Zhao Pei's life became more and more idle. Ji Jijiang would sometimes come with his zither as a musician to reminisce about the past. He Hui had no right to stay in the harem, so the only news about him came from Ji Jijiang. But Jijiang would just say a few simple words like "Not bad." "Not bad." "Nothing special." He seemed unwilling to mention it.
Hanzhen sometimes came to visit and would joke with Ji Jiang, which was considered the most lively time in the palace.
The rest of the time, her palace was always deserted and no one cared about it. Zhao Pei was now just a concubine who had lost her favor, without youth, power, or son. Unlike Wang Xuan and Yuan Ming. She often heard Man'er beside her hear some news from other palace maids: whose daughter entered the palace, which concubine was the most favored, which concubine was the most beautiful, which concubine was the most talented... .
Zhao Pei just smiled and listened, concentrating on her needlework. It was strange, she had disliked needlework for most of her life, and she was afraid to touch it. But now she took the initiative to pick up the needle and thread, and practiced it stroke by stroke based on the techniques taught by Shui Niang in her memory. The red thread was like blood, sealing all the surging and unsettled emotions. She hid all her love, hatred, and vengeance in the needle and thread, and only in this way could she calm herself down. She ignored all the rumors.
Hanzhen called Maner out several times with a cold face. No one knew what she said, but Maner kept her mouth shut with tears in her eyes. This deep palace became more and more deserted.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
More than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
The weather was still warm that day, and Zhao Pei stayed in the house for a long time, fearing that she would get sick if she continued like this. So she took Man'er to the Imperial Garden. The scene of the colorful flowers had long faded, leaving only the bare branches that stretched their trunks and pointed straight to the sky, as if begging or questioning.
Zhao Pei shifted her gaze and said to Man'er beside her: "It's a bit cold, go get me some clothes." Man'er nodded and left. Zhao Pei thought for a moment and called again: "It's just right, go to the music room and see if the musician is here. If he is, ask him to bring his zither here."
After sending Man'er away, Zhao Pei sat down alone in the pavilion. A gust of cold wind blew away some of the warmth, and Zhao Pei's neck felt cold. She reached out and touched it, only to find that she had forgotten to bring her scarf. While she laughed at her own memory, she secretly blamed Man'er for not being considerate at all after all, she was new here. Her fingers touched something hard, and she touched it and remembered the black jade that she had always worn on her chest.
It had been warmed to her body temperature. She wore it every day and night, never taking it off, as if it had become a part of her body. So now, she didn't have the strength to take it off. She stroked the transparent jade, feeling both cold and warm in her heart.
The footsteps were getting closer, Zhao Pei looked up and was startled. The person coming was neither Man'er nor Ji Jiang, but the envoy Yuwen Tai.
Zhao Pei stood up silently, and seeing him approaching with a smile, she bowed politely and said, "Greetings to Her Majesty Concubine Xu."
Zhao Pei frowned and said coldly: "My lord, this is... This is the harem. How did you get in?" There was a sense of alienation in her words.
Yuwen Tai smiled, his eyes filled with unfathomable emotions: "Are you resenting me for offering a beautiful singer to Your Majesty?" Zhao Pei was stunned and sneered: "What are you talking about? Your Majesty has many women around him. He doesn't need one or two. Besides, what does this have to do with me? My Lord, you didn't come here to say these things to mock me, did you?"
Yuwen Tai bowed and apologized: "Your Majesty, I have misunderstood. I will leave tomorrow, and today I have specially asked for Your Majesty's favor to come and say goodbye to Your Majesty."
Zhao Pei couldn't help but laugh with a hint of sarcasm when she heard this: "I am truly honored to have caused you so much trouble just to say goodbye?"
He walked a few steps closer and stood beside the red pillar. He looked at Zhao Pei deeply and said meaningfully, "Of course it is worth it. I don't know when I can come back to your country after this departure. I guess your majesty has never seen the customs and people of our Wei country, so I specially come to invite your majesty to go back with me, and let our great Wei do its best to be a good host."
Zhao Pei felt that his words were so strange and inappropriate, and saw a strange light flashing in his eyes. She subconsciously felt that it was a Hongmen Banquet. So she immediately refused coldly, saying, "I am very grateful for your kindness, but I am afraid this is not in accordance with etiquette." She had never heard of inviting a concubine from a neighboring country to return to her country as a guest, especially a concubine who had fallen out of favor like her.
Yuwen Tai raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at her cold face with a smile and asked, "Your Majesty, are you refusing?"
Zhao Pei looked at him without comment. After a long confrontation, Yuwen Tai sighed and murmured to himself: "In fact, Your Majesty should agree. I think there is someone that Your Majesty must be very concerned about." Zhao Pei saw him slowly take something out of his arms and put it in front of her. When Zhao Pei saw it clearly, her heart suddenly sank, as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue. She stumbled and rushed to Yuwen Tai, snatched the thing from his hand, and held it tightly in her palm, and asked word by word: "Where is he now?"
Zhao Pei exerted force on her hand, as if she wanted to embed the broken jade pendant into her palm: "How is he now?"
Seeing her reaction, Yuwen Tai smiled with satisfaction: "Don't worry, your majesty. He is like a guest of honor here now. But I can't be sure about the future." He smiled slyly, and his narrow eyes narrowed into slits.
Zhao Pei gritted her teeth and spat out two words: "Despicable!"
"Your Majesty, whatever you say is fine. I will ask you one more question. Do you agree to my request?"
Then he added, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have my own words for His Majesty. You don't need to worry."
Zhao Pei stared coldly at Yuwen Tai, who was smiling smugly, and said bitterly: "Can I still refuse?"
Yuwen Tai smiled with satisfaction when he heard this.
The deep conspiracy came upon him, Zhao Pei tightly grasped the broken jade and gritted his teeth. A villain...
Thinking of that person, I feel sad again. I am sorry that I dragged you into this conspiracy after all. I am sorry that you cannot escape from this conspiracy after all. (To be continued)