Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Leaning on the Plum Snow Night

Unknowingly, it has been three months since I entered the palace.As the New Year approached, the palace gradually revealed a festive atmosphere.There are more and more monks chanting scriptures and praying for blessings day and night in Tongming Hall.On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the annual rewards were also issued.Even though he is a noble person who has been ill for a long time and has no favours, there are still a lot of rewards, and with the gift of Meizhuang Mausoleum and Chun Changzai, he can also have a prosperous New Year.Although Tangli Palace was deserted, Jinxi and the others had smiles on their faces. They were busy cleaning the living room, hanging the auspicious lanterns of the Five Blessings, and posting the word "Fu".

It has been snowing for two days, and the chill is getting stronger and stronger. I stood under the window with a hand warmer in my arms, watching the snow goose feathers fall all over the sky, and the ground is covered with snow day by day.Jingqing came over and said to me with a smile: "My little master, what is he thinking about so preoccupied? There is wind leaking in from under the window, be careful and give me a headache." I smiled and said, "I think everything in our palace is good, but there are a few plum blossoms and pines and cypresses missing. In winter, the yard is bare, there are no flowers or trees, and we can only look at the snow."

Jingqing said: "When the beauties lived in the past, they didn't love flowers and plants the most. They thought flowers were more delicate than people. They especially didn't like plum blossoms. They said that they bloomed all winter, but people's hands and feet were constricted by the cold, and their noses were red. It doesn't look as good as that flower. I also think the smell of pines and cypresses is bad, so I just pulled out the original ones." I laughed: "Smith is so funny!" Jinxi came over and glared at Jingqing, and said, "I can't control my mouth anymore! Remember that slaves are not allowed to talk about masters behind their backs."

Jingqing stuck out her tongue slightly: "The servant only speaks in this palace, and never speaks outside." Jinxi said solemnly: "I'm used to talking in my own palace, so I will talk out of the way outside, and I will cause trouble for the young master for no reason." I smiled and smoothed things over: "Don't say she's too heavy for New Year's Eve." Then I told Jingqing: "I will have a long memory in the future, don't forget what my aunt taught you." Jinxi walked up to me and said, "The nobleman thinks the view outside is not good, why don't you let the servants cut some window grilles and paste them on?"

I was very excited: "I will do this too. We cut and pasted it together, and I am a little more happy watching it." Jinxi agreed happily, and came in a while holding a stack of colored paper and a stack of gold and silver foil.Women in the palace love embroidery and paper-cutting to pass the time when they have nothing to do all day long, and the eunuchs of the palace women are also good at this.So when they heard that I was going to cut window grilles, they all gathered around the couch and started cutting. After two hours, there were a bunch of brightly colored window grilles on the table: "Magpies Climbing Plum Blossoms", "Two Dragons Playing with Pearls", "Peacocks Spreading Their Tails", "Heavenly Girls Scattering Flowers", "Auspicious Celebrations Are More Than", "Hehe Er "Fairy", "Five Blessings", and plant patterns such as "Lotus, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, Narcissus, Peony, Suihan Sanyou".

Each of us looked around and praised: "Jinxi's cut is really good, as expected of an aunt." Jinxi blushed slightly, and said modestly: "How can it compare with the nobleman's 'Hehe Erxian' , is simply lifelike.” I smiled and said: "There is no 'Hehe Erxian' in the world, but I just want to make a random cut. If I can cut out a real person exactly the same, it will be considered a good skill." As soon as the words fell, Pei'er yelled: "Xiao Yunzi can cut portraits of real people." Xiao Yunzi immediately turned her head and stared at her vigorously: "Don't talk nonsense in front of the young master, how can this happen?"

Pei'er was not convinced: "I just saw with my own eyes that Xiao Yunzi cut the portrait of the young master and put the sleeves in his sleeves?" Xiao Yunzi's face flushed red, and she whispered: "The servant dare not disrespect the young master." I chuckled: "What's the matter? I never stick to these details. Just take it out and read it." Xiao Yunzi handed it to me with a face full of embarrassment, and I smiled slightly: "Sure enough! Xiao Yunzi, you have such skillful hands." Xiao Yunzi said: "Thank you for your praise. It's just that the slave is clumsy and can't cut off the beauty of the nobleman."

I smiled and said, "You know how to make me happy with a glib mouth. It has already cut me too well, and I like it very much." Liu Zhu asked with a smile: "He's just a clever ghost. Why do you want to cut the nobleman's portrait?" Xiao Yunzi said solemnly: "Since the young master asked Imperial Physician Wen to save the slave's elder brother's life, the slave and the elder brother are grateful for the young master's great kindness, so they cut up the small portrait of the young master, went back to confess, and paid respects day and night."

I said sternly: "I understand what you and your brother want, but it's not in compliance with the rules, and it's not good to spread it. It's better to post it in my palace." Jinxi got up and said with a smile: "There is a custom in the palace to hang the little things you love on the branches on the eve of the New Year's Eve to hope that everything will go well in the coming year. Since the young master likes this portrait cut by Xiao Yunzi, why don't you also hang it on the tree branch?" Let's pray on the branch, it's also a reward for Xiao Yunzi's great face."

I smiled and said: "This idea is very good." Then I asked Huanbi to get the lottery to reward Jinxi and Xiaoyunzi. In the midst of the bustle, someone lifted the curtain and came in to say hello. It was Bao Juan, the court lady next to Lingrong, who came in with two pots of narcissus and said, "Young servant, I planted a few pots of narcissus. They bloomed today, let me bring them as a gift." Give it to the nobles in Wanwan." I smiled and said, "Coincidentally, we just cut the window grilles of narcissus today, and your mistress sent you to bring the narcissus. Is there any mistress Hui?"

Baojuan replied: "Juqing has already sent two pots over, and I also sent Chun Changzai one pot." I nodded: "Go back and tell your little master that I like it very much, and then bring the window grilles I cut to your little master to hang on the window. It's snowing outside, stay warm before you go, don't freeze." Baojuan agreed to go down. New Year's Eve is coming soon.Mei Zhuang Ling Rong and Chun Chang were invited to attend the inner court banquet hosted by the emperor and empress as usual, so naturally they couldn't come to see me.I was ill, and the queen allowed me to stay in the palace to recuperate, so I didn't have to go to the banquet.After eating the "New Year's Eve dinner" alone, he watched the New Year's Eve with the people below.Pin'er boiled hot water and came in and said with a smile: "Master, the snow outside has stopped, and the sky is full of stars. It seems that tomorrow will be sunny." "Really?" I laughed happily, "This is a beautiful scenery that must be admired!" Jinxi said happily: "The nobleman can just hang the small statue on the branch in the yard to pray for blessings." I said: "What are the dead branches in the yard to hang? Why don't you see where the plum blossoms are blooming and hang the small pictures on it." Xiao Yunzi replied: "The plum blossoms on the southwest corner of Shanglin Garden are very good, and they are also close to our palace." I asked, "Is it Baimei?" Xiao Yunzi said: "It's wintersweet, very fragrant." I frowned slightly: "The color of wintersweet is not good, and the aroma is so strong, like alcohol. Is there anything else?" Xiao Yunzi gesticulated and said: "In the Yimei Garden in the southeast corner of Shanglin Garden, there are jade pistils and sandalwood plums, with red flowers blooming like red clouds. It's so beautiful that people are stunned. It's just far away." On a snowy night and with a bright moon, reflecting the clusters of white plums and floating fragrance, what a beauty it should be.Yearning in my heart, I stood up and put on a feather satin cloak with silver and white emerald pattern brocade, put on the hood and said as I walked, "Then I will go there and have a look." Xiao Yunzi was so anxious that her face turned pale, and she immediately knelt down and slapped herself twice to persuade: "It's all because of my talkativeness. The young master is not well enough to bear the cold. Besides, Concubine Hua ordered to come down a few days ago to say that the young master is infected with seasonal diseases. It is not advisable to go out and walk around, if it reaches Concubine Hua's ears, it will be a serious crime." I smiled and said, "What are you blaming yourself for? It's late at night, and the concubines are all serving the banquet. I also wore this special dress, which is warm and not conspicuous in the snow. What's more, I'm sick After such a long time, it is beneficial and harmless to go out to relax." Xiao Yunzi wanted to persuade me again, and I stepped out of the door in two steps, turned around and said with a smile: "I will go alone, no one is allowed to follow. If anyone is bold If he dares to stop him again, he will be fined to watch the New Year's Eve in the snow all night." After walking out of the gate of Tangli Palace, Jinxi and Liu Zhu rushed to catch up, knocked and said: "I don't dare to persuade the nobleman deeply. I just ask the nobleman to bring a lamp to prevent the snowy road from being difficult." I reached out to take it, but it was a small shofar lantern, light and bright, not to mention being extinguished by wind and snow.Then he smiled and said, "It's still you who are careful." Liu Zhu put a small hand stove in my arms again: "Miss holds it to keep warm." I smiled and said, "You're such a burden, why don't you bring the quilt?" Liu Zhu blushed slightly, but her mouth was hard: "Miss now loves to dislike me more and more, Liu Zhu will be in tears if this continues." I laughed and said, "You will talk nonsense. The more you indulge, the more you don't know the rules." Liu Zhu also laughed: "The maidservant doesn't care about any rules, what cares about is Miss's well-being." Jinxi also laughed. I said: "Take it back. I'll come whenever I go, it won't freeze me." After saying that, I turned around and left. The snow on Long Street and Yong Lane in the palace has been cleared by the palace people, but the road surface is a little slippery, so you have to be careful when walking.It was cold at night, and the concubines were all having a feast with the emperor and empress in the main hall, and the maids and eunuchs of each palace were also guarding their respective palaces to avoid the cold.Occasionally, Habayashi guards and inner eunuchs who were watching the night passed by, but they were a little less energetic than usual, so it was very easy to avoid them.The road to Yimei Garden was a bit long, but fortunately there was not much wind at night, although it was chilly, the thick clothes on my body could bear it.It took about half an hour to arrive. Before entering the garden, you can smell a burst of fragrance from a distance, lingering, if there is nothing, it only lightly attracts people to approach, the closer you are, the more refreshing you will be.The snow in the Yimei Garden has not been swept away, and the snow has just stopped, and it is not yet frozen.The embroidered lambskin warm boots made a slight creaking sound when they stepped on the snow.There is silence in the garden, only the sound of me walking on the snow can be heard.The red plums in the garden are in full bloom, and under the clear and clear starlight that flows down like mercury, they are as red as clouds and rosy clouds, and they are so red that they seem to be burning.There is still a little white snow on the petals, which is crystal clear, reflecting the topaz-like pistils, and the ruby-like flowers, which complement each other and make it more beautiful and proud. The slanting water is clear and shallow, and the dark fragrance floats in the moon dusk." The fairyland! I can't help but take two steps closer, the clear plum fragrance seems to melt the bone marrow of a person to a piece of icy purity.I loved it very much, so I picked a plum branch with the most blooming flowers and hung the statue on it. Regardless of the snow and ice all over the ground, I put down the lantern and knelt down sincerely, praying silently in my heart: Zhen Huan wishes her parents well and her siblings well; Two, I only hope that I can live safely in the palace for the rest of my life; thinking of this, I can't help but feel sad, if I don't want to be involved in the right and wrong in the palace to protect myself, I will have to get sick in this life and bury this body in this deep palace; This third wish, "I wish to have a person with one heart and never leave each other" is even more wishful thinking, and it will never be expected.Thinking of this, even though I already knew that this body would be buried forever in the palace and never see the light of day again, I couldn't help feeling sore in my heart, and sighed a long time: As soon as the words fell, a low-mellow male voice suddenly sounded from behind the flowers and trees: "Who is there?!" I was greatly surprised, there was someone else in this garden!And it's a man!I immediately fell silent, and blew out the wind lamp with a "huh", dodging behind a plum tree, the man stopped and asked again: "Who is it?" Everything around was quiet, only the soft sound of the wind blowing the snow on the branches, and no one responded for a long while.I wrap my body tightly in feather satin.The stars are faint, the snow is white, and the shadows of flowers and trees are intertwined, like the shadows of countless coral branches. It is not easy to find me.I held my breath, slowly stepped up and down, and moved out of the way, for fear of stepping on the heavy snow and making a sound. The man's footsteps were gradually approaching, and he could vaguely see the stone blue sapphire blue boots with the pattern of dragons sailing to the sea, and he stopped and made no sound after a few clumps of plum trees.His tone was rather severe: "If you don't make a sound, I will have the whole Yimei Garden turned upside down." I stood still, with my hands curled up, feeling a little stiff from the cold, and through the shadow of the flower, I saw a silver-gray corner of my clothes not far from me, and the dense pattern of dragons on it could be seen faintly. I was even more horrified, and suddenly turned back Seeing the emerald green maid's clothes flashing past the small gate of the garden, she had an idea and said: "The servant girl is a maidservant who leans on the plum garden. She came out to pray. I don't want to disturb your lord. Please forgive me." The man asked again: "Have you ever studied? What's your name?" I couldn't help feeling terrified in my heart, so I settled down and said, "I'm afraid my servant's name will be dirty." Hearing him take a few steps closer, he said anxiously: "Don't come over—my shoes and socks are wet and I'm changing them." The man really stopped, and he couldn't hear him speak for a long time. After a while, Hearing the sound of his footsteps, he gradually looked away, and there was no more movement, and then he came back to his senses, his heart was beating wildly as if he was about to jump out of his stomach, he quickly picked up the lantern and ran out in a hurry in the dark, as if there was an old man behind him. Frightened as if someone was chasing after him, he ran back to Tangli Palace on broken ice all the way across the long Yongxiang. Jinxi and Huanbi saw that I came in with a dismay, ran away with loose pearls and disheveled hair, they couldn't help but looked at each other in shock, and asked repeatedly: "What's the matter, my lord?" Huanbi quickly poured the tea, I drank it in one gulp, and then said calmly, "There are two cats nesting next to the snow stack in Yongxiang, I don't know who raised them, they jumped on me all of a sudden, really Scary people!" Liu Zhu smiled and said: "Miss has been afraid of cats since she was a child. She saw two at once, so she is not going to be frightened." Dispelling the wind and suppressing the shock." Pei'er responded repeatedly. Jinxi said: "The women in the palace have always loved keeping cats, those cats are wild, the young master is precious, so be careful." He asked again: "Did the young master make a wish?" I nodded: "I promised three. I wonder if Mantian God and Buddha will blame me for being greedy?" Jinxi gave a big salute in a dignified manner, and said with a smile on her face: "Congratulations, my lord. As the saying goes, 'cats bring good luck'. My lord ran into two cats after making a wish, which is not a good omen that my wish will definitely come true. " I smiled slightly: "Whatever is bad is good when you put it in your mouth. If I can really fulfill my wishes, what's the harm in being frightened by it." As I said that, I asked Jingqing to bring water and mix it up for me again. With a bun on his face, he changed his clothes and sat down to hit the horse hanging. The mind must be calmed down, and the heart can't help being suspicious.Today's harem banquet did not invite foreign ministers and relatives.No other man can enter the harem except the emperor.Suddenly, the pair of stone-blue sapphire blue dragon-sailing boots appeared in his mind...the silver-gray hem of the clothes with dense dragon patterns.I was startled suddenly, the Tuanlong Miwen is a pattern for the upper class, and the Prince Xian is not allowed to use it. Could it be the man in the plum garden... Fortunately, I escaped quickly, otherwise I have been in the palace since I entered the palace. It's a waste of time to plan.Jinxi and Xiao Yunzi watched my words and expressions, seeing that I was a little lazy, they deliberately lost a few times in a row to make me happy.I reasoned that I felt a little uncomfortable, and went back to the room first.Jinxi followed in and took off my makeup. I asked leisurely: "Today's harem banquet, did the emperor or empress invite someone else?" Jinxi said: "According to the usual practice, several princes will also come." I gave a soft "oh". The princes that Jinxi was talking about were the first emperor's first prince Qishan Wang Xuanxun, the third prince Runan Wang Xuanji, the sixth prince Qinghe Wang Xuanqing, and the ninth prince Pingyang Wang Xuanfen.The first emperor had seven sons and two daughters.The fifth prince, seventh prince and eighth prince passed away early. Emperor Xuanling is ranked fourth, and the second emperor, Princess Zhenning, is both descended from the current Empress Dowager. Qishan Wang Xuanxun is the son of Concubine Yi, who is the current Concubine Qinren. Although he is the eldest son, he has a cowardly personality and does nothing. He only wants to be a prince who enjoys prosperity. Xuanji, the king of Xiangcheng, was born of Mrs. Yu'e, who was the younger sister of Marquis of Boling. In the tenth year of Longqing's reign, Marquis of Boling rebelled, and Mrs. Yu'er was deeply implicated and died without favor.Xuanji was born with superior arm strength, brave and good at fighting, but his personality was mediocre, and he was not liked by the late emperor. He did not get the title of King of Xiangcheng until after the late emperor's death. Ling's reliance. Prince Xuanqing of Qinghe was smart and intelligent, and because of his mother concubine Shu Guifei, he was loved by the emperor since he was a child. He wanted to make him the crown prince several times, but because of Shu Guifei's background was really criticized by the world, all the officials objected. I had no choice but to let it go.After the death of the first emperor, Concubine Shu invited her to become a monk, and Xuanqing was brought up by Concubine Lin, who had always been good friends with Concubine Shu, who is now the Empress Dowager. She and Xuanling were like the same mother and compatriots, and their relationship was very close.Xuan Qing Xian Yun Ye He is proficient in the six arts, but he doesn't like political affairs alone. He spends his whole day with poetry and books, instruments and music, and his flute sound is one of the best in Beijing. He is called "the prince of freedom". Xuanfen, the king of Pingyang, was the youngest son of the former emperor, and he is only thirteen years old now.Her birth mother, En concubine, came from a humble background. She used to be a darning maid in an embroidery courtyard. After the death of the first emperor, she was granted the concubine Shun Chen, but King Pingyang was brought up by the mother of the fifth prince, Zhuang He. I listened silently, feeling restless as if something was missing in my heart, so I had to go to sleep first.The crowd also dispersed.Sleeping in a daze until the middle of the night, I suddenly sat up in shock, the airflow suddenly brought by my body stirred up the brocade curtain, and I thought of something that made me uneasy—a small statue! -------------------------------------------------- --- Notes: