It was midsummer, the sun was shining brightly, and ice cubes were placed in the rooms of all the masters of the Duke's Mansion, but the slight cool breeze was still unable to drive away the midsummer heat.

"Mother, why don't you come with us? It's really too hot today. It would be better for you to follow the emperor to avoid the heat." Shen Xinyan persuaded the eldest princess.

The eldest princess shook her head and said, "Let the little ones go. I am too old to make this trip."

Shen Xinyan tried to persuade her for a long time, but seeing that she still refused, she gave up.

A few days ago, Emperor Yuanyou decided to drive to the royal summer resort. The only concubine accompanying him was Concubine Ruigui, and there were more than a dozen court officials. The crown prince stayed in the capital to handle state affairs on his behalf.

Wei Chenglin was also on the list of escorts this time, and Wei Yingzhi, as the future niece-in-law of Concubine Rui Guifei, was naturally nominated by Concubine Rui Guifei to go. Seeing that the brothers and sisters of the second house could go, Yang also went to Shen Xinyan with a drooling face, hoping that her two sons could also go to see the world.

The eldest princess simply made the decision to let all the young people go except the young Xiang Ge'er, and Wei Yingzhi also brought Shen Huiran along.

On the day of departure, Wei Chenglin and his sister came to say goodbye to Shen Xinyan. Looking at the eldest son who had become more and more taciturn since his marriage proposal was rejected, Shen Xinyan sighed silently, gave a few instructions as usual, took her youngest son's hand and sent them out the door.

***

"The Duke is not here, and the Crown Prince and the Fourth Miss are not here either. I'm a little uncomfortable. I feel like the mansion is a lot emptier." Chunliu suddenly said while tidying up the house.

Shen Xinyan was gently fanning her little son. The boy was only wearing a big red bellyband, and his arms and legs were as white and tender as lotus roots. He was sleeping soundly.

Hearing Chunliu's words, she paused. Thinking of Wei Junhang who had not returned for more than half a year, she felt a little worried.

"He hasn't written in over a month," she murmured.

"Don't worry, ma'am. Maybe the letter is still on the way!" Chunliu comforted with a smile.

Shen Xinyan smiled and said, "If he doesn't come back, I'm afraid Xiang'er will forget about his father. When he comes back, he will complain about this little guy not being close to his father!"

Wei Junhang likes teasing his little son who looks very much like him the most. The little boy loves to laugh. When he is teased, he will burst into a series of cheerful laughter, which makes people's hearts melt.

"Are the fruits that Xinfu sent last time still available?" she asked.

Naturally, Pingfu was also among the accompanying chariot this time. A few days ago, he sent a lot of fresh fruits picked at the Summer Resort for the elders of the Duke's Mansion to taste.

“There are still some.”

"Pick out some good ones and send them to Hu Zi from Qiutang's family." Shen Xinyan ordered.

Chunliu agreed and went out to prepare.

At night, Shen Xinyan still slept with her little son in her arms.

The night Wei Junhang left, she felt a little uncomfortable lying on the wide bed, so she simply took her little son in her arms and hugged his soft and chubby little body. She finally felt that her heart was not so empty.

The moonlight shone through the window lattice into the room, casting a thin layer of silver light. In the distance, the night watchman's gong rang again and again, and Xiang Ge'er's even breathing echoed in her ears. Unconsciously, she gradually fell into sleep.

"I, I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it. She suddenly rushed over to me, and I, I just pushed her, but I didn't expect it to... I really didn't mean it! She ran over to me fiercely and pointed at me and cursed me, and she cursed me so badly, I was so angry... Believe me, I really didn't mean it, I just didn't expect her to hit her head..."

"You beast, you beast, give my daughter back her life, give my daughter back her life!!"

…

Shen Xinyan woke up from her sleep, gasping for breath.

She patted her rapidly heaving chest, and after a while, she slowly wiped the sweat from her forehead.

It was this dream again… The heart-wrenching pain and despair in the dream were so real. Even though two lifetimes had passed, every time she recalled it, it was as if she had been tortured one more time.

She knew this was not a dream, but something that really happened in her previous life.

However, in recent years, she has stopped thinking about the unpleasant things in her past life, and even such dreams rarely occur. Why did she have such a dream again today?

Her Ying'er lived a good life and would soon be engaged to Lingfu, who loved her deeply. Although she was still a little coquettish, she was no longer as impulsive and irritable as she was in her previous life.

In fact, she had grown up to be able to take on the responsibilities of a mistress of a mansion. Even the noble concubine in the palace had to admit her excellence.

She was suddenly kicked in the abdomen. She frowned slightly in pain and came to her senses.

She turned sideways and saw her little son sleeping in a big letter shape, with one leg resting on her lower abdomen.

She reached out her hand helplessly and picked up the little guy who had rolled to the innermost part at some point. She looked at the little face sleeping sweetly in the moonlight and couldn't help but lower her head to kiss him.

This child that she didn't have in her previous life has completely healed the pain. His birth means that she is living completely in the present.

After figuring this out, she took a soft breath, slowly closed her eyes, and allowed herself to fall asleep again.

"Madam, please let go of my hand. The fourth girl is gone..."

"Get out, get out, all of you! My Ying'er is still fine, you are not allowed to curse her! Get out!!!"

"Madam, please don't be like this. If the Fourth Miss were still alive, she would not have the heart to see you like this!"

…

When Shen Xinyan woke up from a nightmare the next night as usual, she felt a little uneasy.

I haven't dreamed about my past life for a long time, so why did I dream about the same thing for two consecutive nights recently?

This is really...

Her heart was in turmoil and she couldn't fall asleep again that night.

"It's my fault, all my fault. If my cousin Ying'er hadn't come to vent my anger, how could she have been killed by that beast?"

"Madam, Miss Hui... committed suicide by hanging herself!"

…

Shen Xinyan suddenly sat up from her dream, breathing rapidly with her eyes closed.

Hearing the strange noise, Chunliu hurried in: "Madam?"

"Chunliu, have someone prepare the car at daybreak. I'm going to the summer resort!" She grabbed Chunliu's sleeve and ordered in a hoarse voice.

"What's wrong with you, Madam? Why do you want to go to a summer resort for no reason?" Chunliu was puzzled.

"I won't feel at ease if I don't make this trip. Just do as I tell you." Shen Xinyan didn't know how to explain to her.

"Okay, I'll tell people to prepare as soon as it gets light. It's still a few hours before daybreak, why don't you lie down for a while? It takes most of the day to get from the capital to the summer resort, you can't not take a rest, okay?" Chunliu advised softly.

Shen Xinyan nodded, and lay down again under her care. This time, he stayed awake until dawn.

She got up just as the sky turned pale, and quickly washed and dressed herself, not even having time for breakfast. She only told the wet nurse to take Xiang'er to the Grand Princess when he woke up. She then hurried out with Chunliu and told the driver, who had been prepared long ago, to go to the royal summer resort.

***

When Consort Rui Guifei heard that Lady Yinggong was asking for an audience, she was shocked and asked, "Why is Lady Yinggong here?"

Although she was puzzled, she still ordered the palace maid to invite him quickly.

On the way here, Shen Xinyan had already thought of a way to answer Concubine Rui's questions, so although Concubine Rui was surprised by her arrival, she didn't care too much. She just chatted with her about Lin Fu and Wei Yingzhi for a while, and then ordered the palace maid to take her to Wei Yingzhi and Shen Huiran's residence.

"Both girls are not here. It seems they went to the garden to enjoy the scenery." I never thought that I would find Wei Yingzhi and Shen Huiran were not here later. When I asked the maid, I learned that the two cousins ​​had been out for a while.

"Madam, why don't you wait here while I go find the two girls?" suggested the palace maid who brought her here.

"Thank you, young lady. This is my first time here as well. Why not take this opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this royal manor?" Shen Xinyan felt a little uneasy and naturally couldn't calm down and wait.

Naturally, the palace maid would not go against her wishes. After carefully asking about the places Wei Yingzhi and Shen Huiran might go, she took Shen Xinyan to look for them.

The two searched several places, but could not find either Wei Yingzhi or Shen Huiran.

Seeing the maid sweating from exhaustion, Shen Xinyan felt a little sorry for her. Seeing a pavilion not far ahead, she suggested that they go there to rest for a while. The maid naturally agreed.

I walked quite a distance towards the pavilion when I heard a series of heavy but chaotic footsteps behind me, followed by a "pop" as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.

They were both startled at the same time and subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound. Through the layers of overlapping flowers, they actually saw a figure lying under a tree.

Shen Xinyan took a closer look and her expression suddenly changed. She picked up her skirt and ran towards the man quickly, completely ignoring the palace maid behind her.

"Lin'er, Lin'er..." She ran to the man, squatted down and tried hard to help him up.

"Prince Wei?!" The palace maid who was chasing after him was startled when she saw the man's appearance.

Wei Chenglin's face was flushed, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his teeth were clenched, and he looked painful.

"Don't, don't, don't touch me!" He shouted loudly when he noticed someone beside him and reached out to shake off the hand that was supporting him, but stopped when he recognized the face of the person in front of him.

"M-Mother?"

"Madam, please wait a moment. I will call the imperial physician right away!" The palace maid knew at a glance that he must have been poisoned by the drug. She did not dare to delay and left in a hurry after saying so.

"What happened? Why are you…"

"Hurry, hurry and save my cousin. She's in the house in front, in front!" Wei Chenglin struggled to resist the increasingly powerful effects of the drug in his body and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth.

"Hui'er?" Shen Xinyan was shocked.

"Go quickly!! I, I'm not worried!"