The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

A bolt, a ladder, and even a large, shabby millstone that had rolled over from somewhere and somebody knew not where, were all blocking the door.

Although the door of the cold palace was old, it was thick enough. It was covered with iron sheets and nailed with copper nails. The palace wall was high. As long as they blocked the door, the group of people outside would not be able to get in for a while. Ruyi had sent someone to ask Concubine Xu before coming, so she was not afraid that she and others would be trapped here for too long.

but......

Feeling the person in her arms twitching in pain, Ruyi's hands and feet became a little weak, but her thoughts were unusually clear in this shocking change. She was able to direct the palace servants to lay Shen Huiwan down and treat her wounds, while worrying that the people sent by Concubine Xu would collide with the group of "Yulin Guards".

"How is she..." Qian Xianhui asked crying.

Ruyi shook her head: "I don't know either."

Shen Huiwan was wounded on her back, the wound was deep and long. Although she urgently found some emergency medicine powder to use, it still couldn't stop the blood from flowing like a burst dam.

"Nan...sister..." Shen Huiwan struggled to tear open her lips that were stuck together by sweat, "Sister..."

"Still reciting this, stop reciting it...what's the use of reciting it..." Qian Xianhui cried loudly and kept wiping her tears with her sleeves.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's not you... who hates, it's me... It's me who has always hated..." She suddenly raised one arm like a corpse and grabbed Qian Xianhui's trousers.

Qian Xianhui was startled, but instead of dodging, she squatted down and held her hand.

Two bloody hands clasped together.

"The boat... the boat is rocking, the lotus roots and lotus flowers... are fragrant..." She hummed a broken tune, but her consciousness went back to the day when her "sister" first entered the mansion.

The "sister" at that time was shy and quiet, and for some reason she always had a hint of worry. Shen Huiwan thought that she was uneasy because she had just left her familiar environment, so she wanted to comfort her, but she happened to hear her humming this song while looking at a pond in the yard. After being interrupted by Shen Huiwan, she never hummed the song again until her death.

Originally, this line of the song had become blurred beyond recognition in Shen Huiwan's memory, but at this moment it came to her mind clearly again, along with certain things about the person "Shen Nanliu" that she had intentionally or unintentionally ignored in the past.

Her timid and resentful eyes, the overly evasive attitude of everyone in the mansion, and her hesitation in calling her sister...

"Yes... I'm not good. I'm used to being controlled... so I think those things... are good..."

How can there be a daughter who is not disciplined?

If you do everything well, you should be blamed; if you do not do it well, you will be blamed.

Shen Huiwan grew up like this, a well-behaved lady from a noble family. She occasionally went out of line when she was young, and was punished and advised. She also saw the servants in the mansion whispering about her inappropriate behavior. It was common for her to be advised, spanked, and punished by the nannies sent by the elders... She put a chain on her chest. This chain was shining, inlaid with gold and jade, and was unparalleled in wealth. Everyone told her that this heavy but beautiful chain was a blessing that others could not get in several lifetimes. It was love, responsibility, and the dignity and reputation of a lady from a noble family.

"At first, I knew I was locked up in a golden cage, but it was no match for the birds crying freely in the woods..." Shen Huiwan had long lost track of the silent tablet and the whispers when she was unconscious. How much of it was out of sorrow and grief for her family, and how much was out of the nightmare of regret for the past that she could not figure out and was too late to save.

Her eyes gradually became blurred, but the hand holding Qian Xianhui was still strong: "The hall... has... a letter... for the queen..."

Shen Huiwan begged intermittently, her face becoming paler and paler: "Baohui... Your Highness... Please..."

The words he spoke became increasingly fragmented and failed to make their point.

Qian Xianhui's face was covered with tears. No matter what Shen Huiwan said, she could only answer "OK".

The hand in her palm gradually lost its strength. Through the hazy rain of tears, Qian Xianhui saw that on Shen Huiwan's dry and pale face, the pair of eyes that had gradually lost their luster had regained their luster. She subconsciously smiled with surprise and looked at Ruyi who was silently standing aside, wanting to ask her to try to rescue her again.

However, she only saw a hint of pity in the female official's eyes as she turned away. Even though Qian Xianhui's brain was not as flexible as others, facing the horror between life and death, she suddenly realized that everything was irreversible. The woman in front of her, who had been with her for more than ten years, was just a last gasp.

"I'm sorry." Shen Huiwan began to apologize again. This time her words became clearer, but her consciousness had gradually faded away, like a dandelion blown by the wind, destined to drift in all directions and never return.

"It's my fault. I hurt my sister and Yue Hui... It's all my fault..."

"It would be better if I were not there. If there is an afterlife... I hope that in this world, there will only be you two, and no more Shen Huiwan who... ruined... everything..."

She seemed to no longer feel the pain of her wounds, and curled up her limbs like a baby: "Grandma... Grandma... Jixiang'er is so cold, Jixiang'er misses you so much..."

"My father and mother like my brother the most... My grandmother likes Jixiang the most..."

"Call me again..."

"Shen Huiwan?!" As the person in her arms finished speaking, Qian Xianhui could no longer remain calm. She ignored everything else and grabbed the woman, who had already lost her life, into her arms: "Jixiang'er!"

"...Jixianger..."

Auspicious boys and wishful girls will eventually be gone with the wind and rain.