Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Four

It is April day in the world!Butterflies fly and swallows dance, flowers bloom and grass grows, the landscape is smiling and full of vitality! At this time, Beijing was not plagued by sand and dust, and the sky was clear and blue. The colors were pure but light, like fresh watercolor paintings.The wind swirls in the air, and you can hear its soft laughter playing with the new leaves when it is playing in the forest.The new leaves that have not sprung for a long time are full of green luster in the sun, so green that it makes your eyes shine, and it seems to be able to lighten your heart. This is the season of lilacs. The branches are densely covered with dark and light purple flowers, and the fragrance can be smelled from afar.I was picking lilacs in a bamboo basket.After drying, it is very good to season with vegetables; it is even better to take a bath to moisturize the skin and relieve itching.However, the lilacs are small, and they must be picked when they are in full bloom. The ones that are not fully opened or those that are about to bloom cannot be picked. I only picked half of the basket in the morning, and my waist is already sore. There are also fine beads of sweat.

Wiping sweat with a handkerchief, Elder Brother Ten and Fourteen came over with a smile, and I hurriedly bowed down to say hello.The two of them looked at the lilacs in my basket, and Elder Brother Ten said, "Do you have to do these jobs yourself? Can't you just send the little eunuch to pick them? Your face is flushed." I smiled and said, "Let them do it. I don't know whether the flowers are good or bad, so I put them all in the basket. I don't trust them." Fourteen smiled and sighed: "You have so many tricks!" I smiled and said nothing. After a while, I saw that the two of them had no intention of leaving, so I asked with a smile, "Are you guys free today? Do you want to watch me pick flowers?" Brother Ten said, "I came here specifically to find you, Yu Tan said You went picking lilacs, and we figured that there are lilacs here." Shisi looked at the lilacs behind me and said, "These lilacs were planted by Empress Wen of Xiaozhuang herself." I'm 'ah' With a sound, I couldn't help turning around to look at the flowers, Da Yuer!That legendary woman from the grassland!For a moment, I can't help but have "Ding Xiang still laughs at the spring breeze, but the human face has disappeared with the wind." 'The sense of desolation.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he asked, "You came to me specifically? Why?" Fourteen said to Elder Ten, "Am I right? She forgot again!" Elder Ten nodded and said, "She took someone else's I remember my birthday clearly, but I don’t remember my own.” After I heard it, I suddenly remembered that it will be my birthday in three days.Ma Ertai Ruoxi's 18th birthday, Zhang Xiaowen's 30th birthday.Coincidentally, Ruoxi and Xiaowen's birthdays are on the same day.But maybe this coincidence is also why I am here. For a moment, I felt old, and I couldn't help saying: "Which girl is patient to remember her birthday? Every year, she gets older by reminding her." Fourteen smiled at Elder Ten, "Listen! Ours is gone!" Elder Brother Shi also smiled, and asked, "Leave it alone for now, do you have anything in particular you want?" I said, "Just buy me some small things like in previous years. Already." Elder Brother Ten said: "Don't you get bored every year? You always have to give something special." I said casually: "I really want something, but I can't get it! Just buy me some fresh food from outside the palace. Just a fun thing to do."

As soon as I finished speaking, Brother Ten and Fourteen looked at each other. Fourteen stared at me and said very seriously: "Talk and listen. Let's talk about whether it can be done or not." Elder Ten also looked helplessly. staring at me. I turned my head and meditated for a while, since I entered the palace, although I can see my sister every year and festival, but I just say hello to her, I have never spoken to my sister in private.If my sister can accompany me on my birthday, it will be the best birthday present.But the rules in the palace are strict, how can we allow our sisters to gossip casually, compared to those people who find it difficult to even meet each other, I am already very lucky.Besides, not long after the incident with the prince, the eighth elder brother seldom walks around the palace, I have never seen him before, so why should I speak up for him because of my own selfishness.

When he turned his head, he smiled and said, "It's just a birthday, you can just pick something fun to give away!" Brother Ten and Fourteen One fell silent when they heard this.Fourteen eyes stared at me and said: "You have been in the palace for a long time, and you have learned all the problems of expressing only one-third of your thoughts, and you are no longer as sharp as before!" I thought to myself, where is this palace?No matter how rough a person enters the palace, he has to become more cautious.I didn't want to explain anything, but looked at Shisi and said seriously: "What's so important about birthdays? Actually, the most important thing is that you are all well. We are all well!" After listening to Shisi, he didn't speak, but his face was calm , watching me silently.Elder Brother Shi also seemed to remember the turmoil that had just passed, and his expression calmed down, and he stood quietly by the side.

Since that incident, although I have met Elder Brother Ten and Fourteen twice, everyone pretended that nothing happened, and asked Ann to answer as usual, and never brought up this topic.A word I said today when I was in a hurry, caused both of them to calm down. Busily drove away the sadness in my heart, and said with a smile: "If you don't leave, I will ignore you. I still have to pick flowers. Take advantage of the free time these few days, pick some quickly. If you miss it, you will have to wait until next year." It's gone." Elder Brother Shi hurriedly said with a smile: "Let's go now! I won't delay your time."

After Shisi finished listening, he was taken aback and looked at me without speaking for a long time.Elder Brother Ten and I looked at each other suspiciously, Elder Ten patted him on the shoulder and said, "What are you thinking about?" Then Fourteen smiled and said, "It's nothing! I just remembered a poem." Elder Ten laughed Said: "You bookbags, you are always afraid that others will not know that you have read books. What are you thinking?" Fourteen looked at me with a smile, and slowly chanted: "Advise you not to cherish gold-threaded clothes, and advise you to cherish your youth; the flowers can be broken when they bloom, and the branches will not be broken when there are no flowers."

After listening quietly, I smiled and didn't reply, but Elder Brother Shi was a little dazed, stared at me for a while, and sighed softly.I leaned over to them, turned around and started picking flowers, ignoring them. After they left, the smile on the corner of my mouth gradually disappeared, and my mouth was bitter.Whether my age is in ancient times or in modern times, I have already passed the marriageable age!While picking flowers, I asked God, I don’t want to be a legend, I’m just an ordinary woman, even though I’ve been hurt and kept my heart in the deepest place, I still have hope, there is a person who is willing to use his true feelings to get rid of that The flower center under the layers of petals.But where is the worthy man?

Looking at the face in the rhombic mirror, fingers gently caressed my face, the skin is fair and smooth, the eyes are clear and crystal, the lips are rouge, this is still a young face, but the heart is old, There is a trace of desolation in my heart. I shouldn't be on duty today, but how should I spend my birthday?Birthday Cake! ! !When I was in Beijing, my mother would buy me a birthday cake every year, and when I came to Shenzhen, my mother would also ask my brother to order a birthday cake for me online and send blessings and love to me.Lie on the table and don't want to think about it anymore.It's been four years, and any hope of going back has long since disappeared.It seems that this life can only be Ma Ertai Ruoxi.

I suddenly remembered that birthday is not the day when my mother gave birth to me?Suddenly unbearable sadness welled up in my heart.Without any desire to think about this day, he got up and took a book from the shelf, and leaned on the couch to read it. Seeing that the cover was a Tang poem, I didn't care. I turned to a page and looked.But it turned out to be "Wandering Zi Yin" by Meng Jiao. I hurriedly threw the book on the table with a 'snap', but the whole poem couldn't go back and forth in my mind. "The thread in the hands of a loving mother, and the clothes on the wanderer's body. Before leaving, the stitches are densely packed, and the meaning may return later. Whoever says nothing about grass will be repaid with three springs."

I let out a long sigh, lay down on the couch, and closed my eyes. I was in a state of distress when I heard a knock on the door and hurriedly sat up, straightened my clothes, and said, "Come in!" A palace lady who was unfamiliar to me pushed the door open with a smile on her face, I couldn't help being stunned, and quickly stood up stand up.She blessed her body and said: "Miss Ruoxi is auspicious! The slave girl Caixia is a court lady who serves a good master." I gave a soft 'oh'.She said: "The master said that he accidentally saw the unique patterns on the handkerchief in the hand of the palace maid. After asking, he knew that it was drawn by the girl. He wanted to invite the girl to come over and help draw some patterns." I was stunned for a while, and said: " it is good!" She led the way, and I followed. Although I have seen her many times before, this is the first time I have been to Concubine Liang's Palace since I entered the palace.Although she is the eighth elder brother's mother-in-law, she has a relationship with me and my sister, but she has always looked indifferent to me, and I just greeted and saluted according to the rules.On the contrary, the attitudes of the other empresses towards me have changed a lot in the past four years, from being suspicious and indifferent at first to now being kind and amiable. After all, besides Li Dequan, among the people serving Kangxi now, I am the most trusted.Even when everyone speculated that the event of abolishing the prince might be affected because of the "Eight Lord Party", Kangxi remained the same to me.It made the people in the palace even more interested in me. Caixia helped me open the curtain, "Girl, go in by yourself!" I nodded and entered the house. There was no one in the main hall, but I heard conversations coming from the side hall, so I went to the side hall and guarded behind the bead curtain. The court lady Caiqin saw me, and hurriedly parted the curtain.Because Caiqin is the highest-ranking female official in Concubine Liang's palace, and Concubine Liang valued her the most, so I hurriedly walked a few steps, and said in a low voice with a smile, "I'm sorry to trouble you, sister!" Caiqin returned with a smile too. A salute, without saying a word, only motioned for me to go in. After entering, one could see Concubine Liang sitting reclined on the couch, and her sister, dressed in palace attire, sitting sideways below.My heart became hot, and I hurriedly bent down to greet Concubine Liang and her elder sister: "Concubine Liang is auspicious! Good luck to Fujin!" Concubine Liang gently raised her hand to let me get up. Concubine Liang said lightly: "Seeing that the flowers you painted look good, I will send someone to ask you to help draw a few." I laughed and said, "It's the honor of my maidservant to be able to see it." She asked the maid to move it. Xiudun gave me a seat aside.I hurriedly said I didn't dare, she said: "Could it be that you also stand when you paint the tricks later?" I think that in this room, apart from my sister and concubine Liang, there is only the palace maid Caiqin who is guarding by the bead curtain.So Yiyan sat down.Then he pursed his lips and smiled at his sister, who also smiled slightly. Concubine Liang glanced at us, and said: "Ruolan rarely enters the palace, what a coincidence, your sisters actually met." Just as she was speaking, Caiqin had already arranged the pen, ink and paper on the table.Concubine Liang got up and said, "Ruoxi, you can paint here! Ruolan, tell her the style I like." We hurriedly stood up and listened.Concubine Liang went to the main hall with her Caiqin after she finished speaking. My sister came over, touched my face lightly, and said angrily: "It's your fault again! Two days ago, the master sent someone to tell me to come to the palace today to pay my respects to my mother. I was still wondering. It’s not a year or festival, why did you let me enter the palace specially? But don’t you think it’s your birthday? I knew I’d see you.” I smiled and leaned gently on my sister, half-acting like a baby Asked: "Don't sister actually want to see me?" My sister smiled and didn't speak.The two snuggled quietly for a while, I took my sister's hand, walked to the table and sat down, and my sister sat next to me.I smiled at her, picked up the pen, and asked my sister: "What kind of flowers do you like?" My sister said, "The color is light and elegant." I nodded, thought for a while, and started to draw pear blossoms.No leaves, only a few flowers densely painted.