Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Lilac Knot

Xuanqing must have known about my hasty departure.However, he didn't come looking for me. I thank him for his understanding, because with this understanding, even if I choose to keep a distance from him, I can gain a little peace and numb my chaotic heart in peace. When returning home, Jinxi tidied Ling Yunfeng's Zen room neatly. Flowers and trees were planted in front of the court to welcome me back from illness. The days went by so peacefully.It's just that in this calm, I have more and more time to lean on the window sill in a daze, often in an evening or an early morning.When I was in better spirits, I carefully sowed the seeds of Xiyanhua collected from the Qingliangtai into the soil, and watched them pull out light green and light yellow buds.

Jinxi sighed slightly, and stayed by my side. Finally, one day, she asked: "My lady has come back from Qingliangtai to recuperate, and she seems to be a different person." I watched the new young leaves bloom on the branches one by one, and said softly: "I have been ill for a while, maybe I lost weight again." Jinxi stared at me silently, "On the Qingliang Terrace, but what happened?" I smiled wearily, "Jinxi, there is nothing." Jinxi said: "If there is no such thing, why does Mr. Wen come here often now, but the prince never sets foot again?"

As she said, Wen Shichu did come to see me often. Putting his hand on my pulse, he said gently: "Your body is much better now. It's just that your spirit is still weak, why don't you go out for a walk to relax." I withdrew my hand and put down my sleeves, he looked at me silently, "Sister Huan, I always feel that you have been depressed since you came back from Qingliangtai." I raised my eyelids and said, "My depression didn't start today, so why bother with Qingliangtai?" He was silent, with concern and relief in the corner of his eyes, "Maybe I was overthinking. But it's a good thing for you that you left Qingliangtai."

"Good thing?" "That's right." Wen Shichu's eyes showed a trace of complexity that I couldn't understand, "I always feel that King Qinghe is a danger that makes people easily bewitched. You'd better not get close to him." "Bewitched?" I smiled lightly, "Are you worried that I will be bewitched by him?" "No, no, no," he waved his hand, "I'm just thinking about you, that's not what I mean." I lay lazily on the table, gently stroking a branch of peach blossom in the bottle with my fingers, and said lightly: "No matter what you mean, I don't care."

The peach blossoms are in full bloom, and I suddenly feel tired. How can the bright red flowers match the elegance and beauty of the green plums? Thinking like this, let the peach blossoms bloom and fall, the spring of this year passed like this. On a certain day in late spring, it is the time when flowers are falling and the fragrance is falling to the ground.I was in a good mood that day, and I remembered that the strings of "Sauvignon Blanc" had been repaired by Concubine Shu Gui for almost a year after they were damaged.So he got up to visit Concubine Shu Gui, who was practicing in Anqi Temple.

But he didn't want to open the door to go in, but he saw Xuan Qing head on, standing beside Concubine Shu Gui with his hands up and down, talking with great interest.His figure flashed into my eyes so unexpectedly that I held my breath for a moment. I haven't seen him for three months. Qingliangtai is not very far from my residence.I thought to myself, when I want to see each other, I can see them every day, but once I deliberately avoid them, such a short distance can be as far apart as the world. Thinking of this, I couldn't help being startled, and my steps stopped.I was about to retreat quietly, but Cumulus saw me, came forward with a smile and said, "My lady hasn't come for a long time."

Hearing the sound, Xuan Qing turned to look at me, with a broad smile like the blue sea and clear sky on his lips, and nodded to me.Silently thinking in his heart, after three months, he actually felt so much better. I couldn't retreat anymore, so I also went up to meet him, and gave a blessing to Concubine Shu Gui, and then turned around and smiled at him. Concubine Tai waved at me and said with a smile: "The weather is fine today, and it's rare for you to be willing to go out for a walk." Chatted a few words like this.The three of them stood side by side in the backyard, watching the flowers fall silently on the long green grass in the courtyard.Turning his head, he saw Xuan Qing standing with his hands behind his back, tall and tall, with a calm and peaceful expression, and he felt very peaceful in his heart.

After a long time, Concubine Shu Gui smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I enjoyed the fallen flowers in such a quiet way." I smiled lightly and said, "Luohong is not a ruthless thing. It turns into spring mud to protect flowers. It is more rewarding than spring flowers." Xuan Qing stared at me slightly, and quickly turned away as if nothing had happened. Concubine Shu Gui took a fallen flower in her hand with a smile, and said softly: "In this season of falling flowers, listening to the sound of falling flowers, I would like to listen to the qin." She called Cumulus Yun to the inner hall and said to me: " The strings that were damaged last time have been repaired, and you are just trying to see if you are good at it."

I haven't played the piano for more than a year since the last time the strings broke. Xuan Qing's smile gradually entered his eyes, my gaze was drawn by him, and stayed on his waist, my heart warmed and then cooled again.Sure enough, the flute named "Long Xiangshou" was pinned to his twisted gold lock silk belt. just in case…… Before my thoughts of "what if" came to my mind, he already said: "It's just right. My son carries 'Long Xiangshou' with him, and he can play a song with his wife." The lady's ensemble is remembered in the Qing Dynasty, the lady's piano skills are very good."

I deliberately didn't look at him, and just said modestly to Concubine Shu Gui: "The old master of 'Long Lovesickness' is here, how dare I boast about my piano skills, it's really a trick. As for the ensemble with the prince, it was also many years ago It’s over, if the prince doesn’t tell me, I almost forgot about it.” Xuan Qing's gaze dimmed slightly, as if a bright candle was blown by a strong wind, and then it was just as usual. Concubine Shu Gui's expression moved, she was as drunk as smoke, and said with a gentle smile: "After the death of the late emperor, I will never touch 'Sauvignon Blanc' again. I have never heard the sound of this ensemble again."

I searched for excuses and said: "In the place of Buddhism, I'm afraid it's not suitable to play the piano and play music." Cui Yun persuaded from the side: "The concubine and the lady are just cultivating with their hair, and the prince is also a wealthy and idle person. Since the three of them understand music theory, and they don't want to be mediocre in this view, it's okay." Xuan Qing looked at me, as if seeking advice.Although I couldn't bear to refuse in my heart, I kept my reason and didn't allow myself to agree. Just as I was about to speak, Concubine Shu Gui's expression turned to be as sad as blue tiles and thin frost, and she said: "Then, Miss Zhen, please grant my wish as a widow. I really want to hear it again in my lifetime." The beautiful sound of "Long Lovesickness" and "Long Xiangshou" played in unison." Tears could already be seen in her amber eyes, I couldn't bear to refuse any longer, so I said, "Okay." Xuan Qing focused on me and asked He Yan: "What should I play?" I concentrated for a moment, but what came to my mind was that day when I played the piano in Tangli Palace to soothe my mind, and what I couldn't continue for a while, but he took it up outside the side hall far away.So he blurted out: "Yes." Unexpectedly, as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he also excitedly said: "How are you?" Concubine Shu Gui smiled slightly, "The two of you have the same heart." I blushed slightly, felt a little uncomfortable, and said with a quick smile: "It's just because the name of the piano is 'Long Lovesickness', so my lord and I thought of this place." He also said: "My concubine loves to make fun of me the most. My wife and I don't have any kindred spirits, it's just that we fall in love according to the situation." Concubine Shu Gui smiled and said: "Very good. Although I don't know much about writing, I still know Li Qinglian's. How about just this one." I agreed, and tuned the strings to test the sound, and Fang slowly stretched his sleeves and plucked it.At the same moment, the sound of his flute also rises slowly and lightly, as clear as a wisp of a secluded spring, and his pulse is as refreshing as a human heart. Such a familiar flute sound.My initial discomfort was silently soothed by his flute at that moment.Concubine Shu Gui listened intently, seeming to be absorbed in it.After I finished playing a flute, I heard that his flute sound did not stop and pause. I turned my head slightly, but saw him raising his eyes and smiling slightly at me.As soon as I concentrated on it, I understood it in an instant, and the tune turned up with his flute sound, and started again from the beginning. But I heard a gentle female voice sang softly with me and his ensemble: Sauvignon Blanc breaks the heart.The sun is about to fade away, the flowers contain smoke, and the moon is as bright as a plain, worrying and sleepless.Zhao Sechu stopped the Phoenix Column, and the Shuqin wanted to play the mandarin duck strings.This song is intended to be passed on by no one, and I would like to send it to Yan Ran with the spring breeze.Yijun is far away across the blue sky. In the past, Hengbomu was now a fountain of tears.If you don't believe me, my concubine will be heartbroken, and I will come back to see the mirror. Sauvignon Blanc, in Chang'an.Luowei's autumn cries at Jinjinglan, the slight frost is desolate and the color is cold.The lonely lamp was lost in thought, and rolled up the curtain to look at the moon and sky and sighed.A beauty is like a flower separated from the clouds, with the long blue sky above and the waves of Lushui below.The sky is far away, the soul flies away, and the dream soul does not reach Guanshan. In such a mournful and bewildering tune, the sound of the flute is faint, but there is no feeling of mourning.Even the sound of my piano is clear and bright but not stagnant.But Concubine Shu Gui's singing voice was full of emotion, but not desolate. At the end of the song, I just feel comfortable in my heart, and all my worries are poured out along with the sound of the song. Concubine Shu Gui smiled like a stamen facing the wind, nodded her head and said: "It's been a long time since the late Emperor passed away, I haven't heard the sound of 'Long Lovesickness' and 'Long Xiangshou' together, but you two are very worthy of this pair of qin and flute." I smiled and said humbly: "I haven't played the piano for more than a year, and the gestures are inevitably a little rusty. Fortunately, I haven't tarnished the ears of the concubine." The concubine looked at the pair of flutes affectionately, touched the body of the flute lovingly, and said with a smile: "Very good, I finally feel at ease after hearing it today. In the past, the emperor only thought you were beautiful and intelligent, so the emperor bestowed 'Sauvignon Blanc' on you." , I have been worried for several days, if you are that poor at the piano, then you really let down my "Long Lovesickness". Now that I heard that I am happy for this piano, it is considered that there is a good master who complements each other and cherishes it gone." I hurriedly said: "The concubine is too famous, how dare I be called it." Concubine Shu Gui said sternly: "I don't mean to praise you." She concentrated slightly, as if she was immersed in good memories, her smile was like flowers and snow piled on trees, and the moon was bright, "To hear the piano and flute ensemble again today is very similar to that day when I and the late emperor Ensemble fun." What Concubine Shu Gui said was unintentional, I heard it in my ears, and my heart was like five strings of a piano string, and when someone's hand plucked it hard, it made a mess.Turning his head involuntarily, he happened to meet Xuan Qing's gaze, and felt the burning inside, his face turned red. But Cumulus Yun said again: "What the concubine said is true. Other pianos and flutes are fine, but our 'Long Lovesickness' and 'Long Xiangshou' are different. We have to test the skill and skill of the players. It is not enough just to have skills and skills, but also to have a sympathetic heart and to know each other when performing together. More importantly, there must be affection in it, otherwise, there will be no charm of lovesickness and staying together." My heart tightened, but I said with a nonchalant smile on my face: "Auntie Cuiyun said that, it made me run into a blind cat and a dead mouse. Didn't it happen by accident? I only played with the prince once. It is reasonable to say that they know each other, but it is really ridiculous and generous if they say that they are affectionate. It is just a joke for the concubine." Aunt Cuiyun smiled and said: "I'm the one who said it was happy, I've checked it properly, my lady, don't be offended." I hurriedly said, "How dare you." Concubine Shu Gui slowly poured a cup of tea and handed it to me, she said with a faint smile: "Speaking of which, the most important thing for an ensemble is the tacit understanding of each other. If there is no tacit understanding, no matter how superb the skills are, it will be in vain .In short, today I can hear the harmonious sound of 'Long Lovesickness' and 'Long Xiangshou' again, and I have no regrets." Xuan Qing accompanied Concubine Shu Gui and said with a smile: "In the past, it was just an ensemble of qin and flute, but now there is singing by the empress mother, it really is perfect." I also laughed: "It's true that if the prince said, the ensemble of piano and flute can only feel the charm of it, and it is even more unique if you don't sing the lyrics directly. For the princess, the affection in the world is direct and clear rather than subtle and tactful. It fits the concubine's temperament." The concubine smiled, rubbed my hair lovingly, and said, "Miss Zhen is also my bosom friend." I smiled and said: "The concubine said that, it shows that she really loves me." Concubine Shu Gui caressed Xuan Qing's shoulder with a smile, brushed off a few fallen flowers for him, and said with a smile: "My concubine's bosom friend is also your bosom friend, I think you and Madam Zhen can also have a few words." Xuan Qing laughed, "Mother and concubine don't know, in the past, when talking about a few poems, books and history, if the son is not careful, he will fall into the disadvantage of the mother. I am really ashamed." Concubine Shu Gui laughed in horror, pointed at me and said: "Miss Zhen looks gentle and graceful, she doesn't want to be so sharp in her words, she can make my son willing to bow down, it's really amazing." I covered my lips and smiled: "My lord is so humble that he can't choose what to say. Does the concubine believe it? The lord is just coaxing me in front of you. Turn around and don't know how to laugh at me." Xuan Qing heard the words and said urgently: "Qing is really telling the truth, absolutely dare not laugh at my lady." After talking and joking like this, they also dispersed.Xuanqing also bid farewell to the concubine and sent me down the mountain. Xuanqing was walking beside me, and Ajin was leading the horse and followed far behind. The mountain road was winding, and the breeze was blowing slowly, mixed with the unrestrained and clear smell of green grass, which made people feel refreshed.In the wind, I could faintly hear the tinkling of the bells around the horse's neck. From a distance, it sounded like someone was singing a pleasant song.Horseshoes step on the fallen flowers in the mountains, and there is also a sweet and fragrant juice that fills the road.I walked silently with him at a distance of a fist, and neither of us said a word. There are large plants of wild plantains growing at the mountain crossing, and the bright sunlight falls down like a waterfall. The broad plantain leaves are as huge as a cattail fan. Under the sunlight scattered like gold powder, the already emerald green color becomes more emerald Yingying, almost dripping down, exudes a green smell that only grows healthy plants.In the center of the banana tree, there are a few new leaves that have just come out. The bright yellow color is freshly curled, like a few burning candles.A few branches of lilac bloom here and there in the long grass underground, lavender or light blue in color, slender and soft, like a shy and smiling twenty-eight girl. I saw Xuan Qing staring at the plantain and lilac with a smile, so I couldn't help but also said with a smile: "Is the prince laughing at this?" There was a clear smile in his eyes, "I don't know whether to praise the lady for being smart or to say that the lady is terrible?" My smile overflowed from the bottom of my heart, "Then what the lord means is that I guessed right by luck." Xuan Qing stretched out his hand and picked up a purple lilac and sniffed lightly, "Qing laughed just thinking of this sentence. Although Lilac and Basho are together in front of me, at this moment Qing and Niangzi are both in a good mood, and there is no sorrow and lovesickness. This sentence is true. It's out of the question." I smiled and pointed to the "Long Lovesickness" in my arms, "With this thing here, it must be considered suitable for the occasion. This piano is called 'Long Lovesickness'." I looked at a lilac between his fingers, He said softly: "It's very beautiful." Xuan Qing looked at the flowers with pity, turned her head and smiled at Qing Yi: "It is indeed beautiful, but Qing does not intend to give it to the lady." I laughed and said, "Although I don't intend to ask for it, I still want to ask why." Xuanqing's gaze shifted from lilac to my face, and said: "lilac is a flower that loves very bitterly, Qing doesn't want my wife to be like this." "I'm a practitioner, so naturally I won't be tainted with lovesickness. The prince is too worried." I remembered what happened just now, and my eyes fixed on his waist. I said: "'Long Xiangshou' is a precious thing, the prince always Do you carry it with you?" "No." He shook his head and said, "I just bring it with me every time I come here." I vaguely guessed the deep meaning in his words, felt a little scared, and hurriedly said: "The prince is really filial to the concubine." In the past in the palace, when he talked to me here, he always just pointed to the end without leaving any embarrassment.However, today it was very different from usual, and he went straight on. "This is just one of them." His eyes suddenly brightened, and he said calmly, "It's because 'Laucassance' is here with you." He said it so plainly and calmly, as if it was a matter of course. With such a heart, doesn't he know that he can't tell me what he wants? I concealed my smile, turned my face away, and said, "My lord is really interesting. I came here to look for 'Long Lovesickness' for 'Long Xiang Shou'." Xuan Qing's gaze is like the sunshine that is shining all over the sky, covering it with nowhere to escape. He said seriously: "Qing is the master of 'Long Xiangshou', and he is here to find the master of 'Long Lovesickness'." Wet sweat dripped from the palm of my hand holding "Sauvignon Blanc", and the clasp on the body of the piano has a gelatinous texture.There was no way I could avoid it, my face suddenly turned red, and I said awkwardly: "My lord really knows how to joke." He looked at me helplessly, and said for a long time, "You know I'm not joking with you." I hardened my heart, suddenly raised my head to stare at him, and said coldly: "But I can only be a prince as a joke." He didn't stare at me, but stared at me lightly, and said: "You used to be the favorite concubine in the palace, but now you are no longer. Therefore, what I said is not a joke, you have to take it as the truth. Since you Qingliangtai left a piece of paper and left without saying goodbye. I was afraid that you would be sad and embarrassing, so I endured not looking for you. But you know how sad I am. The plantain does not unfurl its lilac knot, and the same spring breeze is worrying about each other. I don’t know you Is it the same as me? But for me, because of your sentence, "I am ashamed to be ashamed of my beauty", this spring is probably the most difficult spring I have ever endured in my life." What he said immediately made me anxious, I said with a flick of my sleeves: "I used to be the favorite concubine in the palace, so even if I am expelled from the palace wall in this life, I can't escape the shadow of the palace." There were sour tears in the corners of my eyes My thoughts overflowed, and I held back, "People are not plants, I don't know the prince's intentions. It's just that Qi Dafei is not a coincidence, and Mo Chou is a remnant who came out of the palace. Unclear." "Because you used to be his concubine, and I was also born in the palace, so you can't accept me." He looked at me with infinite regret and love in his eyes, "I just want to ask you, in the past years in the palace, was there a time when you were in the palace?" Are you having a good day?" Peace and joy?I felt a sudden pain in my heart.Every day, every moment, even with Xuan Ling's grand and grand love.Which day do I live without the blade biting blood like walking on thin ice? Peace and joy, that is something I dare not even think about. I just hope that I can live and live better. He said in a daze: "every time I met you, how could you ever be truly happy. Even crying, you have to try your best to endure it." So many years of suffering, so many years of fighting, my sadness and loss, only he has truly witnessed and comforted me. My heart was ashamed, and I sighed: "Even if there were no days in the palace, the past and the present are completely different." Xuanqing squeezed my eyes tightly, leaving me nowhere to hide.He asked me, "Is there any difference between then and now?" Looking through the haze of tears, he and Xuan Ling actually don't look alike.The edges and corners of Xuanling have the coldness of an emperor, while Xuanqing has the lines and demeanor as gentle as jade.I almost cried, "How could it be different? In the past... I no longer have the heart of a child like I did back then." He interrupted my words and said earnestly: "In the past, you were the daughter of the Zhen family, with a beautiful face like jade; now, you are the woman who was expelled from the palace by my emperor's brother to practice cultivation." He approached me, his breath was so close , wrapping my face around me, "But no matter in the past or now, aside from the days in the palace, you are free and can go to be with anyone. There is no difference between the past and the present. The difference , It’s just your heart.” His words were like the sound of water dripping through a stone, knocking on my heart one by one, “Where is the proud, brave and fearless Zhen Huan I knew before?” "Where did you go?" I asked myself in a low voice, as if asking him, all the grievances and pain in my heart finally gushed out, "She is dead, and Zhen Huan like that died when her family was ruined! The one who is alive now This, called Mochou, is a body left behind by Zhen Huan, and it is not the Zhen Huan you knew!" I spit out the words that have been accumulated in my heart for a long time, and suddenly there was a moment of emptiness and weakness. I staggered a few steps, landed on the stone wall, and gasped for breath. His smile bloomed a little bit of joy in the misery, and that joy looked like a drowning straw. He said, "You just said that people are not grass, so how can you be ruthless? You also like me a little bit in your heart. Isn't it? Just like that day, you will call my name." I shook my head desperately until I became dizzy, as if this was the only way I could affirm my words, "My lord misunderstood me. Because my lord has taken care of me in various ways over the years, people are not grass and trees, so I naturally understand what my lord thinks of me. But I do understand After all, I understand that I can only be a confidant to the prince. If I misunderstood you because I called the prince by his name that day, then it is my fault." His enthusiasm was fading away bit by bit like a candle.I leaned against the stone wall and said forcefully: "My lord once said that there are women like clouds, and I think about them. Although the lady of the Peiguo family is virtuous and beautiful, you just don't like it. So forgive me for offending today." Let me say a word, there are women like clouds, and I think about it. This sentence is really very good, and I have the same thoughts about the prince. Although the prince is the son of the heavenly family, he is a noble man, a prince close to the clan, with both literary talent and military strategy It's Lingyu everyone, but I, Zhen Huan..." I hardened my heart, and said calmly, "But I, Zhen Huan, just don't like it either." The stone wall was cold and smooth, firmly stuck to the vest.The vest was hot and cold for a while, as if suffering from a serious illness.But in the mind, it is cold and cold.It was so cold, as if playing with snow when I was a child, dipping my palms in the ice and snow, it was so cold that it was numb like needle pricks. His breathing was rapid and gradually became heavy, the heaviness and slowness between the breaths and breaths impacted my heart desperately.His eyes looked like a wounded beast, cold and desperate. How I dreaded looking at him, how frightened I was.I tried my best not to turn my head to look at him, but how could I escape from his eyes, covering the sky and the ground.I was looked at by his eyes, and an indescribable emptiness surged up, as if the whole heart had been hollowed out and could no longer be filled.My fingers trembled slightly. I was afraid of being seen by him, so I hid firmly behind me and curled up into a ball. His expression gradually turned cold.After a long time, he pinned the lilac to his lapel, and said with a wry smile: "If you say that, then this lilac, which I miss so much, seems to belong to me." After I finished speaking cruelly, I staggered and ran out, but I didn't realize that tears welled up in my eyelashes. -------------------------------------------------- --- Notes: