Chapter 8 Chapter Six

The "Jiao Concubine" who was locked in a big iron cage, at this moment, really held a baby in her arms. However, several old palace people who had seen her noticed sharply that the dragon scales and sharp horns on the concubine's body had disappeared. In the past, concubines would transform into human or monster forms, but even in human form, they still have scales and sharp teeth. But now, those characteristics have disappeared. The current jiao concubine is just like the old palace people of the same period, with gray hair and aging, an old woman in her fifties. The people who followed Queen Jiang looked at her in a daze, looking at the inhuman shabby residence in the big iron cage, some people smelled the stench coming out of the cage, and couldn't help but vomit.

In such a place, the "Jiao concubine" has actually lived for more than forty years. In the quiet space, the baby in the concubine's arms suddenly burst into tears with a loud voice, and her little face was flushed. Empress Jiang frowned, with a more serious expression on her face. She walked past the iron cage and signaled the guards to open it. Concubine Jiao saw this luxuriously dressed woman, and the palace etiquette she had learned many years ago came to mind again, so she hugged the baby, knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Empress Jiang. "Little Mermaid Lishi, pay my respects to your empress."

At first, Empress Jiang was a little apprehensive towards her, but seeing her being courteous and behaving in line with palace etiquette, she felt a little good in her heart, and the expression on her face softened a lot. "This baby...was born to you?" Empress Jiang asked, "Are you the Jiao concubine?" Over the garden in front of the iron cage, the sky outside the palace was reflected.At this moment, everyone stood around in front of the iron cage, listening to the conversation between Empress Jiang and "Jiao Concubine" Yu Lishi. Yu Lishi narrated her experience in a eloquent manner, with clear words.

But everyone, including Queen Jiang, was brought into a blurred and astonishing space world by her narration... According to "Jiao Concubine" Yu Lishi's own memory, she was indeed a maid who entered the palace during the time of King Li of the previous dynasty. The Li Dynasty was originally an era full of turmoil. At that time, in addition to living in luxury and corruption, Li Wang also hired a man named Rong Yi to manage the country's finances, but the whole country became miserable and the government was chaotic. Faced with complaints and protests from the people and nobles, King Li's response was to invite many wizards to monitor the people on the streets of Haojing.Wizards claim to be able to read people's minds, and as long as there is a slight complaint, or a slight complaint, anyone can be arrested and imprisoned with a word from the wizard.

It is said that among the many sorcerers, there is one man whose mana can revive the animals that have just died, and it is justified. When this sorcerer held a sacrifice in the palace to ward off disasters, he let him see the place where Emperor Jie's dragon saliva was stored. wooden box. That sorcerer is also an extremely good-natured person, he put his resurrection mana on the dragon saliva, making the dragon saliva emit brilliant golden light, and hurriedly sent it to King Li's main hall, intending to claim credit, but the gold plate was knocked over in the main hall It was an accident that the ambergris turned into a little dragon.

"At that time, it was also the servant girl who was young and curious," Concubine Jiao said softly, "I heard people in the palace talking about the dragon saliva turning into a living thing, and I always wanted to see what that strange 'little dragon' looked like. I saw it in the long corridor, and saw it leave a glowing trace on the ground, so I stepped on it with bare feet..." Hearing this, Empress Jiang couldn't help asking: "You really stepped on it? How does it feel after stepping on it?" "I don't know how to describe that feeling for a while. It's cold and hot. I just feel like something numb is flowing from my head to my feet. After that, my mind is not very clear..." She said sadly: "Only When I wake up sometimes, I realize that I have been living in an iron cage, and I have been given the name 'Jiao Concubine', and it has been more than forty years."

Empress Jiang pondered for a while, then suddenly she glared her eyes and said sharply, "What about this baby? How could this baby be born suddenly?" Speaking of this, she suddenly had a thought, and asked again: "This baby Is it male or female?" Concubine Jiao looked at the baby in her hand lovingly, and said softly: "If you go back to your mother, this baby is a girl, and it was indeed born by a maidservant, but the maidservant does not know why such a baby was born. .” Empress Jiang shook her head, her eyes darkened. "It doesn't make sense like this! You couldn't have given birth to this girl out of thin air, could you? Who is her father?"

As soon as the words came out, the Queen Jiang of the Zhou Dynasty couldn't help being stunned.Although she has a strict personality, she is also a person who understands things.Empress Jiang understood in her heart how tightly guarded the harem was. Except for castrated eunuchs and court ladies, it is impossible for men to come in. What's more, the situation of the concubine is even more unusual. She has been locked in an iron cage for many years. It is rare for a man to go one step further. But... In any case, it is always a strange thing to give birth to a baby without a man. Sure enough, the jiao concubine Yu Lishi showed a dazed expression on her face.

"This child... has no father. I entered the palace at the age of eleven. Because I was too young, I never received the favor of the former king. I turned into a concubine at the age of twelve. I have never met any man in my life..." She His voice carried a sense of desolation and etherealness, "Since I was eleven years old, except for the eunuch in the palace, the servant girl has never even seen a man's face, except..." "Except for what?" "Except for the two gods who came to the cage a while ago, one of the gods was a man." Queen Jiang's eyes couldn't help but widen.

"God man? Those are the two ghosts, one male and one female, that are commonly seen in palaces, aren't they?" "The servant girl doesn't know whether they are gods or ghosts, but they only know that their abilities are beyond the reach of human beings..." Jiang Hou pondered for a while, then looked back at the eunuch who had just been slapped, his cheeks were swollen, obviously he had suffered a lot.Compared with Yu Lishi's statement, although the eunuch's words were exaggerated, he actually witnessed the conversation between the two "ghosts" and Yu Lishi.

"Then..." Queen Jiang asked, "What did those two people do to you?" Yu Lishi said: "I don't know what method was used. The goddess in white went into the iron cage in a flash. She touched my hand, looked into my eyes, and turned to her companion man. Said: "This is a typical phenomenon of soul possession, but because her physique can't bear it, she becomes half-human and half-dragon." After hearing this, the man thought for a while and said: "Then you Just help her to condense her primordial spirit, and help her relieve this suffering!'..." The more Jiang Hou listened, the more confused she became, and she couldn't help but interrupt her. "What is this talking about?" She said unhappily: "What is 'physique'? What is 'primordial spirit'?" "The servant girl also doesn't understand, so I can only write down their words, but I don't know what they are talking about?" Empress Jiang nodded and waved her hand to signal her to continue. "Then, the goddess asked me to gather my mind, and said that he would help me force the 'primordial spirit' out. My mind was always confused. At that time, my mind began to become unclear again, so I was in a daze. , as if I was about to fall asleep, and like I was about to turn back into a concubine. All of a sudden, my body hurt so much, my body seemed to be on fire, and it seemed to be soaked in ice water. When I opened my eyes, nothing happened. I couldn’t see it, I only saw a vast expanse of white light. Because that feeling was so painful, I passed out not long after..." Speaking of this, she let out a long breath, and among the people listening to her, several people unconsciously followed her. "Then, I woke up with a clear mind, and all the monsters like dragon scales and claws on my body disappeared. However, a few days later, I found that I had this child in my stomach, and I killed her in a short time. was born." Concubine Jiao's confusing narration ended here, looking around everyone, everyone had a confused look on their faces. Jiang Hou opened her eyes wide, staring at the old "Jiao Concubine" Yu Lishi, for a long time, before sighing leisurely. "Bring that girl here." A few old maids beside him took the baby girl from Concubine Jiao's hand and handed it to Empress Jiang. The baby girl looked like Yuxue and was cute, with clear eyebrows and big eyes that were sparkling and energetic. Empress Jiang held the baby girl in her arms and looked at it for a while, and found another incredible thing. "You..." She looked at Yu Lishi, frowned and said, "When was this baby girl born?" "Hui Niangniang, she was born this morning." Yu Lishi said. Empress Jiang nodded, but exclaimed inwardly. This baby girl was born in the early morning, that means she came into this world for only a day, but looking at her appearance, she is already a six-month-old baby. In Empress Jiang's mind, several thoughts were spinning rapidly at this moment.She thought about the origin of the baby girl, and also thought about the many strange things about this incident. After thinking about it for a while, she secretly made a decision in her heart. The concubine incident that has been disturbing for thousands of years ended here. Empress Jiang ordered Yu Lishi to be released from the iron cage on the spot, and she was still included in the ranks of palace people according to the original arrangement, and the little girl was taken away by Empress Jiang for disposal. As for the matter of the two ghosts, a man and a woman, Empress Jiang issued an unusually strict order that the palace officials were not allowed to talk about it, and anyone who talked about it would be executed immediately. After the order was completed, many court ladies and eunuchs also left and dispersed, Jiang Hou also dismissed the guards around her, leaving only a few confidant palace ladies, and it was almost dusk, and a few people walked around in the twilight. Pass the palace and come to the side of a river in the city of Haojing. An old court lady was holding the baby girl and stood respectfully behind Queen Jiang. In the rays of the sun, reeds are everywhere on the river bank, facing the evening wind, swaying gently in the sound of gurgling water. Empress Jiang thought for a long time, then sighed a long time, turned around, and took the little baby girl. At this moment, the little baby girl is already asleep, with long eyelashes hanging in front of her eyes, she must be a very beautiful woman in the future. "Baby girl, baby girl! Don't blame me for being cruel." Jiang Hou murmured and prayed, "Your origin is disturbing, and your existence makes us feel ominous. I only hope that you will return to heaven and earth, and don't harm our country. My people." As she spoke, she bent down, put the baby girl into a wicker basket, and then closed the lid. With a "crash", the rattan basket fell into the water.The baby girl drifted away with the waves. In the afterglow of the setting sun, Empress Jiang watched the rattan basket gradually go away, folded her hands unconsciously, but muttered something in her mouth. Several palace people also put their palms together, bowed their heads reverently, and read the words of prayer. The night is getting darker, the night is coming. people have gone.