The sun is setting in the west.

The fussing in the study finally stopped, Linglong fell asleep with a flushed face and was extremely tired. Qi Zhen picked up his clothes, put on his underwear and got up to go to the desk.

As soon as he stood up, Linglong grabbed his finger.

"Cold, husband, Linglong is cold." The girl who was still sleeping lost the warmth on her body and was feeling cold in a daze.

"Don't make trouble, I have business that needs to be dealt with." Qi Zhen shook his head and chuckled, covered her with a fox fur coat, and after coaxing, he broke away from her and stood up.

As soon as he left, Linglong felt a sudden chill and trembled while hugging the fox fur.

Seeing her like this, Qi Zhen sighed and had no choice but to order people to light up the earth dragon that had been useless for a long time in the East Palace.

After this, Linglong finally slept peacefully and didn't cause any more trouble.

However, Linglong felt warm and comfortable after lighting up the earth dragon, but Qi Zhen felt a little uncomfortable due to the heat. He drank two cups of cold tea to feel more comfortable.

Fortunately, Linglong stopped making any fuss in her sleep. Without the fuss, Qi Zhen could deal with the troubles with peace of mind.

There were many political reports on the desk. The emperor was going to take his concubine to Yangzhou recently and ordered Qi Zhen to stay in Jinling to supervise the country. These reports were sent to the East Palace early.

Qi Zhen started reading the first excerpt at hand, and opened and reviewed each one carefully, without any oversight or omission.

Time passed bit by bit, and he didn't stop for a moment until it was dark.

Qi Zhen rubbed the sore back of his neck tiredly, closed his eyes and wanted to take a rest.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, there was sudden movement outside the window.

There was something knocking on the wooden window. Qi Zhen listened carefully, his face changed slightly, and he immediately got up and walked over.

He opened the door and window, and a black bird flew in and landed on his shoulder.

This bird was raised by Qi Zhen five years ago. Five years ago, he sent it to Cheng Du, the military governor of the Northwest. It would not fly back to Jinling unless there was something important.

Qi Zhen's eyebrows were slightly cold, he turned his head and lowered his eyes, and sure enough he saw the mailbox on the bird's feet.

He raised his hand to take off the mailbox, took out the note inside, and opened it.

The note was a blank piece of paper with nothing written on it, but Qi Zhen's expression suddenly changed.

Five years ago, he had ordered Chengdu to send a letter if there were other important matters. If there was an extremely critical matter, be sure not to leave any message, just send him a blank piece of paper, and he would be there to respond to you.

Where to go to meet the trustworthy person.

Qi Zhen looked extremely cold, pursed his lips and closed the window, took the robe from the shelf next to the soft couch, put it on, and quickly walked out of the study.

He left in a hurry, and the servants waiting outside the study door looked at His Highness's hurried expression and did not dare to ask any more questions.

Qi Zhen stepped out of the study and left straight away. The steward of the East Palace had something to do and left the study shortly after noon. At this moment, in the courtyard outside the study door, only the maid Luoxia Qiushui beside Linglong and the study were left.

There are several palace ladies who serve Qi Zhen's pen and ink.

Originally, there were no maids in the study room of the East Palace, only the eunuchs and servants in charge. The current maids are the same ones sent to the East Palace by the noble concubines.

The imperial concubine was the emperor's favorite in the palace, and she usually didn't want to see outstanding-looking women in the palace. This time Qi Zhen's unjust case was vindicated. The imperial concubine first wanted to place some people in the East Palace, and secondly, she wanted to bring these outstanding-looking women to the forefront.

After getting everyone out of the palace, they packed these people and sent them to the East Palace.

There are four in total, which just fills the four positions of the study maids who have been vacant beside Qi Zhen.

The imperial concubine was in charge of the affairs of the Sixth Palace, and the emperor favored her blindly. Even the empress had to avoid her sharp edges. She wanted to send people to the east palace, and the emperor agreed, so Qi Zhen naturally couldn't stop her.

A palace maid saw His Highness walking away, and smiled with the people around her, "Hey, Your Highness is leaving now, where is the one over there?" She spoke with some contempt.

Qiu Shui was so angry when he saw her like this that he wished he could tear the mouth of the person in front of him.

When these maids came to the door of the study, Linglong and Qi Zhen were still making a fuss inside. Qi Zhen was usually troublesome, but the study area was extremely quiet. The movement could not be concealed. As soon as the four of them came over

, I still don’t understand what’s going on in the study room.

The palace maid, who was now very angry, cursed a few obscene words in a low voice when she heard the noise.

Although she didn't dare to mention him by name, Qiu Shui and Luo Xia knew exactly who she was scolding.

Luoxia was better, able to hold her temper, and was not as talkative as these people, but Qiu Shui was impatient, and if Luoxia hadn't pulled him away, he would have started a fight.

As soon as the eccentric palace maid finished speaking, another one continued: "The one Mei'er asked this question is waiting for His Highness. What kind of lady is she from the Hou Mansion? Not to mention she is a rich lady, so...

She is a maid in our palace. I have never heard of anyone seducing the master in broad daylight, and I don’t know where she has learned the rules." The maid who spoke raised her voice, obviously speaking to Linglong in the study.

of.

Her voice was not quiet. Linglong had not slept peacefully, so she was naturally woken up.

The noise outside had not stopped, and the palace maid named Mei'er laughed and said: "Sister, what you said is wrong. The one here is not a rich lady, but a concubine of the Hou Mansion.

She is just a daughter, how can she be regarded as a noble daughter? I heard that my biological mother is still the Marquis’ concubine, not even a concubine. If the eldest lady of the Marquis Mansion had not taken her back to the house with kindness, I am afraid she would still be just a concubine.

He's just a mud-legged guy from the mountains. It's no wonder that a humble guy with such a humble background has to know etiquette and rules."

Linglong rubbed her brows and stood up. The first sentence she heard when she woke up was this sentence.

Her face turned pale, she hugged Fox Qiu, pursed her lips and lowered her head.

After hearing what Qi Zhen said that day, the word family background hurt her the most.

Fortunately, Linglong didn't have a self-pity temperament. She breathed a sigh of relief and suppressed the harsh words in her heart.

It's a pity that I suppressed it in my heart, not that I didn't care about it, and I didn't let go of my concern.

Just suppress it for now...

Qiu Shui outside was so angry by these words that he shouted that he was going to hit someone: "You are the one with muddy legs and cheap hooves! I will tear your mouth apart!"

Not only Qiu Shui, but Luo Xia was also angry. He glanced at the palace maid who was speaking with a cold look, let go of Qiu Shui's hand, and let her step forward to take action.

Qiu Shui went up and slapped the palace maid named Meier with such force that she slapped her face aside.

Meier's eyes were full of shock and she was stunned.

Also, the maids in this palace have seen many people who are quick to talk, but this is the first time they meet a master who fights whenever he wants, so they are not surprised.

After a long while, Mei'er realized what she was doing. She covered half of her face that was red from being beaten and shouted anxiously to hit her. As soon as she raised her hand, Luo Xia grabbed her wrist.

Luoxia's strength was extremely strong, and Mei'er couldn't break away no matter how hard she tried.

The door of the study room suddenly opened, and Linglong stood in front of the door, looking at the farce outside the door.

"Miss." Qiu Shui and Luo Xia called in unison, a little worried that Linglong would listen to the unpleasant words Mei'er just said.

Linglong forced a smile and walked closer.

With a smile on her lips, but cold eyes, she looked at Mei'er: "My mother is not a concubine of the Ning'an Marquis Mansion. My late mother's honor cannot be slandered by a girl. This slap was given by Qiu Shui on my behalf. If the girl

If you are dissatisfied, you can return it to me."

As soon as these words came out, Luoxia and Qiu Shui immediately looked at Mei'er defensively. One of the other three palace maids behind Mei'er also subconsciously raised her step, ready to stop Mei'er if she really made a move.

Linglong said so, but no matter how arrogant Meier was, she didn't dare to hit her in the face.

"Luoxia, Qiushui, are back." Linglong suppressed her smile and walked away.

The three of them, the master and the servant, walked towards the side courtyard. Mei'er behind them looked at Linglong's back with hatred in her eyes.

The other two maids, who had been silent just now, looked at Linglong's walking back, with thoughts in their eyes.

To save trouble, the imperial concubine named these maids with the four characters plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum. Mei'er was chosen by the imperial concubine for her most beautiful appearance, Lan'er was a palace maid recommended by Mei'er, and Zhu'er was specially arranged by the imperial concubine.

The spy, Ju'er, is from the second prince in the palace.

There are four in a group, all with different thoughts.

The ones who spoke just now were Mei'er and Lan'er, while the ones who had been silent were Zhu'er and Ju'er.

When Linglong finished speaking, it was Ju'er who stepped forward to stop Mei'er.

The three of Linglong returned to the side courtyard room. Luoxia poured a cup of hot tea and brought it to Linglong, comforting her and saying, "Miss, don't take it to heart about the unnecessary words spoken by unnecessary people."

Holding the warm tea cup, the chill in Linglong's body gradually faded away. After taking a sip of tea, she said, "Luoxia, I don't want to take it to heart either."

But there are some things that you can't do just because you don't want to.

"Is the lady sad because of the family background mentioned by Mei'er?" Luoxia asked warmly.

Linglong nodded slightly and lowered her eyes.

Luoxia sighed and advised softly: "It's hard to change one's background. Miss, just look forward."

Linglong lowered her eyes and said no more words, and there was an uncontrollable depression between her brows and eyes.

Luoxia was also a little sad. She thought that these days in Jinling City had finally changed the carefree little girl she used to be.

Many years ago, she went to Yunzhou with her eldest daughter to visit Linglong. Although Linglong was ill at that time, she was never worried. She drank medicine and would swing under the pear tree every day. She was the happiest Luoxia had ever seen.

A carefree little girl.

The eldest lady at that time stood under the tree and looked at her younger sister who was smiling and carefree, her eyes full of envy.

If she had known that after her sister was taken back to the capital, she would have been shackled by the word "origin", she would have preferred to have left her in Yunzhou back then.

Shen Linglong's biological mother was a woman from a mountainous background. She was originally Shen Luan's wife. Later, Shen Luan joined the army and failed for several years. By chance, he met a young lady from the General's Mansion.

He decided to marry her during his official career. He returned to Yunzhou and met Linglong's biological mother for the last time. He lied to her that she was going to the front line and never returned.

Shen Luan didn't know that Linglong's mother was pregnant when he left. She thought Shen Luan had died on the battlefield and was alone with her daughter. She became ill from overwork and died of a serious illness when Linglong was seven years old.

She didn't know until her death that the husband she had been thinking of all her life, the man with whom she had promised a lifelong love, was not waiting for her by the Naihe Bridge. Instead, he was a consecrated lord with a prosperous official career, and had long since left her in Yunzhou in the past.
Chapter completed!