Jinwei joins hands in rebirth: villains can also eat at the table

For a long time, Hailan was alone in the temple, as if she had been forgotten by the whole world.

She sat quietly, tears falling like beads from a broken string, wetting the front of her clothes. The crying started as a low whimper, then gradually turned into mournful sobs, echoing in the empty palace.

She didn't know how long it took, until the tears on her face slowly dried up, leaving only traces of them. She slowly came back to her senses, with a hint of confusion and emptiness in her eyes.

She stood up somewhat unsteadily, walked towards the door with unsteady steps, and opened it with trembling hands. Two young palace maids were already waiting outside.

Seeing her come out, he immediately came forward to greet her and said to her gently and humbly: "Your Excellency is polite. The Imperial Concubine has ordered this servant to take you to the Prince. Please follow us."

Hailan nodded woodenly and let them lead the way.

In the height of summer, the sun in the Old Summer Palace was blazing, so hot that it seemed to scorch the earth. The strong light shone straight down, without any obstruction.

As soon as Hailan stepped out of the door, her forehead was immediately covered with fine beads of sweat. The sweat slowly slid down her cheeks, dripped onto the hot stone road, and evaporated in an instant.

At this moment, her mind was completely focused on the person she was about to meet, and her heart was beating violently in her chest, almost jumping out of her chest.

They hurried along, passing through winding corridors and paths. The flowers and plants on either side of the corridors seemed to wilt under the scorching sun. The crisp bird songs of the past had disappeared, and the entire garden was filled with a stuffy and oppressive atmosphere.

She had never been favored and was a rootless duckweed in the palace. She had rarely been to important places like Jiuzhou Qingyan Palace.

Now, after five years, every brick, every blade of grass and every tree here seem extremely unfamiliar to her.

As soon as you step into the area in front of the temple, the first thing that catches your eye is the remaining remains of the main hall.

The once majestic and magnificent main hall no longer exists, leaving only a shocking ruin.

The ashes on top had been carefully cleaned up by the palace servants, leaving only a square piece of foundation that had been charred by the fire. The charred color seemed to silently tell the horror of the disaster that day.

Just one look and one's mind can't help but emerge with the scene of the raging fire that day, with the flames devouring everything with their fangs and claws, and thick smoke blocking out the sun. It must have been an extremely fierce fire to destroy such a magnificent palace.

The fire in the main hall came too suddenly and without any warning.

You must know that the place where the emperor lives has always been an important place in the palace, and all matters must be handled with care.

It is not easy to raise funds to rebuild this palace.

From raising funds and recruiting craftsmen to purchasing materials, planning and designing, and then adding the actual construction period, this series of processes will take at least several years.

Moreover, the fire happened in a strange way and the emperor almost died in the fire, so he was naturally afraid of this place.

After experiencing such a change, it is understandable that the emperor would feel that the feng shui of this place is not good, so it is reasonable for him to choose to live in another courtyard.

As the footsteps moved, the side hall got closer and closer, but Hai Lan's mood became heavier.

Suddenly, she felt her legs go weak, and her steps became slow and sluggish. She was filled with fear and anxiety, and she was afraid to look at Yongqi's current appearance.

After all, she hadn't been a qualified mother for so many years. Looking back, she always put her sister first in everything, focusing on her friendship with her sister and the many disputes she had with her, and unknowingly neglected many details of Yongqi's growth.

Later, she was expelled from the palace. During her time outside the palace, she was always worried about her son in the palace, but she could not be with him.

Even though he was old enough to get married, such a major event in his life, as his mother, I couldn't even see him get married and set up a family with my own eyes...

On the contrary, this son took good care of her.

Although he was young, he was thoughtful and understood the difficulties his mother faced in the palace. He always gave her care and support to the best of his ability.

When the servant standing outside the door saw that it was Hai Lan, he was stunned at first, and a hint of shock flashed across his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, suppressed the waves in his heart, and stepped forward to pay his respects.

"This servant greets Noble Hai. Noble, are you here to see Lord Beile? I'll go in and inform you."

He bent slightly, his tone respectful and humble. In fact, deep down, he was happy for his master. Having served in the side hall for many years, he naturally knew how much his master missed his mother.

For so many years, the master has always been thinking about his mother, no matter what the weather is like. Now his wish has finally come true. Mother and son are about to meet. This is also a rare warm moment in the palace.

Hailan nodded in confusion, her eyes a little empty, and she subconsciously clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The whole person stood there, looking a little at a loss.

"What? Mother is here? Come on! Please come in! No! Help me up first!"

Yongqi was taking a nap. When his servants hurriedly woke him up, he was stunned at first, and then his sleepy eyes were instantly filled with joy.

But soon, he seemed to have thought of something, and a trace of worry flashed across his face, fearing that she would be sad to see him in this state.

So he quickly asked his servant to help him up, and moved with difficulty to a nearby stool and sat down.

He tried hard to adjust his sitting posture, straightening his back and placing his hands naturally on his knees, trying his best to appear like a gentleman.

The injured leg was hidden under the clothes, and from the outside, there was nothing unusual to see.

Yongqi wanted to use this method to maintain his final dignity in front of his mother and prevent her from worrying about him.

Not long after I sat down, Hailan walked in slowly, led by her servants. Her eyes were full of complicated emotions.

The attendants tactfully withdrew and the palace door slowly closed. For a moment, only the mother and son were left in the palace. In the quiet atmosphere, it seemed that only the sound of each other's breathing was clearly audible.

"Your son greets you, mother."

Yongqi had a smile on his face and was about to stand up and greet his mother with joy to fulfill his filial duty as a son.

However, the serious injury on his leg made it impossible for him to complete this simple movement. He propped up his body with all his strength, and just as his buttocks were slightly lifted off the stool, he lost his strength due to the severe pain in his legs and fell heavily back onto the stool.

This sudden situation made him feel a little embarrassed. He could only laugh dryly to try to hide his inner embarrassment and anxiety, and stammered, "Mother, please forgive me. Your son...your son..."

He stammered, unable to articulate a single word. A blush quickly spread from his cheeks to his ears, and like a child who had done something wrong, he could only lower his head in helplessness and guilt.

Seeing him like this, Hailan's heart seemed to be hit hard. Before she could say anything, tears burst out uncontrollably and slowly slid down her cheeks.

She quickly raised her hand, gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and tried to calm herself down.

Then, she took two gentle steps closer, slowly squatted down, squatted in front of him, raised her head, her eyes full of love and care, and spoke in a very gentle voice.

"Let mother...see your legs."

My mother actually knew everything. Yongqi was suddenly shocked, a trace of panic flashed across his face, and he hurriedly stretched out his hand to cover his injured leg.

Hai Lan's movements were even faster. With a light push, she pushed Yong Qi's blocking hand back.

"Mother, this..."

There was a hint of pleading in Yongqi's words.

"If it weren't for Wei...if it weren't for the Imperial Noble Consort telling me, how long would you have kept it a secret from me? Yongqi, be obedient and let Mother see."

Although Hailan's tone was gentle, it was full of unquestionable determination.

After saying that, she slowly squatted down, gently pinched a corner of Yongqi's robe with her slender fingers, carefully lifted his robe, and then slowly rolled up his trouser legs.

As she moved, her gauze-wrapped right leg was gradually exposed.

Where the bandages weren't wrapped around him, he saw a large, healed burn scar. The burned skin was a dark red of varying shades, and in some places, it was slightly raised, like a twisted earthworm crawling on his leg, telling of the tragedy.

Hailan's hands trembled slightly. She suppressed the grief in her heart and lifted up the other leg.

The intact left leg has smooth skin and firm muscles, which forms a sharp contrast with the injured right leg.

Even with the gauze wrapped around it, it was obvious that the right leg was much thinner and smaller than the left leg. The gauze seemed to be a little loose as a result, making people feel more intuitively the huge impact that the injury had on Yongqi's body.

Hailan slowly withdrew her hand tremblingly, as if that hand weighed a thousand pounds.

Her body swayed slightly, and she was practically sobbing. Tears flowed freely like a flood, streaming down her face, which was filled with guilt and heartache, and she couldn't stop them.

"It's alright, mother. I'm much better now. I can stand up and walk a few steps now. In another two months, my leg will be almost healed."

Seeing his mother so grief-stricken, Yongqi was extremely anxious and quickly spoke to comfort her. He tried to force a smile, trying to reassure his mother, but the smile seemed so pale and powerless in this atmosphere full of sorrow.

"Do you...do you feel any pain? It's because my mother is so useless..." Hai

Lan's lips trembled, her eyes fixed on Yongqi's legs, which were almost horrible to look at. Her eyes were full of self-blame and pain, and every word was squeezed out with difficulty.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it just itches, it itches really badly."

Yongqi said with forced calmness.

In fact, the wound on his leg was healing, and new granulation tissue was growing hard under the scab. The numb and itchy feeling was like countless ants crawling freely on the wound, constantly stimulating his nerves.

Every night, this strange itching would become more severe, causing him to toss and turn and unable to fall asleep. This was more painful than the pain he felt when he was treating his injury.

This leg couldn't be touched, and many times he had to endure it from night to day. He had no other choice but to endure it.

After Yongqi finished speaking, he reached out his hands eagerly and held Hailan's hands tightly. His hands were broad and warm. His strength was firm and unyielding, with a hint of hope.

"Mother, now that you're back, please live a good life with me. I've been looking forward to having you by my side every day. I've already sent people back to carefully tidy up the yard, and planted it with your favorite flowers and plants. You can live peacefully in my house, and let me fulfill my filial duties and take care of you until the end of your life..."

In fact, there was a second half of the sentence in his mind that he hadn't said yet, which was "Don't get involved in the mess of Yikun Palace anymore."

He knew very well that the friendship between his mother and the Empress Dowager was deep and complex. Over the years, his mother had made many plans for the Empress Dowager in the palace and had gone through countless hardships.

But now, he really couldn't bear to see his mother involved in those disputes. He just hoped that she could stay away from trouble and live a peaceful life in her own house.

My mother had been like this for many years. Anything related to the Empress Dowager would make her lose her mind. It was as if the Empress Dowager had some magical power, and once she was touched, she would become a different person.

When Hailan heard Yongqi mention this, her eyes subconsciously dodged, and a trace of barely perceptible panic flashed in her eyes.

She lowered her head slightly, avoiding Yongqi's fiery and expectant gaze.

"Well, Yongqi, please let me think about it, let me think about it carefully, but your Empress Dowager is still in the palace, I can't ignore her, we are good sisters..."

Hailan's lips trembled slightly, and she muttered to herself.

The voice was soft but with a hint of weakness. It seemed that he was trying hard to persuade Yongqi, but in fact, it was more like comforting himself and looking for a reason for himself deep in his heart.

"Mother, don't say but! You treat her as a sister, but what about her? You were in the palace for five years and didn't know, but I, your son, know everything."

Yongqi's emotions gradually became more and more excited, and his voice unconsciously rose a few degrees. He stood up. Although his injured leg was still a little inconvenient, he didn't care about it at the moment.

"Not only does she not care about you at all, she didn't even mention you in front of the Emperor. Mother, please wake up... In the eyes of the Emperor, you don't exist at all!"

Seeing that she was still hesitating, Yongqi's anger that had been pent up for many years surged up like a raging tide. He recalled the indifference and disregard that the Empress Dowager had shown him in the past.

If the Empress had not made all this clear to him, he would probably still be like an ignorant puppet, foolishly working for the Empress.

He is a human being, not an object. He also has a heart. He has seen who has been kind to him over the years.

He had had enough and didn't want to have anything to do with Yikun Palace anymore.

Yongqi's words easily broke down Hailan's psychological defense. She sat helplessly on the ground and couldn't get up no matter how hard Yongqi tried.

Seeing her like this, Yongqi took a deep breath and continued to persuade her.