Hearing Mrs. Chen talk about Mrs. Cheng, Chen Danniang, who was sitting on the porch watching the servant girl fishing for camels, immediately turned around. [Note 1]
"Grandpa, it's been almost a month since Mrs. Cheng left." She replied, getting up and running in.
Old Mrs. Chen smiled at her and pulled out a map roll from the Zhazu desk beside her.
This is a map copied from the palace. Not every family can have it. It is worth thousands of gold.
Chen Shao stood up hurriedly and helped Mr. Chen unfold it. Chen Danniang also stood aside curiously.
Old Mrs. Chen slowly looked over it.
"...According to the itinerary ten days ago, she should have gone to..." He said, while rummaging for a moment, his hand finally stopped in one place, with a strange look on his face.
When Chen Shao saw that his father was silent, he lowered his head and looked a little strange.
Taicang Road.
Taicang Road!
"Father, what are you thinking about?" He immediately raised his voice slightly and said.
Old Mrs. Chen smiled and looked away from the map.
"I will think whatever you want." He smiled.
Chen Shao looked a little uncomfortable being squeezed by his father.
"I miss Mrs. Cheng." Chen Danniang found the opportunity to answer the conversation and said in a childlike voice while busy at the side.
Old Mrs. Chen laughed.
Chen Shao got up and resigned, went back to the study and picked up the scroll. He looked at it for a moment but put it down again.
The detailed document reported by Feng Lin said that the passers-by who came to help were a group of about 20 people, coming from the direction of the capital, and escorted by a female family member...
Daughters!
Two lives shot dead on the spot...
He's not really that fool from Jiangzhou again, is he?
In the palace, two chamberlains were also unfolding a map.
Prince Jin'an stood over and took a closer look, clicking on the picture with his hand.
"Based on the distance traveled, we should have reached here today..." he said, looking at it seriously with a smile.
There were footsteps outside the door.
"Your Highness, please slow down..."
At the same time, there was a deliberately exaggerated voice from the waiter.
Prince Jin'an did not look back until the child behind him rushed towards him.
"Brother, what are you looking at?" the second prince asked, holding his arm.
Prince Jin'an waved his arm and led him forward.
"The map," he said.
"What is the map?" the second prince asked, looking at the large scroll painting, "Is it a painting?"
The lines on it are a little crooked and don't look good at all.
"The map is...the world." Prince Jin'an smiled and pointed at him, "Look, this is the capital..."
The second prince came closer, with a surprised look on his face.
"Capital?!" he said, and his little chubby fingers followed suit, "Not as big as my finger?"
Prince Jin'an laughed loudly and raised his hand to hit him on the head.
"This is an abbreviation. Otherwise, how could such a huge world fit on one piece of paper?" He said, "You will know when the older masters teach Fang Yuzhi astronomy and geography."
The second prince said oh, and then pestered the prince of Jin'an County to tell him where everything on the map was. The prince of Jin'an County told him one by one, and after a moment of fun, he asked him to accompany the queen.
"The Queen always asks me about my homework..." The second prince reluctantly didn't want to go and stretched out his hand to pull the sleeve of Prince Jin'an.
"That's because the Queen misses you. Although you were not born by her, you were raised by her. She is so close to you." Prince Jin'an knelt down and said with a smile, "With deep love comes deep responsibility.
You see, I want to be cared for like this..."
He stopped at this point and changed the subject in time.
“…..How many people want to be cared about but haven’t yet.”
The second prince seemed to understand but nodded obediently.
"If you are good to others, others will feel it. You must treat people well from the bottom of your heart." Prince Jin'an said, patting his heart.
"I know, I can feel that my brother treats me well from the bottom of his heart." The second prince said happily.
Prince Jin'an laughed and reached out to pinch his chubby cheeks.
"Then go quickly." He said.
After sending away the second prince, the King of Jin'an County asked people to put away the map and sit down in front of several cases.
"Your Highness, it's time to take medicine." The chamberlain said, holding a bowl of medicine.
"Is it time again?" Prince Jin'an asked.
"Yes, it's already the end of autumn," the chamberlain said.
Prince Jin'an stretched out his hand and pressed his chest and nodded.
"It goes by so fast. If you don't tell me, you will forget it. It's starting to hurt a little." He said, taking the medicine bowl, raising his head and drinking it down. "How many years do I have to take this medicine?"
The chamberlain sat aside and twirled his fingers.
"I've been taking it for five years, and it will be fine in another three years," he said.
Prince Jin'an smiled.
"It's been five years." He said, with a bit of surprise, and stroked his chin, with a bit of reminiscence, as if recalling the past time.
Although this time is not pleasant.
"It goes by so fast," he said, lowering his head. "Everything will pass."
"Yes, Your Highness, all the suffering will be over." The chamberlain gritted his teeth and said.
Prince Jin'an hummed and did not speak any more. Instead, he unfolded a piece of paper, on which was a half-written letter.
The chamberlain bowed his head and saluted, stood up and exited slowly, then looked back at the young man sitting in the hall.
Five years...
But he clearly remembered how the child who came back from the Gao family's banquet lay on top of him and vomited like hell...
If Dr. Li hadn't come to the rescue, he would have been reduced to bones by now.
Even though he was saved, the remaining poison could not be eliminated, so he had to take medicine every late autumn and early winter.
It was also from that moment that the child finally understood that some things were not just threats from the eunuchs and maids, death would really happen. In this palace, he was not only a good omen loved by the concubines, but also a thorn in the side of some people.
.
"...and often those who regard us as a thorn in their side and hate us are often those who once liked us..."
Prince Jin'an stopped writing, thought for a moment, and then started writing.
"..So everything will pass, the suffering will pass, and the joy will pass. Maybe this is the impermanence of things in the world..."
Then one day, this moment will also pass?
Prince Jin'an stopped writing again.
The longing and joy at this moment, the friends who seem familiar but strange...
He unconsciously tightened his grip on the pen.
Just like everyone else around me, like father, mother, brothers and sisters, your majesty, concubines, princes...
He reached out and threw the paper in front of him into a ball in his hand, but he still felt that he could not calm down. He simply stood up and picked it up, looked around, opened the lid of the incense burner, threw the paper ball in, and soon the smoke rose.
Prince Jin'an coughed twice, covered the incense burner, and watched the smoke disperse. He finally felt relieved, but he turned his head and frowned again as he looked at the cases.
"The letter is still not written..." he said to himself, got up and walked back, "I didn't say goodbye before I left. If I don't write a letter again, it is really unbecoming of a friend..."
Autumn is deep and the dew is heavy, and the concubines in the harem have few places to go. The imperial concubine took the initiative to report to the queen mother, and a new balcony was built, from which you can overlook the maple forest not far outside the palace. The red maple forest is really beautiful, and it has become the most beautiful place for the concubines in the palace these days.
A place for love.
When the imperial concubine came over, the queen mother was joking with the concubines, and the eldest prince was also there. He had just composed a poem and was enjoying the compliments of the concubines.
"Why don't you see Brother Six?" the imperial concubine asked with a smile, gesturing to the concubines to excuse themselves, and sat down under the Queen Mother, "It's a good day to go out and have a look."
"Are you busy with your homework again?" A concubine said with a smile.
"The Queen is really too strict. Brother Six is still young." The imperial concubine shook her head and said.
The Queen Mother smiled.
"No, I just asked someone to call him and he said he was at the emperor's place," she said.
At the emperor's place?
Others were okay, but the imperial concubine's smile froze for a moment, then she stood up after thinking about it.
"I'll go and ask him to come." She said, looking at the concubines and smiling, "By the way, please invite your Majesty to come."
These words made the concubines extremely happy, and they all urged the imperial concubine to go quickly. The imperial concubine glanced at the queen mother, who smiled and waved her hand, and then the imperial concubine bowed and left.
"His Royal Highness is in Funing Palace." The chamberlain said as he led the way.
As the imperial concubine walked along, the servants outside Funing Palace saw her and hurriedly greeted her.
"Your Majesty, I will go and report later," the chamberlain said.
The imperial concubine nodded and watched the chamberlain go in. The door was not closed and voices could be heard coming from inside.
"...Sixth brother came here after serving the queen and taking medicine?"
"...Well, father, I tell you, don't tell others that my wife doesn't like taking medicine, she dislikes the pain, and if you don't look at her, she won't be able to eat well."
The emperor's laughter came from the palace, and the laughter was full of joy.
The imperial concubine curled her lips. This little fat man was quite good at talking. He knew that the emperor liked to be filial and mellow...
"...Father, Father, I know this is my father's world..."
"...Oh, Sixth Brother, do you still know what the world is?"
"...Of course I know, and I also know how to see my father's world...Father, look, this is the capital, and this is Mount Tai...this is...the Yellow River..."
The emperor's laughter echoed in the palace.
"Okay, okay, Brother Six is really smart. Come on, since you like it, my father will take you and see the world..."
When these words came, the imperial concubine's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but take a step forward and leaned forward to look into the room.
A bright and slim figure in the main hall picked up a child and stood in front of the tapestry map of the world hanging on the wall. The father and son smiled brightly and stretched out their hands to point to the country together.
The imperial concubine's hand held the painted gauze shawl hanging in front of her.
"Your Majesty, the noble concubine wishes to see you."
"Come in."
The imperial concubine stood up straight, with a bright smile on her face, and stepped into the palace.
The breath of autumn is gradually dissipating. Looking around, the original golden carpet on the wilderness has been swept away, revealing the yellow and black soil where farmers are busy sowing winter seeds.
"Madam, madam, do you still remember this place?"
Looking away from the road and looking at the city gate faintly visible in front of him, Banqin said excitedly.
After passing Taicang, the road they took overlapped with that of when they returned home from Bingzhou.
"Remember." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Naturally, I also walked through it when I went to Beijing for nature.
"No, I mean when we were together..." Banqin said, pointing at herself.
Cheng Jiaoniang smiled.
"My memory got better after you left," she said.
So of course I don't remember.
Banqin chuckled.
"It's Tongjiang County," she said.
"Mr. Han." Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Banqin nodded with a smile, and drove into the city gate. Manager Cao had already sent someone to pick out the inn first, and drove the carriages and horses directly there.
After getting off the car in front of the inn, the entourage rushed the carriage and horses to the backyard to set up the place.
When Cheng Jiaoniang put on the power fence and got out of the car, there was no movement in Wang Qilang's car over there, and the old servant stood in front of the car with some embarrassment.
"Master, come down quickly..." he said in a low voice.
"If it doesn't go down, I can't stop, I want to keep walking..."
Wang Qilang's muffled voice came from inside the car.
"Sir, if you continue walking, you will have to sleep in the wild. Aren't you afraid of meeting wolves?" the old servant whispered.
"Don't be afraid, humans are much scarier than wolves." Wang Qishilang said immediately.
These words sound familiar...
Isn't it exactly what the lady said?
The old servant was dumbfounded. He looked sideways and saw that Cheng Jiaoniang and others had already entered. The Zhou family's entourage was also driving the carriage to the backyard. They were the only two carriages and a few riders left in front of the door. The waiter standing aside to greet the guests was a little puzzled.
.
"Hey, are you all together?" they asked.
"Yes, yes." the old servant said hurriedly, looking at the car curtain, "Master, if you don't come down, then if Mrs. Cheng gets angry, she will come and call you in person..."
Before he finished speaking, the car curtain was opened.
The guys didn't even see the person coming down, they just felt a gust of wind and the person ran past, and they heard choking sounds in a daze.
"...I can't live this day..."
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Note 1: A children's game in the Tang Dynasty, a camel is a small insect with a hump on its back. (To be continued)
