nightmare
Inside the Princess Yong'an Palace in the Imperial Palace
Song Xi asked the maid who was on night watch to leave the bedroom. The room was empty and quiet.
She sat alone in front of the window, staring at the moon in the sky with lifeless eyes, and a voice kept ringing in her head, "Song Xi, it's you who killed my father and mother, and made our family fall into this state. It's all because of you."
Song Xi covered her ears and cried silently. She wanted to shout, but no sound came out.
To ask why she was like this and what she had been through, we have to start from a month ago.
A month ago, after the palace examination results were announced, Gu Shi got second place and was appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.
When Gu Shisan was on duty, he happened to meet Song Xi who had just returned to the palace, and greeted her.
Speaking of which, Song Xi had never met Gu Shi. He had only heard Aning mention him, and the two had no connection at all.
As for the matter of Gu Shi being involved with Prince Song Ting of Jing Wang, Song Jing and Song Yizhou had never mentioned it to Song Xi, or rather, they had not let her know that Song Ting was still alive.
What happened back then had already left a big shadow on Song Xi, so no one would mention the matter of Prince Jing in front of Song Xi.
Song Xi glanced at Gu Shi, nodded and left without talking to him. He just felt that the other person's eyebrows and eyes looked somewhat familiar, but didn't think much about it.
Gu Shi concealed the dark color in his eyes, and a calculation arose in his mind.
Everyone in the world knows that Princess Yong'an Songxi is the daughter of Prince Jing who rebelled in the past, but no one says anything bad about Songxi.
Not to mention that Song Xi grew up with Emperor Song Jing since birth and had never seen his biological father.
When Prince Jing rebelled, if Princess Yong'an Songxi had not risked her life to pass on the news to the Regent, Prince Jing might not have been captured.
Therefore, Princess Yong'an was a great contributor to the Song Dynasty and the most beloved sister of the current emperor, but no one dared to look down on her.
Last March, it was Gu Shi who was responsible for the assassination of Princess Yong'an, but unfortunately the plan was disrupted by the sudden appearance of Lin Yan.
Logically speaking, if the plan had succeeded, Gu Shi would have already captured Song Xi. Song Xi was Song Jing's most beloved sister, so he would not be on guard against her.
Gu Shi has a way to make her work for him, and then he can make her his insider in the palace.
Unfortunately, the plan failed, and Song Yizhou placed more secret guards around Song Xi, making it difficult for him to take action.
Later, Song Xi went to the academy. Although she would go out of the palace every day, she was always accompanied by Lin Yan and Song Yizhou's secret guards, making it impossible for her to take action.
It was impossible for Gu Shi to keep an eye on Song Xi all the time, so he gave up his plans for her.
Nothing went well for him in the capital this year. He failed to accomplish anything he wanted to do. Instead, he aroused Song Yizhou's suspicion, and his influence was greatly reduced.
Gu Shi knew that he didn't have much time left. If he continued like this, and Song Yizhou and others eliminated his forces one by one, he would have no chance of turning the tables.
So he now needs to find a suitable time to rebel and capture the capital in one fell swoop. Then, he can take back the position that belongs to him.
And it's time for Song Xi, his good sister, to play her role.
So Gu Shi planned several encounters with Princess Yong'an.
Gu Shi's appearance is not much like Prince Jing and Madam Shen, which is why he dared to change his identity and walk around the capital.
No one in the capital knew what Prince Jing looked like. The only person who had seen him when he was thirteen years old was Song Xi.
Even though they hadn't seen each other for five years, Gu Shi's appearance had changed a lot and he had even changed his appearance a little, but he was sure that Song Xi would recognize him.
Just as Gu Shi thought, Song Xi became suspicious after seeing Gu Shi.
One night, Gu Shi sent someone to deliver a letter to Princess Yong'an's palace.
After the assassination, Song Xi did not encounter any danger again. Over time, there were fewer secret guards staying by her side to protect her.
The man sent by Gu Shi easily placed the letter on Song Xi's bedside. Before leaving, he flicked out a stone, smashing the teacup on the table and making a noise.
Song Xi was woken up by the noise, and at the same time, the palace maid who was on night watch also woke her up. She hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what happened?"
The moonlight shone through the window, and Song Xi sat up drowsily and saw the broken teacup on the ground.
The palace maid walked up and saw it, she breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the broken cup and left. Before leaving, she comforted Song Xi: "The cup fell to the ground and broke, Your Highness, don't worry, just continue sleeping."
Song Xi nodded, and when she was about to lie down, her hand touched the letter beside the pillow. Her mind suddenly woke up. She had never read any letter before going to bed.
She lit the palace lantern beside the bed, opened the envelope, and the contents of the letter came into view.
"Xi'er, see you at Yongchun Tower tomorrow at 1:00 AM. Mother is still alive. If you don't want to see her again in this lifetime, you can try to tell someone else about this."
The signature was Song Ting's name. Looking at the brief words on the letter, Song Xi's hands couldn't stop shaking, and the nightmarish memories flooded into his mind.
When Prince Jing rebelled, he took advantage of the chaos to abduct Song Xi. At that time, Prince Jing was forced into his lair by Song Yizhou. Seeing that he was about to be defeated, he almost went crazy.
Prince Jing knew that Song Jing doted on his sister Song Xi, and he imagined that Song Xi knew some secrets, so he kept questioning Song Xi.
How could Song Xi know any secrets? Even if she knew, she wouldn't tell anyone. Looking at her father's crazy look, she felt only fear in her heart.
Prince Jing looked at Song Xi, who was holding her head tightly and refused to say anything no matter how much he was pressed. He snorted coldly and had no sympathy for his daughter at all. He locked her in the woodshed and did not give her any food, trying to force her to tell him something useful.
At first, Song Xi's life was still manageable. Although Prince Jing had forbidden her from eating, her mother, Madam Shen, had been secretly sending her food, so her life was not too difficult.
Although Song Xi had been raised in the palace all these years and had never met Prince Jing and his wife, Madam Shen always missed her daughter and sent many letters to the palace.
Therefore, although the mother and daughter have never met, they always miss each other.
As the days passed, as Song Yizhou's pressure grew, Prince Jing's temper became more and more irritable, and he even killed people at will to vent his anger.
As the wife of Prince Jing, Madam Shen was even more miserable. Every time Prince Jing got drunk, she was the first to suffer. At the very least, he would beat and scold her, and at the worst, he would strangle her and almost kill her.
If Song Ting hadn't stopped him, it might have been Madam Shen's body that came out.
Song Xi's situation was even worse. Prince Jing's patience was completely exhausted. He dragged her to the prison and ordered his men to torture her like a prisoner. They used all kinds of tricks on her, but she said nothing.
Song Xi was only ten years old at that time. He could not stand such torture and almost died from the pain.
Like Prince Jing, Song Ting didn't believe that Song Xi really knew nothing. Knowing that the hard approach wouldn't work, he wanted to try the soft approach. He ran to the cell where Song Xi was imprisoned and asked him about it in person.
Song Ting was only thirteen years old at that time, but one could vaguely see the intelligence and ruthlessness of Prince Jing when he was young in him.
Song Ting had always known that Madam Shen was secretly sending food to Song Xi, but he did not stop her. After knowing that Song Xi had been unwilling to say anything, he came up with this plan to use Madam Shen to make her speak.
When Song Xi heard Song Ting say that Madam Shen was beaten and scolded by Prince Jing every day, she was tortured to the point of being in a trance and kept crying. She hated herself for not being able to help her mother. Now that she was imprisoned, she could only beg Song Ting to help her mother.
Song Ting approached Song Xi, squatted down and said: "As long as you tell us what we want, or you go back and steal the information, nothing will happen to my mother."
Song Xi had been asked these questions countless times, and now Song Ting asked them again. She couldn't help herself and said, "I've said it all, I don't know, I don't know anything, and I won't betray Ajing to steal any information."
Looking at Song Xi who refused to say anything no matter what, Song Pai felt bored. He stood up, patted the non-existent dust on his hands, and said, "You care about your emperor brother. In that case, I don't know what will happen to my mother in the future."
Song Xi widened her eyes and felt that the person standing in front of her was extremely unfamiliar. He was obviously her brother from the same mother, so why was he so cold-blooded?
She yelled: "Song Ting, she is also your mother, why are you so cold-blooded? It was your mother who gave birth to you, but now you refuse to help her."
Song Ting remained expressionless in the face of Song Xi's anger. He turned and left, and ordered the people guarding outside the door: "No one is allowed to come near, not even if my mother comes."
"yes"
In this way, Song Xi was locked up for half a month. She was tortured beyond recognition. When she was about to give up, she heard a noise outside the door.
"The prince ordered me to bring her in for questioning," Madam Gu said to the guard while holding the token.
The cell door opened, and Song Xi looked at his mother who rushed in and couldn't hold on any longer, and fainted.
When Song Xi woke up, he was in Madam Shen's palace. This place was worthy of being the lair of Prince Jing. The decoration was very luxurious and almost comparable to the imperial palace.
Mrs. Shen picked up the hot porridge, blew it cool and fed it to Song Xi.
At this moment, Song Xi had no mind to drink porridge. He pulled Mrs. Shen's hand and asked anxiously: "Mother, did Prince Jing do anything to you? Are you hurt?"
Mrs. Shen put down the bowl, tucked Song Xi’s hair behind her ears, and said softly, “I’m fine, Xishui, don’t worry.”
"Then why did Prince Jing agree to release me?" Song Xi looked at Mrs. Shen worriedly, "Mom, let's run away, it's too dangerous here."
Mrs. Shen held Song Xi's hand tightly and said, "Don't worry, mother has a way to make Xishui leave here."
"What method?" Song Xi's eyes lit up, and then he thought of something, pulled out his hand, and said in a muffled voice: "Mom, you are not here to persuade me to steal some information, are you?"
Mrs. Shen tapped Song Xi's head and said, "What are you thinking about? Of course, your mother will not let you do such a bad thing."
Then he smiled with relief and said, "It seems that our Xishui is growing well in the palace. He is sensible and knows what to do and what not to do."
Hearing that A Niang was not here to ask him to steal information, Song Xi smiled instantly and asked curiously: "Then what method does A Niang have?"
Mrs. Shen did not answer this question, but only asked Song Xi to have a good rest and save his strength to leave later.
On the fifth day after Song Xi left the woodshed, Mrs. Shen took Song Xi, asked her to change into casual clothes, and took her to the secret room.
Song Xi didn't expect that this was the method Mrs. Shen was talking about. She was surprised and pulled Mrs. Shen away: "Then mother, let's leave quickly."
But Madam Shen did not take any action. She looked calm and gave a map to Song Xi, "Xishui, this is the map of this place. Give it to the Regent. The terrain here is dangerous. This map can help the Regent to attack smoothly."
Song Xi was startled, and her heart was in a panic. She hurried to hold Mrs. Shen's hand and said, "Mother, come with me. You go to give it to the emperor's uncle yourself, okay?"
"You go first. If I'm gone, they'll find out immediately, and then you won't be able to escape."
"No, mother, let's go together. It's too dangerous here. If Prince Jing knew that you let me go, he would kill you," Song Xi said anxiously.
"Don't worry, mother will be fine." Mrs. Shen pushed Song Xi away, "If you don't leave today, you will have no chance in the future. Xishui, if you go out now, you may be able to bring reinforcements to save me. Mother will wait for you."
As he spoke, the door of the secret room closed and disappeared along with Mrs. Shen's figure.
Song Xi knew that this was not the time to be sad, so he gritted his teeth and quickly left along the secret passage.
As for Madam Shen, she took advantage of Prince Jing's drunkenness to release Song Xi. However, within an hour, Prince Jing's men immediately discovered something was wrong and went to report to Prince Jing.
In order to let her daughter escape from here, Mrs. Shen set a fire to buy time for Song Xi.
Madam Shen knew that if she let Song Xi go, Prince Jing would not let her go. Rather than being tortured by Prince Jing, she would rather die in the fire.
Seeing the fire getting more and more intense, Prince Jing knew that Madam Shen had let Song Xi go. He snorted coldly and ordered that no one was allowed to rescue her. Just like that, Madam Shen disappeared in the fire.
Song Xi desperately ran out of Prince Jing's lair, escaped the close pursuit of Prince Jing's men, and was rescued by people sent by Song Yizhou.
Prince Jing is now at the end of his strength. When the Empress Dowager heard the news of Song Xi's return, she knew that Prince Jing could no longer hold on.
In order to clear herself of suspicion of treason, the Queen Mother revealed Prince Jing's whereabouts and erased all traces of her involvement.
In this way, Regent Song Yizhou destroyed Prince Jing's lair, and Prince Jing's three-year rebellion came to an end.
After returning to the palace, Song Xi had been waiting for news from her mother, but she waited and waited until Princess Jing died in a fire a few days ago, the day she escaped.
After learning the news of A Niang's death, Song Xi was so sad that he fainted.
During this period, Song Xi had nightmares all the time. He dreamed of the horrible torture instruments in the cell, the piercing pain when the whip hit him, and the last time he saw his mother.
She kept blaming herself, thinking that if she had taken her mother away forcefully, nothing would have happened and her mother would not have died.
Song Xi's injuries were already serious, and after suffering such a great blow, he was able to wake up only after the Imperial Hospital's strenuous rescue efforts.
After waking up, Song Xi never spoke again.
Song Yizhou handed Song Xi an exquisite box he had found, which was left to her by Mrs. Shen.
There was a letter in the box, which contained the words that Mrs. Shen left for her.
The letter said: "Mother is glad that she sent us Xishui to the palace, so that she could teach us so well. I am very satisfied that I can see Xishui before I die. Don't blame yourself, Xishui. This is Mother's choice. Mother regrets marrying such a sinister and cunning man like Prince Jing, but Mother does not regret giving birth to you."
"We, Xishui, are such a kindhearted and strong-willed people. We shouldn't be cursed by the world just because we have such a rebellious pair of parents. Xishui, you should live freely just like your name."
There was another paragraph on the back of the letter, and the handwriting was sharp and completely different from Mrs. Shen's.
It read: "Song Xi, it was you who killed my father and mother, and caused our family to fall into this state, all because of you."
Obviously, this was written by Song Ting. Every stroke and every word is heart-wrenching.
In order not to worry his brother and uncle, Song Xi never mentioned the words Song Ting left on the letter.
Later, Song Ting's body was found, and Song Xi also thought that Song Ting had died in the rebellion long ago.
But those words were always engraved in Song Xi's heart. His mother's death was like a thorn that could not be pulled out.
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