She was indeed tired, and very tired. She felt as if she had been soaked in a hot spring, unable to exert any strength.
I don't know how long it took, but Gong Yueyue fell asleep vaguely, but she felt a person approaching her in the dark, and then left in the blink of an eye.
"Qiong'er, Qiong'er, wake up quickly."
Gong Yueyue opened her eyes and saw Ah Chen standing in front of the bed holding a bowl of porridge in his hand.
She quickly pushed herself up and sat up.
"This is the millet porridge I asked the kitchen to make. Drink it while it's hot, eh?"
Gong Yueyue nodded, took the porridge bowl and brought it to her mouth, drank it slowly, and soon felt some heat in her body.
"Are you feeling better?" Ah Chen took a piece of silk handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of her lips.
"It's much better already." Gong Yueyue opened her lips gently, but heard her voice was a little hoarse.
"If you feel uncomfortable, just lie down, eh?" Ah Chen took the quilt, covered her carefully, then got up and walked out.
The candlelight swayed faintly, and Gong Yueyue lay quietly on the bed. She could hear the leaves of the trees outside the window being blown by the wind, but her heart became more and more settled, as if she was thinking of those days at the Qingliangtai.
It's the same, she's the only one.
At that time, she was the only one who had to face all the harsh hardships, but she was never afraid of it, but grew tenaciously like a weed in the cold palace.
The humiliation from the palace servants, the long nights of suffering, and the poor meals seemed to be not enough to break her tenacious will.
She even secretly thought that maybe she would spend her whole life in the cold palace - no matter how beautiful her hair was, or how beautiful she was, in the end, she would just return to dust.
In such a young age, she could hear a feeling of apocalyptic lament.
What she loved most at that time was to sit under the tree in the courtyard and stare blankly at the birds passing over the roof and flying in all directions. Their chirping was so cheerful that it made her happy.
envy.
I never thought that one day I would be taken out of that cold palace and return to the impetuous and noisy world of mortals, where I would experience all the joys and sorrows of glory, disgrace, and joy.
Although a person is young, his heart is already tired.
If this was all that was left in the world, what would she do in the world?
In the afternoon, Ah Chen ordered people to bring over many exquisite snacks. Gong Yueyue tasted two pieces of mung bean cake and found it very delicious. Then she raised her head and looked at the maid holding the lacquer plate. At a glance, she felt that she
It looks a bit familiar: "Jin'er? Is that you?"
"Yes." The maid finally raised her head with surprise in her eyes: "Madam, Jin'er has seen you again. These days, Jin'er has been praying to Guanyin Bodhisattva, praying that Madam will be safe and sound..."
Gong Yueyue's breathing stagnated.
She had long looked down upon everything in the world, but she had never thought that there was someone who would truly hold his heart for her.
"Jin'er, come here."
Gong Yueyue called her to him and held her hand: "After I leave, will you be in this house?"
"yes."
"Then - is there anyone in the house who is giving you a hard time?"
Jin'er didn't answer, just lowered his head, his eyes slightly red.
"If you don't speak, is this really the case?"
"yes."
"Tell me."
Jin'er broke into tears and laughed: "These days when Madam is not in the house, Jin'er feels so alone and lonely. No one can discuss anything that happens to her... Fortunately, now that Madam is back, Madam will make the decision for Jin'er.
,Yes or no?"
"Of course." Gong Yueyue's eyes became softer and softer: "I will naturally make the decision for you."
"Then." Jin'er bent her legs, knelt on the ground, and said earnestly with eyes full of sincerity: "Jin'er begs Madam, wherever you go from now on, take your slave with you - your life belongs to Madam, and I am only willing to follow you in this life.
Madam, you’re not going anywhere.”
"You -" Gong Yueyue touched her head lovingly: "Okay, you don't go anywhere, from now on, just follow me."
"Madam, you must keep your word."
"Definitely." Gong Yueyue couldn't help but open her arms and hugged Jin'er tightly.
After clinging to each other for a while, Jin'er raised his head again and looked at her steadily: "Madam, you don't know that a lot of things have happened in the house in the days since you left."
"Yeah?"
"Madam has just woken up. She must be a little exhausted. It's better to sleep for a while. Jin'er will take care of everything clearly."
"Go ahead." Gong Yueyue nodded slightly, watched Jin'er turn and leave, then leaned back slightly and leaned on the pillow.
After a while, the door suddenly creaked, and Ah Chen walked in wrapped in a cold wind.
"have already eaten?"
"Um."
"I'll ask the doctor to take your pulse tomorrow."
"My injury doesn't matter, it's you -" It was only then that she recalled what happened in Heiyi, and her heart twitched.
"I've already been given medicine. The doctor said that although it's serious, it's not a problem."
"That day by the river...what happened after that?"
Ah Chen stared at her for a long time: "You want to know?"
"Yeah." Gong Yueyue nodded: "Can you tell me to listen?"
Ah Chen was silent for a while and then said: "It was Zhao Changyuan who rushed into the cavalry and kidnapped Zhao Tian, forcing him to withdraw his troops, so that I could take you away."
"What?" Gong Yueyue couldn't help being shocked: "You said Zhao Changyuan held Zhao Tian hostage?"
"Yes." Ah Chen nodded: "Even I didn't expect that he has such courage and energy."
Gong Yueyue's hand on the quilt suddenly clenched tightly - he didn't think of it, how could I think of it?
"He..." Ah Chen hesitated for a moment, then continued: "I do love you very much, no less than I do, so Zhao Changyuan and I have made a gentleman's agreement."
"Gentleman's agreement?" The more Gong Yueyue listened, the more surprised she became - could these two men have made some kind of deal behind her back?
Ignoring her surprise, Ah Chen continued: "This is how it is. Zhao Changyuan and I have agreed that after you recover from your injuries, we will take turns guarding you. No matter who you choose, the other party cannot interfere anymore."
"Take turns to protect?" Gong Yueyue felt like she was just listening to a fantasy - is this possible? She, Gong Yueyue, had the blessing she had accumulated over many lifetimes to be able to make the two of them put aside their old grudges and turn their hostility into friendship?
No, this was not what she wanted. After pushing herself up, Gong Yueyue slowly sat up and decided to do something for herself. However, she found that her whole body was so weak that she had no strength at all. She fell back before she could stand firmly.
"Madam." Jin'er heard the noise outside and hurried in and helped her up: "Madam, you are injured, why do you have to get up? If you have anything, just ask Jin'er to do it."
"Jin'er." Gong Yueyue held her hand and said in a somewhat urgent tone: "Tell me, what exactly happened these days?"
"It's nothing." Jin'er looked innocent, as if nothing really happened.
"No." Gong Yueyue shook her head: "Go out and ask if there is anyone from Heiyi living in the Hou Mansion."
"Black Yi people?" Jin'er frowned slightly: "I've never heard of this Jin'er."
"You haven't heard of it." Gong Yueyue couldn't help but feel a little in her heart - could it be that Ah Chen was simply lying to her, but he didn't know what the consequences of lying to her would be?
Or, because Jin'er's status is too humble, she has no way to contact VIPs?
Gong Yueyue had so many thoughts in her heart that she found it difficult to fall asleep.
"Madam." Jin'er looked at her carefully: "Did Jin'er do something wrong?"
"No." Gong Yueyue shook her head: "You didn't do anything wrong."
"But--"
"Okay." Gong Yueyue interrupted him rudely: "I'm very upset now. You go out first, you know?"
"Yes, ma'am."
When Jin'er went out, Gong Yueyue lay on the pillow, lost in thought again - if Achen didn't tell lies, then Zhao Changyuan should have also come to Hedu, and even lived under the same roof, so how would she face him in the future?
to him?
There was another throbbing pain in my heart.
Gong Yueyue fell back on the pillow and looked at the ceiling of the tent, not knowing when she fell asleep.
Perhaps, when you encounter an unsolvable problem, sleeping is the best choice.
She didn't know how long it had passed, but she heard the rustle of clothing. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ah Chen standing in the light.
"Achen." Gong Yueyue called softly and stood up.
"You'd better lie down well." Holding a candlestick, Ah Chen walked over and looked at her carefully: "Your face looks much better."
"Did you eat?"
"have eaten."
Gong Yueyue looked at him, obviously very close, but suddenly she became speechless.
That feeling was really weird to the extreme.
"Don't think too much." Ah Chen came over and touched her head: "Zhao Changyuan and I are responsible for the things outside."
"Zhao Changyuan?" A glimmer of light flashed in Gong Yueyue's eyes: "I want to see him, is that okay?"
"Tomorrow." Ah Chen smiled slightly: "When you feel better tomorrow, I will personally host a banquet to receive Zhao Changyuan. By then, you can naturally see him."
"Okay." Gong Yueyue smiled and nodded: "In that case, I will wait quietly."
Early the next morning, Gong Yueyue woke up, opened the curtain and looked outside, only to see that the room was empty.
"Jin'er, Jin'er."
Gong Yueyue called twice, and Jin'er walked in: "Madam."
"Hurry and help her up, change her clothes and put on makeup."
"Yes." Jin'er responded, stretched out his hand to help her up, walked to the dressing table and sat down, picked up an ink pen and traced her carefully.
"Jin'er, do you think I'm beautiful?"
Jin'er's hand holding the pen couldn't help but trembled: "Madam?"
"Tell the truth." Gong Yueyue emphasized: "Do you think I'm beautiful?"
"Of course Madam is beautiful. No one in the world can match Madam's beauty."
"Just because I'm beautiful, is it worth their efforts?"
Picking up a box of rouge and playing with it carefully in the palm of her hand, Gong Yueyue raised her lips slightly.
"Madam?" Jin'er was startled when he heard this: "What do you mean by this?"
"It's not interesting." Seeing that things were almost done, Gong Yueyue stood up and said, "Let's go." (To be continued)