The tip of Xianyue's nose felt sour, she held Zhichun's hand firmly and said, "If you serve me with loyalty, I will repay you with generous gifts. As long as I live, these words will count for a day."
Zhichun followed her words and said, "That slave is waiting for the day when the master will return the favor."
When Zhichun came in again, he held a tray with peeling paint in his hand. In addition to two bowls of rice, there was also a plate of green vegetables and a bowl of shredded pork soup. However, the soup was so clear that you could almost see the bottom of the bowl. The entire bowl of soup
I don’t know if there are ten shreds of pork in it.
Zhichun put the things on the table and said, "Master, it's time to eat."
Xianyue didn't pick on the quality of the dishes. Now, she just wants to fill her stomach. However, this bowl of rice is not easy to eat because there are many unpicked stones in the rice, which will bite your teeth if you are not careful.
.
Zhichun picked out all the pitiful shredded meat in the soup and put it into the Xianyue bowl, while he specially picked out the overcooked vegetables and clear soup to eat.
Xianyue put half of the shredded meat into Zhichun's bowl, and gave her some green vegetables. Before Zhichun could refuse, she said, "You said you wanted to take care of me. If I collapse because of poor food,
, do you want me to take care of you in turn?"
Zhichun hurriedly denied it and said: "No, I am in good health. I don't want the master to take care of me."
Xianyue couldn't help but said: "In that case, give me a good meal, not just a small amount."
Zhichun knew that Xianyue felt sorry for her, so she nodded and ate the vegetables and rice in the bowl with tears in her eyes. There were no lights in the cold palace, so at night, she could only rely on the moon hanging in the night sky for illumination.
The side hall assigned to Xianyue by Zhou Quan faces west. In the summer, the sun sets in the west and it is extremely hot. Even though it is already night, it is still uncomfortably hot.
Zhichun wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "Master, I will help you sit outside for a while, and then come in and rest after the room gets cooler."
The heat in Xianyue was also unbearable, and when Zhichun came to the courtyard, although it was still a bit stuffy, the night breeze that occasionally blew through had a hint of coolness.
After sitting for a while, he saw a figure laughing and dancing not far away. Zhichun recognized it as the crazy woman he had seen during the day and whispered: "Master, do you recognize her?"
Xianyue shook her head and said: "I don't know, but I heard that the late emperor was deposed into the cold palace. Except for Concubine Cheng who stepped out of the cold palace, the rest are dead, so this person is probably a concubine of the Kangxi Dynasty."
Zhichun clicked his tongue and said: "So, she has been imprisoned in the cold palace for at least ten years? No wonder she is so crazy."
"What's so strange about this?" Xianyue looked around at Leng Gong, who was overgrown with weeds and chirping insects, and said, "I believe she is not the only lunatic here."
As if to confirm Xianyue's words, several more figures walked out of the dilapidated palace one after another. Through the moonlight, you could probably see how they were dressed. They were similar to the crazy woman before, dirty and crazy, and one of them was particularly fierce.
, feeling Xianyue's gaze, he said fiercely: "Bold slave, you still don't kneel down when you see me!"
Zhichun ignored her, but unexpectedly she came over and pointed at them and said displeasedly: "I told you to kneel down, didn't you hear? Do you want to slap me?"
Hearing this, Zhichun was both angry and funny. She was so crazy that she actually called herself my own palace after entering the cold palace, and asked others to bow and kneel to her.
Before she could speak, Xianyue had already pulled her and knelt down to the woman, saying, "My slave, please give your regards to your Majesty. May your Majesty be blessed."
Xianyue's words seemed to make the woman very happy, and a smile appeared on her stern face, "Finally you two understand the rules, kneel down."
"Thank you, Master." After the woman walked away, Xianyue straightened up. Zhichun said from the side: "Master, that is a crazy woman, why are you saluting her?"
Xianyue looked at her and said, "If you don't bow to her and obey her wishes, do you want to reason with her?"
Zhichun was speechless for a moment, but after a while he said: "But this is too unfair, Master."
Xianyue smiled and said: "I said, don't think about the word "grievance" anymore when you enter the cold palace. Only after you have suffered the most hardship can you become a great person. If I can't endure even this little hardship, then I don't have to think about leaving.
.Okay, let’s go in.”
Zhichun agreed, helped her back to the side hall, and then said: "Master, please sit down for a while while I go find some dry straw."
Xianyue looked strange and said: "Straw? What are you looking for?"
Zhichun said with a smile: "Master, I don't know something. My family was poor before and had no money to buy bedding, so I made my bed with dry straw. It is warm, soft and very comfortable!"
Xianyue looked weird and said: "Don't you want to make a bed and sleep on the ground?" After Zhichun nodded, she raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Zhichun, have you forgotten where this is? The Forbidden City, even in this cold palace.
There will be no straw, because this kind of thing will not appear in the Forbidden City."
Zhichun was startled. After he came back to his senses, he felt it was ridiculous. He shook his head and said, "If the master hadn't reminded me, I would have really forgotten. Who called this place...it's nothing like the Forbidden City where I stayed for many years.
It’s like being in a wilderness.”
Xianyue patted the bed and said, "Okay, you sleep with me."
Zhichun shook his head urgently and said, "No, I can just find a few stools to set up on. Master, you can sleep."
Xianyue lowered her face and said: "I told you to sleep together and sleep together. Where do you come from with so many words? Do you have to make me angry?"
Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Zhichun could only agree, curling up at the corner of the bed, trying to leave as much space as possible for Xianyue so that she could sleep more comfortably.
Xianyue was left to her own devices. Too many things happened that day, plus she had to clean the side hall. She was tired and sleepy, so she fell asleep not long after lying down. I don’t know how long she slept, and Xianyue’s image was blurry.
Suddenly, she seemed to hear a strange laughter. At first, she thought she was dreaming, but the laughter kept echoing in her ears and became clearer and clearer, pulling her back from her hazy sleep.
As soon as Xianyue opened her eyes, she saw a face magnified many times, showing white teeth and a weird smile. The face was very close, almost touching her face.
Xianyue stared at this scene blankly, and it took a long time to come back to her senses. She screamed and pushed the face away. She didn't even have time to put on her shoes, so she jumped out of bed and ran out.
Zhichun was awakened by Xianyue's scream, and when she opened her eyes and saw the crazy woman she saw in the room during the day, she was also startled, but the shock she suffered was far less than that of Xianyue, so she quickly made up her mind.
After regaining consciousness, she ran out with her shoes on. When she arrived in the courtyard, she saw Xianyue holding on to the stone table and gasping for air. The fear on her face could be clearly seen in the moonlight.