He stood outside the main hall door, looking up at the ice and snow, his heart felt like a vast wilderness, with large swaths of dry ash floating in it.
The guards and maids around him stood silently, looking at his figure. They were used to being numb and without any emotions, but now they were also worried.
After standing quietly for a long time, Li He stepped down the steps.
The chamberlain behind him hurriedly stepped forward to hold an umbrella and quickly shielded him from the wind and snow.
On the majestic palace, the wind howled, and the white snow undulated, covering the imperial city.
When Li He left Wende Palace and walked outside the palace, a thin figure passed him across a high wall and headed northwest toward Wende Palace.
There is a sentry every three steps, a post every ten steps, and patrolling guards who can be encountered every other cup of tea make Xia Zhaoyi's movement greatly restricted even on a snowy night.
After walking for more than half an hour, she climbed over a palace wall, landed lightly, and looked at the dim light coming from the palace.
Jiaying Palace is cold and quiet. There are no guards here, only two chamberlains and a palace maid. The chamberlain has gone to rest, and the palace lady is still with Ning Bin.
What happened outside the palace will not be known here. Ning Bin is currently sewing a small peace charm by candlelight, stitch by stitch.
The Ping An Talisman is embroidered with the character Zhao, surrounded by embroidered patterns that imply good luck and well-being. The patterns are complex and exquisite.
It's just that the snowy weather was so cold that Ning Bin's hands were trembling all the time, and the silver needle pricked her fingers and drew a lot of blood.
Another needle pricked her fingertips, and her fingers, which were numb from the cold, didn't know the pain. It took a while before she felt sharp pain. She had already put it in her lips and sucked it. She looked at the pins on the peace charm, and her whole body was trembling slightly.
"Your Majesty, why don't you take a rest," the palace maid Zuo Lan said, "It's almost dawn outside."
Ning Bin shook her head, picked up the needle and thread again, and said, "I can't make it in time."
"It's better to go to sleep," Yu Lan said, "You have been shivering. If we are frozen here, no one will come to see the doctor or deliver medicine."
Ning Bin said nothing and was still sewing.
Zuo Lan was helpless on the sidelines. She glanced at the candle that was about to burn out, then turned back to the cupboard to get another one.
Next to Ning Bin, there are three large wooden boxes with red paint and gold edges. They are filled with peace talismans and rebirth talismans, and there are thousands of them.
When Zuo Lan came back, she put the candle on the table. This one was not burned out yet, so she was reluctant to replace it.
Everything is lacking in this palace, and every time I have to rely on the Empress to think of me, I can get a little reward. But it has been almost forty-three days since the last time the Empress "remembered" me.
It's never been this long, and there are only seven candles left in the cabinet.
"My wife burned the batch she made last year, will she burn it this year too?" asked Zuo Lan.
"Yeah." Ning Bin nodded.
"It's really boring to do this," Nuo Lan curled her lips, "It's okay to do something to pass the time in your spare time, but it's no time. Madam, please rest."
The most important thing is that she was too sleepy to open her eyes.
"Don't sleep." Ning Bin insisted.
Zuo Lan couldn't hold it back, she opened her mouth and yawned widely, her eyes filled with tears.
At this time, the wind outside became strong and blowing, as if it was about to blow the palace door open.
Zuo Lan rubbed her eyes, yawned again, and then paused. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she seemed to hear a knock on the door.
Is it too windy?
She turned her eyes and looked away.
Another knock on the door.
Su Lan blinked her eyes, her scalp numb.
Not only her, but Ning Bin also heard it and looked up.
"Dong dong dong."
Zuo Lan put her hand to cover her mouth and looked at Ning Bin.
She was extremely sleepy, had neurasthenia, and was already prone to suspicion. In addition, the things Ning Bin was embroidering were peace charms and rebirth charms burned to the dead. Suolan's hair stood on end: "Mother, did you hear it too?"
Ning Bin was stunned and nodded.
Su Lan's eyes caught the word "Zhao" on the safety charm in her hand, and she said in horror: "Could it be Miss Xia? You didn't really recruit her, did you?"
Ning Bin pursed her lips, calmed down, and said, "Go and open the door."
"me?"
Ning Bin frowned, put down the needle and thread in her hand, got up and went to open the door herself.
Even though it was a cold palace, it was still very spacious. The candlelight was limited and could not shine too far. She gradually stepped into the darkness, reached the door and opened it.
Even though she had done enough mental preparation, she was still startled when she saw the little girl standing outside the door.
However, the girl was not much better. She was also stunned at the door, raising her eyes and looking at her in confusion.
"You, who are you?" Ning Bin said.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't say anything. She rarely lost her composure like this, but now when she looked at Ning Bin, she was full of confusion and shock.
"Who are you?" Ning Bin said again.
If such a girl with simple clothes appeared in the palace, if she were not well-informed, any woman in the palace might be frightened to death.
Xia Zhaoyi regained consciousness, curled his lips and said, "Do you know Lin Youqing?"
Ning Bin suspected that she had heard wrongly and said happily: "Are you from the Youqing sect?"
"Do you really know him?" Xia Zhaoyi looked at her.
Ning Bin paused, stopped talking, and also began to look at her.
Nuan Lan leaned forward quietly next to the candlelight, but she couldn't see who Ning Bin was talking to, and the feeling of panic in her heart became more and more serious.
After a while, Ning Bin nodded: "Lin Youqing, she is my sister."
"Sister?" Xia Zhaoyi said.
"yes."
Xia Zhaoyi frowned, thoughts swirling in his mind.
No wonder she felt familiar when she first saw Lin Youqing, as if she had seen him somewhere before. It turned out to be Ning Bin.
She only had a two-way relationship with Ning Bin. On the one hand, her second brother had to drag her to attend the state banquet. She met her on the road when she followed her father and brother into the palace.
There was another incident where she met the Queen Mother in her palace before she passed away.
Is this Ning Bin actually Lin Youqing's biological sister?
One was the emperor's concubine, and the other was a imprisoned woman she met in a bandit den in Chongyi Mountain far away from the government and the public.
These two people actually have such a deep connection.
Turns out, they are biological sisters...
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Ning Bin lost her patience and said in a cold voice.
Xia Zhaoyi collected his thoughts and said: "I am from Duke Dingguo's mansion, and I came to you to ask some questions."
Ning Bin paused: "Are you from Duke Dingguo's mansion?"
"You don't seem to be the imperial concubine," Xia Zhaoyi said. "One of the charges against me in the Duke's office is disrespecting the imperial concubine. After asking around, I found out that it was you."
"Yes..." Ning Bin lowered her eyes and said, "I am not a noble concubine."
"How disrespectful to the law?" Xia Zhaoyi said, "What did he do to you?"
The strong wind blew in violently, and the girl's voice was as cold as a knife in the wind and snow.
Ning Bin stood facing the wind and snow, her whole body aching from the cold.
"You," Ning Bin raised her eyes again and said, "How about you tell me first, how do you know Lin Youqing?"
