Shu'er didn't respond. She looked around and then back at Xie Wangzhi's face: "Everyone here has left today, only Doctor Wen is left... It's so noisy outside, what's going on?"
"... outside..." Xie Wangzhi thought about hiding it. Shu'er was a child, but she was not stupid. She really didn't know how to cover up the bloody smell in the wind and the flames of Chunming Gate. She pursed her lips and told the truth, "There is a fight outside. The generals who want to defend Chang'an City are fighting with the generals who want to rush in."
"Who won?" Shu'er couldn't tell the difference between the process and the result, and became anxious. "What about uncle? Did he go to the war as well?"
"… We don't know yet, but if we calculate, we should know the result before dawn." Xie Wangzhi quickly comforted her, "Your uncle didn't go. He is still in the palace, but he has to guard the Changsheng Palace, so he can't come to see you. He will come when dawn comes."
"We have to wait until dawn..." Shu'er was obviously unhappy that she couldn't see Li Qishen. She leaned against the soft pillow with an unhappy look on her face. After a while, she suddenly looked up at Xie Wangzhi, hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously, "You won't leave, will you? There's no one here, and the wind is so strong. I don't want to sleep..."
"Then we won't sleep." Xie Wangzhi smiled, "I won't leave. I'll stay with you tonight."
"Okay!" Shu'er immediately became happy and leaned back on the soft pillow, "Then I'm going to close my eyes now, and when I open them, you have to be here too."
"Of course I am."
Shu'er was satisfied and slowly closed her eyes. Most of the Li royal family had good looks, and she was no exception. She had a face as delicate as jade, and her pale complexion did not hide her beauty. It was strange that the crown prince and the crown princess were both beautiful but plain, but Shu'er could be recognized at a glance. She was still young, and if she could grow up to be a marriageable girl, I'm afraid the powerful and wealthy children in Chang'an would fight for her just to make her smile.
But she will not grow up, and she will not have time to show her beauty to people outside the palace walls, nor will she have time to enjoy the time of being sought after.
Xie Wangzhi felt a pang of bitterness, and after a while, he stretched out his hand to gently untie the hair that was stuck to the side of Shu'er's face, and touched the pale little face. Shu'er hummed and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Xie Wangzhi thought he had used too much force and quickly withdrew his hand.
Shu'er still closed her eyes: "You are not my aunt, right?"
Xie Wangzhi was stunned, then he thought that Shu'er had heard too many legends and thought that she was the incarnation of some mountain spirit or monster. This was a common fantasy among children. Back then, she had mistaken a young man in Qingning Palace for the incarnation of a black cat and made a big joke in front of Li Qishen.
"No." She said softly, "It was really me. I know you like to eat candied dates with walnuts in them. The doctor said you can only eat three a day, but you secretly ate them under the quilt last time. When the doctor came to see you, she felt some crumbs and realized you had been eating them secretly."
"Don't remember this kind of thing..." Shu'er was a little embarrassed, and opened her eyes to look at Xie Wangzhi, "That's not what I'm talking about."
"What is that?"
"In fact, I know that you are not my aunt, and you and uncle are not married. If you were married, you would have to hold a banquet and invite guests, and you would have to go to the palace to meet Grandfather and Grandpa." Shu'er explained the process clearly, and suddenly a slightly sly smile appeared on her face, which made her pale face more lively. "But uncle likes you very much... Madam Song said that if you really like someone, you can't hide it."
Xie Wangzhi didn't expect her to say this, and felt a little embarrassed: "I asked you to call me aunt these days, which was too much for me, but I really want to marry your uncle, I just asked you to call me that a little early."
"Yeah, I know." Shu'er's throat itched, and she wanted to cough but couldn't. Then suddenly the itching stopped. She felt tired, but also comfortable. She felt like she was soaking in warm water, just like when she was younger and bathing in a bathtub. The palace maids guarding the bathtub scooped up water and poured it on her body, and every inch of her skin turned slightly red.
But A Niang was not there because she was sick and she was afraid that her illness would infect her younger brother.
Shu'er smiled slightly, and her voice became noticeably weaker. "I also know that my father and mother didn't go out to play, they left... They didn't want me because I was sick, they wanted my younger brother."
"... No. Your father and mother..." Xie Wangzhi was terrified by the voice. She knew it might be soon, so she lied anxiously, "It's not that they don't want you, but they really have something to do. They specifically told your uncle before they left. You didn't know your uncle before, right? If your father and mother hadn't said so, he wouldn't..."
"Don't lie to me. Even children are not easy to fool." Shu Er interrupted her and suddenly became serious. "And outside the city... Can they win?"
Xie Wangzhi really didn’t know, and didn’t dare to be sure that he could win, so he paused for a moment.
This momentary pause gave Shu'er an opportunity. She didn't worry about whether she could win or not. She just said to Xie Wangzhi, "Can you hold me? It's so dark and windy. I'm scared... Aunt, can you hold me?"
"Okay." Xie Wangzhi gently held the pale and soft hand, which was small, and the fingertips gradually became colder. She held back her tears and whispered, "I'll hold you, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid."
"What a pity, I still can't write the characters in "Gathering Wild Wheat"... It's so difficult. I can only recite it... Madam Song originally agreed to come and listen to my recitation tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but she changed her mind today."
Xie Wangzhi understood that the female teacher who came to teach Shu'er to read and write also knew about her illness. She couldn't bear to put pressure on her with her studies. She swallowed and said, "The little princess is smart. Madam Song knows that the little princess will be able to recite it."
"I think so, but some parts are difficult." Shu'er held Xie Wangzhi's hand, her eyelids drooping a little bit, and she began to read in a low voice, "Pick the Wei, pick the Wei, Wei is also a stop..."
Xie Wangzhi didn't respond, but listened patiently, reciting the poem in his mind with Shu'er. At Shu'er's age, it was not easy to recite "Gathering Wild Wheat" completely, she was indeed a smart child.
"Pick the vetch, pick the vetch, the vetch has just stopped..."
The night wind did not stop, whimpering outside the window, but the girl's voice became lower and weaker, like the flickering candlelight that had been burning in the hall for most of the night.
"When I left, the willow trees were swaying. When I come back, it is raining and snowing." Shu'er said softly, the last few words were too weak to be heard, "I am walking slowly, thirsty and hungry..."
The girl's hand suddenly loosened, and her whole hand fell weakly into Xie Wangzhi's hand. The candle finally burned out, the wick exploded, and the last bit of fire jumped twice in the large pool of candle tears before going out silently.
“… Madam! Madam! The allied forces of Huihe and Shuofang have arrived!” Feng Shaojian rushed into the inner hall, his voice trembling with ecstasy, “The rebels have retreated, and Chang’an City has been saved!”
He came to deliver a message. The palace servants outside the Changsheng Palace were running and hiding, but he had nowhere to go. He was stabbed and had no children to collect his body, so he simply went back. As a result, when he arrived at the door of the palace, he saw a soldier half covered in blood, stumbling in front of the door and delivering the news from outside.
Shaojian Feng was overjoyed. Li Qishen had just asked him to deliver a message, so he quickly turned around and ran. Since he entered the palace at the age of eight, he had never been so happy running errands. He even wanted to shout a few times in the night wind.
However, when they broke into the Eight Phoenix Hall and shouted out the news, no one responded. The girl on the couch was half lying and half leaning, with a soft pillow behind her waist. She closed her eyes and could not tell whether she was pretending to doze or was really asleep. Her expression was calm; the girl beside the couch was holding the little princess's hand, her eyebrows and eyes were calm, and nothing could be seen.
Xie Wangzhi slowly lowered her head, her long black hair falling down, covering half of her face. She opened her mouth softly and said something incoherent: "... I am sad, and there is no one better than me to grieve."
"… Madam?" Supervisor Feng was stunned.
"…Nothing." Xie Wangzhi let go of Shu'er's hand and carefully put it back beside her. He stood up and nodded to Feng Shaojian, "Is the female doctor outside?"
"Madam, is there something wrong?" The female doctor really came in from behind the screen. She had been waiting outside and understood the situation immediately. "Madam and the eunuch, please leave. I will handle the rest."
Xie Wangzhi originally wanted to help, but then he thought that he had to listen to the doctor, so he didn't say much. He just took a last look at Shu'er, then stood up and walked out.
Shao Jian Feng hurried over and said, "Where are you going, my lady? The prince is still in the Changsheng Palace, waiting for the Khan of the Huihe and the general of the Shuofang Army to enter the palace. Do you want to go? Or do you want to find a place to rest for a while?"
"No thanks." Kindness at this moment is always valuable. Xie Wangzhi politely shook his head and refused, "I want to go to Xuanyuan Hall. I'm not a member of the royal family. Can I go in?"
"It's not allowed, but you and the prince..." Feng Shaojian smacked his lips and thought that Xie Wangzhi would have to go to the temple with Li Qishen to worship the ancestors sooner or later, so it would be okay to go in earlier. He chose his words carefully, "My lady, just hurry up. There's no one here right now, so you can go in and take a look."
Xie Wangzhi thanked him softly, and without saying anything more, he walked out of the door of the Eight Phoenix Hall. It was almost dawn, the moon was gradually retreating, and a line of white light appeared on the horizon, and she could see the road dimly. She did not bring the lantern, and walked alone in the direction of the Xuanyuan Hall.
The East Palace was some distance away from the Xuanyuan Hall. Xie Wangzhi walked on foot. When he arrived at the entrance of the Xuanyuan Hall, the sky had already broken and the earliest sunlight of the day fell on him.
As expected, there was no one in the Xuanyuan Hall. The tablets of the emperors were placed neatly, and there were eternal lamps on the stage. They were called eternal lamps, but in fact, the oil used was taken from the belly of a sea beast that looked like a human and a fish, called "mermaid oil". It could only make the lamps burn longer, so it was fine to burn all night without having to get up in the middle of the night to add oil, but it was impossible to keep them burning forever.
But now it was already daybreak, and the lamp oil was so little, the flame flickered, obviously it was almost burned out. Xie Wangzhi opened the door, and the wind blew in from the door, causing the lamp to sway slightly. The flame shone on the memorial tablet, making the words on it blurry.
After all, it was still dark in the hall, and Xie Wangzhi stood in the center of the hall, looking at the tablets, silent for a long time, and touched the oil paper hidden in his sleeve. It was a small paper package, and three incense sticks were wrapped in the oil paper, each stick clearly visible.
The author has something to say: I chose "Gathering Wild Wheat" because the section "When I Went Away" is in the primary school textbook. This poem itself also talks about the suffering of the soldiers and their longing to return home, which fits the plot. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2019-11-27 16:09:26~2019-11-28 17:43:34~
Thanks to the little angels who threw the grenades: Yu Hehe 1;
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: 2 for West Window Without Candles; 1 for Ruler Little Fangirl;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Red Cape Green Raincoat, West Window Without Candle 10 bottles; Love Here 6 bottles; Jiangchengzi 5 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!