Dewdrops condensed among the grass blades. After the first ray of sunlight in the morning shone down, the waterdrops rolled gently, like colorful gems under the sunlight.
Qiu Chan held a glass vase and carefully collected the dewdrops on the locust flowers. The queen mother wanted to use the morning dew among the flowers to make tea.
Concubine Dun was still asleep, and Li Wei had already been practicing swordplay in the Zen courtyard for a while.
As the body stretched and the hands made gestures, soon I felt that my face was covered with sweat and my back was already sticky with sweat, which made me feel uncomfortable. She endured the heat and practiced for an hour before giving up.
Lan Hui, who was in front of her, quickly handed over a dry towel to wipe Li Wei's sweat, and then brought some water over to ask Li Wei to drink.
I haven't been active for a long time, and my body feels like it's going to waste. But after sweating all over, I felt a lot more refreshed. She put away her sword and returned to her room.
Concubine Dun had already gotten up and was sitting in the room eating snacks. When she saw Li Wei coming back, she stood up and greeted her with a smile on her face.
"The Queen Mother is dressed like a female knight."
"A chivalrous person?" Li Wei didn't like this title very much. She didn't have the courage to be a chivalrous person. "You praise me too much."
Princess Dun smiled and said: "She looks like a heroine, but not like a noble lady at all."
Qiu Chan came back with the glass bottle in her arms. She said happily: "Your Majesty, you are very lucky today. There is a bottle full of dew."
Collecting flower dew to make tea was an elegant thing that she had enjoyed a long time ago, but now she felt it was unnecessary to work so hard. Seeing that Qiu Chan's trouser legs were wet, she frowned and said, "Put the bottle down and go get a dry pair." pants."
"Yes." Qiu Chan put down the bottle and was about to leave. Li Wei stopped her again and said, "From tomorrow on, there is no need to collect these flower dews. You have worked hard too."
"But the Queen Mother used to like to use the dew on the locust flowers to make tea. She said it had a fragrant aroma."
"The past was before, and the present is now. Just remember it, go ahead."
Concubine Dun looked at the glass vase again. She didn't know how much flower dew had to be collected and how many trees had to be climbed to produce such a bottle of dew. She smiled and said, "I knew before that you liked to play with these flowers. You even made rose dew and rose dew as gifts for me."
"I don't have the energy now."
Concubine Dun smiled and said: "You are the Queen Mother now. If you give me an order, there is no need to do it yourself. By the way, I heard people say that Sophora japonica cake is delicious. Why not let the Taoist temple make some to try. They are outsiders. I’m very good at handling these foods.”
However, Li Wei's interest still seemed to be low.
She and Princess Dun entered the palace at the same year, and they were also about the same age. Because they have similar temperaments and personalities, they have always been close to each other. Concubine Dun was a rare friendship she experienced in the palace. In the past few years, whether she was humble or respected, Princess Dun always treated her sincerely. She once cherished this friend very much, but because of the matter of the noble concubine, a rift appeared between the two sisters who were sympathizing with each other.
In the face of interests, everything will become a mirror.
Concubine Dun felt guilty, and later she took the initiative to testify against Concubine Jinggui. She worked extra hard when investigating the cause of Fu Guang's death, which was a great help.
But after what they experienced, Li Wei felt that it would be difficult for the two of them to go back to the beginning. She couldn't completely let go of her grudge and get along with Princess Dun.
Concubine Dun also knew it well. After all, she had done something wrong before, and that wrong thing almost cost Li Wei his life, so she couldn't take the initiative to open her heart when she faced Li Wei again.
So even though the two of them were chatting and laughing as usual, things were no longer the same as before.
Concubine Dun has the habit of taking a nap, and Li Wei used to take a nap, but recently her sleep at night has been very bad, and she doesn't dare to take a nap again.
After lunch, she had nothing to do. She asked someone to find a fence and put it on, took her sword, led her horse, and planned to go for a walk under the mountain. Luo Chong followed Li Wei all the way as his bodyguard.
A few months ago, there was still a large area of desolate land to the south of Sanqing Temple. At Li Wei's suggestion, the Taoist temple was allowed to lease the land to the poor people at the foot of the mountain for farming. Now when I pass through these lands again, there is no grass anymore. In some places, barley has been planted, and in other places, soybeans have been planted. Sorghum was planted in the poor soil. I just hope that God will provide me with food and wait for the good harvest in autumn.
After the secret arrow incident, Luo Chong, as her bodyguard, had to be even more vigilant. In the past, he could just follow her from a distance, but now he had to protect her closely.
Li Wei was riding on the horse and walking slowly, as if what happened before had never happened. Li Wei thought of Xiao Hulai, whose father was sent to the army and his whereabouts were unknown, and his mother ran away. I don’t know what happened to the poor child. She walked towards the village where she met Xiaohu last time.
Li Wei lifted up the curtain fence and led the horse slowly along the narrow ridge road.
Her appearance made many children in the village remember her, so they rushed up to say hello to her.
"Has Senior Sister come down the mountain to ask for alms again?"
Facing the innocent smiling faces of the children, Li Wei grinned and said: "How long have I ever begged for alms? I don't want to beg for alms. I came to see Xiaohu, is he here?"
A little girl about ten years old heard that she was looking for Xiaohu. She said calmly: "Sister, Xiaohu is no longer here."
Li Wei was surprised and asked quickly: "He's not here, where is he going?"
Immediately, another child said: "During the first month of the year, Little Tiger went to the well to fetch water and accidentally fell into the well. It took a long time for everyone to find him. When they picked him up, he was bloated."
The child's immature voice said this matter calmly, but Li Wei's heart was suddenly stabbed. How could such a cute child disappear without saying a word.
Now the children were dragging Li Wei to the place where the little tiger was buried. Li Wei followed them. Not long after walking, he saw a small mound rising out of the ground.
poor child! Li Wei looked at the mounds and couldn't speak for a long time. When Li Wei asked where Xiaohu's home was, they took her to Xiaohu's home.
Li Wei saw two dilapidated thatched houses. A gray-haired woman was sitting in the yard holding straw and slowly weaving long straw ropes. Although Li Wei didn't know what the woman was going to do with the straw rope, she felt sad thinking about what happened to the woman. So he lowered his head and untied a purse on his belt. There was probably some money in it, and Li Wei gave the purse to the woman. He choked and said: "Old man, you are tired."
The woman raised her head and glanced at Li Wei, only to see a young girl with a very beautiful face standing in front of her. She had never seen this girl before. She looked at the purse that was handed over and didn't know why, so she didn't reach out for a long time.
Li Wei stuffed the purse into the woman's arms, then turned around and strode away.
(End of chapter)