fleeting photos

"It turns out that sister already has a sweetheart."

Jiang Zhao's face was slightly cold, and he forced a smile, but his eyes were a little cold.

Just as Xie Jin was about to speak, Jiang Zhao stood up suddenly and said, "I can't come out for too long, lest His Majesty look for me, so I'll go back to Xihe Palace first, and come to look for sister when I have time."

"Azhao."

Xie Jin sensitively felt that something was wrong with Jiang Zhao, so he called her.

Jiang Zhao had already walked to the door, turned around and smiled at her, as usual, it seemed that Xie Jin was worrying too much.

"Sister, don't send me off, I'm leaving."

She walked fast as if she was running away.Xie Jin put away the things in his hands, got up and chased to the door, Jiang Zhao was gone, but happened to collide with the returning Xu Yiren.

Xu Yiren stretched out his hands to support her shoulders, and asked curiously, "Why are you so flustered?"

Xie Jin probed out and took a look, the palace alley was long and there was no one around, Jiang Zhao had already run away.

She raised her hand and rubbed her forehead, sighing softly.

Xu Yiren looked at her strangely, Xie Jin pushed her inside without saying a word, and didn't answer her question.

Xu Yiren didn't care either, he stretched out his hand to show her the lunch box he was carrying, and said with a smile: "A few new chefs have joined the imperial dining room today, and they have cooked a lot of new dishes. When I came back, I happened to pass by Master He. Let's have dinner It's over."

Xie Jin answered casually, Xu Yiren stopped and looked back at her, and said, "I just saw Ah Zhao running over and told her to ignore me, but now you are like this again, did you quarrel with her?"

"It's not considered a quarrel." Xie Jin simply told her the reason.

Xu Yiren smiled and said, "Azhao is delicious."

Xie Jin was puzzled, stretched out his hand to push her, and said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The two walked towards the kitchen, Xu Yiren said: "She is also very pitiful, she is helpless in this deep palace, calling you sister probably treats you as the only family member.

You and Yuan Shiwei have never told her about it, so she is naturally not prepared, she just thinks that Sister is going to be snatched away by others, doesn't she feel uncomfortable? "

Xie Jin said: "Yuan Qi and I haven't even said anything."

Xu Yiren opened the lunch box, took out a few steaming dishes and two bowls of rice, put them on the table, pulled Xie Jin to sit down, winked and said: "Azhao asked you, didn't you deny it?" ?”

Yuan Qi is the chief guard of one of the patrol squads of the Imperial Guards. He often patrols around the palace. Last year, he ran into Xie Jin and fell in love with her at first sight. Everyone in Gong Zhengsi knew that he treated her well both openly and secretly.

According to Liu Gongzheng, Yuan Shiwei has a good family background, plus he is a good-looking talent and treats people politely. The whole staff of Gong Zhengsi has a good impression of him, and occasionally he will make fun of Xie Jin.

Xie Jin was easy to talk to, and she didn't feel disgusted by Yuan Qi's approach, so after explaining it a few times and no one listened, they let them talk, and later they also had some faint feelings for him.

It's just that because of the difference in their identities, Yuan Qi has a bright future, and she is still in the body of a sinner, unable to even leave the palace, so she has not been able to give him an accurate answer.

As for not telling Jiang Zhao, it's not because of other reasons, but in Xie Jin's heart, Jiang Zhao has always been a child.

"Although I have always wanted to go out of the palace, I have never had any chance in the past eight years." Xie Jin held the bamboo chopsticks, but he didn't have much appetite. He frowned slightly and sighed: "In my life, how can I still have a chance?" How many eight years?"

Xu Yiren, like her master Liu Gongzheng, is full of Gong Zhengsi's affairs, and has never had the intention of talking about love, so she is not very proficient in those things of love and love.Seeing Xie Jin melancholy, she didn't know how to comfort her, so she asked, "Have you told Guard Yuan about these thoughts? Maybe he is willing to wait?"

Xie Jin said: "I told him early in the morning, telling him not to put too much thought on me.

But he said, he has an elder brother and a younger brother, and his parents will not force his marriage too much, so..."

"So he is willing to wait for you?"

Xie Jin nodded.

Xu Yiren said with a smile: "This guard Yuan is really a seed of infatuation."

Xie Jin said: "If I can go out of the palace, I definitely don't want to bear him. But the days are so far away, it doesn't mean that I can wait. I don't want to delay him, but he is also very stubborn. I don't know what to do."

If it wasn't for the case of Xie's back then, according to Xie Jin's age, he would have married a long time ago and would have been a husband and a child.

Just because the gate of the palace was as deep as the sea, and these years, she never had the thought to think about her life. Yuan Qi was the first man who broke into her world without authorization. Xie Jin also had some affection for him. But if Yuan Qi wanted to marry her if he could leave the palace, Xie Jin felt that he would probably agree.

After all, she is no longer a young woman, and she is too lazy to dream of a wishful man.

But ever since she was ordered to enter the palace, she was completely forgotten by the late emperor, and when she ascended the throne today, she never knew that there was Xie Sizheng, who was always eager to leave the palace, in the palace Zhengsi.

Today, she is a woman, and she has not yet chosen a husband, let alone Sangong Sixth Courtyard.

She seldom comes to the harem, let alone ask about the trivial matters of the palace people, and it is impossible for Xie Jin to ask Tianyan, so it is really difficult for her to get the order to leave the palace.

Xu Yiren took two mouthfuls of food, and suddenly said: "I've been wanting to say this, but I always forget, isn't your Ah Zhao on duty in front of the imperial court now? Why don't you ask Ah Zhao to help report to the Holy Majesty?"

"It's not that I haven't thought about it." Xie Jin said: "I thought about it three years ago when Azhao told me that she was transferred to the imperial court, but she was just a little maid in the first place, and it is a serious crime to talk about government affairs. To vent my anger, isn't Ah Zhao being dragged down by me?

Secondly, Ah Zhao is not yet old enough to leave the palace, if I really leave, how can I feel at ease leaving her alone? "

On a winter night six years ago, Xie Jin picked up a lost little maid at the gate of Gong Zhengsi.

At that time, Jiang Zhao was so thin and had some scars on her body. She gave her a bowl of hot rice, watched her gobble it up, and started crying after eating, which broke Xie Jin's heart.

Because of a soft "Sister", Xie Jin has an extra responsibility on his shoulders.

It was true that she wanted to leave the palace, but after being with her for six years, she had already regarded Ah Zhao as her own sister. If she wanted to separate from Ah Zhao as the price for leaving the palace, Xie Jin would not be so decisive.

Thinking of Jiang Zhao's stubborn face when he left, Xie Jin couldn't help but sighed again.

She thought that it was necessary to have a good talk with Jiang Zhao about some things.

For example, she would never abandon her no matter what, no matter whether it was going out of the palace or Yuan Qi, it would not change Ah Zhao's position in Xie Jin's heart.

At this time, Jiang Zhao had no idea what Xie Jin was thinking.

She returned to Xihe Palace with a gloomy face, Gao Sheng'an greeted her as usual, and directed the palace staff to change her clothes.

Seeing that His Majesty's complexion was not good, Gao Sheng'an murmured in his heart, thinking that she would be happier after going out for a trip, but now it seems that her complexion is worse than before going out.

Jiang Zhao held the teacup in his hand but didn't drink tea, he frowned and asked, "Aunt Qingshi hasn't returned to the palace yet?"

Qingshi was the most trusted maid of honor by the Empress Dowager's side during her lifetime. When the Empress Dowager was still Concubine Rong, Qingshi was also taken care of by her during the years when she was thrown into the cold palace.

Later, the queen mother passed away, and Qing Shi was almost killed, but was rescued by Gao Sheng'an in time. She didn't want to leave the palace, so she stayed with Gao Sheng'an to serve the new emperor.

Some time ago, when Qingshi dreamed of her dead mother, Jiang Zhao allowed her to return to her hometown to pay her respects, but she has not returned yet.

Listening to her question about Qingshi, Gao Sheng said in a hurry: "Go back to Your Majesty, Qingshi won't be back until two days later, if you have something to tell the servant, no matter what, the servant will make sure to make it beautiful for you."

Jiang Zhao said: "Then you go and settle Zhao Xiang and tell him not to urge me to get married."

"This..." Gao Sheng'an showed embarrassment.

Jiang Zhao glared at him, and said loudly: "If you can't do this, then you can let sister..."

Halfway through the words, Jiang Zhao was discouraged, took two sips of hot tea with his teacup in his arms, and then raised the cup and was about to throw it on the ground. Gao Shengan quickly knelt down and shouted: "Your Majesty, calm down!"

His voice was high-pitched, and with a loud shout, the maids and eunuchs guarding inside and outside the palace gate immediately knelt down on the ground.

Jiang Zhao squeezed the celadon porcelain cup with half a cup of tea in his palm a few times, but he didn't throw it out, took it back and put it heavily on the table, got up and walked out with a flick of his sleeves.

Gao Sheng'an breathed a sigh of relief, and while wiping his cold sweat with his sleeves, he hurriedly followed.

Jiang Zhao took big steps and walked fast, Gao Shengan trotted all the way to catch up with her, muttering: "Your Majesty, walk slowly, watch your step, dinner is about to come, where are you going?"

His Majesty ignored him and still walked on his own.

Gao Sheng'an followed her all the way to the gate of Xihe Palace, and with a wave of his hand, a group of forbidden soldiers followed, and the whole group followed Jiang Zhao's buttocks, not knowing where she was going.

Along the way, Goldman Sachs talked softly and said a lot of good things.

But Jiang ignored it, and walked forward with a small face. Everywhere he went, there were palace people kneeling on the ground.

After walking all the way to the harem and seeing the gate of Yingyue Palace from a distance, Gao Sheng'an understood where she was going.

Yingyue Palace was the residence of the Empress Dowager when she was Concubine Rong, and it was also the place where Her Majesty was born and lived when she was young. Since Concubine Rong was thrown into the cold palace, it has been vacant, and now it is somewhat desolate.

"I'll go in and have a look by myself, you just keep guard at the door."

"Your Majesty, let this old slave accompany you..."

"Gao Sheng'an."

Jiang Zhao folded his hands and called his name expressionlessly.

Gao Sheng'an knew that the holy will had been decided, so he responded with a voice: "The slave obeys the order."

Jiang Zhao stepped forward, Gao Shengan gave a wink to the back, and two tall and burly guards came up to push the gate of Yingyue Palace for her, Jiang Zhao stepped over the threshold and walked in without saying anything.

The palace is very big, and Jiang Zhao still can't find every location, but Yingyue Palace is the place she is most familiar with. She was born and raised here, and has stayed here for 13 years.

It was dusk now, the sky was darkening, and it was approaching night.

Yingyue Palace is just uninhabited, so it cannot be said to be an abandoned palace, so Gong Zhengsi often sends maids to clean it up. Now Yingyue Palace is not considered dirty, but it is unpopular and desolate.

Jiang Zhao walked to the main hall, imagining that when his mother was still there, he would always chat with other empresses in the palace here, and sometimes she would come here to sit for a while, and her mother would hold her on her lap or in her arms Here, teach her to call people one by one.

From the main hall, you can directly lead to the sleeping hall at the back, and now there is no mother-in-law's breath, Jiang Zhao hangs up the hanging curtains, and the bed is empty, without bedding and pillows.

Jiang Zhao sat on the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

Concubine Rong was born in the general family, with aloofness in her bones, even she was steadfast in her treatment of the first emperor, otherwise she would not have been thrown into the cold palace by his wrath.

But as a mother, she is undoubtedly the most gentle.

Jiang Zhao imagined that her mother reached out and gently stroked the top of her hair, and said softly: "Zhao'er can't be picky about food, you have to eat well to grow taller, and one day you will be taller than your mother."

She remembered that after her mother came out of the cold palace, she learned that she had survived those difficult times alone, and met a sister who treated her well, and while she was crying, she touched her head and said many words: "This is Zhao'er's blessing."

Originally, Xie Jin, as a low-level female official, could not be promoted to Zuo Sizheng all at once.

It was my mother's order to let Liu Gongzheng get the imperial edict, so that Xie Jin was promoted in an extraordinary way.

Jiang Zhao thought again of her mother dying, she knelt by the bed and heard her cough broken, calling her name non-stop.

She said: "Don't be afraid, Zhao'er, in this world besides mother, there will be others who will love you."

Jiang Zhao covered his face and fell on the empty bed, muttering in a low voice: "Mother, sister has a sweetheart, she is going to love others, will anyone love me?"

The wind whimpered, breaking in through the open window.

But no one could give her an answer.