Lan Miao had been silent in his arms.
Emperor Jingxiang didn't know if she had calmed down. He loosened his hold slightly to see how she was. However, as soon as he moved, Lan Miao, who had been buried in his arms, let out a soft chuckle and looked up at him.
Her tear - filled eyes were incredibly beautiful.
There was a clear and bright smile on her face.
Emperor Jingxiang was overjoyed at once.
Was he being played by his wife again? But he was happy even if he was. As long as his wife wasn't really angry.
"Your Majesty is so naughty. How could you keep fooling me like this? I was really scared these days. I wracked my brains and came up with many ways. I even went to bury that wooden box alone with a hoe. Were you watching me all the time, Your Majesty?"
Lan Miao asked with a bit of helplessness.
There was still a mist in her eyes, and her cheeks were pink with anger, exuding a charming allure.
Emperor Jingxiang felt as if there was honey in his heart. He pulled Lan Miao to sit quietly on the couch beside them. He gently stroked the red corners of her eyes with his fingertips.
"My wife looks so cute when hoeing the ground. I felt so bad seeing you work so hard that I really wanted to do it for you at that time."
Lan Miao pretended to gently punch Emperor Jingxiang in the chest and said angrily, "Your Majesty is so excessive. You just watched me make a fool of myself."
"My wife is also quite a good actress."
Emperor Jingxiang pulled her tightly into his arms. There was a deep smile at the corners of his eyes. Finally, he put away his joking mood and said seriously, "Then could my wife please tell me what exactly happened five years ago?"
Hearing this question, Lan Miao's eyes dimmed.
She buried her head in Emperor Jingxiang's arms and rubbed it. Her voice suddenly became a bit melancholy. "On that night five years ago, it suddenly rained heavily during the palace banquet, and some bandits broke in. I was originally with... Wen Lingzhou. We were standing under the corridor and saw the bandits flash past us. After he settled me down, he and Wen Hongxin, today's Marquis Yongyi, went to report what he had seen, and I got separated from him. I didn't even have a maid with me."
Five years ago.
A rainy night.
The rain was pouring down.
Lan Miao didn't know when Wen Lingzhou would come back. She was standing alone under the long corridor of the palace road. She wasn't qualified to bring a maid. There was a noisy crowd ahead, and it seemed that the bandits were still causing trouble inside.
Suddenly, a dark figure fled out of the palace in front.
Lan Miao saw clearly that the dark figure was coming in her direction.
She didn't want to be coerced by the bandits and used as a tool to get out. Lan Miao subconsciously ran in the other direction. Maybe the bandit saw her and wanted to take her life. He actually chased after her.
So, Lan Miao ran further and further along the palace road.
The noisy palace banquet was left behind.
She didn't know how long she had run. Her clothes were splashed with mud. The bandit behind her had changed his route at some point and was no longer chasing her.
She was safe, but she was also lost.
At this time, the rain was pattering. She was cold all over. The whole area was covered in a thin mist, so dark that she couldn't see the direction. She could only grope forward, wandering around along the palace road, hoping to find a place to take shelter from the rain.
Suddenly, it got a bit brighter.
She saw a secluded pavilion not far from the palace road. Although it was old, it could definitely shelter from the rain and she could hide there until this chaotic night was over.
Lan Miao slowly walked over along the long corridor. Just as she touched the door of the pavilion, she suddenly heard a noise inside, like a suppressed sound from a throat.
She was so scared that her hand trembled, and the door made a soft sound.
"Who... is out there?" This voice was rough, cold and a bit fierce.
"I... I just took the wrong way and want to come in to take shelter from the rain. If I've offended you, I'll just stay outside."
Lan Miao didn't know who was inside.
Her intuition told her that it was best not to provoke strangers casually, especially in the palace.
But just as she turned around, the door behind her suddenly creaked open. The heavy wooden door echoed, accompanied by the friction sound of hasty footsteps. Before she could react, she was dragged inside.
The wooden door closed.
The man lying on top of her seemed to be suppressing something. His face was flushed, and his whole body was so hot that it seemed to be on fire. He closed his eyes and hugged her, whispering in a deep voice, "I... was drugged. I need..."
She didn't hear the rest of the words clearly.
She was wrapped in his arms and carried onto a small couch beside them. The man on top of her seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. She couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried.
After it was over.
The man beside her was still sleeping, but her heart could never be calm again.
She knew that she was doomed.
In a panic, regardless of the soreness all over her body, she quickly put on all her clothes, tidied up her hair bun, and ran out in a hurry, running all the way back along the way she came. Fortunately, the rain had weakened a lot, and the moon had climbed up from the half - mountain, illuminating the road ahead.
She groped her way back by memory.
She happened to meet several palace maids. They showed her the way. From them, she also learned that there was a great chaos at the palace banquet tonight, and many official ladies had gotten separated. So they didn't suspect Lan Miao who appeared here at all.
She returned to the garden near the palace banquet and waited all night before she got the news that they could leave the palace.
Fortunately, after they got back, the palace wanted to thoroughly investigate the incident of the bandits breaking into the palace banquet. Wen Lingzhou and Wen Hongxin were also summoned to the palace because they were involved, and they didn't come back for several days.
The incident between Lan Miao and that man was not discovered.
This incident was thoroughly investigated for a long time, and it didn't involve her.
From then on, that night's rain became a permanent secret in her heart. If it weren't for a series of subsequent accidents, there wouldn't have been such a coincidence.
In Lan Miao's narration, she concealed Xue'er's background.
She didn't want the innocent Xue'er to be involved. If His Majesty knew that Xue'er was his own flesh and blood, he would surely let her be recorded in the royal genealogy. But how could she explain Xue'er's background? And what kind of strange looks would the world cast on them, mother and daughter?
Thinking of this, Lan Miao's eyebrows darkened.
She quietly leaned in Emperor Jingxiang's arms and fell silent. The whole person was covered in a shadow of memories.
"So you see, Your Majesty, it's all because of you. I'm really innocent..."
"Okay, it's all my fault. Will I hold you in the palm of my hand from now on?"
Emperor Jingxiang pulled her into his arms, only feeling that fate was really wonderful.
Although his wife had a daughter from her ex - husband, he would always be good to them.
Emperor Jingxiang kissed between Lan Miao's eyebrows and the tip of her hair. He held her face in his hands and looked directly into her eyes.
"Will my wife still go to the Marquis's Mansion to celebrate the birthday tomorrow?"
"Well... I want to take Xue'er with me. I also want to settle things clearly with the Marquis's Mansion."
Lan Miao nodded and said seriously.
Now, there was no more trace of suspicion in Emperor Jingxiang's eyes. Instead, an inexplicable smile rose in them. "Well, good. It's really time to celebrate the birthday properly."
Lan Miao didn't understand what Emperor Jingxiang meant. She blinked her eyes, but His Majesty didn't say anything else. He just held her and kissed her.
Now that everything had been said, there was only one last secret left in her heart. The heavy burden on her body seemed to have been removed. As long as she didn't say anything about Xue'er's secret, His Majesty would never know.