"Well, Hong'er will leave after telling the Queen Mother." He ran to the Queen Mother's bed, bent his head, and whispered in her ear, "Queen Mother, Hong'er went hunting and will be back soon." Then, in
She kissed her on the cheek and ran away.
It was a path paved with bluestones that continued to the mountain. The child first held Luojia's hand and walked side by side, so intimately. From time to time, he would raise his head as if asking him something. He also smiled and answered,
It was obvious that he was laughing loudly, and the laughter spread far and wide.
When they reached the narrow place, Hong'er let go of his hand and skipped ahead.
Everything is both real and illusory.
It wasn't until the laughter had completely gone away that she slowly walked to the door. The door was also made of logs, very thick, made of redwood from the mountains, and had a latch on it.
She opened the door and went out, only to see clearly the layout of the entire house. It was a small Taoist temple, with about five levels of entry and exit. She was in the deepest part of the Taoist temple and the highest place on the ground. Outside was
The long corridor is about more than a foot wide. Below it is a huge flower room and flower stands. Even if it rains lightly, they cannot be soaked through.
There are also long benches in the aisle where you can sit leisurely. The surroundings are clean and spotless.
Under the eaves of the wide slope corridor on the side, she saw the faint guards, all of whom she had brought with her to hunt. They were all guarding outside, and she could only see their backs, judging from their clothing.
A gust of wind came, the sun was shining brightly, and the weather was a bit cool and refreshing like late autumn. However, the chill was very deep.
She shrank slightly and closed the door.
Looking carefully at the interior, the room was very large. There was a door open on the left side. She walked over and pushed it, and it opened. Inside was a slightly smaller bedroom. There were several knickknacks on the table, quilts and mattresses.
They are all new and very clean. Especially on the wooden board inside the bed, there are some colorful things. If you look closely, you can see that they are all kinds of small grasshoppers and small animals made of green bamboo branches and red leaves.
. Hong'er slept here last night.
She walked back slowly, and then she heard a gurgling sound at the edge of the corner. It turned out to be a sand bowl set up on a small fireplace. On the small shelf temporarily placed here, there were four dishes under the thick insulated basket.
The gently boiling broth in the jar exudes a rich aroma.
There are clean dishes and chopsticks nearby, obviously placed so that people in the room can eat and drink at any time.
Looking next to it, there is a very clean large wooden basin, leaning against the corner of a clean stone house measuring one foot square. A clean slate is opened and water flows down. It is obviously a natural bathroom or something. The shelf next to it
On top, there are clean handkerchiefs and toiletries.
Fang Fei had been lying there for two days, almost moldy all over, and her mouth was dry and bitter. When she saw the artemisia annua water and toothbrush next to her, she quickly washed up. Later, she couldn't help but walked to the door and inserted it carefully.
After unlatching the door, I returned to the bathroom.
The big wooden barrel was very thick, covered with a thick layer of bear crusts, and the lid was also very thick. When she opened it, she reached in and tried it. The water inside was still a little hot.
Her body slowly went in and was immersed in the warm water, but she did not dare to touch her head with any water, even some bruises on her legs and abrasions on her arms. However, she couldn't care less and still soaked in it.
Only the head is exposed.
But he didn't soak for too long. After a while, he got up and dried his body and hair.
Next to it were clean clothes, with a thin fawn leather mattress embedded in it. It was rough and suitable for both men and women. She picked it up and put it on. After trying it on, she found it fit quite well.
Next to it is a green rhombus mirror, with a red face and a thin face in the mirror's edge.
She looked at the face in the mirror, slightly stunned. Is this her own? Such a pale face, absent-minded eyes, and the whole person revealed an old and haggard look - old!
I am already old!
The fair complexion and girlish charm of the past have passed away in my previous life.
In the mirror, there is just a young woman who has been ravaged by time for a long time - not even a young woman, but a woman who is gradually getting older.
Men stand up at thirty! But women, after the age of thirty, fade away as fast as flowers wither. There is no chance of retaining them at all.
So many years of hard work.
I watched Hong'er grow from a baby learning to talk to a young boy who is almost 6 years old now.
How can I not grow old?
According to the rules of the palace in the past, women over the age of thirty were rarely favored. They were basically just placed as decorations.
Behind them, there are young girls who are really twenty-eight years old and in their cardamom years...
When a man is sixty years old, he can still embrace a fifteen-year-old girl without restraint;
But what about women?
She bit her lip slightly, lost in thought.
It wasn't until my lips started to hurt that I saw the woman in the mirror. Even her lips were pale. They no longer had the rosy beauty of the past.
The best youth of my life passed like this.
She was suddenly extremely frightened, the kind of panic that had long been forgotten - suddenly resurrected, caught off guard, and almost defeated her.
No, how could I do this?
How can it be?
She hurriedly picked up the wooden comb next to her and combed her hair carefully. Fortunately, her hair was still black and shiny. After her hair was combed and tied up, she saw a small wooden box next to it.
She opened it curiously and saw a little rouge and gouache inside. It was very old and had been there for several years. However, they were all new and had never been opened.
Regardless of whether it could be used or not, she took some rouge and gouache and applied it on her face and lips. It was a very light layer. When she saw the woman in the mirror, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she was in a trance, like that 20-year-old girl.
, it was the first time I knew what "dressing up" was, the first time I applied lipstick, and the first time I heard someone say: "Only when you dress up beautifully can you keep a man's heart."
If dressing up beautifully can really keep a man's heart, there will be no such thing as a heart-breaking person in this world.
She stayed for a while, and then gently wiped off the lipstick on her mouth. However, she didn't finish wiping off, and there was still a faint trace of red. It looked like a drop of blood accidentally touched by an extremely pale person.
.
She was cruel, raised her hand, and wiped her lipstick clean.
After feeling clean and awake, I felt very hungry. I had been living on those strange medicines for two whole days. At this time, I smelled the rich aroma of the broth in the jar, and hurriedly sat down at the table and opened my mouth.
He opened the lid and poured a bowl of soup before looking at the four small plates next to it.
Three of the dishes were dried shredded venison, shredded bear meat, and a stack of smoked wild boar ham. There was only a deeper bowl next to it, which contained something warm and white. She picked it up, and there was a familiar smell.
The aroma is sweet, and when you take a sip, it actually looks a bit like a bird's nest, but it's not a bird's nest.
She drank the bowl of food in one go, and then started to deal with the broth of bear bones and several plates of shredded meat. The bear meat tasted the best, the shredded venison was also good, and the wild boar sliced ham was a bit rough, but...
Chewyer than domestic pork.
Unknowingly, by the time she found out, she had already eaten all these things.
She was so full that there was a tea cup next to her. It was a fine ceramic tea set, and there was autumn tea from Bei Wudang. She broke off a large piece and put it in the teapot, put it on the stove and boiled it. Suddenly, the whole room was filled with the aroma of tea.
After drinking two large cups of strong tea, I felt a lot digested.
Then the door of the separate fireplace on this wall was closed, and the entire inside became a very independent large bedroom.
She sat down comfortably on a big chair covered with tiger skin, with many scriptures placed next to her. She picked up a scripture at random and flipped through it, including Taoist and Buddhist scriptures, but she could not read a single word.
My mind has been wandering, I don't know what I am thinking, let alone where I am.
I don't want to think about it, I have subconsciously made up my mind to live one day at a time.
It was as if he had already died.
The moment you fall, the moment the tiger pounces, who is so sure that you will not die?
Since you've already died once, why are you so afraid?
The sun shines in through the open wooden window, and you can see a circle of colorful light dancing and leaping through the finely carved wooden lattice, accompanied by the slightly fishy fragrance of the fallen leaves that are already dark red and dark yellow.
.
She felt sleepy, but not sleepy, so she stood up and walked to the window. After standing for a long time, her legs were almost numb, and then she heard the laughter outside.
It came from the clean bluestone mountain road.
She saw Hong'er first. Hong'er was riding on a man's neck, hugging his neck, giggling and laughing. He also had a small dagger and a small bow and arrow tied to his waist. But he - she couldn't see him, carrying him like that.
Holding the child, his head was slightly lowered and he could only see the side.
Behind him, two followers were carrying a dark object, perhaps a panther or something. There was another follower carrying several very brightly colored pheasants.
She watched for a while, until the figure disappeared under the big tree in front and entered the Taoist temple on the first floor. Then she took off her outer robe and lay back on the bed.
Outside, a child's voice could be heard, clear and carefree: "Queen Mother, Queen Mother... are you awake? You see, we beat a lot of things..."
She quietly opened her eyes and watched the door being pushed open, and the child ran in, jumping up and down, with a bright red face. At this time, the sun had just set, and they were back so early?
She quickly closed her eyes, and the child had already run to her bed. She heard that the child was alone, so she quietly squeezed its hand.
The child understood and just spoke, "Your Majesty, today I finally saw live tigers. There were so many of them. There was a particularly big tiger that was white and almost as long as a horse. There were also many golden tigers."
The tiger, its fur is really brighter than gold... Ha, the immortal and I were hiding in a big tree and watched a tiger walking by. It was very big and fat, much bigger than other tigers.
He was fat and walked very slowly. The gods said that he ate too much and was full, so he began to store up his energy in the autumn so that he could survive the winter. Oh, it was so scary. It walked slowly, and a little rabbit ran past it.
It didn't bite them either. We were going to shoot the tiger, but when we saw it looking up at us, its eyes were so big, so bright, and green, it was scary, so we didn't kill it..."
The child babbled for a long time, and then he thought of asking: "Queen Mother, what's wrong with your eyes?"
The Queen Mother's eyes were covered with a white veil.
She slowed down her voice and said very weakly: "Hong'er, I'm dizzy, so I covered myself. It's okay."
"Queen Mother, the gods have already collected a lot of herbs. They will be boiled later. Hong'er will wash them for you. You will definitely be fine..."
"Hong'er is so good, let's go out and play..."
Fang Fei couldn't say much to him, so she leaned slightly inside and pretended to be asleep. Because at this time, she had already heard the footsteps, and it was Luo Jia who came in.
"Hong'er, is the Queen Mother awake?"
"Look at the Queen Mother...what's wrong with the Queen Mother's eyes..."
Luo Jia hurriedly walked over, but saw Fangfei leaning slightly sideways, with a piece of white cloth covering her eyes. He stretched out his hand to touch her forehead first, and found that it was not hot. Then he looked around her eye sockets and found that they were all fine and without any bruises.
Only the scratches on the arms that were accidentally exposed looked a little strange.
He took a few more glances and immediately discovered that it was because it had been cleaned.
He was startled and looked at her carefully to see if she was awake or unconscious. He looked at her several times and said nothing. He just took the jar he had just brought in, poured the hot concoction into the basin, and took it.
I took a piece of handkerchief, wrung it out, and applied it very hot to her bruised area.
The scorching hot feeling stung slightly, but soon became very comfortable. Fang Fei remained motionless, as if half asleep, letting him serve her carefully.
After burning both arms and applying hot compress to his forehead for a while, Luojia put down the veil.
She was still lying on her side, breathing, as if she was completely asleep.
Luo Jia looked at her carefully and waited for a while before standing up. Hong'er kept watching curiously, his eyes wide open: "Is the Queen Mother okay?"
"It won't be too serious, Hong'er, don't be afraid."
"That's great. What shall we eat tonight?"
"Hong'er, what do you want to eat?"
"I hunted pheasants. I want to eat braised pheasants."
"Okay, let's eat braised pheasant and leopard meat tonight. I'll ask them to prepare it early."
"Well, I'm a little hungry again."
The dry food they ate while hunting was enough. The child was already hungry after running for such a long time. Seeing him looking around intelligently, Luo Jia laughed and said, "Hong'er, don't worry, we've already prepared it."
A little Taoist boy walked in, carrying a large plate with various candied fruits and dried fruits, especially pine nuts and pecans. When pried open, they were crisp and crisp.
"The Queen Mother likes to eat dried fruits very much. Shall I leave some for the Queen Mother?"
"No need. There are a lot of them here. The Queen Mother will have something to eat when she wakes up."
The child started to eat a lot.
While eating, I picked up a bright red North Wudang golden apple. A bite of dried fruit and a bite of juicy apple, it was simply delicious.
Luo Jia smiled mysteriously: "Hong'er, let's change to a different dessert tonight."
"What dessert? Isn't it caramelized apple?"
“It tastes better than this.”
The child became excited: "What on earth is it?"
"Just follow me and have a look and you'll find out."
The child hurriedly put down the dried fruits, took his hand and walked out.
Fang Fei was so curious that she wanted to take a look, but she still closed her eyes and remained motionless. After they walked out, she took off the blindfold and threw it aside.
It was a thick wooden house, and you felt a chill as soon as you stepped inside.
The child opened his eyes wide and looked at the bright world: "Oh my god, what is this?"
In the house, there are layers of sawdust, and layers of white crystal ice in the middle, covered by thick curtains. Looking at the extent of the accumulation of sawdust, it is obvious that more than half of the ice has been used, and now there are only a few left.
, already less than a quarter.
"How can this ice cube be hidden in the house without melting?"
Luo Jia laughed and held his hand: "Did you see it? It is these sawdust, accumulated thickly, that is the method of hiding ice passed down. Every winter, the ice is pulled back and hidden here, even in the hottest weather.
Even in the summer, the ice cubes will not melt. This was stored last winter and has been almost used. Tonight, we took the ice and made iced fibres."
"Yes, yes, it must be delicious."
Luo Jia smiled, and the attendant next to him had already taken out a big knife, gestured around, and took out a neat square ice brick.
The child happily touched it with his hands, but it was freezing cold and he quickly retracted it.
"I haven't eaten iced pastries yet..."
Bei Wudang is not very hot, so there are only iced sour plum soups and the like, and the maids didn't make much iced food.
An hour later, the food was on the table. The little Taoist boys carried the dishes and laid them out one after another.
Shredded venison, shredded leopard meat, braised pheasant, three kinds of autumn vegetables, and in the middle, a large plate of pastries made of ice and snow. Hong'er picked up the spoon and took a bite. It was sweet and delicious, and he hurriedly shouted: "Quick, Queen Mother
Let’s eat…”
Luo Jia also looked at the woman still lying sideways on the bed. He stood beside her and said softly: "It's time to eat. Get up and eat something."
Fang Fei couldn't pretend any longer, so she still wore a blindfold and sat up gloomily.
"Ah, the Queen Mother can't see you... I'm here to help the Queen Mother..."
Luo Jia stretched out his hand and helped her up, and helped her sit down on the big chair beside the table.
The smell of food filled her nose, and the white cloth of the blindfold was actually very hazy, not that she couldn't see it at all. However, she still sat there, and for a moment, she was at a loss.