That night Xuan Ling rested in Concubine Hua's Mixiu Palace. However, after Concubine Hua was restored to the throne, although Xuan Ling took care of and rewarded her as before, when it came to pampering, in the final analysis it was not what it used to be. www.
I don't really care how good or favored Xuan Ling is to Concubine Hua at the moment. Concubine Hua and the people behind her have already become a thorn in Xuan Ling's heart that she wishes she could get rid of early. No matter how beautiful she is on the surface.
, after all, he is also a person who is at the end of his rope.
Therefore, I am particularly tolerant of Concubine Hua. No matter how coldly she looks at me in front of others, I just abide by the proper etiquette and secretly endure the sharp hatred silently.
I just found that the longer I hate it, the more I can endure it.
I had just gotten up early in the morning and was about to put on my clothes and dress up. When I turned around, I saw Xuan Ling standing behind me with a smile and just looking at me. I couldn't help but said angrily: "The emperor always likes to come in quietly like this, deliberately to scare people."
He said: "You are still confused when you wake up early. You can't listen to loud noises. When you hear them, you feel irritable. I don't know?"
Hearing his little habit of being considerate of me, I felt a little moved in my heart and said, "Why did the emperor come here so early in the morning? I haven't washed myself properly yet. She's too messy to meet you."
He smiled and said, "Just dress up and I'll watch from the side." After saying that, he leaned on the bed and Shi Shiran looked at me with a smile.
I turned around with a smile and ignored him. I took the powder, rouge and snail paint myself, and traced them carefully. Since I had nothing to do, I just lightly swept my eyebrows and applied some powder.
Xuan Ling said with a smile: "When I see the woman next to her shaving her face and putting on make-up, she always has the same face before the make-up and another face after the make-up. They are completely different."
I couldn't help laughing, and said with a smile: "Isn't that very good? The emperor has one person and it is like having two people. A double-faced beauty, which shows the depth of the emperor's beauty."
Xuan Ling supported his chin with one hand, looked at me seriously and said with a smile: "As for you, you are like 'but you don't like the makeup and the powder stains the color, so you just sweep your eyebrows towards the Supreme Being'"1.
I said eloquently: "This is to say that the beauty of Mrs. Guo Guo is too much for me to bear." I covered my mouth and smiled: "I am just bearing the word 'lazy'. I am tired of wasting time on the dressing table every day."
."
I pulled up my hair and put it into a simple pony bun. I chose a fine mutton-fat white jade hairpin with the word "longevity" and pinned it on the bun. Jade has a warm and moist look, and the white color is noble and unobtrusive, so it is most suitable for daily use.
Such a simple dress is not to please Xuan Ling, but because she wants to go to Meizhuang. She is dressed so plainly. If I am charming, she will not say anything, but it will definitely hurt my heart.
But he only focused his eyes on me, as if he was in a trance, and said: "Huan Huan."
I gave a low "hmm" and with a wink asked the maid serving in the palace to step back. I turned around and asked, "What?"
He didn't say anything. He only stood up and held the eyebrow pencil on the dressing table. He stood in front of me. I knew his intention and chuckled: "Yes, Shiro's favorite is Toyama Dai."
He was four parts serious, three parts smiling, two parts sincere, and one part in a daze. He just stared firmly into my eyes and raised his pen to draw skillfully bit by bit.
My heart felt warm and affectionate, and it was the same in Taiping Palace that day. His expression has not changed at all because of the passage of time. His eyes were full of affection, and his tone was doting and sincere, and he said: "You
Her makeup is still the same as before.”
I nodded and said softly: "Silang, do you still remember 'Jiao Li Zhuang'?"
His eyes moved and he was silent for a moment. He took a brush from the enamel box and dipped it in bright red rouge to outline the shape of a pear blossom in full bloom. He also dipped it in bright silver powder to embellish it into delicate stamens. The smile on his lips was as bright as a flame and he said: "
Of course we can’t forget it.”
The softness in my heart was disturbed again and again. I had experienced so many things along the way, and my feelings were no longer the same as before. But the sincerity he showed when he drew his eyebrows actually made me panic and want to cry. He treated me like never before.
Liangbo, he must have some sincerity. Just like me, I was scheming behind him step by step, and when I turned around, I still felt care and reluctance in my heart.
He and I, no matter how unbearable, no matter how estranged we are. Looking back, the past is like smoke, but after all, there are still things that we can't let go of.
My nose was slightly sour, and my eyes were a little swollen. I stretched my hands unconsciously to his waist, and pressed my head tightly against his chest. My heart was filled with mixed flavors, sour and sweet, mingling like clouds.
He kissed my forehead gently and sighed with pity, "Silly girl."
Maybe, I am indeed stupid. I am ten years younger than him. When I was ten years old, he was surrounded by thousands of beauties and beautiful women. But even though I had hundreds of plans, all I cared about was that little bit of sincerity.
His embrace was still vaguely warm. In the spring season when the clothes were thin and thin, we were all dressed lightly, and through the body heat of the clothes, we felt it more real and solid.
There were countless flowers blooming in the courtyard, red and green, and spring was really as deep as the sea. After a long time, he let me go, gently wiped away the tears that were still wet on my cheeks, and said, "Why am I so sad when I'm so good?"
"
I chuckled, wiped my eyes, and said playfully: "It hasn't rained for a few days. I was afraid that Shiro would forget what 'pear blossoms with rain' looked like, so I showed it to Shiro."
He looked at me carefully and said, "It's really like a pear blossom, so simple and pure."
I looked into the bronze mirror, then took peach blossom rouge and swiped it on a layer, and the blush was like the dawn clouds about to disperse. Then I put a gilt comb inlaid with southern pearls behind my bun, and the pearls shone like running water. But he folded it with his backhand.
I pinned a crystal-red and rosy double-pediced crabapple to the edge of the bun, and smiled calmly: "The bun is more suitable for palace style, with a lotus face, tender face, and a fragrant red body. The eyebrows do not need to be painted wide, and the temples are long according to the teachings of heaven."
2
I looked at him tenderly, half smiling, half angry, and continued to chant: "Don't rely on the beauty of the country to marry a lover. When we were young, don't waste the good times." 2
His face was full of spring smiles, and his appearance became more and more high-spirited. He pointed to the parallel begonia on my bun and said: "Huan-huan and I were young and happy, so flowers like this coexist and grow together."
I don’t know whether it’s the coolness of the spring morning or the coolness in my heart. Looking at the twin-flowered crabapples in my hair, it seems that the liveliness and affection belong only to the crabapples and only live on my black hair. After all, with me and him, we are the same.
unrelated.
What's more, during the good times when we were young, I was in vain for my beauty. And can he be considered my lover?
I felt a little sad in my heart. How could Xuan Ling and I be twins? The women in the harem were all like flowers, and his hands that folded flowers were all about getting whatever he wanted, asking for whatever he wanted. In the end, he still couldn't, and he didn't dare.
I believe it. I just caught a glimpse of his enthusiastic expression in the mirror, but I couldn't bear to disagree. I just smiled slightly and said nothing.
The spring light spread all over the sky like finely embroidered brocade. Looking at the flowers in the front and rear mirrors, the flowers reflected each other. His love was stronger than the reflection between the eyebrows, mountains, and eyes. It really moved his heart.
He said in my ear: "It's been a long time since I heard the sound of Huan Huan's piano."
I turned my head and smiled softly, and said: "Let's make a new song based on "Good Times"."
In the afternoon of that day, as soon as Xuan Ling left, I hurried to Cunju Hall in Meizhuang.
At this time, the sun was in the middle of the afternoon, the wind was gentle and the sun was bright, with sparse shadows slanting. There was no one in the Cunju Hall, except for Caiyue, who was lying on a couch in the courtyard outside the hall, holding a feather fan half-covered on his face.
He was taking a nap. Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, I couldn't bear to wake him up, so I walked in through the flowers and willows.
I walked under the window for a while and heard someone talking, vaguely Wen Shichu's voice, but it was hard to go in without permission. I was afraid that Caiyue would wake up and suddenly see me and call me, so I chose a dense tree to take shelter temporarily.
I stood outside the screen window and faintly heard Wen Shichu say in the room: "My master's phlegm is due to some dryness and heat in his body. He should eat some snow pears to moisten his body, or duck pears are also good. Stew them with rock sugar and eat them."
It's better than medicine. After all, medicine is three parts poison, and the way to strengthen the foundation and cultivate the body is to maintain health."
There was a faint sigh, and there was some resentment in Mei Zhuang's voice, "We are separated from each other. We are already in this place where no one can see anyone. You still want me to eat pears? Who wants pears? I would rather let my body heat up like this."
"
The wind was silent, and Hua Fei was also silent. There was silence for a long time, and Wen Shichu said: "These words seem to be out of anger. Then Wei Chen will write a prescription for the little master, and the little master can take it according to the medicine."
For a long time, it seemed that Meizhuang let out a deep sigh, as if it was an occasional dream during a nap.
There was no one in the courtyard, and I stood alone behind a weeping willow tree, unconsciously standing still.
The light golden spring light flows like water from the sparse branches, casting a patch of mottled fragments on the smooth pebbles. The room is silent, the spring breeze passes over an old pear tree behind it, and the flowers fall to the ground, making a slight "putter"
There was a sound of "ta" and "tat". On this ordinary afternoon, I was suddenly moved by these ordinary conversations. I don't know why, but I felt so confused that I couldn't take another step.
After a moment, someone stood up inside and there was a sound of tables and chairs rustling. I didn’t want to meet Wen Shichu in front of Meizhuang, and I was even more afraid of the way Wen Shichu would look at me, so I hurriedly and quietly avoided the place behind the lush flowers and trees outside the hall. I only saw Meizhuang.
He personally escorted Wen Shichu out, and Caiyue followed behind, still looking sleepy, but just trying to stay energetic.
Meizhuang stood in front of the Chuihua Gate and said with a slight smile: "Master Wen is leaving in a hurry today, why don't you just sit down and have a cup of tea before leaving."
Wen Shichu bowed his hands vigorously and said: "Thank you, young master, you have taken the jade step. It's just that the concubine's medicine is still simmering. I'm afraid that if the eunuchs don't watch it carefully, the medicine will lose its potency after a while."
Mei Zhuang's eyes froze for a moment, then he smiled again and said, "Concubine Xin Gui has worked hard to raise the Emperor Ji, so her medicine must be carefully taken care of."
Wen Shichu Nuonuo said: "My mistress may have misunderstood. It is Wan Guifei's 'Fairy Girl Fan'. Those little eunuchs are clumsy and might break it, so I have to watch it."
Meizhuang's face turned cold and he said with a smile: "Who am I? It's my sister Wan. It's just that Wan Guifei has the holy will at this time. With the grace of rain and dew, there is no need to bother using the 'fairy jade girl powder'.
What's more, Wan Gui's concubine is very popular now, and the threshold of the palace gate is about to be trampled down. As a sister, I have to avoid suspicion, but you, my lord, have to rush to add icing on the cake."
Meizhuang's words were sharp and mean, and I was secretly shocked. After the Queen Mother's Palace found out yesterday that I was the one who suggested the restoration of Concubine Hua, has Meizhuang become so dissatisfied with me? Why did Wen Shichu change his face and said: "Little
Why did the Lord say this?”
Meizhuang himself also knew that he had made a mistake, and when he saw his change of expression, he felt quite regretful. So he softened his expression and said warmly: "I have a bad temper recently, and I have been quarreling with adults. It's just that I just said a word in vain. No one will remember the icing on the cake, and it is a timely help.
Only then do you know how deep the kindness is. You should understand, sir."
Wen Shichu said sternly: "Yanyi medicine is the duty of Weichen, just like Weichen devotes himself to taking medicine for the little master and asking for pulse. Weichen doesn't mind the icing on the cake, he only hopes that whether it is the little master or the noble concubine, he will do the same.
Well, it will never be the day when a humble minister will be able to help you in times of need."
Wen Shichu's words were sincere, and not only Meizhuang's appearance was shocked, but I was also very moved. Although Wen Shichu was a little reckless and did not know how to control himself, his kindness to me and his sincerity to Meizhuang were extremely rare in this harem where people are cold and warm.
Sure enough, Meizhuang didn't say anything else, he just said: "I hope Mr. Wen will treat me and Sister Wan equally, take care of me more, and don't separate us."
Wen Shichu bowed and said: "Both the noble concubine, the empress and the young master, are the masters of the ministers, and they are also the people who should be cared for by the ministers. The ministers will do their best for the queen and the master at all costs. In addition, the ministers will do their best for the queen and the master."
There is nothing else in my mind."
Mei Zhuang obviously didn't expect that he would say this. He couldn't help but be stunned and said coldly: "Caiyue is going to send you off. The imperial doctor will go slowly."
Wen Shichu and Caiyue left, but Meizhuang was in a daze. He just stood in the wind with his hands lowered, saying nothing.
When I saw her like this, I was suddenly shocked. Could it be... However, when I thought about it, Meizhuang only wanted to bring down Concubine Hua, and she was the one who knew best what she wanted and could get. How could she be so confused? It must be out of anger.
I came up with the idea of reinstating Concubine Hua. After thinking this way, I felt a little more at ease. I walked out from behind the flower tree in a whole outfit, as if I had just arrived, and said, "Sister, why are you standing in the wind? I'll pounce later."
The wind is bad."
Meizhuang raised his eyes when he heard this, and when he saw it was me, his expression became a little cold, and he said: "Why is my sister so humble today? Aren't you accompanying the emperor?"
When I heard what she said, I felt anxious. I stepped forward and held her sleeves and said, "Sister, please don't be upset. This is exactly why I came here today. Please listen to me."
Meizhuang stepped up the steps and said slowly: "I'm a little tired. I'm going to go to sleep. When I wake up, I have to go to the Queen Mother's Palace. Please come back."
I became more and more anxious, held her hand and said, "Even if sister is angry, please listen to what I have to say. Don't you even care about our past friendship?"
Mei Zhuang sighed, looked at me and said, "Come in."
On the couch in the courtyard was the fan that Caiyue had just used to cover her face. Meizhuang and I sat together, both of them silent. Thinking of relaxing the atmosphere, I said, "Why is there no one in my sister's palace? Those servants
Why don't you serve me?"
Meizhuang turned her head and looked away and said: "Today is the day when the palace distributes summer clothes, so I asked them to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to get them together." She smiled: "I can't compare to my sister, who has a great career in the family, everyone has to catch up.
Let's go. Even Eunuch Jiang, the head of the House of Internal Affairs, personally came to deliver clothes to the slaves."
There was a bit of sarcasm on my face, and I said: "I know that my sister doesn't care about the emperor's favor. So, is it because my sister said this to me because of Concubine Hua's return to the throne?" I said, "I have no choice, who is willing to kill me for the sake of it?"
My child's enemy is in power. Please think about it for me. If I don't have to do it, why should I take this step? What my sister can't tolerate, my sister's suffering is no less than my sister's. How can I tolerate it?"
Meizhuang was quite touched. A clear beam of light gathered in his dark eyes, and he looked at me and said, "What's that for?"
I was at a loss for words. Can I tell her the reason for this? It involved the political affairs of the previous dynasty. What would Xuan Ling do if he knew that I leaked it? Meizhuang knew the whole story, could he really survive until that day? If she immediately
Who can stop him when he gets angry? And if Concubine Hua knows the reason for his return to the throne and the reasons behind his miscarriage and infertility, how can she not hate Xuan Ling? With her fiery temper, she is afraid that the Murong clan will fall out with Xuan Ling.
The day is coming soon.
I thought and pondered, looking forward and backward, but in the end I didn't dare to say it all. I only said: "Sister, think about it again. If Murong Shilan no longer takes the position of Concubine Murong Shilan Hua today, I'm afraid the situation will change in the future and she will take the position of Madam again."
.Even if my sister pleases the Queen Mother today, I may not be able to stop her in the future."
Mei Zhuang was puzzled, and looked a little impatient, and said coldly: "She is a concubine today, wouldn't it be easier to become a lady tomorrow?" I wanted to say more, but she waved her hand to stop me and said: "Okay.
Okay. You always have your reasons, and I also have mine that I don’t understand. It’s too much to say nothing.” She paused, her expression sharp and cold, and said suspiciously: “Could it be that you met King Runan and the Murong clan?
Because you are so powerful, you want to use Concubine Hua to please them?"
When I heard this, I was filled with unspeakable grievance and sadness, and called out: "Sister - is Huan'er so miserable in your eyes? She has not forgotten how she lost her baby that day!"
There was a look of intolerance in the corner of Mei Zhuang's eyes, and he wanted to reach out and hold my hand to comfort me, but he hesitated for a moment, but in the end he didn't reach out.
Her eyes were a little wandering, and she said softly: "Huan'er, we have been together since childhood. I know that I am not as good as you, and my appearance is also different, so I determined to become a gentle and virtuous person. You study dance, and I will do it.
My piano skills have never been inferior to yours. Later, when we entered the palace together, you and I always supported each other. Even if the emperor no longer favors me, I have never hated you at all." She suddenly looked at me intently, with a hint of laughter at the corner of her mouth.
Faint smile: "But I don't know why, when I look at you now, I always feel that you and I are much different. You have the favor of the emperor, the admiration of Dr. Wen, and a sister-in-law who can often come to the palace to see you. Your brother
I am proud of myself in front of the emperor. I am proud of everything." Her voice became softer, like the whistling of the wind, "But I have nothing."
When she said this, she and I were both speechless for a moment.
The old pear tree in front of me is full of fragrant flowers, living up to the joy of spring, as if the jade of ice and snow have condensed into a tree. Looking from a distance, it looks like a white light mist in the air. The spring is so beautiful, the sky is clear and clear
, the sun is as bright as gold, and the flowers are in full bloom. The birds are singing as brightly as silk threads, and the melodious dripping of the orioles disturbs the curls of fine silk flowing under the sky when they fly up. Such time is also looked down upon.
As for Meizhuang, she is so lonely. Her voice, appearance, and smile, down to every strand of her hair and every look in her eyes, are all lonely and desolate.
I couldn't say anything. She was sitting so close to me. It was like when we were children, she and I sat side by side, folding paper boats and playing together. The water at that time was so clear and clean, the same color as the sky. Meizhuang
She grabbed my hand and carefully lowered the paper boat into the water together. She said, "The wet nurse said that if the boat floats far in the water, the boat will float far away, and if it floats close, the boat will float close."
I giggled and stretched out my finger to scratch her face, "Sister Mei is not shy, she just wants to get married."
She was not ashamed or annoyed, she just said: "Huan'er, our boats should be set at the same distance, and then we will marry together, preferably two brothers, so that we can be together every day as we are now."
I also became serious. After being serious for a long time, I suddenly laughed and said, "Why don't you marry someone else's brother? Why don't you sister Mei marry me and become my sister-in-law?"
Meizhuang tilted his head and thought for a long time, but suddenly became dissatisfied, "I married Brother Zhen, but you have to marry somewhere else, and we still can't be together."
Tears blurred my eyes, and the scenes from my childhood were so vivid before my eyes that I could never forget them. But now that Meizhuang is in front of me, I just feel that she and I are so far apart. We have never been so far away.
Spring is so beautiful, but in my heart, I just feel chilly. I said sadly: "Sister, are you going to break up with me?"
After being silent for a long time, Meizhuang shook her head and said: "There is no such thing as a banquet in the world that never ends." Her eyelids slowly lowered, "Just go back. There is no need to come again if there is nothing to do."
"
I turned around helplessly and said softly: "Sister, one day, you will understand me."
Meizhuang looked up at the sky and sighed: "Maybe. I understand too much, and I don't understand too much."
The bitterness in my heart was unspeakable, as if I had chewed a piece of coptis in my mouth. It was so bitter that the tip of my tongue was numb and astringent.
I stood up numbly and walked outside the door and remembered something. Although it was presumptuous, no one would tell her except me, so I turned around and said, "Sister, please forgive me for being tongue-tied. In this palace, there are some feelings that we shouldn't have."
For example, other men’s feelings.”
When Mei Zhuang heard these words, her eyelids twitched, as if they were burned by flames, and she looked at me carefully. She laughed silently, "I am not a fool, nor am I confused! Keep these words to yourself.
Please advise your doctor Wen. As for me, your words are in vain."
Meizhuang's words were so resounding that I felt relieved and said, "This is the best. My sister doesn't like me to disturb her, so she can wait until the day when she succeeds and come back."
She turned around, leaving me with a cold feeling on my back, and never looked back.
I was so dejected that the hem of my skirt dragged over the piles of pear blossoms on the ground, leaving a tear-like trace. I slowly walked out of Cunju Hall. I would not be able to come to this place for a long time.
The door of Cunju Hall behind me closed with a faint "squeak". I couldn't help it anymore, and tears flowed down.
Note:
1. Yang Guifei had three sisters, all of whom were of national beauty. They were also called to the palace and were given the title of Lady of Korea, Lady of Guo State, and Lady of Qin State. Each of them was given cosmetics and paid 100,000 yuan every month. Lady Guo State ranked third because of her natural beauty.
Self-beauty does not mean fake makeup. Du Fu's poem "The Lady of Guo State" goes: "The Lady of Guo State accepted the Lord's thoughts and mounted her horse to enter the Golden Gate at ordinary times. However, she disliked the color of the makeup and powder, so she lightly swept her eyebrows towards the Supreme Being."