The old eunuch was stunned for a moment, then stared intently at the Fifth Prince. "Your Highness?"
The eunuch holding the lantern shouted angrily, "What are you looking at? This is the current emperor's fifth prince, and this is the current emperor's little princess!"
The old eunuch immediately smiled and said, "I just guessed that these two must be the young masters, the former Fifth Prince and Little Princess! I pay my respects to the two young masters."
As he spoke, he bowed.
"But my two young masters, this is the cold palace. It's inhabited by convicted criminals. It's not a place you should be."
Although the old eunuch had a flattering expression on his face, he was still determined to stop the few people.
"Even if she is a criminal in the cold palace, you can't beat her like this!" said the fifth prince indignantly.
The old eunuch smiled grimly, "Young Master, you don't understand. Those imprisoned in the cold palace are prone to mischief. Occasionally, they are whipped to curb their temper. The two nobles should return quickly!"
[Damn it!] Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help cursing in his heart when he heard this.
[You wicked, smoky old shrew! You think we're just little kids and you don't take us seriously? Damn it, if I don't teach you a lesson today, I'm not Princess Anguo!]
Xia Miaoyuan's face flushed with anger, his eyes widened, and he shouted in a baby voice, "Bad guy!"
The fifth prince was also filled with anger, and after hearing his sister's voice, he became even more indignant.
He glared at the old eunuch and shouted angrily, "This matter today will be handled by this prince!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he angrily pushed the old eunuch away and strode into the house.
Seeing the Fifth Prince's reaction, Nanny Li, Yingxue and several other followers followed suit and forced their way in.
Several people walked into the house. Although they knew that this was the cold palace and were mentally prepared, they were still shocked by the scene in front of them.
The house smelled musty and was full of rags and tatters.
There was a small earthen kang in the corner of the room. Although there was a kang, it was very cold inside the room, obviously because there was no fire to heat the kang.
The walls inside the house were no longer their original color, now a dark, yellowish black. The windows were covered with tattered window paper, patched and layered to prevent the cold wind from entering through the holes.
Looking elsewhere, there was a wobbly wooden table and a broken chair with the red paint worn off.
On the table was a bowl of vegetable porridge mixture that looked like pig food.
This scene was so disgusting that not only the pampered Xia Miaoyuan and the Fifth Prince, but even the servants such as Li Ma and Yingxue felt sick.
Looking at the kang again, a woman was huddled there, wrapped in a dirty quilt.
The woman had a sour smell, her hair was messy, and her face was yellow, black and rough.
Although she looks so miserable, it is not difficult to tell from her features that she must have been a beauty before she was banished to the cold palace.
The woman lowered her head timidly, but seemed to be in a state of psychological conflict. She wanted to see the people who came into the room, so she squinted her eyes and looked at them with great effort.
"Who are you? I am the Fifth Prince. Don't worry, tell me, did this old guy beat or scold you? I will seek justice for you!" said the Fifth Prince righteously.
After hearing the Fifth Prince's words, the woman who had been cowering seemed touched. She slowly raised her head and asked softly, "Are you... the Fifth Prince?"
"Yes, I am the fifth prince!"
The woman's eyes suddenly lit up, and she threw away the quilt, crawled to the edge of the kang using her hands and feet, and stared at the fifth prince's face with her eyes.
Everyone in the room was terrified.
The few attendants in particular were trembling with fear. Many people who had been locked up in the cold palace for years became mentally ill. Could this woman also be crazy?
Are you trying to attack the Fifth Prince?
The eunuch holding the lantern hurriedly protected the fifth prince behind him.
The woman didn't care about anything else and continued to lean forward and stare at the Fifth Prince's face.
When her eyes fell upon the red birthmark on the left side of the Fifth Prince's jaw, she screamed in surprise, "Ah! It's you!"
Then, the woman covered her face tightly with her hands, buried her head, and cried silently in a strange posture.
[Wow! Why is she reacting so strongly?] Xia Miaoyuan was in Yingxue's arms, her mouth open in surprise.
Suddenly, Xia Miaoyuan felt a flash of inspiration.
[Could she be the fifth prince's biological mother?]
The fifth prince was also trembling when he heard his sister's thoughts.
In fact, just now, after this woman stared at him intently and shouted that nonsensical sentence, he also thought of this problem.
My sister had said before that her biological mother was a concubine of low rank, and Concubine Jiang snatched her away from her biological mother.
"You..." The fifth prince pulled away the eunuch in front of him and stretched out his hands to help the woman up.
He looked directly at the woman with his innocent eyes and said gently, "Were you my father's concubine before?"
The woman's eyes were red from crying. She wiped her tears, nodded slightly, and avoided his gaze, as if she didn't want to look at the fifth prince.
"Tell me, tell me! Tell me, is it true?" the fifth prince asked frantically.
"I used to be Zhou Baolin." The woman answered in a low voice.
[Zhou Baolin!] Xia Miaoyuan was stunned.
[I remember now, her surname is Zhou. The fifth prince's biological mother's surname is Zhou!]
The Fifth Prince firmly grasped the woman's shoulders and asked, word by word, "Did you give birth to a child nine years ago?"
The woman's eyes slowly met the Fifth Prince's expectant gaze, and she suddenly burst into tears.
"Yes! Yes!" she cried loudly.
The Fifth Prince could no longer hold back his tears, which fell like beads from a broken string. He asked in a sobbing voice, "Is it you? Is it you?"
Xia Miaoyuan was stunned by the scene before him.
[Oh my god! Xiaowu actually knew the secret of my life?]
[Ahhhhhh! I always thought he was stupid, but I didn't expect he knew everything and was just pretending!]
[Oh my god, I suddenly feel like I underestimated Xiaowu. Oh no, it's Fifth Brother.]
[From now on I will never call you a little fool again, nor will I secretly call you Xiaowu in my heart.] Xia Miaoyuan thought about this and stuck out his tongue.
The followers in the room were completely confused and had no idea what the Fifth Prince was doing.
"Your Highness, do you know her?" The eunuch holding the lantern looked puzzled.
The Fifth Prince ignored her and instead held the woman's face in his hands, saying solemnly, "Don't be afraid. Jiang Qiqiu is dead. What happened back then can be vindicated."
The woman's eyes widened in shock for a moment, and then she laughed out loud towards the sky as if venting years of grievances.
The fifth prince hugged the woman tightly, and the woman also stretched out her arms and hugged him tightly.
The people in the room were all stunned.
"What's going on?" Nanny Li looked at Yingxue.
Yingxue shook her head in confusion: "I don't know."
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