Xie Wangzhi was pushed awake by someone.
She opened her eyes drowsily. The person who pushed her took the half-wrung towel and handed her another one. Without saying anything more, she washed herself. Xie Wangzhi had been interrupted from her long dream and had not yet recovered. By chance, the palace servant next to her brought the basin over. She took the towel instinctively.
After she finished washing and the palace maids cleaned up and left, she felt something was wrong.
There was nothing special about the furnishings in this place. It was the plain and simple style that Li Qishen was used to. There wasn't even an extra long-necked vase in the corner. But it was obviously not the Penglai Palace. There was no screen in the room. There was an extra couch and two dressing tables. It looked like the residence of two young ladies.
“…Where am I?” Xie Wangzhi thought she was dreaming. He pinched her face hard, and a red mark quickly appeared on her fair skin. She hissed in pain.
"Did you sleep like a fool? I really envy you. You've come to the palace for a walk. It's your last day, and you can still sleep so soundly." The woman who pushed her earlier was harsh in her words, but gentle in her actions. She came over to look at her face and said, "Be nice to your face. You're so cruel."
She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pretty face, but her eyebrows and eyes were cold, and she looked unapproachable. It was obvious that she came closer to take a look out of fear, and her expression was cold as if she was seeking revenge. Since getting married, except for Li Qishen, Xie Wangzhi had never let anyone get so close to his face. He was startled and instinctively shrank back.
"Why, you didn't even recognize me when you woke up?" The lady who was checking her face was a little annoyed and straightened up. "I and Wu Xueming were assigned to the same room when we entered the palace."
"... Entering the palace..." Xie Wangzhi felt more and more puzzled as she listened. Many legends popped up in her mind. The first thing she thought of was that she had turned into a ghost and occupied someone else's body. But the face she saw in the basin when she was washing just now was indeed her own. She thought about it and considered taking a gamble, "I really slept stupidly... I don't even remember Lingqi Pavilion."
Wu Xueming snorted, ignored her, and just handed over the small medicine bottle.
…It is really Lingqi Pavilion, where the concubines waiting to be selected into the palace live.
Xie Wangzhi thanked him and took the small medicine bottle. His hands were shaking as he dipped the ointment. He paused before forcing himself to steady his tone: "This is the last day. Your Majesty won't summon you?"
"Your Majesty has been on the throne for seven years. When has he summoned a concubine? It's called a beauty pageant, but every year they're sent into the palace for a tour and then sent out again." Wu Xueming had never thought of entering the palace. She was forced by her family. She was annoyed when she talked about it, and she was a little angry. "Your Majesty is really capable. He didn't have a princess before, and now he doesn't have a queen, but he has been able to live alone for so many years. I admire him."
“… So it is like this.” Xie Wangzhi murmured.
"What happened to you today?" Even though they were not familiar with each other, Wu Xueming still felt that something was wrong with her. "Did you really sleep like a fool? Should I ask someone to call the imperial physician over?"
"No... no need." Xie Wangzhi quickly refused, "I'm just a little confused, I feel dizzy, and I can't figure out a lot of things."
Wu Xueming looked at her doubtfully, and thinking about how honest she usually was, he felt that she was not lying: "That's right, you are usually a quiet person. Could it be that your family forced you to come to the palace this time, and you don't know anything?"
Xie Wangzhi quickly agreed, and asked some random questions in a roundabout way. Wu Xueming was honest and said what he meant without hiding anything.
After a round of questions and answers, Xie Wang felt disappointed.
Daming Palace is still Daming Palace, the emperor living in Changsheng Palace is still the emperor, she is still the legitimate daughter of Xie family in Chang'an, but she has no connection with Li Qishen. She is only seventeen years old this year, and she was just ten years old when the rebellion broke out. She could only be a little maid in the palace, so how could she have the chance to meet the Prince of Yanyang who came back from Fengzhou.
It sounded like an absurd dream, but she had just been woken up from her sleep and couldn't tell which one was the dream.
Zhuang Zhou dreamed of being a butterfly, is it true or not
Xie Wangzhi closed his eyes and sighed softly.
Before he finished sighing, someone suddenly knocked on the door. Wu Xueming quickly stood up and said, "Let's go. We're going home today."
Xie Wangzhi responded and followed Wu Xueming out.
The leader outside was a female official, followed by two lines of ladies, all of whom looked to be around 16 years old, and the oldest was no more than 18. It seemed that these ladies had learned the rules well, their makeup and clothes were simple, their eyebrows were lowered and their eyes were pleasant, all of them looked suitable for the family.
The female official also had a dull appearance. When she saw Wu Xueming and Xie Wangzhi coming late, she just said indifferently, "Follow me."
The two responded and mixed into the team, just hanging at the tail. As soon as the two joined the team, everyone was complete, and they followed the female official and walked slowly forward.
"Since you have been to the palace, I will explain the rules. It is not because you are not good enough that you were not chosen, but because His Majesty is not picky. You can marry as you wish after leaving the palace, and there is no need to feel sorry for yourself. If you harbor resentment and say bad things about His Majesty, it is disrespectful." The female official reminded, "There are many people passing by on this road, so keep your heads down and don't look around."
The maidens all responded, and Xie Wangzhi also responded, feeling a little weird. She used to be so close to Li Qishen, supporting each other through the night when the rebels attacked the city, but here, she and him were separated by ten years and a hundred feet of palace walls, and they had never met.
All sorts of things were pouring out of her mind. She followed along while she was thinking about all sorts of things. After walking for a while, she suddenly heard the voice of a eunuch, followed by the rubbing of clothes when people around her knelt down, and a uniform greeting: "Your Majesty, I respectfully wish you the best."
Xie Wangzhi followed suit and knelt, but couldn't help looking up, just in time to see a man in black walking by from a little further away. It was Li Qishen, with a cold and beautiful appearance, an upright figure, and a profile that was beautiful enough to make people fall in love at first sight.
He gradually walked away, his figure blending into the branches of the peach forest. The female official stood up first: "Okay, everyone get up."
The concubines stood up one after another, but they still bowed their heads in a proper manner. Occasionally, one or two would glance in the direction where Li Qishen was walking, and the ladies walking beside them would pull her. It was not uncommon to run into the emperor while walking in the Daming Palace. At most, they could talk to him after leaving the palace, but they didn't even see his face clearly, and they didn't know his character. No one thought much of it, and they just kept walking.
They had no other thoughts, but Xie Wangzhi did. According to the rules, unsuccessful girls could not participate in the selection again after leaving the palace. After leaving Danfeng Gate, she would never have the chance to enter Daming Palace again in this life. She was afraid that the quick glance just now would be the only one in this life.
But she only saw a vague silhouette and didn't even know the color of the headband Li Qishen was using today.
Unspeakable thoughts welled up in his mind. Xie Wangzhi took a deep breath, suddenly turned around, and ran towards the peach forest.
When she ran, there was an uproar. The female official had never seen a concubine who dared to chase the emperor. She was stunned for a moment, but it was not easy to call for people to catch Xie Wangzhi. After holding it in for a long time, with a frown on her face, she could only say to the concubines around her: "Don't make noise, be quiet."
After such a delay, Xie Wangzhi ran into the peach forest. She knew that with her current status, running away would be crazy. Not to mention how much trouble she would cause even if she could leave the palace smoothly, with Li Qishen's temper, if a strange woman came up to him inexplicably, he would probably be angry and could make her head fall off with just one word.
But she couldn't help it. She wanted to see him again, to see the 27-year-old Li Qishen who had never met her, and at least ask him if he was living a happy life since he left Beijing for Fengzhou, living alone for 13 years.
Xie Wangzhi wiped his face carelessly, holding back his tears, and caught up with Li Qishen. Facing the familiar back, he swallowed the small words back: "... Your Majesty!"
Li Qishen turned around in surprise, allowing Xie Wangzhi to see the face clearly. The face had cold and beautiful eyebrows, long black hair, and skin as white as ice and snow.
I don't know if this was the peak of his beauty, but he was more beautiful than when he was 22, but also less lively. In February, he was still wearing a thick cloak with velvet edges, which made him look like a jade sculpture or a snow sculpture, so beautiful that he didn't look like a living person.
Xie Wangzhi thought she had a lot to say, wanted to ask him if he was okay, wanted to ask him if he was lonely, but in the end, a myriad of emotions were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a word. She stared blankly at the 27-year-old Li Qishen, and suddenly smiled, her eyebrows curved, but two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Your Majesty," she raised her hand, plucked a peach blossom, and slowly handed it over, "I have nothing to give you, that's all."
Li Qishen was slightly stunned.
**
Xie Wangzhi felt his back move, his whole body shuddered, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
"Why are you sleeping here?" Li Qishen didn't mind her taking a nap in the peach forest. With a smile on his face, he did not withdraw his hand and intended to pick up the girl.
Xie Wangzhi didn't let him hug him. He glanced at him, suddenly stretched out his hands, folded them behind his shoulders, and buried his head in the junction of his shoulders and neck. The tears brought out from his dream seeped drop by drop into the collar that was filled with a faint fragrance, wetting that small piece of skin.
"What's wrong?" Li Qishen felt the slight wetness on his neck and was stunned for a moment. He quickly asked Xie Wangzhi to sit back under the peach tree, hugged the girl, and patiently stroked her back. His tone softened a little, "What are you sad about?"
"Why aren't you wearing a cloak?" Xie Wangzhi sobbed and answered the question irrelevantly.
Li Qishen was silent for a moment: "… It's already February."
He hesitated for a moment between thinking that Xie Wangzhi was a little cold and thinking that he was not good enough, and chose the former. He still hugged her and asked her in a gentle voice, "Feeling cold? I'll ask someone to get it."
He really wanted to ask Changzu to get it, but Xie Wangzhi quickly grabbed his shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "No need... I'm not cold. I just had some random thoughts for a while."
"What are you thinking about? Why are you crying like this?" Judging from her tone, there was probably no big problem. Li Qishen breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the ground, propped up Xie Wangzhi's chin, and carefully wiped away the remaining tears with his fingertips. "I have nothing to do today, why don't you talk to me?"
"... Nothing." Xie Wangzhi didn't want to mention the dream that made him feel uneasy. After a while, he asked hesitantly, "Changsheng, if... you had never met me and didn't know who I was, then what would you look like now?"
Li Qishen didn't think too deeply about it and said casually, "Whatever happens, it will be. I will still stay in Chang'an City and I will have to catch Le Yan to write the edict for me. But without you, I will have to live alone."
"Aren't you lonely?" Xie Wangzhi grabbed Li Qishen's sleeve fiercely, "Aren't you... sad?"
"Well, what's the big deal? I met you when I was fourteen, and I spent the first fourteen years alone, didn't I?" Li Qishen was puzzled and felt that this topic was boring. "Let's not talk about this. Do you want to rest for a while or go back?"
Xie Wangzhi was silent for a moment: "... Go back."
She also felt it was meaningless, just a dream. She asked the 22-year-old Li Qishen here, and what would it matter if she got an answer? In another five years, who knew if the answer would change. She closed her eyes, held Li Qishen's arm, and slowly stood up.
Xie Wangzhi was a little embarrassed because she was dizzy and talked nonsense. She smiled. Li Qishen held her shoulders and said, "Don't move."
"What's wrong?"
Li Qishen did not answer, but raised his hand and pressed lightly on her hair, just in time to press a peach blossom that had fallen on her hair into it. The flower hairpin next to it looked like a deliberately pinned hair accessory.
"I see peach blossoms smiling in the spring breeze," he said nonchalantly, "a perfect match for a beautiful woman."
The author has something to say: I! am! here! I know that Jiangnan has nothing, so I give you a branch of spring to refer to plum blossoms, but I like peach blossoms, so I will use it this way (…)
This extra chapter doesn't have much meaning, you can interpret it casually. I just want to write about a more mature Changsheng. After all, my moth has changed from a high ponytail to loose hair. Either the spirit base has returned and changed the gift clothes, or I am so depressed that I have no desire to live_(:3)∠)_Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2019-12-08 18:07:01~2019-12-10 18:29:02~
Thanks to the little angels who threw the grenades: Yu Hehe 1;
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: No Candles in the West Window 3; Slowly, Alibill, Noodles with Scallion Oil, No Drizzle in Cornwall, Spiral, Guess the Child 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: I grow mushrooms in autumn? 30 bottles; West Window without Candle 27 bottles; Mieu, Ge Li Ruo Fei, Du Hai Jihe 20 bottles; Zwzwz, Glass, Bo Yan Qing Lan, Ten, Taming the best pigeons 10 bottles; Mushroommm, Edogawa Magical Tornado Boy 7 bottles; Liangliangdeyanxian, Quietly Eating Melons 6 bottles; Liulili, unlikeu 5 bottles; Ji Niao, Nanmoyuanzhi, Yu Mi Yu 3 bottles; Xiaoyu Xiaoyu Xiaoyu Cake, 29620758, Cecilia, Ellen, Ring 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!