My story begins from the day I lost my home.

To this day, I have forgotten many details, but I still remember that evening nine years ago, the air in Anyi City was hot and humid, as if water could be wrung out by clenching a fist, and the clouds that were as soft as cotton in the past became They are as heavy as a thousand jun, stacked in the sky, airtight, oppressing the cornices of the imperial city.

The Imperial City is the place where I grew up, and the Prince’s Mansion in the East Palace is my home. The high palace walls completely separate the inside and outside of the mansion. Even though the walls are full of noisy refugees, the inside of the walls is still quiet and solemn.

This quiet treasure land was specially given to my father by the imperial grandfather. After the concubine of the imperial grandfather gave birth to my father, she passed away due to dystocia. Naturally, I have never seen that grandmother. Long before I was born, my father was established As the crown prince, he entered the East Palace. When I was a child, I took it for granted that the emperor’s grandfather valued and loved him.

Apart from the identity of the prince, my father did not leave too many pictures in my memory.The year I was born, he set out to fight in northern Xinjiang, and when I was 12 years old, he was going to take command again. He seemed to be working forever, leaving me with only a tired back.

The war is approaching, and the situation in Anyi City is also very tense. In order to protect our safety, my father set up heavy guards around the imperial city, and the East Palace is even more watertight. Unless there are important guests, outsiders cannot enter at all.

General Di was one of the important guests.

On that day nine years ago, my father invited General Di to the East Palace to discuss matters. My elder brother Si Yujing was also called to attend, but my father did not call me.

He didn’t call me, not only because I was young, but also because I was a girl.I just celebrated my birthday not long ago. In front of all the ministers, the imperial grandfather bestowed on me the title of “Princess Ping An” and made an appointment for my marriage with Bai’s eldest son.The imperial grandfather’s expectation of me is very simple, as long as I serve under his knees safely, grow up in the imperial city safely, and marry into Lord Baihou’s family safely, he will be satisfied.The great plan of the common people of Yu Kingdom seems to be very far away from me.

I am not content with the status quo, and often feel depressed, the walls of the imperial city are too high, even if I climb the highest branch, I can’t see the situation outside the palace walls.So, on that gloomy day, I sneaked into my father’s bedroom through the window and stole an account book.

That account book was the account of the Zhenbei Army, and besides the names and surnames of the officers and men, there was also a military order in it.

In the distant future, that military order will become my important token, but at that time, I didn’t know anything about its value.Just use it as a trophy to vent your dissatisfaction.

My little act of revenge was very successful, except for one thing, when I turned out of the bed, my clothes were hanging on the tip of the tree branch, and I accidentally scratched a hole.

Night is approaching, and soon my concubine will urge me to go to rest. I was afraid that she would blame me, so I secretly hid in the temple to find Aunt Lan.

Aunt Lan is a maid in the East Palace, her name is Su Lan. Of course, this is not her original name and surname, but the elegant name she gave when she entered the palace, which means “plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum”, which means the four gentlemen of Sui Han.Of course, she herself did not understand the deep meaning of it, she had no education, she was just an ordinary country girl who was selected into the palace because of her clever hands and feet.

Although Aunt Lan has never read a book, she is very devout to the gods.

According to the legend, the Si family of Yu State is the descendant of the god Yu and the mortal woman, so Dayu is our ancestor. In the imperial city, the ancestral hall is the temple, and every palace is enshrined. With the statue of Dayu, the East Palace is no exception.

Aunt Lan would come to the temple every morning and evening to clean up, and then kneel in front of the statue to pray.When the sun goes down, I will definitely find her in the temple.

There is a reason for her piety. It is said that she fell in love with a heartless man when she was young, and was abandoned after she became pregnant. The god statue in the temple was bathed in the moonlight, seeming to nod and wink at her.The next day, she gave birth to the girl in her womb safely, and she firmly believed that this was the blessing of the gods.

Her daughter is about the same age as me, but she stutters when she speaks, a little dull, has a good temperament, and never cries. The concubine mother pities the situation of their mother and daughter and specially allows her to take her daughter with her.Her daughter doesn’t have a formal name either, everyone calls her Xiaosu.

Every day when Aunt Lan prayed, Xiao Su knelt beside her, closed her eyes obediently, and said nothing, as if she was really talking to a god.

After the mother and daughter prayed that day, they wanted to leave the temple, but when they saw my head poking out from behind the statue, I was really frightened.

Of course, I didn’t mean to scare her, but I just had a whim and planned to ask her to mend my clothes for me.Aunt Lan’s needlework skills are exquisite, and she must be able to hide it from the eyes of the mother and concubine.

Unexpectedly, my flash of inspiration changed the fate of the three of us forever.

Aunt Lan took advantage of the sunset to mend my clothes. At this moment, my homeland, the East Palace of the Dayu Kingdom, was lit up with the light of swords and blood.

The catastrophe came without warning, and no one knew how the assassin broke through the strict defenders and sneaked into the deep palace.When I realized it, the yard was already in chaos. I don’t know which guard shouted: “Prince, run away——!”

It was dusk, and my father and mother had already returned to the bedroom. I looked across the yard and saw their door was open, and there was a pool of blood spilled from the door, and the two of them never came out again.

The defenders were all stationed outside the palace walls, and inside the palace were all unarmed servants, and the assassin was covered in a pitch-black cloak, like a cloud of black mist, I couldn’t see his face, only saw where he passed, The shadow of death spread like a tide.

In a blink of an eye, the East Palace turned into a hellish place, and the people caught by the shadows were killed by the knife without even a moment to call for help.

I was only 12 years old at that time. Seeing such a tragic scene, my face turned pale and I stayed where I was, almost fainting.

Aunt Lan was also very scared, but she didn’t stay still. She held me and Xiaosu with her left and right hands, and led us to hide behind the statue.

There is a cellar near the base of the statue, which is usually used to store sacrificial utensils and lamps and candles, and the remaining space can only accommodate a child.

She glanced at me, turned to her daughter, and ordered: “Xiao Su, take off your clothes.”

Xiao Su looked at her tremblingly.

She was holding my clothes in her hand, which were much more beautiful and luxurious than the coarse cloth shirt on Xiao Su’s body. She held it up in front of Xiao Su: “Listen to what mother said, and mother will give you the most beautiful clothes. You wear it, don’t you always want it?”

I already understood what she meant, she wanted to exchange Xiaosu’s life for mine.

I shook my head in a panic and said, “Aunt Lan, I can’t…”

But she stopped me: “Princess, you have to live.”

A Su is a dull child, but not stupid.She had already taken off her clothes, but when she heard what Aunt Lan said to me, the joy on her face froze quickly, and she burst into tears.

Aunt Lan snatched her clothes and handed them to me: “Princess, you wear this and hide in it. Don’t make a sound, and never tell anyone your identity in the future.”

Trembling, I took the coarse cloth shirt from Aunt Lan’s hand, and found that the corner of the clothes was still in Xiao Su’s palm.

Aunt Lan suddenly raised her hand and slapped Xiaosu hard on the face.

It was the first time I saw her beat her own daughter.

Xiao Su was flustered by her beating, she pouted aggrievedly, and finally let go of her hand.

I put Xiaosu’s clothes on my body, and the rough cloth rubbed against my skin, but it was no more unbearable to me than her urging eyes.

The assassin’s footsteps came towards the temple, the sound was so soft, as if a gust of wind was blowing across the ground, sweeping away all living beings.

I finally got into the dank cellar.

Aunt Lan covered the entrance of the cellar with a straw mat. Through the gaps in the mat, I saw Aunt Lan squatting down in front of Xiao Su and hugging her tightly.

I heard Aunt Lan whispering in Xiaosu’s ear: “Your life was given by God, now is the time for you to return it. You died to protect the princess, and you deserved it.”

Xiao Su sobbed on her shoulder, shaking her arms desperately, struggling to escape.However, her embrace is also a shackle, tightly locking her own flesh and blood, and locking her in a cage of death.

There were also two lines of dirty tears in her eyes, she said: “Don’t be afraid, the gods in the next life will treat you kindly, and let mother reunite with you again, and then mother will spoil you well…”

These were the last words she left in the world, and after that, the shadow of death enveloped the temple.

The light of the knife is like a cold moon, it is the knife in the hands of an assassin.

Aunt Lan and A Su hugged each other tightly, turned into two pools of soft flesh, and fell into a pool of their own blood.