At night, the cool breeze of April breezes lightly through the huge courtyard of Yushifu, brushing the dense clusters of hydrangea stamens, bringing the quiet and sweet air to the hall where the guests gathered. Holding
a delicate jade face lute in my arms, I skillfully plucked the strings in the middle of the hall full of guests, and the ethereal and euphemistic song “Si Jun Ci” drew applause from all the people present.
A moment later, at the end of the music, I got up slowly, and the man who accompanied me stopped playing the piano, walked around the piano platform to me, and then saluted me respectfully.
“Miss Pingwan’s lute is really like the sounds of nature, and I admire it very much.”
I raised my lips lightly, holding the lute in my hand and bowing slightly in return.
“The young master has been praised. The young master plays the guqin extremely well, and Pingwan has been taught.”
I looked up slightly, and what I saw was a perfect face. Sword eyebrows and star eyes, smiling eyes, red lips and white teeth, ethereal charm is unforgettable.
I exclaimed in my heart, what an elegant young man. At the end of the
dedication, I retired to my original seat. As soon as I raised my eyes slightly, I happened to see the thief’s eyes of Lord Shangyushi. His blatant lascivious appearance made my whole body burn like a fire, and I felt uncomfortable. In the
past, I used to listen to Miss Ping Wan playing the lute in the Pillow Incense Pavilion, but today when I listen to it in the mansion, it’s another kind of enjoyment. Such a beautiful woman is really a rare beauty in the world! As
I listened to his so-called praise, my face was silent, but my hands in my sleeves were already clenched tightly into fists.
Such a dandy, if not because I am in the place of fireworks is helpless, otherwise how can I set foot in such a luxurious palace.
I secretly suppressed the anger in my heart and slipped to the edge of the pool in the back garden while everyone was drinking happily.
The evening breeze gently brushed my face, blowing away the smell of alcohol on my body, and calming down my mood.
Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere in the dark and pulled my wrist tightly. Before I could react, the man dragged me behind the rockery next to me. A big hand quickly covered my mouth.
“Don’t talk, or I’ll kill you!”
The man’s low and cold tone made people shudder.
I caught a glimpse of him dressed in black, his face covered with black cloth, thinking that a thief had broken into the house.
At this time, there was a “bang” sound, as if something had fallen to the ground, and then came the voice of the imperial censor’s rage.
Liu Yi-an, I didn’t expect that as a doctor in the mansion, you would dare to steal my family heirloom jade! Come, sink this traitor into the pond, so that my hatred may be dispelled.
After a while, I did see some servants coming out of the house with a young man and hurrying to the pool.
Through the moonlight, I saw the clothes on the man’s body, and suddenly knew in my heart that the man was the son who had just played with me.
Obviously, the real thief is not Liu Yian, but the man in black who is holding a knife on my neck at the moment.
Seeing that the innocent man was about to sink to the bottom of the water, I couldn’t bear it. I summoned up my courage to push away the knife of the man in black and shouted, “He didn’t steal it!”! The real thieves are here! After
hearing the noise, the man in black really panicked. Before the crowd rushed over, he angrily gave me a knife on the back. Then he turned over and escaped from the courtyard wall. The
intense pain suddenly made me lose my strength, and I fell down as soon as my feet were soft. In a trance, I seemed to fall into a warm embrace.
With the last trace of consciousness, I seem to see that handsome face, full of worries about me.
I raised my lips slightly and then fainted. When I woke up
again, I was back in my boudoir. To be precise, it should be back to the Pillow Fragrance Pavilion. As soon as
I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the edge of my bed. “Is it Frost?” I asked tentatively.
Hearing my voice, the man quickly turned his head and looked at me with joy on his face and said, “Miss Pingwan, are you awake?” Only then did
I see clearly that the man was not my servant girl Shuang’er, but Liu Yian of Yushi’s house.
I curled the corners of my mouth. “Has Mr. Liu been taking care of me?”? Ping-wan really feels guilty.
He smiled, and his bright eyes seemed to be filled with stars.
My heart trembled, as if I had suddenly missed something.
If Miss Pingwan is guilty of it, wouldn’t I have to die to apologize? After all, you got hurt trying to save me. Then
I remembered that I had a deep cut on my back, and I gasped in pain. How are
you? Does it hurt a lot?
He looked at my face with concern, and his beautiful brows frowned into a ball.
I shook my head. “It’s all right, but when I move, I’ll pull the wound.”
He nodded sadly and handed a cup of warm water to my mouth.
“It’s a good thing the assassin didn’t hit him too hard and didn’t hurt his internal organs, otherwise it would have been dangerous.”
I had never been so close to any man, and for a moment I was ashamed, but strangely, I did not seem to resent his approach.
So I paused for a moment and let him continue to feed me.
A warm feeling suddenly came to my heart, like a breeze passing through, and the spring water in that pool also rippled gently, giving birth to lotus flowers with delicate fragrance.
However, he did not seem to notice my rich inner drama, but naturally fed me water, and then continued to tell me: “You must not get out of bed these days, wait until the wound is better in a few days.”. I will come every day to examine your wounds and take medicine to heal them until you are healed.
I nodded and couldn’t help thinking, doesn’t that mean that as long as my injury is not good, he will always come to see me?
If so, then I really hope that the wound will heal slowly!
But as soon as I thought of it, I was frightened by my inexplicable mood. How did
I get that idea? What does it matter to me whether
he comes to see me or not? Why do
I care so much?
I immediately came to my senses, pretended to be calm and thanked him, and then asked the servant girl to send him out.
In the next half month, Liu Yian really came to see me every day. Either accompany me to talk about the wonderful words of ancient Chinese, or tell me those interesting folk stories, or play the piano and sing songs to relieve my boredom for fear that I will be bored in the room.
In his company day after day, the smile on my face gradually increased, and even Shuang’er could not help sighing: “Oh, this Mr. Liu is really a man of God. When he comes, the girl’s face is obviously much better than before. Even when she is ill, she has a kind of beauty in her heart!”.
I pretended to be angry and blamed her a few words, but my heart was as sweet as honey.
In this place of fireworks, all the people who come and go are fickle people who like the new and hate the old. It is the first one who treats me sincerely like Liu Yian.
I secretly hoped that he would be the last one.
By the time I had fully recovered, it was a month later.
In the past month, because I was injured, although the old Mammy of the Pillow Incense Pavilion was unhappy, she could not force me to talk and laugh, and I also took this opportunity to enjoy myself.
What’s more, Liu Yian accompanies him every day, and such a good time is really a rare pleasure. In the afternoon of that
day, the midsummer sunshine was particularly brilliant, and there was an indescribable warmth on people. I stood under a big tree full of flowers, closed my eyes and felt the beauty of summer quietly.
Suddenly, a pair of broad palms covered my eyes from behind me, and my eyes suddenly became much darker.
With the cold fragrance of the man’s body, I guessed that the other party should not be frost, but I couldn’t think of anyone who would be so bold as to play with me. Which girl’s servant girl are
you? How dare you play with me like this? Hurry up and tell me the truth, or I’ll let your master punish you.
But the man was still unmoved, did not speak, and still covered my eyes to death.
I frowned doubtfully, thinking that the servant girl was too bold to ignore me. In that case, I have to turn the tables.
I quickly turned around and pinched the man’s cheek. I couldn’t help laughing and said, “Let me see which one is naughty.”
How was it? Didn’t think it was me, did you?
The man raised the corners of his mouth and smiled proudly. The smile on his face was more dazzling than sunshine cast down from the crevices of the trees, which made me lose my mind. Mr.
Liu? How could it be you?
I stared at the people in front of me and suddenly felt that the scene at this moment was so beautiful that it seemed unreal.
He smiled, and then quickly inserted a silk flower, which had long been hidden in my sleeve, into my bun. While admiring it, he exclaimed, “It’s really a flower for a beauty. A girl wearing this flower looks even more charming!”.
I raised my hand to touch the flowers on my head and blushed.
“You always say nice things. Do you often send flowers to girls?” With a quick wave of his hand,
he said, “Heaven and earth, I’ve never been a philanderer. This is the first time I’ve given someone a gift. Don’t think of me so casually.”
I looked at his serious appearance and couldn’t help laughing out loud.
“With your courage, if you have a wife in the future, you’re sure to be chased and beaten!”
“Do you despise me?” He made a gesture of raising his arms and waving them in front of my eyes like two big pincers.
Today I’ll show you what it means to regret! Don’t run! With an exclamation of surprise,
I quickly spread my feet and ran in the yard, with happy laughter falling on every corner of the yard. As soon as the
breeze blows, the flowers on the branches fall to the ground, and in an instant all the scenery is just right, forming a beautiful picture. The afternoon of
that day was the most unforgettable and precious memory in my life.
And I also know for the first time that it is such a happy feeling to be cared for. After the
injury, I had to continue as before, once again returned to the days of laughing and singing, and Liu Yian also returned to the Yushifu. Everything
was the same as before, as if he had never come, and I was not hurt.
Only every time I bathed and changed clothes, when I saw the scar on my vest clearly through the bronze mirror, I suddenly remembered that all this was not an illusion, but really happened.
I gently lowered my eyes and leaned against the side of the bathtub. All I could think about was the young man in white who had played with me in the yard. I couldn’t help smiling bitterly.
I think I’m in a daze.
When I saw Liu Yian again, it was three months later. I was invited to your house to play the piano to add to the fun on the birthday of the
imperial censor.
I changed into a gorgeous and bright pink dress, put my black hair into a delicate bun hanging behind my head, put on a festive phoenix hairpin, and came to the banquet hall with a lute in my arms. The guests who
came to celebrate the birthday had already gathered together, and my cold eyes swept in front of them one by one, but when I saw the familiar face in the corner, I stopped unconsciously.
It’s him, Liu Yian, the one I haven’t seen for many days. Friend.
I quickly withdrew my line of sight, pretended to be calm and plucked the strings, and the melodious melody won a burst of warm applause.
Good! Play well!
The imperial censor praised me without stint.
“Miss Pingwan’s piano skills seem to have improved a lot, and today’s dress has a more unique flavor than usual. I really love it from the bottom of my heart!”.
His grand teasing made me uncomfortable, but I had to bite the bullet and laugh. At the end of the
performance, I slipped to the rockery alone while no one was paying attention. The
shadow of the moon made the carved beams and painted pillars in the courtyard seem to be covered with a light layer of gauze, like the heavenly palace described in the play.
I looked at the clear pool water, the eyes unexpectedly emerged a person’s appearance, the mood can not help but become melancholy up.
I didn’t expect to meet him three months later, but he didn’t want to say a word to me. It was really a waste for me to miss him all the time. Suddenly
, a figure flashed out and dragged me to the hole in the rockery.
Then, one after another, kisses with the smell of alcohol rained down on my face and lips, and the overbearing momentum gave me no room to fight back.
Although I tried my best to break away from the tall figure in front of me, I could not avoid it.
Unwilling to yield to the tears drop by drop from the corner of my eyes.
Struggling, by the dim moonlight falling from the yard, I finally saw the man’s side face, and I was startled that it was the lustful Yushi adult!
Lord Yushi, please respect yourself! If someone else had seen it, I wouldn’t know!
However, the other side chuckled disapprovingly, “I don’t know.”? That’s exactly what the officer wants! Little beauty, since I saw you in the Pillow Fragrance Pavilion, I have been thinking about turning you into my woman one day. Now that I have found this opportunity, don’t pretend to be aloof any more! If you marry me, I will give you the splendor and wealth you will enjoy all your life!
As I tried my best to dodge the kiss of the imperial censor, I couldn’t help cursing in a low voice in my heart.
This shameless prostitute, obviously his own family already has a prominent family, but also want to find a young and beautiful concubine!
He is really a dandy and invisible prodigal son!
Just when I wanted to cry without tears, I heard someone outside suddenly shouting, “Madam, are you looking for the master?”? I think I saw the master go to the rockery! On
hearing this, the imperial censor, who was still on top of me, trembled with fear and murmured, “Didn’t the Tigress say she was not feeling well and had gone to bed?”? Why did you suddenly get up again? No, if she sees me like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to see the sun tomorrow!
With these words, he looked out and quickly ran away to the other side of the rockery with his trouser legs.
I looked up in a panic, but I was surprised to see the angular face.
It’s him! What are
you waiting for? Come on out! Before
I could react, my body had been dragged out of the rockery by Liu Yian.
He took me by the hand and quickly bypassed the servants, then quietly opened a secret back door and took me out quickly.
“All right, all right, it’s safe here. There’s no need to run.”
I wiped the sweat from my face, looked around, and found that I had reached the gate of the city, and my nervous heart settled down a little.
“It’s good to have you tonight, otherwise I don’t know what to do.”
He looked at me worriedly, and his tone was heavy.
“The imperial censor is used to flirting with women. He has been coveting you for a long time. You must be careful in the future.”
I frowned and sighed helplessly, “The imperial censor has a lot of money. Where can I, a weak woman, escape to?”? If you get away with it this time, what about next time? What about next time? In the future, I’m afraid my days will be even harder.
Listening to my sad tone, the person beside me did not seem to know how to comfort him.
I know. There’s nothing he can do about it.
That’s all. We can only take one step at a time. Anyway, thank you for saving my life tonight. You go back, if be found by the imperial censor adult, that can be bad. Take your leave. With
that, I turned and left.
“Wait!” He stopped me suddenly.
“Girl, I just want to ask you a question. Can you tell me?”
I turned around and looked at him in puzzlement.
“You say.”
He took a deep breath and spoke as if he had made up his mind. “What is the relationship between me and you in the girl’s heart?”
I didn’t expect him to ask me this question, and I was a little speechless for a moment.
What relationship? What kind of relationship can it be? It can only be friends.
Although I also hope that our relationship can be closer, but the matter of men and women, but I can not control a person.
I collected myself and smiled. “You’re my best friend.”
Hearing my answer, he seemed a little unwilling.
“Just, just friends?”
Now I’m completely confused. How did you ask me about this?
He walked slowly toward me, always as steady as pine and cypress, and his clear eyes were a little hotter than I had ever seen before.
He gently took my hand and said every word very seriously.
“In my heart, Miss Pingwan is the only person I can worry about. I firmly believe that you are the first and the last one.” For
a moment, all I heard was “Bang!” Countless fireworks exploded in my mind, and suddenly turned into thousands of pink petals.
The breeze is blowing, and a pool of flowers is rippling. So
we stared at each other’s eyes for a long time, for fear that in the blink of an eye, the person beside us would suddenly disappear.
In those clear eyes, I clearly saw my shy and happy appearance, and there was a voice in my heart that kept shouting.
Tell him you want to be with him too!
Don’t hesitate! Be brave enough to say it!
I mumbled my lips, like a deer in my heart, and the sound was deafening.
“Me too.” The moment the
voice fell to the ground, I saw the expectation in his eyes, which turned into obvious joy in an instant, and the excited smile was like the brilliant sunshine breaking through the dark clouds, shining out a particularly moving brilliance. As soon as
he hugged me into his arms, the familiar fragrance lingered on the tip of my nose and stirred my trembling heartstrings.
“Waner, from now on, even if I risk my life, I, Liu Yi-an, will protect you for the rest of my life, and will never give anyone a chance to bully you again!”
I hugged his great body, as warm as if I had hugged the whole world.
“I believe in you. I’ve always believed in you.” After telling
each other about our feelings, we decided to flee overnight and never return to the capital where our lives were bound.
So, I pretended as if nothing had happened back to the pillow incense pavilion quickly tidied up some soft, and then trotted all the way to the city gate. In the distance, I saw that my sweetheart had been waiting there early.
Stepping on the moonlight as bright as jade, the strong horse galloped quickly on the quiet path. Sitting in the bumpy carriage, I watched the scenery outside the window go backwards at a very fast speed, turning into an invisible shadow, and I couldn’t help raising the corners of my mouth.
From now on, this girl no longer has to commit herself to the pillow incense pavilion that accompanies people to sell laughter. I can finally live a happy life with my beloved like an ordinary woman!
At that moment, I felt a kind of unprecedented relief and freedom. I think people often say that happiness comes after suffering, which is probably the case. After I
left the capital, I lived incognito with Yian. In order to avoid the official search, we rarely appeared in the street market, so we had to cultivate our own crops to make a living.
This kind of life is poor, but as long as I think I can be with the person I love forever, I don’t feel bitter at all, but feel happy.
But women always love beauty, and sometimes when I look at myself in the mirror, I can’t help worrying about whether I will not be loved by my lover again, from the top flower queen with a full head of pearls and hairpins in the past to the woman in coarse cloth and short clothes today.
Whenever I was unhappy about this, the man with picturesque eyebrows and eyes would hold my hand and gently say, “No matter how you dress up, my Waner will always be the most beautiful girl in the world. No one can compare with my Waner.”
Looking at the tenderness in his eyes, I can’t help blushing, silently sighing that I really didn’t misjudge him, and praying that I can go through all the days with my beloved in the future, and never leave each other.
But the weather is unpredictable, the more ordinary wishes, sometimes the more difficult it is for you to fulfill your long-cherished wish.
Besides, the identity of him and me is so special that it is doomed that the road of our feelings can not be smooth sailing.
On that day, I prepared the meal as usual, waiting for Yian, who went out to collect herbs, to come back for dinner. But left and right, after almost an hour, I still did not see his figure, the heart can not help but panic.
Could it be said that our whereabouts were discovered by the imperial censor?
I could not rest assured, so I hurried to the nearby hills to look for him, and then went to the market to find someone to inquire about it. Only then did I know that there were several people dressed up as yamen officers who had already escorted Yian to the direction of the capital.
I suddenly trembled all over, it seems that the person who took away Yian, nine times out of ten is the subordinate of the imperial censor!
What to do? What can I do to get him out? Out of my mind,
I went back to the wooden house in the mountains, and my heart ached. I know that Lord Yushi did this just to force me to show up. If I refuse to come forward, then he will not let Yian go, maybe he will torture Yian in every way.
At the thought of that cruel image, the pain of being torn seemed to spread to every part of my body, suffocating and desperate.
Yian, I must save you! After
sitting all night, the next morning I got up and went to the capital and decided to negotiate with the imperial censor face to face.
I looked at the three words of Yushifu on the plaque, and my heart suddenly twisted into a ball. Unexpectedly, after a big circle, I finally returned to the place I hated most.
“Sister Wan!”
I was about to lift my feet into the house when someone stopped me behind me.
8
Frost? What are you doing here?
I stopped, turned around and held Frost’s hand in surprise and joy, and tears filled my eyes.
“Sister Wan, I haven’t seen you for a long time. How are you?” The
two of us hugged and wept together, and the familiar feeling seemed to go back to the past, which relieved my painful mood a little.
Knowing the purpose of my return to the capital, Frost’s reaction seemed to be much calmer than I expected, as if she had known I would come back.
But for a moment, she went on to say with concern, “In my opinion, it’s better for my sister not to show up for the time being. The imperial censor set up this situation just to draw you out. The matter of rescuing Mr. Liu has to be discussed in the long run.”
I saw that she seemed to be really thinking about me, and the doubts in my heart were resolved.
After discussion, I decided to let the frost son through the relationship of the pillow incense pavilion, secretly inquire about the location of Yi An’s detention, the result was really found out by her, in a bamboo house outside the eastern suburbs. I
secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart, now as long as I get the key to unlock, then Yian will be saved.
So, in order to get the key, I had to go to Yushifu in person.
On that day, I specially dressed up carefully, put on a charming and flirtatious makeup, and changed the cold and noble attitude of the past, and took the initiative to have an elegant meeting with the imperial censor to drink and talk about poetry. He was flattered to agree. During
the dinner, I kept winking at him, which made him lose his mind, so that he could not extricate himself from my every smile.
Unconsciously, the flagon on the table was also drunk clean, and the imperial censor who had fallen asleep beside him was already unconscious.
I didn’t dare to delay for a moment. After taking out the key from him, I hurried to the bamboo house in the eastern suburbs.
“Shuang’er, are you sure Pingwan won’t find it here?”
Don’t worry, she still thinks I’m her good sister and obeys what I say. She’s drinking with the imperial censor this evening, and she must have cooked the rice by now.
“Oh, if she knew you were with me, she would be very upset, wouldn’t she?”
“Hum, that’s because you seduced me in the first place. You took advantage of them because they were not deeply involved in the world!”
“You’re the most talkative with your little mouth!”
Boom!
I stood outside the door, listening to the voices of conversation in the room, and suddenly felt a blank in my mind, as if I could not remember anything.
My best sister, with the man I love most? What kind of bloody plot
is this! Holding the hard-won key tightly,
I trembled and froze in the doorway, unable to believe what my ears heard, but the feeling of my heart being torn spread crazily in my chest, and the pain made me breathless.
“Ping Wan, how dare you take my official’s things for yourself? Now that you’ve got the stolen goods, let’s see what else you can say!” In
the misty eyes, I looked back and saw the imperial censor with a group of officers and soldiers suddenly appeared, I was firmly surrounded in it.
At this time, the two people in the room also came out slowly. Frost, in particular, showed me a rather proud smile.
“Why?” I stared at her face and asked word by word.
She smiled and turned to look at Yi-an beside her. “Because all this, from the beginning to the end, was set up by the two of us and the imperial censor.”. From the very beginning, I have been well with him, and I have always been the only person he really loves.
Liu Yi-an looked at her fondly, nodded and said, “Yes, all this is a show for you. As a result, you are really trapped.” When I
heard this, I suddenly laughed coldly, recalling the little things that had happened these days, which was both ironic and sad.
Liu Yi-an, I didn’t expect that I would fall into your hands in the end after reading countless people. If that is the case, I accept it.
I moved my eyes to Shuang’er and said in all earnestness, “Shuang’er, you betrayed me today. I don’t think you will complain about you if you are young and ignorant, but I don’t want to see you go astray. This man can betray me today, and he will betray you in the future!”
But I forgot that the woman who is falling into the trap of love is so happy that she can’t find her direction. How can she listen to my words?
“You can’t destroy our relationship. I know very well in my heart that the person I love most must be me!”
I smiled feebly and turned to look at Lord Yushi. What do you want? I have no complaints.
The imperial censor snorted angrily, “I thought you really figured it out this time, but you’re still unrepentant.”. In that case, from now on, I will punish you for doing penance in the Qinglu Temple for the rest of your life, and you will never be allowed to leave!
The so-called penance, to put it bluntly, is to be a rough maid responsible for cleaning the temple, carrying water and cutting firewood. It’s just that now I’m no longer a worldly person. Although I’m practicing with my hair, I can be regarded as half a monk.
As the saying goes, it is easy to add flowers to the brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in the snow, even in temples. When
the nuns heard that I had been driven here by the imperial censor to practice, they came up with all kinds of ways to deliberately make things difficult for me. Every day, besides chopping firewood and carrying water, he poured cold water on my quilt from time to time, or found a reason to punish me and let me kneel on the cold stone slab for three hours.
For these, I all chose to bear in silence.
I think only in this way can I not continue to immerse myself in the pain of the past.
In a twinkling of an eye, the hot summer has already slipped away, and the early autumn frost has dyed all the leaves on the branches golden.
The autumn wind is bleak, and the withered leaves spread thickly on the ground and creak when stepping on them.
According to the orders of the abbot, I had to personally sweep away the withered leaves in the courtyard every day, which was euphemistically called to show my hard work for Qinglu Temple.
The days were still bitter and bitter, but I gradually got used to the simple life in the temple. When I happened to recall what had happened, I felt as if it was a lifetime ago, so far away and so strange. I have to admit that all this is never a dream, only when I dream back in the middle of the night and feel the pain of eating my heart and bone. In the early morning of that
day, when I finished cleaning the dead leaves in the courtyard as usual, I suddenly found that my hands had become rough because of doing rough work all the year round, and now they were cracked by the cold wind. With a little effort, small beads of blood would jump out of the wound, and the pain made me grin.
I thought about it and seemed to remember that there were herbs for healing wounds in the pharmacy of the temple, so I planned to look for them. Walking
along the long corridor behind the rockery, in a trance, I seemed to hear the voice of someone talking in one of the closed temples.
Originally, I didn’t care, but when I was ready to leave, I unexpectedly heard a very familiar voice. As if struck by lightning,
I immediately froze in place, the bottom of my heart suddenly shook, and tears gushed out.
This voice.. It’s Liu Yian! You can’t go wrong! It must be him!
Strange, good, how can he come to this Qinglu Temple? Is there an ulterior motive?
I covered my chest excitedly and couldn’t believe my ears. I was afraid that I had misheard and that I had not misheard.
In order to find out, I tiptoed quietly outside the door and listened carefully to the sound of conversation in the room.
Yian, you have been busy in and out these months, how is it? Is the princess satisfied with you?
“Thank you, your excellency, for holding the red line between my subordinates and the princess. Now the princess and I have made a solemn pledge of love. If Lord Mu agrees, we will get married soon.”
ha ha ha, good. My princess cousin, although rarely associated with me, but in any case, I am also her brother, I recommend you to her, she is naturally trustworthy. After you marry her, you must behave well, and don’t lose your official face.
Yes! Subordinates follow the teachings of adults. By the way, my Lord, I wonder if Miss Pingwan is still at the Chinglu Temple?
“Hum, the officer punished her to do penance here. Of course she didn’t dare to leave without permission.”. What’s the matter? Do you regret it now? When you hooked up with that girl Shuang’er, you didn’t hesitate at all.
“Your excellency misunderstood me. My subordinates didn’t mean that. They just accompanied the princess to Qinglu Temple today to burn incense. They suddenly remembered this and asked casually.”
Speaking of this, I would like to remind you. The princess has been spoiled. You must not let her know about you and Shuang’er, or you will feel better!
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ve got rid of Shuang’er long ago. She’ll never have a chance to appear in front of the princess.”
“Oh?”? You are really careful in doing things, so the officer can rest assured. Go, go, go. Let’s go to the princess’s mansion and have a few drinks together later. I have a lot of beautiful women to be with you!
“Yes, Your Excellency, please!”
I squatted outside the door listening to their conversation, as if someone had poured a basin of cold water, cold from head to foot, can not help but tremble all over. It was not until they heard that they were coming out that they quickly hid behind the rockery, showing no suspicious traces.
I quietly poked my head out and looked at the handsome man who had gone away with the imperial censor, talking and laughing, and tears came to my eyes again. Isn’t the person in front of me the Liu Lang that I used to think about day and night?
However, I never dreamed that the man I deeply loved was such a vicious and insidious beast in his heart!
Under the appearance of his well-dressed gentleman’s style, there is actually a very ugly and dirty heart!
At that moment, I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for myself or for the frost he killed. I only hate that I am a woman who has no power to tie a chicken, and I have no way to end this inhuman man with my own hands.
In the end, I can only blame myself for being infatuated and being entrusted to others.
I looked at his receding figure, and the tears in my eyes gradually congealed into frost. In the past, the feeling of heartbreak seemed to disappear in an instant, leaving only the hatred of gnashing teeth.
Liu Yian, you are not human!
Late autumn has come, and the weather is getting colder and colder. After cleaning the courtyard every day, I sat on the stone steps in a daze until it was dark before I entered the house. The leaves in the yard were all covered with a thick layer of frost, which made people shiver. The clothes on
my body are still thin, but I don’t feel cold at all.
I think, probably after a person’s heart is dead, he can no longer feel the warmth and coldness of the outside world.
A few days later, I heard the nun in the other courtyard say that tomorrow is the day when Liu Yian and the princess get married.
Somehow, I suddenly wanted to see what he looked like when he married someone else. After all, I didn’t even have the most humble wedding with him at the beginning, so I became his wife in a muddle.
So, the next morning, I specially changed into an orange-pink soft gauze, pulled up a delicate bun, pulled open the makeup that had been dust-laden for a long time, and took out the eyebrow pencil to draw the soft willow eyebrows in the bronze mirror. After
dressing up, I seem to have seen the gorgeous flower Kui Ping Wan in the pillow incense pavilion. But the passage of time, now full of vicissitudes of life, I have a few more fine lines in the corner of my eyes, or look a little dimmer than before.
I looked through the pearl hairpin in the box and suddenly saw the silk flower that I had treasured for a long time. My heart suddenly ached, but I couldn’t shed a tear in my eyes.
Since Liu Yian left, I have never worn this silk flower, I wanted to wait for the day we meet again, and then let him wear it for me. But I never dreamed that meeting again would end like this. With a wry smile,
I put the silk flower into my bun in front of myself in the bronze mirror, and took a careful picture of it. I felt inexplicably that the flower matched my clothes today.
Liu Lang, when you see this silk flower, will you still remember that we once fell in love? I
took out the pearl hairpin I treasured in the past and bribed a boy in the princess’s mansion. Finally, I got an invitation card and was able to blend into the lively crowd smoothly. When
the princess got married, there was an endless stream of dignitaries who came to congratulate her, and the hall was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, which looked quite festive.
I looked at everything around me in silence, and an indescribable feeling rolled in my heart. Can not say sad, also can not say pain, just feel that there is an invisible hand in the desperate to twist my heart, let me some breathless.
“Here comes the bride and groom!”
With a shout from the matchmaker, everyone got out of the way.
I turned my head and saw Liu Yian in a bright red wedding dress and the princess with a bright red veil.
Liu Yian is handsome and extraordinary, but now wearing this red dress, he looks like a man from heaven.
He pulled the silk through the dense crowd, and then stood firmly in front of Lord Mu and his wife.
One worships heaven and earth, the other worships the high hall, the husband and wife worship each other, and they are sent to the bridal chamber! Li Cheng!
“Good!”
There was a burst of cheers and applause.
He thanked everyone with folded fists on his face.
“County horse, you must love the princess a lot in the future, and try to give birth to a big fat boy next year!”
“Thank you all for your blessings. I will definitely work hard with the princess to embrace you for three years!”
“Ha ha ha!” There
was another burst of laughter.
I stood in the crowd without saying a word, but my eyes never left the groom in front of me.
Suddenly, he seemed to notice my line of sight, slightly turned his head, then saw me standing aside, to be exact, saw the silk flower I was wearing on my head, the smile on his face instantly solidified in the corners of his mouth, there seemed to be a moment of surprise in his happy eyes, as well as a trace of imperceptible panic.
I snorted coldly and saluted him as if I had never known him.
“Congratulations to the princess, congratulations to the county horse.”
He smiled a little unnaturally and did not expose my identity.
“Thank you for your blessing.”
With that, he took the princess hurriedly to the location of the new house.
I pressed my lips tightly and forced the tears in my eyes back.
Ping Wan, you must not shed tears for such a man!
He’s not worth it! He’s not worth it! After
attending the wedding banquet, I sneaked back to the meditation room where I lived alone and sat on the cold stone steps and drank all night.
I think, probably only when I am drunk, I will not remember how much I loved him, and how much heartache I have now.
Yes, I have to admit, I do still love him. Even though I know that people like him are not worth it.
But with all the people to love, how can you say forget to forget it? Probably only time is the best antidote.
In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed since Liu Yian got married. I often hear people say that the feelings between the princess and the county horse are so deep that they are almost inseparable. Anyone who sees them is envious of them.
I heard it in my ears, and it hurt in my heart. Can hear more, also pain numbness, to the end I can also be very calm to face all this, as if I had never known him.
On that day, I was ordered by Yushi to come to Yushifu again. Everything here seems to be no different from the past, but my mentality is totally different from that of the past.
“Ping Wan, if you are willing to obey me, I will let you leave that poor Qinglu Temple at once. How about that?”
I suddenly understood that after such a long time, the imperial censor was still trying to persuade me to turn back.
I looked at him with a cold face and said with a deathly heart, “The poor nun forgets the dust. She is no longer the flower queen Ping Wan of the past. Please respect yourself, the imperial censor!” Annoyed,
he pounded the table and said angrily, “Well, you are so unappreciative that you have wasted a lot of pains!”! You, you wait for me!
The voice did not fall, suddenly came a rush of footsteps.
I turned my head and saw at a glance that countless officials had rushed into the mansion in unison. The leader was still holding a golden imperial edict in his hand. The people in the mansion were so frightened that they knelt down to worship.
In order to fulfill the destiny of Heaven, the emperor issued an edict saying that Zhao Yang, the imperial censor, had collaborated with the enemy to usurp the state, played with official power, and was ambitious, and his crime was not to be punished. From now on, Yushifu a dry people all over the nine clans, if there is a violation, do not kill! I admire this!
The imperial edict, all the people in the house were terrified, especially the imperial censor, he didn’t expect that as an important official in the court, one day he would be accused of usurping the country for no reason, it is no place to complain.
But the emperor has been called, how can it be changed?
No matter what the truth of this matter is, in the end, all the people in the imperial censor’s house, together with me, the nun who became a monk, were also put into prison and killed according to the law three days later.
Although all this is very sudden, but for me, rather than so suffering to live, death is not necessarily a relief.
I sat calmly in my cell waiting for the imminent execution.
But on the eve of the execution, several yamen suddenly rushed into the cell, knocked me unconscious and stuffed me into a sack.
When I woke up again, I found that I seemed to have been taken to a lake in the woods.
13
“The county horse, the man has arrived!”
“All right, you go.”
I heard those yamen in the call county horse, the heart missed a beat, is Liu Yian sent someone to bring me out?
At this time, a man came over and untied the rope on my body in two or three times.
I looked up and saw the unforgettable face at a glance. I felt a pain in my heart, but I couldn’t say a word. After a long
silence, Liu Yi-an suddenly called me softly, “Waner.” As soon as
my nose was sour, tears fell down, but I still stubbornly turned away and refused to look at him.
Waner, I know you hate me. I asked someone to bring you out, just to let you live. Now, the people of Yushifu are sure to die, and you will be free in the future. If I do this, it will be, it will be a return of your old favor.
I turned around and looked at his face with tears in my eyes, and suddenly I understood something.
“You know very well that the imperial censor did not commit treason. All this is a plot carefully designed by you, isn’t it?”
He paused, nodded and said, “Yes, I did it.”
“Why?”
He suddenly stared angrily into my eyes, gnashed his teeth and said, “Because this shameless prostitute once killed my mother!”! Originally, my parents were a very loving couple, but because this bastard took a fancy to my mother, he insisted on marrying her as a concubine. As a result, my mother committed suicide, and my father died of illness. In order to revenge, I had to pretend to flatter him, in order to kill him one day! Heaven pays off, and I’ve finally come to this day!
I looked at his devilish smile and felt a chill in my heart.
What about me? Are you willing to push me into the fire pit for your revenge! I love you so much, how can you treat me so cruelly? Can it be said that you have never loved me in the past?
He took a deep breath and turned away from me.
“For the last time, my kindness to you is all to make you happy, because only in this way can you fall into the trap and marry Zhao Yang with peace of mind, and I can gain his trust and get in touch with the princess, and then use the royal authority to bring Zhao Yang down at one stroke, and nothing else.”
Finally, he added, “It’s all a show. Why take it so seriously?”
His tone is so calm, without a trace of ups and downs, cold as a pool of stagnant water, along with my heart also drowned and died.
Okay, I finally understand. From the beginning to the end, Frost is just a pawn for you, and I am just a pawn for you. Liu Yi-an, you are a man without a heart!
He burst out laughing and walked up to me step by step, his voice as gentle as ever.
“Waner, do you hate me now?”
I stared into his eyes and said, “Yes, I hate myself for falling in love with you, and I hate myself even more for not seeing through your ambition earlier!”! Liu Yian, as long as I can leave here alive today, I will certainly announce your evil deeds to the world, and I will never let you succeed!
Hearing my words, the smile on his face became cold and gloomy in an instant, which made people’s hair stand on end.
“Waner, you’re joking with me, aren’t you?”
I snorted coldly, ready to leave his side, only to be grabbed by his arm. Before
I could recover, a tearing pain spread from my abdomen to my whole body.
I looked down in disbelief. A bright dagger was stuck in my body at the moment, and the dripping blood dyed my clothes red in an instant.
Since you don’t know what’s good for you, I’ll have to give you a ride. Don’t blame me, Waner.
I raised my head and looked at the man I once cared about most, and my heart was like a knife.
“Liu Yi-an, you are so cruel!”
He raised the corners of his mouth with a cold smile and pushed me hard in front of my chest, and I fell straight into the cold lake. In
an instant, I felt black in front of my eyes, and the muddy lake water poured into my nasal cavity, giving me no chance to breathe. At the moment before the coma, I shed the last tear of my life.
Liu Yian, I will never love you again. In the mansion of the head of
the county, the fallen petals are in riotous profusion and the flowers are fragrant. It is a brand new year.
“Princess, look at these peach blossoms!”
Several little maids who had just arrived were playing with each other under the flowers, and their innocent laughter echoed in the courtyard for a long time.
The princess picked an excellent peach blossom branch and sniffed it carefully in front of her nose, showing a sweet smile on her face.
“Neng Hsiang, I want to dance. Come and dance with me on the piano.”
I nodded, raised my hand slightly, and moved my ten fingers dexterously back and forth on the strings. The sound of the harp is leisurely, and the princess dances with the tune.
“Good, very good!” At the end of
the song, there was a burst of applause not far away. When I looked back, my heart could not help trembling, but my face was still smiling lightly.
“How are you, Shih Ma Yeh?” It was Liu Yian
who came.
He smiled and nodded, “I didn’t expect the maids in the mansion to have such excellent piano skills. It’s really an eye-opener.”
The princess came over with a peach blossom branch and threw herself into Liu Yian’s arms shyly.
“Of course, Nie Xiang is the maid I value most. She not only plays the guqin well, but also is more clever and clever than other maids. It’s very rare.”
I nodded slightly. “It’s all because the princess doesn’t mind the maidservant’s stupidity.”
At this time, another servant girl came over, saying that the imperial concubine in the palace had not seen the princess for a long time, and wanted her to go to the palace to live with her for two days.
Liu Yian spoiled to touch the princess’s head, the words are full of reluctance.
“This Feather Princess always asks you to accompany her every three or five times. Obviously you are my wife, and I don’t have much time to be with you. She still wants to take you away from me.”
Sure enough, hearing his words, the smile on the princess’s face was even more brilliant.
“Don’t be so stingy. I can’t help feeling bored in the palace. I’ve always been good friends with her, so I should accompany her.”. I’ll make it up to you when I come back from the palace. With
that, the two men snuggled up to each other and walked away.
I looked at the back of them and raised the corners of my mouth sarcastically.
Liu Yian, no matter when, you are the best one to play with people’s hearts. And this time, I will let you know, what is called regret! A few days after the
princess left, Liu Yian plunged into the study and looked through the medical books. Heard that the emperor’s body was ill recently, the imperial doctors were at a loss what to do, and heard that the county horse master was the best at medicine, so he often asked him to go to the palace to treat the emperor, and gave him the right to prepare medicinal diet alone, the ministers all praised him.
I knocked on the door of the study with warm tea and freshly made snacks, and when I got a response, I went straight in.
Master Junma, this is the tea that the maidservant has just brewed. The maidservant often drinks it. If you drink it, it should have a good refreshing effect. When
he heard me say this, he slowly raised his head and took a few sips from the teacup.
It’s really good. What’s the name of this tea?
I smiled and said, “Master Hui, this is called Yi-Tie-Cui. It’s a kind of tea that the maidservant only has in her hometown. Although it’s wild, the maidservant doesn’t think it’s inferior to those famous teas.”
He nodded approvingly. “That makes sense. What is famous in this world is not necessarily the best. What is carved in nature is often the most valuable.” As he
spoke, he tasted the snack next to it. “This snack is good, too. Did you make it all?”
I smiled and said, “The maidservant is not good at cooking. Just try it out. If the county horse master likes it, the maidservant will often cook it for you in the future.”
As I spoke, I pretended to be casual. When I handed him the teacup, I deliberately missed and spilled the tea in the cup on his chest. The thin blue shirt was wet all of a sudden.
“The maidservant should die, and ask the county horse master to atone for his sins!”
I took out my handkerchief and hurriedly wiped the water stains on his chest, and my slender fingers seemed to touch the skin of his chest.
At that moment, I heard a murmur from his chest.
I secretly sneer, and sure enough, men all eat this.
He shook his head. “It’s all right. Don’t be nervous.”
I stood stiffly aside, looking a little confused.
He looked at my uneasy manner and suddenly smiled.
That’s all. I’m very bored today, and I have no intention of reading. On that day I heard that you played your instrument very well. Take it and play a tune for me to relieve my fatigue.
I nodded timidly, and then ran out to carry the guqin into the room, improvising a song “Si Jun Ci”, which was tactful and a little sad. It reminded me of the past days, and everything seemed to be in front of me.
“Wait!” I was fascinated, but Liu Yian suddenly stopped me, and his face was full of panic.
“You, how can you play this song?”
I know. He must have remembered something.
But at this moment, I couldn’t reveal my identity, so I smiled and said, “Master Hui Jun, this is what the maidservant heard a flower queen play by accident. The maidservant thought this tune was very beautiful, so she often played it in private.”. Why does the county horse master also know this song? As soon as
he heard the word “flower queen”, his pupils shrank obviously, and then he quickly covered up the past, pretending to be calm and smiling.
“The horses in this county have always kept themselves clean. How could they know any flower queens? It’s just that I suddenly remembered that an old friend could play this song, so I have some feelings.”
I see. Master Shire Ma is really a man who values love and righteousness.
I looked at him with a smile, but the smile did not reach the fundus, insinuating in my heart, Liu Yian, with your sanctimonious appearance, also worthy of the four words of love and righteousness!
He did not notice anything wrong with my look, but got up and went to my side and sat down with me.
Do you know any other music? Why don’t we play a song together?
I nodded happily, and as his right hand plucked the strings, my left hand followed closely, and a melodious and cheerful tune slowly flowed out.
Or so familiar feeling, or so warm temperament, or the young man who had sworn with me.
For a moment, I felt that everything was back to the original picture, but at the same time, it was clear in my heart that it could not go back to the past. At the end of the
music, my eyes were already wet.
I don’t know if it was my appearance that reminded him of something, but I heard him call me softly, “Waner.” My
heart suddenly sank. I turned to his slightly red eyes and said with a shallow smile, “Master Junma, the maidservant is Xiang, not..” Wan’er. Only then did
he come to his senses and withdraw his eyes with some embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Yu-hsiang. I, I mistook you for someone else.”
I shook my head and reached out to touch the all-too-familiar face.
“It doesn’t matter, if the maidservant can make the county horse master feel better, even if it’s a substitute, the maidservant is willing.” First
he looked at me with some consternation, then after a little hesitation, he suddenly picked me up and went straight to the side of the gauze tent.
From then on, I became Liu Yian’s secret mistress. In the days when the
princess was not at home, he and I often hung out together and lived like a fairy couple.
I looked at the shining light in his eyes, and the hatred in my heart became deeper and deeper.
However, I have to persuade myself to wait patiently until the most appropriate time, so that he has no room to fight back.
About a month later, the princess suddenly found out that she was happy, and everyone in the mansion was overjoyed. But the good times did not last long. Before I could think of a way to make her miscarry, she slipped because she accidentally ate a snack containing safflower. For this reason,
Liu Yian was depressed every day, and after the princess lost her child, she became irritable and irritable, and the couple’s feelings were in jeopardy. I
see it in my eyes, but I am happy in my heart.
This taste of just getting and suddenly losing is the most painful, and no one can be an exception.
Liu Yian, you also have today!
At night, the candles were burning, the cool breeze was blowing, and the gauze curtain in the study was shaking back and forth uncontrollably, like my uncertain fate like duckweed.
Liu Yian fell on my body and gasped, “Xiang’er, give me a child. If you give birth to him, I will marry you as a concubine.”
Concubine, concubine again!
I suddenly recalled the days when I had been a concubine in Yushifu, and my chest became more and more blocked.
“Of course Hsiang’er is willing. It’s just up to him to see how sincere he is.”
That night, the spark shook, and the atmosphere in the room was ambiguous and charming. When the feeling is strong, I seem to hear him call me Waner as gently as in the past, tender and lingering.
But now, I will never be moved again.
One day, as usual, I slipped into the study and had a good time with Liu Yian, only to find that there were all kinds of herbs on his desk. I guess this should be the medicine for the emperor to recuperate the dragon body.
Seeing that he was frowning, I stretched out my hand and stretched out his frowning brows. “Don’t worry,” I said softly. “I’m sure I’ll find a way. When the time comes, once you become an official in the court, even if the princess is embarrassed by you, you won’t have to show weakness in front of her as before.” When
he heard my words, the light in his eyes lit up again.
“Hsiang’er is right. The day I get an important position, I’ll marry you in style. Then we can be together fair and square.”
However, I couldn’t wait for the day when he married me.
In the next less than a month’s time, the emperor’s illness suddenly worsened, and finally he vomited blood and fainted directly. The imperial doctors in the
palace were all frightened. They thoroughly investigated the dregs of the medicine the emperor had recently taken overnight, and found that a kind of slow poison had been put inside without anyone noticing, and the toxicity of the medicine had been latent in the emperor’s body for a long time.
The queen flew into a rage and ordered Liu Yian, who was in charge of the matter, to be arrested and tortured overnight, but no matter how he was pressed, he always insisted that he had not poisoned himself.
But regicide is no small matter, how can dignity of the emperor be teased at will.
As a result, the angry queen ordered the princess mansion, all exiled to the Great Wall, and Liu Yian, as the principal offender, was sentenced to death. Overnight
, the once glorious Princess Mansion became an empty imperial city forbidden place, which made people sigh. On a
cool and breezy night, a few birds occasionally flew over the silent mountain forest, and their chirping sounds particularly harsh.
“Ahem!”
Hearing that the man in the cage seemed to wake up, I turned around and looked at him.
“Are you all right, Shih Ma?”
Liu Yian squinted at me, then looked around, and suddenly found himself in a square iron cage, and his limbs were firmly tied up by several chains, unable to move at all. Bene
ath him, there is a billowy river, which will be swallowed up by the surging water in an instant once it falls into it carelessly.
Hsiang-erh, where am I? Hurry and put me down! As I
watched him beg helplessly for me, I felt very happy.
Master Junma, don’t you always have a well-thought-out plan? What’s going on today? I didn’t expect that you too would be at the mercy of others one day!
He looked at me in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”
I sneered a few times and sighed again.
I always thought you were a wise man, but I didn’t expect you to be so stupid. I was still infatuated with you in vain. It was really disappointing. Don’t you think so, Liu Lang?
Hearing this, he could no longer calm down, his eyes stared at my face in horror, and even his tone became trembling.
You, are you Pingwan? Didn’t you jump into the lake and kill yourself?
I burst out laughing, “Liu Yian, I’ve been with you for so long, and you’re too stupid to recognize me now!”! Yes, I am Ping Wan, the one you cheated, the one you abandoned, the one you played with!
He flinched with fright.
Even at a distance, I could clearly see the sweat on his face.
Also, seeing a dead person standing alive in front of him, anyone would be frightened.
Waner, I, I am guilty, I am wrong, I beg you, will you let me go? I promise I will be good to you in the future, I swear to God!
Listening to his voice trembling more and more, I felt more relaxed than ever.
I don’t think you can figure out why I’m not the same as I used to be, and I don’t understand who tampered with the medicine you gave the emperor. All right, I’ll let you die. I might as well tell you that the legendary Yi Rong Dan was created by this girl. Otherwise, would I have the life to stand here and talk to you now? “
So it was you who added the poison to the medicine I prepared?”
I nodded and laughed harmlessly.
All these years, I’ve been living alone in Jianghu, and I know more or less the art of medicine. In order to protect myself, I took great pains to concoct this Yi Rong Dan, and I will never use it unless I have to. The last time I jumped into the lake, I didn’t die. Instead, I drifted down the lake to the shore and accidentally saved my life. At that time I told myself that all the injuries I had suffered would one day be paid back by you twice as much!
I stared at the man in front of me and wanted to take him apart.
18
“Waner, are you sure you don’t remember anything about your old love?”
I looked at him like a drowning dog and suddenly felt very funny. What time is it? He still wants to use this sensational way to persuade me to turn back. I really don’t know whether to laugh at him for being stupid or not.
Liu Yi-an, all your fate today is caused by yourself. You can’t blame me. From now on, go to hell and confess your sins.
With that, I turned around and walked to a big tree, raised my hand and started the mechanism to control the iron cage. The four chains tied to the iron cage slowly fell, and Liu Yian’s body was gradually submerged by the surging river.
“Waner, if you let me go, I really know I’m wrong!”
I hooked my lips coldly, turned my back and stopped looking at him. I let him beg for mercy in every way, but I was not moved until there was no more movement on the lake. Then I took a deep breath with relief and threw the silk flower that I had treasured for many years into the turbulent water.
From now on, this world no longer has the flower queen Ping Wan, also no longer has him Liu Yian. At the beginning of the
morning glow, the warm morning light sprinkled every corner of the earth, and the business travelers riding camels had already started a new day’s journey. Dressed in a dazzling red dress,
I sat on the camel’s back and stood against the wind, looking up at the boundless golden desert, feeling like a new life.
I know that there are still many beautiful things in the future, waiting for me to explore one by one.
Facing the rising rays of the sun, I smiled and set foot on the distance in my heart.
(End)
Author: Yueying Weaving Qingmeng
