"In March of spring, grass grows in the south of the Yangtze River, there are mixed peanut trees, and flocks of orioles fly around." Before you know it, the most beautiful season in Jiangnan has arrived.
Lotus walked across the pond and saw a few swallows passing by the weeping willows. Their black tails really looked like scissors, and she couldn't help but smile. Zhien and Haishou walked towards each other. Zhien pointed to the small wooden bucket in Haishou's hand with a smile, opened the lid and showed it to Lianhua, but it was a bucket of bright pickles: "Look, princess! It's not bad, isn't it? The abbot must like it!" "
When Lianhua first arrived in the capital and stayed at Cao Guogong's mansion, she went to Tianxi Temple to visit Abbot Hui Ren. When Hui Ren saw the Glazed Pagoda that day, his face was full of excitement, surprise, and disbelief. The eighty-year-old eminent monk couldn't help but have mixed feelings despite decades of cultivation.
Is it really destined to be this way? Lian Hua and Hui Ren talked about their adventures in the desert and Master Hui Guang's words. Abbot Hui Ren's eyes were as gentle as glass and full of compassion. He shook his head and sighed but hesitated, and finally said nothing more. Lianhua opened her clear eyes and finally didn't ask any more questions.
From then on, apart from staying at home and in the palace, Lianhua went to Tianxi Temple. The main thing is to read the scriptures of "Hongwu Nanzang", which is indeed quite different from the Goryeo Tibet. In addition, I took care of Abbot Huirin, bringing some stewed food, soup, and even warm pillows and soft pillows in monks' robes and cotton socks.
Hui Ren had always lived a poor life and did not pay much attention to food, clothing and housing, but when he saw the lotus flowers, he was moved by their sincerity. The old man and the young child often lost track of time while reading scriptures together. Xuanxin and Xuanzhi were overjoyed to see that there was such a person who cared about their master, and it was rare that the master was willing to listen. They were overjoyed and welcomed Lianhua very much. The day before yesterday, Hui Ren mentioned that she missed the kimchi from the north. Lian Hua was interested and prepared to make it as a gift when she got back. However, Zhi En volunteered to say that it was her specialty, and she made it today.
Lianhua took one look and praised: "It's not bad! Fortunately, Zheng Ti trained him."
Zhien said proudly: "I know a lot! But the miso soup needs to be freshly made to taste. When will it be made in the big kitchen of Tianxi Temple for everyone to eat?"
Lianhua smiled: "It's not a bad idea! Today I will go to the palace to see the Holy One, and you two will go to Tianxi Temple to deliver kimchi. It will be done right there."
Zhien couldn't help but clapped his hands: "Okay, the big monk and the little monk should be happy." He pulled Haishou enthusiastically: "Come on, come with me to get some ingredients and seasonings."
Hai Shou was a little worried. Lian Hua smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll take the palace car and come back with His Highness in the evening. You go ahead and take me to greet the abbot and say I'll be there the day after tomorrow." Then he went to the palace.
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Princess Zhu Ruhua of Ning Kingdom has been a little depressed recently.
The dignified Princess Ningguo, who has always been lawless, even if she is not unruly in the harem, she can stay and go as she pleases. But these two times I went to the palace, I didn't see the emperor. Wang Zhi blocked him outside the Qianqing Palace, saying that the emperor was "chanting sutras and sitting in meditation." What sutra are you reciting? He is very old, and he is no longer a monk. However, once Wang Zhi blocked the way with a straight face, Princess Ning Guo did not dare to force her way in. She knew that he was a popular person in front of the emperor, so she had to return in dismay both times.
The weather was fine today and the spring breeze was blowing. Princess Ningguo redressed her appearance and brought a box of Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite sauce duck to the Qianqing Palace again to see her father. Unexpectedly, he was stopped again at the gate of Qianqing Palace. Wang Zhi didn't even show up, and a young eunuch blocked him from entering. Moreover, he is still a young eunuch with an immature figure and an immature face.
Princess Ning Guo couldn't help being furious and scolded: "Do you know who this princess is?"
The young eunuch was a little panicked and replied cautiously: "Princess Ning Guo, I know you are Princess Ning Guo."
Princess Ning Guo snorted: "Why don't you hurry up and lead the way?"
The little eunuch didn't move, and continued to say in a trembling voice: "The Holy One won't let anyone in, can the princess come back later?"
Princess Ning Guo became furious and shouted: "I don't believe it! Get out of the way!" She said and walked inside carrying the food box.
The little eunuch was frightened. He knelt down in front of Princess Ning Guo and kowtowed repeatedly: "It is really the Holy Father's command. Princess, please come back later." While hurriedly waving, several guards stepped forward and lined up to block Princess Ning Guo.
Princess Ningguo only had a maid with her. Seeing that she couldn't get through this situation, she snorted coldly: "What are you doing, father? What's your name?"
Seeing her stop, the little eunuch breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The Holy One is listening to the scriptures, and the princes and princes are inside together. The Holy One has ordered that no one be allowed in. My name is Agui."
Princess Ning Guo frowned: "Listen to the scriptures? Who is preaching the scriptures? Is it Hongyuan or Hui Ren?"
Agui replied: "It's Li Cairen from the East Palace."
Princess Ningguo had to think for a moment before she realized who "Li Cairen of the East Palace" was. She couldn't help shouting: "That Korean countryman? What does she know?"
Agui mumbled and said, "It's the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Korean Tripitaka or something like that. I don't understand."
Princess Ning Guo thought for a while: "So the first two times my father chanted sutras and meditated, were he with her?"
Agui didn't know what Princess Ningguo was referring to, so she mumbled and didn't know how to answer. Princess Ningguo asked angrily: "Let me ask you, does this Korean countryman come here often?"
A Gui said cautiously: "His Majesty has been summoning Li Cairen these days. His Highness comes to pick him up after doing business. Sometimes the two of them stay together to accompany the Holy Spirit to dinner."
Princess Ning Guo gritted her teeth: "This countryman is so shaken! I don't know how high the sky is!" Agui didn't dare to say any more, and stood closely side by side with several guards, obviously determined not to let Princess Ning Guo enter.
Princess Ningguo stamped her feet and rushed straight to the East Palace.
Crown Princess Lu was leaning in the courtyard to bask in the sun, while a palace maid knelt beside her and gently tapped her legs. Lu's eyes were slightly closed, enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh warm breeze in the early spring.
Suddenly there were chaotic footsteps, and the palace maid chased her and shouted: "Princess, please slow down!" Lu opened her eyes and saw that Princess Ning Guo had strode into the courtyard, angrily pacing in front of Lu's bed.
Seeing her unkind expression, Mrs. Lu was confused for a moment. She sat up straight and signaled the maids to step back. She said with a smile: "Ruhua, the prince-in-law has made you angry again?" Mrs. Lu knew that most people would not dare to offend this powerful princess. Princess Most of the anger was due to the consort Mei Yin.
Princess Ningguo sat down next to Lu and said angrily: "How dare he! It has nothing to do with the consort. I'm here to see you, sister-in-law."
Lu was a little surprised: "Looking for me?" Not to mention the palace, no one in the entire palace dared to offend Zhu Ruhua!
Princess Ningguo put it bluntly: "Your new daughter-in-law, that Li Cairen from North Korea, is too much!"
Lu frowned: "Li Cairen? What's wrong with her?"
Princess Ning Guo snorted: "How does she treat my sister-in-law? Does she sleep at dawn and dusk on time?"
Mrs. Lu couldn't figure out why Princess Ning Guo was so angry, and said calmly: "She is a foreigner from a foreign country, what else can you expect? Sometimes Yunwen goes out early and they want to be together, so I ask her not to come to say hello in the morning. ".
Princess Ning Guo clapped her hands: "But come! It's only been a month since I entered the house, and I haven't come to say hello in the morning. Do you care about your mother-in-law? Why does she always follow Yunwen out? She is a talented person, she shouldn't be honest Do you really want to stay in the palace and serve you?"
Mrs. Lu snorted: "Young people just got married, so good! Yun Wen is reluctant to let go."
Princess Ning Guo couldn't help but spoke loudly: "How can that be done? She just hangs out all the time?" Lu said with a bitter smile: "What can I do? Wasn't it ordered by the Holy One to ask Yunwen to take her to Tianxi Temple to see that What Tripitaka?"
Princess Ning Guo curled her lips: "She is a country girl from Seoul. What can she understand? Isn't she just pretending? She's just trying to trick people. You really believe her."
Only then did Lu finally guess the reason why Princess Ning Guo was angry. She was also dissatisfied with this Li Cairen and sighed: "The Holy One believes in her, what can we do? Let her be."
Just as Princess Ning Guo was about to speak, Ma Shuyi came in, saluted Mrs. Lu, and then affectionately took Princess Ning Guo's hand and called out: "Huang Gu!"
Seeing that her belly was already obvious, Princess Ning Guo asked with concern: "Is it almost done? You should rest with your big belly."
Ma Shuyi smiled: "There is still more than a month. I haven't done anything. Why is the emperor's wife free to come here today?"
Princess Ning Guo pouted and said: "I am the most free, and I can only come to you in the future."
Seeing her grievance, Ma Shuyi glanced at Lu's face. Lu frowned and said nothing, so Ma Shuyi smiled and said: "Royal Aunt! How happy we are to have you come to the East Palace! I wish you could come every day."
Princess Ning Guo was still angry. She took Ma Shuyi's hand and sighed: "I know you are good to me. You should be more considerate yourself."
Ma Shuyi was puzzled, and Princess Ningguo continued: "That North Korean princess is not simple. When you should take on the role of the grandson concubine, you have to do it."
Seeing that Princess Ning Guo was thinking about her, Ma Shuyi was moved. She smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Auntie Huang. I'm fine." She then added, "Li Cairen still understands the rules."
Ma Shuyi had some words that were difficult to say in front of Ms. Lu. It has been seven years since I entered the East Palace, and this is the first time I saw Zhu Yunwen so happy, radiant and joyful every day, and then I realized that he had only been perfunctory and polite in the past seven years, not without sadness. It's just that Ma Shuyi is seven years older than Zhu Yunwen, and she is more like a younger brother to her husband. She is infected by his happiness and is often happy for him.
The concubine simply changed the subject and asked: "It's Qingming Festival, does the Holy One have any plans?"
Zhu Yuanzhang ruled the world with filial piety. The imperial palace originally had a grand temple for worshiping ancestors. Each of the four ancestors had a temple, with the emperor Gaozu in the middle, the emperor great ancestor first in the east, the emperor ancestor in the west first, and the emperor Kao in the east. That is to say, to worship his father. , grandfather, great-grandfather, wife and grandfather for four generations. This was not enough, because the Ancestral Temple only offered sacrifices during the Chinese New Year. Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and built the "Fengxian Hall" to worship his ancestors, saying that it was for morning and dusk visits and memorial ceremonies. This Fengxian Hall is located on the east side of the Qianqing Palace, the emperor's palace, and faces south. It has been enshrined for four generations in its five gates and five pavilions. Zhu Yuanzhang often talked alone inside.
But even though there is the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang still has to go back to the imperial mausoleum in Zhongdu to pay his respects during the Qingming Festival every year. Zhu Yuanzhang's parents, brother-in-law, and nephew were buried in the imperial mausoleum. It was originally an earthen slope. After several constructions in the Hongwu Year, it has become a majestic and majestic royal mausoleum with hundreds of palaces such as Xiangdian, Zhaigong, and official halls.
Princess Ning Guo curled her lips: "I must be going back to Zhongdu again! I don't want to go this year. That rural place is dirty and dilapidated. It takes several days to go back and forth, and I'm exhausted."
Lu was a little worried: "Can you not go?"
Princess Ningguo sighed: "I am a married daughter, what does it matter if I don't go? Anyway, my father is now accompanied by a North Korean princess." She could not hide her jealousy in her words.
Lu smiled and said: "It would be great if you don't go. Shuyi can't go. I'm worried about her being alone in Yingtian Mansion. It would be best if you help take care of her."
Ma Shuyi said quickly: "Mom, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Nothing will happen if I rest at home. Just go when the emperor's aunt should go, and don't make the emperor's grandfather unhappy. The emperor's grandfather can't live without the emperor's aunt."
Princess Ningguo was very angry after hearing what Lu said. In the past, no matter where the emperor went, Princess Ningguo was the most indispensable one. When did she become the one to look after pregnant women at home? Zhu Ruhua was about to have a fit on the spot, but after hearing Ma Shuyi's words of caution, she turned from anger to joy: Yes, these three times may have been a coincidence. She, a foreigner from Seoul, really allowed her to occupy her father's palace? He secretly made up his mind to go to the palace later.
Ms. Lu also regretted her mistake, forgetting that this sister-in-law came here out of anger, and quickly found something to cover it up: "That is, it is such a big event to visit the grave during the Qingming Festival, and it is back to my hometown. My father must show off his picturesque and consort in front of his family. Proud and proud”. Princess Ningguo and Mei Yin, a talented and beautiful couple, were Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite works. He was always proud of them. Every time he returned to the country, he kept them by his side. People in his hometown flattered and complimented him, and Zhu Yuanzhang was often very happy. .
After hearing what Lu said, Princess Ningguo felt happy and pretended to be humble: "Sister-in-law is making fun of us again. What else do we have to show off as an old couple?"
While talking, it was getting late, so Lu left Princess Ningguo for dinner. Princess Ningguo saw that it was too late to go to the palace, so she might as well bring some delicious food to her tomorrow, so she did not refuse and sat down to have dinner with Mrs. Lu, accompanied by the Prime Minister Ma Shuyi.
While they were eating, the palace maid announced: "His Royal Highness and Li Cairen are back." As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen and Lianhua arrived at the door.
Zhu Yunwen is dressed in an apricot-yellow brocade robe, as windy as jade, and has an elegant demeanor; the lotus flower is still in light blue clothes, and her hair has been changed into a bun, making her as beautiful as a spring flower and as beautiful as the morning glow. The two of them were generally slender, fair-skinned, gentle and elegant. The same clear and bright eyes, the same calm and unhurried manner, and even the same slow pace. As soon as the two of them entered the hall, the whole hall was suddenly filled with light, and the candlelight in the hall seemed to be exceptionally bright.
Princess Ning Guo was stunned for a while. In front of this beautiful pair, what kind of talents and beauties could she and Mei Yin be? I'm afraid I am the "country boy".
The two of them and everyone else saw the ceremony, and Zhu Yunwen was answering Lu's question: "Yes, we used it at the emperor's grandfather's place, and we ate it today." A smiling lotus flower stood at the bottom, serving vegetables and ladling soup to the three of them. She is a talented person, and according to the rules, she has to wait for the crown prince, princess and grand concubine to eat.
Zhu Yunwen looked a little distressed. When he saw Lotus serving a bowl of hot soup to Ma Shuyi, he quickly shouted: "Be careful not to burn it!" He took it without any explanation and brought it to Ma Shuyi. This was a big violation of the rules. Ma Shuyi quickly stood up, took the soup with both hands, and said in a panic: "Your Highness, leave it for me, let me come."
Lu couldn't help but snorted, her face looking extremely ugly.
Lianhua was a little flustered. She glanced at Zhu Yunwen, then looked at Lu carefully, and said softly, "I'm sorry," and picked up another soup bowl to fill another bowl.
Lu waved her hand: "You two go down first. Let the three of us eat well to avoid unrest."
Lianhua's hand holding the bowl froze in mid-air, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Zhu Yunwen was very happy after hearing this. He held Lianhua's hand and said to the three of them with a smile: "Then let's go back to Luoxia Palace first. Mother and Queen will use it slowly. Shuyi, please say hello." He then left immediately. Lianhua blushed and was pulled out of the dining room by Zhu Yunwen.
Mrs. Lu sighed and put down the chopsticks in her hand. Ma Shuyi lowered her head and did not dare to say a word. Princess Ningguo smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, Yunwen is really promising." Mrs. Lu knew that she was sarcastic, but the situation just now was the truth. Her son completely forgot about his mother when he met his daughter-in-law, and even the palace rules were ignored. Regardless. I couldn't help but sigh again.
Princess Yining won the love of the emperor's grandson and the emperor's favor. But the jealousy and dissatisfaction in the harem also began. What exactly is the road ahead