After the twenty-big board was knocked down, Xia Houshu gritted her teeth and remained silent until the end, unable to even move. Before she completely lost consciousness, she felt like she was being dragged out.
Xia Houshu didn't know that she had been unconscious for a long time. When she opened her eyes again, she found that the surroundings were pitch black and she couldn't see her fingers. She thought she was dreaming, but the stabbing pains from her waist to her legs and then to her thighs were like knives.
The pain forced her to believe that she was awake.
When she finally got used to the darkness, she suddenly realized that she was locked up!
This was a dark, opaque room with mud-brick walls and a layer of straw on the floor. It was dark and damp, making it even colder in this season. Apart from her, there was no other living thing in the room. She
The wounds left by the cane torture on her body had not been treated in time and had become swollen and inflamed. Some of them had even begun to fester and stuck to the fabric of her clothes. Just as she was about to move, she felt a burst of pain. The air was filled with flesh and blood.
The vague fishy smell was nauseating. However, she hadn't eaten half a grain of rice for a long time, and there was nothing left in her stomach to vomit.
She didn't know how long she had been locked up. In addition to the bone-chilling cold, there was also a strong sense of hunger that destroyed her will, leaving her with no extra energy to calm down. Despair and helplessness also repeatedly interfered with her emotional organs, which was bound to
Don't let her live in peace.
Taking this opportunity, she began to think about the causes and consequences of the whole incident.
Although the eldest princess Pingkang was very angry that she had gained the limelight by writing poems in front of Dugu Che, she only said a few unpleasant words and did not attack her immediately. Why did she go out for a walk and come back?
Princess Kang Chang's temperament suddenly changed, and she bumped into the pillar without hesitation in front of everyone, and even pointed out that she had pushed her without blushing.
What happened in the middle?
The thing happened too suddenly, and she didn't have any extra clues. She had a splitting headache thinking about it and couldn't think of a reason. It wasn't until she heard the sound of a key unlocking that she focused her attention.
After the sound of unlocking stopped, there was the clanking sound of iron chains colliding, followed by a burst of very light footsteps, from far to near. However, because this is a confined space and the surroundings are too quiet, any sound is
It can make people nervous.
Not long after, she heard the footsteps stopping less than two meters away from her.
The visitor was of short stature, carrying a palace lantern, and the candle flame was dim.
Xia Houshu blocked the light with his hand, and then tried his best to open his eyes to see what was going on. He saw that the other person was wearing a black cloak, covering his head to his feet, and he couldn't see who it was.
"Are you okay?" The other party suddenly said, her voice was gentle and weak, and you could tell she was a young girl.
Xia Houshu thought the voice sounded familiar, but she didn't know if it was because her head hurt so much that she couldn't remember where she heard it.
"Don't you remember me?" the other party asked again, with a hint of grievance and disappointment.
It was this aggrieved tone that hit Xia Houshu's sensitive nerves. She forced herself to raise her face, looked at him carefully, and said, "Princess Jingyi, why are you here?"
"You call me Ah Jiao." Princess Jingyi said, "Everyone I like calls me Ah Jiao."
"You like me?" Xia Houshu was very surprised. If I remember correctly, Princess Pingkang also called her Ajiao in front of outsiders, but Princess Jingyi would never think that Princess Pingkang liked her. In the end, Princess Pingkang also called her Ajiao in front of outsiders.
What is incomprehensible is that Princess Jingyi actually said that she liked her? They were just listening to Master Chen's lectures under the same roof and had never had a direct face-to-face interaction. Why would she like her?
Princess Jingyi nodded and said softly: "You have helped me, so I like you."
The one she said helped her might be the time when she couldn't stand Princess Pingkang bullying others with her power, so she stepped in to stop her, and was punished by Queen Mother Yao to kneel down for an hour and a half. But for Xia Houshu, these were just a piece of cake. Or rather It was Lu who saw the injustice and drew his sword to help, but he did not mean to help her. If it were Princess Pingkang who was being bullied like this by another person, she would also step in to stop her.
Of course, this assumption was before Princess Pingkang framed her for pushing her. Now, even if Princess Pingkang was stabbed, she might not be kind enough to help her.
People's hearts are made of flesh and are easily hurt. She has never been a tolerant person.
Seeing that she didn't speak any more, Princess Jingyi lowered her head and took out two porcelain bottles from her sleeves, and said sincerely: "I heard that you were seriously injured, so I specially found two bottles of medicine for you, one for internal use. Yes, one bottle is for external application, you should use it quickly, otherwise you don’t know when the wound will heal."
Xia Houshu thought it was sad and ridiculous. She had only been in the palace for more than a month, and she stayed in Yao Xueyuan all day long. Her activities were limited, and she didn't even know a few people in the palace. But something happened and it turned out to be Jing Jing. Princess Yichang, a person with whom she had no acquaintance, came to see her.
"How did you get in?" Xia Houshu asked.
Since the first time she followed Aunt Qingrong to the small kitchen of Mingtai Hall in a daze, she carefully studied the layout of the inner court when she came back.
The entire imperial city is located from the south to the north. The Chengtian Gate in the south is the main gate, and there is a side gate on the east and west sides, namely the Changle Gate and the Yong'an Gate. Further inside is the Chengtian Hall, where the emperor holds his coronation ceremony and major celebrations. The activity place. On the left and right are the guards of the Yulin Army. There is also a transparent gate leading to the East Palace in the east. However, in order to ensure the power, responsibility and privacy between the emperor and the prince, the transparent gate is usually not open. The Tongxun Gate in the west Inside is the Chamber of Internal Affairs, which is the training and resting place for the palace chamberlains.
Behind Chengtian Hall is Xuanzheng Hall. In front of Xuanzheng Hall is Xuanzheng Gate. To the east of Xuanzheng Gate is Xingyi Gate, which contains the arsenal; to the west is Chongde Gate, which contains the Hanlin Academy. Xuanzheng Hall is the place where the emperor went to court to govern. On the east and west sides of the courtyard are official offices such as Zhongshu Province, Shangshu Province, Menxia Province, and Yushitai, as well as palaces such as Mingfuyuan and Jixian Academy.
The Tai'an Palace Garden behind the Xuanzheng Palace serves as a transition line between the former dynasty and the inner court. The emperor's banquets are usually held in the Tai'an Palace, and concubines of the inner court, princes and princesses, etc. can also attend. However, there is a Tai'an Gate before entering the Tai'an Palace. On the east side are the Imperial Study Room and the Library Pavilion, and then there is a Qianhua Gate, which contains the Fengxian Hall, the Buddhist Hall and other palaces, which enshrine the memorial tablets of ancestors of the royal family; in the west is Tianlu Pavilion, a martial arts arena, and then passes through Zhaoqing The gate is where the Yeting Palace is located, and the Zhaoqing Gate is the only passage from the palace that can enter the Yeting Palace. The Rihua Gate on the east side of the Tai'an Palace leads to the prince's bedroom; the Yuehua Gate on the west side leads to the princess' bedroom. The access control of Rihua Gate and Yuehua Gate is very strict, so when the princes and princesses go to the inner court where the concubines live, they directly pass through Hanyuan Gate and Wako Gate in the north of their respective palaces.
Calculated in this way, if Princess Jingyi, who lives in the Queen's Palace on the west side of Tai'an Palace, wants to see her, she must go out through Tai'an Gate, then pass through Tianlu Pavilion where the princes study, the martial arts field, and then enter Zhaoqing Gate. Only then can she reach Yeting Palace. And she must bribe the guards of Yeting Prison before she can stand in front of her.
With Princess Jingyi's usually timid and low-key character, it was quite difficult for her to pass through so many checkpoints. Xia Houshu temporarily believed that she was grateful to him for helping her unintentionally. But then she thought about it,
Princess Pingkang, who usually seemed like a fool and had no scheming intentions, could suddenly stage a cruel trick to blame her, so she had to look down on Princess Jingyi.
Princess Jingyi also knew that she was not easy to fool, so she confessed honestly: "Sister Sixth Emperor, she has been recovering from her injuries these days and has no mind to care about me, so I sneaked out. But don't worry, I will never harm you.
I really wanted to repay you for your help that day, so I asked someone to prepare the medicine."
After saying that, she hung the palace lantern on a wall hole nearby, then held up her left arm, revealing a slender white jade wrist for her to see. When she got closer, Xia Houshu noticed a group of bruises on the wrist.
There are also a few small cracks, as if they were hit by something.
"What do you mean?" Xia Houshu immediately raised his vigilance. Could it be that you spent so much effort pretending to come to see me because you also wanted to imitate your sister in framing me?
I don't even have the strength to get up now, let alone hurt you.
And it doesn’t make sense that you came all the way to be beaten by me!
"I don't mean anything else." Princess Jingyi quickly explained, "I just want to tell you that in order to get these two bottles of medicine, I hurt myself deliberately and asked the imperial doctor to prepare them for me."
In order not to attract attention, he actually injured himself and then went to the Tai Hospital to get medicine? After getting the medicine, he didn’t keep it for himself, but he walked through half the palace to give it to her?
Xia Houshu was shocked again.
"You don't have to be surprised." Princess Jingyi said sheepishly, "My name is Princess. In fact, I'm a soft-spoken person. What I want and ask for is quite difficult. It's not as easy as people say outside. So for what I think in my heart, I have
Sometimes you have to use some extraordinary means." She smiled again, "Maybe in your opinion, I am pitiful, pathetic, and a bit ridiculous. But who said I am a concubine princess without a favored mother?
With my brothers to help me, I can only live cautiously like this."
After hearing this, Xia Houshu couldn't help but think of what Aunt Qingrong said to her. When Princess Jingyi was raised by Queen Mother Yang in the Julan Palace, she used the power of Prince Ru to suppress others. Now Prince Ru has been killed.
For many years, Empress Dowager Yang lingered on her sick bed. Her biological mother, Concubine Yu, felt sorry for her but was unable to do anything about her. Therefore, she could only endure the humiliation and burden of Princess Pingkang and live an ignoble existence.
If such a flexible and flexible person has the opportunity to leave the palace in the future, he might be able to achieve great things and live a better life than anyone else, so she had better not offend him.
"Thank you for what you have done for me!" Xia Houshu was sincerely grateful. "You asked for my medicine, so I took it. If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely return the favor to you!"
Princess Jingyi smiled slightly and then said: "Although we have known each other for a short time and have not spoken much, I know that you are a loyal person. Now I am weak and unable to persuade the Queen Mother and Brother Huang to let you out.
But I can find a way to deliver a message to the Duke of Yue for you. I believe that Duke Yue and Princess Xuanhe will overcome all difficulties to save you if they know something is wrong with you."
In other words, the fact that she "seriously injured" the princess has not been spread yet.
Even if she really murdered the princess, wouldn't she have to accept the trial of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment? And by locking her here without notifying her parents, did Queen Mother Yao want to consume her here?
She entered the palace on her own in the name of accompanying the princess to study, but in the end she carried a body out. Aren't they afraid that the Duke of Yue would disobey her?
"Thank you!" Xia Houshu thanked him again, and then asked, "It's so dark here that I can't tell the time. Can you tell me how long I have been detained?"