Chapter 111 Chapter Thirty-Three

It was a hot summer, the blue lotus was in full bloom, and the cool breeze sent all the fragrance of green lotus into the pavilion near the water. Two servant girls half-kneeled on the ground, one fanning on the other. In the four-corner box of the pavilion, there was fresh ice, which exuded cool icy air to cool off the heat. A crystal clear bead curtain was placed in front of the couch. The plain-faced woman in the goose yellow tulle palace dress lay softly on top, her face was covered with blue hair, her eyelashes were long, her brows were lightly furrowed, her complexion was slightly pale, but it did not damage her delicate face, the thin brocade quilt covered her face On the chest, there is a pattern of large roses embroidered on it. The dark white embroidery thread is interspersed with silver threads. Under the reflection of the setting sun, the lustrous light glides like flowing water.

Frowning slightly, a pair of slender and white hands slowly moved, eyelashes like butterfly wings flickered twice, and finally quietly opened his autumn-like eyes.Chu Qiao was in a trance for a moment, looking around in a daze, not knowing where she was. "Ah! You're awake!" This servant girl was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and she was very happy to see her wake up. She got up and ran out, shouting to the people outside: "Wake up, wake up!" "Ma'am, you lie down first, and wait for the imperial physician to take your pulse." After saying that, another maid was about to untie the rope on the bed, as if she wanted to let go of the thick curtain.

There was a black silk mat under her body, her hands were cold, the clothes on her body were drenched with sweat, a few strands of wet hair stuck to her temples, Chu Qiao frowned and looked at the servant girl, and said in a deep voice, "Who is Madam?" "You," the little maid said suspiciously. Chu Qiao looked gloomy, looked around carefully, and said in a deep voice: "What place is this? Who are you? Why am I here?" The little maid seemed to be terrified, and after mumbling for a long time, she murmured: "This is the imperial palace, servant girl, servant girl is Qiu Sui, and Madam was brought back by His Royal Highness."

"The palace?" Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows, and suddenly remembered that she seemed to have had a dream before, and the face in the dream was smiling like a beating. Could it be? She pushed the little maid away, jumped off the couch, opened the tinkling curtains and ran outside. "Madame! Ma'am, you haven't got your shoes on yet!" The little maid almost shed tears of anxiety, and hurriedly followed behind. The setting sun was fiery red and the clear water was long. Chu Qiao was running on the quaint corridor with her bare feet holding her skirt. In the distant green lake, the lotus leaves covered the sky and covered the sun. It was a piece of verdant green. The building with a simple and simple atmosphere is located in the middle of the water. It is completely built of unpainted square wood, unpretentious, and there are patterns of the trees themselves on the logs, and the round and round annual rings can be vaguely seen.The water pavilion is ventilated on all sides and has no fences. The wind on the lake blows through the crisp lotus leaves, passes through the water pavilion, and shakes the layers of blue gauze curtains hanging in the water pavilion.

The green yarn flew up, and in the middle of the water pavilion, a young man was leaning on a square wooden porch, sitting with his legs bent, with a delicate silver jug ​​beside his palm, and no cup, only A few lotus pods that have just been peeled off are sprinkled on the ground as tender and white as pearls.In his hand was a green long flute. He didn't blow it, but just twirled it back and forth between his fingers, dexterously flying around like a dance.A slight layer of mist formed on the surface of the lake, covering the man's eyebrows and eyes, and he could only see the corners of his bright red clothes fluttering lightly in the breeze, like butterflies about to fly.

"Madam! Madam..." About a dozen girls in pink palace attire followed behind Chu Qiao, holding shoes, red hairpins and cloaks and other things, whispering softly, with a voice like cotton. As he was getting closer, the man suddenly grinned and smiled softly. He smiled very beautifully, like a painted meticulous painting, with slightly raised eyebrows and silky eyes. He suddenly put down his flute, and opened his eyes Arm, said with a smile on his face: "Come on, Qiao Qiao, give me a warm hug after reuniting after a long absence!" With a "bang", a fist slammed into the man's chest, and the screams of killing a pig echoed in the beautiful evening. Chu Qiao grabbed the man by the collar and said angrily: "Li Ce! You what the hell?"

"Ah! Protect Your Highness!" "There are assassins! Protect Your Highness!" Disordered screams sounded immediately, and Li Ce coughed and waved to the people around him: "It's okay, it's okay, don't panic, everyone back down!" When the suspicious people around gradually dispersed, Li Ce looked at the girl in front of him with a bitter face, and said pitifully, "I said, Qiao Qiao, can you stop expressing your feelings for me in this way every time?" Is it? It hurts." "What's your plan? Why are you arresting me?" Li Ce sighed helplessly, blinking his teary eyes: "Qiao Qiao, do you use this attitude to face your savior?"

Chu Qiao was not moved at all, and sternly shouted: "Quickly tell the truth!" "I'm telling the truth," Li Ce sighed helplessly: "I met you who was poisoned and unconscious on the way to escape from marriage. If it wasn't for saving you, I wouldn't be caught by my father. Qiao Qiao , I sacrificed so much for you, but you treat me like this, I am very sad." Chu Qiao stared at him suspiciously, her expression slightly relaxed: "Really?" Li Ce immediately raised his hand to make an oath: "It's absolutely true!" Frowning and thinking for a while, Chu Qiao slowly let go of her hand, and then said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Li Ce smiled freely, and said with a smile: "I'm used to beautiful women touching me." As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ce suddenly jumped up like a monkey, pushed Chu Qiao behind the pillars of the water pavilion a few times, and then sat down in the same posture as before. His face suddenly became gloomy, but he ordered: " Don't come out, it will be fine in a while." The breeze was blowing, and the blue lake was wandering. Li Ce, with his wide robe and long sleeves, raised his long flute to his lips, and then opened his lips lightly.

Just when Chu Qiao thought he was going to play the flute, she only heard a few unpleasant hissing and exhaling sounds, and behind her, a melodious sound of the flute suddenly sounded, the melodious sound of the flute made people feel relaxed and happy. Chu Qiao turned her head immediately, and saw an old man with white hair squatting on the ground, playing loudly in an extremely uncoordinated posture. Just when Chu Qiao was confused, there was a burst of chirping laughter. Chu Qiao looked up and saw a group of beautiful young girls passing by under the willow tree in the distance, and heard the sound of the flute , Qi Qi looked over, pointed at Li Ce, his eyes were surprised, obviously he was impressed by his demeanor.

Li Ce was unmoved, and kept calmly playing the flute. His eyes were far away, and it was impossible to see what he was looking at. The gauze curtain was lifted by the wind, making his figure appear illusory, like an exile. After about half a cup of tea, those girls walked away slowly.Seeing a man waving the red flag from afar, Li Ce let out a long breath and said to the old man hiding behind the pillar, "It's alright, alright, don't blow it." The old man squatted there and hid for a long time, his legs were numb, he stood up tremblingly, and said profusely, "His Royal Highness..." "Okay, Master Yu, you can go back, I guarantee that your son will not have to go to the southern border to guard the border, just change...just change...yes, just change to the son of your old enemy Master Lu, who told him he can't brag. Xiao can't play the piano, and the daughter she gave birth to is ugly." "Yes, yes, thank you, His Royal Highness, for the completion." The old man quickly thanked him, and then retreated with the support of his servants. Chu Qiao looked at Li Ce strangely, frowned slightly, and asked puzzledly, "What are you doing?" "Did you see it?" Li Ce's eyes lit up immediately, and he said happily, "In the group of women who passed by just now, there was a woman in a green dress, did you see it?" Chu Qiao frowned and said, "I'm just looking at you playing tricks, so where do I pay attention to the woman in green clothes?" "Hey, it's a pity, it's a pity," Li Ce said shaking his head, "She is the daughter of Mr. He, the servant of the household department who has just been transferred back to Beijing. She didn't look me in the eye twice." "Isn't it strange not to look at you?" "That's natural!" Li Ce said naturally: "Okay, let's not talk about it, no matter what the reason is, it's not easy for you to come to Biantang once, I will do my best as a landlord today, go, I will take you out to play go." Chu Qiao was taken aback for a moment, and asked stupidly, "Play?" Li Ce stretched out his hand, grabbed Chu Qiao's shoulders, and smiled casually: "Qiao Qiao, don't be so rigid, there are many funs in life besides revenge and fighting in Datong." The breeze blows, the blue waves are rippling, and a man and a woman are pulling back and forth on the ebony bridge. In the distance, only a loud noise can be heard. "No, I have something to do, I have to leave soon!" The man explained impatiently: "You are extremely poisonous, you can't go anywhere for ten days and a half months!" Chu Qiao frowned and said in a low voice, "You don't have to worry about my affairs." "Qiao Qiao, can you bear it? I gave up my escape plan to save you and fell into this terrible political marriage. As compensation, don't you think you should accompany me through this last period of free time in my life?" ?” "Li Ce, I want to find someone, can you help me?" Li Ce snorted softly: "A man or a woman?" "man……" "No help." "Don't be so straightforward!" "Other things are fine, but this matter is not discussed! I can't allow a woman to be by my side but still have the ability to miss other men." "What are you kidding, what do I have to do with you?" "No matter what the relationship is, you are insulting my masculinity." Weakly humming: "Li Ce, besides women, besides your masculine charm, can't you think about other things every day?" Li Ce immediately argued righteously: "Yes, I am also concerned about some major national affairs and academic issues, such as the population and per capita quality of women in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the body structure and composition of women, and I am also determined to use my efforts to improve the social status of women in our country." Chu Qiao, who resisted the urge to beat him up because of the last sentence, gritted her teeth and asked, "Oh? Then how do you plan to improve the social status of women in Tang Dynasty?" "Well, I think so," Li Ce glanced around obscenely, and then said in a low voice: "If all the women in the world become relatives of the royal family, then the status of women will naturally be significantly improved." "A relative of the royal family?" "Yeah, for example, serving the royal family's bed by myself, or my daughter's serving the royal family's bedside, or my sister's serving the royal family's bedside, or serving as a mediator, introducing beautiful women to the royal family's bedside, or... Ah! Jojo! This is my territory, so do what you say!" When the lights come on and night falls, the bustling Tang capital is full of hustle and bustle.