"What's wrong?" asked Emperor Zhaowu.

Empress Jiahe lowered her eyes and said earnestly, "Xiaojiu's leg injury has not healed yet. If she is not where I can see her, I will feel uneasy."

It's really uneasy.

Her eyes swept over Rong Ting's legs and stayed there for a moment.

This is a useless person with crippled legs.

But he doesn't look like a waste.

I couldn't see in him the almost self-destructive anger that he had felt when he was just injured.

What happened during this year?

Empress Jiahe's words made Rong Ting's smile deepen.

"Where was I during this year in Yecheng?"

He said slowly, "My Queen Mother asked me to go to Yecheng to recuperate, but I can't always see you."

The queen was speechless for a moment.

Emperor Zhaowu frowned slightly.

When the queen saw this, sweat broke out on her forehead.

Rong Ting was more difficult than she thought.

He didn't say that he was having a bad time, but instead kept picking out the loopholes in her words.

The queen said anxiously, "Xiaojiu is in Yecheng, and mother is worried about him day and night."

Emperor Zhaowu originally wanted to take care of Empress Jiahe's feelings, but Rong Ting's words made him take back the idea.

He said without question, "The West Palace is much closer than Yecheng. It will take less than half an hour to get there by sedan chair. You can still see him whenever you want."

Things had come to this point, and there was no room for her to maneuver. Empress Jiahe realized this and said no more, as the more she said, the more mistakes she would make.

She lowered her head and said, "Shouhuai Palace has been vacant for a long time. I will find someone to clean up the palace and let Xiaojiu live in it."

The expressions of some maids present changed slightly.

The Shouhuai Palace is located in a remote and mysterious place. Haunted. At night, they didn't dare to go there.

Emperor Zhaowu said, "Let's go to Shouhuai Palace."

Emperor Zhaowu had never heard of any ghost rumors.

None of the maids dared to remind her.

Empress Jiahe recognized this and proposed to let Rong Ting go to Shouhuai Palace.

She felt a sense of revenge in her heart and said, "Then I will arrange for a few diligent people to come."

Most of the harem affairs were left to the Queen to take care of. Emperor Zhaowu nodded without thinking too much, "You can take care of this matter."

The queen curled her lips and smiled.

Even if Rong Ting wanted to escape, she still had a way to surround him with her people.

As long as he is within this ten-mile imperial city, she will find a way to make it impossible for him to escape.

Emperor Zhaowu was at this time,

He glanced at Rong Ting.

He recalled what Rong Ting had said to him alone at the beginning.

He cooperated with Rong Ting and said, "The imperial physician examined Xiaojiu's leg injury and found that both legs have no feeling. I'm afraid there is no possibility of recovery. Please assign a few more people to go there to prevent Xiaojiu from getting hurt."

"I understand." Queen Jiahe responded.

When he heard that Rong Ting's leg injury was difficult to heal, he couldn't help but feel a little secretly happy, but his eyes were dim.

Is his leg really hopeless?

…

From Jinxiu Palace to Shouhuai Palace, one has to turn several corners and pass through half of the imperial city.

For a person in a wheelchair, the journey is long and difficult.

But the young eunuch tried several times to help Rong Ting push the wheelchair, but was frightened by Rong Ting's cold gaze and dared not move.

He could only follow Rong Ting a few steps behind him, following him from a distance, muttering in a low voice, "Strange temper."

The Queen allowed him to get close to Rong Ting.

But looking at his strange temper that doesn't allow strangers to approach him, who can get close to him?

The other palace maids also looked down on Rong Ting.

What bad luck I have to serve a disabled person with no future.

The young eunuch looked at the reluctant expressions on the faces of the palace maids, lowered his voice, and lectured them in a sarcastic tone: "Do you think I am willing to come? Do what the Queen asks you to do and keep an eye on this cripple. If the Queen is happy, you can still be promoted."

We have arrived at Shouhuai Palace.

On a sunny day, the branches of the trees in the yard are dense and untrimmed, casting a thick shade.

The courtyard is deep, dark and quiet.

Rong Ting entered the courtyard first and the wheelchair stopped in front of the main house.

He pushed open the dusty door, and his fingertips were covered with dust.

He twisted the dust off his hands and, out of the corner of his eye, noticed the young eunuch who had been observing him without stopping for a moment.

I sneered in my heart. The Queen's spy is really dedicated to his duties.

Brushing away the dust from his fingertips, Rong Ting looked at the young eunuch and said slowly, "Come here, carry me into the house."

The young eunuch had stayed in Jinxiu Palace for a long time and had become very shrewd. He knew that the ninth prince, whose mother had died young, lived a life worse than that of a servant.

He did not regard Rong Ting as his master. When he heard Rong Ting's instructions, he walked over leisurely and at a leisurely pace.

Rong Ting suppressed his disgust at being approached and allowed him to carry his wheelchair into the house.

The young eunuch narrowed his eyes at Rong Ting, who looked like a useless man who needed help even to cross the threshold, and took note of it. He would report it to the Empress in the evening.

He thought again of the matter that Empress Jiahe was most concerned about.

A flash of light appeared, and he said in a caring tone, "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, can I rub your legs for you?"

Rong Ting nodded.

The young eunuch was secretly delighted.

The Queen asked him to keep a close eye on it, as Rong Ting’s leg injury really could not be healed, and whether... he was hiding something from others.

If he could do this well, he would have a chance to become popular with the Queen.

He tapped Rong Ting's legs with varying strength, observing the expression on his face.

No matter how much force he used, there was no change on the boy's face.

Like I really have no sense.

A chill suddenly appeared in the young eunuch's eyes, and a cold light flashed in his hands.

The little eunuch had a needle hidden in his hand.

After knocking and hitting, he suddenly opened his hands and, with a covert movement, inserted the needle into the flesh on Rong Ting's thigh.

Soon, it was half submerged.

If he could feel it, he would be in excruciating pain.

The young eunuch looked at Rong Ting's expressionless face.

I thought, if he is deposed, he is really deposed, the queen can rest assured.

Just as he lowered his eyes, he was about to pull out the needle. When coming out

A pair of slender jade-like hands stretched out.

Pressing his hand down, the needle was completely inserted.

The young eunuch was so frightened by his sudden crazy behavior that he held his breath.

There was no sign of pain on his face, and he even had a faint smile on his face.

The lips are red, the teeth are white, the eyebrows are picturesque, and there is a hint of sarcasm between the eyebrows and eyes, "The legs are broken, but the eyes can be replaced."

Needle extraction. When he came out, he was covered in blood.

The young man held it high, then suddenly leaned over and did the same thing, stabbing the needle into the thigh of the young eunuch who was kneeling on the ground.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

The pain that pierced into his bone marrow made the little eunuch wail in an instant.

He tried desperately to escape.

But the person holding the needle refused to let go and twisted his body, which only made the pain in his thigh more heart-wrenching.

The little eunuch screamed even more miserably.

Rong Ting's face was filled with a calm smile from beginning to end.

He is clearly the perpetrator, yet he seems like an outsider.

He finally pulled his hand free and removed the bloody needle.

He threw the needle to the ground and said calmly, "If you want to harm the prince, drag him out and beat him to death."

The young eunuch curled up on the ground and shivered.

A word lingered in my mind - madman.

…

The events of Shouhuai Palace reached the ears of the Queen.

Empress Jiahe was furious, "How dare he kill my people?"

All the maids who were assigned to stay by Rong Ting's side came back, kneeling on the ground in fear, and reported: "Xiao Xiuzi wanted to use a needle to test the extent of his leg's recovery, but who knew that although he could not feel the pain, his eyesight was very good, so Xiao Xiuzi was caught."

The queen's eyes dimmed, "You really don't feel any pain?"

"Really." The maids said one after another, "We all saw it. Xiao Xiuzi's needle was completely inserted, but he was just like nothing happened, and even had a smile on his face."

On the other hand, the eunuch screamed like a slaughtered pig. The maid shook herself and said with certainty, "The ninth prince's leg cannot be cured. It's true."

The queen clenched her fists tightly.

She should have strangled the vicious child in its cradle.

But before Xiao Shiqi was born, she really thought about raising this child, who was much smarter than his peers, as the future monarch.

Later, when Little Seventeen was born, Rong Ting's intelligence became the biggest threat to her biological son.

"You guys, go to Shouhuai Palace again and keep a close eye on him. If there is any unusual movement, come back immediately and report to me."

But the maids who had seen Rong Ting go crazy kowtowed to the queen one by one and said, "Your Majesty, spare us, or we will die. Xiao Xiuzi was beaten to death in front of us, and when he died, the Ninth Prince suddenly looked up and looked at us, as if to say, we are next!"

I would rather leave the palace and find another way out.

I don't want to risk my life.

…

The Queen was not able to find any courageous maids at the moment, so she had to rearrange them. Rong Ting had already arrived at the Jingshifang and asked for two attendants for herself.

There were two little eunuchs, the tall one was called Huai Qing and the shorter one was called Si Ying.

The two young eunuchs heard that they had to serve the Ninth Prince who had just returned from Yecheng. Their legs were crippled and they had difficulty walking. They thought that they would be exhausted in the days ahead, serving this disabled master.

Unexpectedly, this master was a cold-tempered person who would get angry even if someone touched his sleeve.

All they could do was some yard chores.

And help the master find out who he wants to find out

"Jiang family?"

Huai Qingbi Siying is a little older and has more experience. "Since the family your Highness is asking about is a noble family with the surname Jiang, it should be the Ning'an Earl's Mansion."

"The one that the old uncle loves the most is his youngest son, Jiang Xingzhou, the fourth master Jiang."

"However, the old uncle's favoritism has attracted many jealous eyes to his youngest son. It is said that in order to avoid the intrigues in the deep courtyard, the fourth master Jiang took his wife and children to travel out of the capital six years ago, which happens to be consistent with what Your Highness described."

Rong Ting pressed his fingers against the cool jade ring on his waist, his eyes slightly cold, "The Fourth Master Jiang you are talking about, is his daughter called - Jiang Rao?"

Huai Qing only felt that the last two words in his master's words had a heavy tone, spoken with gritted teeth, yet with some tenderness, and the emotions were unpredictable.

He said, "I don't remember this clearly. I only remember that Fourth Master Jiang had a daughter who was very spoiled. It was because his precious daughter was almost killed that he decided to leave the capital."

Rong Ting knocked on the jade ring and said, "Go and find out more about this matter."

Huai Qing walked out, but he called her back, "If it's really the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, find out where her family is."

…

Concubine Yun rubbed her niece's soft cheek with joy. The white cat beside her felt left out and meowed with its tail raised.

Jiang Rao's face was rubbed flat and round, and her mouth pouted unhappily, "Aunt is not seriously ill at all."

Concubine Yun smiled and said, "It's because I came back too late every year. Is my aunt recovered from her illness?"

"It's a lie. I don't believe my aunt's lies anymore."

Jiang Rao finally found Kong and was brutally raped. The ravaged little face escaped from Concubine Yun's hands.

She rubbed her cheeks and said, "I really thought my aunt was sick, so I rushed back overnight."

"I didn't even have time to say goodbye to my little friend in person."

Concubine Yun's eyes lit up, "You have a friend every year?"

Jiang Rao picked up the neglected white cat, stroked its fur, and nodded.

She knew that Concubine Yun had always disliked the Queen and everyone related to her, so she didn't point out who it was, and said, "But he is sick. In a few days, I will go back to Yecheng with my father and mother to see him."

Concubine Yun narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Is your little friend a boy or a girl?"

Jiang Rao concentrated on petting the cat, "He's a young boy."

Concubine Yun showed a deep smile on her face.

That smile was filled with the words: My daughter has grown up.

Her eyes swept across Jiang Rao, her niece, from her face to her chest to her waist.

Concubine Yun was very arrogant, but she only admitted that as she grew older, she would probably be more popular with men than she was.

Looking at this controllable soft waist, I wonder which guy will get the advantage in the future.

When it comes to choosing a husband for Jiang Rao, Concubine Yun's idea coincides with Jiang Qinshi's in one aspect.

There is no need for family marriage, nor is there any need to enter the palace as a concubine in order to consolidate family power.

However, Concubine Yun did not want to marry a son-in-law to Jiang Rao. The man she married might not be a good and honest man. Anyway, she had money and power, so she could find a few handsome young men to support her and live a comfortable life.

"That little friend, isn't he handsome?"

Jiang Rao then heard her little

The teasing in my aunt's tone made me blush slightly and said, "I won't tell my aunt."

"Please don't." Concubine Yun held the belt around her waist to prevent her from leaving, and whispered to her, "When I was your age, I had already found a good young man for myself."

There are several companies that have changed.

"What a pity." She sighed, "I ended up entering the palace."

Not a single family was left behind.

Concubine Yun sighed and said to Jiang Rao, "Come here, I will teach you some tricks to seduce men."

“I don’t want to listen.” Jiang Rao covered the little white cat’s ears and ran away.

Concubine Yun looked at her from behind and said casually, "It's better not to teach me."

If you are born with good looks and look pleasing to the eye in whatever you do, that is enough to attract men.

Jiang Qin was drinking tea nearby, and couldn't help but blame her cousin, "You are so old, and you are telling her these things. You have been married for so many years, and yet you are still so dishonest."

"If I were serious, I wouldn't be called a favorite concubine anymore."

Concubine Yun leaned on the beauty couch, tilted her head and said to the maid, "Go and follow the young lady. There is a palace banquet in the palace today. I am afraid that someone will bump into my Nian Nian without knowing the truth."

She said casually, "If there is someone who is really blind, just give her a slap and say it was my concubine Yun's idea."

Jiang Qinshi knew a little about Emperor Zhaowu's favor towards Qin Yun, but she never expected that he would favor her to such an lawless degree. She shook her head helplessly.

Concubine Yun turned her gaze back and said, "The little friend you mentioned Niannian, are you talking about the Ninth Prince?"

"You are quite smart." Jiang Qin sighed.

"You just came back from Yecheng, and so did the Ninth Prince. Nian Nian's friend is ill, and the Ninth Prince's legs are seriously injured and have not recovered yet. You also wrote to ask who the young boy in the portrait is. Is there anything you can't guess? However, does Nian Nian know that the young boy is the Ninth Prince?"

Jiang Qin's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean the Ninth Prince? He's back from Yecheng?"

…

"Has the Ninth Prince really returned?" At the palace banquet, a girl in yellow asked, grabbing the maid beside her.

"I just inquired and found out that the Ninth Prince just came back two days ago. He is currently staying in Shouhuai Palace."

The yellow-dressed girl couldn't hide her ecstasy in her eyes, "I've finally been waiting for this."

She stood up and said to the maid, "Don't follow me."

As soon as she stood up, other young ladies from aristocratic families asked, "Chen Xiuying, where are you going?"

Chen Xiuying looked at them with a layer of cold contempt, as if she was too lazy to talk to them, and said perfunctorily: "I'm a little bored, I'm alone, I'm going out for a walk."

After Shen Xiuying left, the women from the aristocratic families looked at her with the same contemptuous eyes.

"She's probably going to seduce a man again."

"This young lady of Lord Shen doesn't even know how to write the word 'womanly virtue'."

"She was born in a low family, so naturally she wanted to do something good for herself. Her mother was originally just a concubine, but later on, I don't know what means she used to replace the wife and become the legal wife. But a concubine is still a concubine, and Shen Xiuying's identity as a legitimate daughter is not clean."

"I thought she would be quiet after falling into the water once..."

After leaving the courtyard where the women at the banquet were, Shen Xiuying breathed a sigh of relief.

Half a year ago, Shen Xiuying fell into the water, and when she woke up, she had the memories of her past life.

She was finally reborn, and the person she had been waiting for finally showed up.

She was reborn at this time, just in time.

No one took the young boy with crippled legs seriously. No one knew that he would be the future emperor.

Of course she heard the scolding behind her.

From a very young age, she watched her mother deal with men and understood a truth early on.

If she wanted to live a good life and no longer be despised by others, she had to find a powerful man to be her husband.

But she had been scheming all her life in her previous life and lost her virginity to the Fourth Prince before marriage. She thought she could marry him, but in the end she became his concubine. Later, when the new emperor ascended the throne, she and the fourth prince became prisoners.

That man actually used her body as a bargaining chip to bribe the jailer!

Later, he fell into the brothel and died with hatred in his heart. She hated, hated those men with sweet words.

This time, she won't choose the wrong person again.

Shen Qinying walked hurriedly, her heart beating very fast.

Before the new emperor ascended the throne, she had never paid attention to him.

At that time, how could she tolerate a disabled person in her eyes?

But if this disabled man were to become the emperor in the future, she would not mind his disability.

She still remembered the grandeur of the new emperor when he was touring the city, sitting in a sedan chair and surrounded by people cheering.

There was only a little maid beside him, fanning him with a small fan.

The position belonging to the queen is empty.

After ascending the throne for several years, he not only did not have a queen, he did not even have a concubine.

If she could be in that position beside him... enjoying the support and admiration of thousands of people.

Those who laughed at her and ridiculed her could only kneel at her feet.

Shen Qinying's heartbeat became faster and faster.

Soon, they arrived at Shouhuai Palace.

She held her breath

After waiting for a long time, I finally heard footsteps and the sound of wheels.

Since there was the sound of wheels, it was most likely the Ninth Prince, the future new emperor.

Chen Xiuying's body followed the habit of her previous life. As soon as her legs softened, she wanted to kneel down to the future monarch. She listened carefully and heard the voice of a little eunuch, "The person that His Highness the Ninth Prince is looking for, I have already found out..."

His Highness the Ninth Prince. Shen Xiuying was overjoyed, and heard the sound coming from the corner, where she fell to the ground with a plop.

She rubbed her ankle and said “Ouch, ouch”, tears in her eyes. She looked towards the corner, looking pitiful.

"Are you from this palace?"

She looked at Rong Ting, "I'm lost..."

Rong Ting glanced over casually.

Good means

She played with it and found many loopholes.

I really don't want to care. Rong Ting's cold and gloomy eyebrows became more gloomy.

But Shen Qinying was standing in the middle of the road.

Her eyes were blurred by tears and she could not see Rong Ting's expression. She thought that since Rong Ting had crippled legs, he would surely be more sympathetic and understanding of a weak and injured person. She said with a sad face, "I just twisted my ankle accidentally. My leg hurts so much..."

Rong Ting frowned slightly.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Shen Xiuying carefully revealed her identity, "I am the daughter of Minister Shen. Can you let your followers help me up?"

Huai Qing was about to go over when he heard Rong Ting say, "Wait."

"Minister Shen's legitimate daughter, right?" Rong Ting's face was gloomy.

In the past few days, he has sorted out the personnel relationships of all the aristocratic families in the capital, whether they have the surname Jiang or not, he has gone through them all, just to be absolutely sure.

Shen Xiuying said that she was the legitimate daughter of Minister Shen, so she was the second daughter of the Shen family.

He said tiredly, "Second Miss Shen, next time, at least choose a gravel road to fall on."

"or……"

He paused, reached for his waist, suddenly pulled out a dagger and threw it in front of her.

"It would be better if you just cut your own tendons, and act more realistically."

He smiled, his face was charming and beautiful, but his cold tone revealed indifference and impatience, "I'll lend you a knife, pick it."

Chen Qinying looked at the cold, shining blade on the ground.

My legs were shaking and my eyes were wide.

This was not the weak and pitiful thing she had imagined.

It was certainly not the understanding and sympathy she had imagined.

This is a madman.

Rong Ting glanced at her with disdain.

His voice was cold and mocking: "Can't you do it yourself?"

He tapped his slender fingers impatiently, and said caringly, "Huai Qing, help her."

Huai Qing watched his master's actions and was filled with admiration.

Walk forward and pick up the knife.

Shen Qinying was so scared that she immediately got up and ran away.

…

While running, I bumped into someone.

Jiang Rao had been chasing the white cat that had gone mad and was running wildly. When she ran here, she was bumped by Shen Xiuying and she barely steadied her steps.

She glanced at the official lady who ran away hurriedly without caring about bumping into her, and was completely confused.

This young lady from an official family seems to have tears on her face? His expression was a little out of control.

Is this the imperial palace?

How could there be such a young lady from an official family who doesn't care about her manners?