A Beauty In Troubled Times

Chapter 8: Dreaming of a sea of flowers

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"The green lotus covers the green water, and the lotus is covered with red. There are lotus roots with two roots below, and lotus with two heads above..." I was stunned when I read such a poem in Yuefu by chance. It seemed that a scene of a pond full of lotus in midsummer appeared in front of me. My father said that on the day she was born, the red lotus in the courtyard was in full bloom. Looking around, the red flowers were extremely beautiful, and the fragrance was lingering. During the Zhou-Zhua ceremony, she did not grab any of the musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but grabbed a red lotus that was picked, so Zhaopei had a nickname called Shenglian, which was as enchanting and elegant as a blooming lotus.

Unfortunately, although Zhao Pei loved lotus, she didn't want to be called by this name. She felt that although the lotus was in full bloom, it had to wither in the end of summer. She didn't want such a tragic ending. Just like her own biological mother, she heard that her name also had the word "Lian". Whenever her father got drunk, he would pull her and call her over and over again: "Lian. Lian. Lian..."

I was so disappointed. Why did I think of these disappointing things for no reason? I was annoyed, but I had no interest in the book. I threw it away casually, stood up and walked to the door, just in time to bump into Qingqing who ran in in a panic. "Qingqing?" Zhao Pei complained while rubbing his head that was hurt from the collision, "Why are you acting like you're reincarnated."

Qingqing held onto the door frame and panted, "Sixth Prince is here. He's waiting in the front hall."

Zhao Pei smiled and said, "I'll go right away."

"But, but..." Qingqing frowned to show her disapproval, "The master is not at home right now, and the young lady is alone..."

Zhao Pei thought for a moment and asked, "Where is my brother? Why not call him over as well? I'll go to the front hall and wait for him first." As she said that, she straightened her clothes and walked forward.

Qingqing thought about it and decided to do so, so she picked up her skirt and ran away.

When Zhao Pei entered the front hall, Xiao Lun was leisurely sipping tea. Zhao Pei glanced at the color of the tea. Wow, housekeeper Fang, you really spent all your money. Xiao Lun saw Zhao Pei, who was wearing a white dress with a red cloud pattern, standing in front of him and bowed gracefully. He was a little stunned. This girl just liked red so much, but it was neither vulgar nor bad, elegant in beauty, and pure in charm. Seeing Zhao Pei's puzzled expression, he straightened his face and waved his hand, saying, "Why are we so polite? Find a seat and sit freely." His attitude was like that of the host.

Zhao Pei curled her lips and sat down opposite him. When she saw the scroll on the table, her face immediately brightened up: "Sixth brother must have brought me good news."

Xiao Lun smiled proudly and threw the scroll to Zhao Pei: "Of course, this is my ability." Zhao Pei gave him a flattering smile, untied the green ribbon, and slowly unfolded it. Her beautiful eyes stared for a long time, and a smile spread on her lips. Zhao Pei raised her eyes and looked at him, her eyes were full of light, like clear streams, flowing into his heart.

"I spent a lot of effort to get it for you." Xiao Lun said, "So, you have to compensate me."

It took a lot of effort, Zhao Pei smiled. This "Red Lotus Picture" is exactly the same as Xiao Yi's, even the seal and the cracks on the axis are exactly the same. But the ink on the painting seems to be a little damp. Xiao Lun, Xiao Lun, even a wise man can make mistakes.

"Didn't I pay you?" She pouted after hearing him say that.

"That's nothing. Anyway, today, as compensation, let's go for an outing together." Xiao Lun looked at her with a smile, his eyes full of irresistible light.

Zhao Pei had been bored in the mansion for some time, and was worried about having nothing to do, so this was just what she wanted. She pretended to be thoughtful, but after a while she complained loudly: "Qingqing! Qingqing! Why hasn't my brother come yet?"

Qingqing poked her head out breathlessly: "Miss, the young master is not in the mansion."

"Ah?" Zhao Pei was stunned for a moment. Originally, she was going with her brother, so her father would not say anything. But now she was going alone... Zhao Pei rolled her eyes and said with a smile: "Qingqing! Invite the third young lady. Tell her that the second sister will take her to a good place." After that, she turned her head and looked at Xiao Lun who was staring at her: "Sixth brother, do you mind bringing someone else?"

"Of course I don't mind. It's more fun when there are more people around." Xiao Lun smiled faintly and sipped his tea leisurely, but he had some thoughts in his mind.

Zhao Pei finally persuaded Zhao Li to leave the house, only to find a large purple silk pear flower wooden carriage parked at the door. It was obvious that it was not for idle people to sit in. The white snow-white horse was also very tall. Zhao Pei was still small at the time. She looked up at the hot air coming out of the horse's nose and was stunned for a long time. Xiao Lun looked at her stunned look with a smile: "Get on."

A child in blue jumped down from the carriage and knelt on the ground. Zhao Pei took a look. The child was three or four years younger than herself. She couldn't bear to step on his thin back. She stared at him for a long time but didn't go forward. Xiao Lun smiled faintly, but mocked, "What a trouble." He waved his hand to let the child go, jumped onto the carriage and stretched out his hand to pull her. Zhao Pei smiled and stretched out her hand to climb onto the carriage with his help. His palm was warm, and her fingertips touched the thin calluses on his knuckles. She thought that he must be immersed in calligraphy and painting every day.

After Xiao Lun pulled her into the car, he reached out to pull Zhao Li.

Although Zhao Pei was also from a famous family, she had never ridden in such a royal carriage. She was naturally happy, thinking that it would be okay for her to lie down and roll around in such a large carriage, so she grinned and pulled open the curtain, but she was stunned on the spot. The carriage was full of people.

The first person she saw was the Crown Prince Xiao Tong. Zhao Pei's heart skipped a beat and her face immediately became hot. Seeing him looking at her with a smile, she even forgot to breathe. She smiled awkwardly and looked away, only to see a man in gorgeous clothes who looked unfamiliar. He was handsome and had heroic features. Just as she was wondering about his identity, she heard Zhao Li's slight surprise and realized that he was the eighth prince Xiao Ji. He looked past her and smiled faintly at Zhao Li behind her. Zhao Pei pouted but suddenly realized that their eldest brother was in the carriage! Zhao Jie looked at them with a smile and nodded slightly. It's really strange, why is my brother here

Xiao Lun, who was waiting behind, became impatient and shouted, "What are you doing here? Come in." Zhao Pei came to her senses, smiled awkwardly, bowed, and went in, sitting next to a woman in a water-blue dress. The woman was only about 28 years old, but had bright eyes and white teeth, like a pure daffodil, and the light in her eyes was full of charm.

Zhao Pei smiled and said, "My name is Xu Zhao Pei, and I have never met my sister."

The woman smiled sweetly: "I have heard that my sister is a woman of both talent and beauty, and it is true."

Before she could introduce herself, Zhao Jie said with a smile, "This is Du Yuerong, the daughter of the Du family."

Du Yuerong turned around and looked at Zhaojie beside her, smiling faintly, with a faint blush on her face. Zhaopei saw it and smiled knowingly: "It turned out to be Sister Yuerong." She said something meaningful, which made Yuerong's face blush even more.

Xiao Ji had been staring at the beautiful woman with her head bowed beside Zhao Pei, and chuckled: "Miss Zhao Li is here too. I thought we would never see each other again after we parted that day."

Zhao Li heard this and said shyly, "My second sister forced me to come here." She raised her eyes slightly and met Xiao Ji's smiling eyes, then lowered her head hastily. Zhao Pei looked at her left and right, and there was a lot of affection in the air. She felt very bored sitting in the middle, and looked around, and saw that Xiao Lun was just as bored, and he didn't say a word after getting in the car.

She called him softly, but Xiao Lun seemed not to hear her and was lost in thought. Zhao Pei was slightly annoyed when she saw that he ignored her. She sat up straight and called him, but Xiao Lun still did not come to his senses. Zhao Pei was angry and called out loudly, "Sixth Brother!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone's souls were called back, and they all cast their eyes on her. Xiao Lun hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Pei saw Xiao Tong looking at her with a half-smile in her peripheral vision, and then she realized that all her actions had been seen by him. Her face turned red, and she asked awkwardly, "Nothing. I just wanted to ask how long it will take."

Xiao Lun stared at the blush on her face involuntarily, and smiled: "Not far away."

Damn it, why am I so hesitant? Could it be that I am in love with someone just like Hua said

What meets the eye is the emerald green, the green grass is at its most tender. The colorful flowers are scattered all over the hillside, forming an endless sea of flowers!

Zhao Pei got off the car and looked at the fairyland-like scenery in front of her. She thought she was dreaming. This was clearly the scenery that should appear in dreams, but it was so beautiful that it was unreal. Not only Zhao Pei, but everyone in the group admired the scenery in silence. After a long time, Xiao Lun stretched his waist and smiled: "How is it? Isn't this group of fragrant valleys I found good?"

Xiao Tong had already taken in the beautiful scenery and smiled faintly: "Liu Zhen really found a good place."

Xiao Lun raised his head somewhat complacently: "Brother, it's rare for you to praise me. Very good, very good. Well, the boat bridge. Go find an open space and set out the fruits and snacks we brought. We'll be there in a while." After instructing the boy in green, he began to suggest: "Such a good place, why don't we linger for a while? Look at the flowers all over the mountains. How about we have a flower picking competition?"

Zhao Pei was interested when she heard this and clapped her hands, saying, "Great! Let's set a time and see who can pick the most beautiful flowers." Zhao Li and Yue Rong both agreed, so Xiao Ji and Zhao Jie naturally had nothing to say. The main thing was to obey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Xiao Tong smiled at the group and said, "If you like, go ahead. I'll stay here and watch Zhou Qiao pack up."

The prince was not very interested, and the crowd did not force him, so they split into groups and went their separate ways. Zhao Pei saw Zhao Jie and Yue Rong walking west, and even Zhao Li followed Xiao Ji to the south. She felt very depressed, because the brother and sister only cared about their loved ones.

Xiao Lun came up to her with a smile and said, "It's time for us to get started."

"We?" Zhao Pei was feeling depressed, so she said, "I didn't say I wanted to be in the same group with you."

Xiao Lun just smiled and said nothing, but his eyes said: This is obvious. "You are alone? You will definitely lose."

Zhao Pei pouted: "Who said that? I can pick more and prettier flowers than them. I won't say any more to you. I'll start first." Then she left Xiao Lun, who had a stiff smile, and walked north. Xiao Lun shook his head helplessly. It seemed that this flower was really hard to pick.

Although Zhao Pei was not feeling very comfortable, facing such a sea of flowers, all her worries were thrown away. Looking around, she was the only one wandering in the sea of flowers, as free as a cloud floating on the azure sky.

With a faint smile on her lips, Zhao Pei raised her head to face the warm sunshine and slowly closed her eyes. The fragrance of flowers and the breath of spring lingered at the tip of her nose. Life should be like this. What's the point of being trapped in the mansion to learn embroidery and needlework? A breeze blew, and she felt like she was about to melt into the spring and drift away with the wind.

I couldn't help but spin around with the breeze, almost forgetting myself. In the gorgeous sea of flowers, a beautiful woman with black hair like a waterfall made a flower crown for herself, which set off her beautiful face. She opened her arms and spun around, and her red dress fluttered with it, light and elegant. There was always a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, and even a thousand gold coins could not buy a quiet moment. She didn't know what kind of charming picture the intoxicated figure in the sea of flowers formed. She also didn't know that the intoxicated figure in the sea of flowers had become a beautiful memory that had never blurred in his mind. (To be continued)