Only Du Kang
‘s beauty passed away: I still remember that I wore a book when
I was in love with Thrushcross. I was dressed as a very beautiful passer-by, and I didn’t even have a female partner.
Palace maids can be dismissed from the palace when they reach a certain age, so there is hope for the future.
I wanted to finish the story and then go out of the palace to open a new copy, but I didn’t expect to wait for the sad news that my master Shufei died suddenly and was buried in the whole palace.
Cannon fodder, I’m dying. In the
the Beginning of Summer season, the pear blossoms are flourishing and the garden is full of vitality.
The emperor and Hui Pin travel together in Imperial Garden, the emperor personally chose a pear flower to pin on Hui Pin’s temples, the eyebrows are full of tenderness, people sigh that the back of the two looks really well matched.
I am neither the emperor nor the concubine. I am one of the people.
I just wore it at the beginning of spring, and it was a shame to say it. Others were all women with a sense of existence, but I was dressed as a little maid in the palace of the imperial concubine. I didn’t even have the system, and I relied on free play.
As a professional background board, I am also happy to be free, at least it gives me an open face so that I will not be too miserable.
Everyday life is to be silly and happy in the crowd, to make exaggerated reactions to the sweet interaction between men and women, to sweep the floor and eat melons, and to be an atmosphere group to support the scene when necessary.
Eating and waiting for death is my pursuit for the rest of my life. When I get old and leave the palace with my salary, I will be able to live the life I want freely.
“Dongzao, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you hurry back and arrange the flowers?”
I hurriedly trotted all the way back to Linxia Palace with the basket, inserted the fresh pear flowers with morning dew into the porcelain vase, and placed them on the sandalwood table. The table was full of delicious food with good
color, fragrance and taste. I stepped aside respectfully, and Shufei slowly lifted the curtain and came out for dinner.
“Douhua, why don’t you have swimming crabs, which I like to eat?”
Shu Fei is a solid foodie, Linxia Palace guards were given food names by her, I secretly glad that I also got a normal name, sympathetically glanced at the side of the pig kidney.
“Lady, crab meat is cold in nature. The Imperial Physician says you’re not feeling well these days, so you should eat less.” With a snort
, Shufei picked up a quail egg and put it in her mouth.
I looked at the side of the eyes, saliva is almost down, damn, why I can only eat steamed bread pickles, it is too bullying.
Perhaps my hot eyes are too straightforward, Shufei’s hand holding chopsticks, I hurriedly lowered my eyes.
Don’t lose your head before you get out of the palace. It’s better to behave yourself.
She pushed the tuckahoe cake on the table to me.
“You look like you don’t know what to do. Well, I don’t like this, so I’ll give you a reward.”
“Why hasn’t the emperor come yet?”
Douhua took a deep breath, and I clenched my sleeve silently.
“Your Majesty, on your way here, you happened to meet Empress Hui Pin, saying that you were dining with her.”
Douhua told Shu Fei that the emperor had personally folded the pear flowers for Hui Pin. She flew into a rage and smashed the vase on the table.
“This bitch!”
I glanced sadly at the mess on the ground, which was the painstaking efforts of people who had been busy all morning.
But thinking that she is going to be offline, I will forgive her reluctantly.
Yes, as the female companion in Gong Dou Ben, she still can’t escape the fate of getting a box lunch. The book doesn’t say exactly when she “died suddenly,” but it was soon.
“Get out of here!”
I stayed away from this place of trouble and did not forget to take away a piece of Tuckahoe cake.
Not long after, the emperor sent someone to the Linxia Palace to send a pile of rewards, saying that it was compensation for the imperial concubine.
“I don’t want these things. I want to see the emperor.”
The eunuch laughed and said that the emperor was busy with government affairs and asked the empress to understand so as not to embarrass them.
“These are the best lychees that have just come as tribute. I’ve only got ten catties and I’ve given you a whole basket. The emperor has been thinking about you all the time.” Only then
did Shufei ease her face, and with a smile at the corners of her mouth, she grabbed a few and peeled them off to eat.
“Lychees are my favorite.” After
the big eunuch left, she peeled the lychees herself and carefully stuffed them into her mouth.
She never asked us servants to help her peel the lychees. I sighed leisurely, remembering how many lychees we used to eat in season at home. How could we need such a treasure.
Douhua accompanied me to wash the dirty clothes. I wiped the sweat and asked her if she had any plans after leaving the palace.
Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed.
“I don’t know, but if I can find a good family to marry, I’ll be satisfied.”
Douhua has a shallow dimple on her face, and her smile makes people feel inexplicably good. She is happy, and I am also happy.
“Dongzao, why do you want to leave the palace so much?”
In fact, I don’t know, but I always feel that the outside is more carefree than palace. I don’t want to get married, try to save money to open a snack shop, raise a kitten, and live a safe life, which is what I thought before I came here.
I had been working as a corporate slave in the company before. I worked overtime every day later than anyone else. In the end, the myocardial infarction directly killed me. It would be nice to
come here if I could realize my wish before I died.
Thinking of this, I rubbed my clothes more vigorously, and the bean curd smiled.
“Then you must hope that our empress will live a long life and be safe.”
I was stunned and heard something else from her words.
Douhua looked at my confused face and nodded my head doubtfully.
“If something happens to a concubine above the rank of concubine, we all have to be buried with her.”
Shit, what is it?
My brain exploded with a bang, and I felt my eyes go black and my legs go limp.
My little shop, my little treasury, all seemed to vanish into thin air in an instant. Not only did the
book not explain the setting of the sacrificial burial, but even the death of Shu Fei was not clearly written. I really wanted to pull out the author who dug the hole but did not fill it and beat him up!
I walked back with a basket full of clothes and hit a hard chest head-on. The
basket was turned over, the clothes and socks were all over the place, and I wanted to cry without tears and roar to the sky, and I had to wash it again! With
tears in my eyes, I looked up and saw that the man I bumped into was Du Kang, the little bodyguard of Linxia Palace. In the name of
good wine, his character is like a stuffy gourd, waving a sword ferociously all day long.
My winter jujube is famous for its humorous jokes in Linxia Palace, although there are more or less copies. No, the suspicion of borrowing, but the whole palace did not listen to my stem without laughing. He
was the only one. I saw that he was bored to guard the door all day. I told him a cold joke with kindness. I laughed so hard that I fell back and trembled. He didn’t give me any face. He froze his face as if I owed him money. When he
left, he accidentally tripped over the threshold and stumbled, but there was a light laugh behind him.
“That’s funny.”
I looked back at him angrily, and the quarrel was over.
“Have you touched enough?”
Only then did he realize that his hand was still in his chest, and he reluctantly shrank back and touched it, which was really stingy!
I was about to say something, but his face changed nervously.
“Why are you crying, you little girl? You just knocked over the basket by accident. I’ll help you pick it up.” The joys and sorrows of
human beings are not interlinked. This is what I am crying about. Compared with the important matter of life and death, this setback is simply not worth mentioning.
Du Kang moved very quickly, squatting on the ground to pick up the clothes one by one into the basket.
His ears suddenly turned red, and he quickly threw the last piece of clothing into the basket and stuffed it into my arms, coughing uncomfortably. When I
fixed my eyes on it, I saw my undercoat lying on the top of the pile of clothes. No wonder he suddenly felt as guilty as a thief.
I sighed and gestured to him to come closer.
“Du Kang, you are a good man. I have to give you a piece of advice.”
He blinked his eyes in puzzlement, looked at my earnest appearance, and bent over obediently.
“Quick Run.”
「…… What?
“I say, hurry up and find another way out. If you don’t run away, it will be too late!”
I think Shufei can be rescued again.
According to her arrogant and domineering temperament, she was afraid that she had already made numerous enemies, and anyone could have killed her. The range of suspects had gone to the sea, but she could not lock it for a while.
My preliminary conclusion is that she is likely to fall on food.
Shang Food Bureau brought the lunch, and I rushed ahead and stopped it with an arrow.
I took the silver needle and tried it one by one until the imperial concubine urged me to let it go reluctantly. Every
time Shufei picked up a dish, my heart followed closely, and every time she swallowed a mouthful, my expression was dignified.
She was about to take the tea to her mouth, and I didn’t even think about drinking it.
“Wait!”
She was so frightened that she shivered and splashed a few drops of tea. I raised my hand and carefully tried the poison with a silver needle.
She finally put down her chopsticks and looked at me with displeasure.
“Why don’t you eat for me?”
I wish I could say that everyone would stop eating.
Shufei suddenly looked grave and coughed at her throat.
My expression changed greatly and I immediately went to shake people. You see, I said I would fall on the food!
“Quick, call the Imperial Physician!”
I ran to ask the doctor with my skirt, but Shu Fei reached out behind me to stop me, but I had already run away.
“It doesn’t matter, this palace is just..”
“I’m choking.”
The Imperial Physician held his breath and felt Shufei’s pulse, while I waited nervously.
“The empress’s health is fine, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
I hesitated to confirm.
Are you sure? Would you like to see it again?
“Is it really all right? Maybe you didn’t find out?”
Shufei gave me a white look in silence and did not forget to stuff the litchi into her mouth.
“This palace is fine. Who knows what kind of nerve you suddenly have?”
…… I hope you can say that again in a few days. The lotus flowers in the
Imperial Garden are blooming, and the pond is green and fragrant. Shufei enthusiastically brought a few small steamed bun to feed the koi in the pond, while scattering crumbs and muttering.
“Heaven has eyes. Give this palace a child.” Glancing at me,
she gave me a small piece of steamed bun.
“My palace is merciful, and I will make a wish for you.”
I broke the steamed bun into small pieces and fed them to the koi in the pond.
“I hope the Empress will live a long life and be safe.”
Shu Fei patted her debris-stained hand and hooked the corners of her mouth.
“Flattering.”
Heaven and earth conscience, this wish is absolutely sincere.
Looking at the opposite side, I suddenly heard an alarm in my heart. Hui Pin and the palace maid were laughing and feeding the koi by the lotus pond. I hurriedly block the line of sight of Shu Fei, the enemy road is narrow, don’t let these two ancestors meet together.
Afraid of what to what, Shu Fei two eyes a stare, steady on the head of the bead hairpin, quickly into the combat mode.
I followed her in fear and wanted to bury my head in the ground.
Seeing several of us coming aggressively, Hui Pin was stupefied, and then burst into a decent and gentle smile.
“My concubine has seen the imperial concubine.” Say hello on the
mouth, but there is no meaning of salute, well, it seems that it is not a good stubble. I said, what kind of simple role can be a woman who can be a heroine.
“Why don’t you salute when you see this palace?”
After a gunpowder battle, Shu Fei unceremoniously launched an attack. Hui Pin hid a knife in her smile, neither humble nor pushy. The image of a small white flower with a clear and moving sense of righteousness made Shu Fei’s teeth itch.
“Dongzao, smash her mouth in my palace!”
Suddenly, I waved my hand with a frightened look on my face. “Empress, do you think you are not cold enough?”?
“What are you waiting for? Do you want me to do it myself?”
I could only dawdle forward and perfunctorily face Huipin’s face as if I had died bravely.
“Haven’t you eaten?”
I gritted my teeth and increased the strength of my hands. My expression was even more ferocious and painful than that of Hui Pin. Several clear red marks appeared on Hui Pin’s white face.
Dead, dead, dead, dead.. On the way
back to the palace, Shu Fei was in a good mood and even hummed a ditty.
“Well played! I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll give you an extra meal to reward you with your favorite braised pork in brown sauce!”
You’d better reward me with a coffin.
Cannon fodder, I’m turning into braised pork in brown sauce. The
sun was shining brightly, and it was rare to find a cool place with shade.
I crouched in front of the tree trunk with a plate of braised pork in brown sauce and a sad face. When I thought that this might be the last good meal I ate, I lost my appetite.
The leaves rustled and a small kumquat hit me on the head. I felt the pain and touched the back of my head. I continued to eat the meat.
Another small cumquat hit me on the shoulder, and I looked up and saw Du Kang looking at me in the tree in his spare time, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
He reached out and shook the branch, and more small kumquats rained down, and I could only get up and flee.
“Du Kang, are you going to murder your partner?” With a snort,
he jumped down from the tree with ease, still holding the kite he had just taken from the tree.
“Who is your partner?” They
are all wronged people who work in Linxia Palace. What are they if not accomplices.
He suddenly put his hand on my forehead for a moment, and I patted it off angrily. What’s the matter with
you, sick? I haven’t seen you tell those silly jokes.
Ok, my joke was boring, so I wrote him down again in my heart and squatted back under the shade of the tree.
“Du Kang, what do you think it feels like to be dead?”
He sat beside me and was suddenly silent for a moment.
“Why do you ask this?”
“I’m just asking.”
「…… Anyway, it’s not a good feeling. Just don’t think about it.
I sighed faintly and asked him curiously.
“Du Kang, if you find that your time is running out, do you have any wishes before you die?”
He frowned and thumped me on the skull.
“Why do you always talk about these dead and undead? Eat your flesh.”
I asked him shamelessly, and he was really impatient with me and scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“Maybe I want someone to really praise me.”
“I’ve been a servant at Linxia Temple since I was a child, and I’ve never heard anyone say a good word about me.”
“Other wishes, which I haven’t thought of yet, are quite difficult to realize.” I rua stray hairs on his head as lovingly
as I touched the hook.
Du Kang shrank a few minutes with excitement and coughed uncomfortably.
I leaned close to Du Kang, broke his face and looked at it carefully. The rainbow fart was at my fingertips.
“You are so good-looking that you want to slide on the bridge of your brother’s nose.”
He was stunned for a long time, his face suddenly turned red with the naked eye, and he opened his mouth but did not speak.
Du Kang lowered his head to straighten his collar and ran away with his sword, which made him walk in a crooked way.
Tut, promising. After hearing the story of Hui Pin and the pear flower,
Shu Fei didn’t let me choose the pear flower for her any more. Instead, she chose the lotus flower.
I stood beside the pool and fell into deep thought. The degree of difficulty was getting higher and higher day by day. The water in the
pool was still clear, and I stared at my shaking reflection. It’s useless to give me
such a handsome face.
The more I thought about it, the more sad I became. With a sad face, I picked up a branch from the earth and stood on tiptoe to reach the nearest lotus flower.
A little. Just a little bit..
Suddenly, someone grabbed my waist and took me away from the pool forcefully. I was stunned with a messy new hairstyle.
Du Kang frowned tightly, with a slight sulk in his tone.
“What is going on in your head day by day?”
Seeing that I did not respond, he softened his face and pulled me to sit in the shade of the tree.
“The body, the hair, and the skin are subject to the parents.”
“If you have any difficulties, just tell me. Why do you take things too hard?”
Misunderstanding, misunderstanding my brother.
Your mouth is usually a little broken, and your brain is not very bright, but.. There are also advantages.
I immediately pricked up my ears, such as?
Like.. People are very sincere, will pay attention to take care of the emotions of people around them in time, very capable, look good. Yes, it’s pretty nice, too.
I was so happy that I patted my buttocks and explained the whole story to him.
Du Kang stared at the branch in my hand and glanced at me like a fool.
“Do you want to pick lotus flowers with this?” As he
spoke, he leapt lightly, flew up, crossed the pool with his toes, and in the blink of an eye, he had a few more blooming lotus flowers in his hands.
Wow, flying skill!
I took his lotus with my eyes wide open.
“Cool, do it again!”
Du Kang gradually lost himself in the sound of praise, flying back and forth between the pool and the shore.
It was not until a rebuke interrupted us that I shivered and almost lost all the flowers in my hands.
“Who’s there in front of you? Why don’t you salute when you see the concubine?”
Du Kang pulled me to kneel down hurriedly, and I rolled my eyes and swallowed saliva silently.
How to say, the first time I play with the heroine, I’m a little nervous. Is this the treatment I can have as a passer-by?
Hui Pin was born with a beautiful appearance, but she was really as elegant as the pear flower.
She looked at me for a long time, and her eyes fell on the lotus in my arms. Those who know the times are outstanding. I offered it with trembling hands.
Hui Pin gently bent the corners of her mouth, but did not mean to take it.
“The lotus flowers are in full bloom, but I prefer the coolness of the pear blossoms.” The little maid beside
her took over the conversation in time.
“That’s exactly what the Empress said. When it’s time for dinner, the maidservant specifically ordered the Shang Food Bureau to make you your favorite cherry dumplings. Let’s go back quickly.”
Cherry filling.. Dumpling My pupils shook, and the corners of my mouth twitched and I couldn’t hold back my voice.
“Reliance Defense.”
Hui Pin’s footsteps paused, and her expression changed slightly.
“What did you just say?”
Rub, how to speak out my heart, I quickly pretended to bow my head as if nothing had happened, wishing to bury my head in the ground like an ostrich.
Hui Pin narrowed her eyes.
Are you from the imperial concubine’s palace? What is it called?
I could only answer truthfully. She said nothing more and turned away.
With a sigh of relief, Du Kang frowned and gave a worried look.
“Why did Empress Hui Pin ask your name?”
I shrugged my shoulders and grinned heartlessly.
“Maybe it’s because I’m good-looking.”
“You should have asked me.”
…… Looking at his serious appearance, I couldn’t think of anything to refute at the moment.
The next day when I was fishing in the yard, Douhua hurried over and called me away.
I immediately got up with a guilty conscience and got busy without knowing what to say.
“Dongzao, the empresses are enjoying the flowers together at the Imperial Garden, saying that they want you to go there.”
Let. I’ll go? I reconfirmed it with some uncertainty.
“Is our Empress also here?”
“Empress Shufei is resting in her bedroom. You know, our Empress and Empress Huipin don’t deal with each other very well.”
That was Hui Pin’s idea. I hesitated for a moment and could only go to Imperial Garden.
I clenched my sleeves nervously and went to church honestly. Looking up
quietly, I caught a glimpse of the Empress Dowager and the concubines sitting in the pavilion, as well as several concubines I was not familiar with.
Concubine Hui covered her mouth with a gentle smile and introduced me to the queen mother.
“This is a servant in the palace of the imperial concubine. She is said to be very good at telling jokes. Today I called her over to amuse all the sisters.”
？ I didn’t expect that one day I could really be famous for this skill of chicken ribs. With a slight twitch of my
mouth, I quickly brainstormed all the jokes and jokes I could think of in my memory.
“It looks very clever. Now that the concubines have said so, you can talk about it. If you say it well, you will be rewarded.”
I can only bite the bullet and open my mouth. Do you
know why the newborn calf died? Because you can’t drink milk on an empty stomach.
The pavilion was silent, and I laughed a few times and could only go on to say something else.
“Xu Xian bought White Snake a hat, but after she put it on, she couldn’t move it. It turned out to be a snake-pressing hat.”
The reaction was still flat, only Hui Pin chuckled a few times, and the others looked at each other doubtfully. The
cold sweat gradually soaked my clothes, and the sun was shining, but I shivered uncontrollably.
I realized that with my modern mind, I couldn’t tell a joke that they could understand.
The queen mother’s face became heavier and heavier, and my voice became lower and lower, quick-witted.
He simply moved a few interesting stories that he had seen in the history books before, and slightly adapted them to tell them vividly.
This time the effect finally improved, the queen mother pondered for a moment, and finally curved the corners of her mouth.
I made exaggerated gestures with my hands and made all kinds of funny expressions, which made several empresses laugh.
My throat was already hoarse, but I didn’t dare to stop for a moment.
Like a clown, he tried his best to play the role that could make them happy, carefully observing everyone’s expression, for fear that one would make a big mistake if he did not pay attention.
My voice became trembling, and I tried to restrain my emotions and raise my smiling face, and my thin clothes were tightly attached to my back.
By the end, I was so exhausted that I fell to the ground and even breathed lightly.
The queen mother nodded with satisfaction and looked at the eunuch beside her.
Yes, Hui Pin has a heart, and Ai Jia is in a much better mood today. Here, give this little maid of honor a present.
I made a bitter gift and breathed a sigh of relief as if I had been drained of all my strength.
“Thank the Empress Dowager for her gift.”
I don’t want to tell jokes anymore.
When I returned to Linxia Palace, I happened to meet Douhua face to face. She helped me up and down to check it worriedly.
I put the reward given by the queen mother into her hand, and she stared at me in puzzlement.
“Douhua, my jokes aren’t funny at all, are they?”
She chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.
“In fact, I didn’t understand a lot of things, but when you were talking about it, I was happy to see it.”
I smiled and gave her all those gifts as a thank-you gift for her care of me these days. Sitting slowly
against the tree trunk, I carefully rubbed my sore knees.
Just kneeling too long, the knee is already blue, but also broken skin, the pain is severe. Suddenly there was a shadow
on the ground, and Du Kang frowned and squatted down slowly.
“I heard them say that you were called over by the empresses.”
I tilted my head and curled the corners of my mouth.
“You’re worried about me.”
He stared at my wound, pursed his lips, and took out a small medicine jar from his bosom.
“You still have these with you.”
“Well, I’m a bodyguard. It’s hard not to get hurt.”
He opened the medicine jar and sprinkled it gently on the wound. I grinned and exhaled, looking at his earnest appearance, but I couldn’t resist asking questions.
“Du Kang, have you been working here since you were very young?”
He responded with a soft “hmm”.
“Do you have any relatives or friends?”
He made a movement and his eyes were a little confused.
「…… I don’t know.
Then you.. Isn’t it boring to do this all day, or.. Have you ever been unwilling?
Du Kang lowered his eyes lightly and his eyelashes trembled lightly.
“This is my duty, and I will do whatever I am told.”
I opened my mouth in a daze, but I didn’t know what to say.
Du Kang tightened the pot and lowered his head hesitantly.
“a brother who has known me for several years and has a good relationship with me wants to help me to work in another palace. I don’t know what to say to him.” My
eyes lit up and I grabbed his arm with surprise and joy. Then wouldn’t Du Kang have a chance to escape the disaster of being buried?
I stared at his shaking eyes carefully and admonished him word by word.
“Then seize the opportunity. It’s rare. If you miss it, maybe you’ll never get it again.”
“But..”
“Dukang, trust me. Go.”
He turned his head a little lonely.
“Are you so unwilling to work with me?”
I was stunned, Du Kang got up and patted the ashes on his body, turned around and left.
“I see.”
As usual, I went to the main hall to insert the dewy flowers into the ceramic bottle, but I saw a strange face feeling the pulse of the imperial concubine.
Asked the bean curd to know, Shu Fei has not been pregnant for so many years, specially invited the famous doctor outside the palace to see.
The miraculous doctor frowned, and Shu Fei carefully observed his face.
“What’s the matter, doctor? Is there a problem?”
The miraculous doctor touched his gray beard and hesitated for a moment, asking Shufei if she had eaten anything she shouldn’t have eaten. The food in
this palace is all carefully prepared by the Shangshi Bureau. How could it go wrong. The emperor has also been drinking the tocolytic medicine given to this palace. Why on earth has he been unable to conceive a child?
This.. Do you dare to ask if there are any dregs left over from the medicine?
Douhua hurriedly took the dregs of the medicine left over this morning. The doctor sniffed it carefully, crushed it in his hand and watched. Suddenly, his expression changed and he knelt down.
“I’m terrified. This medicine is mixed with a lot of musk. Are you sure you didn’t take the wrong medicine?”
Shufei sat in a chair, her trembling fingertips unbelievably stained with the remaining dregs of the medicine.
“I want to see the emperor.” Douhua and
I didn’t stop it, and Shufei staggered to the hall with her skirt.
When she came back, she was accompanied by an imperial edict that she was grounded for three months.
Shu Fei leaned against the head of the bed with an expressionless face, but there were faint tears in her eyes.
Her face was frighteningly pale, and the corners of her mouth were raised like self-mockery.
“The elixir that the emperor gave me to conceive a child turned out to be Pizi Soup. I’ve been drinking it for five years, and I’ve never had any doubts.”
“It must be a good thing from the emperor.”
She muttered to herself, and I couldn’t bear to bring her favorite lychees, hoping to make her happy.
Shu Fei stared at the litchi in a trance, suddenly buckled the bowl of litchi on the ground, and cried bitterly.
Litchi.. The imperial eunuch told me it was only ten catties, but he gave me a whole basket. I ate a little every day like a treasure, and I couldn’t bear to finish it.
“Obviously, the rest of the lychees are all with Hui Pin. She can have as many as she wants. If she acts like a spoiled child, the emperor can peel them for her and eat them.”
Why.. What did I do wrong?
She cried bitterly, vented her emotions and lost her strength. She lay quietly on the bed in a daze and shed two tears from the corner of her eyes.
Since then, she has been seriously ill and her body is getting weaker and weaker day by day.
I knew clearly that the day was coming.
I went back to the courtyard of Linxia Palace with a basket, and the heavy rain suddenly poured down, giving no room for reaction. His
thin clothes were thoroughly watered, and his hair was wet on his cheeks, and he was very embarrassed.
The sky was cloudy and dark clouds covered the sun. I thought I might never see the warm sunshine again.
My feet slipped and the basket turned over completely. I fell on the ground and was covered with mud. The salty liquid slipped over my jaw. I don’t know whether it was rain or tears. A coat was put on my
shoulder, and I turned my head in a daze and bumped into the spring lake in Dukang’s eyes.
“Du Kang, you are not..”
“I’m not leaving.”
The internal organs seemed to be rubbed together and hurt. I held his collar tightly and spoke incoherently.
It was so close. It was so close.
The last shred of reason collapsed, and I cried. Why, why did I always suffer such a thing.
I whimpered and complained, and Du Kang took me into his arms as if he were soothing.
Du Kang.. You don’t understand. In my
previous twenty-eight years of life, it can be said that I was extremely weak, and I worked hard for the capital all my life. I am afraid of losing my colleagues, afraid of being laid off, working day and night, hoping to give myself and my family a better future.
In the end, it was empty. God gave me a chance to experience another kind of life, but why did it end like this.
“I just want to get out of the palace and live my life in peace. Is that really greedy?”.
“It’s no use. I’m really no use. I can only be a backdrop for others forever.”
Du Kang silently listened to my heart-rending catharsis and patted me on the back.
“Dongzao, don’t belittle yourself. You are the most interesting girl in the world.”
“You work so hard to amuse me all day long, and live in a natural and unrestrained way, so that I can see another form of life blooming.”
I often wonder why you can always laugh so heartlessly when you are working at the Linxia Palace. I am truly happy every second I spend with you.
“You are not the backdrop. You are the only protagonist in my heart.”
I stared at his earnest appearance, Du Kang picked up my face, eyes slightly red.
“Dongzao, you just said that your wish is to leave the palace and live a safe and secure life.”
I, I don’t have any power, and I can’t say anything nice. But I’m sure I can protect you well and make you happy for the rest of your life.
I just want to ask you, would you like to.. Follow me?
His eyes were sincere and hot, and his voice trembled a little.
I would like to, but Du Kang, it’s too late, it’s really too late.
9
Shu Fei still died, died in the second month of her grounding.
Where is what sudden death, is in despair and cold heart to leave alone, died in the suspicion and game of the emperor’s family. Once the delicate flower of publicity withered in the late autumn of Ginkgo biloba.
Linxia Palace no longer has the vitality of the past, as far as the eye can see, it is all eye-catching white. The day of
burial was getting closer, but I was surprisingly calm, doing what I had to do.
I cleaned up the house as usual and went to Imperial Garden to fold flowers with a basket.
Meeting the wet bean curd, she looked at me and suddenly pulled the corners of her mouth, her eyes full of regret.
“Dongzao, I may not be able to go to your little shop.” Trying to hold back the tears in my eyes,
I touched her head soothingly and clenched the basket in my hand. Autumn is thick
Imperial Garden, a few new chrysanthemums, golden.
I looked at the scenery in front of me in a trance, but I heard the familiar song. There was a buzz in
my head, and I followed the song in disbelief to find the source of the sound.
Huipin, no, it should be Huifei now. She is swinging leisurely and contentedly, humming a popular song of a male group.
I stood in place in a daze, cold all over, wrapped tightly by the feeling of powerlessness, Huifei noticed the eyes behind her, slowly turned her head. Her eyes
met, and a smile of pity and triumph flashed through her eyes. I
should have thought of that. I should have thought of that.
Huifei got up and stepped down from the swing and walked slowly to my side.
“Go and sit in my palace.”
Huifei ordered the maid to make a cup of tea for me, and the warm temperature passed through the cup to my palm.
“You knew I was coming through, didn’t you?”
She gave a little smile.
“I wasn’t sure, but that day I asked you to tell a joke, and then I was sure you were just like me.”
My eyes were slightly red, and I was not in the mood to taste the tea.
Do you know how frightened I was when I lay on the ground and trembled? If I had made a mistake and lost my life, would you have saved me or just looked on?
Hui Pin was silent for a long time and sighed faintly.
“I have to carry on the story of the book without making any mistakes.” Didn’t
you find out? Since you came here, there have been other plots, especially after you met Du Kang, but you shouldn’t have had these fetters. You’re already changing your direction.
I got up with some excitement, and my voice was full of uncontrollable anger.
You are the heroine, and the end is destined to be the queen and enjoy all the splendor and wealth, but what about me? Why am I not even allowed to have my own emotions and stories? I can only be a backdrop for you.
“I know that it is impossible for me to fight against the cannibalistic feudal society with my small strength, but I just want to live, that’s all, and I don’t expect anything else.” Is
this also a sin? Is it because I don’t know what’s good and what’s bad, and I’m just imagining things?
Hui Pin hesitated for a moment and looked up at me.
“I’m sorry about the burial, but I can save you from death.”
「…… What about Du Kang?
She played with the ring on her finger and hooked the corners of her mouth.
“I knew you would mention him. You can rescue him, but there are conditions.”
In a few days the Empress Dowager will leave the palace to rest, and you will go with her. If you can keep quiet until the end of the story, I will help you and Du Kang.
I lowered my head and clenched my clothes in silence.
“Good.”
In
October, when the stars were rare, I sat with a heavy heart beside the tree where I used to stay with Dukang, but I didn’t see Dukang for half a day.
Just as I was about to go back to my room to rest, I caught a little moan.
…… Du Kang?
I looked around hurriedly and finally found him hiding in the darkness.
The faint smell of blood penetrated into the nasal cavity, and I was at a loss to look for the wound on his body, but he held his wrist.
“It’s okay, I’m not in pain.”
He grinned stupidly, but there was a controlled tremor in his voice.
“Dongzao, I’ve been transferred to the palace of Huifei Niangniang, and they say you’re leaving Linxia Palace too.”
“That’s, that’s great.”
I choked and held his hand tightly.
“Did they bully you?”
“Dongzao, when you are old enough to leave the palace, we will retire together to the countryside and open a small shop that you have been longing for.” When
he answered the wrong question, I lost my voice for a moment and looked up and tried to let the tears flow back.
I know, this is Huifei’s warning to me, she has the ability to save Du Kang, can also put him to death.
“Tell me another joke. You look best when you tell a joke.”
I forced a smile and nodded as he leaned on my shoulder and his breathing leveled off. On the day of
Shu Fei’s funeral, I went out of the palace to rest with the Empress Dowager as a maid of honor.
In recent days, the undercurrent in the court was not very peaceful, and there was a rift between the mother and son of the Empress Dowager. In order to completely eliminate the concerns of the emperor, the Empress Dowager invited herself out of the palace to pray for the royal family. The
last time we met, the old lady, who showed shrewdness in her eyes and was not angry, turned her hair white overnight, and even the whole person was easy-going and merciful.
“Dongzao, it’s a little cold at Ai’s house. Go and fetch a heater.”
I answered, looking around but couldn’t find a good heater, so I made a hand warmer directly following the idea of a hot water bag.
The queen mother put the hand warmer in the palm of her hand and bent her eyes.
“The workmanship is much better than sachet you sent to Ai’s home to help her sleep. That rabbit makes you embroider like a mouse.”
“Where did you come up with all these crazy ideas? You look so petite, but you have a lot of ideas.” With a smile,
I bent over the table and tilted my head.
“Dongzao will tell you the same story as last time.”
Out of the palace this stay, is five years.
I followed the Empress Dowager to chant sutras and Buddha all day long. I was isolated from the world. Occasionally, news came from the palace, but it had nothing to do with me.
It’s just that the figure I care about always comes into my dream, sometimes telling me interesting things in the palace, sometimes accusing me of leaving without saying goodbye with a sad face.
I tried to ask someone to find out about him, but who would care about the life and death of a small bodyguard? On the day of the
first snow, the queen mother passed away.
Unlike the first time I faced the death of Shu Fei, I had grown up too much and quietly followed the people from the palace to settle down one by one.
Remembering the friendship between mother and son, the emperor took back the body of the empress Dowager and gave her the title of a grand burial.
Huifei was finally conferred the title of empress, and the whole country celebrated and granted amnesty.
The story is coming to an end, and it’s time for me to go back to the palace. The
carriage was bumpy all the way, and I was so nervous that I didn’t know how to feel.
Opening the curtain, the palace gate is still as red as before, locking the mottled past.
My heart was beating like thunder, the palace door opened, and I was stunned.
Du Kang stood in the doorway with a gentle smile in his eyes and held out his hand to me.
“At last.” With
tears in my eyes, I raised my smile and let him hold my hand with a warm touch in his palm.
“Come on, I’ll take you home.”
Author: serein
Filing No.: YXX1jppOjBziOOOXEPzTPM3Y Slave
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