Yan Cigui

Chapter 389 Nightmare (two updates in one, please vote for me)

 Speaking of which, that was already more than ten years ago.

Over time, many memories will be covered with a layer of fog, sometimes clear and sometimes hazy. Occasionally, when I think back, I will wonder in confusion which ones are true and which ones are confused.

 But for Concubine Chang Huang, the matter was a bit chaotic from the beginning.

 She often thinks about and reads about it, but the impression has not faded due to the passage of time. What it was like before is still how it is.

She was Li Yi's concubine at the time. Li Yi and his wife took their young grandson Li Shao and others to the temple to pray for blessings. She stayed in the capital to take charge of the affairs of the government.

　　It was just dawn when the news of the accident at Dingguo Temple came back.

 Everyone was stunned.

 The sixth prince led his guards down the mountain to rescue him, but the prince's concubine and his wife Chengyi were killed in the fire.

The capital was already in a storm due to Emperor Taixing's illness and the overt and covert fighting among the princes. The incident at Dingguo Temple was like a thunder that cracked open the illusion of peace.

She hurried into the palace and met the empress dowager, who was still the empress at the time, and also met Lin Yunyan, who was by her side at the time.

 The little child, only one and a half years old, was being held by the empress. His big bright eyes were full of uneasiness.

Lin Yunyan was too young at the time and didn't understand what a fire was or what a disaster was. She had no idea about life and death. She only felt the grief and anxiety of the adults and huddled in the empress's arms blankly.

Even if the children cannot understand, they will not talk about those evil things in front of young children.

The empress gave Lin Yunyan candy and asked Mother Ma to take her away. Then she turned to Mrs. Chang with red eyes.

News came one after another, about bandits, the town, manpower, and rescue, all of which formed the story of the accident.

 Emperor Taixing was already ill, but the sudden news of the disaster worsened his condition.

Li Cang, who was supervising the court on his behalf, was so busy that his feet never touched the ground, and everyone was tense.

 That night, Li Shao was sent back.

Li Yi did not return to Beijing. He stayed in Dingguo Temple and investigated with Bo Chengyi who rushed over.

Thieves must be investigated, a fire breaks out in the temple must be investigated, the fire has burned beyond recognition, and the victims must be dealt with one by one...

Li Shao was frightened and needed to return to Beijing to settle down and take a good rest.

 The responsibility of taking care of Li Shao naturally fell on the Chang family.

Several waves of people in the palace came to ask Li Shao for questions. Li Shao was frightened and anxious. He didn't know what to ask. He cried when he asked too many questions. He cried so much that no one could continue to ask questions.

He is only four years old. Fortunately, he was saved from the fire by his wife. Can you still point to him and speak righteously?

After the empress agreed, Chang took Li Shao back to the prince's mansion.

Perhaps he had returned to a familiar place and saw familiar people. After Li Shao relaxed, his forehead felt hot.

The imperial physician has almost settled in the prince's residence and is waiting at any time.

Chang is even more meticulous and hands-on, so careful and attentive that no one else can find any faults.

 At that time, Chang’s idea was also very simple.

The princess is a very kind person, and she was treated kindly and considerately in the past. Now that she is gone and such a child is left behind, she must be more considerate.

 Besides, Li Shao was entrusted to her, and she had to take good care of the child before she could do the job.

 She is not a black-hearted person and will not get into trouble with a child who lost his mother at the age of four.

 That's not necessary.

 She is also a decent person, and she does not do anything dishonorable.

 Fortunately, Li Shao only had a fever at night and felt comfortable during the day. He was not in any serious condition.

Chang did not dare to be careless and stayed with her day and night.

When Li Shao felt better, she tried to ask a few questions, but when Li Shao shook his head and couldn't answer, she gave up.

Since almost all the nuns who served Li Shao went to the temple with him, it was not appropriate to add new people now, and Mrs. Chang was really tired.

 After Li Shao fell asleep at night, she lay down and took a nap.

Half asleep and half awake, she heard Li Shao calling for help, his voice was very low.

"help me…"

 “It’s on fire! It’s on fire!”

"I did not do it on purpose…"

Chang's eyes widened suddenly and she turned to look at Li Shao.

Li Shao turned from sobbing to crying loudly, shouting "Help" repeatedly. Mrs. Chang woke up completely, hugging him and coaxing him softly.

 She even asked deliberately: "What's not intentional?"

Li Shao didn't give her an answer, and he didn't say anything again until he fell asleep from crying.

 When he woke up the next day, Li Shao couldn't remember the dream.

 After that, when he finally stopped having a fever in the middle of the night, the night at Dingguo Temple disappeared from his memory.

 When Li Yi returned to Beijing, he saw that he was healthy, but he didn't remember anything, and he didn't force him.

For such a young child, if you have a bad experience, just forget about it...

Chang did not forget it.

She also thought she might have heard it wrong in her sleep, but for three nights before and after, she seemed to hear it while she was napping.

 But she was the only one who heard it.

Chang's expression was gloomy as he recalled the past.

After a long time, she organized her thoughts, picked out what she could say, and briefly said a few words to Lin Yunyan.

Lin Yunyan frowned when she heard this: "Mother, are you sure you heard it right?"

"Who knows..." The imperial concubine smiled, "Maybe she heard it, or maybe she didn't hear it. Your Highness has forgotten it. Who else can I ask for the answer?"

Lin Yunyan asked again: "Does the Holy One know?"

"No," the imperial concubine shook her head, "I can tell you 'maybe this way' and 'maybe that way'. Can I say these two words to the Holy One?"

Lin Yunyan understood what the imperial concubine meant and said, "Then if you tell me, can you get the answer from me?"

"Princess, the answer is not important to me," the imperial concubine looked deeply at Lin Yunyan, "the answer is only meaningful to you. As a daughter, when you see people who had contact with your mother in the past, you ask questions, who do you want most? Someone who knows what happened at Dingguo Temple.”

"What you said is true," Lin Yunyan nodded, "I want to know."

The imperial concubine smiled again.

After staying in the palace for a long time, she has seen many twists and turns. She can't help herself, so she especially likes frank people.

"His Highness was still young at that time. He didn't mean to be such a small child. Who could blame him? Rather than blaming him, it would be better to blame the eunuchs and mothers around him," the imperial concubine said, "But now he As I grow up, I feel uncomfortable watching what I have done in the past two years.”

Lin Yunyan thought for a while, her voice was soft but firm: "But it has nothing to do with you. If his character does not change, when he really recovers, it will be Xu Jian and I who will be embarrassed. Madam, if you are willing to wade into this muddy water, it is you." Generosity. You don’t have to express your preference..."

The imperial concubine sighed softly.

How can she be so persistent?

 Her so-called bias, in the final analysis, is smoothness and peace.

 In the past, I wanted Li Shao to be a stable crown prince. The more stable Li Shao is, the more concerned people should rest, and she will be able to worry less.

 It's just that Li Shao is obviously not a very stable person.

The Holy Emperor favored him and could not let him go. The imperial concubine remembered the friendship that she had taken care of him in the past, so she used to be more protective of him. But these days, seeing how she protected him, she was afraid that she would not be as good as she was.

She never asked Li Shao to treat her like a mother, not at all, let alone as a nurturing person, just being kind on the surface would be enough.

 She will be an imperial concubine or a concubine of the great emperor at the end of her life, but if Li Shao continues to toss like this, such a future may be wiped out.

The imperial concubine said: "If His Highness can change his ways and be able to distinguish right from wrong, I will be very happy to see it happen. I will live up to His Majesty's love for him, and I won't waste all your efforts to 'offend' him. I'm afraid he won't understand." , blindly go into trouble, the Holy Spirit is sad about this, and it is even more difficult for you..."

 She paused and looked at Lin Yunyan gently.

The child who was uneasy and scared in the empress's arms has grown up, and her facial features have become the same as her mother's before. “It’s just a life for a life,” she said.

Lin Yunyan did not understand this sentence.

 The imperial concubine did not give any more explanation.

Seeing that she really didn’t mean to make it clear, Lin Yunyan stopped forcing herself.

If you can’t dig it out, just keep asking questions, which will only be counterproductive.

After thinking about it, she said: "Since you never told the Holy One about those words in the dream, we will not talk about them now."

The imperial concubine smiled and nodded.

The two of them talked for a few more words, and then Lin Yunyan stood up and left.

The imperial concubine stopped her and said, "If you come here on New Year's Day, how can you not give her a red envelope as a gift?"

With that said, the imperial concubine stood up, went to the inner hall, found a gold hairpin, and handed it to Lin Yunyan with a smile.

“I can’t take care of such a naughty child at my age,” she said, touching her face. “It’s best for you to play with it when you are young.”

Lin Yunyan thanked the reward and left Cuihua Palace.

Mammy sent someone away and when she came back inside, she saw the imperial concubine sitting on the couch, lost in thought.

"You..." Mammy hesitated again and again, feeling very uneasy when she thought of the details of the previous conversation between the two.

The imperial concubine looked up at her and asked, "Do you think I shouldn't talk too much?"

Mammy hesitated and said with a blushing face: "I've already said it."

“I don’t even know why,” the imperial concubine turned her head and sighed, “How can you still not know?”

Grandma was stunned and sighed.

  She knew it.

 The imperial concubine was only twelve years old when she entered the palace for the first time to pay her respects.

 Her father returned to the capital to report on his work. Because of his outstanding political achievements, he was highly praised by the late emperor. She was even called to the palace by her empress, who had come to the capital to gain experience.

　Everything is new, but I don’t dare to take a closer look at anything.

Even if she is so cautious, she, an official girl from the "countryside", will offend people inadvertently.

 She was called to the garden pond by a little palace maid, and was suddenly pushed into the water.

She didn’t know how to swim, and she was sinking. She couldn’t even call for help, not to mention there was no one nearby.

 When she was almost desperate, she finally heard someone's anxious cry for help on the shore.

Soon a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law followed the sound and she was rescued.

She looked at the person who asked with concern and recognized the identity of the person - Shen Yun, the niece of her mother-in-law who was raised by her side.

Shen Yun saw her being called away and felt strange, so he followed her, and happened to encounter something wrong with her.

Shen Yun took her back to his residence, gave her clean clothes and asked her to pack them again.

When the empress heard about the situation, she didn't recognize the person herself, and Shen Yun only saw a back figure. She said she would check, but she knew it was difficult to get an answer.

 It’s a blessing to be rescued.

 Before setting off, she came to the palace gate again and wanted to return all the clothes to Shen Yun.

After hearing the news, Shen Yun came over and told her softly that the person who pushed the person was Princess Ruiyang. The palace maid took the initiative and the matter was over.

 She was quite surprised.

 She did meet Princess Ruiyang that day, but she still didn't understand why she offended her.

The punishment will not be on the princess, but the person who did it can be caught, and she is very grateful.

 Finally, Shen Yun took all the clothes back, leaving only a veil for her.

“I embroidered it myself, which is like getting to know each other.”

 She took it, never used it, and kept it carefully.

Brought it from the local area to the capital, from her natal family to Qianfu, and then to the palace, until she gave the veil to Lin Yunyan a while ago.

 At that time, I just wanted to return the thing to its original owner.

What she is thinking about today is just as she said, she wants to repay her life-saving grace.

Even if her ability is limited, it is better than sitting idly by when Shen Yun's daughter asks questions in front of her.

Seeing that the imperial concubine was deep in thought, Mammy was afraid that her heart would be too heavy, so she added: "The more I look at the princess, the more I look at her, the more she looks like my uncle."

“Yes,” the imperial concubine smiled, “It’s normal for a daughter to look like her mother.”

In the other room, Lin Yunyan returned to Cining Palace.

The Queen Mother's place is no longer as lively as before.

Lin Yunyan went to the side hall to rest for a while, playing with the gold hairpin and thinking about what the imperial concubine said.

She didn't go to see the Queen Mother until her father-in-law came to invite her.

"Why do you want to go to Cuihua Palace?" The Queen Mother greeted her lovingly to sit down, "It's New Year, and I'm one year older!"

“I’m just going to pay New Year greetings to the imperial concubine,” Lin Yunyan smiled and took out the gold hairpin, “New Year’s money.”

"She gave it to you?" The Queen Mother picked it up and made two gestures on Lin Yunyan's head. "It looks good. If it's given to you, wear it."

Written by Lin Yunyan.

The Empress Dowager added: "The Ai family also has New Year's money for you. I'll ask the concubine to help me with the horse crane later."

“On the first day of the new year, I can’t bear to have you lose money.” Lin Yunyan said with a smile.

The Empress Dowager was happy: "Then you lose to me."

"No," Lin Yunyan raised her eyes, "I won't lose money on the first day of the new year!"

Childish and delicate, the Empress Dowager burst out laughing.

Actually, it's not about winning or losing. Lin Yunyan was thinking about the imperial concubine's words and wanted to go back to discuss it with Xu Jian. She really didn't want to fight.

 Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was very impressed by her fallacies. She only wrapped two big red envelopes, one for her and one for her to take to Xu Jian, so she didn't keep any more from her.

Lin Yunyan hurried back to the Duke's Mansion.

 Xu Jian was reading in the room and raised his eyebrows when he saw her coming back.

 According to past experience, he should have had lunch with the Empress Dowager before returning.

Look at Lin Yunyan’s expression again…

The little princess had a smile on her face, and her mood was the same as usual at first glance, but Xu Jian knew her best, so how could he not see the clues.

As expected, when Lin Yunyan changed into regular clothes, she turned away everyone.

Xu Jian had already poured tea for her, tested the temperature of the tea cup with the back of her hand, pushed it to her and said, "Moisten your throat before talking."

Lin Yunyan took it, composed herself, and said: "I went to see the imperial concubine, and she told me an old story."

As Lin Yunyan narrated, Xu Jian's expression became solemn.

“Li Shao forgot,” Xu Jian rubbed his thumb and said, “He has not had nightmares in recent years.”

 This has never been found in the nails buried in the East Palace before.

Lin Yunyan understood what Xu Jian meant and said, "I had the same idea when I first heard about it, but on the way back I remembered that in the paddock that night, when Young Master Xiao took Li Shao into the carriage, Li Shao was groggy and frightened. screamed..."

   Thanks to book friends for their generous rewards.

 (End of this chapter)