At noon one day later, Wanyan Yongfang returned home from the Ministry of War. Dressed in cold military armor, he walked to the corridor. He slowed down when he saw Imperial Concubine Mingxuan talking to young supervisor Zhang Jiyan.
"A few days ago, the Song Dynasty paid tribute to a batch of fine jewelry. Her Royal Highness the Queen allocated some to the government. I saw a few pairs of high-quality agate bracelets. You can distribute them to various gardens together with other treasures!"
She supported her body and retracted her hands into her tunic.
"Yes, Weichen has been divided into three pieces, and one corner of the coffin box was accidentally worn, so I asked the craftsman to repair it," he still had the same stern face, bowing his head in front of him.
"Well, I can rest assured that you are a good steward."
He looked up at her. He had changed into a loose-fitting tunic, his face gradually became plumper, there were some red pimples on his cheeks, and there were some miscellaneous hairs around his eyebrows. Every step he made seemed cautious. .
"Mother, it's cold outside. You're healthy, please come in quickly!" he said.
What greeted her was her gentle gaze like spring light. She smiled softly, her eyebrows curved like the bright moon.
"It doesn't matter. I have a body, so I might as well move around more. I feel uncomfortable if I sit all the time."
She smiled lightly and turned her eyes to the bright snow outside the corridor. Suddenly a gust of cold wind passed by. She couldn't help but shiver. She quickly gathered the velvet around her neck and breathed into her hands.
"People can't stand the melting snow and ice these days, and the money for firewood is a big expense. On weekdays, I buy less pearls, hairpins, and jewelry. Huining is not as good as Liaoyang. Liaoyang is located in Haiti, so winter is not like Huining." It’s so cold, instead of buying some jewelry to dress yourself up, it’s better to save more money and buy more charcoal and food.”
"Your Majesty, you advocate frugality and lead by example, but Mrs. Liang Guo... seems to have a hard time talking about it."
She thought about it, rubbed her hands and thought for a long time.
"Let her be an exception! After all, I don't want to cause more trouble. Madam Ling is younger, so just let her be!"
Just as she was about to turn around and walk away, she suddenly remembered something. She looked through the plum garden and could vaguely see the two green-ink eaves of Huiwan Garden.
"Oh, by the way, I haven't seen Qingya in the past two days. I am busy buying new year's goods, but I have no time to take care of her. Is she busy with something?"
"Your Majesty, you tell me that I have a headache. The waiter said that every time the porridge is brought in, it is brought out again without touching a trace. My cousin has not eaten any food in the past two days."
She stopped and asked, "Why is that so?"
Naturally, it was difficult for the housekeeper to talk about what happened that night. He was too shy to speak, so Xiu Yin walked up to the imperial concubine and spoke in her ear. Her eyes suddenly turned frightened.
"Why didn't you report this important matter to me earlier? If anything happens to Qingya, how can you afford to deal with it?" She scolded loudly.
The sudden scolding made Xiu Yin fall to the ground in fright: "Your Majesty!"
At that time, Wan Yanyong walked by wearing armor and stopped beside her. She immediately turned around to look at him, the pearls in her bun making a crisp sound as her head moved.
He slightly lowered his face and lowered his head like a child who had made a mistake. She also lost her temper, looked at him deeply, and then walked quickly in the direction of Huiwan Garden.
"Xuan'er!" He quickly caught up with her walking away.
"Qingya!" A voice as beautiful as the voice of a warbler came.
On the bed in the darkness, I could vaguely discern the lonely figure rising quietly and gracefully. In the hall, behind the bead curtain, the exquisite bed is surrounded by thin curtains. A few sachets are hanging quietly on the corners of the curtain.
"Hey! Sister-in-law," her voice was extremely weak.
She rolled up the curtain lightly and entered, gently lifting her bed curtains, and saw her quietly leaning against the bed, with a thin face and pale lips and cheeks.
"Ya'er, you silly kid, why don't you eat something? Look how hungry you are!" When she saw her like a broken flower, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
"Qingya can't eat it," her pale lips and teeth slowly opened.
She tried her best to stand up, leaned on the railing, and took Mingxuan's hand: "It doesn't matter, sister-in-law. If I'm hungry, I will eat."
She is so fragile, so pitiful, and the charm and agility that belonged to a girl have faded away from her.
What seemed like a crisp beaded attack woke her up from her calm state. She saw Wanyanyong rolling in with the curtain rolled up. The crystal beaded curtain hit his ice armor, which seemed to add some chill to the room.
She glanced at him briefly, then turned her head and pulled the quilt tighter around her body.
"Qingya!" He called her, gently.
She hid her cheeks in her long hair and made no reply or sound.
He entered slowly, gently lifted her thin curtain, and looked at her pale face.
"Qingya! Come and have something to eat!" He called her again, and she turned her head away.
He had no choice but to put down the bed curtains, sit on the couch under the bright window, and meditate with his back to the two of them.
"Your Majesty, why did you do such a ridiculous thing? Qingya is not even thirteen years old."
She suddenly came over and stood alone in front of him. He lowered his head, not daring to look into her eyes.
"I and my husband are close friends. We have been together for twenty years now. Qingya is also a childhood sweetheart. She has grown up following us since childhood. We are as affectionate as blood relatives. Your Majesty. What are you going to do now?”
"Are you going to take her by force and break her heart?"
She frowned and sat on the seat opposite him, with no distracting thoughts in her upright and dignified eyes.
"The lonely king drank some wine that night and acted impulsively..."
He didn't know how to express it, so he turned around and looked at the girl curled up in the corner under the plain curtain. Her slightly hanging hair, thick and soft, was fluttering slightly in the light wind.
"My husband must not be so impulsive, Qingya is still so young..." She never blamed him, and walked over lightly to support his shoulders.
"The body has not even grown well, and the sunflower water has never been seen. If something hurts the body, it will be the root of the girl's lifelong illness. My husband must not be in a hurry at this moment."
Her gentle jade fingers lingered on his shoulders, and he felt a little guilty. He slowly turned around and held the cup in his hand: "Qingya, the lonely king really drank some wine that night. I offended him." Some..."
"Your Majesty, Qing Ya doesn't want to say anything more now. On that day, Your Majesty, he was drunk and had a drink. He was too drunk to bear the sin. Qing Ya's grass spear and pampas grass figure have been stained all over by Your Majesty. I still have a unique dignity, I hope your Majesty will have mercy on you."
"Qingya..."
"I hope your Majesty will be merciful and let me go! Qingya will never disturb your Majesty's family happiness again."
Her eyes were so serious that his heart was about to break when he looked at her.
"You clearly know how lonely King feels about you... yet you still hurt people like this."
When she heard his emotion that had no origin, she felt it was shallow, and even sneered softly, with red eyes.
"Your Majesty, I don't have any feelings towards you as a man or woman. From the beginning to the end, I have never missed King Qi in my heart. Even if you, Your Majesty, have a good reputation and are praised by everyone, but he has a bad reputation and is despised by everyone, I can only love him."
At that moment, his mind was filled with those heart-wrenching words, and her heart-wrenching words that kept ringing in his ears were a thorn in his heart that he couldn't remove.
His mouth became increasingly thirsty, but he did not drink tea, but quietly put the cup down.
"Now, although I am trapped and unable to save myself, I believe that he will find a way to pull me out of this quagmire. As for the king, you are my cousin. I only have brother-sister feelings for you, nothing more. I hope that in the years to come, the king and his daughter will never return home."
Her words were as cold as a cold wind. Hearing this, his cheeks felt hot and stinging, and he lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Mingxuan came over to her, held her hand, and looked at her eyes full of red tears, then patted her back: "Qingya, why are you so confused? You said such ridiculous things so impulsively."
"Sister-in-law, you are just like my sister, can't you see my difficulties? You come from a wealthy family, a daughter of a noble family, the daughter of your parents. Your daughter is pampered by her parents when you are a daughter, and you are loved by your husband after marriage. She is the royal concubine of the prince and the first wife of a proud son, but Qingya is living in a miserable state even with the identity of a royal relative."
"Qingya..." She touched her hand tremblingly.
"I knew I wasn't smart enough, so I worked hard to do everything well, but I still couldn't escape being beaten and punished, grounded and scolded with a cane. I didn't have an inch of good skin on my body. I was suppressed and suppressed severely since I was a child. Discipline, now at this juncture, it will be arranged by Yan Yi's father again. Sister-in-law, look at it, look at Qingya's body with your own eyes, Qingya is not a girl, but a beast, a beast that can be slaughtered. "
After speaking, she gently rolled up her sleeves and revealed the jade. At that time, the air seemed to have solidified. Her jade-white arms were crisscrossed with purple marks from whipping, and the blood marks seemed to have not healed after a long time. Then a new one was printed.
She took Mingxuan's hands and brought her closer, gently opening her clothes to let her take a closer look at her back.
Seeing the bruises and purple spots on her back, she couldn't help covering her mouth and nose and burst into tears.
He could vaguely see the scars on her jade arms through the curtains of the bed. At that moment, his heart was about to break. His pupils were dilated and his eyes were blind. He held the clothes with his hands for a long time without letting go.
"This is just a little bit. There are still brothers and sisters-in-law who haven't seen it yet. Do they both want to see it?"
She wanted to take off her bra, but she hugged her and put her bra back on. She hugged her and trembled and cried: "Qingya, it's my sister-in-law's fault. I only knew that you were not doing well, but you didn't know." It’s like a prison day.”
Her heart was broken and she didn't know how to control herself, so she fell on the girl's fragrant shoulders and wept continuously. She saw the elegant figure with her back and her face behind her back, sobbing. Her trembling shoulders were like flowers about to wither in the wind and rain. She wanted to stand still but Qi is as thin as silk.
"Ya'er, stop crying, stop crying!" She held her cheeks with both hands and wiped away her tears.
"Qingya is as small as catkins, so I thought that even if I am of low status and cannot be a good wife, it would be a blessing to marry the husband I like. I know that as a concubine, I am humble beyond words, even if I am As a first-class lady, you have to live a humble life, but if you are truly liked by that husband, you will feel less aggrieved and miserable."
Come to think of it, in this dynasty, women's status was restricted. The main wives of the clan children were all selected from several large clans, including Bohai people, Han people, and Khitan people. Even if the family was as wealthy as the country, they could not reach the position of the main wife. . Such etiquette has suppressed so many loving men and women, and caused so many wrong marriages.
Qing Ya lowered her head and remained calm, determined not to cry. He sat in the distance and looked at her posture, feeling sad in his heart.
"I beg your Majesty, your Majesty, please let me go back to the Li family! I will pay my respects here!" She came to the ground with bare feet, bowed and retreated, laying her forehead on the cold ground.
