After learning the rules and etiquette all afternoon, by the time dinner was served, her delicate wrists were trembling, and her body was tired and heavy.

Qiu Shui saw Linglong's wrist trembling while holding the soup bowl, and hurriedly took the bowl, carefully brought it to her lips, complaining: "The rules and etiquette in this palace are so frustrating, the young lady grew up in Yunzhou after I was born,

She is not a noble girl in the capital who has practiced etiquette diligently since she was a child. She has learned enough to use it occasionally, but Aunt Qingzhu taught her so carefully and looked at her so harshly. I really suffered."

Linglong took a sip of the warm soup and rubbed her sore wrist without saying anything to greet Qiu Shui.

Luoxia on the side secretly looked outside the door of the inner room, a little worried that Qiu Shui's unguarded words would fall into the ears of Aunt Qingzhu and cause trouble to Linglong again.

Qiushui was the maid who had grown up with Linglong since she was a child. She was extremely loyal to Linglong, but she was too reckless. Luoxia was always worried that one day this girl would cause a big disaster for the young lady.

The nun sent from the Queen's Palace was someone who could not be offended. Not to mention that the nun was not malicious in the first place. Instead, she tried her best to teach the young lady the rules in detail so that she could remember these rules.

Even if the torture was really malicious and she took the name of His Highness's order, my young lady couldn't say anything more. If she suffered some punishment, she could only grit her teeth and swallow it.

Luoxia secretly pinched Qiu Shui to signal her to speak carefully.

Linglong had no intention of eating, so she managed to take a few mouthfuls, then hurriedly got up and walked towards the screen. She leaned against the bed curtain, with unexplainable tiredness lingering in her brows.

Luoxia followed her, and when she saw Linglong's appearance, she sighed inwardly before stepping forward.

"If Miss Qingzhu is tired, she should rest early today. Don't take it to heart if you just have some Qiu Shui. Although Aunt Qingzhu is a bit strict in etiquette and discipline, she is doing it for Miss's own good. When Miss Qingzhu returned to the Marquis Mansion, she was very young

Although the young lady has hired a nanny for etiquette, she is worried that you may not be able to bear the torture of learning the etiquette rules because you have grown up in the mountains and have no restraints. Therefore, she specially ordered the nanny to teach you a general rule, and there is no need for you to learn it in detail.

The young lady originally hoped that you would marry an ordinary family and live a safe and happy life, but she didn't expect that you would enter the East Palace. The gates of this palace are complicated and tight, so you have to learn the rules and etiquette seriously." She supported Linglong and lay on the bed.

The voice was gentle and soothing.

After Luoxia finished speaking, Linglong did not reply. Luoxia looked at her master's depressed mood and said no more.

The inner room was quiet. Linglong was lying on the bed, looking sideways at the lights and candle shadows on the screen, and said slowly: "Luoxia, the lights outside are too bright. I always wake up at night. You will put this house in the hospital tonight."

All the lights inside must have been turned off."

Linglong did not sleep well when there was a little light, but in the past few years, she always remembered Qi Zhen's words - "It was pitch dark in the courtyard and I was afraid that she would not be found." So she hung a flower outside the door day and night.

lamp.

But today, Linglong asked Luoxia to turn off all the lights in the courtyard.

Luoxia didn't think about it deeply, she just thought that her master was not feeling well and was naturally picky when sleeping, so she responded: "Okay." After saying that, she stepped back, pulled Qiu Shui out, closed the door, and opened the house one by one.

All the lights outside the house went out.

When the last bit of light went out, Linglong slowly closed her eyes. At the same time, a drop of water overflowed from the end of her eyes, fell into her hair, and disappeared.

In the quiet inner room where no one was around, Linglong bit her lower lip tightly and cried repressedly.

How could you not feel aggrieved?

The husband she loves so much, the person she loves and loves on her pillow, cannot be just her husband.

In fact, she is not even qualified to be his wife.

She accidentally married the man she longed for, but was it a legitimate marriage? Linglong herself didn't understand.

His three books and six rites were given to the eldest daughter of the Ning'an Hou Mansion, her eldest sister Shen Qinliu, not Shen Linglong.

The so-called "clear matchmaker" is just marrying someone else's name.

There is no heaven and earth in the palace, no wedding wine, and no marriage vows.

To this day, people in the East Palace still call her Miss Shen.

How could Linglong not feel aggrieved?

She bit her lip, suppressing the sound of crying, and the tears surged like a tide.

People around Linglong always think that Linglong is innocent and carefree, and she should be a girl who doesn't like to cry. Only people who are very close to her know that Shen Linglong loves to shed tears most, and when she cries, her sleeves will be soaked through, which makes her feel uncomfortable. It's even worse when you feel wronged. If no one is there to comfort you, the tears will be like a flood that never stops.

She cried and cried for a long time.

He didn't even notice when the door was pushed open.

A candle suddenly lit up in the inner room, followed by a low and helpless sigh.

Linglong's eyes were pierced by the candlelight, and she looked up with hiccups.

Not far away, Qi Zhen was holding a candlestick in his hand, standing by the screen and looking at her with helplessness in his eyes.

"Why are you crying?" He stepped closer and asked.

Linglong clenched the quilt in her hands, lowered her head, bit her lips, and refused to reply.

Qi Zhen placed the candlestick on the table beside him and sat on the edge of the exquisite bed.

He would have thought that based on Linglong's past temperament, she would have pushed him when she saw him sitting next to her after being wronged. But today, Linglong just subconsciously moved in and did not raise her hand to push him. It looks like he can't avoid it.

Qi Zhen has a domineering temper, especially towards Linglong. Seeing her avoiding her, he also became angry. He raised his hand and held Linglong's wrist, and pulled her back. His voice was cold and he lowered his eyes tightly. He locked her and said, "Look up."

Linglong refused and started struggling instead.

"What's the fuss about?" Qi Zhen's face was really cold this time, and he tapped Linglong's shoulder with his fingertips, forcing her to raise her head.

When Linglong was crying just now, she kept biting her lips tightly in order to suppress her voice. Now, her charming lips were bitten until the blood oozed and the skin was broken. She looked so pitiful.

Qi Zhen's eyes narrowed slightly, seeing Linglong like this for the first time.

"What happened? You made such a fuss? Huh?" Qi Zhen said with annoyance, and stroked Linglong's lips with his fingertips, but there was a hint of distress in his eyes.

Linglong still refused to speak, but her tears kept coming.

She didn't speak, so Qi Zhen could only guess by himself. He thought for a moment and asked, "Because I want you to learn the rules?"

Hua Luo looked at Linglong's expression and saw that she was still crying, and he probably guessed that this was not the reason.

"Linglong, what's the reason? If you don't tell me, how can I know?" Qi Zhen held his forehead, his voice became colder, and he became a little impatient.

The impatience in his voice fell on Linglong's ears, and Linglong naturally heard it clearly.

"Your Highness, do you really not know?" Linglong's voice was still crying, and when she asked this question, her eyes were full of sorrow.

Seeing her like this, Qi Zhen also regretted the tone of his words just now, and softened his voice and said: "I am not a roundworm in Linglong's belly. If Linglong refuses to say it, I will naturally not be able to guess what Linglong is thinking. "

Linglong raised her eyes and looked at Qi Zhen, looking at the husband's face in front of her that was almost unchanged from the first time they met under the candlelight, and felt very sad.

She clenched her palms tightly and asked: "Your Highness, you said that night that if you could make the decision, you would marry Linglong as your wife. Linglong wants to know, was your words that night just a casual joke to coax Linglong, or did it come from His Highness's sincerity?

"

After Linglong finished speaking, Qi Zhen also thought of that night.

What I said that day, in the final analysis, I was fascinated by the exquisite and lingering affection that day.

Qi Zhen himself would not believe it if he said that he was not in bed to make the beauty happy.

But looking at the exquisite appearance in front of him, Qi Zhen couldn't say the truth no matter what.

During these few moments of silence, the light in his exquisite eyes disappeared little by little. Qi Zhen watched helplessly, feeling panicked as never before.

He subconsciously wanted to hold on to the light and was unwilling to let it go.

Qi Zhen panicked and replied: "I mean it sincerely." He even forgot the title of the prince.

When Linglong heard this, she was suddenly startled.

She originally thought that in today's situation, if she asked this question, Qi Zhen's answer would definitely be different. She would ask him just to beg for death.

Unexpectedly, Qi Zhen answered sincerely.

He answered her like this, but Linglong still couldn't believe it.

It’s not that I don’t believe it, it’s that I want to believe it but don’t dare.

"Since you are sincere, has your Highness ever truly regarded me as your wife?" Linglong asked again.

Qi Zhen sighed in his heart, subconsciously clasped his palms, and said: "Natural."

Once the first sentence of this deceptive word was spoken, the rest became much easier. Even Qi Zhen himself could not clearly understand the truth and falsehood of the words.

This sentence "naturally." removed most of the sharp thorns on Linglong's body at this moment.

Qi Zhen saw that her expression softened and her tears finally stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief. He took out the anti-swelling ointment prescribed by the imperial doctor from the box on her dressing table, picked out a lump with his fingertips, went to the bed, and raised his delicate chin.

, apply it carefully on her lips.

"I have to go back to the Marquis Mansion tomorrow. If you cry like this, I'm afraid your family will think that you are being bullied." He teased her with a smile in his voice.

Linglong's eyes were slightly startled when she heard him mention the Hou Mansion.

She thought of her sister-in-law who was supposed to marry Qi Zhen.

"Your Highness, when you and your sister got married, was it a matter of childhood sweethearts, or was it a matchmaker ordered by your parents?" Linglong asked.

Qi Zhen paused for a moment, then Ruowu stood up and said, "Marriage is granted by the imperial decree, what do you think?"

He didn't say anything directly, but the meaning of his words was already clear. If in the past, Linglong had heard the meaning of his words, she would have known better and would not have mentioned it again.

But today, she looked closely at Qi Zhen's expression and said, "Linglong doesn't know."

These words made it clear that Qi Zhen wanted to answer her clearly.

Qi Zhen's eyes were slightly cold, he took the exquisite pillow handkerchief and wiped the ointment from his fingertips, and replied: "I am only a few years old when I get engaged. How can a child of just a few years old know what it is like to be in love with a childhood sweetheart? Besides, I

I have never met your sister very often."

In his words, he clearly told Linglong that the marriage that year was just a matchmaker ordered by her parents.

Linglong looked into his eyes and believed him.

"Okay, Linglong understands." She raised her hand to wipe her tears, and said to Qi Zhen with her eyes bent.

After Linglong finished speaking, Qi Zhen somehow didn't relax as he expected. Instead, his heart trembled slightly and he felt faintly guilty.

Yes, with Linglong's simple temperament, he shouldn't lie to her.
Chapter completed!