50 Retention

After hearing what Madam Qin said, An Jinxiu did not have the grateful expression that Madam Qin had in mind. Instead, she said to Madam Qin, "Mother, it's getting late. Your daughter still has some matters to attend to at home, so I will take my leave first."

After following the Qin family for a while, An Jinxiu finally understood one thing: why did she want me to see the Emperor? To please Emperor Shizong and to fight for Shangguan Yong's future? Shangguan Yong did not need her to do so, her husband did not need his position as an official to rely on his woman.

When Madam Qin heard An Jinxiu say she was going to leave, she jumped in fright and said, "If Your Majesty already seen you, then how are you going to leave? "Even if you want to leave, you have to kneel before His Majesty before you can leave, how can you not understand that?"

"Your Majesty can remember me here?" An Jin asked curiously.

Madam Qin said, "What if His Majesty remembers?" "Come with me. It won't be too late for you to leave after kneeling down and making peace with His Majesty."

An Jin looked around again. Zi Yuan, who had been following her a moment ago, had disappeared. "Where's Zi Yuan?" An Jinxiu asked Madam Qin.

Madam Qin said, "I told her to go see your concubine mother. She's worried about you, so she has a question to ask Zi Yuan."

An Jin felt that something wasn't right. Why was there a problem with her mothet?

"Second Madam," a court lady by An Jinyan's side came out of the buddhist hall and stood in front of Madam Qin and An Jinxiu. "The imperial concubine wants you two to go to the tea room. His Majesty wishes to see you."

"Let's go," said Madam Qin as she pulled An Jin's hand. "You don't need me to teach you what to say later, do you?"

An Jinxiu was unwilling, but she couldn't leave even if she wanted to. She could only nod at Madam Qin.

Shizong sat in the largest private room in the temple, listening to An Jinyan introducing the hall to him with a face of indifference. When he saw An Jinxiu enter with Madam Qin, a smile appeared on his face.

An Jinxiu helped Madam Qin up from the ground with her head lowered. She was thinking about how she should quickly kneel to the Emperor so that she could return home earlier.

Now that the woman he was worried about was right in front of him, the Emperor finally had the chance to take a good look at An Jinxiu. The woman wore a light green spring dress with a light pink silk flower on her hair. Other than that, there was not a single ornament on her body. It was too plain, and the Emperor sighed in his heart. He felt that she was not having a good life in the general's family.

At this time, Madam Qin began to flatter the Emperor. But Madam Qin, who was preoccupied with their own matters, began to speak with a trembling voice and was incoherent with her words.

However, the Emperor didn't care about what Madam Qin said. He only looked at An Jin. An Jin's face was covered in a thin layer of powder today. The blush from before had already disappeared, but her face was still white and rosy under the contrast of her good looks. She had already given birth but she still have an elegant figure, so An Jin's appearance did not disappoint the sect.

Actually, no one would be able to tell that the Emperor was looking at An Jin. The Emperor was only looking in front of them, while Madam Qin and An Jin were standing in front of him. There were still servants behind them and the courtyard behind the door.

An Jinyan watched from the side with a fire burning in her heart. The face of this concubine born sister had such a troublesome appearance. Even she didn't dare to imagine what she would do if the crown prince was captivated by this calamity. After being angered for a while, An Jinyan thought about her plans for An Jinxiu and her anger immediately subsided. Why would she want to be angry with An Jinxiu? It was just a chess piece, something that she had to discard after using it. There was no need to worry about it at all.

"Are you An Shu's second daughter?" After Madam Qin can no longer opened her mouth, the Emperor asked An Jinxiy as if he don't already knew the answer.

An Jinxiu hastened to say, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor laughed, "Your marriage was bestowed byme."

An Jinxiu hurriedly squatted down to give a blessing to the Emperor and said with a smile, "This subject thanks Your Majesty for bestowing me the marriage, allowing this subject to marry my husband."

"Mmm," the Emperor said, "Shangguan Yong is currently in Fengzhou. By now, the war in Fengzhou should have ended, and he will be back soon."

This piece of news was enough to make An Jin both surprised and happy. Shangguan Yong had already returned from the border pass, and it wouldn't be long before she would see him again.

When the Emperor saw the happiness on An Jinxiu's face, he was actually unhappy. He hoped that An-Jin could live well, but seeing how An-Jin treated Shangguan Yong so well, the Emperor felt uncomfortable. This contradictory thought made the Emperor suddenly ask An-Jin, "When Shangguan Yong, went to the border, did you still live well after "

An Jinxiu didn't think too much into it and said, "This subject thanks Your Majesty for your inquiry. This subject has been living a good life."

The Emperor wanted to ask more, but did not know what else he could ask this little girl. This was not his official, if he could not ask her about official business, he could not ask her if it was bad that she served Shangguan Yong well. After taking a good look at An Jin, the Emperor said to her, "You live a good life. Kneel in peace."

An Jinxiu hurriedly kneeled down and left the room. After just a few words with Shizong, the sky had already turned dark. As she thought of the three people at home, An Jin became a bit anxious. However, when she wanted to leave, she couldn't see Zi Yuan. She could only ask the woman behind her, "Where is the girl who came with me, Zi Yuan?"

The old woman said, "Zi Yuan might still be at the place. Second Madam, wait here. This servant will go and urge her to come over."

An Jin wanted to say her goodbyes to her biological mother, but she thought that if she went, without informing Madam Qin, she would be punished by the Qin, so she had no choice but to give up on this idea and go find Zi Yuan, waiting for her at the side courtyard.

She waited for the time it took for an incense stick to burn for An Jin to finish embroidering. However, the old woman and Zi Yuan didn't come.

She wanted to find another servant to take a look, but An Jinxiu looked around for a long time and didn't see anyone walk past the side courtyard she was standing in. It was getting late, and An Jin couldn't wait any longer. She had no choice but to walk to the guest room where she had talked with the Madam Qin earlier.

An Jinxiu had never been to this An clan's main hall before. She had never expected that the main hall would be stingy with candles at night. Not only were there no lights in the rooms, there were only a few faint candles on the way. The light of the stars and moon had never shone on a rainy day. These candles flickered in the darkness. Although they were all buddhist images, they looked solemn and dignified. The places where buddhist magic should be boundless were now filled with a ghostly aura.

An Jin had already died once. As she walked in this strange hall, she felt somewhat uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. The crown prince, the crown princess consort, and Madam Qin were all here, so how could there not be a single person in the backyard?

A night crow flew over An Jin's head. The sound of the crow was strange and hoarse. After hearing it in the empty backyard of the main hall, it gave people goosebumps.

At this time, An Jinxiu had almost reached the guest room, but she suddenly stopped. Something was wrong, it seemed like Madam Qin was deliberately keeping her. No matter what her purpose was, she would not think this kindness towards her from Madam Qin is genuine. .

"Zi Yuan?" An Jinxiu shouted towards the guest room.

There was a faint candle light in the guest room, but no one answered.

An Jinxiu turned around and walked out. She knew that she couldn't stay here any longer.

"An Jin?"

A voice suddenly rang out from behind her. She instinctively turned her head to look, but before she could clearly see who it was, someone had punched her in the neck. An Jinxiu's vision turned black. She didn't struggle at all and fell into the arms of the person who just arrived.

At this moment, a few people walked out from the guest rooms with lanterns in their hands. The one in the lead was Su mama, who served An Jinyan closely.

"Carry her away," Senior Servant Su walked forward and glanced at An Jin, who had been knocked unconscious in the guard's arms. She ordered the court ladies behind her, "Be careful to touch her."

The two palace maids stepped forward and received the Ah Jin from the guards.

"Hurry," said Su mama as she led the way to the guest room where An Jinxiy and Madam Qin had been chatting earlier.

After the guard who had knocked out An Jin finished his mission, he turned around and hid his body in the darkness.

The small guest room had already been cleaned and decorated with a palace lamp covered with a red veil. The bed had also been replaced with a large one, with a soft cushion. The newly hung bed curtain was also of a bright red color. A guest room in the main hall was forcibly made into a new room.

Su mama ordered someone to place An Jin on a brand-new bed. She looked at her makeup and carefully smelled her body, but it didn't smell anything unusual. She then said to the court ladies behind her, "All of you, go out and wait for me."

The palace maids immediately left.

Su mama stroked An Jin face and said to herself, "Your skin is really slippery. This little appearance is indeed alluring. No wonder the esteemed imperial concubine wants to plot against you."

The unconscious An Jinxiu let out a light groan, as if she was about to wake up.

Su mama swiftly took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve, opened An Jin's mouth, and poured the seemingly transparent liquid into her mouth. Afraid that An Jinxiu would spit out the potion, she used her hand to cover her mouth and forced her to swallow the potion.

An Jinxiu's body twitched a few times after she was drunk, and then she passed out again.

"This medicine can give you a good night's sleep," Su mama said to An Jinxiu after seeing that she had completely stopped moving. "This way, you won't suffer too much, and this can be considered a bit of a good deed I've done for you." As she spoke, Su mama untied or loosened the belt and buttons on An Jinxing's clothes one by one. Then she pulled up the blanket on the bed and covered her entire bed.

"Go and tell the Crown Princess," Senior Servant Su said to the palace maid waiting outside the guest room. "Things have already been settled."

An elderly court lady quickly turned around and ran to the front yard to report the news.

"All of you can leave. I'll keep watch here," Su mama said to the rest of the palace maids after she saw them run off into the distance.

A few court servants hurriedly walked out of the courtyard. Before they could take a few steps forward, they heard Su mama's stern voice speak up behind them. "I brought all of you here with me. Ever since you entered the palace, I've already told you all that you're innately mute if you don't want to speak inside the palace."