Fingers of crossing

Inside Zhaoling Hall, white smoke is curling up from the purple gold auspicious beast incense burner, and the aloes are fragrant.

Qingfu served tea for Yan Junhe with a worried expression, then she bowed her head and retreated behind Jiang Ningzui, feeling tense in her heart.

Yan Junhe didn't seem to be aware of the strange atmosphere, he kept drinking his tea, and looked at Jiang Ningzui calmly with his corner.

Jiang Ningzui looked sideways at Yan Junhe who was drinking tea leisurely all the way, and unabashedly caught his scrutinizing gaze, and said in a flat voice, "Sixth Prince, you may as well speak directly if you have something to say."

Facing Yan Junhe, whose attitude was obviously full of hostility, Jiang Ningzui naturally didn't feel the need to exchange pleasantries. Compared with those, getting straight to the point might be more suitable for them.

"It seems that the emperor's sister-in-law really doesn't remember anything." Yan Junhe lightly scratched the lid of the cup, and said without rushing, "If the emperor's wife still remembers what the eldest princess did to the prince and you, I think, probably The emperor's sister-in-law will not go to the eldest princess in such a grand manner today."

The hand holding the Zijin stove tightened. Even if she knew that Yan Junhe's words might lead her to an unpredictable direction, Jiang Ningzui still couldn't help but be curious about the events of the Crown Princess' life, because in the Crown Princess's body, there really existed Too many doubts.

But there is one thing, Jiang Ningzui is clear, if there is any secret hidden by the Crown Princess during her lifetime, then this secret must be more or less related to the eldest princess.

Seeing Jiang Ningzui's silent expression, Yan Junhe smiled vaguely, "Three years ago in the first battle between Yan and Sui, the Sui Kingdom invaded aggressively and went straight to the capital. It happened that the father's serious illness was onset, and before his death, his father The emperor was worried that the prince was too young to handle state affairs alone, so he appointed the eldest princess as regent to help the prince manage the government and resist foreign invasion. Unfortunately, among the four kingdoms of Yang, Sui, Jing and Yan, the kingdom of Yang is the most powerful. However, the strength of Yan State is the weakest, and when the father died, the morale of the army was weak, and the court was like a mess. Faced with the invasion of the Sui State, Yan State was powerless to resist. When the father was alive, he had already replaced the eldest princess. He made a marriage contract with Yang Xuanlin, the newly succeeded monarch of Yang Kingdom. Yang Guo immediately stated that as long as the eldest princess fulfills the marriage contract, Yang Kingdom will immediately send troops to support it. Everyone in Yan country pins their hopes on the eldest princess, but the eldest princess did What?" Seemingly tired of talking, Yan Junhe took a sip of hot tea, looked sideways at Jiang Ningzui's silent expression, and continued: "The eldest princess did not fulfill the engagement, but pushed the prince out. , sent as a hostage to the Yang Kingdom, and on this condition, the Yang Kingdom sent troops to support. The crown prince has been away for three years, and during these three years, the eldest princess has full power to take charge of the affairs of the Yan kingdom. When the prince returns, he will It has become a decoration, and all the real power has fallen into the hands of the eldest princess, and he, the crown prince, is just a puppet in the hands of the eldest princess."

The relationship between Yan Yilan and Yan Junyao was weird and subtle. Jiang Ningzui was not unaware of it, but she thought it was just because of their conflicting identities and interests, and never thought there was such a reason.

Since ancient times, the throne has been doomed to be fought for. Every road to the throne is stained with blood and thorns. There is only one person who can be king, so naturally there is no room for too many siblings and family ties. This is the reason Jiang Ningzui I understand, even though I understand, I still cannot understand and agree with the eyes of a modern person.

"So the emperor's sister-in-law should know that in the eyes of the eldest princess, as long as she is happy, everyone can be her plaything." Yan Junhe's voice stopped abruptly at this point, and his willful eyes suddenly fell on Jiang. Drowsy body, "Including you."

What Yan Junhe wanted to say, maybe Jiang Ningzui didn't quite understand it before, but now she probably understands it completely.No matter how many truths and falsehoods he said, the meaning he wanted to convey to Jiang Ningzui couldn't be more obvious—Yan Yilan is not a good person, and she must stand on the opposite side like the prince .

"Thank you, the sixth prince, for telling me."

No matter what Yan Junhe said, Jiang Ningzui's expression was neither salty nor dull, neither anger nor panic, it seemed that even the big things in front of her could not arouse the slightest ripple in her eyes.

"Sister-in-law Huang is polite." No matter how shameless a person is, it is difficult for Jiang Ningzui who ignores Jiang Ningzui to continue to sit still. The corners of her lips curled up, and she said with a smile: "By the way, there is one thing that I wanted to tell my sister-in-law a long time ago."

Seeing Yan Junhe getting up to leave, Jiang Ningzui also stood up to see him off, but when he heard him say that, Jiang Ningzui instinctively raised her head to look at him.

"When the elder sister-in-law fell into the water, the elder princess's people were the first to find the elder sister-in-law. According to the eldest princess, it was the elder sister-in-law who accidentally fell into the water in the Quhe Garden. When she was rescued, the elder sister-in-law was already unconscious. It's gone." Saying that, Yan Junhe chuckled amusedly, and his tone was also full of sarcasm. "The Quhe Garden is surrounded by stone fences, how careless must the sister-in-law be to 'accidentally' fall into the water?"

The hand holding the Zijin stove was wet, Jiang Ningzui remained silent, watching Yan Junhe's figure walk out of the hall, until his footsteps were far away, Jiang Ningzui looked back at Qingfu who had never dared to raise her head , the doubts in my heart faintly have answers.

"Qingfu, let me ask you, were you by my side the day I fell into the water?"

Qing Fu bit her lip and was silent for a while, before she said: "Your Majesty went to Quhe Garden that day, she only said that she wanted to be alone for a while, so she dismissed everyone around her and didn't allow anyone to follow her."

"In the Riqu Lotus Garden, besides me, did anyone else appear?"

"No." Qingfu tried her best to think back, then shook her head: "It snowed a lot that day like today, in such weather, if there is nothing important, the masters probably won't leave the bedroom."

Jiang Ningzui's expression became more and more silent, "Did the princess's people find me?"

"Yes." Qingfu nodded, and replied: "The servant girl was worried when she saw that the empress hadn't returned for a long time, so she reported this matter to the eldest princess."

"Okay." Jiang Ningzui closed her eyes silently, the clearer the answer in her mind, the tighter her brows were. "Pass on my words, and drive to Quhe Garden."

Qingfu seemed to feel that something was wrong, but seeing Jiang Ningzui's silent and cold expression, she didn't say anything, and stepped back as she said.

Quhe Garden is surrounded by water, and willows nestle on the shore, but the season of lotus blooming has not yet arrived, and the lake surface is chilly and desolate.

Slowly walking into the Quhe Garden, Jiang Ningzui glanced around and found that it was really as Yan Junhe said, surrounded by stone fences, let alone an adult like her, even a child would have difficulty falling into the water .

This kind of fact is like a punch in Jiang Ningzui's heart. She has never suspected that the princess fell into the water for other reasons, but now it seems that the princess was not careless at all, but rather intentional .Such speculation made Jiang Ningzui's heart tense, and her face was so pale that there was no blood in it.

If everything the sixth prince said was true, then how could Yan Yilan treat herself kindly even if she didn't even pay attention to the prince?Thinking of Yan Yilan's words and deeds to her, Jiang Ningzui suddenly felt that maybe it would be better to plunge into the lake, maybe this death can return to her own world, no matter what, it is better than staying here The teasing came fast.

Jiang Ningzui was in a mess, and suddenly heard a pair of footsteps slowly approaching her.

Xunsheng turned his head to the side, just saw the figure of that person approaching in the wind and snow, and heard Qingfu salute by his ear: "Princess."

The distance between the two was less than one meter. Seeing that Yan Yilan had the idea of ​​approaching, Jiang Ningzui instinctively took a step back. Under the white snow, the disgust and vigilance in her eyebrows and eyes were so deep that they were deeper than the snow and ice in the sky. And stab people.

As if she didn't notice the vigilance in Jiang Ningzui's eyes, Yan Yilan just turned her head to the maid beside her and said, "You all step back."

Bi Yuan and Qing Fu heard the words and responded in a low voice: "Yes."

Pushing away the servants around her, Yan Yilan turned her head to look at Jiang Ningzui, narrowed her long and narrow phoenix eyes, and laughed jokingly: "Are you afraid of me?" He sneered, and said: "You have always been expressionless towards Bengong on weekdays, and you look like you are not afraid of anything, but you didn't expect to be afraid?"

"The eldest princess is important, isn't this me?"

Yan Yilan was startled, and understood that Jiang Ningzui was talking about the submissive concubine, she smiled, with a hint of frustration in her eyes, and quickly concealed her smile. "It seems that the sixth prince has told you a lot."

Jiang Ningzui didn't answer, just kept silent.

Presumably, Yan Yilan's influence has reached the point where her eyes are all over the place, and even Jiang Ningzui almost begins to believe that there may be nothing in the entire palace that she doesn't know about.It was only a cup of tea before she met the sixth prince, but all these had already been spread to Fengyi Palace.

"The eldest princess is worrying too much." Out of instinct, when Jiang Ningzui started to face Yan Yilan, she felt a lot of fear and caution in her heart. "The snow is getting heavier and heavier, the eldest princess should go back to the palace earlier." As she spoke, Jiang Ning gave a drunken salute, her indifferent voice mixed in the ice and snow, and she was stingy with showing even a little emotion. "I take my leave first."

After Jiang Ningzui finished speaking, she walked back the way she came, and brushed against Yan Yilan's shoulder, when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her wrist, and the back of her hand inadvertently touched her fingertips. The cold, freezing feeling made Jiang Ningzui instinctively flinch, but she still couldn't escape Yan Yilan's shackles.

"Are you hiding from me?"

Yan Yilan's speech has always been lazy, with such a confident and calm, but Jiang Ningzui can hear a kind of coldness from these words, which reveals a dangerous sullenness, which makes people feel cold.

Jiang Ningzui raised her head to look at her, and found that there was thick snow on her head and fox fur shawl, her face was almost so pale in the white snow that she couldn't see it clearly, she looked at herself so deeply, that A pair of cold hands were holding her tightly, leaving her nowhere to escape.

Yan Yilan looked like she had been standing outside for a long time, Jiang Ningzui suddenly remembered that because she was so at a loss when she saw Yan Yilan, she didn't notice that she didn't come in from outside the Quhe Garden , but seems to have been waiting in the park for a while.

But who is she waiting for?

It's freezing cold, who else would come here except her?

It seems that there is no need to confirm the answer anymore, Jiang Ningzui frowned and looked at Yan Yilan, her thoughts flickering, she could only forcefully break away from Yan Yilan's hand, took a few steps back, and said: "Ningzui dare not .”

Looking at Jiang Ningzui's leaving figure without nostalgia, Yan Yilan didn't stop her anymore, but stood indifferently at the same place, the biting wind blew up the broken hair on her forehead, making the loneliness in her eyes unshakable. Covertly exposed between the sky and the earth, thick to the depths, can't feel a trace of emotion.

After returning to Zhaoling Hall, Jiang Ningzui sat in front of the window without saying a word, knowing more, and even started to worry more and more.Originally, he wanted to stay out of the matter in this palace and live peacefully, but now that he thinks about it, this has become the biggest extravagant wish.

Qingfu entered the hall, held the stove for Jiang Ningzui, saw her so silent, Qingfu bit her lips, unable to bear it, and finally couldn't help opening her mouth.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if I should say something or not, this servant has a few words."

Qingfu has always been cautious and considerate, and she took care of Jiang Ningzui with the utmost care. Jiang Ningzui never doubted her loyalty. Now that she heard her say that, she knew that she must have something important to tell, so she replied: "What? talk?"

"My maidservant remembers that on the morning before the accident, my maidservant came in to wash and wash my ladyship as usual, but I saw... saw the eldest princess in my lady's bedroom." Qingfu said, seeing Jiang Ningzui, she suddenly raised her eyebrows. Turning her head, her heart fluttered and she said in a trembling voice: "The eldest princess doesn't look very well, and her body seems to be a little weak. When she saw the servants coming in, she left Zhaoling Hall without saying anything. You were still sobbing on the bed, and when you saw the servant, you only said a word to the servant."

To this day, Qing Fu still remembers the sad and remorseful look of the Crown Princess crying. Every time Qing Fu thinks about it, nothing but regret is left in her heart. If she had known at that time, maybe the Crown Princess would not be so stupid .

Thinking about it, Qing Fu's eyes couldn't help turning red, and she said: "Your Majesty, you just choked up and said, you did something wrong, and you hurt the Eldest Princess again."