On the third day of March in the twelfth year of Tianbao, the haze of the usual days was swept away, and the blue sky faintly revealed a warm and gentle luster.From Chang'an City to Qujiang Pond, winding for more than ten miles, there are endless crowds: men in Futou gowns with leisurely demeanor, women in gorgeous clothes and heavy makeup, girls with narrow sleeves and silver belts in simple clothes, and even There are some Persians, Gaochang people and Kunlun slaves in strange costumes.Although it was not until the time of day, the east and west cities were already very noisy. Along the way, the wine curtain was fluttering. There was a charming orchid standing at the main entrance of the wine shop, Lanling fine wine tulips, grape night wine flirtatious, and Persian salamanders, dragons, etc. The ointment wine is extremely mellow.

This is the Shangsi Day that has been passed down since ancient times, and it is also one of the three major festivals in the Tang Dynasty. From the sages to the common people, everyone is happy, travels in fancy clothes, has a banquet by the Qujiang Pool, and hunts for favorite things in the East Square and West Market. , Enjoy the peace and leisure of the world. The spring is lazy and sleepy leaning on the breeze, and the tender pistils discuss carefully.The women and women who arrived early by the Qujiang Pool hang up skirts on bamboo poles to cover the rising sun, and sit in twos and threes on the embankment. The red, purple and blue "skirts" are reflected on the clear and green river, intertwined Between the rolling palaces, pavilions and pavilions by the river, there is a lot of fun.

"The water of the Canglang is so clear that it can wash my tassels; the water of the Canglang is so turbid that it can wash my feet. Miss, look at the rippling blue waters of this river, which is gentle and peaceful. It is really not inferior to our Taihu Lake." It is a woman dressed as a maid sitting scattered on the east bank, with a low doll, small brows, and a white dress all over her body. The surface of the river water is pleasant and joyful, delicate and lovely.Her lake-blue smock has become a "qunwei", and it is also an odd number among the group of "qunwei", which are mostly red and purple.

The woman called Miss is Shen Zhenzhu. From the point of view of the court, she is a bit slender, but her cheeks are round and smooth, and her facial features are delicate and exquisite. She is indeed a rare beauty, especially her eyes are like water. The charm is flowing, and the wisdom can be glimpsed; the long eyebrows are drawn into the temples, evenly spaced, and the heroic spirit is hidden.She has been in detention since last year when she went to Beijing to visit her father, Shen Yizhi, who was the official secretary and supervisor. Now that the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, after the most bustling "March 3" in Chang'an City, it's time to pack up your schedule and return to Wuxing.She had been facing the river in a daze since then, after listening to the maid's words, she nodded and smiled approvingly: "Su Ci, you have really improved recently, I want to test you, do you know the meaning of this poem?"

This is hard for Su Ci, but she has always been close to the young lady, sticking out her tongue, and said honestly: "Without Professor Miss, how would I know? But yesterday, when I helped you clean up the desk, I saw a book was being opened. There is this poem, which sounds good to me, and I tried to remember it after reading it a few times." "This is a sentence from Qu Yuan's "The Fisherman". The meaning of the words is simple, but the meaning is deep inside. There is nothing better than this." Shen Zhenzhu frowned deeply, as if there was some trouble that could not be solved.

"Qu Yuan! I remember Miss said to me before." Su Ci thought for a while, and said with some difficulty: "Miss said: Dr. Qu Yuan, he is upright, paranoid and sentimental, good at managing chaos, good at eloquence, It's a pity that there is no hope of serving the country, and I died by sinking into the Miluo River." Seeing Shen Zhenzhu nodding, he said: "What does this poem mean, miss, you haven't said it yet!" "At the beginning when Qu Yuan was exiled, he groaned bitterly by the riverside, miserable and distraught, a fisherman stepped forward and asked, "Aren't you a Sanlu doctor? How did you become like this?" Qu Yuan said: "The whole world is turbid. I am alone, everyone is drunk and I am sober, so I was exiled." The fisherman said the sentence you sang, which essentially contains metaphors. Washing the tassels with water is a metaphor for an official in the Ming Dynasty, and washing your feet with turbidity is a metaphor for a fainted world. Yin means to persuade Dr. Qu Yuan to follow the trend and not be too persistent, but Qu Yuan did not accept it in the end." She has been worrying for more than a thousand years, and her brows are slightly sad, as if entering a cloud.

"Oh, I said why! It turns out that Doctor Qu's story has touched the young lady's mind, and the young lady is worrying about whether she should become an official or live in seclusion!" Su Ci was very smart, she laughed strangely, and by the way made a face at Shen Zhenzhu . "Little girl, talk nonsense! I'm a woman, why should I be an official or reclusive!" Shen Zhenzhu said angrily, raising her hand to strike plain porcelain.Su Ci bowed her waist, tiptoed to Shen Zhenzhu's ear, and said in a low voice: "Choosing a concubine, isn't it as good as entering an official through the imperial examination?" You know everything, who told you?"

Su Ci hesitated slightly, so she replied: "It's madam, she... asked me to pay more attention to you!" Shen Zhenzhu had already expected it, and she felt a little sour in her heart, and said, "Mother really expects me to choose a concubine!" He turned his head and asked Su Ci: "What do you think?" Su Ci smiled and replied: "Miss has her own ideas in everything, I don't dare to talk nonsense! I just think that Miss is so talented, it would be a pity not to choose a concubine." While he was talking, he suddenly heard the clear sound of the sound of a stick being raised to open the way, and he saw a row of three colorful chariots passing by on the other side in the distance. Inside the chariot was a beautiful woman with a high crown, adorned with jewels, soaring to the sky, Behind the chariot are waiters and servants full of delicacies and delicacies. In the blink of an eye, they have entered the newly built Liuru Pavilion by the pool and lined with guards.

The lady of the country, the noble concubine... the female pet... Suquan, Anlu Mountain... tourists are talking about it, a dragonfly skimming the water, and the river surface is slightly rippling. "Talent?" Shen Zhenzhu shook her head with a wry smile. There are many talented women in this dynasty, from Empress Zetian, Princess Taiping, Shangguan Wan'er, to Zhongzong Webster, and the recently deceased Concubine Wu Hui. Blood spattered five steps, and the end was bleak.Now it's my turn to go to the muddy waters of the royal family. "Miss doesn't like it, so I don't want to go." Seeing Shen Zhenzhu's hesitation, Su Ci squatted down to play in the water again, and explained with a smile, "Anyway, with your appearance and character, miss, if you want to find a good husband, then you can't go." It’s not easy! We Wu Xing’s distinguished family of poems and ceremonies, the high-ranking officials in the capital, and many princes and young masters have to step through the threshold of the mansion, and the masters and wives are picked one by one, which is no worse than King Guangping and King Jianning’s choice of concubines!"

"You", Shen Zhenzhu couldn't help laughing when she saw that Su Ci was still innocent and innocent, recalling that she had been with her since she entered Shen's house at the age of five, she said she was a maid, but she never suffered in life. Naturally, he thinks about everything in a simple and straightforward way, and he thought about the thing that tortured him recently, and sighed quietly: "Everything in the world can never be as you wish." "Anyway, wherever Miss goes, I will accompany her. I will rely on you for the rest of my life." Su Ci continued without thinking about it.

"Miss, Su Ci, let's go to the bridge and have a glimpse of the whole picture of Qujiang Pond!" At this moment, another maid, Hongrui, ran over excitedly from the direction of Qujiang Bridge. Boots, lightly sweeping the eyebrows, always wear men's clothes to protect the pearls, the Tang style is popular for women to wear men's clothes, passers-by will not be surprised when they see it. "Okay, let's go! Today we're going to have a fun tour!" Qujiang Bridge is a hundred steps away, and there are many tourists on the bridge, pointing out the beautiful scenery and watching the pavilions.Shen Zhenzhu was aroused, and took Hong Rui's hand and walked quickly towards Qujiang Bridge. Su Ci was so busy that she put away her "skirt" and hurriedly followed. "Get out of the way - get out of the way -" Before I got on the bridge, I heard the noise behind me, and I saw a horse galloping straight ahead. Although the roads on both sides of Qujiang Pond are wide, pedestrians still can't avoid it, and the horsemen stand aside Shouting out of the way, while waving the horsewhip, several people fell to the ground within reach, and the order was chaotic for a while. "It's just domineering!" Hongrui has a straightforward temperament, and she can't help reprimanding loudly. "Hongrui—" Before Shen Zhenzhu could finish her sentence, the horseman happened to rush past the three of them. The horseman seemed to have eyes behind his back, and without turning his head, he rolled up the whip and pulled it straight at Hongrui.Hongrui is not inferior, she practiced sword dancing in this dynasty, the emperor's former maid Gongsun Da Niang was a famous swordsman, Hongrui was taught by a famous teacher when she was young, she has some real kung fu, and now the little purple jade sword on her waist is out of its sheath, " With a bang, the whip was cut into two pieces. "Huh?!" The man on the horse was obviously very surprised, he reined in the horse, and the horse neighed a long time before turning around.Only then did Shen Zhenzhu and the others see clearly the face of the man on horseback.Wearing a navy blue arrow jacket with tight sleeves, a wide belt around the waist, a long sword that looks heavy but not decorated, and thick-soled black satin boots on his feet, he is really energetic. He is about 20 years old, with a forehead Broad, sharp-edged face, thick eyebrows, cold expressionless, bright black eyes swept over Hongrui, Shen Zhenzhu, and Suci, those eyes were as piercing as a knife, and Hongrui , I couldn't help but feel a sudden shock in my heart, but at the same time, I recognized who the person on the horse was, "An—" Before Hongrui's voice fell, the person on the horse leaned forward and stretched out his hand, and his movements were extremely agile. In a flash, he was already carried on the horse's back, and the people on the horse pushed the saddle harder, and the horse raised its head to the sky and roared, struggling to move forward, and disappeared in an instant. The horse was very handsome, and galloped for dozens of li, far away from Qujiang Pond, and arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an City.The sunlight is like silver, and the vast expanse of white is sprinkled on the grass that has just sprouted new branches. The grass is delicious and the air is sweet, which makes people feel indescribably comfortable.Only then did Shen Zhenzhu grab the reins, pulled the horse to a stop, jumped off the horse lightly and skillfully, and said loudly to the horseman: "Second brother An, you are crazy enough! Come down and rest." Immediately, the man's face was still cold and calm, his eyes were looking into the distance, his voice was cold but firm, and he said every word: "You are always like this, you are a disappointment." "What do you call Xingtou? Running rampant all over the street, regardless of other people's life or death, is also called Xingtou?" Shen Zhenzhu scolded him first, and then looked at him blankly, as if he had lost his way. With such a cold and handsome face, how could he Heartbreaking.Her heart softened, she stepped forward and pulled him off the horse, sat side by side on the head of the field, and asked, "What's so sad? Tell me." I vaguely remember ten years ago, it was also such a bright March day, in the deep house compound of the Shen family of Wu Xingguan family, she was the most expensive young lady, the maid who served her personally, and the old mother who raised her life, and there was a large circle of people around her. She kicks the shuttlecock. "A shuttlecock, kick in two halves, hit the flower drum, twist the flower thread, kick inside and outside, and the Eight Immortals cross the sea..." Turn, turn, knock, jump, kick, bounce, jump, the shuttlecock kicks faster and faster, the more you kick, the more you kick. Gao, "Okay, okay, miss, here, here, catch it quickly!" She didn't catch the shuttlecock, and the shuttlecock barely landed in his hand.She looked at this poorly dressed young man from outside with some surprise, so thin, his arrogant face stared at her coldly, without a trace of a smile.She had seen many teenagers of his age, from rich families to poor tenants, but she had never seen anyone like him, as if the world had enmity with him. The servant of the Shen residence who followed behind came forward with a smile on his face and reported: "Miss, this is a relative of the Second Madam's family, and he came here to visit relatives for a while." So they got acquainted like this—An Qingxu, An Lushan's second son, she called An Erge, and he was only one year older than her.At that time, An Lushan was just a junior lieutenant general in Fan Yang. He spent his days drinking and drinking, his wife Lu Shi was furious, and took his youngest son Qingxu to trek thousands of miles back to Wu Xing's mother's house. Unexpectedly, he had been away from home for many years, and his parents had passed away. Unexpectedly, she was homeless, poor and sick, so she had to inquire and found Shen's residence, and she went to Shen's second wife, Mrs. Ma, her distant cousin. Under this kind of hostage, although the host's family is warm and hospitable, and will not care about the basic necessities of one or two people, the servants' eyes and neglect are indispensable.Who would have expected that there will be several changes in personnel affairs in the past ten years. Shen Zhenzhu's biological mother, Mrs. Jiang, died of illness a few years ago, and his second wife, Mrs. Ma, became the main wife. Town Jiedushi, armed with heavy soldiers, everyone's expression changes. Only Shen Zhenzhu has special concern for the two mothers and sons.At first, An Qingxu was unmoved, rejected all of Shen Zhenzhu's good intentions, and kept a cold wall between him and the outside world. Not long after, Ma fell ill with fever, and Shen Zhenzhu, who was less than seven years old, twisted a towel and waited for the night with him. An Qingxu became friends.From then on, he slipped out of the mansion to play, caused troubles everywhere, and had a loyal companion.Until a year later, Mrs. Ma died of illness in the Shen residence, and An Lushan sent people to bring An Qingxu back. "Lin Zhi is actually going to participate in the concubine selection. She wants to marry King Jianning." After a long silence, An Qingxu slowly uttered a word.The "Lin Zhi" in his mouth, whose full name is Murong Linzhi, is the daughter of Murong Chun, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, and the younger sister of An Qingxu. . Shen Zhenzhu was stunned for a moment, and replied casually: "Then go, as a senior brother, you can control so much?" "No, I don't want her to go!" The muscles on An Qingxu's face trembled, as if the pain had been torn, and the rein of the horse twitched vigorously on a big tree beside him, leaving a scratch. Shen Zhenzhu immediately understood him mind. "Second Brother An, I advise you to let go. Since Miss Murong has decided to choose a concubine, she can't make any changes now; Will you marry me?" The Hanlin Academy is the place where the edict is awaited, and the Hanlin bachelors are in charge of inner life, and they are called "Neixiang", and the courtesy is very generous. "As long as Lin Zhi is willing, I can take her out of here and live our own lives." An Qingxu pursed his lips tightly and said fiercely. "Will she be willing?" Shen Zhenzhu asked, picked up a handful of small stones, and threw them one by one into the distance. An Qingxu shook her head: "She said she likes King Jianning. During the dragon boat race last year, she fell in love with him the first time she saw him." Turning to ask Shen Zhenzhu: "Pearl, I don't understand. For many years, she can be indifferent to me, but a new acquaintance can fall in love with me so easily." "I don't understand." He repeated, still staring blankly into the distance. Shen Zhenzhu didn't know why, but there was a tinge of bitterness in her heart, and she jokingly replied: "Actually, I don't understand why you have such deep affection for Miss Murong." "That's because—" A slight smile flashed across An Qingxu's face, and he turned the subject: "This is a secret." Then he asked Shen Zhenzhu, "I heard that you will be returning to Wuxing tomorrow." Shen Zhenzhu made a "hmm" noncommittal, and An Qingxu said, "Sorry, I can't see you off tomorrow. I decided to go back to Fan Yang tonight." "What are you going back to Fan Yang for?" "I beg my father to ask Mr. Murong to marry me. I want to marry Lin Zhi one step ahead of the royal family. This is the only thing I ask my father to do, and he has to do it no matter what!" Shen Zhenzhu gasped, indeed, it was so difficult to persuade An Qingxu to let go, and it was against his temperament.I just hope he doesn't make any earth-shaking events. She opened her palm, and a ray of warm light was shining under the sunlight. It turned out to be a pearl. She picked up the pearl with her right hand and showed it to An Qingxu: "You won't forget, when you sent me With this pearl, I said that I can use this pearl to ask you to do any of the three things!" An Qingxu took the pearls, Baoguang Yingyun, Hepu pearls, the best pearls in the world. On a cold night many years ago, her mother swallowed her last breath, still holding this pearl in her arms.His face was serious, and he raised his head to look at Shen Zhenzhu worriedly, afraid that she would stop him from Fan Yang's trip, but he said simply and neatly: "If a gentleman says a word, it's hard to catch up with a horse, just say it!" "Okay!" Shen Zhenzhu took the pearl and said, "Now I want you to do the first thing for me: play with me for a whole day!" He felt relieved, and responded straightforwardly: "Okay! How do you want to play? I will accompany you!" Shen Zhenzhu stepped on the horse, looked far into the distance, and said loudly: "I just need to be as free as before, and ride the horse and gallop, that's all!" The sky is gradually getting dark, and you are driving in the wilderness, the wind is whistling over your cheeks; life, is it like this, galloping, galloping again? In the deep and desolate small courtyard, there is no one to clean the front steps, and the moss marks are green on the steps.Under the dimly lit candles and the ancient scrolls with green lights, the lady's words were so clear and clear: "Are you really willing to join an ordinary family? Think about it for yourself, you are the one who should be selected as the queen of the concubine." Her answer was so hesitant: "The traitor is in power, the court is waiting to be revived, Pearl is probably powerless to do it..." "Because of this, is it possible that you want to control your destiny in the hands of others and follow in my footsteps? As a daughter of an aristocratic family, even if you marry into an ordinary family of officials, can you avoid power struggles? Seeing that within three to five years, I There must be a catastrophe in the court, and the nest will be overthrown...cough, cough..." There was a coughing sound in the sigh. She even choked with sobs: "Madam, Madam... Do you really have the heart to put pearls in that place of eternal doom?" Her answer was a long silence, "I'm not begging you, let alone forcing you. Let's just talk about your temperament. Do you want to live a flat life and accept everything; or do you want to fly against the wind and do your best? The future is certainly slow You are going through hardships and dangers, with your intelligence, what are you talking about? Think about it...the emperor treats the prince..." His voice became even deeper, almost inaudible, "although he is suspicious, but he has always loved King Guangping...only You, can truly assist him and achieve him..." King Guangping... the grandson of the emperor... the future prince... the future... emperor... She hesitated for a long time. "King Guangping, you met him ten years ago. The person who saved your life back then should be him, not me." "At the end of the third day of March, I'll wait for your answer here. If...you don't come, I'll take it as if you agreed..." Madam's voice seemed to echo in the air, mixed with the sound of horseshoes. When Xushi was approaching, Shen Zhenzhu and An Qingxu returned to Chang'an City. An Qingxu sent her to the gate of the mansion. Seeing that she was still in high spirits, her face was flushed, and her eyes were shining brightly. It seemed that there were tears in it. Look closely. Underneath, there was none, and I couldn't help being surprised: "Pearl, you seem to be very happy today?" "Yes!" She nodded briefly.Why not?From now on, there will be no one who belongs to herself like today, free and free; tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, she will swim to another world, hoping to be as vast and boundless as her hometown Taihu Lake. "However, I think you are a little unusually happy." "Really?" Her smile bloomed in the night.Seeing her smile, An Qingxu suddenly felt that thousands of fireworks were suddenly set off in the silent night of the capital, and the prosperity was suddenly born. He was in the fireworks, and he didn't know where he was.Shen Zhenzhu had already entered the mansion, and the vermilion lacquered door closed with a "boom".