Chapter 47 sunflower platform

"The long ribbon is purple and green, and the curling branches are hundreds of feet high." During the Ching Ming Festival, swallow grass is like silk.The countryside of the four townships outside Chang'an City was full of laughter.Teenagers play on swings, no matter they are high or low, rich or poor, they have to compete on swings according to the custom, so that girls can enjoy themselves to their heart's content.On this grand event, it is very lively, and many people who are outing often stop to watch. No one would notice that a carriage was slowly passing by on the avenue not far away.A few tired attendants in green clothes carefully drove the car to the side of the road, passing the guard of honor of the spring outings of the dignitaries and nobles.Heavy curtains hang around the carriage, without decoration.There are only light yellow tassels at the four corners, showing the status of the royal family.

"Ruoxu, Ruoxu." A soft voice came from the car. A young attendant rushed up and put his face on the outside of the curtain. "Go quickly." Leaden-coloured broken clouds flow low above. Ruoxu watched Yongning quietly.There was no expression on that delicate and cold face like white jade.After all, it's been seven years.Seven years can make many things rough and worn out.Just like the tombstone that everyone pays homage to.Because of loneliness, it is dilapidated; because of dilapidation, it becomes more and more lonely, and unscrupulously vents its grievances towards the only worshipers.The epitaph was newly engraved, because it was not until the beginning of this year that the emperor finally decreed to allow inscriptions to be engraved on the monument.This is of course due to Princess Huayang's mediation, as well as Yongning's pure filial piety and sincerity, as well as the elegant and touching memorial that I wrote for her once a year.

"The tomb of Prince Wenhuai and his concubine." When the last stick of incense turned into fly ash in the cool rain, Yongning stood up and looked at the top of the mountain not far away: "I'm going to take a walk at Sunflower Terrace." Someone next to him said: "Princess, it's getting late, let's go back to the palace. It's best not to cause trouble." Yongning ignored him and held Ruoxu's arm. White stone sparkling, wild grass everywhere.The wind was strong on the top of the mountain, blowing Yongning's onyx and plain clothes like flowing clouds and fog, and a tinge of red appeared on his face.She turned around under the broken wall: "Why can't I find a single sunflower?"

Ruoxu smiled and said, "Not yet." He found a piece of hanging sword grass.Yongning wrapped the blades of grass around his fingers. During the Qingming Festival seven years ago, Ruoxu brought Yongning to this place, and stopped her tears with a garland made of weeds.Unexpectedly, since then, this has become an indispensable activity of tomb sweeping every Qingming Festival.Yongning is no longer that poor orphan girl with yellow hair, her graceful figure is like a white crane looking at herself with pity, and her rolling eyes are like shooting stars flying across the sky.But the platform for picking sunflowers is still the brightest color in her empty and lonely life.

There are not even a few wild flowers here.Under the barren slope, among the ruins, there are a lot of strong wild sunflowers.Yongning really wants to see what the wild sunflowers look like, but it is a pity that the flowering period is not yet reached every Qingming Festival.Ruoxu asked the mountain people, but no one said which dynasty left the relics.It's just that as time goes by, wild sunflowers grow among the broken walls and ruins. Every early autumn, the mountain people come to pick wild sunflowers. ——That's why it's called Caikui Terrace. Bai Luo was dressed lightly, floating among the dark wild sunflower bushes.

"Who is it!" Ruoxu shouted. The figure under the barren slope was about to move, approaching them. Ruoxu sneered, grabbed Yongning's belt and lifted it up.Yongning closed his eyes, feeling like he was flying.Ruoxu's footwork was very steady, and after a while, she was put back into the car in a comfortable posture. "Where are those people?" She opened her eyes. Those people didn't understand why a thin needle like a cow's hair was inserted into their knees in an instant.They fell on the hillside and groaned, suspecting that they would be disabled from now on.

A snow-like Dawan horse rushed to the front of the car, and immediately a man in a hunting suit wearing a purple-gold and bead-embedded armor shouted loudly: "Princess Yongning, you are so bold! How dare you let your eunuch hurt my man!" ! Ruoxu looked at the person, couldn't help frowning, and said in a low voice, "Princess, don't be afraid." However, Yongning had to be terrified. This was Zheng Bailing, Marquis of Weiyang, the empress' nephew who was in power.She hesitated for a long time before softly handing out a sentence from the car: "What do you want?"

Zheng Bailing's face suddenly became very strange, as if he wanted to say something.However, he pulled the rein of the horse and walked away thoughtfully, ignoring the groans of those subordinates. Ruoxu felt a kind of apprehension in his heart, he turned his head and said, "Is the princess alright?" Yong Ning said: "You sit in the car." Not so good?Ruoxu hesitated, but still got into the car. Cars and horses rattled, Yong Ning's eyes seemed to be smiling but not smiling, with a hint of innocence: "I was wondering what you would look like in Taoist robes."

"Major, should I become a monk?" Ruoxu asked. "It's not 'I', it's 'we'." Yongning said solemnly. "I'm an adult. That day my aunt asked me about my future plans. The choice I made was to go to Yuyang Mountain to practice Taoism and live my life." Ruoxu sighed: "Does the princess know what it means to become a monk?" Yongning said: "What extravagance can a person like me have? My aunt also thought that if I marry according to the order, I will definitely not have a good home. And the air in Yuyang Mountain is cleaner than that in the palace. There is nothing inappropriate about the precedent of your lord becoming a monk."

Ruoxu nodded.Yong Ning gently held his hand and said: "Besides having you by my side, I have nothing else to ask for." Yan Bi closed his eyes. Ruoxu's heart was shocked: Yongning is already sixteen years old. "The Nagato closed early and Pengshan is far away, and the lilacs are not knotting and the drizzle is slanting." The immature and young poems are obviously imitating the words of the people of the time.But the meaning is not difficult to understand. Ruoxu stood beside Yongning's desk, thinking over and over again.Sometimes he himself is surprised: it has been seven years since he entered the Nine Layers Forbidden Garden and became one of the countless "green-clothed supervisors".For seven years, he still couldn't extinguish the flames in his soul.

Yongning wrote such a poem.Returning from the prince's tomb that day, Ruoxu could no longer dispel the melancholy in his chest.Maybe he gave Yongning too much, far more than what an orphan girl struggling to survive under the power of her political opponents needs.Didn't Princess Huayang say earlier that although he is very knowledgeable, he doesn't need to teach Yongning to read so many poems? Jackdaws fluttered on willow branches.After Qingming, the sun became warmer, but this small courtyard in the deep palace will never shake off the gray chill.In a sense, Lingxiao Palace is still a place full of dangers.No matter how to leave, it is a relief for Yongning and him.Thinking of the appointment at Yuyang Mountain in the Qingming carriage, Ruoxu smiled unconsciously. Moreover, in the quiet place of Yuyang Mountain, there may be a chance to fulfill Master's last wish.He has wasted seven years and cannot wait any longer. "Quack—" Jackdaw shrugged his shoulders and rushed out of the yard.Ruoxu frowned: Yongning was called over by Princess Huayang, but she hasn't returned yet. Something is going to happen. "Let me see you." Princess Huayang stretched out her hand with the emerald ring, and lifted Yongning's chin.That hand was well maintained, exuding the famous fragrance of the Forbidden Garden. "Well," the princess smiled lovingly, "that's right.——No wonder!" Yongning saluted and waited for his aunt to speak. "Wei Yang Hou came to see me, he wanted to marry you..." The princess looked more and more kind: "I have already promised him." Yongning raised his head abruptly, but then lowered his head deeply.The princess was keenly aware of her emotions, and said casually: "Zheng Bailing is a bit older, and he is getting married again. But he has a good family background, has been heavily relied on by the court in recent years, and has a bright future. He is indeed a rare son-in-law. And He is very sincere to you." Yong Ning said to the peony flowers on the carpet: "Auntie, you know that he is actually a villain and my enemy." Princess Huayang frowned. She really didn't like Yongning's use of the word "enemy" from Jianghu: "It's loyal or treacherous, and the situation can change at any time. It's very easy to break, so you still need me to teach you again? Yongning, you and I are Ling Xiao The only survivor of the temple. Listen to my heart: to be a woman, the most important thing is to marry a good husband." Yong Ning sneered in his heart: Hua Yang indeed married a good husband and escaped a catastrophe.Seven years ago, Concubine Zheng Shu, the current empress, exposed the "rebellion" in the Lingxiao Palace of the East Palace to the emperor.The prince and princess committed suicide, and all the staff, guards, maids and eunuchs of the Eastern Palace were martyred. The mother of the prince, the former queen, was given to death. The whole family went into exile, except for the eldest princess Huayang.Later, the court became what it is now. When Yongning was a little older, he read history books, and knew that this was the greatest catastrophe in the dynasty. In fact, there were countless records in the past dynasties, and there were many copies.The emperor is a faint king, indulged in the gentleness of Concubine Zheng Shu, ignoring the government, leaving power aside.The prince is a young man eager to make a difference, and he has gathered around him a group of talents from all over the world who are also eager to make a difference.They want to change the stunned state of the court.However, once the young and proud ambition is involved in the battle of the bed and curtain in the forbidden palace, the struggle will be even more cruel.In that year, no one could tell how many people's heads fell to the ground at Xishikou, and how many souls wept outside Guanshan.Yongning lost his strict father and loving mother, his grandmother, his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and countless relatives around him overnight.She was nine years old then. Yongning suddenly came to his senses: Huayang's room was furnished exactly the same as it was back then.At that time, Princess Huayang appeared like a god in the bloody wind in Lingxiao Palace, majesticly repelling Rulin's knives and axes, and led Xiao Yongning, who was trembling with fright, back to the mansion, and hid in this room.Yongning survived, but Huayang always reminded her of that miserable history. Huayang is indeed married to a good husband.Even when Concubine Zheng Shu instigated the emperor to kill, she dared not mention her name.Everyone in the court knew that if Princess Huayang's father-in-law hadn't stood guard outside the pass, the Hu people would have turned the beautiful Chang'an city into their horse ranch long ago.With such a status, although Huayang couldn't save his siblings, at least he saved a seedling.At that moment when everyone was in danger, Huayang's efforts were not easy.Yongning always knew that it was Huayang who gave her life, and was the only support in her life of walking on thin ice.Of course, there is also Ruoxu. ——Ruoxu was also given to her by Huayang. Yong Ning straightened his waist and said, "Auntie, I know my situation. But it doesn't mean I have to go this way?" Hua Yang shook his head and said: "Do you think I ordered you? You are wrong, that is Zheng Bailing, the queen. For seven years, no one has dared to defy the Zheng family. It is very hot, which means you will be burned if you touch it. What is the use of resistance?" result?" What can be the result?In the coup seven years ago, the prince finally managed to kill King Fu before he died.The ministers discussed in private that although the jade and stone were all destroyed, the only son of Concubine Zheng Shu was dead, and the Zheng family's plan to manipulate the world by seizing the crown prince was in vain.After all, the emperor is old, and everyone in the palace said so.However, not long after, Concubine Zheng Shu actually announced that she was pregnant again.Amidst the anxious speculation of the officials, Concubine Zheng Shu successfully gave birth to the dragon seed, canonized the crown prince, and ascended the throne of queen by herself.Therefore, the only achievement of the prince's struggle was in vain. Once, Yongning was allowed to go to see this little emperor uncle.With grievance and resentment, she hoped that he would be ugly and stupid.However, among the willow bushes, the child was delicate and calm, almost not like a member of the royal family. "Yongning, your position is like a small boat in a hurricane, and it may be swallowed up by violent waves at any time. I am worried about you, but I can't do anything about it. Unexpectedly, Zheng Bailing has taken a fancy to you." Princess Huayang said, "If you break his heart from now on, He is an excellent umbrella. Instead, you have nothing but death." Yongning raised her head, her eyes were full of tears, she felt her desperate heart was withering like a wild sunflower in the wind: "Auntie, I said that I want to go to Yuyang Mountain to practice Taoism." "You can't escape." Hua Yang let out a long sigh. Lavender mist and milky yellow haze linger between the phoenix-tailed incense. The screen that outlines the green mountains and green waters has long been slightly yellowed.In front of the screen, Ruoxu, who was dressed in green, paced quietly.As soon as Yongning came back, she solemnly announced her marriage to Wei Yanghou, her expression was indifferent and solemn, and she didn't say a word.Then she hung down the beaded foil and immersed herself in a pool of fragrant soup for a long time, making the room full of mist, both real and illusory.At this moment, Ruoxu's heart was erratic like a white candle flickering on a silver screen. "Come in and comb my hair." The princess was still sitting in the water, only her wet hair slightly covered her shoulders and arms.Ruoxu was a little embarrassed, but it was not impossible.He grabbed a wooden comb and combed his long hair carefully. "Watching me marry someone else, how do you feel?" Yong Ning asked in an almost sarcastic tone. The comb stopped.He didn't express anything, and he didn't even know what he thought.Yongning said so.Her skin, like celadon under the moonlight, glowed with a sad white light. "I never thought that the princess really doesn't want to marry." Ruoxu said lightly. Yong Ning suddenly turned his head and shook his face: "Lie! You said you would accompany me to Yuyang Mountain!" Ruoxu was shocked.In Yongning's eyes, resentment had overflowed, with a icy light.However, that body, which was as white as a flower, confessed everything in front of him.In just a moment, the ice melted, and tears came out of my eyes: "I have no choice... marry me, I know this is too wronged you. But I have no choice, I don't want to lose you yet..." "I know, I know everything." Ruoxu desperately tried to keep his voice soft and stable as usual, but he couldn't do it.She is not the princess, not the orphan girl he took care of with all his heart.It turned out that she had already infiltrated into his body, and they stayed together forever, unable to let go. Ruoxu's lips trembled violently.Why is there such a reaction?He thought it was impossible for him.He suddenly had a strange thought: the master's last wish might be fulfilled soon. Yongning's voice was as soft as Chu Yun's drifting, murmuring indistinctly: "I belong to you forever..." The room was surrounded by a faint scent of water vapor, and I couldn't see anything clearly, only countless meteors flying in front of my eyes.Between You Yun and the rain, he gradually lost consciousness. After an unknown amount of time, Yongning's vague sigh suddenly became clear and piercing: "You...why are you still wearing that hateful green dress?" Ruoxu jumped up, her mind was buzzing, but her thoughts were extremely clear: that is the ugliest thing in the world! But Yongning's fingers are still stubbornly pulling at the corner of his clothes.Ruoxu flipped her hands and clasped her wrists.In the psychedelic struggle, Yong Ning only felt that his hands were in pain.She opened her eyes, saw Ruoxu's desperate face, and remembered everything. "Why!" She fell on Ruoxu's lap, crying out in pain, "They took everything from me, even you—you can't love me!" The bead curtain clicked, and a calm voice came: "Yongning, you finally understand that he can't be your husband." Princess Huayang broke into this scene suddenly, and neither of them showed the embarrassment they should have.Hua Yang just said indifferently: "So, he is not as good as Zheng Bailing." Yongning's legs seemed to be shaking, she stood up proudly: "You are wrong, I love him, no matter what." "Really?" Hua Yang smiled. Ruoxu looked at Yongning in a daze, the back of the declaration is often uncertain. "Are you a joke that the princess can't fall in love with a eunuch? Don't forget that you gave him to me. You should have expected today's situation." Yongning was so excited that he even forgot to respect his aunt. "Both civil and military, in the prime of life, but willing to be a loyal servant of a down-and-out princess, how can there be such a eunuch in the world! So I want him to be my lover, always by my side." Princess Huayang said leisurely: "Sure enough, Yongning's eyes are accurate, Ruoxu is definitely not an ordinary person." Ruoxu suddenly raised her head: "Princess, you once promised me!" Hua Yang sternly said: "I'm not someone who breaks my promise and gets fat. But your actions have disqualified me from keeping secrets." Yongning was doubting: "Ruoxu, do you have a secret?" Ruoxu's fingers trembled violently. Hua Yang said: "I hate Jiang Hu, but this is the only way to solve the problem for you. Either kill me with your magical embroidery needle, or let me speak out." Yongning's sharp eyes immediately turned to Ruoxu. Ruoxu laughed dryly: "The princess wants to know, so don't hide it from her." Princess Huayang's face was filled with a kind smile again: "It's a long story. When Prince Wenhuai was alive, Corporal Lixian had a lot of friends, and he recruited a group of young talents. The most outstanding one was Duanmu Yu. He is not only a Jinshi of erudite Hongci, but also a top martial arts master. Because his master was the number one strange scholar in the Jianghu, the old man Mojing. The prince introduced him as a confidant, and even slept on the same bed in the middle of the night. Xu will be the pillar of the court in the future." Yong Ning said excitedly: "Duanmu Yu is Ruoxu, right? You sacrificed yourself for your father's kindness." Ruoxu avoids Yongning's eager gaze. "Xinfeng wine fights ten thousand times, how many years have you been a knight in Xianyang. When you meet, you will drink for the king, and you will be next to a horse and a tall building." Huayang suddenly read a poem, "Pingkangliu Lane, Jiaofang fireworks, originally Chang'an youth throwing gold A good place to get drunk. Although Duanmu Yu practiced Taoism since he was a child, he also went in and out of these places with his friends. Until one day, he met a pipa girl, and her name was... what is it?" "Pei Wangzi." Ruoxu said.Yongning's face couldn't help but twitched.Although Ruoxu is ten years older than her, she still finds it difficult to tolerate him having other love affairs. "By the way, Pei Wangzi." Hua Yang said, "Wangzi's whereabouts are very strange, but he has a shocking appearance, which makes Duanmu Yu unable to extricate himself from love. The two of them lived in a confinement, and they were in a mess. After a month, Wangzi Suddenly he was gone. The prince was about to start an incident, but Duanmu Yu was in a state of despair, drinking to drown his sorrows. Suddenly one day, a carriage stopped in front of his door, but the owner of the carriage refused to reveal his name. A chivalrous man cannot refuse such an invitation, Duanmu Yu got into the car and went." "Yongning, guess who that Pei Wangzi is?" Hua Yang asked suddenly. Yongning didn't answer. Hua Yang laughed mockingly: "Of course Duanmu Yu knows the consequences of insulting the emperor's beloved concubine. Originally, with his martial arts, he could stab Concubine Zheng Shu to death with one needle. But he couldn't do it." What a night it was, full of cunning intrigues, seductive temptations, cruel affections, chaotic impulses, one after another.There is also the dizzy, ecstasy-like fragrance of the Forbidden Garden. "The next day," Yongning said coldly, "my parents were in trouble." Princess Huayang nodded. "What happened later?" Yongning's face didn't show a trace of wrinkles, "Auntie, please continue." Hua Yang said: "No one in the imperial army could catch Duanmu Yu. But he didn't go far away, but after the massacre, he came to me by himself. He said that he should die to thank the prince, but there was a more important reason, He has to survive. Therefore, he is willing to accept a punishment that is a hundred times crueler than death. My idea is very simple. He betrayed his benefactor for a woman, so he must be punished. He owes the life of the prince's family, so he must protect you for life .” "But why didn't he die!" Yongning said. Ruoxu opened his mouth, and he stood upright: "It was for my master's entrustment. The old man had obtained a rare and hard-to-find profound art, but he could not penetrate it even after exhausting his whole life, so he died with hatred. Before he died , I made an oath that if I practice this skill in this life, I will live up to his earnest hopes." "Duanmuyu," Hua Yang's expression became unpredictable, "Have you mastered it yet?" Ruoxu smiled wryly and shook his head: "Princess, I am already an unhealthy person. Practicing is very difficult, so I haven't achieved anything in seven years. But—" He glanced at Yongning, "Princess helped me." Hua Yang looked like he couldn't help laughing, but said, "You mean, love made you feel like a man?" She obviously hesitated, but finally said, "You've completely reversed it." , Duanmu Yu. There has been no progress in seven years, precisely because you love Yongning!" Ruoxu was stunned. "Your master, the old man Mo Jing, has already understood the essence of Xuan Gong. However, he couldn't do it, and I didn't allow him to do that, so he never practiced it. After his death, I did it in order to fulfill his wish. Make up your mind to use corruption punishment on you. ——Your master said, only in this way can there be a chance of success.” Ruoxu's knees softened, and she fell to her knees: "You, how could my master and you..." Hua Yang didn't answer, and stood up: "Unexpectedly, although you are physically disabled, you are still not a pure green-clothed emissary..." The princess floated away, meaning to leave the man in green in despair, and let Yongning handle it by himself. Yong Ning slowly straightened his messy and wet hair, then picked up a long coat, and wrapped his pure body like a baby.Her movements are elegant and self-sustaining, just like any royal girl who respects her identity. "You betrayed the crown prince, and you deserve death. It's a pity that the princess has forgiven you. From now on, you will go to Caikui Terrace to guard my parents' tomb, and you are not allowed to come back!" The snow-white skirt dragged long before her eyes.Ruoxu's heart died at this moment. Splendid and beautiful clusters surround Chang'an, but they are decorated with some such sounds. "Forgive me, my lord...Your old man, don't you have any energy left in your bridal chamber tonight?" Zheng Bailing half closed his slightly drunken eyes, but didn't make a sound. "Hee hee, do you want to eat red pills again?" Zheng Bailing opened his eyes and said for a long time, "I regret it a bit." The peach-colored wine passed from the hand of a beautiful woman to his lips: "What are you regretting?" Zheng Bailing said thoughtfully: "Actually, I haven't even seen her face, only heard her voice. Who knows if it's Xi Shi or Wuyan! But her voice is very beautiful, really." The woman curled her lips: "He is a golden branch and jade leaf——" "What a bitch, you're jealous!" Zheng Bailing laughed jokingly. The Fengyan woman twisted her waist and turned behind the screen again. The peacock fan screen inlaid with gold and jade finally slowly retreated to both sides. Such Yongning princess... Zheng Bailing's bloodshot eyes were almost about to burst.Confident, he has seen countless people, but he is dazzled by the bright wedding dress with dragons and embroidered phoenixes, dazzled and dizzy, as if he can do nothing but breathe. On the tip of the willow on the moon, I can see the red grains on the carpet, which are still rolling slowly. Yong Ning slowly moved from the side of the bed to the window, pushed open the partition, and let the breeze and moon slip in, soothing his pale face.Zheng Bailing finally died. Can peerless beauty kill?of course can.Yongning has nothing but beauty.So she used her beauty to complete her tragic revenge. The moonlight in Chang'an is so peaceful.No matter why Zheng Bailing died, she would not survive tomorrow.The state of mind at this moment is a peace and relaxation that has never been seen before. Even in the night like water and moon, I can take a good look at myself without being disturbed.You can even think of the distant wild sunflowers, which are said to be in full bloom. Frost and snow condensed on the bright wrist, but left behind two deep red finger marks that were almost dripping purple, which would never fade away—as if they were born with it and returned with death.She recalled sadly that that desperate night was ended by this finger mark. Yong Ning felt that the sum of all the pains in his life could not compare to these two finger marks. "Ruoxu, Ruoxu." Why is this name still full of tenderness even now? In the season when the mountains were covered with yellow leaves that year, the mountain people had no sunflower seeds to pick, because a fire when the flowers bloomed completely burned the wild sunflowers.Someone witnessed the process and said it vividly: That night, on the moon, all the wild sunflowers were flying, and the fine hairs on the sepals were shining with silver light.Amidst bursts of whistling sounds, it was as if there were billions of eye-catching embroidery needles, spinning and spinning around the barren platform... By the way, there was a lunatic living on the sunflower picking platform, this is true, someone has seen it.Later, in the middle of the night, a big fireball flew from the direction of Chang'an City. It was so gorgeous, it swept past layers of wild sunflowers, and rushed straight up among the ruins of the sunflower-picking platform.Soon a fire broke out, and the flames soared into the sky, which could be seen in the city. There are not many people who believe in this strange tale.But later, someone did pull out the lunatic's body from the rubble. It was charred black and his face could not be discerned.But what is strange is that there are two remains, tightly hugging each other.