She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

He sighed wearily.

Jiang Ruining said, "Go back to your room and rest. Heal your injuries before you come back to serve me. Be good and get well soon so you can protect me and make up for your mistakes."

Yunmi swallowed her words of wanting to stay and serve, and obediently nodded: "I will go and rest after I finish massaging you."

Jiang Ruining didn't chase her away again, and instructed the wet nurse, "Send more people to keep an eye on the roof. The wet nurse and Jinyu will personally watch the doors and windows of the main house. You'll have to work hard these next few days."

The wet nurse wrung out a handkerchief to wipe her fever down: "I know, please don't worry. Just drink your medicine and rest. Poor thing, you're so feverish, and the madam still wants to cause trouble!"

"Don't mention her." Jiang Ruining didn't want to make herself uncomfortable. She pinched her brow hard, her eyelids burning hot and so heavy she could barely lift them.

His gaze swept over the location of the secret room, and he decided to get up and go in to check on his condition himself.

Yun Mi followed her inside.

Seeing that there really was someone hiding in the secret room, she was so frightened that her eyelids twitched. She quickly glanced back at the doors, windows, and roof: "Girl, what if someone is watching us!"

Jiang Ruining said firmly in a soft voice, "Even for Chu Jin's safety, Mother will increase patrols in the inner garden, and the patrol battalion will not dare to linger or get close."

Yunmi closed the door to the secret room and stood guard at the entrance.

The secret room wasn't very big.

A single candle is enough to illuminate the secret room.

Only two small windows provide basic ventilation.

Fortunately, it's cleaned regularly, so there's no odor; it's all the delicate fragrance of the spices my daughter usually uses.

The secret room was in a tricky location; even if someone discovered the air vent, they wouldn't suspect that it connected to Jiang Ruining's bedroom.

Xiao Che was still unconscious, his brows furrowed, his thick eyelashes trembling slightly, and the small shadow he cast seemed to be blown by the wind, trembling uneasily. His face was flushed, which made his lips look even whiter.

You can tell it's on fire without even touching it.

"cold……"

I could faintly hear murmurs.

Jiang Ruining bent down and leaned closer to listen.

"cold……"

If it's cold, then it means you're sensitive to cold and can't cool down with cold water: "Yun Mi, go and fetch some hot water."

Yun Mi responded and went out.

While waiting, Jiang Ruining took off Xiao Che's inner garment.

I touched it just yesterday, but I was a little too excited and not quite myself then. Now, by the dim, warm candlelight, I can see its sexy collarbones, its well-defined yet not exaggerated chest and abdominal muscles, and its sweat-soaked panties clinging tightly to its long, slender legs...

The perfect impact made her gasp for breath, and her already flushed cheeks burned even hotter: "This is killing me!"

That figure!

That face!

He's just as good as the male protagonist described and praised in the book!

She really hit the jackpot by eating this!

Just as Jiang Ruining was about to reach out and touch him properly, she heard him muttering in his sleep again.

"Mother...give me back my mother's head..."

It was very clear, unlike the usual languid and gloomy way he spoke. He seemed more like a young child, with his eyeballs moving stiffly under his eyelids. You could clearly feel his fear, helplessness, and despair in the nightmare!

But this sleep talking is really creepy!

But when I thought about the horrific ordeal his mother suffered, which was only mentioned briefly in the book, I just felt sorry for her.

Both mother and son are pitiful.

"The people who harmed your mother are all dead. Consort Shen's skin has been made into lanterns and hung in front of your mother's grave. Sleep peacefully." Jiang Ruining was overflowing with sympathy. Even though she herself was heartbroken, she whispered and gently patted his arm to coax him to calm down. "Sleep peacefully... all the calamities are over..."

Xiao Che couldn't hear it.

Such a gentle voice, like a pebble thrown into the sea, silently sank into the depths of the ocean. A chilling, decaying coldness, penetrating to the bone, clung to him tightly, violently dragging and tearing his consciousness, pressing it into a more distant and darker vortex of memory.

Snow was everywhere, very cold, very white, so white it was blinding.

The little boy was hidden in a corner by the palace servants, who held him tightly and covered his mouth. He could only watch helplessly as his birth mother, Consort Rou, was dragged out of the palace by her hair and forcefully pressed into the thick snow.

The thin, floor-length red dress stood out against the pale snow like a handful of blood spilled carelessly, its redness glaringly obvious.

The chief eunuch announced the emperor's decree in a high-pitched voice, each word like an icicle piercing his brain.

"Consort Rou has been practicing evil arts, using witchcraft to curse His Majesty, and has also been having an affair with a guard. The evidence is irrefutable. Today, the Palace Justice Department will carry out the punishment according to the law, awarding her sixty lashes!"

The barbed whip lashed out, accompanied by a dragon's roar, before striking his mother's frail back with a heavy blow. Instantly, her skin was torn open, and her agonizing screams quickly ceased, leaving only convulsions. Then, like a broken butterfly with ripped wings, she fell completely to the ground.

He was afraid and sobbed with tears.

The palace maids covered her even more tightly.

The imperial eunuch sneered and spat at the woman, "Throw that wretched woman into the cold palace, don't give her any food, don't call the imperial physician, let her rot away!"

After saying that, he led his men away.

My mother was dragged away.

All the palace servants in Changchun Palace were taken away.

The palace maid covering his arm stared intently, her voice trembling with urgency, warning him: "Sixth Prince, look carefully: 'Don't let anyone know what you saw! Only by knowing nothing... can you survive in this cannibalistic harem...'"

"You must live for Consort Rou. This servant can no longer serve you; from now on, you will have to rely on yourself... You must, you absolutely must live!"

The palace servant who had been talking to him left.

He was all alone in the empty palace; it was cold and terrifying.

That night, he secretly ran out, avoiding the palace servants and guards, and searched secretly and quietly for a long, long time until he finally found the place where the disgraced concubines were imprisoned.

The bright light of the full moon shone on the dilapidated and half-closed palace gate, and behind the broken window, the shadows of people were reflected by candlelight.

He carefully pushed the door open and went inside.

then.

He saw the long sword raised high, its surface gleaming with a dim, yellowish light in the candlelight.

A quick and urgent "whoosh" followed.

Warm liquid splashed into his eyes.

In the bloodshot vision, a head rolled off the dilapidated bed, tumbled across the dusty floor, leaving a trail of blood, and finally came to rest right in front of his toes, which were clad in sheepskin boots.

Bright moonlight streamed in through the hole in the window, shining directly on the head.

It was his mother's gentle face.

Those once captivating eyes, capable of holding an entire galaxy, were now filled with terror and worry. Then, little by little, they lost their vitality, solidifying into a deathly stillness and emptiness, reflecting his small face contorted with fear.

A tremendous fear gripped his throat, rendering him unable to make a sound, cry, or even breathe.

The mother's body was dragged away.

He lunged forward, trying to stop him.

He was hit on the back of the head with a stick.

He collapsed to the ground, powerless, and could only watch helplessly as his mother's body was thrown into the dry well, followed by a bag of rats.

"No!"

Jiang Ruining was drifting off to sleep when she suddenly heard a scream. She opened her eyes abruptly and was caught off guard by a pair of bloodshot eyes, like those of a demon crawling out of hell, cold and vicious, devoid of any human warmth.

A feverish brain sluggishly sends out danger signals.

He tried to dodge, but his neck was already being choked.

"I'll kill you!"

In a flash, Jiang Ruining was slammed onto the soft couch, a hard elbow pressing against her abdomen. She winced in pain, each word she uttered twisted in agony: "Let go... Xiao Che... I'm not your enemy!"