Mistaken Marriage
01
I knelt in the middle of the secret hall, listening to the faint joy coming from the front yard.
Today is the wedding day of my elder sister Xu Yan and Prince Zhou Rongshi. It
is well known that Xu Kui is well-educated, Li Lan and yuan Zhi, and his talent is absolutely gorgeous.
But the world does not know, in addition to Xu, Xu Xiangguo also has an illegitimate daughter named Xu Sang. The people of
Xu Fu often commented on me like this-Xu Sang, who had no ink in his chest, killed countless people, and was very bad.
Therefore, Xu’s wedding day is also the day when I will be secretly executed to pray for her. The
offerings have been laid out, and one is still missing, and that is my head.
The guard’s broadsword was against my neck, and I had been fed with cartilage powder, and my hands were tied with hemp rope, so there was no possibility of escape.
But I’m not afraid of the imminent death, I just feel relieved. The sound of
joy came again, and through the window coffin, I saw Xu Wei stepping on the palanquin.
The bodyguard raised his broadsword, and I closed my eyes frankly. The next moment, there was a strange noise in the mansion. When I
opened my eyes, I saw many masked men jumping down from the eaves, and the sound of killing was deafening. The bodyguard who wanted to kill me did not care to kill me and rushed out of the secret hall with a broadsword.
I staggered up from the ground and walked into the front yard like a spectator. There was no masked figure in the mansion, but the servants were already in a mess.
I think it’s funny. The cartilage on
my body kept breaking out. I stumbled and was about to fall to the ground. Suddenly someone supported me.
I turned around and saw a man. I once saw him in the portrait of Prince Zhou Rongshi in the mansion.
However, he was more handsome than in the portrait, as if a bright moon had broken through the window.
He looked serious, but his voice was extremely warm: “Ah, so you are here.”. Are you all right
It turned out that Zhou Rongshi recognized me as Xu Yan.
But I am not surprised, he has only seen the portrait of Xu, and my appearance and Xu have seven points similar.
Without waiting for me to respond to him, he gently untied the hemp rope from my hand, politely supported me, and hurried me to the front hall.
I leaned in his arms, looked up and saw his neck in front of me.
White skin, faint blue blood vessels, very good-looking neck. I
just need to twist it lightly, and it will be broken.
If I kill Zhou Rong, the emperor will issue a decree to behead Xu Xiangguo Mansion.
I thought so, and fantasized about the death of the people in the mansion, and my pleasure kept rising from the bottom of my heart.
I stretched out my hand and was about to touch Chou Yung’s neck when I heard the roar of Hsu Hsiang-kuo, my father, saying, “Ah Kui has been robbed?!”! You worthless things!
Chou Jung-shih helped me into the front hall and said, “Ah Ma is here!” Something interesting is going to happen
next. I thought so and withdrew my hand.
Sure enough, the shocked Xu Xiangguo and his wife were overjoyed to look at the door of the hall, but when they saw that the person in Zhou Rong’s arms was me, their faces became whiter than before.
Her ladyship was stunned for a while before she pretended to cry: “Ah, you scared the hell out of your mother.” “Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for saving my daughter,”
said Hsu Hsiang-kuo in an affectation. Today, the old minister is not thoughtful enough, but also ask the prince to sin!
I chuckled.
My secret is far more than that I am the illegitimate daughter of Xu Xiangguo; Xu Shi was robbed inexplicably when he was receiving the bride, and Xu Fu could not explain to the emperor at all.
Therefore, they had to endure disgust, along with Zhou Rong, I will be recognized as Xu.
Chou Yung-shih picked up Hsu Hsiang-kuo and said in a serious tone, The prime minister doesn’t have to do this. What happened today is really strange, and the source of those masked people is unknown. I’ll have to wait until I go back to the palace to tell my father and the queen about this matter, and then I’ll give it further thought.
My wife hid me behind her in a panic and said, “Ah Ma is frightened today. Why don’t you put the big wedding on hold for a while?” The
marriage can be postponed until a month later, but now the situation is not clear, and it would be best for Ah Ma to enter the palace to be married. Don’t worry, madam. Rong Shi will take good care of her. There is no doubt in Zhou Rongshi’s tone. Xu Xiangguo and his wife,
each with evil intentions, looked at each other for a long time and finally nodded helplessly.
So, I in the whole house look of panic, generously set foot on the palanquin into the palace.
Hsu’s dowry maid, Adu, followed me into the sedan chair. “Your lordship knows that you have a heart like a snake and a scorpion,” she whispered angrily. “He thinks that when you enter the palace, you will bring disaster to the prime minister’s mansion.”
“Hearts are like snakes and scorpions.” I raised the corners of my mouth. “Not bad.”
So his lordship asked me to give you a message. If you can settle down in the palace, when the master finds the eldest lady, he will try to change you out. If you are willing to save the prime minister’s mansion, you can throw this brocade handkerchief out of the window, and the master will see it. When all is done, your lordship will give you the highly poisonous antidote.
Hearing the word “antidote”, I was slightly stupefied. Xu Xiangguo would really play with people in the palm of his hand.
“Good.” I took the brocade handkerchief with a sneer and shook it out of the window.
It’s just to protect the prime minister’s mansion.
However, Xu Xiangguo did not say that I was not allowed to do anything to insult the prime minister’s office.
02
The palanquin stops at the palace gate. With the help of Adu,
I stepped down from the sedan chair and approached Zhou Rong.
I looked up at the brackets and eaves far away from me, and suddenly saw Zhou Rongshi open his arms.
Do you want me to hold him? I
saw Adu motioning me crazily with his eyes.
I stretched out my arms indifferently and put them around Zhou Rongshi.
The next moment, Adu stumbled, and Mammy gasped. Inexplicably,
I withdrew my hand and said, “Didn’t you want me to hug you?”
Zhou Rongshi’s face burst into two blushes, like two red cherry blossoms, which were picked by people intentionally or unintentionally. He leaned over to my ear and whispered, “Oh, do you remember the hand-raising ceremony at the palace gate?”
So there is this kind of etiquette.
But I never learned any manners. With some displeasure
in my heart, I disdained to raise my hand like Zhou Rongshi. Mammy’s face was even worse.
I curled my lips. “Now what?”
Adu almost growled, “In the opposite direction!”! Turn around!
I turned around slowly. Mammy finally announced the completion of the ceremony.
I stepped impatiently into the palanquin, but Chou Yong-shih grabbed me and said, “Ah, are you in a panic today, and have you forgotten your manners for a while?”
He is looking for a way out for my words and deeds just now. With a cold snort,
I deliberately shouted, “It’s not that I’ve forgotten the etiquette for the time being, but that I don’t know the etiquette at all.”. My father said that I was only bragging when he said I knew how to be polite. The ladies
around began to whisper.
Zhou Rongshi was stupefied for a moment and said in a low voice, “I’m afraid you’ll lose your temper in front of the temple.”. Why don’t you wait and pretend to be ill, and don’t go to pay homage to your father and mother, and I’ll go to the Hall of the Upper Qin to look for you later?
I suddenly came up with an idea that would scare everyone.
I nodded, covered my belly, and smiled slyly! Somebody help! Here comes my sunflower water. It hurts so much!
Adu’s eyes were black and he was almost angry.
Youshi, the moon is in the middle of the sky, and the clear light is like a drain. In the hall of the
upper harp, Adu’s exasperated voice kept coming: “Your nonsense like a shrew today is really a disgrace to the prime minister’s mansion and the young lady!”
“Is it?” I said coldly, pulling out the pearl hairpin from my hair and playing with it in my hand. No one in
the prime minister’s mansion knows that I once killed someone with a hairpin.
When Adu saw my movements, his expression changed greatly and he timidly withdrew from the temple.
I looked at the moon in boredom. After a while, Zhou Rongshi came.
“Ah, I have told my father that you are not feeling well. The wedding date will be postponed to a month later, and your reception banquet will be held another day.” Chou Yung-shih said word by word, “Now your most urgent task is to learn how to behave. From tomorrow, I will send Shang Yi to your temple. Somebody! The servants outside the
hall entered the hall, but they carried stacks of books. Some memories flashed through
my mind. Unconsciously,
I gasped for breath and said coldly, “I don’t want to learn etiquette from Shang Yi.”
Chou Yung-shih was stupefied. “All right,” he said with a smile, “I’ll come and teach you myself tomorrow.”
I feel that there is something wrong with Zhou Rongshi’s understanding ability.
The next morning, Zhou Rongshi really came to teach me my lessons. However, I played the trick, in order to brush the face of the prime minister mansion.
I added chili powder to Zhou Rongshi’s tea and put an exorcism charm on his forehead. Besides, I did a lot of things to play tricks on him.
Over time, the palace spread that Xu Xiangguo had no way to teach his daughter, and the rumors about Xu were seriously untrue. All the people in
the palace were indignant that the prince was going to marry such an ignorant scoundrel as me.
Zhou Rongshi was able to endure and still taught me lessons.
It’s just that he used to drink only one cup of bitter tea day to soothe liver and relieve depression, but now he has to drink ten cups a day.
But I did these things not only to insult the prime minister’s office, but also for selfishness.
I’ve never done anything so outrageous before. So, when I did these things, the dark past in my life seemed to be gradually filled up.
Even if every time I tease Zhou Rong, he will punish me to copy the book, I will obey him. It seems to be a common thing for other people to
do something wrong and copy books.
It was something I wanted to do before.
That day, I came up with a new way to play tricks on Zhou Rong.
I deliberately cut a big hole in Zhou Rongshi’s front clothes, and the muscles under it were faintly visible. I swallowed unconsciously and laughed gloatingly.
At this point, the palace will spread the rumor that “Xu is a womanizer.”.
But Zhou Rongshi was always rigid and regarded the palace rules as precepts. So this time, he was really angry. As
he tidied up his clothes, he took a book from the bookshelf and said seriously, “Hsu, if you want to learn about the medical theory of the human body, we’ll add this” The Way of Medicine “to your lessons. Copy this book a hundred times!
Although I used to enjoy copying books, this book is too thick!
My smile froze on my face. “I don’t want to learn.”
Chou Yung-shih looked at me, not intending to let me go: Since you don’t want to learn the Tao of Medicine, why did you cut my clothes? Is the prime minister’s office so indulgent to you?
I bowed my head and said carelessly, “Because I think your body is like a jade tree, and this robe is not worthy of you.”
Zhou Rongshi was strangely silent.
I raised my head and found that although Zhou Rongshi’s face was still expressionless, his ears were red.
As if I had discovered a secret, I spoke tentatively: “When you were young, I thought your face was like a crown of jade!”
Chou Yung-shih turned his face sideways and said, “It’s time to write.”
But his ears are redder. Unrelenting,
I said, “At the time of Chou Yung, I still thought you were graceful!”! Beautiful as a flower!
Chou Yung-shih threw his pen away and said, “Don’t say anything, Hsu!”
But now, his face was redder than fresh rose wine.
I suddenly realized that Zhou Rongshi’s death point was here.
He can afford me to tease him in other ways, but he can’t afford me to praise him at all! After
discovering Zhou Rongshi’s death, I even slept with the words of praise on my back.
Adu said contemptuously, “You only know how to flatter, and you are a disgrace to the prime minister’s office.”
But I am eager to embarrass the prime minister’s mansion.
At the same time, every time I didn’t want to learn any tedious lessons, I would flatter Zhou Rongshi, and then he would blush and tell me to stop talking and let me go.
Flattery is a matter of killing two birds with one stone.
03
The tenth day of entering the palace is the 15th full day.
Adu told me the night before, because I was always fooling around in the palace recently, so Xu Xiangguo would not give me pain relief powder this time, let me find a way to hide from the palace people.
So, all day long, I was absent-minded to deal with Zhou Rongshi.
At that time, I sent all the ladies out early, and then I lay on the couch, quietly looking out of the window at the full moon.
After a while, the poison in the body broke out.
A piercing pain spread from my chest and gradually seeped into every hair of mine. The cold sweat kept coming out, and I closed my eyes and kept shaking. In the
sharp pain, I remembered a lot of things in the past.
My mother was a servant in the mansion, and she was lucky to be visited by Xu Xiangguo. Afterwards, madam not only not angry, but also generously gave my mother a side hall, so that my mother could give birth to me safely.
My mother naively thought it was a gift from God. But after I was one month old, she was killed with a stick.
Later, I spent a very long time in the secret hall. On the fifteenth day of every month, the servant would cut my wrist and take a bowl of blood. In the
dark corner, I looked at the old wound on the wrist, and then covered with a new wound.
My wrist was getting more and more painful, and I grew up and learned to resist.
So, when the servant wanted to take blood again, I tried to escape from the secret hall. Only then did
I know that the mansion I lived in was so luxurious. It turned out that my father was the famous Xu Xiangguo. It turned out that my mother had been killed with a stick. It turned out that I had a sister named Xu. Xu Yan, who has suffered from heart disease
since childhood, needs to drink medicine on the 15th of every month.
One of the most important medicine guides is a bowl of blood of a close relative.
So this is the meaning of my existence. Only then did
I know that there were many painless things in the world besides such painful things as being taken blood. All the things that the
elder sister experienced, such as playing the piano and studying books, were painless.
Even if she was punished for copying books after she did something wrong, it was not painful. Once again,
I was locked up in the secret hall, desperately resisting the servants who took blood. So Xu Xiangguo put poison in my food. This deadly poison erupts on the fifteenth of every month, causing pain to the bone marrow. Xu Xiangguo was willing to give me pain relief powder
only if I cooperated with the servants who took blood.
Month after month, I was tortured to death, but my sister was more and more radiant.
My cardamom has recovered from her illness this year.
Xu Xiangguo no longer needed me, so when he was poisoned again, no one gave me analgesic powder. The lascivious servant took the opportunity to slip into the secret hall and wanted to force me.
I killed him with a hairpin in the struggle, and the blood sprayed and the wall was red.
My movements attracted other servants, and the screams of the servants in the secret hall increased. On
a cold moonlit night, they were frightened by their death and did not close their eyes. I’m the
only one with a calm face.
Finally, Xu Xiangguo came, but he looked at everything in the secret hall and was not surprised.
I saw joy in Xu Xiangguo’s eyes.
He said, I am heartless and have a talent for killing people.
So he began to teach me kung fu and allowed me to walk around the house. I tried to find the antidote in his temple, but I couldn’t find it. I began to cooperate with Xu Xiangguo to help him kill people
for the pain relief powder on the fifteenth day of each month. Most of the people
I assassinated were people who disagreed with Xu Xiangguo’s political views.
Of course, I kill people for selfish reasons.
In the course of several outings, I was repeatedly injured, so I met a medicine man.
The medicine man found the antidote for the deadly poison on my body, and one of the medicines was the blood of the heart.
Therefore every time I kill, I will gouge out its heart.
But every time the antidote is prepared, it is always useless.
The medicine man said that this antidote can only be made from the blood of the person who treats me sincerely.
But no one in the world will treat me sincerely, even if it is a medicine man, it is also a sense of righteousness to me.
Therefore, the lack of blood in my heart, the poison on my body has been unsolvable.
Xu Xiangguo in both light and dark, he finally became the minister of the humerus, the emperor gave the crown princess of Xu.
At this point, all the sworn enemies of Xu Xiangguo, except for a high power of the same high prime minister, were almost all killed by me. Once again, I have no use for it.
So, Xu Xiangguo decided to kill me.
On the one hand, the dirty things he let me do can disappear with me; on the other hand, we can pray for her by offering sacrifices to heaven with Xu’s close relatives.
When I think of Xu, I think of another thing.
Once I was seriously injured in an assassination, and when I returned home, I saw Xu Wei playing the piano in the courtyard.
It was a very demure and beautiful picture. I had some strange feelings in my
heart, perhaps envy.
So, at the end of another assassination attempt, I took some jewelry from the dead lady.
I washed all the jewelry stained with blood and handed it to Hsu with a smile. “Sister, this is for you.”
I mean no harm, really.
I just wish I could read her books and play her piano because I gave her a gift.
Just once.
But he screamed and shook off the jewelry. “How can you play the piano and study books like a snake and scorpion?”! Get away from me!
My pathetic sense of shame, along with the jewelry, was torn apart.
That month, I killed many people and completed all the tasks given to me by Xu Xiangguo. But he didn’t give me analgesic powder on the grounds that I harassed Xu.
The poison hair was really painful. The pain in the
memory overlaps with the pain in the present. In the
past fifteen years, I have never shown a trace of vulnerability. I hate vulnerability, because vulnerability will only become a handle for Xu Xiangguo to further torture me.
But now, the pain of the poisonous attack has made me lose my mind.
A salty liquid dripped into my mouth, and I struggled to ask the question that had been hidden in the deepest part of my heart: “Why don’t I deserve it?” Why can I only be in the dark forever?
I sobbed out of breath. In a daze, someone seemed to gently wipe away my tears. His voice was anxious: “What are you talking about?”
I really want to.. Become Xu, but I.. Nothing deserves.. Before I almost fainted from the
pain, it seemed to be my illusion that I heard such a sentence:
“What are you talking nonsense again?” No matter whether you are Xu or not, in my heart, you are worthy of everything in the world.
The next morning, I woke up from a nightmare and sat up. With a
bang, my forehead hit Zhou Rongshi’s forehead.
Are you all right? I thought something was wrong with you all day yesterday, so I came to see you at night. Even though the palace people said no one was allowed to enter the temple, I still forced my way in. Then I found that you were not feeling well, so I stayed here, and I gave you medicine.
Zhou Rongshi gently touched my forehead and kept apologizing.
I looked at the two groups of black and green in front of him and asked in disbelief, “Did you stay with me all night?”
Zhou Rongshi nodded.
I tried to cover it up and said, “I..” The sunflower water came yesterday, and that’s why it hurts so much.
In fact, after I was poisoned, Kuishui never came again.
But Chou Yung-shih’s pupil was full of pity: “I guessed it, but why should I hold my discomfort in my heart?”? You should have told me. Don’t try to be brave before me in the future.
No one had ever looked at me like that before. I was stunned and awkwardly changed the subject: “I didn’t say anything in my sleep yesterday, did I?”
Chou Yung-shih said in a gentle voice, “It was some nonsense.”
I was surprised, I’m afraid Zhou Rongshi already knew that I was in the palace for Xu.
This is the crime of deceiving the king. The thought came to
my mind again: He is the prince. If you kill him, the whole prime minister’s mansion will be buried with me.
I tried to reach out and break his neck, but he took my hand and suddenly took something out of his sleeve and stuffed it into my mouth.
I thought it was the poison that killed me, and just as I was about to spit it out, he sealed my lips with his long fingers: “Don’t spit.”. This is a golden jujube from the Western Zhou Dynasty. There is only one box in the whole palace. I got it from my father this morning. It’s good for the sunflower water if you eat more. Then
a strange taste spread in my mouth, which seemed to be sweet.
I’ve never tasted anything so sweet. “I heard all the nonsense you said, but I can understand why you have those worries,”
Zhou Rongshi said slowly. Do you feel that you are not as well-educated and courteous as you are rumored to be, and are afraid that I think you are not worthy of the position of Crown Princess?
I chewed the candied date in a daze. In
less than a month, you will be my rightful wife. Although Xu Xiangguo’s previous description of you is somewhat exaggerated, I don’t care. Even if you’ve done something wrong, or you’ve come from an unusual background, you’re my wife. I will take good care of you and protect you.
Chou Yung-shih paused and laughed again. “I’ve seen a lot of officials, but they’re all in a rut like me.”. Although you always jump out of the naughty and speak wildly, I feel much happier than before. So, don’t worry, you’re really good.
When Zhou Rongshi finished saying these words, his ears turned red again. No one
has ever described me like this.
I looked blankly at Zhou Rongshi’s bright pupil and suddenly remembered the moon I saw through the window coffin last night.
He is really like a full moon, a rare gentleman in the world. Outside
the hall, a servant suddenly came to look for Zhou Rong.
I almost forgot that you have learned your manners, so yesterday I reported to my father that you are in good health. The reception will be held tomorrow. I’m going to arrange the reception now. The Shang Yi Bureau has already sent you the clothes for the banquet. You can try it later, ah.
Zhou Rongshi finished saying this, then followed the servant to leave in a hurry.
But the address at the end of his words, like a heavy hammer, fell on my heart.
Zhou Rongshi was the moon of Xu Yan, and I only touched his moonlight by chance.
I lowered my head and looked at the place on the couch where Zhou Rong had sat, and the mattress had collapsed an inch.
Traces are still there, but people have gone far away. A long sense of loss
in my heart.
Welcome banquet, nine palaces, officials to congratulate, drink crisscross.
Only Xu Xiangguo and Gao Xiangguo didn’t come because of illness. I know Xu Xiangguo didn’t come because he didn’t want to see me and was in a bad mood. As for why Gao Xiangguo didn’t come, I don’t know.
I was dressed in a grand ceremony and met Zhou Rongshi at the gate of the temple.
This dress is made according to Xu’s size, and I am always thin and loose.
When Adu changed clothes for me in the morning, he said that I was wearing this dress, which was extremely ugly.
But when Chou Yung saw me, his eyes lit up and he said, “Very nice.”
His evaluation of me is always different from that of others.
Chou yung-shih reviewed for me the ritual of paying homage to the elders, and said, “Ah, I don’t want you to lose your temper in front of the temple. It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll brush my face.”. I’m afraid you’ll be as sad as you were last time, you know?
I nodded and followed Zhou Rongshi to visit the queen and the emperor with him.
The ceremony went smoothly, and the reception banquet finally began. When
I sat next to Chou Yung, instead of looking at the geisha, he kept giving me the dishes on the table: “You’ve lost too much weight. Eat more.”
After a while, I suddenly heard the emperor say, “Recently Khotan sent me a guqin, but unfortunately there is no one in the palace who is good at it.”. However, I have long heard that Hsu is good at playing the guqin of the Eighteen Kingdoms, so why not let Hsu play a tune for me?
I looked up and saw the expectant looks of all the ministers. The expression on
Zhou Rongshi’s face immediately froze.
But he soon regained his composure and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll think of something.”
In fact, I am not afraid, in front of the royal relatives and nobles for the prime minister mansion shame, why not.
I sat carefree and fearless in front of the Guqin.
Zhou Rongshi, however, volunteered to stand up and said, “I have also studied the Khotan guqin. The rhyme of the Khotan guqin is not like that of ordinary strings.”. It would be better to let the minister explain the sound of the guqin to his father.
The emperor allowed Zhou Rongshi with a smile.
Zhou Rongshi intended to help me, but I had no intention of cooperating with him.
I hated the guqin from the bottom of my heart, so I plucked it hard. The guqin made a strange sound in an
instant, and all the ministers were surprised by the terrible sound of the guqin.
I smiled meaningfully.
But Chou Yung’s face was still serious: “This is the prelude to the guqin.”. Touching our hearts before even the tune is played;
I really admire his ability to make things up.
All the ministers were suddenly enlightened and said, “Oh.”.
I plucked at the guqin again, and the nobles and ladies covered their ears.
Chou yung-shih, still unblinking, says: “This section is full of miscellanies, big beads and small beads falling on a jade plate.”
The ministers immediately looked at each other and said, “Ow.”.
The sunlight was bright, and when I looked at the extremely serious Zhou Rong in the light and shadow, I suddenly felt that playing the piano was not so annoying.
I played the piano happily, but the faces of the ministers became more and more ugly. At the end of the
song, all the ministers seemed to have a nervous breakdown. Only Zhou Rongshi was still trying to come up with words to explain the sound of my piano. As soon as
I sat back in my seat, Chou Yung-shih grabbed me by the ear and said, “Hsu Hsiang-kuo is a father, but his goddaughter is no good!”! You’ve come to harm me!
“It hurts!” I cried.
In fact, in the past, even if I was seriously injured, I never cried out for pain, but now I am devilishly delicate. Chou Yung-shih
still didn’t want to let go, so I quickly flattered him and said, “Chou Yung-shih, you have noble character and integrity, and Zizhi’s eyebrows..” Let go of your hand..
Chou yung-shih finally let go of his hand, blushing, and knocked me on the forehead: “The big wedding is less than 20 days away. From tomorrow on, follow me to learn the etiquette of the big wedding!”
05
Day by day, the weather is getting hot, and the palace people have set up a brocade to protect the flowers and trees.
Xu Xiangguo still did not find the robbed Xu. So, I have to learn wedding etiquette.
I sat under the budding flower tree, listening to the tinkling sound of the golden bell in the wind, and listening to the clear voice of Zhou Rongshi reciting the Ritual Code.
I studied very seriously for no reason. With three days
to go before the big wedding, the palace was full of festive decorations.
Zhou Rongshi came to my temple in spite of his busy schedule to teach me the poems to be read at the wedding banquet.
He handed me the scroll and said, “Aw, read it.”
I said earnestly, “Winter, worm, its weight, Xi Xi..” The more
I read, the more Zhou Rong laughed and turned red. In the end, his face was so red that it melted into the happy curtain behind him.
I crossed my waist. “What are you laughing at?”
Chou yung-shih finally burst out laughing: “I just think that the fact that he can take apart the three Chinese characters for’katydid ‘and read them so long is really a natural gift.”
I threw the scroll angrily and turned to go. But Zhou Rongshi grabbed me and pressed me on the couch. “Do you know what this poem means?” My
heart was beating like a drum and I couldn’t speak.
“It means more children, more happiness, and harmony and happiness.” Chou Yung-shih leaned over my ear, his lips carelessly brushing my earlobe. “We’re going to get married in three days.”
His voice rustled in my ears, bringing tingling and warmth to my whole body.
But after the warmth, it is more cold.
I asked him, “If I were not the Crown Princess, would you still marry me?” The lamp in
his eyes froze for a moment, but it was still warm: “I will.” “How can you marry me?”
I chuckled. “Then I don’t want the crown prince,”
he said solemnly.
The words are really sincere. When
I looked at Zhou Rong’s heaving chest, there might be something in it that I needed.
I know I have been seeking the antidote, do not need Xu Xiangguo, on my own will soon be able to get.
It’s just that I don’t believe Zhou Rongshi will give up the position of crown prince for me.
So, heart blood, still have to wait for us to really get married that day, when the bridal chamber can get.
But I am still a little afraid, I am not Xu after all, all hope is just a mirage. On the eve of
the big wedding, I saw Xu Xiangguo, and his words were full of sincerity.
He said that Xu’s whereabouts were still unknown. He was sorry for me in the past fifteen years. When I married Zhou Rong, it was a sure thing. He also said, “I hope I can forget the past and take care of each other in the palace.”.
Finally, he gave me a secret box, saying that in the box was the highly poisonous antidote on my body, but that the antidote could not see the light, and that I could open the secret box to detoxify it the next time the poison was released.
I didn’t forgive Xu Xiangguo, and I don’t know if the antidote is in the secret box.
But I still took the secret box and hid it carefully under the couch in the hall.
In this way, even if Zhou Rongshi’s heart blood is not the antidote formula, with this secret box, there is no danger. Flowers and candles are moving in
Los Angeles, and new moths are painted in Qi Li.
Wedding night.
I walked out of Shangqin Hall. According to the etiquette, I should first go to the elders to worship and recite poems, and then go to Chengwu Gate to meet Zhou Rongshi. Under the guidance of Adu,
I walked to the Jiuxiao Hall where the Holy Queen was.
The sky was faintly purple, and there were thick clouds in the western sky. It might rain.
Along the way, I was reciting the song “Katydid” over and over again.
When I stepped into the Hall of Nine Clouds, I found Xu Xiangguo was also in the hall. The mirage collapses
in the next moment.
Xu Xiangguo’s voice echoed in the hall like a nightmare:
“Your Majesty, make decisions for the old minister!”! She is not a minister at all! She is a person with high appearance. On the day of receiving
relatives, Gao Xiang sent a secret guard to rob the minister’s daughter, and then sent the woman, who was seven points similar to the minister’s daughter, to Xu Fu. High phase threatened the old minister, if the old minister dare to speak this matter, will be the life of the minister’s daughter.
Later, the old minister in the secret investigation to know, this replacement woman is the high phase of the dark guard, killed countless loyal ministers in my court. These are the letters between this woman and Gao Ye, the son of Gao Xiang.
The audience was in an uproar, and Xu Xiangguo presented letters one by one. “I’ve had doubts about you since the Guqin incident,” said the
emperor’s cold majesty. “How can you argue now?!”
The letters were sent up and down by the emperor, and I saw clearly that the letters were all written by Xu. Just as
I was about to argue, Xu Xiangguo opened his mouth again and said, “My daughter is now in Gao Ye’s hands. There must be evidence of her fornication with Gao Xiangguo in the palace.”. Your Majesty! Please search the hall of the upper harp!
After a while, someone in the palace found a secret box in my hall.
It was a secret box containing the antidote. At this time, it was full of “letters of friendship between me and Gao Ye”. In a flash,
I realized that Xu Yan and Gao Ye, the only son of Gao Xiang, had a private life, so she was taken away by Gao Ye’s dark guard on the wedding day. But now, these letters have become the evidence of my fornication.
I was supposed to chant katydids in front of the emperor and the queen.
Katydid feather, katydid. Descendants of Yier, Zhenzhen Xi.
Zhou Rongshi told me that the meaning of this poem is more children, more happiness, harmony and happiness.
But what good is more children and more happiness? Who can achieve harmony and happiness?
I am also the daughter of Xu Xiangguo, but he wants to use my life to save the elder sister Xu Tiao who eloped in disregard of the imperial edict; and then put all the dirty things he asked me to do on Gao Xiang’s head; and finally take the opportunity to destroy his last strong enemy Gao Xiang.
What a brilliant Xu Xiangguo.
I don’t think I can argue.
As the saying goes, a tiger does not eat its children. I think it is really ridiculous.
The emperor was already furious: “Somebody, take this woman to the Dali Temple!”
The bodyguard came forward, buckled me and pushed me out of the temple. I looked up and saw the smile hidden in Xu Xiangguo’s black eyes.
I walked out of the Hall of Nine Clouds, and in an instant, there was thunder and heavy rain outside the hall.
At the same time, there was a sound of hooves from far to near. In
the rain curtain, I saw Zhou Rongshi in a wedding dress on horseback.
He wore the coronet of the grand ceremony, all of which he had taught me to recite in the Book of Rites: nine white beads, with a group of tassels, the color of which was like a ribbon, green ears, and a rhinoceros hairpin.
I think Zhou Rongshi came in such a hurry to question me or kill me.
Sure enough, he drew a sword from his sleeve.
I closed my eyes frankly, but there was no expected sword to seal my throat. When
I opened my eyes and saw Zhou Rong pointing his sword at the bodyguard behind me, he smiled and held out his hand to me. For the first time in
years, someone reached out for me. Ten thousand kinds of tenderness congealed in
Zhou Rongshi’s pupils: I have always strictly observed the rules of the palace and never disobeyed them. Only once did I make an exception for you. Come with me.
When the words fell and the wind blew on my face, I was pulled on horseback by Zhou Rongshi and fell into his solid embrace.
The emperor shouted behind me, “What are you doing?”! That thief is not the Crown Princess at all.
“If that’s the case, then I won’t be the prince!” Chou Yung-shih shouted into the Hall of Nine Clouds, saying forcefully, “Father, please forgive me for being unfilial.”. Son minister talent sparse virtue thin, really don’t deserve to take on the heavy responsibility of the crown prince. Today, my son is here to step down as crown prince!
I was surprised that what he had said was true. The voice of the
emperor’s great anger came: “It’s all turned!”! Catch them!
When Zhou Rongshi heard the sound, he immediately drove a fierce horse.
“I’m good at martial arts. I’ll protect you.” I wanted to jump up, but Zhou Rongshi still hid me in his arms.
Zhou Rongshi’s lips were bleeding, but he smiled: “You forgot what I said again. Don’t try to be brave in front of me.” As soon as
the words fell, he gently protected my eyes with his hands.
Behind me are arrows all over the sky and swords all over the ground, but I can’t see them.
I leaned on Zhou Rongshi’s chest, where the most sincere blood in the world was surging. When
I heard Zhou Rong’s heartbeat, once and again.
To pacify all the vagrancy of my life.
06
Zhou Rongshi took me and spent a whole day and night to escape from the capital surrounded by the Shenwu Army.
I couldn’t tell where the blood was on his wedding dress, but I knew he was badly hurt.
We settled in a cave, and there was a gurgling spring in front of the cave. In the
cave, I wanted to treat the wound on Zhou Rongshi’s body and reached out to untie his coat.
Chou Yung-shih was stupefied and stopped my hand. “Sang Sang, wait a minute. You can’t do this until you’ve taken a bath and burned incense.”. Although the situation is urgent now, I should go and clean up first.
After that, he approached the mountain spring, washed away the blood on his face, and then approached me with a red face.
I laughed. “Where do you want to go? I want to treat your wound.”
Chou Yung-shih’s lips still turned upside down: “Sang Sang, we have to finish the wedding first.” His breath is between
heaven and earth, and his encirclement is so resolute.
I could not suppress the trembling, only to feel a dripping in my heart.
I opened my eyes in a daze, and when I saw Zhou Rong’s eyes touching me, he was stunned.
His body is a lot of new wounds, but my body is a crisscross of scars.
I think he was frightened by the horror of me.
I picked up the wedding dress beside me and tried to cover myself with it, but he hugged me with his eyes slightly red. “In fact, I realized that your life experience was not simple as early as the day your sunflower water ached. But how much have you suffered?”.
This is the first time I cried when I saw Zhou Rong.
The powder is fragrant, the sweat is wet, the Yao Qin is wet, and the spring teases the crisp and melts the rain cream.
The sky is quiet, the earth is quiet, the wind is quiet, the moon is quiet. Between
heaven and earth, only Zhou Rongshi and my heart are rising and falling. Only then did
I know that there was another painless thing in the world. After the
clear light dispersed, I lay in Zhou Rongshi’s arms and told him about the secret temple, the blood collection, the assassination, the sacrifice to heaven, and all about me in the dark.
The only thing I didn’t tell him was the poison on my body and the antidote I never made.
I saw him cry for the second time.
The next day, we went on our way without stopping.
I deliberately took Zhou Rongshi to the pharmacist I knew very well to heal and escape. When
the medicine man saw us coming, he placed us in a small courtyard.
We spent seven days in peace, during which Zhou Rongshi made a living by weeding the medicine garden of the medicine man.
He used to live a rich life, but now he doesn’t feel hard. Every day when he finished his work, he would ask for some red dates to enrich my blood from the pharmacist. On the
seventh night, I watched the full moon quietly. On the full day of the
fifteenth month, the poison on my body had broken out, and my chest began to ache.
After a while, Zhou Rongshi came back in the moonlight. Holding back the pain,
I went to meet him, wiped the dust from his face, and whispered, “Oh, you’re back.”
He answered me with a passionate kiss and carried me to the couch.
After a while, the clothes on our bodies had disappeared, leaving only the sparse moonlight covering our bodies. When the
feeling is strong, the poison on my body breaks out badly. I finally opened my mouth and asked coldly, “Do you love me?”
“Naturally, I love you, Sang Sang.”
“Since when?”
Very, very early.. In fact, I grew up with compliments. Why don’t you think about how I can be confused by one or two compliments from others. But every time you praise me, I blush. Everything is because I like you. In fact, Sang Sang, the first time I saw you, I thought you were more beautiful than portrait.
I recall the time when I was learning etiquette and playing tricks on Zhou Rong.
It turned out that his feelings for me started so early. When
I looked at Zhou Rong’s chest, he always wore a heart-protecting mirror on his chest before.
So, after we escaped from the chaos, even though he was scarred elsewhere, his chest was still white.
I spoke in a low voice, but somehow I couldn’t bear it: “Chou Yung-shih, actually I..” I want..
Chou Yung-shih rubbed his chin against my forehead, and the fire of desire kindled in his pupils: “What do you want? Say it.”
I pulled out a wry smile: “I want your heart.”
Zhou Rongshi smiled sincerely: “My heart has long been in your place.”. Didn’t I just say..
A moment later, his smile froze on his face.
I put the dagger hidden under my pillow against Zhou Rongshi’s chest.
The army did not pierce his chest, but the peak of the dagger in my hand had already pierced the skin of his chest.
There was bright red and glittering blood oozing from the wound in his chest, drop after drop.
Zhou Rongshi looked at me in horror, but his voice was still gentle: “Sang Sang, for you, I give up my position, abandon my relatives, and become a fugitive thief..” Why? The pain
on my body was unbearable. I gritted my teeth and said, “I have been poisoned by Xu Xiangguo since I was a child. This poison will break out on the 15th of every month.”. I have found the antidote, but I still need a medicine guide-the heart of the person who treats me sincerely.
I knew early that Xu Xiangguo would not give me the antidote easily, so I learned the affectation of the woman in the script and wanted to cheat your heart. I wanted to marry you instead of Xu before, but I just wanted to gouge out your heart in the bridal chamber on the wedding night.
Today is the 15th, and the poison has broken out. I’m in pain now, but I don’t want to be in pain anymore.
Zhou Rongshi’s face became more and more pale, and I said the last sentence ferociously: “Zhou Rongshi, you treat me very well, I know you treat me sincerely.”. But I have always adhered to the precepts of life and death and the supremacy of selfishness. So today you must die.
The servant said that I was very bad, Adu said that I had a heart of snakes and scorpions, and Xu Xiangguo said that I was heartless and desireless.
I have always felt that these evaluations could not be more accurate.
I have seen through the fickleness of the world and never believed in love. All my life, what I want is not to love, but to live.
I calmly waited for Zhou Rong’s rage.
But he didn’t. The mist in his eyes condensed into rain, but he was still smiling: “Sang Sang, so that’s it.” As soon as
his voice fell, without waiting for me to react, he stepped forward and let the dagger pierce his chest.
He unsteadily took the celadon bowl at the head of the bed, took a bowl full of red heart blood, and then he put the celadon bowl back properly.
“Sang Sang, you really scared me,” said Chou Jung-shih, holding my face gently in his hands. “I thought it was Hsu Hsiang-kuo who tortured you and forced you to kill me, and I was afraid you would be hurt. So you’re doing it for yourself. Sang Sang, then I’m relieved.
I looked at the bowl of red heart blood, I think I should be happy.
But I listened to Zhou Rongshi’s words, but forgot to take the bowl.
Zhou Rongshi finally fell to the ground, but still laughing: “Sang Sang, go quickly.” Prepare the antidote.. In the future, you will never be in pain again.
Zhou Rongshi wanted to say something else, but as soon as he opened his mouth, only a steady stream of blood gushed out of his mouth.
His pupils gradually enlarged, and the thousands of tenderness in his eyes gradually dispersed.
With my experience of killing all the time, I know that Zhou Rongshi is going to die.
Tears unconsciously overflowed the bank, and I suddenly felt my chest festering inch by inch.
There is a kind of pain that has never been felt before.
“Chou Yung-shih?!”
At the end,
Zhou Rongshi’s knife pierced the whole chest.
The pharmacist said that he had been seriously injured, and such a knife would undoubtedly add insult to injury.
Although I have used Zhou Rongshi’s heart blood to prepare the antidote, the poison on my body has already been untied.
But I realized later that there were more painful things in the world than that poison. Only then did
I realize that I had always strictly observed the precepts of life-and-death and selfishness, but only once, I made an exception for Zhou Rongshi. Only then did
I realize that a long time ago, I learned etiquette, played tricks on him and wanted to marry him, not for the sake of my heart.
All because I love Zhou Rongshi.
Zhou Rongshi has been dying and has not woken up.
Zhou Rongshi gave me a long life, but I owe him too much.
Therefore, I can only use the endless years behind me to repay this debt.
I will continue to test the medicine for Zhou Rongshi until the temples are greying.
I will always wait for Zhou Rong to wake up, until the end of time and the end of time.
