped into the Renshou Palace, and the palace people were all working lightly. When they saw him coming, they bowed their heads silently.

"My lord, did you come so early today?" It was Mother Xu who was beside the queen mother.

"Hmm...Is the imperial grandmother awake?"

"The Empress Dowager didn't sleep much at all. Today is the day of the primary election for the show girls. Your Majesty entrusted it to the Empress Dowager. I am flipping through the books at the moment."

Xiao Lian nodded and walked into the hall.

The queen mother was concentrating on flipping through the picture album in her hand, when she heard footsteps, she looked up at the person coming.

"Lian'er? Why are you here?"

"Grandson came to see you."

The Empress Dowager put down the booklet in her hand in doubt: "If you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything, the Ai family will not believe it."

"Is grandson so unfilial?"

"It's not unfilial. It's because the Ai family watched you grow up. The Ai family knows exactly what you think in your heart. There are four words clearly written on your face."

"what?"

"Ask me."

Xiao Lian rarely showed a smile when he heard the words: "Nothing escapes my grandmother's eyes."

"Go ahead."

Xiao Lian then told the whole story about the woman he met last night and what he hadn't slept all night, and the empress dowager's reaction when she heard about it can also be described in four words - ecstatic.

Because this is the first time that Xiao Lian has become interested in the woman next to him.Xiao Lian proposed to find out the origin of this woman, but the queen mother dug out the list and told him without saying a word.

Only then did Xiao Lian know that her name was Li Ying, and she lived with her father in Songyang County until she was 16 years old.

He is indeed an out-of-this-world person, Xiao Lian shook his head mockingly, should he really marry a wife?Otherwise, how could he be so obsessed with a woman he has never met for no reason?

Xiao Lian couldn't figure it out for a while, and didn't find the answer he wanted here. Xiao Lian said goodbye and wanted to leave, but was held back by the Queen Mother.

"The draft is coming soon, you stay and help the Ai family to hold eyes."

"I?"

"how?"

"Grandmother, it's not suitable for grandson to go."

"Is there anything inappropriate? Since ancient times, the draft has not been selected for the emperor alone. If there is a preference, it is possible to betroth it to the royal family."

"You can find the concubine to accompany you."

Xiao Lian turned to leave, but the Queen Mother insisted on pulling him and refused to let go.

"Didn't you want to check on that Mrs. Li? She is also here. You can go and have a look with Ai's family, maybe you will remember something."

In fact, if Xiao Lian insisted on leaving, the queen mother would not be able to stop him at all, but by some strange coincidence, Xiao Lian did not refuse again, so there was the scene of confronting her in court now.

Xiao Lian held up a few stumps of geraniums in his hand, and asked the people sitting there: "You hid it, but this one?"

Xiao Lian thought to himself, this girl is really tricky, who would go to enjoy the flowers in the middle of the night?And last night he clearly saw that she seemed to be looking for something, and her pretty face became like this after only one night, if it was all a coincidence, it would be too coincidental.

As the person in charge of the Sanju, Xiao Lian couldn't tolerate sand in his eyes, and he had to find out the truth.

It's just that while asking questions, Xiao Lian's eyes couldn't help staying on Li Ying's face again.Strangely, looking at the woman who was beyond recognition under the seat, he didn't feel ugly and scary like the others. Instead, the scene from last night broke into his mind. It made the pair of willow-leaf eyebrows even more charming, the small and exquisite nose, and the faint imprint of the two dimples on the lips...

"Back to the lord, it is indeed this flower." Li Ying replied calmly.

Xiao Lian came back to his senses all of a sudden, and then remembered that he should call the imperial physician who had just treated her for questioning.

"Physician Wang, I ask you, what disease does Mrs. Li suffer from?"

"My lord, it's an allergy."

"Allergies?" Xiao Lian frowned, thinking for a moment and said, "Could it be that you deliberately contaminated this thing to disfigure yourself to avoid the draft?"

The empress dowager at the side was shocked when she heard the words, if this is true, then this Mrs. Li really had the guts of a bear!

Li Ying was exposed, but she didn't panic: "My lord, I have never seen this flower before entering the palace. If I haven't seen it, how would I know that I am allergic to it?"

"Why do you insist that you have never seen this flower?"

"Whether the courtier is lying or not, just ask the gardener in the palace."

Xiao Lian felt that this remark was a bit strange, why did this woman seem to be very familiar with the rules of the palace?She is not someone who grew up in the palace.

When the gardener from the imperial garden hurried over, he learned that the queen mother was very interested in the flowers he had planted, so he hurriedly asked for credit: "Queen mother, the geranium seeds were collected as a tribute half a year ago, and the slave has been harvesting them for half a year. Getting up early and working in the dark, it’s hard to feed this flower.”

"Aijia asked you, is there not a single flower outside the palace?"

"Report to the Empress Dowager, the servant sprinkled all the flower seeds in the imperial garden, it is absolutely impossible for one of them to flow outside the palace, the servant can guarantee his life!"

Hearing that the gardener was so confident, Xiao Lian thought: "Could it be that she has entered the palace before? Come here, come and bring me the book that has been in and out of the palace for nearly half a year."

Xiao Lian read the book several times. As she said, she grew up in Songyang and never came to the capital, let alone entered the palace.

Seeing Xiao Lian frowning and refusing to speak to the book, the Queen Mother knew what was going on: "My good boy, get up quickly, we have wronged you."

Is it really that I am too suspicious?Xiao Lian's intuition has always been accurate, but this time, she really couldn't find any flaws in her rhetoric.

Xiao Lian's eyes unconsciously looked at the woman under the seat. Fortunately, the expression on her face was very calm, and she didn't seem to have any resentment because of it.

Until the empress dowager added another sentence: "Since the misunderstanding is resolved, you should keep this brand for now. When you are re-elected, your illness must be cured."

When the Empress Dowager said this, Xiao Lian inadvertently caught a glimpse of the drastic change in her face, but it was only for a moment that she regained her composure.

Xiao Lian sneered in his heart, just leaving a sign, as for being so happy, it seems that he is just a person who is trying to catch fame.

*
During the days of waiting for the re-election in the palace, the decoction delivered by the imperial hospital every day was so bitter that the root of Li Ying's tongue was numb. She had to pretend to take a sip, and then poured the decoction into the flowerpot when people were not paying attention. .

Every time she finished this task with trepidation, she couldn't help cursing Xiao Lian secretly.

Meddle in other people's business, do a lot of evil, God, if you have eyes, take this villain quickly!

Fortunately, she remembered correctly, just like her previous life, three days later, the emperor was free, and the re-election day came as scheduled, so her appearance had not fully recovered.

When the other beautiful girls heard the news, they all went back to their rooms in a panic to tidy up. Only Li Ying calmly looked at himself in the mirror, who was still a little red and swollen, and nodded in satisfaction.

Standing in the Tiyuan Hall again, the atmosphere is completely different from the previous one, probably because today it is not the kind empress dowager, but the emperor himself.

In the chilling palace, there was only the sound of the emperor flipping through the roster, and soon, the emperor's thin voice sounded in the palace: "Everyone raise your heads, let me have a look."

"Yes—" Everyone raised their heads and stared straight ahead, only to see the emperor draw a few strokes on the booklet, but then suddenly stopped.

Li Ying could clearly feel the emperor's eyes lingering on her face for a long time, only to see that he repeatedly compared the portrait with himself several times, and then asked the father-in-law next to him in a low voice: "Is this the woman suffering from allergies?"

The father-in-law nodded.

After a while, someone in the palace announced the results of the draft: "Gao, the daughter of the Duke of Hua, was conferred the title of concubine, and given the title of Rou; Clan, granted the title of Chang Zai, and given the title of Jia..."

There is no Li Ying's name.

"The show girls whose names have not been announced can leave the palace on their own."

She made it, she can go home!Li Ying tried her best to restrain herself, so as not to show any happy expression on her face.

After simply packing her luggage, Li Ying couldn't wait to leave, fearing that something would happen if she left late.

Walking in front of the Shenwu Gate, she looked up at the majestic city gate with mixed feelings in her heart.

How many nights, through this palace wall, she stared at the sky obsessively, thinking that her father, mother and brother were also bathed under the same moon, so as to comfort her homesickness.

How many times in the past, she was tired of the flattery and flattery in the palace, tired of the dirty and indecent means, and wanted to leave, but she could only stop here.

In this palace wall, there are no family members, no friends, and there are only endless struggles.

Fortunately, now, no one can stop her from leaving the palace.

She stroked this high palace wall inch by inch with her hands, and the past was vivid in her memory. Finally, she couldn't help but lean on this palace wall that had witnessed countless people coming and going, crying uncontrollably...

The carriage was galloping on the main road. Although the people in the carriage still had faint tears on their faces, their peach blossom eyes were full of spirit and hope.

Thinking of being able to reunite with her parents and siblings whom she misses so much, Li Ying couldn't say how happy she was!Because for her, the last time she saw them was already in her previous life.

"Woo—" the coachman stopped abruptly, and Li Ying almost hit the crossbeam inside the car again.

"What's going on?" Li Ying opened the curtain and asked.

"Miss, there is someone blocking the way ahead."

Li Ying looked forward, the man was against the light, she couldn't see clearly.When the tall steed approached a little bit, Li Ying was full of puzzlement and fear.

"My lord...why, why is it you?" Li Ying was so frightened that his tongue got a little knotted.

Could he have come to take my life?

Xiao Lian leaned down from the horse and said, "Go back to the palace with me."

Li Ying was dumbfounded.Back to the palace?Didn't she just leave the palace?
"My lord, is there something wrong? The minister has lost the election..."

"Stop rambling, follow." Xiao Lian said, turned the horse around with his big palm, and whipped it down again, the carriage that Li Ying was riding in instantly galloped towards the way she came.

Until Li Ying stood in the Tiyuan Hall again, she didn't know what happened.All she knew was that the empress dowager and the emperor were all looking at her with smiles on their faces.

She laughed so hard that her back shivered.

"Mr. Li, how do you feel when you go and come back?" the emperor asked.

Li Ying made one guess after another in his mind, but he couldn't figure out which part of him went wrong.But seeing the emperor like this, he didn't come to punish her.

"Return to Your Majesty, the courtiers don't know, and the courtiers are terrified."

"Hehe, don't worry, I'm here to help you."

Li Ying was even more disturbed, Cheng Quan?What can I do?
"Cough... I was wrong a few days ago. I didn't find out the ins and outs, and I wronged you." Xiao Lian suddenly apologized to her unnaturally.

What is this all about?
"My lord was joking. It's normal for my lord to be skeptical. It's my daughter who acted improperly."

"Because you suffered from allergies for no reason, you were not selected. I feel very sad, and this king is also very sorry."

sad?

"You don't need to feel embarrassed, you cried so sadly against the palace wall of Shenwumen before you left the palace, this king saw it."

???

"Lian'er is a good boy. If you know your mistakes, you can correct them. I have decided to agree to his request, Mrs. Li, and I want to marry you and the loyal prince Xiao Lian."

Seeing Li Ying's dumbfounded look, the emperor reminded with a smile, "Don't you kneel down to thank you?"

　I hope that readers and friends who pass by can leave me a message, say anything, accept both good and bad, as long as it doesn’t make me feel like I’m coding on a stand-alone machine, thank you in advance
　　
　
(End of this chapter)