Chapter 409 Cousin
At this time, Xiao Yanlin also returned to the Eighth Prince's Mansion.
He has not yet married, but has already set up a family outside.
The location of the Eighth Prince's Mansion is not prime, and its area and decoration are far inferior to those of other princes.
After Zhao Hu got into trouble, Concubine Zhao fell out of favor, and Xiao Yanlin had never been favored by Emperor Defeng since he was born.
It is reasonable that he only has this mansion now.
Xiao Yanlin did not fight or argue, and did not seem to be resentful of this treatment.
He was about to go to southern Fujian to provide disaster relief. At this time, everyone in the prince's mansion had already started to get busy.
Xiao Yanlin went to the study. Under the dim light of the palace lanterns, his usually childish face became even more cold and stern, with an awe-inspiring aura.
"Bring her here. This king wants to see her."
The servant knew who his master wanted to see without asking any questions and went there immediately.
Soon, a woman dressed in black and wearing a veil was brought up.
She was covered tightly from head to toe, with only a pair of clear eyes showing.
If you look closely, you will find that this woman's eyes are exactly the same as Xiao Yanlin's.
The woman bowed respectfully to Xiao Yanlin.
"This servant greets the Eighth Prince."
For some reason, her voice was raspy and harsh.
Xiao Yanlin looked at her coldly, "Have you figured out everything?"
The woman nodded, "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission."
She took out something that looked like an incense burner, opened it, and inside were small, wriggling dark red bugs.
Seeing these things, Xiao Yanlin finally showed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"I was right about you. You are indeed talented."
The woman was very modest. "Everything is thanks to the notes left by the Great Witch."
When mentioning the Great Witch, a hint of regret flashed in Xiao Yanlin's eyes.
She was the witch that the Zhao family had found with great difficulty. She was proficient in the art of witchcraft. She should have been the best knife in Xiao Yanlin's hands, but she suffered a backlash while cultivating the poisonous insects and died at the hands of the insects, leaving behind only a notebook.
Now that the notebook has a new inheritor, Xiao Yanlin is quite satisfied.
Thinking of the upcoming trip, his tone became more serious. "This king will be traveling to southern Fujian to provide disaster relief today. You must come with me. Epidemics are inevitable after a major disaster. You must prepare prescriptions and herbs for me. You must not make any mistakes. If you ruin my plan, I will not hold our friendship."
The last words were cold and carried the inherent majesty of a superior.
The woman nodded, "Yes."
Seeing that she was honest and dutiful, Xiao Yanlin softened his attitude.
"This time I'm going to southern Fujian, I also want to take you to pay homage to my uncle and meet my grandfather. He has always been thinking about you."
The woman still nodded respectfully.
"You are my uncle's only blood. No matter what you become, I will give you the respect you deserve in the future."
The woman showed tears of gratitude.
Xiao Yanlin didn't say anything more to her, so she respectfully withdrew.
She lived in the most remote courtyard. Apart from its remote location, all the necessary items and furnishings were complete. She was not treated unfairly here.
The only thing is that she is not free.
There was always someone guarding outside her yard, and if she took a step away, someone would follow her.
Returning to the courtyard, she locked all the servants outside the door as usual. This was the only time she had alone.
Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, she slowly took off the veil on her face, revealing a face covered with scars.
This face is hideous and terrifying, making people's hair stand on end.
People who knew her well could still recognize her face. This was clearly Zhao Shuning who should have been executed!
She looked at herself in the mirror quietly, without a trace of emotion in her eyes.
The scar on her face was incised by her own hands.
Only in this way can she have a chance of survival.
At first, she had already accepted the fact that her head and body would be separated, but unexpectedly, she found a note in the bowl of her last meal.
Someone has to save her.
She didn't know who the other person was, but her instinct for survival made her choose to believe him.
No matter what the other party's purpose is or what price she has to pay, she is willing to give it a try.
Nothing is more important than survival.
The other party found a substitute who looked similar to her, changed into the clothes of a police officer, and left the Ministry of Justice prison.
Everything went surprisingly smoothly.
Soon, she met the person who saved her, the eighth prince Xiao Yanlin.
She was surprised, not expecting him at all.
When the other party saw her, he stared at her face for a long time, then threw a dagger at her.
"If you want to live, destroy your face."
Zhao Shuning scratched his face without hesitation.
She saw appreciation and satisfaction in Xiao Yanlin's eyes.
"As expected of my uncle's daughter, you are so bold and courageous. It's worth my efforts to save you."
Zhao Shuning was very surprised and even suspected that he had heard it wrong.
From Xiao Yanlin, she learned that she was Zhao Hu's posthumous child left behind in Xiping.
Zhao Hu took advantage of Concubine Zhao's influence to get the title of guerrilla general. He had no talent and went to Xiping just to gain military merit.
He was playful and lustful and could not stand the hardship in the military camp.
Many decent women were raped by him and his soldiers.
Zhao Shuning's mother, Lian, was one of them.
Afterwards, Gu Qishan ordered Zhao Hu to be executed in public by military law, and the women who had been raped were able to get their revenge.
Some people married far away under an assumed name, while others committed suicide.
Lian was originally arranged by her family to marry far away, but she was found to be pregnant.
She wanted to abort the child, but her parents stopped her.
They found out that Zhao Hu was the elder brother of the Empress in the palace, and that their daughter's marriage to Zhao Hu was a blessing from her previous life.
If Zhao Hu had not been beaten to death, they would have let their daughter marry him.
They feel very sorry when people die, and feel that their dreams of wealth and glory are shattered.
But they also found out that Zhao Hu had no children and that their daughter was pregnant with the only child of the Zhao family.
If they take their children to recognize their relatives, they should also receive a generous reward.
So the child must be born.
Lian was pregnant for ten months and gave birth to a child, but to their disappointment, it was a girl.
He wanted to give her away, but was stopped by Lian.
She didn't want to give birth at first, but now after ten months of pregnancy, she finally gave birth to the child. She has already formed a bond with this child. How can she just give him away?
Zhao Shuning was kept and was given privileges that other girls did not have: she learned calligraphy from the only teacher in the village. She was interested in medicine and studied medicine from a barefoot doctor.
These privileges were all fought for by her mother.
In order to prevent Zhao Shuning from being despised when they were reunited with their relatives in the future, the two elders of the Lian family turned a blind eye and agreed.
But Zhao Shuning had no idea about his own life experience.
Because Lian had told the two elders not to mention it in front of Zhao Shuning, let alone to outsiders.
Zhao Hu has committed many evil deeds and has ruined countless good women. If others knew Zhao Shuning's identity, she would be looked down upon, and Zhao Shuning herself would also feel inferior.
Even if she is to recognize her relatives, she must stay away from Xiping, at least so that she can keep a beautiful fantasy about her father.
But later, before Zhao Shuning had time to go to the capital to recognize his relatives, his relatives died one after another.
They died of plague, but Zhao Shuning survived by chance because he had learned some medical knowledge and made medicine for himself.
After that, Zhao Shuning began to make a living under his uncle and aunt.
Because she could read and write and had knowledge of medicine, her uncle and aunt reluctantly took her in.
Without her mother's love, Zhao Shuning had to rely on herself for everything, so she devoted herself to studying medicine, because only what she had learned and mastered could truly belong to her, and others could not take it away from her.
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