Jade Moon

Chapter 13: Xia Ling [12]

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Before it was June, ice had already been used in Qingliang Temple. In winter, thousands of icemen are requisitioned to collect huge ice cubes on Yunge Mountain, and they are transported along the post road to Donghuajing ice cellar for several months. When they come out at this time, ice craftsmen carve pavilions, towers and pavilions on it, with figures and landscapes , Lifelike, Fang used a gold plate to offer, and enshrined in the temple to take its coolness.

Qingliang Hall is built on the water, surrounded by empty corridors and winding bamboo curtains, the hall is extremely quiet and cool. The iceberg pavilion on the golden plate in front of the couch gradually melted, and the faces of the figures became blurred. Small drops of water slid down the beautifully carved clothes and landed on the plate with a soft ringing sound. Rushuang woke up from the horrified dream, the sweat dripping from her forehead wet a few strands of hair, sticking sticky to her temples.

There was already a new sound of cicadas outside the curtain, and the intermittent sound was transmitted to the hall, which seemed even more quiet. She half closed her eyes, and fell asleep again in a haze.

When I was still at home, the plantains outside the embroidery building stretched out their new and tender green leaves, and the shades of the curtain penetrated into the very thin golden sunlight, which burned on the smooth and clear brick floor, and the moon-white satin was stretched on the embroidery frame, The grape parrot is embroidered stitch by stitch. The parrot's coat color is extremely colorful. More than 30 kinds of silk threads are used, and the stitching method is also extremely complicated. Occasionally I raised my head, and saw fiery red pomegranate flowers across the curtain. They were as red as a ball of fire, burning in my sight, even if I closed my eyes, I still seemed to be able to see the clusters of bright red. Such a long day of silence, silent flowers and shadows, the only trouble in the boudoir is how to match the color of the parrot on the embroidery frame.

The visitor walked very lightly, and stopped slowly when she reached the couch, bowed her body, picked up the plain white fan that fell on the ground in front of the couch, she suddenly opened her eyes, which surprised the emperor, and said with a smile: "Wake up!" Already?" The tone was full of pity, "Look at the sweat on my forehead, I'm afraid of heat, but you are more afraid of heat than me." Rushuang sat up and brushed her temples, slipping down her thin sleeves, revealing a section of snow white On the arms, the gold inlaid jade is wrapped around the arms, making the skin look white and white like jade. She turned her face and fell back on the couch, as if she was still about to sleep, the emperor said: "It's better to get up, sleep until now after lunch, and stop eating carefully." He held her plain white fan casually, She fanned her continuously, but Rushuang suddenly sat up, snatched the fan away without any explanation, and threw it on the ground with a "pop". The sudden rise made Zhao Youzhi, who was standing outside the curtain, startled.

The emperor was furious, he stood up and walked away in a flick of his sleeves, hurriedly walked a few steps, then stopped suddenly: "Come on!"

Two internal officials responded to the sound and bowed to wait for orders. The emperor turned around and pointed at Rushuang, with blue veins on his forehead: "Give her to me..." Fang said these words, but seeing her as if nothing had happened, he fell again. Lying back on the couch, the silhouette is extremely beautiful, the thick black long eyelashes on the eyes, like a pair of butterfly wings slightly closed, in an infinitely lazy state. The shadows of flowers across the curtain are reflected on her face. He suddenly recalled the last time he went to Jingxiu Palace, the maid came out to greet him, and whispered back: "Long live, the imperial concubine is asleep." Looking at the couch by the window from afar, she was sleeping soundly, with a slight smile on the corner of her mouth, faintly making people want to see a ray of sweet dreams. She will never know the verdict he gave just now, if time stops here, if the years age in an instant, if it can be bald in an instant. He stood there, only a few steps away, but there was a gap of thousands of feet silently opened between his feet, which could never be crossed in this life.

That was the last time I saw her in this life. The clear and quiet shadow of the late autumn sun reflected on her face through the window screen, a warm and clear light, as pale as a butterfly's tentacles, but the tentacles couldn't reach it. The wind blows, the flower shadows sway, the face in front of my eyes is vaguely like in a dream, those blurred lights and shadows, all become fleeting brilliance, flowing silently. The emperor's heart softened. Seeing that the two internal officials were still standing there respectfully, he had to change his words and say: "Give Concubine Shu a plate of grapes from Turlu Xingong."

It's not yet June, and fresh grapes are rare. Turlu brought only two small baskets, except for uneven bruising and road damage, there was not much left. Zhao Youzhi was secretly amused, when the grapes came, he took them himself, and ordered the internal official who brought the grapes: "Go back, and tell the outside by the way, the emperor will not go out today."

There was a routine court meeting in the afternoon, because the weather was getting hotter and the court was using troops in two places, and there were many things to do, so regardless of the morning court every day, there were many things discussed in the court meeting after noon. All the ministers of the cabinet were gathered together. In the photo room where they were waiting for summons on weekdays, some were chatting in twos and threes, some were drinking tea, some were resting with their eyes closed, and some were still deliberating over the memorial. Prince Yu was very calm, sitting on the couch with his knees bent, just slowly flipping through the thick stack of papers. Cheng Pu, a scholar of Tianyou Pavilion, is the elder of the three dynasties, the most experienced and the oldest in the cabinet. At this time, I walked back and forth in the room with my hands behind my back, looked at the hourglass in the corner, saw that it was already the end of the application, Fang stopped, and said thoughtfully: "I'm afraid the emperor won't come out again today." .”

Before the words were finished, the curtain was lifted, and an internal official came in, it was the eunuch Xiao Dongzi who was in charge of the Qingliang Palace, and he bowed in circles: "My lords and lords, the emperor will not see you today." In the pavilion After a moment of silence, everyone looked at each other, and then there was a slight buzzing sound. Cheng Pu saw Xiaodongzi saluted and was about to retreat, so he stopped him and asked, "Wait a minute, is the emperor's bowing out of harmony?"

Xiao Dongzi hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know how to answer, Cheng Pu said: "Yesterday's great court, passed on exemption, today's early court, passed on exemption again, and at this time, the court meeting passed on exemption again. If the emperor doesn't regard the court, he must There is a reason." He conferred the crown prince Taifu, who was appointed by Emperor Xingzong before his death, but Mu Zong was short-lived, and he blamed himself for not being able to repay Emperor Xingzong's kindness. In my heart, it is hard to regret. When the current emperor came to the throne, he was in charge of the affairs of the cabinet as a scholar, and he was determined to do his best to repay the grace of God, so he felt a sense of duty to urge the emperor. Since a month ago, the emperor and the cabinet had a dispute over the issue of concubine Frost Book. The cabinet followed the ancestral system and insisted that daughters with criminal records could not be canonized. He was so angry that he said he was sick for several days. When he "recovered", the emperor began to neglect government affairs. At first, he just avoided the early court. Zhao Youzhi came to ask, and he said: "Long live Lord has always been dry and afraid of heat. You adults know that every day, only when the midnight is over, you can go to sleep when you calm down at night and cool down, so it's inevitable that you get up late in the morning." Pu couldn't openly accuse the emperor, so he reluctantly accepted it with a "hum". Unexpectedly, the emperor gradually became more lazy, and in the past few days, he didn't even have a face-to-face meeting with the cabinet ministers.

At this moment, Cheng Pu became more and more angry as he thought about it, and he couldn't help breaking out suddenly. Seeing that he was so angry, Xiao Dongzi stuttered in fright: "Cheng...Cheng...Master...Slaves are rough envoys. The slaves don't know about it."

Cheng Pu became more and more angry, turned his head to look at Prince Yu, and didn't say a word, but Prince Yu already understood what he meant. This matter still fell on his shoulders in the end, he sighed silently, the sudden turn of the situation was beyond his expectation. When sending Rushuang to the palace, the emperor did not mention the assassin case, nor did he deal with Concubine Hua. He still had some hope in his heart, who knew that once he arrived in Donghuajing, the emperor would enroll Rushuang as his concubine, no matter how the cabinet objected, even he privately remonstrated it several times, but it was useless. The concubine's imperial edict was issued to the world.

He beckoned to Xiao Dongzi, and said to him: "Go and talk to Mr. Zhao, and ask him to report to the emperor. I have something important to do today and I must meet the emperor. Please think of a way."

Xiaodongzi agreed, saluted and took his leave. Just as he walked to the door, Prince Yu called him again, thought for a while, and finally waved his hand: "Go."

Xiaodongzi trotted back to the Qingliang Hall, but saw a solemn silence outside the hall, all the courtiers retreated to the shade of flowers under the steps of the hall, only Zhao Youzhi sat alone on the steps, holding the rhinoceros brush and hanging his head, as if he was borrowing a little The cool breeze is dozing off. Xiaodongzi didn't dare to disturb, thinking of what Prince Yu said, he hesitated again and again, but still lingered forward.

Although Zhao Youzhi seemed to be drowsy, he opened his eyes all of a sudden. Xiao Dongzi told Prince Yu's words in his ears, Zhao Youzhi frowned slightly, covered his mouth and yawned, looked at the blue sky, and murmured: "You go."

The hall is as cool as water, only the sound of melting ice can be heard, and there will be a "tick" sound after a while, like several copper leaks, but they are uneven. Rushuang seemed to be ignorant, turned over and fell asleep again, the emperor said: "I went to see Concubine Hua yesterday because the eldest son of the emperor was ill, so I asked her to go and see. But after a few words, even a cup of tea in her palace I didn’t even eat, and I came back immediately. You are so ignorant to lose your temper with me for no reason.” Rushuang lay there without moving, and said: “You go to the sensible person now, If not, it will be done." The emperor said aside: "Don't sleep, get up and eat grapes." Rushuang didn't answer for a long time, the emperor picked one up himself, peeled off the thin skin, and put it in his mouth: "Well, it's so sweet, you Why don't you get up and taste it?" Rushuang gave him a sideways glance, then suddenly raised her face, the emperor felt the fragrance of orchids permeate his nose, her soft arms were already wrapped around his neck, and the sweet fragrance was on his lips. Soft, with lips and teeth intertwined between tossings, the emperor only felt suffocated, only felt that her cherry lips were soft and smooth, as if the whole person was about to melt under his lips, and it was hard to leave, but in a flash, she She had already let go of her hands, she went to the bed with her shoes on, went to the mirror to straighten her temple hair, turned her head and smiled as if nothing had happened, and said, "It's really sweet."

She is obsessed with the ivory comb, and combs her long hair time after time. There seems to be a faint smile on the corner of her lips. The hand holding the comb is as white as ivory, which makes her hair more beautiful. The black waterfall, the light can learn from others. The emperor only felt that the bright light was so blurry that people couldn't keep their eyes open, but Rushuang suddenly stopped combing, sighed softly, and drooped her head slightly. Her silhouette is extremely beautiful, and recently her haggard look has gradually faded away, and that alien and unpredictable temperament has also gradually faded away, but she has a surprisingly graceful and graceful appearance. The emperor recalled Concubine Mu's first marriage, and when he woke up in the morning to see her dressing up, she was extremely shy, and when she turned her face away, her face was like a peony just blooming. He got up suddenly, stepped forward to hug Rushuang, twirled and threw her on the couch, Rushuang let out a low cry, but the ending sound was lost in the emperor's kiss. He was so powerful that he seemed to squeeze all the air out of her chest. That was not a kiss, but a vicious gnawing. Rushuang closed her eyes, but bit back indiscriminately, both of them seemed to be venting some hatred and resentment, but neither of them would make any sound, they just entangled intensely and silently. Her long hair was wrapped around his fingers, cold and greasy, like tiny snake letters, suffocating a cold chill. He could hear his own snorting, rough and heavy, mixed with her chaotic and shallow breathing, but his whole body seemed to be out of control, with a kind of hopeless despair.

It was the same for the first time, with a kind of desperate self-abandonment.

It was in Lechang Palace, it was almost dawn when Prince Yu suddenly sent Rushuang over. He was very surprised, and stood up with his clothes on. Prince Yu only played a few sentences through the window, and the ins and outs made him frown. Rushuang came into the palace, and when she saw him, she covered her face and wept. The emperor always hated women crying, but she threw herself into his arms, and burst into tears like a child, which made him at a loss. After a while, He just grabbed her. Rushuang was so tired from crying, she just curled up in the emperor's arms, and it took a long time before she let out a sob. The emperor was upset by her crying, so he had no choice but to coax her: "Okay, I know I have wronged you." Rushuang raised her face, the skin on her face was as white as jade, and the blood was faintly slender and bright red. , with teardrops hanging down, she looked even more charming. Although she was thin, she was not weak in strength, and pushed hard on the emperor's chest. The emperor had expected that she would make a move, so he strengthened his hand, but instead smiled: "Okay, it's all mine, isn't it, is it over?"

She lowered her head slowly, the familiar and soft curve of her chin, probably because of that lowering of her head, she kissed like a gu. Her breath is light and shallow, with a familiar and indifferent aroma, as if it can cause the most secret place to panic. He couldn't think about it anymore, he could only kiss himself wantonly. At this moment of confusion and trance, even if it was just a dream, he couldn't let go. All the longing, all the unwillingness, all the loss, those memories that have been dry for a long time, those cracked into countless fine and tiny fragments, those sweet and soft things that can never be obtained again, all of a sudden come alive in such lingering lips and teeth, It was a tragedy that hurt to the bone marrow, and it was also a kind of despair of drinking poison to quench thirst, but he couldn't resist it. He could only sink in despair and tear everything apart fiercely. I get an indescribable satisfaction from extreme hatred and self-abandonment. As long as there is no more emptiness in my heart, as long as there is no longer the feeling of being hollowed out, as long as there is this moment of forgetting.

Even if it is, poison is also good.

Every time after the frenzy, there is always a deeper and heavier loss, so tired that people can't open their eyes. He was extremely disgusted, but he couldn't let go. Since Concubine Mu's death, the long night has become a kind of torture. If she falls asleep, if she doesn't fall asleep, the pillow will always be empty when she wakes up, with a chill that pierces her bones. He used to treat the harem as nothing, but she finally came back, alive. But waking up turned into something more cruel, and everything that was hazy at night became clear cruelty in the morning. Fortunately, Rushuang never stayed after dawn, she always got up earlier than him, and left when he was still awake, leaving only a wisp of fragrance all over the bed, which made him feel like a dream.

It's just that in the morning, Zhao Youzhi always had to get up at the beginning of the morning, Zhao Youzhi woke him up several times, he lost his temper, Zhao Youzhi no longer dared to act rashly. He lazily thought, in fact, it is not a big deal not to go to the morning court. The cabinet was in an uproar for a few days, and a lot of memorials were handed over. A court meeting.

Everything becomes easy under the power of the emperor, but why forget a person, but can only rely on remembering, relying on such cruel and hopeless remembering.

All the best things are blown into sand by time between his fingers, and the grains are blown away, and he can no longer pursue them. He is exhausted physically and mentally, and he closes his eyes and falls into a deep sleep.

The setting sun outside the window was slanting to the west, and through the window screen, the light in the hall dimmed. The stacked memorials are still on the case, and the urgent military newspaper is covered with pheasant feathers, and the feathers are covered with a layer of colorful luster, like the glaze color of new tribute porcelain, emitting a thin and brittle light.

Prince Yu turned his head to look at the copper leak, his eyes dimmed bit by bit like a half-day ray of light.