When he was a child, Nangong Heng talked a lot, but only to her.
He could play with Feng Mian and the servants, but he didn't like to pay attention to her sisters and kept hanging around her all day.
He kept calling her "Sister Yi", and his round little face felt nice to pinch, so she couldn't refuse his many requests.
Seeing the young man swearing another oath in front of him, Wei Shuyi felt a lump in his throat and couldn't help crying: If there hadn't been that disaster, if the Wei family were still in this world, they could have talked openly about their childhood memories instead of meeting each other like this and not being able to recognize each other.
"You, what's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing. I'm still sad after all. You're right. I can't hide it. At least in front of adults, I can cry."
Nangong Heng sat there at a loss, and asked tentatively: "Do you like the emperor very much? Even if he can't give you a dedicated commitment?"
"Your Excellency is joking. Now that I've entered the palace, what choice do I have? He certainly can't favor only me, but I can work hard to make him lean towards..."
"You can't do that!" He was furious and interrupted her directly, "If you really wanted to frequently seek favor, would this have happened tonight? The emperor is clearly humiliating you!"
Wei Shuyi was secretly shocked: He actually heard it so clearly? And he knew the whole story?
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Nangong Heng continued, "Noble Lady Yi, I'm not stupid. It's not that I can't sense it. Whenever I appear, the Emperor will definitely do something to you before he'll stop. As smart as you are, you should be able to sense it, right? If you were really trying as hard as you said, you would have tried your best to avoid me from the beginning, to annoy me, and force me to abandon you! Only in this way will the Emperor not be angry and will be more partial to you!"
"I'm sorry, I'm not cruel enough. I always feel that you have done nothing wrong and I shouldn't distance myself from you." Wei Shuyi didn't dare look at this face, for fear of recalling the past and feeling sad. "It's getting late, my lord, go back and rest! I should leave too."
She dragged her tired steps forward, still unable to tell the direction.
He whispered behind him, "Turn right to the second corridor entrance, then turn left and you'll be there."
"Okay, thank you, sir."
Nangong Heng watched her leave, then stared at the direction of the rockery in a daze. Finally, he couldn't help it, and flew over there with his lightness skills, and reached out to pick up the broken brocade.
——
Wei Shuyi hadn't mentioned what happened last night to anyone. Jing Ning was too careless to understand the situation, but Wen Yu, on the other hand, had a worried look on her face more than once, which was truly unsettling.
"Miss, may I put some more powder on you? You will be attending the plowing ceremony with everyone else this afternoon. You can't go there listlessly like this, or you'll attract gossip!"
"good."
Sitting in front of the mirror, she tried to curl the corners of her mouth, but she felt that the smile was hypocritical and forced.
Wen Yu couldn't help but say, "Miss, the emperor called you away, what on earth did he do? When you came back at night, I noticed something was wrong."
"It's okay. It's normal for a king to be moody."
"The girl, please stop dwelling on unhappy things. We have a lot to do on this patrol and we can't be distracted!"
Wei Shuyi nodded: "I know what I'm doing and I won't delay the important matters."
When she finished dressing, Jingning ran in from the courtyard and happily told them, "The people in the General's Mansion are so kind! They know that my lady must have been exhausted from the journey, so they specially sent someone to deliver breakfast. It smells so delicious! I stole a peek and saw that there were even fruits from Liuyanzhai!"
An attendant lowered his head and brought in a food box. He spoke with a slightly choked voice.
"Hello, noble lady Yi. I am here on the orders of the Major General to bring you some food."
Fengmian? !
Wen Yu noticed her abnormality and decisively pulled Jing Ning out, saying that he had to arrange the meal and prepare it immediately.
In the inner room, they were the only ones left.
Wei Shuyi tried his best to suppress his surging emotions, and pressed his shoulders with trembling hands: "You are much stronger than before. The last few times I saw you, you were like dry firewood..."
"Sister." Wei Fengmian had obviously put aside his concerns and looked up to meet her eyes. "You've suffered a lot in the palace! Now that you're a concubine, is your life easy? Has the emperor ever given you any hardship? Does he, including other women, target you?"
She shook her head vigorously and replied with a smile: "They are all trivial matters. It's okay. I handled them all and was not injured. What about you? Why did you suddenly enter the general's mansion? Are you living well? Has anyone bullied you? How is your health now?"
"When the Major General was inspecting the East Suburbs camp, I specially made him a bowl of noodles, the kind my sister used to make when we were little... He probably recognized me, so he brought me here and carefully trained me. Now I'm an attendant beside the Major General. My status is different from before, and no one dares to bully me! Moreover, he also taught me martial arts and kept me well fed and clothed. Brother Qingshi is really kind!"
Qingshi, this is Nangong Heng's nickname.
He had asked her many times to omit the honorific and call him by these two words, but she couldn't open her mouth.
Upon learning that his younger brother was being treated well and was even learning skills in the general's mansion, Wei Shuyi finally put his worries, which had been hanging in the balance for years, to rest.
She patted his head gently as she did when they were little: "Follow them and work hard! Don't let the Nangong family down, understand?"
"Yes! I will!"
"Sisters, do you have any clues?"
When this was mentioned, the light in Wei Fengmian's eyes dimmed a lot. "No. Back then, my sisters were all sent to the Beijing Art Museum, and there was no news of them since. I once asked the prince, but the people he sent couldn't find any clues. Sister, do you think my sisters are still... alive?"
"She's definitely alive! Everyone in our family is blessed with good fortune! Look, you were lucky enough to be found by King Lian and have his protection. Your sisters will surely meet kind people too, and who knows where they're enjoying good fortune!"
Of course, this was just her way of comforting people.
They all knew what happened to women who fell into brothels.
Wen Yu arranged everything and coughed softly, "Miss, it's time for breakfast. Are you ready?"
"Coming right up."
She looked at Feng Mian's appearance again, trying to imprint him in her mind, then reluctantly let go of his hand and led him out.
"Thank your master on my behalf."
"Yes, I'll take my leave!"
In front of outsiders, they can only return to their original identities and speak strange and polite words.
But it's enough.
She could understand Nangong Heng's good intentions.
Jing Ning looked at the fruit and swallowed: "My lady, can I try one? It seems that there are too many things. You can't finish it by yourself, hehe..."
"We are outside the palace, why are you being so reserved? Everyone, please sit down and have dinner with me."
“Okay!”
Outside the courtyard, a figure stood for a long time.
Seeing the master and servant sitting together intimately, enjoying delicious food and chatting, he hesitated for a few steps and finally left.
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