Yaohua Tower in Qingyin Garden.
When night falls, it is the busiest time. Xiao Lun stood in front of the brightly lit Qingyin Pavilion, looking up for a while but hesitant to step in. After a year, when he returned to Jiankang again, he felt an inexplicable sense of strangeness.
"What's wrong?" His shoulders sank, and Xiao Ji put his hand on his shoulder and joked, "Sixth brother, what's going on..."
Xiao Lun smiled and shook his head, then sighed softly: "Let's go."
The two of them went upstairs amid the greetings of the crowd and walked straight into a private room at the corner. There was already someone waiting in the private room, chatting with them. The man in emerald green clothes sitting by the window was Xiao Gang. His eyes were as beautiful as spring breeze, but they were tinged with a little sadness. At this moment, he asked the slightly pale man beside him in a deep voice: "Fourth brother, you need to rest well and don't slack off."
The man Xiao Gang called "fourth brother" was already twenty-four years old. He also inherited the good looks of the Xiao family, but he was pale and weak due to long-term illness. "I will listen to third brother. My body is really..." He shook his head in self-mockery, but people couldn't help but worry whether such a thin body could withstand the slightest tremor.
Xiao Lun raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Fourth brother? I don't see you often on weekdays. Why did you leave the house today?"
At this time, the two of them saw the two people standing at the door. Xiao Ji took over and said with a smile: "Didn't we hear that our King Shaoling returned to Jiankang? We had to come and take a look anyway." After that, he and Xiao Gang laughed.
Xiao Lun pulled out a chair and sat down casually, calling a maid to give her some instructions. Xiao Gang looked at him for a while, and suddenly said, "Sixth brother has had a wonderful year. The reputation of the Shaoling King has spread even before he returned."
He shrugged nonchalantly: "Are you making fun of me, Third Brother? To be honest, I don't want to do this. I don't want to make enemies with anyone. It's just that these people always want to pick a fight with me. How can they stop if I don't teach them a lesson?"
Seeing that he said he didn't care but explained so much, Xiao Gang shook his head and smiled, "Forget it, forget it. Third brother was just talking casually. Why didn't Sixth Sister follow?"
"Yes, brothers, we really want to meet the woman who can make a man like Sixth Brother willing to marry her. She must be extraordinary." Xiao Ji followed suit with an ambiguous look in his eyes.
However, Xiao Lun simply said: "She has caught a cold these days and is not suitable for long-distance travel." After all, he didn't want others to see his princess.
This private room is quiet and has a great view. From afar, you can see the splendor and prosperity of the imperial palace, with bright lights and singing and dancing everywhere. Xiao Lun admired the scenery for a while, but suddenly felt a little lonely. It has only been a spring and autumn since he left, but he found that his heart has been far away from this imperial city. If ten years or more have passed, will he still have a nostalgia for Jiankang or even a fondness for this emotion
The four chatted for a while before another person came in. The first to come in was the third princess, Xiuchun, wearing a bright yellow dress with wide sleeves, which was smart and elegant. A series of laughter came in, and Xiao Gang immediately shook his head.
Then came Xiao Yi, who was always dressed in black. His stern face softened under the light. Xiao Lun thought so at first, but suddenly saw a tender look in his eyes. Then he realized that a year can change a lot of things.
Xiao Yi was not in a hurry to greet everyone. He turned his head slightly to reveal Zhao Pei who was following behind him. Today, Zhao Pei was just wearing an ordinary moon-white dress and a simple flat hairpin made of ox horn in her hair. She was not overly decorated, but at this moment, she showed extraordinary charm. The almost perfect fusion of coolness and enchantment, from her eyebrows, her smile, and her every move. I haven't seen her for a long time, and naturally I feel excited and happy, but I gradually become indifferent to her new and unique charm.
Zhen'er, in Zhao Pei's arms, looked at all the people with her bright eyes, and was very quiet. Xiao Lun grinned: "Hey, look, who is this?"
Xiao Gang immediately replied: "Sixth brother, this is your first time seeing her, this is your little niece Hanzhen. She is so cute."
At this time, Zhao Pei and Xiao Yi had already found a seat and sat down. Xiao Lun stared at Han Zhen in her arms for a long time before smiling and saying, "Not simple, not simple."
Xiao Yi responded: "Sixth brother, what do you mean by 'not simple'?"
Xiao Lun had a playful and teasing look on his face: "You can actually remain calm and unmoved under the scorching gaze of a handsome man like me."
Zhao Peiben had a sip of tea in his mouth, and when he heard this, he almost spit it all out. He ignored Shui Niang's instruction not to show his teeth, and said, "Sixth brother! How old is Zhen'er!"
"But she is drooling." Xiao Lun kindly reminded, and everyone laughed. Zhao Pei said again: "Zhen'er is so young, so it's natural for her to be like this." She glanced at him, and saw that she was still so frivolous after not seeing him for so long. She thought for a moment and smiled: "Sixth brother, don't talk about Zhen'er first. Maybe Sixth brother was like this when he was a child. Not to mention seeing beautiful people, maybe he would drool when he met an old woman with wrinkles on her face. Third brother, you tell me." After that, she turned her head to look at Xiao Gang who was watching the show.
Xiao Gang was stunned and coughed twice: "Seventh sister is only concerned about protecting Hanzhen, and no one else can say anything bad about her."
Zhao Pei raised her eyebrows: "Of course." The happiness and pride between her brows were evident. Xiao Lun suddenly felt bored: "I really dare not provoke Seventh Sister again. Her words are getting more and more unforgiving." So he stopped talking and lowered his head to drink.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little cold, so Xiao Gang suggested, "It's rare for us to get together again, and it's such a good time, why don't we recite some poems and compose couplets to show off our elegance?"
Xiao Yi then expressed his opinion: "Of course it's good."
Zhao Pei was in a good mood, so she hugged Zhen Er, who was dazed and lying on her shoulder, and said, "How about a couplet?"
Xiao Yi glanced at her: "Pei Pei, aren't you bored?" Perhaps she remembered the poetry and prose meeting here a few years ago, which had a profound impact on her and she could not forget it. Zhao Pei curled her lips: "How about a drinking game?"
Xiuchun nodded: "Okay, let's play a game of drinking games." The two smiled at each other, and everyone realized that these two women were actually the most troublesome.
"Why don't we have the third brother come first?" Xiao Lun chimed in, and everyone applauded. The sound startled Zhen'er in Zhao Pei's arms, and she turned sideways after a warning. Xiao Gang couldn't refuse, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "The branches are among the stone peaks, and the veins are soaking the mountain banks. The pool is clear and the swans are playing, and the autumn leaves are flying on the trees."
After hearing this, Xiao Yi was the first to say "good". Zhao Pei didn't think it was good at first, but then she realized it was a palindrome. She read it over again in her mind and it was really refreshing, so she smiled knowingly and held Zhen'er's soft little hand and applauded.
As soon as Xiao Lun saw it, he said, "Third brother wrote a palindrome, then Liu Zhen should write a palindrome next." He thought about it for a moment and then chanted it out: "Slanting peaks meander around the winding path, towering rocks connect the mountains. Flowers rustle and crows play, and cicadas sing in the dense trees."
Xiao Ji opened his mouth slightly, somewhat surprised: "Cao Zijian can only compose a poem in seven steps, but you, my sixth brother, can compose a profound palindrome in the blink of an eye."
Xiao Lun smiled modestly now, "It has been in my stomach before, I just recited it today."
"Pa. Pa. Pa." Xiao Lun had just finished speaking when he heard someone clapping. Actually, it wasn't clapping, but Zhen'er's simple clapping. But to Zhao Pei, it was simply a surprise. She quickly turned her head to look at Xiao Yi and shouted, "Qi Fu, look, Zhen'er can clap her hands!"
Xiao Yi just smiled and said nothing, reaching out to touch Zhen'er's cheek. Zhen'er continued to clap, drooling happily as she stared at Xiao Lun. Zhao Pei had a thought in her mind that maybe Zhen'er was very interested in her sixth uncle. "Sixth brother, you should know that you are very lucky. The first time Zhen'er clapped was for you."
Seeing her so excited, Xiuchun shook her head helplessly: "Seventh sister, is it necessary to be so excited? It's just a child clapping his hands."
The person next to her chuckled: "If Chun'er has a child one day, she won't say that." This made her face blush.
Here was another riddle, but Zhen'er was getting more and more uneasy in front of Zhao Pei, babbling with her mouth closed and twisting her chubby body. Zhao Pei looked at her inexplicably, and saw that her face was red. Afraid that she was going to pee, she thought that she couldn't pee here, so she quickly told Xiao Yi to get up.
After leaving the private room, Zhao Pei asked the maid to lead her. On the way, the girl changed her expression and continued to laugh innocently. There was no abnormality at all. Zhao Pei frowned and looked at her, feeling angry. It was really difficult to deal with this girl who couldn't speak.
"You bad girl, did you come out on purpose?" Zhao Pei asked, shaking her soft little body. Zhen Er didn't understand, so she just grabbed her hair and laughed.
Zhao Pei sighed. Since she was tricked out by this little girl, she might as well take a walk. Thinking that Zhen'er might not be able to stand the noise in the building, she went downstairs and took her for a walk. I don't know if it was driven by her subconscious, but she walked to the garden next to her.
"The mountains and rivers have clear sounds..." I subconsciously chanted this poem, and suddenly I felt lost. Zhen'er looked around with her big eyes, and suddenly she started to babble. Her excited cry called Zhao Pei back to his wandering mind and followed her line of sight to look into the distance. (To be continued)