Ye Zhiqiu had been living in the palace for a few days. Apart from the daily necessity of going to Yongning Hall to tutor Le Ning's studies, he lived alone in the side hall.
The imperial concubine had assigned several guards and maids to take care of his daily life. Ye Zhiqiu had been in the palace for a long time, yet everything seemed to be calm.
Ye Zhiqiu would always recall from time to time what Le Ning had said to him when he first came to the side hall.
"This place is not far from Yong'an Hall. I can't go to the Imperial College to study with my other elder brothers. It will be convenient for the tutor to teach me if he lives nearby."
"Can't enter the Imperial College..." Ye Zhiqiu murmured this sentence softly as he looked at the lake in the pavilion.
Generally, the children in the palace would enter the Imperial College to study together when they reached the school - age. But as the seventh princess, Le Ning had already reached the age, so why couldn't she enter the Imperial College to study with the other princes?
This was against the rules.
Ye Zhiqiu couldn't figure it out. Even the least favored royal children would not be explicitly prohibited from doing so.
"Hey, have you heard the rumors about the seventh princess?"
"The one in Yongning Hall?"
The voice of a maid suddenly sounded, pulling Ye Zhiqiu's thoughts back. Her voice dropped three tones. For some reason, Ye Zhiqiu didn't interrupt but hid to the side.
Ye Zhiqiu himself didn't know why he did such a thing. Eavesdropping was not the act of a gentleman, but it was about Le Ning. Maybe the rumors from these maids could solve the question that had been bothering him just now.
"Yeah, isn't there only one seventh princess in our palace?" When mentioning the seventh princess, the maid showed no respect in her tone. Instead, there was a bit of disdain.
"I've heard of this seventh princess. But she never seems to go outside, and she's not even seen at palace banquets. This seventh princess is just like a transparent person."
"Do you want to know why?" The maid looked around, leaned closer to the other maid, and said mysteriously.
"Tell me quickly. Don't keep me in suspense."
"The seventh princess is the daughter of some unknown concubine in the Cold Palace. On the day she was found, all the concubines in the Cold Palace were dead. Their deaths were extremely tragic. Only the seventh princess survived."
"I've also heard about that incident. It seems that some ghosts appeared. The whole Cold Palace was dead silent. They only found the seventh princess hiding under the table. When they asked her anything, she said she didn't remember. She only insisted that the emperor was her father."
"Right. This incident itself is very strange. The emperor doesn't like this seventh princess at all. She doesn't even remember who her mother is. Who knows if she's really the emperor's daughter? She should have been executed, but the imperial concubine suddenly appeared to plead for mercy."
"The imperial concubine? She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would plead for a child who suddenly appeared in the Cold Palace."
"You don't expect it, but that's what happened. The imperial concubine said that the seventh princess looked pitiful, and since she had no children of her own, she pleaded with the emperor to let the seventh princess follow her. After that, the seventh princess was brought back to Yongning Hall."
"But the imperial concubine has not been in favor with the emperor before. Insisting on saving the seventh princess this time would only make the emperor like her even less, right?"
"That's exactly it. After that, the emperor went to Yongning Hall even less often. Because he thought the seventh princess would bring bad luck, he also ordered that she was not allowed to appear at palace banquets, and she was even prohibited from going to the Imperial College."
"The seventh princess is so miserable. She's just a princess in name only..."
"Yeah, that's right. Forget it. Stop talking. Let's get back to work quickly. If we're late, the head maid will scold us for a long time."
Saying this, the two maids walked out. Ye Zhiqiu had heard the whole process. He didn't expect that Le Ning had such a past.
"Master Ye... You, you've heard it all, haven't you..."
A voice suddenly sounded behind him. Ye Zhiqiu turned around and saw Le Ning standing behind him. He didn't know how long she had been standing there, but presumably... she should have heard all the maids' words.
The little girl's usually bright eyes dimmed. She forced a smile on her lips and said to Ye Zhiqiu, "Don't take what those maids said to heart." Ye Zhiqiu was the worst at comforting others. In the end, he could only blurt out such a dry consolation.
Le Ning couldn't even force a smile anymore. She walked a few steps back into the pavilion, lowered her head and pinched the corner of her clothes. Her voice was very low. "They're right. I'm a person who brings bad luck. Father doesn't like me, and no one likes me."
Her voice trembled a little when she said this. She remembered the first time she saw her father, which was also the beginning of her memory.
She was trembling under the table. There was a strong smell of blood all around. The corpses were lying on the ground in extremely terrifying poses. Le Ning covered her mouth and dared not make a sound. She also didn't dare to open her eyes, for fear that she would meet a pair of dead eyes as soon as she opened them.
She didn't know how long it had passed. When the wooden door was pushed open, she didn't dare to come out from under the table. Everything outside was unknown. She couldn't be sure if the danger had passed.
Nor could she be sure if she was safe.
But she couldn't hide forever. When the table was lifted, they saw the little girl hiding under it with her ears covered.
Her light - yellow ruffled skirt was stained red with blood, and even her hands were full of blood. The whole person was like a frightened bird. When she saw the person in front of her, she took a step back.
"Report to Your Majesty. There's only one survivor here." The guard took a few steps back and reported to the person standing in the distance.
Le Ning looked up and saw the person surrounded by the crowd. The bright - yellow robe on him was embroidered with a soaring dragon. There was no expression on his face. She should recognize his appearance.
Thinking like this, Le Ning stood up and ran towards the bright - yellow figure. But before she could grab the corner of his robe, she was stopped by the guard.
"Father!" Le Ning was held down by the guard, but she still looked up and said this.
This words stunned everyone present. Many people began to whisper. The emperor standing in front of her frowned tightly. "I don't remember when I had a child in the Cold Palace."
Le Ning was still young at that time. Facing this situation, she didn't know how to explain. Apart from calling Father again and again, she had nothing else to say.
The emperor was annoyed by her and ordered, "No one in the whole Cold Palace survived. This person must bring bad luck. Order her to be beheaded on the spot."
"Your Majesty, this child is still young. Why not spare her life?" Just then, Liu Shiyao, who had been standing beside the emperor, walked out, knelt in front of the emperor, and pleaded for Le Ning.
The emperor was naturally unhappy when he heard this. He frowned and said, "Does the imperial concubine mean that I should spare this person who brings bad luck?"
"Your Majesty, she's just a child!" Liu Shiyao still didn't waver in her words. She just lowered her head even more.
"I have no children of my own. If Your Majesty can spare this child's life, I'm willing to be her mother." When Liu Shiyao said this, there was determination in her tone. It seemed that she was determined to protect Le Ning.
"Imperial Concubine, you should know your own status!" The emperor was very angry. This imperial concubine was never the kind of person who would stick her neck out. She was clearly a smart person. How could she be so confused about this matter?
Liu Shiyao didn't answer. She still kept the kneeling position, waiting for the emperor's answer.
At this time, the queen arrived late after receiving the news. On the way, she also heard the ins and outs of this matter. When she arrived at the scene, she saw this situation.
The little girl was dirty all over, with blood on her body. Her face looked extremely pale. The imperial concubine was kneeling on the ground with her head bowed very low. It seemed that she was determined to protect this unknown person.
The emperor had a铁青 face and looked very angry. The situation was at a stalemate, and someone was needed to break the deadlock.
And Shen Mingyue was this person.
"Alright. Since the imperial concubine has made up her mind, then let's follow her wish." Shen Mingyue rushed to Qing Jing's side, reached out and held his hand, and whispered this sentence.
This showed her stance. She was on Liu Shiyao's side.
"Queen, do you know where this person comes from? In the whole Cold Palace, only she survived. Even the livestock couldn't escape. Don't you think it's strange?" Qing Jing looked at Shen Mingyue's face. Although his expression was still not very good, his tone had deliberately softened a lot.
Shen Mingyue looked at the little girl caught by the guard. Her face was so pale with fear that Shen Mingyue felt pity just looking at her. She said, "I naturally know Your Majesty's concerns. But after all, she's just a child. Maybe Your Majesty has too many concerns. She used seven - tenths of her luck just to survive. Since she can survive, then we can't execute her."
Shen Mingyue paused here. She glanced at Liu Shiyao kneeling on the ground and then continued to plead, "Since the imperial concubine is also willing to take in this child, then let's follow her wish."
"..." Qing Jing didn't know what to say when he heard Shen Mingyue's words. He never refused her words.
Finally, he compromised and waved his hand. "Fine. Let's follow the queen's meaning and spare her life. But I don't want to see her in any corner of the palace. Imperial Concubine, I hope you can take good care of this child."
"Yes." Liu Shiyao responded and then stood up from the ground. She walked to Le Ning's side and reached out to wipe the blood off her face.
Qing Jing didn't want to stay in this place for another second. After ordering someone to clean up the place, he turned around and left.
Le Ning was then taken to Yongning Hall by Liu Shiyao. She became her mother. She had lived there for four years. In these four years, she had never attended a palace banquet. Every time there was a festival, she always spent it alone in the hall.
She was always alone and miserable every year. Although the imperial concubine was very kind to her, she still yearned for excitement.
"I also want to have a happy Lantern Festival with my other brothers and sisters. I also want to see Father, but I've never had the chance." When Le Ning said these words, she seemed to be lost in memories. A tear slid down from her eyes.
After hearing her story, Ye Zhiqiu reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder. He didn't say anything. He just comforted her silently.
He didn't expect that behind Le Ning's usually smiling appearance, there were so many things hidden.
She seemed to have no worries, but the past she had was like this.
This girl... had suffered too much in the past.