Repeatedly broken branches

Four months later, Ye Wanwan gave birth to a baby girl and was then exiled and sold to the Western Regions as the lowest-ranking slave.

What is the lowest level? It means that she will do the things that people consider the most despicable. For example, some people have special fetishes and will make her lick their toes or eat their own excrement and wipe their butts, using this perverse pleasure to satisfy their own desires.

Deng Yizhi named his child Siwan. He dared not use the character "Wan" because he was afraid that his child would be implicated, since Ye Wanwan was now a sinner.

Deng Yizhi was heartbroken and had already made a harsh statement to his parents that he would never marry again.

He grew increasingly depressed, but for the sake of his children, he had no choice but to eke out a living in this world day after day.

The child looks remarkably like Ye Wanwan, which is his only solace.

He could never forget seven years ago, by the Autumn Water Lake, when Ye Wanwan, dressed in a pink dress, burst into his world. At that moment, it was as if everything stood still, as if all the light dimmed, and only Ye Wanwan shone brightly.

At this moment, only two people were heartbroken: Deng Yizhi and Chen Lanhe.

Ever since she caught them in their affair, Chen Lanhe has been depressed and lost her appetite. She even avoids paying her respects to the emperor in the palace every day.

No matter how much Yin Fu'an tried to please her, she never took it to heart. She felt sorry for Deng Yizhi and hated Ye Wanwan. She was sad for her former lover.

On the eve of entering the palace, she went to a temple to burn incense. If it were any other woman entering the palace, she would surely pray for the emperor to be the most favored concubine and to give birth to a prince as soon as possible. But she prayed only for the emperor to be safe, well, and healthy.

However, the handsome young man in white in her heart eventually turned into this listless, drunkard who spent his days drinking.

Afterwards, Ruan Cifeng told Xiao Mu that he had witnessed Ye Wanwan and Deng Yizhi's affair, but he couldn't say it out loud and could only hint at it indirectly.

Xiao Mu rummaged through Ye Wanwan's makeup box and found a pile of hairpins engraved with lotus patterns, more than fifty in total. Every time they met, Deng Yizhi would give her a hairpin. The lotus was their token of love. She didn't know what story was behind it, nor did she want to know.

This is equivalent to Zhou Tingxi having fifty green hats, right? Xiao Mu is laughing so hard she's about to die. Zhou Tingxi has finally met his match.

With Ye Wanwan's matter settled, summer arrived quietly, and she began to worry about how to kill Zhou Tingxi.

Zhou Tingxi is not someone to be trifled with.

Summer festival.

Yin Fu'an has taken two new concubines. One is Liang Yuxue, the youngest daughter of Liang Mu, the commander of the cavalry battalion, who is made Consort Liang. Liang Yuxue is only eighteen years old, two years younger than Xiao Mu, and looks innocent.

Another one is Song Xinning, the eldest daughter of Song Yuan, a first-rank official in the Bureau of Supervision. She is known as Lady Song. Song Xinning likes to make all kinds of rouge and face powder, and other cosmetics for women. She is not a bad person, just a bit sharp-tongued.

Xiao Mu popped a bayberry into her mouth, and the bayberry juice burst in her mouth, quenching her thirst and making her taste delicious.

She ate more than a dozen in a row, finishing all the bayberries on her plate.

Zhou Tingxi pushed his plate in front of her and whispered, "Eat mine!"

Xiao Mu smiled and said, "No need, this stuff makes my stomach uncomfortable if I eat too much. You can eat it yourself." Then she returned the plate to her.

During the meal, Chen Lanhe also enjoyed eating bayberries, one after another.

Yin Fu'an immediately sent someone to the icehouse to deliver all the remaining bayberries to Chen Lanhe's palace, saying that these were Dongkui bayberries offered as tribute, and since there weren't many, and Chen Lanhe loved them, he gave them all to her.

Meanwhile, Xia Yunxu drank her wine forlornly. She must have been feeling terrible. Her husband, who had once been devoted to her, was now fawning over another woman in front of her.

However, Chen Lanhe did not immediately express her gratitude, nor did she appear particularly happy.

She hadn't received a letter in two months. She knew what was wrong with her. She wasn't happy; she felt none of the joy of becoming a new mother. Instead, she wanted the child to leave quietly.

So she didn't tell Yin Fu'an or the people around her.

After the banquet, Song Xinning called out to Xiao Mu, took two exquisite boxes of rouge from the maid Qing Ran beside her, and personally handed them to her.

Her father instructed her to take good care of Xia Yunzhi, the wife of General Zhou Tingxi, after entering the palace, because the previous emperor had treated their family well. He, Song Yuan, was promoted from the bottom by Xia Yuyi.

"Thank you, Lady Song."

Song Xinning held Xiao Mu's hand, her phoenix eyes sparkling like stars, and said with a smile, "Just treat me like one of your own sisters, no need to be so polite. In terms of seniority, I should call you auntie!"

Xiao Mu's thoughts were in turmoil. That's right, Song Xin Ning's mother was Xia Yun Zhi's mother's niece.

Logically speaking, they are still quite close.

Strange, how did she know? Did she dream about these things, or did she hear about them from others?

"Now, everyone keeps their distance from me, avoiding me like the plague. Consort Song, you'd better stay away from me. If the Emperor sees this, it will be bad for you."

Song Xinning pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? We're like sisters, and you're General Zhou's wife. I'll beat up anyone who dares to say a word!"

Xiao Mu smiled and said, "Song Meiren, thank you."

There are very few people who would still speak kindly to me in this situation, perhaps because we are related.

However, even relatives must be guarded against in the deep palace. Often, the closest people are the ones who hurt you the most, stabbing you in the back when you least expect it, and you don't even realize it until later.

Song Xinning said gently and carefully, "From now on, we're sisters. You don't need to be so polite. I'll call you Xiaozhi, and you can call me Xiaoning. Also, you don't need to bow to me when you see me. Anyway, my rank isn't high, and no one will pay attention to me."

Xiao Mu comforted her, "You'll definitely be favored in the future, Xiao Ning."

Song Xinning smiled bitterly, "I hope so." She didn't care at all whether he was favored or not. If her father hadn't insisted on sending her to the palace, she wouldn't have missed seeing that person one last time. Heh, fate is just cruel.

Tragically, on the day she entered the palace, the man was being buried, and her sedan chair passed by his coffin without her being able to offer him even a stick of incense.

He treated her very well, but he didn't let her come out to see him every day. He said that it would not be good for her reputation. If I died one day, what would you do? How would you get married?

He said, "If I die, don't be sad. Live well, marry someone who treats you well, and have a lovely child. I will be watching from heaven."

Their meeting was ordinary; they only glanced at each other at a temple fair, and feelings blossomed between them. She found out that the man's name was Lu Shiyan, and he was just an ordinary poor scholar.

Father will not approve of their relationship.

The second encounter was on her birthday. Her father had given her special permission to go on a spring outing in the countryside. With just one glance, she knew that the person painting by the river was him.

They chatted for a long time. Lu Shiyan said he would participate in the imperial examination and if he passed with flying colors, he would stay and they could go out and play together often.

It turns out he lives in the suburbs, not in the city. Yes, his family is poor, so where would he get the money to buy a house in the city?

After that, they often met by the river. As the frequency increased, the father became suspicious and sent someone to follow Song Xinning, who then caught them in the act.

The father gave Lu Shiyan a severe scolding, had him beaten up, and kicked him out of the Song residence. The father forbade them from seeing each other again and also forbade Song Xinning from leaving the house.

Song Xinning threatened her father with a hunger strike. She was worried about Shi Yan, whose health was already poor. If he didn't receive proper medicine after being beaten by his father, he would definitely not recover. If he developed any chronic illness as a result, she would not forgive herself or her father.

Her father promised to send him precious medicinal herbs and hire a famous doctor to cure his illness, as long as they never saw each other again. Her father also promised to buy him a house in the city and hire several servants to take care of his mother so that he could focus on preparing for the exam.

Song Xinning listened to her father and stopped looking for him. But she dreamed of Shi Yan every night; she missed him terribly.

Until one day, Shi Yan, dragging his sickly body, knelt in front of her house. He said that he had passed the imperial examination with top honors and would be able to enter the palace as an official in two months. He wanted to see Song Xin Ning; he just wanted to see her once.

Song Yuan refused, so Song Xinning could only watch him from the window of the attic. He had lost a lot of weight and was kneeling at her door with a pale face. She couldn't bear to watch him like that, so she ran down from the attic like a madwoman. She cried and begged her father if he could give them some time to talk alone.

She kowtowed several times, her forehead bleeding. Her father, not wanting to make a scene and attract attention, gave them the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Lu Shiyan took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her forehead and said gently, "Don't be so foolish, don't go against your father later."

Song Xinning said, "I miss you so much. Why haven't you come to see me for so long?" Song Xinning tried to hug him, but he dodged her.

He said bitterly, "I didn't get the top score in the exam, how could I dare to come to you? How could I have the face to beg your father to let me see you? Now that I've passed, the moment the results were released, I came to see you immediately, cough cough cough..."

Lu Shiyan covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed violently.

Song Xinning asked, "Are you still not better? Didn't the doctor my father hired work?"

Lu Shiyan stammered, "No, the doctor your father hired is very good... I, I just caught a cold, I'll be fine in a few days."

"That's good. I'll go back and plead with my father again. He'll definitely change his mind. My father isn't an unreasonable person. If you serve the Emperor well, he'll definitely promote you..."

Lu Shiyan smiled and said, "Okay, let me watch over you a little longer..."

"It's not like we won't see each other again, why are you doing this?"

"I'm afraid I'll be very busy once I take up my new post."

He suddenly said, "If I die in the future, find someone to marry, and I will be watching over you from heaven."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Song Xinning covered his mouth to stop him from continuing. "How could you die? You won't die."

He smiled and said, "I just said it as it came to mind. Remember, if I die, don't go against your father anymore. I didn't come here today to ruin your relationship. I just want to see you and talk to you, that's enough."

"We'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future; we can meet every day."

He said in a low voice, "We can't see each other every day. You're not married yet. What kind of relationship is it if you see me every day? Once I formally propose to you, we can see each other every day."

"Okay." Song Xinning smiled sweetly.

However, she never saw Shi Yan again after that. Until one day, she received news of Shi Yan's death. He left forever the day before he was to take office as a new official. He was only twenty years old!

He finally had a chance to change his fate and take his mother to live a better life, but he could never see her again.

Song Xinning had not eaten or drunk anything for five days. On this day, she received news that the Emperor wanted to take her as a concubine. She went to her father and told him that she would observe three years of mourning for Shi Yan. During these three years, and even in the future, she would not have any dealings with anyone else.

Tears streamed down the father's face. "Do you want us to die? Do you want our whole family to be buried with that brat? Girl, the imperial decree cannot be disobeyed! Don't be willful!"

She sobbed uncontrollably, "Is there no way to turn things around? Then, could I... please, Father, go and see him off on his final journey tomorrow? Please..."

"Tomorrow, the Emperor's palanquin will take you to the palace. If you want our whole family to be buried with that brat, then go."

Song Xinning didn't sleep all night, tossing and turning, thinking about what Shi Yan had said before. He mentioned every time that if he died in the future, she must do this and that. Did he already foresee that he would die?

Didn't Father send someone to treat his illness? How could he have died?

Early in the morning, the palace maid sent to dress her up arrived. While doing her hair and makeup, she taught her the taboos of serving the emperor in bed.

She watched her mother and father, who were weeping, before getting into the sedan chair.

Before her father left, he told her to take good care of Princess Xia Yunzhi of the previous dynasty, as the previous emperor had been kind to her family, and she would always remember it.

She drew the curtain, and suddenly heard the sound of suona horns outside. She lifted the curtain and looked outside, and saw that it was Shi Yan's coffin. She shed two lines of tears, wishing she could rush into the funeral procession. She wanted to pull him up and ask him why he didn't want her anymore. Didn't they agree to see each other every day from now on?

The person she longed for day and night was lying inside.

And so she entered the palace. On her first night in the palace, the emperor did not summon her, but instead summoned Liang Yuxue, who had entered the palace with her.

On the second night, the nanny came to wash her body and told her that the emperor would be coming that day. The nanny told her the rules for serving the emperor and also said not to be nervous, that every woman has to go through this once.

But when she saw the Emperor, she was still afraid. She tried her best to control her nervousness, but no matter what, her mind and heart were filled with that person. What should she do?

The Emperor kissed her tenderly. At that moment, her girlish defenses were breached, and tears welled up in her eyes. It hurt so much, so much. But at that moment, she wished that the person was Shi Yan. Shi Yan would surely comfort her gently and tell her not to be afraid.

But she never saw that person again.

She would never know that her father had not actually sent any medicine to Shi Yan, nor had he sent anyone to treat him.

His condition worsened after being beaten by his father, and despite his serious illness, he repeatedly begged to see her, only to be driven away by her father each time.

He endured his illness to take the imperial examination, not to sway her, but to speak to her one last time.

In the last moments before Shi Yan breathed his last, his mind was filled with the image of that girl whose smile was as bright as the sun. Sadly, he would never see her again.

How could Song Xinning forget that her first love, a young girl's first stirrings of affection, ended silently at the cost of one person's eternal departure?

You have left, and my heart is dead.