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Chapter 177 Internal Response

Xia Houshu thought that Princess Pingkang would pull out Concubine Yao, whom she was proud of, to deal with her, but there was no movement for several days. She couldn't help but start to wonder if the other party was just talking casually. Later she discovered that,

It's not that she forgot, but that she was caught up in her studies.

The eldest princess Pingkang usually refused to study. Seeing that the monthly examination was coming soon, and there was still a lot of copying homework assigned by Master Chen, she had to improvise and ordered the chamberlains and maids in Yaoxueyuan who could write to do it for her.

Work hard to catch up on homework.

Although Xia Houshu was not so rich in learning, because she had nothing to do, she completed her homework seriously and practiced calligraphy to pass the time. And since she was looked upon by Master Chen, she didn't do much homework, and she could still persevere.

Get up early and do a few sets of boxing.

Princess Pingkang was very unhappy when she saw how relaxed she was, and tried to ask her to help copy the big characters.

Xia Houshu thought about it. When she was at home, she would ask Yunxi to do this for her, so this matter to her was just three words - impossible!

"I remember that there was no such requirement in the imperial edict," Xia Houshu said.

"Don't use the imperial edict to pressure me!" Princess Pingkang said bitterly, "If it weren't for the imperial edict in your hands, I would have kicked you out of the palace long ago!"

"It's a pity that you can't even drive me out of the palace." Xia Houshu made a face at her, "Princess, aren't there still ten days until the moon test? As the saying goes, hard work pays off. You

Just copy it slowly! As for me, I’ll go back and take a nap first.”

Princess Pingkang was so angry that she gritted her teeth, but she had too much homework to do and had no time to argue with her.

No one disturbed him, so Xia Houshu slept peacefully and didn't wake up until it was time to light the lamp.

The room was dark, except for the quilt, which was cold everywhere. She groped her way up and lit the candlestick. The room suddenly became much brighter and warmer.

It was bad that there was no one around who knew the details. No one even came to inform her about dinner.

There are strict meal time regulations in the palace. After the meal time, you have to wait for the next meal. You will probably be hungry again tonight.

Of course, everything has an exception. If she has a certain status, it is feasible to ask for extra meals. But this is just a hypothesis, a very beautiful and terrible hypothesis. A newbie like her in the palace can live with enough food and clothing.

It's very good, not to mention that now we can't even talk about food and clothing.

Xia Houshu sighed and poured a cup of herbal tea to moisten his throat, but he couldn't help but shiver.

I don't know when I forgot to close the window, and a slight night breeze came in through the window. After the cold dew, the weather became cooler day by day, and the wind blew on my body, bringing with it the slightest chill.

Xia Houshu quickly gathered his clothes and went over to close the window.

Outside the window, the moon passed over the willow branches and hung round on the top of the tree. The moonlight was quiet and peaceful, and there seemed to be the sound of a flute, which turned sad and desolate.

Xia Houshu couldn't help but think of Xia Houyi.

Xia Houyi was good at playing the flute, and they used to play together as brothers and sisters in the mansion. However, no matter how clear and gentle the sound of Xia Houyi's flute was, it could not reach the deep palace courtyard.

Xia Houshu realized that he might have been hallucinating, so he smiled.

However, the sound of the flute did not disappear, as if it was not far away.

In order to prove that she heard correctly, she took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and followed the sound of Xiao along the path out of Yaoxueyuan. After exiting the Heguang Gate, she saw the high eaves of the Heyin Hall behind the high wall. The sound of the flute seemed to be

It came from inside.

The sound of the flute is sad, as if recounting a lifetime.

The Heyin Hall is Concubine Tong Shu’s dormitory, and Concubine Yao Shu happens to be a cousin of the late Empress Xiao, and is also the niece of Empress Dowager Yang of Jihe Palace. Her real name is Tong Suning. I heard that she was once a talented woman who was famous in the capital. Everyone is guessing.

When a man could be worthy of her, an imperial edict suddenly brought her into the harem.

From then on, there was no more talented girl Tong Suning in Beijing, only the concubine Tong.

Xia Houshu was also summoned to the palace by an imperial edict. He just spent every day studying with the careless eldest princess, and also lost his freedom. Although she and Concubine Tong Shu had different statuses, their situations were very similar. At this moment, listening to this low voice

, she became more empathetic.

Xia Houshu stood outside the high palace wall and listened for a long time. Until the sound of the flute had faded away, he could not recover for a long time. Such a talented woman was trapped in this high wall with blue tiles. She was waiting for a long time.

Does it turn into loss bit by bit? How unbearable must this be?

But what does this have to do with her? She doesn't even know what Concubine Tong Shu looks like. Moreover, sympathizing with others will not make her hungry any less.

Xia Houshu shook his head, endured the growl of his stomach and walked back humming a ditty.

Under the dim moonlight, a figure suddenly appeared, startling Xia Houshu.

Xia Houshu stood firm and calmed down, and then he saw clearly that the person who came was an older palace maid. Before she could speak, the old palace maid bowed to Xia Houshu and said: "Miss Xiahou, my slave has a clear face.

The princess is so kind to me, if the girl has any difficulties in the palace, just come to the slave, and the slave will try her best to help."

Before entering the palace, Zhong Yuqing told Xia Houshu that when the late emperor was there, she once helped a maid who was almost cheated by a drunken prince at a palace banquet. After the maid escaped, she was extremely grateful to her and promised that if Zhong Yuqing had

If necessary, she can inquire about palace affairs for her. However, Zhong Yuqing has always felt that it is very dangerous to inquire about and convey palace affairs, so he has not taken the initiative to contact her for more than ten years. If Xia Houshu had not suddenly entered the palace with an order, Zhong Yuqing would have

I almost forgot about such a person.

He was looking forward to the stars and the moon, but finally the promise his mother had given him came.

"Xia Houshu, my little girl, has just entered the palace and doesn't know the etiquette. I will ask my aunt to take care of her in the future."

I don’t know, aunt…”

"Girl, please speak directly if you have anything to say." Qingrong interrupted her directly.

Is it so direct?

Xia Houshu smiled awkwardly and said hurriedly: "Auntie, I overslept today and missed the palace dinner. Does Auntie know where to find food?" She was afraid that Qingrong would find it difficult, so she specifically added, "

It doesn’t need to be exquisite, just enough to satisfy your stomach.”

Missing dinner because of oversleeping is basically something that is unlikely to happen in the palace. This shows that Xia Houshu does not understand the rules of the palace very well.

Qingrong glanced at her in surprise, but quickly regained her composure and said calmly: "Girl, please come with me."

Xia Houshu did not doubt that he was there and immediately followed him.

Qingrong led her through a long corridor and soon arrived at a palace. It was quiet all around, with only the faint firelight flickering in the palace lanterns. Qingrong led her to a wing-style house in a familiar manner.

, it turned out to be a small kitchen. Although the place was not big, there were many varieties of food. There were more than a dozen kinds of pastries that could be eaten directly. Xia Houshu's eyes lit up when he saw it.

Qingrong brought out a few plates of pastries, pointed to a small square table nearby and said, "It's late at night and it's inconvenient to light a fire. Your requirements are not high, so just make do with some to fill your stomach. The palace is no better than you. My lord, remember not to miss meal time in the future."

It had only been half a month since she entered the palace, and she had already been hungry several times. She would definitely have a long memory.

Xia Houshu nodded, took the two plates of pastries and sat down to eat them without any courtesy.

Qingrong watched her eat with an expressionless expression.

Halfway through the meal, Xia Houshu felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he asked: "Auntie, this is the Yeting Palace, right? I heard that the Yeting Palace is very strict, but why are we not even allowed to do this all the way? Didn’t you come across it? Did you get in so easily?”

The corners of Qingrong's mouth twitched and she said concisely and concisely: "This is not Yeting Palace. Yeting Palace is still far away."

"That's it." Xia Houshu muttered, ate another piece of pastry, and then asked, "Then where is this place?"

"This is Mingtai Hall." Qingrong replied.

Xia Houshu's hand froze immediately, and the half-bitten pastry suddenly lost its flavor.

She was new here and didn't know the location and layout of the palace. She had only wandered around Yaoxueyuan in the past few days. It was the first time she went out of the Waguang Gate tonight, but she had also heard that Mingtai Palace was the residence of the emperor.

When the emperor went to court and didn't want to go to the harem, he would stay in Mingtai Hall.

In other words, this is Dugu Che's bedroom.

Xia Houshu quickly put down the half-eaten pastry in his hand, then stood up and pretended to be calm: "Auntie, I'm full. It's getting late, so I'd better go back quickly, otherwise the princess will be anxious if she can't find me. of."

Of course Princess Pingkang won't be in a hurry, she doesn't even have time to talk to him, but if it is discovered that she dares to come to Mingtai Palace to steal food, then she will never get any good fruits in the future.

Qingrong had a pair of discerning eyes, and he immediately understood her thoughts, and explained: "Girl, don't worry, I am the aunt in charge of Mingtai Palace, and I have the freedom to enter and leave Mingtai Palace. What happened tonight, except Neither I nor anyone else will know."

There is no airtight wall in the world, and no one can tell whether a third party knows it. Xia Houshu understood the truth well, and tried to force out a smile and said: "I won't bother you anymore."

"Since the girl insists, I will send the girl back immediately." Qingrong nodded.

Xia Houshu thanked him profusely, quickly cleaned up the dishes and put them back to their original places, and then followed Qingrong back along the original road.

It wasn't until he left the palace grounds of Mingtai Palace that Xia Houshu said with lingering fear: "Auntie, you work as an errand in Mingtai Palace, so it's hard to get out. Then if I want to ask you for help in the future, how can I contact you? ?”

Qingrong stopped, pointed to an evergreen tree beside the road, and said softly: "If you want to see me, girl, just pick a flower and put it in this tree. I will come to see you when I see it."

Xia Houshu looked around. The most indispensable thing in the inner court was flowers and plants. Each season had different flowers that bloomed at different times. It seemed that they would never wither and were always lively and fragrant, so I randomly picked one of the season. It is easy to make flowers. And there are so many flowers here. Even if someone sees them, they will only think that they were blown down by the wind and they will not look out of place.

Xia Houshu thought this method was very good.

The two of them continued walking forward and watched Xia Houshu enter Yaoxueyuan before Qingrong went back.

In the main hall of Mingtai Hall, the oil lamp on the bronze candlestick was only half lit, and the light in the hall was dim. Hearing footsteps outside, Dugu Che put down the book in his hand and slowly raised his head.

"Come in." Dugu Che said.

As the palace door creaked, a middle-aged female official walked in slowly, with an expressionless face.

Qingrong saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I have sent Miss Xiahou back."

Duguche hummed and asked, "Did she say anything?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Miss Xiahou just suffered from hunger a few times and her health is not serious." Qingrong said.

Duguche listened quietly, without making any answer or continuing to ask questions.

Qingrong probably felt that her words were like guessing, so she immediately said: "Miss Xiahou was very nervous when she heard that this was the Queen of Mingtai Palace, so she immediately asked the slave to send her back. However, the slave made an appointment with her, if she If something happens, I will put a flower on the evergreen tree in the west."

The corner of Dugu Che's mouth finally curved into a nice curve, and he nodded: "You did a good job. You should keep an eye on that tree more in the future, and report any news to me in a timely manner."


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