Mingwei opened the window and looked at Yichun Palace shrouded in snow.
"It's very cold today, right?" she asked.
Duofu replied behind him: "Yes, the cold and snow are a good sign! Next year will definitely be a good year."
"Has the date been set for your return to Beijing?"
In seven or eight days, it will be the Little New Year. Before then, I will definitely go back, otherwise I will not be able to make time to worship my ancestors.
"The specific day has not yet been decided, but the empress has already ordered people to pack things."
Mingwei nodded and felt the little white snake in his sleeve move. He stretched out his hand to touch its head and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
"That thing is here again." Little White Snake reminded her in a soft voice, "Sir, it's the bug you said came here smelling pollen."
Mingwei thought thoughtfully: "It's been a bit frequent these days!"
Just as I was thinking about it, someone from the palace came to tell me that Concubine Pei was invited.
"Empress." Mingwei stepped into the front hall and bowed down to salute.
Concubine Pei waved to her: "Have you had breakfast? Look at you, you are wearing so little again."
Duofu followed her in and said, "Your Majesty, my servant is carrying the fox fur you gave me. It's warm in the palace. I'll ask the lady to put it on when I go out."
Concubine Pei laughed: "What a girl!"
Then he said: "Your Majesty is going to enjoy the snow, will you come together?"
Mingwei asked: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, is going together. Isn't it appropriate for us to follow?"
Concubine Pei said: "It doesn't matter, there are many people going today. Not only us, Concubine Hui and several beauties are also going. Your Majesty has also invited several adults, who will not be with us."
Since it was a group activity, Mingwei allowed it. Besides, she was not at ease if Concubine Pei was allowed to go out alone.
...
Xiushan is warm all year round due to geothermal heat.
Even if it snows, the snowflakes will melt as soon as they hit the ground.
The emperor got up today and saw the snow falling all over the sky, and he was very excited.
His health has been poor in the past few years. If he were in the capital and the weather was like this, he would have no choice but to stay indoors and warm himself by the fire.
Now that we are in Yichun Palace, wouldn't it be a pity not to enjoy the snow?
So he sent a message and called Concubine Pei and Concubine Hui, and invited several adults to go to the observation tower on the top of the mountain to enjoy the snow.
Xiushan is a gentle mountain, so you only need to lift the chariot to travel smoothly.
Mingwei followed Concubine Pei out and saw a long queue winding down the mountain road.
At the beginning was the emperor, surrounded by guards, chatting and laughing with several courtiers, and was in a good mood.
Concubine Hui was behind them. Mingwei turned around and saw Wen Xiuyi smiling at her.
Mingwei nodded, turned around and asked Duofu: "Where is Hou Liang?"
Duofu said: "Mr. Hou is behind."
Mingwei nodded: "Tell him to pay more attention."
Then he followed the imperial concubine and got on the chariot.
The journey was not far, and within half an hour, people were already at the observation tower.
There is a natural hot spring at the top of Xiushan Mountain. The observation building is built around the hot spring. There is no need to burn additional charcoal fires or close the doors and windows.
Mingwei entered the Nuan Pavilion, and saw that the furnishings were fresh and elegant, without any heavy feeling in winter.
The doors and windows were wide open, and only bamboo curtains were hung to keep out the wind and snow.
The viewing areas on both sides are even more unobstructed.
Looking down from the left is Yichun Palace, with green vegetation and palace walls.
On the other side is a completely different scenery. There is no geothermal heat, and there are no homes there. There is only snow all over the sky, piles of jade, and silver. The rolling mountains and dense forests are all white, and the mountains and rivers are covered with snow.
Snow, the sky and the earth are vast.
Not long after, Concubine Hui and several other lower-ranking concubines who were accompanying her arrived, and the Nuan Pavilion burst into laughter.
Wen Xiuyi came over to talk to Mingwei: "Sister Ming, I haven't seen you for several days, what are you doing?"
Mingwei replied: "I haven't done anything, I just eat and drink every day and learn how to mix colors with the imperial concubine."
Wen Xiuyi said with envy: "The imperial concubine has superb painting skills. It's really enviable that my sister can learn from her."
Ming smiled and laughed at himself: "It's a pity that I am uneducated. After studying for so long, I can only distinguish a few colors."
On a snowy day like this, the best pastime is barbecue and wine.
The emperor ordered people to bring game meat, so he set up a charcoal fire and ordered the palace people to barbecue.
Wen Xiuyi tied up her sleeves and grilled the meat herself to present to Concubine Hui.
Several beauties complimented Wen Xiuyi repeatedly and praised her for her filial piety, which made Concubine Hui's face glow.
When a beautiful lady from Zhao saw Ming Wei sitting next to the imperial concubine, quietly eating barbecue, she covered her lips with a smile and said, "Miss Ming Qi, why don't you bake a piece for the imperial concubine?"
Mingwei raised her head and smiled, and replied: "My cooking skills are really poor, I can't compare with Miss Wen. If the roast is too unpalatable, will the imperial concubine eat it or not? This is too embarrassing for the imperial concubine, so let's forget it."
Bar."
Concubine Pei also smiled and nodded: "The barbecue is done by the palace servants, so why should she do it?"
Zhao Meiren felt bored and thought, at the birthday party, she insisted on competing with Wen Xiuyi, but now she has lost her temper?
Looking at Ming Wei's expression as usual and not caring about it at all, she had no choice but to give up her provocative thoughts.
Over there, Wen Xiuyi asked the palace servants to bring two pieces over and presented them to the imperial concubine: "Do you want to have a taste of Xiuyi's craftsmanship?"
Mingwei looked at the plate of barbecue, and before Concubine Pei could say anything, she said, "Mother, you have eaten a lot. Yesterday the imperial doctor also said that you are not easy to digest and should not eat too much greasy food. But Miss Wen is very considerate.
, It would be too wasteful not to eat, can you please reward my little girl?"
Concubine Pei laughed, motioned to the palace attendant to take it over, and said, "Are you just greedy? Miss Wen's craftsmanship is really good, and I appreciate it."
After saying that, he really stopped eating and asked someone to bring soup.
Wen Xiuyi looked at the plate of barbecue in front of Mingwei and bit her lip.
Mingwei's face didn't change, and in front of her, he asked Duofu to cut it into pieces, and then put them into his mouth piece by piece.
Well, the barbecue prepared with the secret medicine of Wumen is really delicious! The little white snake is ready to move.
Wen Xiuyi seemed unwilling and helpless, so she forced a smile and retreated.
After eating the barbecue, Concubine Pei asked someone to spread out the drawing paper by the window.
It was well known in the palace that she loved painting. Seeing her wanting to paint, the concubines stopped talking and laughing and came over to watch.
Concubine Pei looked at the scenery for a while, and the palace servants also polished the ink.
She sat down in front of the painting desk, picked up her pen and started sketching.
The gray sky, dry branches, vast mountains, and white snow were clearly outlined with Concubine Pei's few strokes of ink.
When the imperial concubine put down her pen, the concubines flattered her again and again, praising the painting for its far-reaching artistic conception and the skill of the painter...
That Zhao Meiren had failed to encourage her earlier, so she couldn't help but say: "The empress' painting is naturally good, but the composition is a bit monotonous. If there are one or two colorful embellishments, the artistic conception will definitely be improved to a higher level."
Although she is a foul-mouthed person, she has good eyesight.
Concubine Pei looked at it carefully and asked the palace staff to bring out red.
But when she started writing, she hesitated again.
Zhao Meiren observed her words and asked, "Your Majesty, you want to paint plum blossoms? Without a real object to compare with, I'm afraid the painting will lack some charm!"
Concubine Pei glanced at her and lowered her head to think.
But I heard Wen Xiuyi say: "When I went up the mountain earlier, I saw plum blossoms on the roadside. How about I wait a moment and Xiuyi will take someone to pick a branch?" (To be continued)