Chapter 8 Chapter Eight Light and Deep Peach Blossom Deep and Light Makeup

When he got up in the morning, Shang Xun saw that the last autumn chrysanthemum in the yard was withered, and the petals were tightly hugged on the branches, fading to withered yellow. The weather is already cold, and the air that comes out has turned white.It was not cold inside the hall, there was a burning ground dragon, but Shang Xun felt that it was stuffy inside, he would rather be outside, the cold made his mind clearer. Seeing him standing in the cold wind, Jingtai was so frightened that he hurried over with his cloak, put it on him, and persuaded him in a low voice: "Long live, let's go back to the palace. Long live's dragon body is related to the well-being of the world."

Shang Xun waved his hand open and said, "I can't breathe inside." Jingtai didn't dare to speak, and stood behind him, not daring to vent his breath. Shang Xun looked up at the gloomy sky, the magnificent and magnificent Miyagi was in the haze, unable to show a gleam of brilliance.The best time has passed. The beautiful nameless flowers on the rockery, the flowing clouds lingering with the sound of the flute, and the privet flowers falling on the collar in midsummer seem like a lifetime away. "Concubine Sheng De, what have you been doing lately?" He didn't know what was wrong with him, so he suddenly asked her.

Jingtai hurriedly replied: "The prince is not feeling well recently, he seems to be frozen, and has been living in Chaoqing Palace, Concubine De should be taking care of him." "Frozen? There are so many people in the prince's mansion, how could he be allowed to freeze?" Shang Xun sneered. "Yes...the Empress Defei punished the prince by making him freeze in the Jinshui River for half an hour..." Jingtai said anxiously. Shang Xun frowned in disgust: "Xingren is only twelve years old, no matter how wrong he is, he is still a child, how could she have the heart to punish him like this?"

Sure enough, she is not the flustered woman on the rockery when I first met her. In fact, she is a cold and heartless woman. No matter how nice he is to her, she cannot make her fall in love with him completely. She is still entangled with King Rui. clear.Even though she knew he was so reluctant to part with her, she still coldly rejected him who was on the verge of death—even if it was perfunctory. However, since she was able to confuse him with so much tenderness and cuteness at the beginning, why didn't she continue to deceive him?He would rather she deceive him with her false face for the rest of her life, so that he would not know her true face until he died, than it would be so sad to think about the past now.

Shang Xun looked at the dark sky, the slight chill on his body made his newly recovered body start to attack again, his chest and headaches were terrible.He turned around helplessly and returned to the hall, sat there and read the memorial for a while, then looked up in a daze. Jingtai stood beside him, carefully serving the tea, but suddenly he heard Shang Xun call him: "Jingtai." "Yes." He bowed his head. "Go to... Chaoqing Palace." Ever since he suffered from the cold and had no choice but to stay in Chaoqing Palace, Xingren lay down for several days, looking dying every day, trying to make Sheng Yan look good.Who knew that no matter how much he pretended to moan and suffer, Sheng Yan never visited, as if he didn't know, which made him itchy with anger.

Xingren has been lying on the bed and couldn't get up, but he couldn't stand it until the end. It was worse than going to jail for a lively twelve-year-old naughty child to stay on the bed. After carrying it for a few days, he resignedly gave up , I got up and went out for a walk. Now that it's winter, there are not many small bugs, and of course ants are not easy to find.He walked around in the yard and found a small flower window on the wall, so he leaned over to look inside. The weather was cold and cloudy, and all the trees standing in the cloudy sky were bare, only a few plantain trees were still green.Under the banana tree, there are clusters of holly trees, which are still green.

Among the remaining greenery, Sheng Yan was sitting in the middle, wearing a light yellow shirt, bent her head and concentrated on the embroidery stand, drawing the pictures of her hands stitch by stitch.Looking at her peaceful appearance, Xingren suddenly felt that in the winter chill all over the garden, it was only because of her tranquility and beauty that these green colors were born. Her eyes are slightly drooping, her eyelashes are slender and thick and black, and the top of her head is full of plantain green, and the color of her skin is also dyed light green, like jade with a little water color, giving people a kind of gentleness and warmth in spring.

He clearly knew that he shouldn't, and he hated this woman very much, but at this moment, as if he was fixed there, he stared at her quiet and flat expression, her slowly moving fingers, unable to move his eyes away. "Oh, Your Royal Highness, this is not allowed!" Diao Mu found him peeking here, and hurried over to him through the flower window.Sheng Yan looked up and took a look here, stood up, lightly patted off the thread on the clothes, walked to the flower window, and asked with a smile: "Your Highness is healthy?" Xingren let out a "hum" and turned his face away, only to feel that his heart was pounding by her smile.Sheng Yan asked Diao Zhu to get some children's favorite food, and she also turned to Qixia Pavilion.

Xingren saw a few beautiful chrysanthemums blooming in the hall, so he ran over and picked a spring water green wave, and said, "This flower is so beautiful, let me wear it for my concubine." Seeing the child's smiling face, Sheng Yan was a little disgusted, turned her face to the side, avoiding his hand, and said, "I am your concubine mother, when you see me in the future, it is better to abide by the royal rules." "Is it the royal rule that children can't get close to their mother and concubine?" He smiled and didn't care. This kid looks so delicate and cute, but he looks like a rascal, which makes people feel breathless.Sheng Yan reached out and took the chrysanthemum, and held it in her hand without saying a word.

Xingren looked at her cold expression, and said with a smile: "The Taifu once told me that although chrysanthemums can clear away heat and detoxify, some are poisonous, and they are pyrethrums. The chrysanthemums here are not poisonous ?” Sheng Yan glanced at him: "As long as you are careful and behave yourself, everyone here will take care of you carefully. How could you meet a poisonous flower?" Xingren walked over slowly, and asked, "Since you are my mother and concubine, it is logical for me to hold your hand compared to King Rui, right?" Sheng Yan finally got a little angry, this child really didn't know what to do, she had already warned him, yet he dared to mention King Rui in front of her, she was about to shake off Xingren's hand, when someone coughed softly outside.

Sheng Yan turned her head to look, but it was Jingtai standing there, covering her mouth in embarrassment.It was obvious that the cough just now came from him, and the person standing beside him was Shang Xun. She stood up hastily, pulled her hand back in bewilderment, and looked at Shang Xun. He clearly saw and heard what Xingren said just now, but he walked in with a calm expression as if he didn't know anything, and asked Xingren, "Is your health better?" Xingren quickly lowered his head and said, "It's much better." "Concubine De takes good care of her, she is a caring person." He glanced at Sheng Yan.Sheng Yan bowed her head speechless, and threw the spring water and green wave in her hand on the ground. He signaled Jingtai and Xingren to go down first, the Qixia Pavilion was quiet, only the two of them were left. Shang Xun turned to look at the wintersweet outside. It was cold, and the wintersweet had already begun to bud. The dry branches were dotted with gray and black round flower buds, which could not be called beautiful.Winter is like this, gray and dark, dull and tasteless. He looked back at Sheng Yan, and saw that she was wearing a simple light yellow uniform, her hair was loosely tied into a bun, because she didn't know that he was coming, she had no jewelry on her head, her face was upright, there was no rouge on her lips, only her ears Wearing a small bead.The early winter sun shone through the window crack behind her, and the brilliance of the bead on her cheek was always shining on her face, dotted with stars, shining brightly. Just like the first time they met, he was dazzled by the brilliant light and lost his mind. Involuntarily, he walked over and hugged her tightly, as if forgetting the past resentment towards her, he tightened his arms tightly. Sheng Yan felt the strength of his arms, as if he wanted to rub her into his body, he hugged her so hard that she couldn't even breathe.She buried her face in his arms, the familiar smell of ambergris made her feel as if she was sinking, and her whole body was exhausted. In this trance, she heard Shang Xun whispering in her ear: "You... really disappoint me." Sheng Yan looked up blankly, not understanding why he said that suddenly. "I... originally wanted to hide this matter, and let everyone in the world know about it. Who knows, you can't even hide it from a child who doesn't often enter the palace. It is estimated that everyone in the palace has already passed away. Now you know……" Sheng Yan listened to his cold tone, but didn't know what he was referring to, hesitated, and looked up at him. He looked down into her eyes, and said word by word: "You and King Rui are too flamboyant." Sheng Yan turned pale with shock, and opened her eyes wide in astonishment. "So, you call me...how can I tolerate you anymore?" Shang Xun let go of her slowly and asked in a low voice. Sheng Yan kept silent, only feeling that her heart was cold. After a long time, she lowered her hands and said in a low voice: "Please let me go out of the palace and go home... just treat me as I have never entered this place, never I met you..." Before she finished speaking, her voice was choked up, and big tears rolled down immediately. Under the gray and black sky, there was silence, and the world seemed to freeze, not even the sound of the wind. Shang Xun felt as if his chest had been hit, with severe pain.He pressed his heart, the wound from that time seemed to have never healed, and it was still in a heart-piercing pain. "After leaving me... what are you going to do?" "I...recite Buddha's name for the emperor's long fast, and pray for the emperor's long-term peace, eternal happiness, and happiness for the rest of his life..." she whispered, murmuring like a raving. Shang Xun looked at her and sighed in a low voice: "Then why bother?" Sheng Yan was silent for a long time, knelt down on the ground, and burst into tears: "I... before entering the palace, I did know King Rui once, but even so, I have never done anything to offend the emperor, Sheng Yan... has a clear conscience .” "There are so many eyes in the palace, of course I know that you can't have anything to do with him." Shang Xun looked down at her and said in a low voice, "What I care about is that you are always by my side, but your heart is not there." "I..." Her voice trembled, not daring to raise her head. In fact, she can completely deny it, can swear that she has always loved Shangxun, but she is still silent at last, she knows that she will never forget that day in her life, in the spring rain, in the peach blossom, separated by heavy rain far and near, She met him face to face, and it was a lifetime mistake. Suddenly downhearted. When her father died, her mother held her hand and said, Ayan, let's live on. Now, she no longer has the confidence to live a good life. This life is so difficult, even if the palace is beautiful and prosperous, and the court is full of power, she is destined not to get what she wants. Shang Xun saw her desperate expression, he stretched out his hand, lifted her chin, and let her face him squarely.Her chin was sharp, she lost a lot of weight, and her eyes became bigger and bigger. In the tears, his reflection reflected in them was blurred. If this person doesn't have a heart, even if he is just an unconscious porcelain doll, staying by his side is better than being around him but having his heart in someone else's. Shang Xun let out a long breath, bowed his head to kiss her tears, put his lips on her eyes, and tasted her bitter tears with the tip of his tongue. Somehow, when his lips touched her soft and smooth skin, the blood in his heart seemed to boil immediately, he just wanted to hold her like this forever, if her soft body was a pool of water, he would also be willing to throw himself into it and drown inside. He really, would never be her match. Really hopeless. He pressed her down on the couch, kissed her delicately, felt her trembling under him, tightened his arms, held her tightly in his arms, and buried his face in hers shoulder. They used to sleep together every night, embracing each other, but now, the two of them felt like they were embracing for the first time, and they didn't know how to continue. Sheng Yan clenched her lower lip, opened her eyes wide and looked at the algae well above her head, where dragons and phoenixes danced in all kinds of gorgeous colors, but at this moment these colors seemed to be pouring down, and the world in front of her eyes was blurred. They didn't speak, they snuggled up on the couch quietly, and he suddenly felt so sad that he wanted to cry.This is the person he loves, she is by his side, entangled with his body.How happy he would be in this life if he didn't know her heart. He bent his face, pressed it against her ear, and called her softly: "Ayan..." Sheng Yan heard it, and she responded in a low voice: "Mmm..." "I have given you two chances, but you have let me down." He put his lips against her ear, and said softly, "Now, I... give you another chance. If This time you let me down again... I will never forgive you again. " Sheng Yan remained silent, she turned her face to look at the dry branches outside the window, her eyes became hot, and warm liquid slid down the corners of her eyes. Shang Xun gently kissed Sheng Yan's palm, kissing the palm lines on it, as if kissing her life. She calmly buried her face in the brocade, letting the tears be silently sucked dry. Empress Defei is really an admirable woman. The people in the palace had nothing to do in the first place, and now they finally had something to talk about, so of course they had to talk about it with great joy. "That's not true. Originally, she didn't know why she was offended by the emperor, and she had already been sent to Yuncheng Palace. She thought she would never be able to stand up again. Who would have thought that after only a few days, she would return to the palace again. gone." "Besides, isn't the relationship between the emperor and her still the same as before? I really don't know what method she used to win over the emperor." "And now, even the crown prince recognizes her as his concubine mother. Isn't she more powerful than the queen in this palace?" Concubine Sheng De, who had already been sent to the palace and could not live forever, was suddenly favored by Shang Xun and became a hot celebrity again. Such a powerful method naturally aroused a lot of discussion among the idle palace people . Wu Zhaoshen was listening casually, when he suddenly saw two servants passing by in front of the palace gate, and the person behind them was King Rui Shangjie.He stood in front of the gate of Chongfu Palace, listening to their conversation indifferently, until the guard at the back called him during the daytime: "My lord, what's the matter?" "It's nothing." He said, turned his head away, and Wu Zhaoshen saw the cold light in his eyes. It can't be... Concubine Sheng De once offended this prince who can't be offended... Wu Zhaoshen thought to herself, she knew that when Sheng Yan came in, King Rui had picked on her and wanted to let her out of the palace go. King Rui has always had a problem with Concubine Sheng De, now that he knows that she is favored more and more, so he is unhappy? Wu Zhaoshen secretly worried about Sheng Yan in his heart, thinking, what's the use even if the emperor likes her?King Rui, the Queen Mother, and the Concubine don't like her. It seems that her future is bleak. Unknowingly sighed secretly for her. The weather is fine, and the plum blossoms all over the palace are set against the snow, and they are dizzy under the sunlight. Sheng Yan sat quietly under the plum blossom embroidering, the surrounding was quiet, except for the rustling of petals falling, there was nothing else.Tired of her wrists from embroidery, she raised her head and silently looked at the plum blossom above her head. Behind her, Diaogu offered her some tea, and she took a sip of it, and someone from the Chuizi Temple came running outside and shouted, "Empress Defei, Your Majesty wants to see you!" She thought she was just asking about the imperial court, so she didn't care, she responded and went in to change her clothes.I wanted to wear something more prudent, but the crimson plum blossoms came through the curtain outside the window, and the whole room was reflected in delicate colors, so I sighed and changed into thick and warm peacock silk.This material is crimson in the dark, but light red in sunlight, it was sent by the inner palace when she first entered the palace. When passing through the plum blossoms, seeing the delicate color of this tree, she was in a trance, as if she saw the expression of Prince Rui raising his head and smiling at her under the peach blossoms in spring. Flowers are frivolous lives, blooming recklessly, no matter where you are.She looked at it quietly for a while, and said to herself, she is very happy now, very happy, what's the use of thinking about the past? A Yan, live well. At least she didn't have to be afraid of the pain their mother and daughter had suffered after their father died. Life is like this, how lucky. When she arrived at the Chuizhi Hall, she realized that it was unusually quiet today, with all the academicians and governors absent. Shang Xun was drinking tea in the hall, when he saw her coming, he just motioned for her to sit beside him. She looked around and saw that Shang Xun was just bowing his head to approve the memorial, so she couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Is there anything the emperor asked me to ask?" Shang Xun raised his head to look at her, and said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's just that the sky is so cold, and this palace is so big, it's really deserted... It's always warmer with you by my side." She couldn't help laughing and said, "It's not cold, there are earth dragons in the hall." He looked at her and sighed in a low voice: "I don't understand the style." He raised his hand to stroke her cheek, and she raised her eyes to meet his eyes. Like their first encounter this spring, the two looked at each other. She was the same, beautiful and calm, only somewhat tired. He is still the same, handsome and calm, but his expression is in a trance, he doesn't know what he is thinking. They both saw that the other had no clear eyes. The two looked at each other in silence until Jingtai came in and reported, "Lord Rui is here." Sheng Yan stood up in shock, Shang Xun called her over today, unexpectedly there was King Rui.Shang Xun looked back at her, and suddenly smiled at her and said, "It's nothing, why do you have to look like this?" Sheng Yan was at a loss, and could only give a deep salute to King Rui who walked in. King Rui had seen Shang Xun, and then returned the salute to her, and the two sat down, speechless to each other. Shang Xun smiled and said, "If you don't look at the flowers in spring, wouldn't it be a waste?" King Rui nodded slightly, and didn't look at Sheng Yan, and she didn't know what was going on today, so she just stood there silently. Only Shang Xun was very interested and said, "I went to the Imperial Garden a few days ago and saw that the plum blossoms there were well pruned, but I don't know if they are in full bloom now." Jingtai said next to him: "I went to see it, and a few flowers bloomed here and there, and they look pretty in the snow." Shang Xun frowned and said, "How can there be an atmosphere of appreciating plum blossoms here?" Sheng Yan hesitated and said: "My palace is open well, if the emperor and Prince Rui don't mind it, you can go and have a look." "Chaoqing Palace faces the southeast, and the climate is warm. It should indeed be the best place to open." Jingtai said hastily. Shang Xun turned to King Rui and asked, "What do you mean by brother?" Unlike these two, King Rui had never been interested in viewing flowers, so he said casually, "Let it be as the emperor pleases." When he got outside Chaoqing Palace, Shang Jie paused for a moment and glanced to the side.Sheng Yan looked back at him, but he withdrew his gaze, hesitated for a moment, and followed them in. Diaogu offered refreshments, the three of them drank a few cups of tea in the front hall, and turned to the back to look at the plum blossoms. In fine weather, the flowers lined the entire courtyard with bright red. Now it is the plum blossoms in Chaoqing Palace. At its best, Kazuki blossoms are spread out like rouge brocade. Shang Xun looked back at King Rui, only to find that Sheng Yan was standing not far behind King Rui. She lowered her face and looked at the fallen flowers on the ground. The sun shone on her clothes and gave off a faint red light. Before the surrounding crimson background, there was a quiet , her radiance almost illuminated the entire cold palace. As if surrounded by the morning glow, so beautiful, so moving. People who watched felt indescribably quiet, the surrounding wind stopped flowing, and everything was soothing and stable. Shang Xun turned his head to look at the sky, as if deliberately breaking the tranquility at this moment, he smiled and said to Sheng Yan: "I haven't heard you play the flute for a long time, today is a beautiful day, why don't you play a song?" Sheng Yan nodded hesitantly, then turned to Diao Zhu and said, "Go get the flute." Diaogu hurriedly went to the storeroom, opened Sheng Yan's flute box, and picked out a jasper flute, a purple bamboo flute, and a yellow bamboo flute.Jingtai came over and handed the other two flutes in her hand, one long and one short, and said: "These two are used by the emperor." She took the tray and brought the five flutes over, and presented them to Shang Xun first. Shang Xun reached out for the flute and motioned her to choose one for Sheng Yan.Sheng Yan took a look, and took the yellow bamboo flute she usually used well in her hand.Shang Jie said: "I don't know this kind of thing." He refused. "Then what song does the emperor like?" Shang Xun asked with a smile. Shang Jie pondered for a moment, and said: "Let's ask Empress Defei to play "Falling Plum Blossoms"." Sheng Yan held the flute in his mouth, and the sound of the flute was like drops of pearls falling to the ground, melodious and clear. Shang Xun tapped the flute in his own hand to beat the time, and listened intently.Shang Jie sat next to him and listened to the song "Falling Plum Blossoms". The melody of this piece is soft and melodious, combined with the fact that the sun is shining brightly on the snow, the plum blossoms around are falling without wind, and the people in the scenery are intoxicated. Shang Xun put the flute in his hand to his mouth to be with Sheng Yan, but he was slightly surprised, turned to look at it and said: "Why is the flute wrong today..." Shang Jie was sitting next to him, and when he heard the words, he leaned over to look slightly, but unexpectedly, before Shang Xun finished speaking, a cold light flashed in his flute, and a thin dagger hidden inside quickly pierced King Rui's chest.This dagger is blue in color and has an extremely sharp edge. King Rui saw the opportunity quickly, and immediately turned his body to one side, but the distance between the two of them was too close. Although he dodged quickly, he only avoided his heart. He only heard a soft "boo", and the dagger was already on the ground. His shoulders reach the handle but are gone. Sheng Yan, who was playing the flute, was horrified by the sudden change at this time, so she stepped back a few steps, and slammed into the plum blossom tree behind her heavily. Affected by this shock, Kazuki's messy petals slanted down, and all fell on her body. After receiving that knife, Shang Jie stretched out his hand to strangle Shang Xun's neck in severe pain, and pressed him hard on the stone table. Since Shang Xun was shot by the arrow last autumn, he hadn't been able to raise him well all winter. At this time, the chest and back were attacked, the old wound was open, and a mouthful of blood was sprayed on the sleeve of King Rui's robe. Hearing someone yell "Guardian!", dozens of people in full armor rushed in, and the leader was Youcheng Jun Rongyu, the Defense Department of the capital, who rushed to put the knife on the neck of Rui Wang Shangjie.Shang Jie couldn't hold it any longer, the blood on his chest flowed down the blood groove of the dagger, soaking half of his body.He staggered and sat on the railing, pointed at Shang Xun reluctantly and asked, "... Your Majesty?" Shang Xun was out of breath, and it took him a long time to turn around. His face was bloodless, pale, staring at Sheng Yan, and called her in a low voice: "Ayan..." Sheng Yan's eyes were completely dark at this time, and all the bright and beautiful scenes had turned gray and black.She didn't have the strength to walk over, so she could only lean against the flower tree, and answered in a low voice in a daze: "Yes..." "You made a great contribution today..." Shang Xun suddenly raised his voice and said, "If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't be able to get rid of King Rui's conspiracy..." Sheng Yan saw Rui Wang Shang Jie's cold and despairing gaze on her in a daze, and only then did she understand Shang Xun's intention.But she looked at the blood in front of her eyes and couldn't say anything. The winter sun is warm, and the plum blossoms are delicate, and the petals fall on her body, blending with the clothes, making it impossible to distinguish.It was as if, the large swaths of blood in front of her were painted together, who could tell which ones belonged to Shang Xun and which belonged to Shang Jie. But, in fact, there is no difference, one is the person she promised at the Sansheng Pond, and the other is the person she sleeps with every night, no matter who it is, it is the same pain and sorrow as her. She threw away the flute in her hand, buried her face in her knees, and burst into tears silently.