Under the small window, two faces that are still bright even if they are exposed to the sun, Baozhu and Jiang Huaian are doing needlework slowly.
Jiang Huaian's fingers were light, and with a few flips, a vivid tiger-head shoe appeared in front of Baozhu.
"Yeah," Baozhu picked up the tiger-head shoes in surprise and put them in the palm of his hand. They were so small and cute. "My sister's hands are so skillful that even the weaving department in the palace can't do it."
Jiang Huaian smiled sheepishly and said, "My mother-in-law's family originally made their fortune in an embroidery workshop in Jiangnan. All the women in the Jiang family are proficient in needlework."
Baozhu couldn't put it down, holding it in her hands and looking at it again and again, almost imagining what her child would look like wearing it.
"I heard that you almost fell into the water two days ago?" Jiang Huaian asked with concern.
Baozhu thought of the thrill that day, and still felt a little scared. He nodded and said, "Yes, it was really dangerous."
Then the young man's gloomy face appeared in his mind again, and Baozhu was curious to ask about Qi Ye, thinking that after all, Jiang Huaian had been in the palace for four or five years, so he should know better than himself.
"Sister, do you know about Concubine Rong's son, the Fourth Prince?" Baozhu asked.
Jiang Huaian arranged the colored thread and responded without raising his head, "Yeah, I know."
Baozhu hesitated and said, "I met him in the garden some time ago, but I've been back from the palace for so long, why have I never seen him before?"
Jiang Huai'an raised his head, pondered for a while and replied: "Concubine Rong made a mistake many years ago, and the Queen Mother's plea prevented her from being deposed. But since then, the fourth prince's status in the palace has been embarrassing."
Jiang Huai'an sighed and continued: "The queen pretended to adopt Qi Ye as her adopted son, but no one can see it..."
Jiang Huaian paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "But who can't see that she was the one who pulled Concubine Rong off!"
Bao Zhu listened carefully and let out a surprised sound.
Jiang Huai'an smiled bitterly and shook his head and said: "And she doesn't care about Concubine Rong's son. A good prince is as thin as a kitten, but the Queen Mother couldn't stand it anymore and raised him personally, so peace settled."
Baozhu blinked as he listened and murmured: "That's it."
"A few years ago, the fourth prince followed the Queen Mother to worship Buddha, and got the opportunity to be favored by an eminent monk, so he would stay in Daxiangguo Temple from time to time to practice. Naturally, you can't see him anymore. He must have just come back." Jiang Huaian said.
Baozhu became more and more curious about Qi Ye. Concubine Rong had been so favored, so Qi Ye should have a happy childhood.
But once there is a sudden change, it is useless to fall from the clouds into the mire. It's very pitiful to think about it when you're the age when you should be loved and cared for by your parents the most, but you're being tortured so much.
"This is the first time I've heard of the prince receiving a chance." Baozhu said, thinking about Jiang Huaian's words just now.
Jiang Huaian wrapped the silk thread in his hand and sighed, as if sighing because of Qi Ye's ill-fated fate.
"If this is not the case, how can we convince the Queen that he has no intention of competing for the heirloom. The Queen Mother is old and cannot protect him all the time. It is still very simple to eat a child in this palace." Jiang Huaian said.
Baozhu looked at Jiang Huaian's calm face, and it seemed that this was not a terrible thing, just as ordinary as the needle and thread on his hand.
But Baozhu knew that this was just a microcosm of the deep palace.
Bao Zhu caressed her belly, feeling a little uneasy. Seeing this, Jiang Huaian quickly changed the topic, and the two of them talked and laughed for a while.
After a while, Haitang hurried over from outside and stood in front of the two of them, panting.
"What's wrong? You're running around on such a hot day." Baozhu asked with concern.
Haitang took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat and said anxiously: "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, the queen suddenly fell ill."
Baozhu and Jiang Huaian glanced at each other, and both smelled something unusual.
When Baozhu and Jiang Huaian walked to Gu Linqing's palace, people from all the palaces had arrived, but no one went in. Instead, a group of people stood darkly outside the courtyard.
Baozhu spoke to Jiang Huaian and walked towards Jiang Heng. I saw Jiang Heng frowning from a distance, but I didn't know why.
"What's going on, Sister Aheng?" Baozhu asked.
Xiaoman and the other maids standing in front dispersed when they heard Bao Zhu's voice, leaving Bao Zhu with a perspective.
Seeing that Jiang Heng's eyes were always fixed in front of him, Bao Zhu followed him.
It turned out that there was a woman who looked like a wizard in the courtyard, kneeling in the center with a pious look on her face. The dark red cinnabar around her body was covered with strange patterns.
There was a huge formation drawn on the ground. No wonder Jiang Heng and the others stood outside the courtyard and did not dare to step into it.
The wizard began to mutter something and trembled all over. Bao Zhu couldn't help frowning as she looked at it. She didn't know what was wrong with Gu Linqing.
The wizard suddenly opened his eyes and let out a scream of terror that made everyone present tremble.
"It's a curse! It's the most vicious curse!" The wizard raised his arms to the sky and shouted miserably.
Baozhu felt a little uneasy in her heart, and at the same time, Gu Linqing in the palace also screamed at the top of her lungs, like thunder exploding in the sky.
When the concubines were talking and panicking, Qi Junce came out from outside with his hands behind his back. Baozhu looked at his face and suddenly felt disgust in his heart.
Qi Junce glanced helplessly at the wizards in the courtyard. Although Li Guo practiced witchcraft, Qi Junce didn't approve of it. He just turned a blind eye to hinder the Queen Mother.
Gu Linqing's scream sounded again, and Qi Junce led the concubines towards the inner hall.
As soon as they arrived at the inner hall, Gu Linqing collapsed on the bed with a pale face, looking delirious. The personal maid Yun Yun next to her was crying as sadly as if her own mother had died.
After Qi Junce sat down calmly, he pointed at Yunyun and said, "Come here."
Yunyun sobbed and knelt down in front of Qi Junce. Baozhu's mouth twitched. If it weren't for the fact that the queen was seriously ill and the concubines had to go to attend to the illness, she wouldn't want to come. It was really bad luck.
"What's wrong with the queen?" Qi Junce asked.
Yunyun wiped the tears on her face with her sleeves and said with a sigh: "My queen was fine yesterday, and she said she would make Baiyun cake for His Majesty today, but today she suddenly felt so painful that she fainted on the bed."
Qi Junce looked at Yunyun with complicated eyes and asked randomly: "Have you asked the imperial doctor?"
Yunyun replied: "Your Majesty, even after the imperial doctor came, she didn't feel better. On the contrary, the empress became more and more serious. I am confused in my heart. Even if I get sick, I will not be so quick."
Bao Zhu felt a little bored as she stood, and her thoughts began to wander randomly, thinking about what to eat tonight.
"That's why I bothered the great wizard to come here, and I hope your majesty will forgive me!" Yunyun kowtowed solemnly after saying this, and Qi Junce's face looked a little ugly.
Qi Junce gave Ma Dong a look, and Ma Dong went to the outer courtyard with understanding and brought in the wizard just now.
The wizard gave a simple salute and then stood still. Qi Junce tapped his fingers on the table.
"I wonder if the great wizard can tell why the queen suddenly fell ill?" Qi Junce asked.
The great wizard glanced at the dying queen on the hospital bed, and then said: "The queen is not ill."
Qi Junce raised his eyebrows, "Oh? That's why."
The great wizard's loud voice echoed in the hall and said: "Because someone gave the Queen an extremely vicious forbidden witchcraft!"
As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar. Bao Zhu didn't believe in ghosts and gods, let alone that Gu Linqing would be harmed by forbidden magic.
But Qi Junce was visibly angry, and even the veins on his forehead popped out.
Baozhu was a little confused, but Jiang Heng secretly held her hand and said to his ear: "Baozhu, the incident involving Concubine Rong was caused by forbidden magic, so His Majesty is very taboo about this matter."
Baozhu was slightly stunned, it turned out to be so.
"I'm afraid this Gu Linqing is here with bad intentions, so you and I must be careful when dealing with it." Jiang Heng said softly.
Baozhu nodded solemnly and looked at the good show in front of him.
"What kind of forbidden technique are you talking about?" Qi Junce almost said this through gritted teeth. The wizard who was so arrogant just now immediately lost three lengths.
"There is indeed a villain at work, which is why the queen is in severe pain and restless!" the wizard continued.
Qi Junce laughed angrily, glanced at the dying Gu Linqing and asked: "Since it is a banned book, where is the person who cursed it?"
The wizard twirled his fingers in a serious manner and muttered something for a while.
Then he turned to Qi Junce and said, "The person who cast the curse is in the southwest!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at the orb. Liu Guiren said, "There is only one courtyard in the southwest."
Qi Junce's eyes also turned to Baozhu, and Liu Guiren continued: "Isn't it Yunliyuan!"
In Yunli courtyard, Baozhu stood outside the courtyard, beside him were Haitang and Azi who were at a loss.
"Mother, what are they doing?" Ah Zi asked, looking at the people rummaging around in the room.
"Azi," Haitang saw that Baozhu looked unhappy and said, "Stop talking."
Bao Zhu forced out a smile, patted Ah Zi on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, I'm just searching for things."
The leading nanny ran behind Qi Junce who was standing at the gate and said, "Your Majesty, nothing was found."
Qi Junce's expression softened, and he slowly said: "In that case, then..."
"Your Majesty," Zhencai, who had always been taciturn, suddenly interrupted Qi Junce's words, "Maybe it's not on the surface?"
Qi Junce looked at the petite Zhencai and asked, "What do you mean by not being on the surface?"
Zhencai smiled faintly and replied: "There is a saying that digs three feet into the ground, but there is still no investigation under the ground. If it is not wrong, it will be bad for the innocence of Concubine Chen."
Baozhu looked at the flat ground of Yunli Courtyard, feeling increasingly uneasy in his heart.
"Your Majesty, it's better not to give up. If Concubine Chen's sister is innocent, this will break her heart." Concubine Cheng couldn't help but persuade her.
Baozhu looked at Qi Junce with endless disappointment in his eyes. From the beginning, Baozhu understood that Qi Junce loved someone other than her.
It was her appearance, her temperament, and the fact that she never got him into trouble.
"Baozhu, do you have anything to say?" Qi Junce suddenly turned around and asked, with an unknown emotion on his face.
Baozhu looked into his eyes silently and answered without the slightest fear: "Concubine, no."
"Okay, dig it for me." Qi Junce gave the order, and the imperial army began to dig three feet into the Yunli Courtyard.
After a long time, when Baozhu felt that his calves were a little sore, he shouted, breaking the tranquility.
"found it!"
A guard held up a doll covered with spells, and Baozhu heard Haitang next to him take a breath.
