Giving Jin
Fanghua Complaint: Fireworks are easy to be cold. For whom do I bow down
? I imprisoned the emperor’s cinnabar mole and destroyed his white moonlight face to face.
He denounced me as the most vicious woman in the world and cursed me for a bad end. I
looked at the man I loved in the past, traced his face with my eyes bit by bit, and finally smiled softly.
“As you wish.”
In the Great Qi Dynasty, women could become officials.
And I am the first powerful minister of the Dynasty, Lv Xiangfu.
That day, when I stepped into the stone path of the Imperial Garden with four men from the Ministry of Military Affairs, I heard a woman’s voice in the distance shouting, “Who is there who dares to startle the empress?” Surrounded by
the stars holding the moon, a beautiful woman in beautiful clothes, with almond eyes, peach cheeks and bright face.
Presumably, it must be that the holy family is well-dressed, and even the palace ladies around them are well dressed.
She doesn’t know who I am, but I already know who she is. Feng Yizhu, the empress and concubine of the six palaces in the
Qi Dynasty, who was held by the emperor Mu Guanxue at the apex of his heart.
But I still had to go through the whole process. I looked at the ceremony and asked, “I don’t know who you are?”
The beauty was obviously dissatisfied with my indifference, and now she was looking at me up and down, as if she could poke two holes in her eyes. When I
entered the harem, I was only wearing a Xizangan ramie shirt, and I didn’t even have any jade. Feng Yi-chu smiled contemptuously. “Now the palace is getting more and more rule-free. How does Manager Li do things? Does a woman dare to walk around with a sword?”. The maid of
honor followed closely. “This is the imperial concubine of the Yuyan Palace!”! Why don’t you kneel down!
Kneel? The men of the Military Department
around him have already flashed their swords.
I smiled. “In that case, the wife of the Feng family is you.” Then he raised his hand and said, “Take it away.”
“Yes.”
Feng Yizhu turned pale with fright.
You! Who are you? How dare you be so presumptuous in the palace! When will the people of the
Military Department be able to interfere in the affairs of the harem? An armor-clad soldier is an accomplice to the rebellion! The palace eunuch beside
Feng Yizhu had probably never seen anyone dare to treat his master like this. She shouted so loudly that she could resound through the imperial garden, but she didn’t dare to really rush up and do anything to me. After all, my man had a knife.
All of a sudden, in the Imperial Garden, he stopped and persuaded them to do something in a mess.
My hands are on my back, and my face is flat. It was
not until the figure of the bright yellow and angry dragon came that the crowd knelt all over the ground. When
Mu Guanxue saw me, the sun was shining. I didn’t know what kind of expression he had. He was stunned for a moment. He suppressed his hatred and hatred for me. He came forward respectfully and said, “I don’t know if I’ll hear from you when Xiangfu comes.”
The official worships Zhengyipin as the prime minister and teaches the crown prince as the prime minister. Looking at the past Dynasties, I am the only one who can be called the prime minister. The power given to me by the
late emperor not only teaches and assists the crown prince, but also has the degree of abolition. Although
Mu Guanxue greeted me, he was already in front of Feng Yizhu.
Yes, that is his favorite concubine, the most cherished woman, how can you bear to see her suffer a little grievance?
I pretended not to be able to see, and my voice was cold and heartless. “When I’ve finished my work, I’ll leave. I don’t want to disturb the emperor.”. Feng Shangshu’s fornication with his consorts and correspondence have been handed over to the three law departments. His wife and children should also be thoroughly investigated.
Mu Kuan-hsueh didn’t expect me to speak so directly. The rules of the past Dynasties were not as bad as those of the women in the palace. He gritted his teeth and said, “This case has not yet been decided. The imperial concubine is already pregnant.”
He held the tottering Feng Yi-chu and stared at me, using up the last trace of the emperor’s entreaty, “Xiangfu, this is my first child.”
Yes, only when he interceded for Feng Yizhu, he would put down the emperor and speak to me so kindly.
In fact, the bottom of my heart, want to kill me?
I looked into the distance, outside the towering palace wall, the golden afterglow spread out like luxurious brocade, mixed with the twilight falling into the fundus, as dazzling as blood.
Since I entered the palace gate, all this has been unable to stop.
I told myself desperately in my heart that you had no way out.
Mu Guanxue suddenly covered my hand.
His eyes were narrow and beautiful, like the best black jade, staring at me at the moment, as if trying to call out the last remaining warmth. “I beg you, little aunt,”
he said in a low voice.
02
Little aunt?
I haven’t heard this strange name for a long time.
My family is not surnamed Wang, but my grandfather inherited all the way down, only to my generation is an only daughter. When
my father drowned me, I grew up with those playboys in the capital, riding horses, shooting arrows and studying. At the age of
fourteen, I was summoned to the palace by the late Emperor Mu Heng.
Probably at that time, those who did not know were fearless. I did not feel how terrible the man in front of me was. He smiled and played chess with me, drank tea, listened to me talk about history and Taoism, and talked nonsense. At
the end, the late emperor smiled at my father and said, “That’s right, that’s right. I really like the daughter of the Qing family. When I first saw her today, it was like forgetting the year.”
I tilted my head and said, “I think so, too.”
Then he was kicked by his father and said, “Don’t be rude!”
Shrink your mouth. I won’t say a word.
But the late emperor was obviously in high spirits, and even said that if my father was willing, the Ministry of Rites would confer on me the title of long princess, and he had thought about the title. My father knelt down to resign in fear and pulled me to kneel together.
The matter was not settled, but before I left, the late emperor gave me a brocade.
Out of the study, Mammy said happily on one side, “Congratulations on your Majesty’s favor. This is called Phoenix Brocade. It’s so luxurious. Look at the patterns on it. They’re all wrapped in gold. And this..”
“Stop!”
I was walking to Cuifeng Pavilion when I was stopped.
It was Mu Kuan-hsueh, who was one year younger than me. At that time he was still an unloved prince. He glared at me angrily, “This phoenix brocade was promised to my mother by my father!”.
His eyes were round, his white teeth were bared, and he was full of momentum, but it seemed. Not as tall as me. “Oh,”
I said lightly, and then said to Mammy beside me, “Give it to the seven princes.”
Then he went around him to go.
But instead of thanking me, Mu Guanxue curled her lips and tears fell down. The way
he was so angry that he burst into tears was really funny. I couldn’t help laughing. “Your Royal Highness, if your tears had been stained with phoenix brocade, you would have robbed me in vain.”
“Don’t you just play chess and recite poetry?” When Mu Kuan-hsueh began to cry, it could be described as an earth-shaking cry for ghosts and gods. I don’t know how long I’ve been wronged. “I will, too. I go to the Imperial Academy every day to pay my respects to my father, but he just doesn’t like me!”! Even you remember that I’m the seventh child, and my father called me by the wrong name last time.
I sent Mammy away and sat down beside him.
Patiently waiting for him to finish crying about his tragic history of falling out of favor, I glanced at the beautiful face and could not resist pinching it.
“Actually, your father didn’t intend to give me the phoenix brocade.”
“Really?”
“Well, he’s going to make me the eldest princess.”
「……」
“In that case, if I were the emperor, I would be your little aunt now.”
Mu Guanxue shouted loudly, and I was amused.
When the uproar was over, he quieted down and stared at Feng Jin and then at the twilight in the distance. “If you were really my little aunt, it would be all right,” he said softly.
“Hey, hey, hey, I’m like a year older than you.”
“Then you can protect me and my mother.” He sniffed, finger to finger, “You don’t know that the high worship and low trampling in the palace can really boil people to death.”
“Your Royal Highness the Seven Princes.” I said earnestly, “No one can protect anyone. Only by strengthening oneself can one go far.”
He seemed to be listening. “Then you tell me, Qin Tianjian said that I was an ominous body, and even my mother and concubine were left out in the cold. How can I be self-reliant?”
“Look for my father. If I remember correctly, Chin Tien Jian Jian is his disciple.”
「……」 In the cold season of
late spring, it began to drizzle.
I met another sedan chair on the long street. Without guessing, I knew who was inside. Sure enough, the servant held an umbrella respectfully, and the man in gold clothes walked slowly.
These years, the reason why I cover up the sky in the court, in addition to the first emperor testamentary edict, there is a reason.
It was I who clung to the former prince, who is now the king of the game, Mu Xuanyi. I bent my knees
slightly and was helped up by him. He smiled and covered my hand. “Between you and me, why should I be so strange?”? Is everything in order? When will you send that little bitch on her way?
He said naturally Feng Yizhu, but did not know that the woman was now hidden in the sedan chair by me. With the tip of
my fingernail pinched in the palm of my hand, I tried to keep my expression natural. “Feng and his family have been taken into custody. It’s his daughter who’s in trouble. Now that she’s pregnant with a dragon descendant, it’s not easy to execute her directly.”
Mu Xuanyi gritted his teeth and sneered, Dragon Descendants? What kind of dragon descendant is the daughter of the guilty minister’s family? It’s just an evil seed. We don’t know if the one sitting on the throne is a real dragon! With
that, he changed the subject. “Lu Ying, are you distressed?”? Uh
The feminine and beautiful face was within an inch of me, staring at me.
His eyes seemed to smile, but he did not know whether he was looking at the person he loved or the thing in his hand.
I straightened my back and knelt in front of Mu Xuanyi, my head in the rain.
“I should do my best to plan for the king of chess.” Only then did
Mu Xuanyi smile with satisfaction. He almost stuck it in my ear and said, “When it’s done, I won’t forget you.” “The tea
you mixed last time was very good. I’ll go to your house to get it when I’m free.”
I watched him leave and get into the sedan chair until he disappeared at the other end of the long street.
Spread out the palm, the blood stains pinched out are clear. The boy
with the umbrella had a worried look on his face: “My Lord..”
“Go home.”
Probably everyone will think that with my means, Feng Yizhu will be tortured in the Ministry of Punishment, and even use her as a chess piece to extort a confession from the Feng family.
So I was a little surprised when I learned that Mu Guanxue was in the prime minister’s mansion.
He walked slowly from the long corridor outside the study, his eyebrows and eyes were clear and sparse, and he was really an independent man of fallen flowers and a swift flying together.
I just glanced at it and continued to read the file with a candle in my hand. “It’s a warm and cold season. Why is the emperor here?” Why
can you come? For his Feng Yizhu, of course.
But Mu Kuan-hsueh frowned. “When I came here just now, I saw the herbalist go away. There is medicinal gas in your room. Are you ill?”
I put down my book and smiled. “Your Majesty, are you thinking day and night about the sudden death of your minister?”? It’s a pity that I’m in very good health. As for who the herbalist is coming for, the emperor will make another guess.
“Is it Yizhu?” Mu Guanxue suddenly changed color. “She’s really in your house!”! How is she? Lu, Xiangfu, she’s pregnant. Please take pity on her.
“I see.” I glanced out of the window unceremoniously and coldly. “Didn’t you invite the herbalist to look at it?”? He won’t die for a while.
Mu Guanxue suddenly waved his sleeve and knocked down my book. He grabbed my wrist and lifted me up. His eyes were scarlet. If he had a knife at hand, he would probably have beaten me thousands of times.
Unfortunately, he can’t and dare not.
He is the emperor, and he knows the weight of it.
“There are differences between the monarch and his subjects, and there are also differences between men and women.” “Your Majesty, you’d better let go of your courtiers. If you spread the word, it will hurt your face.” When
Mu Guanxue left, she dropped a sentence: “Lu Ying, you really don’t have a heart.”
04
“You lied to him.” Behind the
screen, Feng Yizhu hobbled out, even though her abdomen was slightly bulging and haggard, she could not hide her original beauty.
I have long heard that there is a saying in the harem that even if it is full of purples and Reds, it is not worth the beauty of a pearl.
She was still asking, “I didn’t have any fetal anger at all. This herbalist came because of you. Why did you hide it from the emperor?”
I lowered my head and kept silent, just looking at my pale fingertips.
Feng Yi-chu raised her hand to get a teacup, probably to moisten her throat before cursing, but I put the lid on the cup and said, “Your master is pregnant, come and change the jujube soup.”
Feng Yi-chu pointed at me and said, “You” for a long time before she decided on her own words. “Lord Lu, I heard about your fame in my boudoir. I know your talent and ambition, your determination and your coldness.”
“Your honor.”
That day in the sedan chair, I heard clearly that Mu Xuanyi was just using you! What did he promise you? High power, splendor and wealth? Are these really comparable to Ah Kuan’s sincere heart?!
Her complaint was so sincere that she finally burst into tears, and big tears fell down.
Hugh said Mu Guanxue, probably any man in the world would be softhearted. The opposite of
her is my calm face.
“Your master is tired of crying. Take a break.”
“I’m not leaving!”
“The minister took his leave.” I
brushed my sleeves and tried to leave, but Feng Yizhu grabbed the corner of my clothes. I was really impatient, but I heard her say word by word, “Lord Lu, the first time I saw Ah Guan was at the Shooting Willow Banquet, and he won the first prize.”. I praised him and carefully handed him a cup of scented tea.
“Do you know what he said?”
“He said that he owes his success to one person. He said that this woman is good everywhere. She is beautiful, talented, and has a military strategy, and the tea she makes is unique in the world.”
The bottom of my heart was suddenly stung somewhere, I did not look at Feng Yizhu’s eyes, nor took away my sleeve, the whole person froze in place.
“Yes, he said it was his lover, Lu Ying.” Feng Yizhu and I were the only ones left in the huge
study. In
the hollowed-out bronze stove, the light white smoke disappears into the air, and the room is full of fragrance.
I poked the incense ash and sat down again.
“Imperial concubines, people always change.”
05
Shooting Willow Banquet reminds me of the past for a long time.
I am still the daughter of Lv Fu who is not afraid of anything, and Mu Guanxue follows me like a little brother.
I took him to sneak out of the palace to play. The capital of the Flower Festival was really bustling and lively. His face and eyes were the most transparent, and his yearning could not be hidden.
I said, “I’m the host today, and everything I eat and drink is on me!”
As a result, Mu Kuan-hsueh stopped in front of a fortune-telling stall and asked sincerely, “Banxian, one thousand and two divinatory symbols. Is it accurate?”
The old man saw a golden pimple that was not very clever, and the corners of his mouth were almost to the root of his ears. When he saw me standing behind him with my arms around my chest, he suddenly became dumb.
I snorted coldly, “What’s the matter, Mr. Liu, instead of being a miraculous doctor today, has changed his profession to calculate the destiny of heaven?” Only then did
he realize that he had been taken in. What a fool.
I really want to scold him.
Teenagers are really beautiful, and their eyes are as pure and clean as glass. With the bright moonlight, I compared the princes in my heart and came to the conclusion that they were the best.
However ascends the throne is not the talent show, that slender white pair of hands, really does not look like is able to strategize the emperor.
Mu Guanxue, I secretly said in my heart, if you were a rich son of an ordinary family, it would be fine. There were a lot of people circling around the
hottest flower shooting banquet booth three times outside. From time to time, there was a burst of exclamations or cheers. I stood on my feet and watched. In a twinkling of an eye, the boy disappeared. In
a moment, he appeared on the stage, and everyone thought he was a young and beautiful scholar. Some shook their heads and some sighed.
Mu Guanxue was not annoyed either. He took the arrows and bows from the stall owner, bent his bow and took his sword. His slender fingers collapsed straight, and his eyes narrowed
.
In the distance, the candle flashed and the flowers on the tower fell. There was an uproar
around me, and I was surprised in the same place.
Until Mu Guanxue called me, his smile spread out from the young man’s face, and in the hubbub of voices, he threw gold hairpins at me. The
stall owner shouted loudly, “You’re really awesome. Congratulations to this little lady!”
Little madam.
His unruly young man’s appearance disappeared in an instant. He just kept giggling, waving his hand, and peeking at me. I held up the gold hairpin and shouted, “Whose son is so stingy that he wants a hairpin as a dowry?”
So he took the arrow again.
That night, he won fifteen or sixteen hairpins, gold, jade, and sandalwood. He put his hands together and presented them all to me.
I do not know whether the joy of the bottom of my heart is floating on the double dimple, creeping in the fundus of my eyes, but proudly slanting my head.
As a result, he honestly put his hairpin in his bun, stepped back and looked at me carefully.
“Very good.”
“It’s exactly the same as the peacocks from the Western Regions that paid tribute to the Hundred Animals Garden!”
I was so angry that I kicked it in the air. It turned out that Mu Guanxue was pretending to be harmless and slipped faster than a rabbit.
“Then, ah, I ran so fast that I lost the gold hairpin. I turned around to look for it, but I couldn’t find it.”
“I said it was a phoenix, but Mu Kuan-hsueh didn’t believe me. He said that only after the main palace could he match a phoenix. I asked him what if I was happy?”
He said that if a Ying was happy, he would fold the mountains and rivers as a betrothal gift. As
Feng Yizhu listened, there was another layer of tears in her eyes, but before it fell, I giggled.
“Master, you’re not serious, are you?” Beads of
round tears hung on the eyelashes.
“What, what?”
“It’s just that you have to ask for a reason and make up a story.” I drank all the medicinal soup Yung’er had offered me, then rinsed my mouth in the copper basin, and changed my clothes to make sure that I only had the faint fragrance of honey locust on my body. “If it’s full of holes, I’m afraid I won’t even give it to the teahouse. If you hear it, I’ll write it out.”
You! You! You! It’s just.. Feng Yi-chu’s pretty face turned red, and for a long time he did not utter a single harsh word: “Come on!”
“Empress, this is Xiaoguan’s residence, not in your palace.” I pushed the red jujube soup over and returned to its indifferent appearance.
“Your father is still in prison, and your master is pregnant. This is a close blood relationship. I’ve weighed it clearly.”
Her eyes darkened in an instant. I
thought I had known each other for many years, and no matter what, I still had the feelings I had accumulated over the years. But you, Lord Lu, you really don’t deserve it.
I hung my head to warm the stove and fell silent again, until the housekeeper broke the silence with a slightly hasty step.
“Your Excellency, we have a distinguished visitor, and he is already in the courtyard.”
At the moment when Mu Xuanyi rushed straight into the main hall of the study, I had just hidden Feng Yizhu in the bright yellow curtain behind the Guanyin statue.
He walked toward me step by step, and suddenly clamped my chin, forcing me to look directly at him. “The king has gone to the Ministry of Punishment, and Feng’s old immortal has not been tortured at all. Who is taking care of him?”? His daughter didn’t come either. Lord Lu, you’d better explain.
I thought the partisan bickering of the former regime would hold him back for a while, but he was wary of me all the time. Thinking quickly in his
mind, his men became so strong that they almost crushed the bones. “Worship God?”? “Oh, I only need to push so hard, and the immortals can’t save you!”
“Do you still have feelings for him in your heart?” Face was thrown to one side, I always know that Mu Xuanyi is cruel and suspicious, but at this moment he is not alone, if you want to search, you will lose the whole game. Pulling up
my inky hair, my heart beat, but I looked up indifferently. “I do have Feng Guifei in my hands, and I won’t let anyone know where she is.”
“Wang Yeh never trusts his subordinates, so how can I believe that when things are done, you won’t erase them?”
Mu Hsuan-yi squinted. “Are you afraid of death?” “
I’m just an ordinary man, and I can’t be afraid.” Out of
the corner of my eye, Mu Xuanyi was looking at the prey in front of me, but I couldn’t show any clue until I was pulled up by him unexpectedly and hit the cold jade belt. He
stood where he was.
I knelt before him.
“Untie.” He is concise and concise.
I realized it in an instant, but I felt so humiliated that I looked back subconsciously.
Not long ago, Mu Guanxue looked at me and his eyes were full of disappointment.
He said, Lu Ying, you really have no heart.
But I have, Mu Guanxue, I will be afraid, I will be afraid, I can’t help it, I will hate to commit suicide before the gods.
The finger hung in the air and was caught by Mu Xuanyi.
He whispered like a lover, “Ah Ying, you are so cunning that the king has to guard against you.”. If you can’t even do that, how can I trust your loyalty?
After a long time, the man finally sighed contentedly. I threw the brocade handkerchief I had wiped to the ground and raised my face to smile.
“Does Wang Yeh still remember the old chess games?”
Probably because I do not like to smile, the smile spread in the corner of the eye and the tip of the eyebrow is cold.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I have no regrets about losing my son.”
07
There is no victory or defeat in that chess game, because I regret it.
At that time, there was no reserve, and the princes still maintained a superficial brotherhood and brotherhood. Among the princes of the Mu family, Mu Xuanyi was the queen, needless to say, besides him, Mu Guanxue was the most outstanding.
I remember that in the Imperial Academy, when the class was over, several princes gathered together to play chess, and many noble daughters of famous families looked at the chess in the game, as well as the lover.
I stood behind Mu Kuan-hsueh, and my father taught me to “watch chess without saying a word.” So I didn’t say a word and went straight to work. Whenever I saw him make a wrong move, I would mercilessly twist the flesh around his waist.
Mu Guanxue was caught off guard and let out a howl: “Ouch!”
Act shamelessly, act shamelessly! Look at the daughters of the Lu family, who are so partial to Your Highness Qi!
“No wonder Lu Ying is partial to him. Ah’s chess skills are among the best in Shangjing, but the old man is not necessarily his opponent.”
I shoved Mu Guanxue away. “Get out of the way and let me do it!”
The crowd burst into laughter, and no one noticed the eyes of the man on the opposite side of the chess game, which were hidden under his eyelashes.
The game was a half-dead one, and I walked with great difficulty. I was so frightened that I suddenly cried out, “I made a mistake!” He was about to take back the white piece, but Mu Xuanyi stopped him with the handle of a fan. “No regrets, Lu Ying, are you a gentleman?”
“I’m not a gentleman, so I’m going to blame myself!”
I don’t know who was talkative, but he grinned in the back and said, “Tut, tut, that’s strange. The daughters of the Lu family don’t like to fight. Why are they so anxious now that they have to fight it out?”? I’m afraid it’s not to avenge my husband, is it?
“Look, she’s blushing!”
“What are you talking about?”
I was so exasperated that I threw a book into the past. It happened that I lost my aim and hit the nine princes on the head. The nine princes were Mu Xuanyi’s own brother. How could they suffer this dumb loss? Grabbing the inkstone, he wanted to fight back. Two or three of the officials’ sons tried to persuade and stop him. Mu Kuan-hsueh’s face sank. “Who dares to touch Ah Ying?”? Somebody, get out of here!
In a flash, the Hanlin Academy was in a mess.
Books were flying all over the sky, shouting and scolding, and tables and benches were staggering. There were many people caught in the middle who took advantage of the situation to make up for three fists and two feet. When Zhou Ji pushed the door of the Imperial College and entered, he was drenched with ink.
The crowd was horrified.
What’s more, Zhou Ji just went to Changming Hall to claim credit with a few good essays.
So, along with him, there is the emperor. The
two favorite princes were stepping on the table and fighting together. At that time, they looked at each other and looked at their father.
In the silence of death, I jumped up suddenly, and the son of a high-ranking official riding under me let out a wail.
The emperor, the emperor.. I have disturbed the emperor, and I know my sin. Since the
matter started because of me, I asked myself to recite sutras and think about it in the ancestral hall of the palace.
A few princes were not much better, and they were locked up in Sansiyuan to write a book of sins.
My kneeling knees tingled and the mosquito-like sound of chanting became smaller and smaller until I was caught off guard by a flick on the back of my head. When I saw the
man coming, my eyes widened. “How did you get out?”
“Climb over the wall.” Mu Kuan-hsueh lowered her voice and quietly handed over the five-kernel salt and pepper cake, which was still warm. “Hurry up and eat.”
“What are you trying to do?” As soon as I pointed to the altar, I said, “Isn’t this food?”
That’s a tribute! Aren’t you afraid of being punished by God?
“I don’t believe in Heaven.” When my companion arrived, I sat cross-legged and patted the futon beside me. “Ah, I’m not afraid of the Bodhisattva, but aren’t you afraid of your father?”
Mu Kuan-hsueh is very honest. “I’m afraid.”
“So you’re still coming?”
“What can I do?” The young man sighed, but there was no bitterness on his face. On the contrary, his eyes were bright and pure. “You are here, a black man. How can I not come?”
I ate a mouthful of debris, looked up in a daze, and crashed into the clear spring, disturbing the ripples.
“Lu Ying, there’s one more thing I want to ask you. Do you hate me?”
“Of course not!” My eyes widened. “Why should you take the blame?”? Suddenly there was a uniform sound of footsteps
outside. It was the guards on duty at the vigil. Startled, I pushed Mu Kuan-hsueh to hide under the bright yellow curtain of the altar table. There was room for two people, but the distance was within an inch, and even the rapid breathing of each other could be felt.
Until the footsteps are far away and silent.
His breath sprayed on his face, and his eyes could even reflect the outline of my panic.
“One day, you won’t have to be afraid of anyone.” He said softly, “I’m not going to make you afraid.”
Just sink in the dark for once? I think I dared to lean over and kiss him, clumsy and unorganized, the candle flickering, and I didn’t know at that time that this was the closest distance.
I thought that the feelings of the two people were secret and undeclared, only flowing between the eyes, at most a few words.
Mu Kuan-hsueh’s calligrapher, Cheng Hung-ju of the Feng family, wrote, “Without a colorful phoenix, two flying wings,” and took advantage of the gap to fly over.
After a while, a pair of colorful fat ducks were painted on the letter paper.
The man smiled helplessly and looked at the following line of small print.
“The combination of calligraphy and painting is unparalleled in the world.” When the class
was over, the grand eunuch in front of the emperor stood respectfully outside. After seeing the princes one by one, he stopped in front of me and said with a smile, “Your Majesty, please go to the Changming Hall for a chat.”
I leaned against the door and looked back. In the crowd, Mu Guanxue and I looked at each other and smiled.
Changming Hall was an important place for the emperor to review the memorial and summon important officials. Hugh said that I was the daughter of an official family, and even if I was as high and powerful as the empress, I had never set foot in it.
I don’t mind, but my father’s instructions always linger in my ears.
Walking to the front door of the temple, I saw that the lights were always bright, and the voices of several courtiers came from inside. I suddenly stopped.
“Chang-weng, the emperor is still deliberating with his excellencies. I’m waiting for the emperor here.” A distant laugh came from
inside. “Is Ah Ying coming?”? It’s freezing cold. Come on in. In the dusk outside the
palace, the jackdaw passed by, and the two guards closed the curtain. Unconsciously, I relaxed my pace and respectfully counted the dark gold obsidian floor tiles. I knelt down and said, “I’ve seen the emperor, I’ve seen all of you.”
Emperor Mu Heng dismissed me with a smile, and all the ministers dismissed me one by one. I tasted the tea
you sent me last time, and the queen said it was very good. This kind of tea ceremony is really a gift, and no one else can get it.
“My daughter only knows some heretical skills.”
“That’s not quite right,” says the sage. “Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish.” Often, the talent for saving the world is all in the small, isn’t it? ”
My hand, which was grinding the ink, suddenly froze in the same place. After a while, I said with a slow smile, “Although my daughter is young, she knows the truth that the chicken is in charge of the morning and that the family is the only one. How dare she overstep her authority and discuss state affairs in vain?” There was a gentle smile on the
emperor’s face. “You girl, the older you are, the more restrained you are.”
He looked back like a loving father. “Well, instead of talking about state affairs, I’ll just have a few words of gossip with you. I’ve read all the essays I sent you last time. Although you’re the daughter of the boudoir, you’re not inferior to my sons in talking about history and politics. In terms of age..” How old are you this year? I
may have hidden Mu Guanxue in my heart, even with the reply is not very sharp, for fear of revealing clues.
“My daughter 17..” No, no, it’s only seventeen in spring.
“Do you like the phoenix brocade I gave you?”
I recalled it in my mind for a long time before I remembered that I had given it away before I left the palace.
How long ago, why did the emperor suddenly pick the conversation? So I left the table and knelt on the ground. “My daughter is frightened. The phoenix brocade is too luxurious to match. It’s hard to find ready-made clothes in ten years.”. The minister’s daughter was worshipped to the harem. An empress who is deeply loved by the emperor.
Mu Heng clapped his hands and laughed. “So what if it’s expensive?”? Heaven never fails to obtain what it wants.
Say that finish, only to see the screen turned out Chuo Chuo figure, slender figure, eyebrows and eyes feminine, the whole body of the noble gas.
My pupils shrank.
Mu Xuanyi?
How could it be him?
09
“Ah Ying, you are very clever, and I am not like you to beat around the Bush. I intentionally point out the Mandarin duck spectrum and point you out to Xuan Yi. After you are crowned, you will be the Crown Princess. I am sure that with your talent and learning, you will manage the harem in good order in the future.”
The emperor said with a smile.
“What?”
“I want you two to get married.”
Such as falling into the ice cellar, such as sinking into the deep.
This sudden change made me unexpected. My body was stiff and numb to my fingertips, but my thoughts turned quickly: the emperor made a pun. Since he mentioned the crown princess, the implication was that he intended to make Mu Xuanyi the crown prince. Once I became the empress and concubine, it was natural and justified to give Feng Jin.
Looking down, the father-in-law behind Mu Xuanyi bowed his head respectfully and put on the vermilion phoenix brocade, on which the phoenix totem was woven with gold thread, with distinct wings and feathers.
“Ah Ying.”
Mu Xuanyi tried to hold my hand, but I recalled the few intersections of the past, and I didn’t know when he was in love with me.
Or maybe he doesn’t need to be emotional at all.
It was the first time that I felt the fear of the threat of heaven. In an instant, I had knelt down. It was clear that tears had been frightened, but I dared not drop a drop.
“Your Majesty, forgive me, but I’ve already had an idea.”
Emperor Mu Heng slowly rose to his feet. The lamps and candles flickered, and the bright yellow dragon robe completely enveloped me in shadow. Out of the
corner of my eye, I could only see the scales and angry eyes of the golden dragon on the hem.
“Ah Ying, love is just a word. Those daughters in the boudoir can just talk about it. You are a genius. If you are really reduced to living in a house with a long wife and a short concubine, I don’t want to see it.” The king bent down slowly, and the smell of ambergris came into his mouth and nose. As I raised my eyes and tried to struggle, I heard him add, “Your family doesn’t want to see it either.”
Family.
Family. I
treat you well, and I treat the Lv family well. So you won’t let me down this time, will you?
He asked me with a smile, and every smile line was like a hidden blade. When
the chill came to my head, I felt that everything had become silent and nothing could be heard, only the heavy and slow heartbeat was magnified thousands of times and knocked heavily on my ears.
The emperor took me by the hand and said with a smile, Ah Ying’s hands are destined to stir up trouble in the court. It’s fate.
I was almost drained of my soul and let the maid measure my figure, and her eyes fell on the vermilion brocade.
So red, like a pool of blood.
Thin and dense needles and threads are inextricably linked, penetrating the body and limbs.
I see.
I see.
Where is the preference and favor for no reason? It’s just an early game.
The emperor promoted me to assist the crown prince in his heart.
And that man is not Mu Guanxue. There was a thin autumn rain outside the
corridor, and Mammy beside me saw that I was out of my mind, so she had to hold me tightly and dared not ask more questions. I propped myself up and walked around the corner. Suddenly I cried like a split silk. Mammy quickly covered my mouth with tears in her eyes. “Miss!”! Miss! The old slave knew that the young lady was wronged, but he had to go home again, didn’t he? You mustn’t do it in the palace! When I got back to
my house, I saw Mu Guanxue enjoying calligraphy and painting with his father. When
he saw me, his eyes lit up. “Ah Ying!”
My father greeted me with a smile, “Ying’er, Your Highness has the heart to ask for Feng Shangshu’s paintings. Haven’t you always liked them?”
Probably the numbness of crying on the road, there is no expression on my face at the moment.
“Thank you, Your Highness, but from now on –” I heard my voice like a deep well, every word cold to the bone. “There’s no need to come and go.”
“See the guests off.”
Those days were no more than a month or so long.
Father stroked Feng Jin, and even if I didn’t say anything, he probably guessed it.
But what if you guess? He could only sigh constantly in front of my bed, reciting his mother’s name and blaming himself for not being strict with me, so that he was so unrestrained that today, he showed his sharpness and finally suffered retribution.
I burned the letters one by one, probably together with the former Lu Ying and Mu Guanxue. In the
spring of next year, the head of the Lv family passed away. At the feast of
shooting willows, I hid behind my courtiers in white and watched silently.
I saw Feng Yizhu walking towards Mu Guanxue.
He was no longer a young man on horseback, and there was a hint of strategizing between his eyebrows. The girl beside him was really bright and beautiful. Even if she only wore a yellow skirt and no pendant, the rest of the official women lost all their color.
“Who is that?” I heard someone in the crowd ask.
“Feng Yi-chu, the daughter of Feng Shang-shu.” Even though
Mu Guanxue looked a little helpless, she did not push her away, and finally agreed to teach her archery.
The emperor summoned me with some pity, probably wanting to see the confusion and pain of losing my loved ones and loved ones?
But I just bowed my head deeply and said, “My daughter is in mourning, and I will observe filial piety for three years.”. If your majesty pity, please allow me to participate in the spring. After all, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. If I really want to assist the king of chess, I won’t be criticized. This is the best way.
…… The
jade crown on the table is carved with the pattern of Pisces, which is delicate and cool to touch. It took
me three years to see the emperor off, to create a party struggle, to frame Mu Guanxue on the throne, but to spare no effort to suppress his close ministers. No one would doubt me. Perhaps in the eyes of the civil and military officials, I was a vicious and unscrupulous minister.
Including Mu Guanxue.
He didn’t want to look me in the eye anymore, and even if he looked at me occasionally, he was cold and alert. He only called me “Lu Hsiang-fu.”. The face of the man in the
mirror is expressionless, but if you look closely, the fundus is heavy and desolate.
I put on my official clothes in an orderly way and took a thin sip of Rouge to add three points of blood to my face.
The followers came to report in a hurry, saying that the pleadings were finally handed over in a joint name. After all, Feng Xingzhi was a great scholar. It was too strange to be imprisoned for the crime of fornication. It even spread out that the voices of the people were boiling, and they pleaded for him one after another.
Feng Yi-chu is on the side, a little incredulous. “Even in the harem, I don’t know what’s going on in the court, so how do the people know?”.
I made a gesture of silence, and the guest had to bow down without saying a word.
“Is it you?” Feng Yi-chu asked, “It’s very much like your style to build a plank road in the open and do it in the dark.”. Lu Ying, when you asked to become an official, was it because you didn’t want to marry Mu Xuanyi?
I straightened the jade crown and smiled. “Why did the imperial concubine ask this question?”
She looked at me and hesitated for a moment. I always wanted to know.. A woman whom Kuan-hsueh worshipped as a God is not a wicked person.
I only stopped for a moment, and then the servant put on his cloak and walked into the courtyard. Feng Yizhu still called out, “Lu Ying, Lord Lu, you answer me!”
My steps did not stop, but I got into the carriage.
The sky was dim, and in the court at that time, the undercurrent was already turbulent.
One group of courtiers dared to advise Feng Shangshu to thoroughly investigate the case again and again, while the other group of courtiers insisted that no one could show favoritism in the law.
Zhongshu Ling even advised that the emperor was bewitched by the Feng family witch, so that he ignored the law of the country and did not issue a decree to convict him, but asked Fu Bing, the prime minister of Lv, to admonish him and move to Zongzheng Temple to think about his mistakes.
Through the layers of crowns, Mu Guanxue’s eyes seemed to fall on me again. There was no final conclusion on
this matter at the time of retreating from the court. In the past, the Mu Xuanyi faction had already moved out the instructions of the late emperor and me, an important minister. However, the King of the game was not there today, and I kept silent. The situation was deadlocked until the next court.
Mu Guanxue left me alone in Mingtang.
It’s really..
I traced the face carefully with my eyes, and finally lowered my eyes. I
really haven’t talked alone like this for a long time.
“What kind of game are you playing?” He broke the silence and said, “No, I have made a slip of the tongue. Lu Xiangfu is at the head of all the ministers. Why is he silent today?”? Is it because Big Brother isn’t standing behind you? Almost instinctively,
I retorted back, giving tit for tat. “The court is in chaos, but in the emperor’s heart there is only romance and love.”
“Or what?” Mu Guanxue pulled my wrist, turned his clothes over and pressed them on the Dragon Chair. His knuckles beat the dragon’s head, and his eyes were bloodshot. “You, and Mu Xuanyi, isn’t that what you want?”? Don’t you just want to help him? I am waiting, waiting for you to kill the king with your own sword!
My eyes are as faint as an ancient well.
Do not resist, do not argue.
Mu Guanxue, however, unloaded his strength and probably realized his gaffe.
“How can a humble minister have that ability?” I spoke calmly, but my mouth and nose oozed turbid blood, one drop, two drops, flowing down the blue and golden brocade.
He looked at me with a look that finally surprised me out of pure hatred.
“You–”
I didn’t care. I took out my handkerchief and wiped it away. I even smiled.
But since Your Majesty wishes … Then as you wish.
When I left the table and tidied up my clothes, the jade bracelet on my wrist fell to the ground with a “jingle” and fell apart in an instant.
So unconsciously, I have been so thin?
I was in a trance for a moment and looked into Mu Guanxue’s eyes.
“Your Majesty should know that there have long been people who thought that besides Lord Feng, he would be famous all over the world, just like when you replaced the crown prince.” The speed of my speech is sometimes quick and sometimes slow, and it is somewhat disordered. “A big tree catches the wind, and the work is high and shakes the Lord, so..” Prison is the only way to save his life. Lord Feng’s calligraphy is unparalleled in the world, and I’ve heard that his copying can confuse the real with the fake. He must be holding something in his
hand that can get rid of the disobedient ministers in the court today, and.. There are good reasons why it has become the target of public criticism.
Mu Guanxue deserves to have known me for many years. Even though he turned against me, he still deliberated the second half of the sentence from what I had not finished.
“It’s a testamentary edict from the late emperor.”
“Yes.” I smiled.
“But how can Mu Hsuan-yi and his henchmen be willing to rely on a mere piece of paper?”
Suddenly the little eunuch’s slightly frightened voice came from outside the hall.
“Your Majesty, the game king has a sudden serious illness!”
I raised my eyes, facing the bronze mirror with water chestnut flowers on the red sandalwood table, and the fog in the long and narrow phoenix eyes dissipated, sharp and cold. The woman in the
mirror smiled.
“Of course he wouldn’t, so I gave him a ride myself.” The
palace was already in a mess, with the imperial physician constantly coming in and out, and the people knelt all over the ground in a panic, only to hear the cries of the women’s families scattered high and low in the courtyard.
I was wearing an inky cloak, and my face was quiet and solemn. The master hurriedly invited me into the inner room, and I heard a roar in the distance.
“Get out!” What are you doing
here? Check, inside and outside the mansion. Search me one by one! Who on earth dares to betray Gu! Anyone who dares to cry again will be killed with a stick!
My footsteps are silent until I come to the bed.
Mu Xuanyi is like grasping the last straw, clinging to my sleeve, the original high and powerful people dying will be afraid.
Sakura, are you here to save me? It’s all right, how to..
“How can I not get sick?” I gazed at him with a smile. “What a pity!”
I am smiling, but the eyes are like a knife, how can Mu Xuanyi not understand? Gradually from stunned to horrified, “It’s you!”! Unexpectedly, it was you. His
delicate hand covered his mouth, and the man didn’t even have the strength to break free.
Only the eyes of the angry stare caught me.
“Do you remember what I said, Mu Hsuan-yi?”
I clung to his ear, word by word, like the finest needle.
“Laozi has no regrets. I should have thought of that when you United with the late emperor to destroy my life.”
“Does the King of Games want to know why I haven’t died since I’ve shared a pot of tea with him all these years?” I raised one hand to meet the candlelight, and under my sleeve, my white forearm was covered with needle marks and sharp knife marks, as ferocious as this. “In order to hold you back and not make people suspicious, the poison has to go down slowly.”. So every time after drinking tea, I would first let the blood out, and then ask a herbalist to take out the poison with a needle.
“Do you know how painful it is to be the daughter of your own daughter?”
Thunder roared, lightning suddenly lit up the inner room, and I laughed so freely that I burst into tears.
Mu Xuanyi had already run out of oil, and his throat gave out a strange laugh. “Well, well, Lu Ying, if you can endure these years of dormancy, you’ve won, but do you think this plan will last long?”? How long can you hold out?! Even if you set foot on the road to the afterlife alone, I’m afraid you’re not far from death, are you?
I rearranged my sleeves and listened to his bitter words cursing me, but there were no waves on my face.
“It doesn’t matter if it costs anything if you hold him steady.” The light in
Mu Xuanyi’s eyes was already very weak. He stretched out his hand in vain, as if he wanted to catch me, and as if he was holding something before he died. “But how do you know I’m not sincere?”? You only have Mu Guanxue in your heart and eyes. If I hadn’t pleaded, you would have died in the hands of the late emperor! Lu Ying, tell me the truth, will there be a little, or a moment..
“There will be nothing in this life.”
I folded my sleeves and left, and stamped my head at the entrance.
Sigh like a fallen flower, almost silent: “In the next life, never meet.”
Wang Fu suddenly received bad news that Mu Xuanyi, the king of chess, who was in the prime of life, suddenly contracted a serious illness and died.
The next day, Feng Xingzhi asked for remonstrance in prison, and the secret letter of the late emperor was presented with the blood letter.
All of a sudden, the emperor was furious, purged the government and the public, implicated dozens of officials who had made private deals, and several courtiers who had falsely accused Feng Yushi at the beginning all searched the house for letters from Mu Xuanyi, the king of chess.
Now there are more explanations for the sudden death of the King of Chess-party disputes, self-punishment for fear of punishment, and being eaten back by the lower part. On the days
of Chunhe and Jingming, I personally went to the Ministry of Punishment to pick up people. Mr. Feng, who had lost a lot of weight and was still in good spirits, stopped me who wanted to kneel down to plead guilty.
“The stability of the land is the most important thing, and the old man’s suffering is nothing.” He looked at me with pity in his eyes. “But you, who are about the same age as Yi-chu, have to take on this important task. Shame, shame.”
I don’t even dare.
“To overstep one’s authority, the emperor’s calligraphy was taught by an old man in those days, and he really had a deep affection for Xiangfu.” Feng Shangshu looked at me as if he had mixed feelings. “If the dust falls to the ground, Ah Ying, would you like to rebuild your red makeup?” “If that’s the case,”
I asked in reply, “where will your daughter be?”
“My daughter is naughty, and she is used to being spoiled. She should listen to her teachings.”
At the mention of the word “spoiled,” my heart suddenly aches. Was Lu Ying once regarded as a treasure by her father and a young man like ice and snow?
The momentary absence was quickly hidden, and I smiled. “With your daughter’s pearls and jade in front of me, no matter how smart I am, I can only share a cup of salary with you in the front court!”
At the end
, Feng Yizhu was welcomed back to the palace.
This time, follow is not the imperial concubine ritual system, but the queen.
She wears embroidered gold and vermilion phoenix brocade, even if she wears luxurious pearls and emeralds, she still can’t cover the beautiful appearance of the world. The
palace was bustling and the banquet was very lively, as if the whole capital could hear a lot of immortal music, and from time to time there were large clusters of fireworks blooming and blooming in the ink sky, which was a new round before the end. I
sat on the steps and leaned on the beam to look into the distance. I was so focused that the old man was very careful when he interrupted me. “Girl, it’s time to take the medicine.”
I asked softly, “Ah Weng, do you think I’ll get better after taking this medicine?” Smiling,
I looked back like a shameless child. “Today is a big day. Give me a break, will you?”
Girls love tea, but it’s the maidservant who knows best. Come on, while it’s hot.
As I ate my tea, I squinted and looked up into the sky and giggled.
“What is the girl laughing at?”
“Look at that Kongming lantern. I thought it was the moon. I was wrong. It’s not the 15th. I wonder where the moon is so big and bright.” I explained with a smile, and the maid and the herbalist looked at each other under the porch, unable to squeeze out a smile.
My eyes are already covered with shallow gray.
“Yung’er, change to sweet tea.”
The maid looked at the teacup and suddenly a big tear rolled down quietly.
My eyes were so empty that I didn’t see her, but I heard her whisper softly, “Girl, this..” It’s cow’s milk tea, mixed with the honey of the pagodatree flower.
I nodded, “Oh, it was sweet.” After
thinking for a long time, he tilted his head and asked, “Have all the letters been sent?”? Make it clear that you won’t give it to the emperor until the ceremony is over.
“Yes, the maidservant remembers.”
I have retired after a successful career. I’m really tired. I thought I was only a half-grown child, not as tall as me. How could I become the supreme emperor? This step by step, it’s like a dream. My
voice was low, and I talked about the past, from the first meeting to the confrontation of these years to the present, which seemed to be cunning.
But Yung’er asked, “Will the girl resign and retire in the future?”
She delayed an answer.
I smiled and died on the wedding night of the emperors and empresses.
Even if it is to resolve the grievance, I and Your Majesty will never be able to go back to the past. Having said that, those best years of your life are enough to comfort you.
“I’m not going to the palace banquet. I don’t want to see those old men. They have to go through all the red tape and be polite.”. This phoenix brocade will be my gift, and Yizhu will look better than I do. May Your Majesty have such a good man, and from now on we will be able to raise our eyebrows and grow old together.
“But Guanxue, if there is an afterlife, you must find me earlier.”
(End of full text)
Author: Lan Zheng
Record No.: YX01VmYJ9oaMgq9rR
Published on 2022-05-24 19:10. It is forbidden to reprint
and give the brocade: the late cherry blossoms have fallen to the end of a floating life
, and the fragrance of flowers is resentful: fireworks are easy to be cold, for whom to bow down
, fat, Da Feifei, etc.
