Li Huang

It was not until the evening that Haoyue and Xiao Rongzi returned to Kunning Palace. I hurried out to greet them, and the two of them looked no different, and my heart relaxed a little.

"Why did you come back now?" I pretended to be a little unhappy and asked.

"Miss," Haoyue smiled, "What do you think this is?" As she said, she took out an object wrapped in silk paw from her sleeve.

I took it suspiciously, and my heart sank a bit, feeling that it was a hairpin. I opened it calmly, a jasper magnolia hairpin lying quietly in my hand.

I froze for a long time, looked at Haoyue, and asked in a strange tone: "Where did this come from?"

Haoyue also stunned, "Miss, didn't you lose this?" Her voice was puzzled.

I calmed down, and saw the puzzled look of the other maid around me, and put on a smile: "Since I found it, come in."

After dinner, I held back other people in Dongnuan Pavilion, leaving only Haoyue.

"Miss, what's the matter?" Haoyue asked nervously, looking at my uncertain face in the candlelight.

"Come here." Holding the hairpin in my hand, I looked at Haoyue, "Tell me the truth, where did this come from?"

"You didn't come back during lunch today. I was anxious and went to Yanboting to find you. I didn't see you. I wondered if you have come back, so I wanted to find your hairpin right there. I know this. It was given to you by the old lady. You were not in a good mood for this two days. I didn't expect to find it in a corner behind the pavilion, buried in the grass."

I secretly sighed and pursed my lips, "You are also tired, go to sleep."

"Miss."

Haoyue seemed to say something, I shook my hand and smiled at her, "Go, Haoyue. Also, thank you."

Haoyue gave me a fixed look and walked out the door gently. I leaned weakly on the cushion and looked at the hairpin in my hand. How could there be another one? And it looks exactly like the one I lost.

I just remembered to check it out. The hairpin my mother gave me was her dowry. The hairpin had her mother's name "Lan" at the end of the hairpin, which was very small and hard to be noticed.

However, the one Haoyue gave me just now did not.

I got up and took out the one that Wang Yu gave me in the morning from the red-gold eight-treasure magpie on the branch glass box, and I couldn't help but settle there.

My hand trembled, because the one that Wang Yu gave me did not have the word "lan".

I just stood up and down like this, until the candle flame was beating up and down so much, the room changed from light to dark, and my eyes hurt, and I came back to my senses.

I can't figure it out on Wang Yu's side, but on Haoyue's side, I can still ask Xiao Rongzi.

Today should be Xiao Rongzi on duty. I put on a plain blue brocade cloak, took a palace lantern in my hand, and walked gently to the door. Xiao Rongzi saw that I was about to bow, I smiled and shook my head, motioning him to go with me.

I just walked in front of me with a lantern in my hand, without speaking, walking through the long palace road, and walking through the secret imperial garden in the night.

From a distance, I saw the purple-golden-baoxiang jade-covered car carrying the woman who was sleeping tonight. Yu Linglong hung on the car, and when the wind blew, there was an ethereal and lofty voice. We carefully avoided the guards who watched the night and walked slowly, as if walking.

Xiao Rongzi followed me not far away. Until I walked into the Jiuqu Long Corridor, sat down in the Yanbo Pavilion, looked at Xiao Rongzi’s slightly nervous face, smiled and said, "Haoyue said you two found my hairpin here today. Xiao Rongzi, you What do you mean by that?"

"Niang Niang." Xiao Rongzi hesitated a little, I saw him panic in a flash, "Here... here." Xiao Rongzi pointed to a Xiuzhu behind the pavilion.

I looked at him, put a smile away, "Isn't it under the osmanthus tree in front?"

"Ah! It was the minion who remembered it wrong, it was under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree." Xiao Rongzi panicked a little.

I shook my head and sighed, "Go ahead, where did the hairpin come from?"

"Niangniang, I really found it under this sweet-scented osmanthus tree." Xiao Rongzi regained her composure again: "It was a minion who had a mistake. When Miss Haoyue found her, the minion was just looking for it under the bamboo, so the mind was wrong.

I stared at him, "Xiao Rongzi, among the few of you, this palace trusts you the most. If you lie to this palace, this palace's heart will be cold."

I turned my face away and looked at the faint flames of the ten seven-foot giant candles that never extinguished at night on the Qifeng Platform, and then closed my eyes.

Xiao Rongzi didn’t speak, and I waited for a while and said, “Haoyue is a personal maid in this palace since she was young. This palace knows that everything she does is for the sake of this palace. This hairpin is a dowry thing, and it is of great significance to this palace. Lost, Haoyue is naturally anxious for the palace. But..."

I paused, "If something happens to her because of this hairpin, I would rather not."

My heart is faintly disturbed. Haoyue's eyes were wrong when she saw me the last time today. I recalled carefully, and suddenly thought that it was a kind of reluctant farewell feeling.

I stood up "Huo", stared at Xiao Rongzi, and asked anxiously: "Tell me, where did it come from?"

Xu was frightened by my sudden action, Xiao Rongzi took a step back, thought about it, and finally said, "Mother, don't blame Miss Haoyue, she is really for the good of her and wants to make her happy."

I nodded, "I know."

"At lunch today, you didn't come back, Madam Haoyue, and Miss Haoyue was anxious, so she took the minions to look for. But along your way to this Yanbo Pavilion, you didn't see you. Miss Haoyue guessed you must be back."

Xiao Rongzi continued: "We walked back, and saw Concubine Liu and An Guibi at the Baiyu Arch Bridge in the Yuhuan. Miss Haoyue took me to hide behind the rockery, but she didn't want Concubine Liu and An Guibi to be on the bridge. He stopped to speak. Later, An Guian mentioned that the emperor had found the hairpin that Concubine Liu had lost, and sent it back. He congratulated Concubine Liu and hoped to have a look."

Xiao Rongzi thought for a while, and then said: "Concubine Liu took out a brocade box. The minion was far away and didn't see it clearly. After Haoyue looked at it, she said that the hairpin is your empress. Then, we kept quietly Follow Liu Fei and the others. Then we...we take the opportunity..."

I opened my eyes, "What about the opportunity?"

"Seize the opportunity... sneak into Concubine Liu's palace and stole the hairpin back." Xiao Rongzi knocked his head repeatedly after finishing.

I waved my hand, the hairpin Liu Fei naturally couldn't doubt it on my head. What's more, she pretended to be a leader, so she was naturally unwilling to make big moves. However, if it was really as simple as stealing, why should Haoyue look at me with that look? There must be something else.

"After I came back and gave you the hairpin, Haoyue found that the silk paw she was wearing on her armpit was missing."

Xiao Rongzi's voice became lower and lower. Suddenly he raised his head and stepped forward and knelt down: "Manny, you must save Miss Haoyue! Since Concubine Liu said it was hers, she got it from the emperor and lost it. I will check it carefully. The costumes of the court ladies in this palace are different. If it is found..."

I nodded, "I know this." I stood up, raised my hand to straighten out the wind-blown hair, but my heart was messier than this hair. How come it was picked up by the emperor again?

Although these two are not the ones I lost, the hairpin has exactly the same appearance except for the character "lan", which is extremely difficult to find. It is difficult to distinguish the true from the false.

My mother, according to my mother, was made according to a magnolia flower given by the abbot in the temple by my grandmother before her mother got married. The jasper magnolia on the hairpin top has two petals that are slightly curved, and the edges are still used. Silver wire outlines, and neither the folks nor the palace would create a magnolia hairpin like this.

So, who has picked up the one that belongs to me, and whose hands are it now?

King Yu, or the emperor? What happened to these two hairpins?

I tried my best, but couldn't figure out why. There is also Haoyue. Once Concubine Liu finds out, Haoyue will be severely punished, and my days of "recluse" will probably end.

Now, I can only hope that Concubine Liu has forgotten where the hairpin was lost, and that Haoyue’s silk paw was not dropped there. Even if Concubine Liu picks up the silk paw, she won’t think of...how on earth did all this happen? thing? What should we do?

I didn't sleep all night. It wasn't until dawn, and the court ladies and eunuchs were slightly moving, that I felt a little sleepy. I stood up and moved around for a while, and looked at the sundial outside. It was almost time to get up on weekdays. I looked at the neatly folded bedding in the phoenix bed, after thinking about it, I took off my clothes and lay down.

Someone came in in a daze. I rolled over, opened my eyes, and my head rose a little. The golden silk embroidered phoenix gauze bed net was gently lifted, and Haoyue looked at me with open eyes in surprise, "Miss, did I wake you up?"

I smiled weakly, "No, I woke up for a while."

After speaking, I sat up and saw Zi Ying holding a palace costume behind Haoyue. I told me: "Today I wear that cherry pink silk skirt, which is embroidered with begonia."

After speaking, he leaned on the pillow and took a breath. I didn't sleep all night and felt a little tired.

"Miss." Haoyue looked at me nervously: "Miss is uncomfortable today?"

I shook my head and gave her a relaxed smile, "I want to embroider that picture today. It is not easy to wear heavy clothes."

"Miss won't go to Yanboting today?"

"Not going anymore." I got up with the help of Ziying, took the hot towel that Yumei handed over, and turned back to Haoyue and said, "I won't go anymore today. Go and prepare my embroidery frame and silk thread. Some green wires."