Everything in Chang'an Palace was properly arranged. What surprised Ruan Yuyi was that several plum trees were moved inside and outside Chang'an Palace. Their thickness and shortness were similar to those in Luomeixuan.
After moving out of the new emperor's palace, she felt much more at ease when the new emperor came unexpectedly at night and rarely disturbed her. Last night, she saw fine snow falling outside, so she made up her mind to get up in the morning and pick some flowers.
Snow water for tea.
When I woke up this morning, my dress was not as good as it was easy to wear. I threw on a cloak, put on my embroidered shoes, and went out to watch the snow.
Leaning against the railing and facing the wind, the snow was blown diagonally into the corridor. She just stretched out her hand and caught it easily. A drop of water like glass soon left on her palm.
Mu Xiang handed her the prepared sleeve stove and sighed, "The snow looks soft. It's great to use it to store some snow water."
She stood in the corridor for a while, feeling cold from the wind, and then went back to wash up and change clothes.
The water in the basin was at a suitable temperature. She washed her face, dipped her hands in the water, and felt the hot soup enveloping her hands. She waited until the water cooled down slightly, then took her hands out, and now her body felt warm.
Mu Xiang quickly took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the water off her hands.
Half an hour later, after finishing dressing up, Mu Xiang went to the small kitchen to find a flower vase and two jade bowls originally meant for viewing. The two of them walked to the courtyard.
The snow is still falling, drifting from the far distance in the sky and falling in the Lin Palace.
Collecting this snow water is just for fun, and there is no need to rely on others. Mu Xiang held an oil-paper umbrella, and the soft sound of catching snow beads on the umbrella made people's hearts clear.
She touched the flower twice with her fingertips, and the snow on it fell into the jade bowl. There is also something special about picking snow. It has to be on the flower. Scooping the thick part next to it just lacks some meaning.
She walked leisurely, moving slowly and slowly, and almost collected the snow in the lower areas. Not wanting to be tired by stretching her hands, she suddenly remembered that there were a few trees outside Chang'an Palace, so she walked out through the snow again.
After a while, there was a bottom full of snow accumulated in the flower vat.
"Sister is so elegant." Someone said with a soft voice.
Bai Zhiqi saluted with a casual attitude, "Just leave such small things to the servants, why bother yourself." She was dressed in white and snowy, and she was still a person with a sign of elegance. But she looked at others with her eyes.
Her demeanor revealed that she was not a kind person.
"It's just a rise," Ruan Yuyi asked in a calm voice, "How did Miss Bai come here?"
Bai Zhiqi did not answer, but kept talking to herself, "It seems that the people around my sister are not very suitable." There was something in her words.
She reached out and pinched a plum blossom, put it in her hand and looked at it for a while, then she felt bored and threw it back under the tree.
"I know whether it is appropriate or not."
She looked surprised and covered her mouth with her hands, "Sister, you don't know yet? It's already spread among the people."
Seeing Ruan Yuyi's frown, she chuckled, "Is the wood spirit from my sister's palace? It's a punishment for eating -"
She suddenly paused and suppressed her smile, "Did I say something wrong? Sister, don't blame your sister. My sister just thinks that these people are doing one thing and doing the other, and it's not worth it for her."
"
Her voice was already awkward, and it was even more annoying to hear her talk like this. It was only because she didn't know it herself.
Ruan Yuyi believed in the wood spirit very much, and her expression did not change, "I think it's just a rumor."
"Besides, even if it was spread among the people, how did Miss Bai know about it?" she said lightly.
She never said the entire second half of the sentence, but the meaning was obvious. Bai Zhiqi didn't expect that Concubine Jin, who had always been praised by the palace people for her gentleness, would also respond with a gun and a stick, and her face changed slightly.
But he couldn't show it, so he continued, "Sister, I trust that maid too much. There are a lot of scandals in this palace."
"Spreading rumors can also punish you." Ruan Yuyi said seriously.
Wood spirits are never short of food and clothing, and sometimes when they are acting brilliantly, there is no need to ask for help.
She was wearing a floral pleated skirt, her hair was decorated with pearls and jade, her shoulders were cut into shape, and her waist was as plain as usual. She was a rare and graceful person. Opposite to Bai Zhiqi, Bai Zhiqi's dress seemed unappealing.
Bai Zhiqi almost didn't hide it, her face twisted, and then she sneered, "Why is sister so determined? You will know as soon as you ask."
Watching her figure walking further and further away, Ruan Yuyi turned around and tightened her hand on the jade bowl slightly. She poured a little bit of snow in the bowl into the flower vat.
Mu Xiang spat softly, "I think about bad people every day. I don't know how I have been thinking about this for a long time."
She was also a little unhappy in her heart. After all, she was upset and lost interest. She said softly, "This snow water is almost enough. Let's go back."
.
Mu Xiang made tea using the fresh snow water.
Ruan Yuyi took the cup and took a sip slowly. The tea brewed by plum blossoms seemed to be quite refreshing, with the fragrance of plum blossoms. When she poured the third cup, the woody fragrance could not be discerned.
Although making tea with snow water is a very elegant thing, it is still snow and cannot be used too much.
Mu Xiang gently pressed her hand and said, "Miss, why don't I go and call the wood spirit to serve you."
She paused her hands and hummed softly. The strangeness of the wood spirit in recent days was getting bigger and bigger at this time, making it impossible for her to ignore it.
Not long after, the wood spirit arrived, bowed and called, "Mother."
Ruan Yuyi stared at her face. She had always seen her face, but she didn't think so, and she didn't know if it was affected by Bai Zhiqi's words. Now it seemed that Mu Ling's face was calm, not as arrogant as usual, and seemed to be a little less angry.
She raised her hand slightly to signal her to get up.
"How are you these days?" she asked warmly.
Mu Ling froze for a moment, then leaned forward and said, "Thank you for your concern, Madam, everything is fine."
She looked at Mu Ling intently, "If you have anything, please tell me so that I can solve it for you." She did not speak to Mu Ling as a concubine, but directly addressed her as "you and me."
This was a very intimate call. It seemed like the days were back when she was still in the Cheng family. Mu Ling couldn't help but be stunned. She still insisted that she had never encountered anything.
Under the sleeves, Mu Ling's hands were so clenched that the knuckles turned white. That man was dead, and as long as she didn't tell him, the young lady wouldn't know.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Ruan Yuyi didn't mention it anymore, "I picked new snow to make tea today, and your sister Muxiang cooked it." She handed over the newly poured tea.
In her impression, Mu Ling has always been greedy for Mu Xiang's craftsmanship, and he often came to her to beg for food.
But Mu Ling didn't answer this time.
The voice of the person in front of her was so gentle that it made her cry. She recalled the days when she was with the young lady. At that time, she would never have imagined that something like this would happen to her.
She didn't want to either.
"Wood spirit?"
When she looked up again, her face was already full of tears.