A piece of Japanese incense

Zhi Yihe dodged Hefeng's palm, smoothed the hair on his forehead, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his lips: "Then - please ask the Crown Prince for permission to let me go see my father as soon as possible!"

Hefeng stopped, forced a smile, and squeezed out the word "OK" from his throat.

It was the beginning of summer and the heat was scorching, but the dungeon was chilly. The deeper one went, the more the musty smell mixed with sweat, fear, disease and uncleanness rushed into one's nose.

The light was dim, and Zhi Yihe grabbed the sword at Hefeng's waist and walked with difficulty. Apart from the occasional torchlight, there was almost no light. All he could hear were the prisoners' whispers, the clinking of shackles, and the heavy footsteps of patrolling guards in the distance.

The depressing atmosphere made Zhi Yihe feel uneasy, but he had no choice but to continue walking inside.

There were rows of stone cubicles, so small that only one person could fit in. The floor was paved with rough stones, and there was not even a basic bed.

The father who used to be elegant and graceful, now looked like a leaf in the autumn wind, drifting alone. His face was thin, his cheeks were sunken, his clothes were tattered, covered with patches, and a few places were stained with blood. His hands, which used to hold a pen and write, were now shackled to the iron rings on the wall.

A feeling of helplessness and powerlessness made Zhi Yihe's nose ache. She tried to let the tears flow back into her eyes, pursed her lips, tried her best to stay calm, and called out softly, "Daddy!"

"He'er?!" Zhi Yian leaned forward in disbelief, eager to see more clearly.

The guard removed the chains from Zhi Yian. Zhi Yihan held the chains with her hands, which didn't even have the strength to hold her hands tightly. Finally, she couldn't hold back her tears.

"He'er, don't cry. It's daddy's fault. He'er was scared." Zhi Yian tried to wipe away her tears tremblingly, but his hands stopped in mid-air.

"If I had foreseen the situation today, why would I have done all those things!" Zhi Yihe complained, but still took out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt off Zhi Yian's palms: "You always like to eat dumplings, so I specially asked Yuyi to make crystal winter melon, fennel and pork, and fried taro dumplings. They are probably cold now, and I also prepared some medicine..."

"Okay! Okay! He'er! I'm glad you're okay!" Zhi Yian put his hand on the back of her hand, hesitating to speak, and finally asked: "Have you seen Siqi?"

Zhi Yihe put down the dishes in his hand and laughed: "Sure enough, what this person cares about most in times of crisis is what he cares about most. Daddy didn't even ask if mom was okay, how did your daughter get in to visit you?"

Zhi Yian glanced outside the iron bars and said in a serious tone, "It's Daddy's fault. I seldom accompanied you since you were little. Daddy still remembers the first time He'er made a purse for me. It was so fragrant that even Fugui'er kept following me. At that time, I did something that I still regret to this day - I kicked Fugui'er away. Alas! Since then, He'er has been estranged from Daddy."

Zhi Yihe moved his legs uncomfortably and changed his sitting position.

Zhi Yian raised his hand and stroked her earlobe again, his voice as warm as jade: "Does it still hurt? Your mother always blames me for insisting on piercing your ears, which resulted in inflammation and swelling, keeping you awake at night."

Zhi Yihe turned his head and responded calmly: "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Remember the pair of earrings your father gave you? They were custom-made for you, and I've never seen you wear them. Could it be that they have been passed on to someone else?" Zhi Yian said jokingly.

"how could be."

"You are such a greedy little bastard! I heard from your mother that you even took the incense pendant that Concubine Xin gave you to the pawnshop to exchange for money!"

Zhi Yihe finally couldn't help but chuckle, turned his head away and snorted coldly.

"In terms of seniority, Imperial Concubine Xin is still your great aunt! As soon as she saw you, she loved you so much that she wanted to give you all the treasures in the world."

"What's the point of saying this now!" Zhi Yihe turned around angrily, staring at Zhi Yian with a sharp gaze: "Let me ask you, you lied to me about looking for my grandmother, right? You are actually coveting Xiqi's national treasure, right? And your... what orphan organization! For the sake of mother and grandmother, you must tell me everything you know today! Everything!"

Zhi Yian's expression changed slightly, and he sighed with a half-smile, "He'er, don't be deceived by others. If your father really knew, how could he let himself be imprisoned?"

"What exactly is Xiqi's national treasure?" Zhi Yihe bit his lip and said in a slow voice, "Dad, restoring the country is just a pipe dream! Why do you have to cling to such a meaningless obsession? Isn't it good for the family to live in peace and tranquility?"

Zhi Yian shook his head slowly, with a bitter smile: "He'er, remember what your father said today. Daddy loves you."

"Then tell me what Xiqi's national treasure is? I have already lost my grandfather. Can you bear to let He'er lose his grandmother again? Daddy!" Zhi Yihe shook Zhi Yian's shoulders and called out in a crying voice.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you! No one knows the truth. But Yan Xunhua once said that the bandits who robbed your grandmother's caravan were actually the left and right eunuchs of the Eastern Palace. General Yan once captured a person alive, and he confessed that a maid escaped with a box in her arms, and the things inside seemed to be musical instruments."

Zhi Yihe was startled and analyzed very seriously: "The national treasure of Xiqi is just a musical instrument? Can playing it stun the enemy? Or can the sound kill people?"

"That's all Daddy knows."

Zhi Yihe pinched her lower lip, and in a flash, she said in shock: "Why did Yan Xunhua reveal all this to you? What is the relationship between you two? You already knew that she wanted to kill me when I was a child, right? And you still protected her! Could it be that your true love is her!?"

Zhi Yian groaned and replied in a very calm tone: "It doesn't matter if I tell you now. It's because I have the leverage over her that she has to obey me."

"Are they the two hundred or so corpses in the temple?"

Zhi Yian was choked for a moment: "He'er...how did you know?"

"All I know is that she experimented on living people in order to have children. Her methods were so cruel that it was outrageous. But I don't know why, four years after giving birth to triplets, she started killing again."

"This is all my father's fault. In order to get close to Emperor Zhaoding, he was bewildered and married Princess Ruilin. Yan Xunhua was not favored by the prince, so she had no choice but to cling to the queen. In order to please the princess, she took a risk and developed a poisonous insect and presented it to the princess.

Including you, He'er, because the princess told her that her father had not returned to the palace for a long time and was alone. She originally wanted to kill your mother along with you, but you and your mother got angry that day, and she went to find her father in grief, so she was not caught.

Later, Daddy accidentally rescued Wang Zude who was being hunted, and found the prince who had been abandoned by her.

I placed them in Sui Garden. In order to save his life, Wang Zude revealed Yan Xunhua's secret to me.

The Gu worm was originally a secret technique that could help people become pregnant and give birth, which was developed by the four major families of Xiqi in order to save the village from the crisis of extinction.

Many women suffered from discomfort due to insects invading their bodies, and were left with lifelong illnesses after giving birth. Their fetuses also had symptoms such as developmental delays. Therefore, after the village population recovered, this secret technique was destroyed. Unexpectedly, it was still preserved by someone with ulterior motives.

That woman first spent a huge amount of money and resources to build a fertility-granting Guanyin Temple. The reason why she chose to locate it halfway up the mountain and fabricated the idea of ​​the "Number One Pillar" was just to prevent those women who wanted to get pregnant from inhaling the hidden insects hidden in the core of the pillar due to their rapid breathing during the climb.

When a woman successfully becomes pregnant is about to give birth, someone will sneak in and secretly note the gender of the baby. "

"If that's the case, why let innocent people die? Bring misfortune to all living things and take the lives of so many women?" Zhi Yihe raised his voice excitedly.

"It's because she must be determined to ensure that she gives birth to a baby boy in one go." Zhi Yian's eyes were deep and he closed his eyes slightly: "The prince has been stationed at the border and has not returned to the capital for a long time. She must ensure that her wish comes true in one go."

Zhi Yihe was puzzled: "How...how can we ensure..."