Sheng Xiyan pondered quietly.

Only after Xigui came back with the jujube flower crisps and medicinal herbs did Sheng Xiyan start to get busy again.

This time, it took her four days to make the honey pills. She packed them into three small porcelain bottles and then sent a note to the Zhenbei Palace, and received a reply on the same day.

Sheng Xiyan went to see Nanny Wu.

Madam Wu had been locked up for several days. She had no worries about food and no errands. She seemed to be free, but no one talked to her, and she could not even step out of the house. She was lonely during the day, and at night, she was extremely afraid of the dark and could not sleep. In addition, she suffered from chest pain every two or three days. In a short period of time, Madam Wu was tortured beyond recognition.

Seeing Sheng Xiyan coming in, she just raised her head slowly, with a confused and dull look in her eyes.

Sheng Xiyan didn't sympathize with her at all, and just said, "I'm going to Zhenbei Palace tomorrow, you come with me."

A little light came into Nanny Wu's eyes. Sheng Xiyan's lips curled up slightly, and she said with a smile: "It seems that you are very happy to meet the princess."

When Nanny Wu heard the word "Princess", her heart began to beat wildly, followed by an intense pain, as if her heart was being torn apart by someone. She curled up in pain, covering her chest with her hands.

Sheng Xiyan ignored her and turned away.

So, when she arrived at the Zhenbei Palace again, Nanny Wu was still sitting in the carriage.

By this time, it was already past September, the weather had become much cooler, and the sun was not as scorching.

She went out with Sheng Yan, who rode a horse and called it "escorting".

Sheng Yan now goes to Zhenbei Palace for classes every day. In the morning, he practices martial arts with Chu Yuanyi, and in the afternoon, they go to class together, where they learn military strategies. Sheng Yan is full of energy. He used to hate studying, but now he reads until the second watch every day.

"Ayan."

Chu Yuanyi was waiting for him at the door. When he saw him, he greeted him happily, then bowed to the carriage behind him and said, "Miss Shengda."

Chu Xiyan opened the window curtain, returned the gift, and the carriage continued on its way to the ceremonial gate.

Nanny Lan had been waiting at the ceremony gate early. As soon as the carriage stopped, she went over with a smile on her face. Just as she was greeting everyone, she saw Nanny Wu also get off the carriage.

Nanny Wu lowered her head and looked submissive, her hair mixed with silver threads was neatly tied up, and her expression was wooden.

Nanny Lan was amazed. It had only been a few days, but Miss Shengda was indeed quite capable. She was worthy of being the future Crown Prince's Consort of their palace!

She withdrew her gaze and said enthusiastically: "Miss, the princess is waiting for you, she is thinking about you..." As she spoke, she led Sheng Xiyan to the inner courtyard.

As soon as Jingle saw Sheng Xiyan, her eyes and brows were full of smiles. She warmly invited Sheng Xiyan to sit next to her. As for Nanny Wu, she didn't even look at her.

Jingle looked at Sheng Xiyan carefully for a while, frowned slightly and said, "Why have you become thinner after not seeing you for a few days?"

Sheng Xiyan blinked her eyes and lied: "My princess, you are mistaken. I eat well and sleep well every day. How can I be thin?"

Jingle hit the nail on the head: "It turns out it's because of staying up late and not eating well."

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

Jingle's mouth curled up even higher. This little girl was very alert most of the time, and would be a little wary of everyone, but sometimes, she seemed to be innocent and could be seen through at a glance. Jingle felt relieved, knowing that she was no longer wary of him, so he stopped pretending.

Jingle felt a little distressed. This motherless child, who knows what kind of life she had in the past, to become so cautious. Thinking back to when she was her age, she was fearless, relying on the doting of her father and mother. She didn't even have to worry about anything, and she lived a reckless life without having to consider other people's opinions.

Jingle's gentle eyes fell on her, and she took out a pearl hairpin that she had prepared long ago and inserted it into her hair.

The South China pearls hanging on the hairpin are all the size of a thumb. Sheng Xiyan is already outstanding in appearance, and the soft halo of the pearls on her cheeks makes her even more dazzling and beautiful.

The more Jingle looked at her, the happier she became, and she thought to herself: My daughter-in-law is so pretty!

She was so happy that she said, "I had lunch with you at noon. The farm sent us some fresh fish yesterday, which I specially asked the kitchen to preserve. We also had some freshly picked watermelons, which were so sweet."

Sheng Xiyan smiled and agreed generously.

Nanny Wu stood below and listened to their conversation, feeling uneasy.

Originally, she was still feeling lucky, thinking that the princess might let her go, but from the moment she entered till now, Jingle's reaction completely shattered her luck.

She knew Jingle too well. If Jingle was furious and lost her temper at her, it would mean that the matter could be forgotten. However, the calmer Jingle was, the more likely he would not stop.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt like she was the prisoner who was about to be executed, just waiting for the knife to fall and her body to be torn apart.

"Madame Wu."

Finally, Jingle spoke. She shuddered, her knees weakened, and she fell to the ground with a plop: "Princess, I was forced to do this." He cried with tears streaming down his face, and banged his forehead heavily on the ground, again and again. Blood flowed down his forehead, and he looked really miserable.

But no one present sympathized with her.

Jingle had a blank expression on her face. Sheng Xiyan had just told her the whole story, and she didn't want to hear it again.

She clapped her hands twice, and two servants came in.

Jingle waved his hand and said bluntly, "Take him away."

"Princess?"

Nanny Wu's eyes widened in disbelief. She didn't even have the chance to say what she had prepared. She could not help but hysterically say, "Princess! Princess! Don't listen to what Miss Shengda said. It's not like that..."

Sheng Xiyan smiled leisurely, and said in a neither light nor heavy voice: "So what's the matter? Aunt Wu, do you want to go back with me and talk about it slowly?"

Her smile was cute and beautiful, but in the eyes of Aunt Wu, it was scarier than a ghost. Aunt Wu's voice suddenly fell silent, with a look of shock and fear on her face.

She hunched her shoulders and her body went limp. She allowed the servant to hold her arms and drag her out without any struggle.

Jingle raised his eyebrows and looked at Sheng Xiyan with a little surprise.

Sheng Xiyan deliberately wanted Jingle to see this side of her. If nothing unexpected happened, she would stay in Zhenbei Palace for the rest of her life, and she didn't want to hide her true nature.

She pursed her lips and smiled, with faint ripples appearing on her cheeks.

My daughter-in-law is so cute! Jingle's peach blossom eyes are shining and full of smiles. She wants to hold her in her arms and rub her. Girls are still cute! Jingle, who has only two sons at home, has been greedy for a long time.

Feeling a little embarrassed by her gaze, Sheng Xiyan blinked her eyes and quickly tried to divert her attention. She asked Xigui to take out the three bottles of honey pills she had made and handed them to her personally.

Sheng Xiyan cleared her throat and said, "Princess, you should take it three times a day, ten pills each time." This time she made small honey pills.

"Try eating first."

Sheng Xiyan was still quite confident in herself, but she had no experience in practicing medicine and prescribing medicine, so she was never completely sure. When she was flipping through medical books these past two days, she couldn't help but think that it would have been great if she could have studied with her grandfather for a few more years in her previous life.

Jingle asked Nanny Lan to bring some water. She ate ten of them first and gave the rest to Nanny Lan.

Then, she took the initiative to say, "Madame Wu was not sent by the emperor."

Sheng Xiyan was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Jingle to tell her this. After all, this was the family affair of the Zhenbei Palace. So, after telling Jingle the result of the interrogation of Nanny Wu, she kept silent about it.

Jingle saw through her thoughts at a glance and gently patted the back of her delicate hand. She thought: She is the future mistress of the Zhenbei Palace, what is there that she cannot know? It should be said that Jingle is happy to teach her about the palace slowly, so that she can enjoy her grandchildren and become an old lady!

Jingle felt happy just thinking about it, and said with a smile: "In the past few days, I have checked the palace from top to bottom. Except for Madam Wu and Xiaoyu, there is no suspicious person."

Jingle said this because she was sure that no one else was suspicious. In other words, the only ones who were sent to the Zhenbei Palace were Nanny Wu and Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu is a family-born child. Her brother is the attendant of the imperial guests. After entering the mansion at the age of eight, she first worked in the sewing room. At the age of twelve, she was transferred to the main courtyard and has been there ever since. As for Nanny Wu," Jingle explained to her in detail, "In the past four years, her family has bought hundreds of acres of good land, a wine house, and a shop. Her husband is in charge of the wine house, and he rents out the shop to collect rent. Her son is now in Donglin Academy. I heard that his academic performance is very poor. According to the rules of the academy, he should have been expelled, but he was not."

When Jingle mentioned Nanny Wu now, there was no change in her tone or expression, as if Nanny Wu's betrayal no longer caused any ripples in her heart.

Jingle continued, "If it was the emperor, then the spies in the palace wouldn't just be Madam Wu and Xiaoyu. With Madam Wu as a backup, at least a few more people could be deployed just in case."

"It certainly won't be Yong'an." Jingle said one by one, "If Yong'an had the chance, she would just poison me to death. She doesn't have the patience to wait for four years, or five years, or six years, for me to slowly die."

Sheng Xiyan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she suddenly thought, could it be that the princess didn't know the relationship between Xiao Shuo and Chu Yuanchen? Otherwise, she should have guessed it early like she did.

Jingle didn't mention Xiao Shuo, so she didn't mention him either, and just asked, "Who do you think it could be, Princess?"

Jingle's eyes dimmed in an instant. She smiled bitterly and said, "The person who has the opportunity to do this cannot be an outsider, but must be someone from the Zhenbei Palace..."

Her expression clearly showed that she already knew who it was, and was at least 80% sure.

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

Sheng Xiyan was silent. She guessed that Jingle might be the same person she was thinking of.

She thought for a moment, then took out a small enamel silver jar from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Jingle.

"Princess, this is called 'Nightmare'. The recipe comes from Miaojiang. It can make people have a nightmare. What they dream about will be the most terrifying things in their hearts." Sheng Xiyan explained its function and simply talked about the effect it had on Nanny Wu.

Sheng Xiyan brought it out specifically to give it to her, but she was a little hesitant at first and only took it out now.

Jingle was dumbfounded. This small silver jar felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hand.

She knew very well what effect this thing could have if used properly.

"Princess." Sheng Xiyan said bluntly, "If you are suspicious of someone and are not sure, you might as well use some of it. Maybe you will get an answer. The amount here is enough for about three times. I still have a few pills here. If the princess accidentally inhales some, just hold the pill in your mouth."

She had the recipe for nightmares, but one of the herbs was only available in Miaojiang, and she had already used up all the stock in the warehouse.

Jingle: “…”

Sheng Xiyan stopped there and saw Jingle holding the small silver jar in his hand, with a little force on his palm.

She knew that Jingle had made a decision.

"Princess." At this time, someone reported from outside the curtain, "The guests sent someone to tell you that the prince has arrived in Yizhou."

When Jingle heard the word "guest of honor", her eyes turned cold for a moment, but soon returned to normal.

She just smiled and said to Sheng Xiyan: "Sister Yan, Achen will be back soon."

There was no rule in the Da Rong Dynasty that the imperial concubines and imperial guests were not allowed to serve as officials in the court. Jiang Yibin was now working in the Honglu Temple. When Chu Yuanchen brought the envoys from Northern Yan back to Beijing to present the letter of credence, the Honglu Temple would be responsible for the etiquette. Therefore, Jiang Yibin got the news as soon as Chu Yuanchen arrived in Yizhou.

However, Jingle had received the news three days ago.

Sheng Xiyan covered her mouth and smiled, her heartbeat quickened. She couldn't help but think that when Chu Yuanchen came back, their wedding date would be set. Her life would be completely different from her previous life.

Her earlobes felt slightly hot and she felt more expectant.

Jingle, who was watching her, also noticed her full and rosy earlobes. She suddenly asked, "Sister Yan, do you think I am pretty?"

Sheng Xiyan felt that this question sounded familiar, so she nodded and said from the bottom of her heart, "It looks good!"

Princess Jingle is really beautiful, just like a peony that has fully bloomed, with stunning beauty.

Jingle added: "Ah Chen looks like me, even his eyes and nose are similar, he is very handsome!"

The first thing the mother thought of was to praise her son's appearance, even though she hadn't seen Chu Yuanchen for several years and didn't know if he had grown up abnormally.

Sheng Xiyan smiled with her eyebrows curved. She also thought Chu Yuanchen was very good-looking, and looked at least 60% like Princess Jingle. When they walked out together, one could tell at a glance that they were mother and son. But Chu Yuanchen had more of that kind of innate sharpness and the murderous aura that he cultivated in fighting on the battlefield.

Jingle's eyes lit up and she thought there was something promising. It turned out that a girl of Yan Jie'er's age liked good-looking boys!

Fortunately, I gave birth to such a handsome boy, otherwise, with his unrefined appearance, I'm afraid Sister Yan would dislike him!

She continued to encourage him, "Achen is not only good-looking, but also has a good temper." He is just a little bit out of tune. She didn't know how his father raised him. Jingle secretly complained in her heart, and did not forget to continue praising her son, "Achen grew up in the Northern Frontier since he was a child. He spent most of the year in the military camp. He didn't even have a maid to serve him, let alone a childhood sweetheart." There won't be any in the future!

Jingle's eyes were burning. She wanted to praise her son for his skill and his mastery of all kinds of martial arts, but she stopped herself when she thought that Sheng Xiyan was a daughter of a civil official and might dislike Achen's roughness. She thought she should wait for Achen to come back and find a chance for them to meet. Achen was good-looking and might be able to win over her daughter-in-law with his looks.

Jingle's thoughts flew away accidentally.

When he came to his senses, he hurriedly explained, "Originally, Achen should have arrived in the capital by now, but he turned back to the northern border on the way, so he was a little late." It was definitely not that he was deliberately neglecting the marriage because he was dissatisfied with it!

"Did something happen?" Sheng Xiyan asked.

When Jingle came back from Princess Yong'an's Mansion, she said that Chu Yuanchen would arrive in the capital in about a month. It is indeed a little late now.

Jingle's smile faded a little, and she sighed, "It's a long story..."

She sorted out her thoughts and said, "Sister Yan, you should also know that in addition to our Zhenbei Palace, Darong also had the Lingnan Palace and the Pingliang Palace."

Sheng Xiyan nodded.

Seeing that she was listening attentively, Jingle continued: "Uncle Wei, the Prince of Pingliang, and his family committed suicide because of a failed 'rebellion', and the Lingnan Palace was destroyed by the Nanhuai Iron Cavalry."

Sheng Xiyan had also heard about this matter.

It is said that when Nan Huai attacked Lingnan, they came with a powerful force, with as many as 400,000 cavalrymen, marching all the way north and capturing several cities in succession.

Wei Jingyan, King of Lingnan, led his troops to resist, but he fell into the opponent's trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain. Nan Huai took advantage of the lack of troops in Zhan Ancient City and made a detour from the rear to launch a surprise attack. They poured countless kerosene around Zhan Ancient City and then set it on fire.

It was late autumn, and the weather was dry.

The fire burned for three days and three nights. The entire ancient city of Zhan was destroyed, and no one in the city, young or old, survived.

The Lingnan Palace was located in the ancient city of Zhan. Hundreds of people in the palace, including the princess and the young prince, all died in the fire.

After Xue Chongzhi learned the news in the preface, he was heartbroken. On the way back, in order to take a shortcut, the entire army was trapped in a poisonous fog swamp. Only more than a thousand people out of the 200,000-strong army survived, and Xue Chongzhi himself was also corroded by the poisonous fog, and his flesh and blood rotted away and he died.

This happened before Sheng Xiyan was born.

At that time, the late emperor was on the throne, and the current emperor was only the crown prince.

This is a well-known version, but she has no idea what happened exactly at that time.

Jingle took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, and said slowly: "Back then, after Uncle Xue's family got into trouble, the emperor cried several times in the court, saying that the Xue family was loyal and patriotic, and that losing the Xue family would mean Darong would lose a barrier, and he would lose an important minister and good friend, and a treasured asset of the country."

"When Uncle Xue was still the Crown Prince, he and my father were both the late Emperor's study companions. Uncle Xue, my father, Uncle Wei and the late Emperor were very good friends. When the late Emperor was still the Crown Prince, he was once assassinated and it was Uncle Xue who risked his life to protect him."

Da Rong had a vast territory and was surrounded by foreign enemies. It had always relied on the princes to guard its territory. In order to allow the new emperor and the princes to get along well and work together, Taizong once issued an edict to allow the princes' sons to come to Beijing to study and live with the crown prince. They would usually stay in the capital until they came of age before returning to their fiefdoms.

Therefore, for more than a hundred years, the relationship between the emperor of Darong and the princes was relatively harmonious.

When the news of Xue Zhongzhi's death reached the capital, the late emperor was so grief-stricken that he fell ill. On his sickbed, he ordered the whole country to march south to attack Huai and avenge Xue Zhongzhi.

Jingle smiled self-deprecatingly. At that time, she was only in her teens and still ignorant of the immensity of the world.

The late emperor always showed a great reliance on the vassal kings. After Xue Chongzhi was promoted to the title, the late emperor let him reorganize the military affairs of Lingnan and trusted him wholeheartedly. Uncle Xue often said that if he had a king like this, he would be willing to die for the great glory.

"After the late emperor issued the decree, he ordered Uncle Wei to dispatch troops from Liangzhou to attack the heartland of Nanhuai. The imperial guards also set out immediately to provide support."

Wei Jingyan, the Prince of Pingliang, and Xue Chongzhi were close brothers, so of course they would take the lead.

"In that battle, the Pingliang Army lost hundreds of thousands of men, but Uncle Wei invaded the capital of Nanhuai, beheaded the King of Huai with his own hands, and destroyed Nanhuai, making great contributions to Darong's expansion of territory." Jingle recalled the events of that year, his tone a little heavy, "After that, the imperial guards of the court finally came to an end."

Sheng Xiyan was silent.

Jingle noticed the change in her expression and asked, "What do you think?"

She asked, and Sheng Xiyan answered: "The late emperor is using the Pingliang Army."

"So smart." Jingle praised her, and then she noticed that the little girl's almond-shaped eyes became brighter.

"Uncle Wei was heartbroken by the tragic death of Uncle Xue's family, and because he trusted the late emperor, he had no doubts. It was not until the end of the battle that he found something strange after a careful review."

Sheng Xiyan nodded and said, "Not only did the imperial guards arrive too late, but it was also too coincidental."

"Yes." Jingle said, "When my father told me about this later, he also said that if Uncle Wei's decision-making strategy was wrong, and he did not reunite the army, but chose to disperse and defeat it, the imperial army would not only come to clean up the aftermath and take over Nanhuai, but would also clean up the Pingliang Army and take over Liangzhou at the same time."

"After that, Uncle Wei wrote a letter to my father, telling him about his doubts. At that time, Uncle Wei still had some trust in the late emperor and was afraid that he was too suspicious and had wrongly blamed the late emperor."

"It was precisely because of Uncle Wei's letter that my father became wary of the late emperor."

"The King of Pingliang suffered heavy casualties in this battle and it took him several years to recover. After Uncle Wei returned to Liangzhou, he put all his energy into reorganizing the Pingliang Army. Not long after, the emperor issued an order to bury Xue Chongzhi's family with honor and also adopted a nephew from a distant branch of the Xue family as Xue Chongzhi's son to offer incense and worship for him.

At that time, everyone in the court praised the late emperor for his benevolence and righteousness, and called him a wise ruler rarely seen in the world.

"The remains of the Xue family could no longer be found, and in the end they were left with nothing but cenotaphs. Later, there was no one in the Lingnan Palace who could take charge of the situation, so the emperor reluctantly took back the fiefdom and built a guardhouse in Lingnan."

"But a year later, a rumor came out of nowhere that it was Uncle Xue who colluded with Nan Huai, leading to the destruction of the family. The late emperor did not give any explanation for this, and even later, the Xue family's cenotaph was dug up."

"The reason why Achen came late was because he brought back the coffins of Uncle Xue's family. Even the late emperor didn't know that Uncle Xue's remains were in the Northern Frontier. When Uncle Wei became suspicious, he lied to the late emperor that the remains were gone, and secretly sent the remains to the Northern Frontier and entrusted them to my father."

Sheng Xiyan widened her eyes slightly, with a hint of disbelief in her eyes.

Jingle said happily: "Since the emperor can defend the country and mourn for the Zhenbei Palace, then there must be a clear explanation for the Lingnan Palace. Sister Yan, this is the turning point you have brought to the Lingnan Palace."

Jingle's eyes moved slightly, and there seemed to be brilliant waves hidden in her eyes.