Chapter 6 Oops, we fell into a trap!
It seems that Queen Mother Jiang is going to use the same old trick again...
Empress Xu laughed out of anger, and that suppressed laughter echoed in the empty hall, carrying a somewhat creepy meaning.
Yes, that greedy and ignorant crazy woman, Mrs. Jiang, can only resort to such underhanded tactics.
As she laughed, she suddenly burst into tears, and her sadness was evident in her words.
Upon seeing this, everyone in the hall dared not make a sound and remained silent.
Yang Manyan felt even more uneasy, and even his breathing became lighter unconsciously. He felt that time was extremely long, as if a dead leaf was falling in the sky but would never touch the ground.
Even Xu Miaohua couldn't help but shiver. She had never seen her aunt look so nearly insane.
After a long time, Queen Xu calmed down and began to think about how to deal with it.
Having learned from the previous experience, she must not let Queen Mother Jiang succeed again.
After pondering for a moment, she whispered a few words into the maid's ear.
The maid was surprised at first, then she took the order and left.
Queen Xu looked back at the two girls in front of her and said softly, "Did I scare you just now?"
Yang Manyan and Xu Miaohua hurriedly shook their heads to deny it.
Empress Xu continued, "You all come from the Duke of Wei's mansion. I haven't been home for a long time and miss you so much that I want to talk to you to ease my homesickness."
Xu Miaohua smiled shyly and said, "Before leaving home today, my grandmother specifically asked me to go to the palace and pay my respects to the Empress, so that the Empress would know that everything is fine at home."
Empress Xu nodded with satisfaction, "It's late at night, I need to rest now, Miaohua, please stay and keep me company."
Yang Manyan heard the intention of leaving, so he bowed and left tactfully.
As soon as she walked out of the palace gate, a thin eunuch came up to her holding a lantern and said, "This is your first time in the palace, and I'm afraid you don't know the way. Let me take you back to Chunxi Palace."
Yang Manyan smiled and agreed: "Thank you, sir."
The two returned along the same route, passing through the deserted imperial garden.
But after walking for two quarters of an hour, not only did they not reach the Chunxi Palace, but they went deeper and deeper, turning into pavilions and towers deep in the Imperial Garden.
Yang Manyan suddenly asked, "Father-in-law, are we beating around in circles?"
The young eunuch's heart tightened, and he forced a smile and said, "Miss, you are wrong. This is the way back to Chunxi Palace."
Yang Manyan has an excellent memory, especially good at recognizing roads. She noticed the other party taking a detour for the first time, but she kept it to herself because she didn't understand the other party's intention.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered Empress Xu's meaningful look, and her heart suddenly felt like it was falling into an ice cellar.
Oh no, I’ve fallen into a trap!
She didn't have time to think about it, she picked up her skirt and turned to run.
But the young eunuch was prepared. When he saw that she had been brought to the forbidden area, he immediately rushed forward and sprinkled a handful of powder with a strange fragrance on her face.
Yang Manyan was caught off guard and inhaled a lot of it. He suddenly felt weak all over and was about to fall.
"You..." She was about to question, but the eunuch held her and said in a trembling voice: "Miss, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame me..."
He paused, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "If you want to blame someone, blame the Empress of Renshou Palace!" After saying that, he left her behind and ran away.
Seeing the young eunuch leave, Yang Manyan actually breathed a sigh of relief.
In the imperial garden in mid-spring, the shadows of the trees swayed, and the night wind brushed through the leaves, making rustling sounds.
Yang Manyan pinched his thigh and forced himself to walk towards the Chunxi Palace. However, after taking only two steps, he felt dizzy, hot all over, and his face was burning.
A piercing itch rose from my body, as if countless ants were gnawing at me.
Her consciousness gradually became blurred. After staggering a few steps, she fell heavily to the ground, feeling as if her internal organs were about to shatter.
As expected, misfortune often leads to good fortune, and good fortune often leads to misfortune.
Her family had just been delighted that she had been named by the Queen Mother, but in the blink of an eye, they had suffered such a disaster...
It’s so painful. Is she going to die here?
In a trance, she heard footsteps approaching, and a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart.
She opened her eyes with difficulty, sobbing and calling for help: "Save me..."
The visitor was a tall and imposing man, dressed in a dark-patterned suit, a jade belt around his waist, and a golden crown to tie his hair.
Under the moonlight, his shadow was stretched extremely long, completely covering the girl's petite body, like an invisible cage.
In the darkness, Yang Manyan couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he could feel the sinister and fierce aura emanating from his body, which was a chilling and murderous aura.
After a moment, a chilling male voice sounded: "Which palace are you from?"
After several expansions and renovations, the Imperial Garden located directly north of the Imperial Palace covers a vast area and is dotted with pavilions and towers.
Everyone in the palace knew that the area around Xuanguang Pavilion deep in the Imperial Garden was a forbidden area. Ordinary palace maids and eunuchs were not allowed to get close to it. Violators would be killed without mercy.
Xuanguang Pavilion is where the current emperor lives when he is in secret.
Few people know that when it was late at night, the emperor would always dismiss his attendants and step into this secret place alone.
Tonight is no exception.
Xiao Ke glared coldly at the woman who collapsed on the ground and begged him for help, and instinctively regarded her as a palace maid with bad intentions.
Having been in a high position for many years, he has long been accustomed to such situations. He has always ignored them and was unwilling to even give them a glance.
But at this moment, he inexplicably broke the rule and strode towards her in the cold moonlight.
"Please... I can't move..." The girl's voice was sweet, soft and tender with a tearful tone, and the ending tone trembled slightly, as if it was soaked in honey and was as alluring as if it was soaked in honey.
She was dressed in plain clothes, just like any other palace maid, but her bright and delicate face could not be concealed.
At this moment, her cheeks were flushed like clouds, her brows were slightly furrowed, her bright almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, and she kept sobbing, like a cub trapped in a trap, so weak that it made people feel pity.
A strong and strange fragrance lingered around his nose. Xiao Ke frowned and said in a low and hoarse voice, "Who sent you here?"
Yang Manyan was so frightened that his whole body trembled and he could only sob and shake his head.
She was well aware of her identity as a concubine to be selected. Any mistake in the deep palace would implicate her family, so she gritted her teeth and dared not reveal a single word.
The man in front of her had a tall and straight figure and a dignified aura. He didn't look like a eunuch in the inner court, but more like the commander of the imperial guards. This made her even more flustered. Her mind went blank and she couldn't think of any way to save herself.
Although Xiao Ke had no experience in this area, he was able to keenly notice the girl's abnormality.
Reason urged him to leave quickly and ordered people to severely punish the palace maid who trespassed into the forbidden area.
Thinking of this, he turned around decisively.
Seeing the man was about to leave, Yang Manyan's heart sank: "Don't..."
She suppressed her shame, moved her body with difficulty, and hugged the man's legs: "Sir, please don't leave... I seem to have been poisoned, please save me..."
She begged and cried, her voice full of despair.
Xiao Ke frowned and wanted to kick her away, but he felt inexplicably soft-hearted and could only coldly scold her: "Let go!"
However, the girl clung to him like a dodder, getting tighter and tighter.
Yang Manyan knew very well that her behavior was extremely embarrassing, but she was really desperate.
The man's face was terribly gloomy, but it happened that he was the one who personally ordered the closure of this forbidden area, and there were no guards nearby who could be summoned.
As he lowered his eyes, he met the girl's tearful almond-shaped eyes, which were full of spring love, which made him dazed for a moment.
After a long stalemate, Xiao Ke was finally defeated.
He leaned over, picked up the person, and strode towards the Xuanguang Pavilion not far away.
The girl's body was limp and powerless, lying in his arms like a pool of spring water.
Inside the Xuanguang Pavilion, a few orange candles flickered sporadically, but fortunately the windows were wide open, allowing the silvery moonlight to pour in.
The house was fully furnished, the bedding on the bunk bed was as smooth as new, and the desks and bookshelves were spotless, obviously someone cleaned it regularly.
Xiao Ke placed the person on the bed and wrapped her tightly with the embroidered quilt, almost tying her up like a cocoon.
The oppressive aura of the man hit Yang Manyan in the face. Yang Manyan couldn't stop trembling, but subconsciously wanted to get closer to him to absorb more.
She looked up and saw the man in front of her with cold and sharp eyebrows and features, and a calm and reserved air that came from years of experience. He looked to be in his early thirties and might have already been a father.
As she thought of this, she suddenly felt a fire burning inside her body, which made her consciousness blurry. She began to tear off her clothes in a frenzy, struggling to break free from the embroidered quilt.
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