"Your Majesty, my servant has brought you dinner."
A creaking sound on the door broke the silence of the room, and the dull and dead air that had not circulated for a long time came to the face. Yuzhi sighed silently, put down the food box, lit the candle, and gently pushed Sima Tu, who was sleeping on the table.
orchid.
There was probably something bad going on in the dream. When Sima Duran opened her eyes, she frowned slightly, feeling vaguely confused.
"It's already so late?" Looking at the sky outside the room, the haggard Queen Dayao slapped her sore shoulders, "Take the food away, I can't eat it."
"They are all porridge and side dishes. They are not greasy and very light. I can eat a few bites of them. It's been cold and windy these days, and it's almost time to change the season. How can I do this if I don't eat or drink or have a good rest?"
?The body belongs to the queen, and I can’t help you no matter how anxious or distressed I am. I also ask the queen to take care of yourself for the sake of the slave. If the queen falls, the slave will have no idea of living."
Yuzhi is the smartest and most articulate of all the maids in Huanqing Palace. Therefore, she is trusted by Sima Tulan. Many things that are inconvenient to be done openly are done through Yuzhi. Over the years, she has never
After something went wrong, Sima Duran was not as distant from her as a master and servant. When no one was around, he was more like a close friend.
"Your Majesty, are you still worried about Master Shen? I went there secretly during the day. Master Shen is still asleep, but his complexion is much better than the past few days. I think he will recover in a few days." Yuzhi opened the food box and took it out.
With bowls and chopsticks, he whispered while serving food to Sima Duran, "The emperor's decree was not carried out. Xu Shi felt in his heart that the punishment was inappropriate. Even the head guard who urged him was dismissed from his post and kicked severely by the emperor.
Damn it, if you look at it like this, Guoshi Shen probably won't leave the palace."
Holding the warm rice bowl, Sima Duran finally had a slightly reassuring expression: "What I fear most is that he will be implicated. A few years ago, the emperor was also suspicious of me and him. At that time, I pretended to be angry and coaxed him away, and finally he was calm.
After An An had survived for several years, who would have known that so many things would suddenly happen. Maybe I was too careless. I knew I should be more cautious at times, but I was too hasty to get things done, and ended up hurting Master Shen anyway."
Yuzhi smiled, closed the door and turned back to the table: "Then who do you think Master Shen is? If you look at it from a slave perspective, Master Shen is really an infatuated person worth trusting."
"You're talking nonsense and should be beaten." Sima Duran glared at Yuzhi. Thinking of the entanglement with Shen Junfang and the unclear grudges with Yi Huaiyu, the originally joking tone turned dark halfway, and Sima Duran faintly
Sighing, she lowered her eyebrows like a girl in love: "I am in this situation all because of myself - I always said that I should stay away from him so as not to be implicated, but once something happens, I still can't help but think about it.
I wanted to ask him for help, especially asking him to put some thought into helping my brother maintain things in the past. Now that I think about it, I was really confused at that time and did the last thing I should have done."
Without Shen Junfang's help, Sima Yuan might have died long ago in the endless battles and power struggles. After Yao Junxian's death, apart from Sima Tulan, Shen Junfang was the only person who tried his best to help the Sima family regardless of reward.
Yuzhi had followed Sima Tulan for many years, so he knew the origin and relationship between the Sima family and Shen Junfang, but he couldn't help but feel sad and eclipsed.
"The emperor has given the empress the wealth and glory, which looks glamorous to outsiders, but who knows the pain involved? But Shen Guoshi knows how to be considerate and gentle the most, and has never asked for anything. As long as it is for the empress, he will never shirk those things that may cause harm. It’s your own business. Please tell me something that I shouldn’t say. If you are not bound by this identity, it would be better for your Majesty to go far away from home with Master Shen than to live alone in the palace for the rest of your life.”
"It is safe to travel far away with someone who knows how to cherish you, but there is always something missing." Sima Duran tapped her heart gently, with thousands of sighs lingering in her eyes, "I couldn't change it many years ago—— There is no room for anyone except Huaiyu."
If you don't love with all your heart, how can you be heartbroken? How can you be bound? How can you be hurt repeatedly but be reluctant to escape?
She is like this, and so is Shen Junfang.
In the dim candlelight, the atmosphere was dark and stagnant, until a series of exclamations outside the room broke it.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something happened, something happened in Lianchenxuan!" Su, the little palace maid who often helped Yuzhi investigate the situation, rushed into the house in a panic, her face pale and colorless, "My Majesty, it's not good! Imperial Concubine In your name, I took people to Lianchenxuan to arrest someone. Unless the assassin was sent by Concubine Jing, the Emperor has not yet arrived at Lianchenxuan, and His Highness the Crown Prince is alone!"
Sima Dalan stood up suddenly, raised her feet and walked out of the door. Before she could leave the room, she was stopped by Yuzhi.
"Your Majesty, please don't be impulsive. The Emperor's prohibition has not yet been lifted. Isn't it against the imperial edict for your Majesty to leave Huanqing Palace like this? If you can't save the Imperial Concubine, you will be condemned instead. Wouldn't it hurt your loved ones and quicken your enemies, and you will gain an advantage for the villain in vain?" ?”
Relatives, enemies, uprightness, villains, right and wrong, when can we be freed from restraint?
Sima Duran was conflicted, her footsteps stagnant on the threshold of silence.
Yuzhi reminded her and brought a ray of light to this fog, allowing her to finally understand what the series of conspiracy calculations were leading to - making Su Shiyun bear the blame and become the target of public criticism, and making her impulsive and irritable become the reason why Yi Huaiyu stayed away. Reason, then there will be no stumbling blocks in the harem that can prevent other concubines from sharing power and favor.
"I have to talk to the emperor." Sima Duran clenched her sleeves tightly, and then let go slumped, "Yuzhi, if Concubine Jing is framed and loses power, then my end is not far away."
"It's still early for you to end, at least it won't be now."
The indifferent tone seems to have some kind of negative emotion, unwilling and unwilling.
For a moment, Sima Duran thought it was Yuzhi who was replying to her. After reacting, she realized who the words came from. She raised her head in surprise and saw a tall figure standing outside the door with hands behind her back. Even her clothes were cold to the bone.
"emperor--"
"Everyone go out, I have something to say with the queen." He interrupted Yuzhi and Suxin coldly, and Yi Huaiyu walked straight into the house, his hands behind his back tightly clenched, his knuckles white and sharp.
Sima Tulan winked and signaled Yuzhi and Suxin to leave, closed the door, and kept the farthest distance from Yi Huaiyu: "Something happened in Lianchenxuan, why did you come here instead of going there?"
"Jing'er has told me the situation. You Yu'er is there to stir things up. The imperial concubine won't be able to cause any trouble for a while, but there are some things I must discuss with you first."
"Discuss with me? Oh, it's really strange. What's the value of a banned empress from the cold palace? The emperor promoted me." Sima Duran sneered, stubbornly refusing to look at the helpless look Yi Huaiyu turned around.
"Your cold palace will not last long. When the storm subsides, I will return you the rights you deserve. But remember, this is not because I have forgiven your betrayal, but because of Yun'er - you have to protect her secretly and let her
She will not let others bully her because she was relegated to the cold palace."
Relegated to the cold palace? Does Su Shiyun?
Sima Tulan took a breath, her incomprehensible eyes were more direct than her words, and Yi Huaiyu was not in a showy mood, his fingers trembled and his voice was like cold wind.
"In three days, I will send Jing'er to Zhaoguo. From now on, no one will be my favorite concubine in Dayao - my country and country cannot tolerate anyone's criticism."