The closer the carriage got to the foot of the mountain, the bumpier the road became, and the more it shook.
Chen Jingzong finally helped Huayang put on the silver chain and pearl earring on his right ear again. He had taken it off just now because he thought the pendant was in the way.
He sat up straight and looked at Huayang again. His face was rosy and even when he was angry, he was charming.
The princess was particular about her appearance, so in order not to reveal any traces when getting off the car, she would rather endure and cooperate without struggling at all, so that the pearl hairpins on her hair were not messed up, and her plain white dress did not have any extra creases.
Just like a fairy who suddenly lost her magic power and was frozen in place, allowing mortals to approach her and do whatever they wanted to her.
Chen Jingzong picked up the round fan she had dropped on the couch and, while fanning her to apologize, he thought to himself that he would definitely try it again in the car after the New Year's holiday.
Huayang was too lazy to look at him. He slightly lifted the curtain beside him to let the wind in and blow away the decadent atmosphere in the car.
Behind the carriage was the sound of horse hooves ridden by the four guards. Huayang recalled for a moment and was very sure that she did not make any sound.
My heartbeat slowly calmed down and the heat on my face gradually cooled down.
The carriage stopped with a "whoosh" from the driver.
"Princess, Prince Consort, there are mountains ahead."
Huayang looked at the cupboard on Chen Jingzong's side, with her veil resting on top of it.
They didn't bring a maid on this trip, so the tasks that the maid should do naturally fell on Chen Jingzong.
Chen Jingzong picked up the veil and put it on Huayang.
A circle of hazy white veil hung down lightly, blurring the princess's face. Only a pair of red lips still showed through the veil.
Chen Jingzong took one last look at her lips, got off the carriage first, and then turned around to help her.
Leaving the carriage, the refreshing morning breeze instantly surrounded Huayang. She took a few breaths of the fresh air with enjoyment. Looking ahead, she saw a low hill covered with lush trees. Between the hills, one could see winding stone steps and several tombstones with weathered edges.
Chen Jingzong asked the coachman and the guards to stay where they were. He held the bamboo basket containing sacrificial food, incense paper and other items in one hand and held Huayang's arm with the other hand. The couple walked forward side by side.
Huayang found that the stone steps here were surprisingly clean, so he asked, "Are the mountains behind your house also built with such stone steps?"
Chen Jingzong: "How is that possible? Those are barren mountains. This one is reserved for families to bury their relatives. They often come here to worship, so they specially built several stone steps."
Just as Huayang was about to speak, a small black insect with long wings flew over with a buzzing sound. She was so scared that she quickly grabbed Chen Jingzong's arm and hid behind him.
Chen Jingzong waved his hand and swatted the flying insect into the grass on the side of the road.
Huayang no longer had the leisure to appreciate the scenery. He just wanted to pay his respects to the old lady as soon as possible and get down the mountain.
The mountain breeze occasionally blew up her veil, and Chen Jingzong saw that she was frowning tightly and her face was slightly pale, a look of disgust that he was very familiar with.
He mocked, "I've already told you that the old lady won't mind what we do. You insist on being particular and come climbing the mountain to suffer for nothing."
Huayang has his own thoughts.
The Chen family was considered a wealthy family in Shiqiao Town. After Chen Tingjian became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he rose through the ranks. The people in the old house renovated the ancestral home and occupied a small hilltop. Several tombs were paved with neatly laid stone slabs, making it easier to clean.
It took the couple only about a quarter of an hour to climb the mountain from the foot of the mountain to the Chen family's ancestral tomb. Even so, Huayang was exhausted and out of breath.
Chen Jingzong took off her veil and said, "In a place like this, no one can see you except our ancestors."
Huayang looked back at the mountain road he had come from and didn't force it.
Chen Jingzong asked her to rest. He took a broom and swept several tombstones, then placed incense, paper, sacrificial food and other items in front of the old lady's new tomb.
When everything was ready, he turned around and called Huayang: "Come here."
Huayang walked up to him, looked at the hard stone slabs under his feet, and frowned.
From childhood to adulthood, except for the royal ancestor worship, she had never kneeled many times. In front of her father, the emperor, and her mother, she usually just bowed and greeted.
But this kind of hard stone slab is very uncomfortable to kneel on.
Chen Jingzong knew what she was thinking at a glance. He sneered, then took off his coat, folded it several times and spread it on the ground.
Huayang smiled. Although this man was a bit rough, he was quite caring most of the time.
As she knelt down, she heard Chen Jingzong speaking to the old lady's tombstone: "Grandmother, you are so lucky to have a princess granddaughter-in-law come to pay you respects. Among so many old ladies in the world, you are the only one who can enjoy the same treatment as the nobles in the imperial mausoleum."
Facing this blatant teasing, Huayang reached out to twist his waist, but Chen Jingzong tensed slightly, and her thin waist was unable to be twisted.
"Don't touch me in front of grandma." Chen Jingzong scolded seriously.
Huayang: …
Chen Jingzong lit three incense sticks and handed them over.
Business was more important. Huayang took the incense and looked at the old lady's tombstone. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Old lady, your granddaughter-in-law came to mourn for you sincerely. She never thought of violating the etiquette. It was all because of the rogue son-in-law who forced me to do it."
Chen Jingzong: …
He did force her on some things, but he didn't force her to eat those game, did he
"Although the prince consort has repeatedly broken his rules, I know that he is truly filial to you."
Chen Jingzong was startled, his eyes fell on her fair face, her long and thick eyelashes drooped, and she was as pious as if she was burning incense in front of the Buddha.
"My granddaughter-in-law came here today to apologize to you and to beg the old lady to bless you with a safe life. I don't ask for you to be appointed as a prime minister or a marquis, but I hope you can turn misfortune into good fortune and live a long life."
Having said this, Huayang opened his eyes, and there was a hint of water in his eyes.
She ignored Chen Jingzong who was standing there stiffly, bowed solemnly three times, and walked forward to insert the incense into the incense burner.
Chen Jingzong: "You..."
Huayang just put on his veil and said calmly, "Go back."
Because of her abnormality, on the way back to Chen's house, Chen Jingzong no longer had any distractions and just looked at her inquiringly a few times.
.
After offering incense to the old lady, Huayang returned to his normal life, reading or practicing calligraphy during the day, and occasionally asking Chen Jingzong to serve him at night.
It feels good, but it is unbearable if it happens every night, so Huayang will not indulge Chen Jingzong forever.
In the blink of an eye, it was late June.
Chen Jingzong was sleeping soundly that night when he suddenly heard Huayang scream and people rushing towards him in panic.
Chen Jingzong turned over and picked up Huayang. He took a big step out of the bed and put Huayang down. He quickly checked her hair and back and asked, "Did a bug crawl onto your body?"
He first made sure the bug was not on her body, then he went to check on the bed and made sure to kill it.
Huayang shook his head and threw himself into his arms again: "There are no bugs, it's just a nightmare."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingzong relaxed, patted her shoulder, picked her up, and sat back on the bed.
"What nightmare? Tell me about it."
It was rare for her to sound so gentle, and Chen Jingzong's voice was also a little softer than usual.
Chen Jingzong frowned slightly. He had indeed experienced such a situation twice. However, the flood was not deep and the water receded after the rain. The people cleaned up the courtyard and continued to live as usual.
But he didn't dare tell her, for fear that the princess of the capital, who had never experienced such a thing, would be frightened all summer.
"It's just a dream, don't take it seriously." Chen Jingzong continued to coax.
Huayang clutched his shirt tightly: "I know it was a dream, but everything in it seemed to be real. The water was rising higher and higher, and father asked us to go to the mountains to take shelter from the rain. You were afraid that I couldn't walk, so you carried me all the way..."
Chen Jingzong patted her shoulder a little slower. Dreaming about floods might be common, but she could actually dream about her family moving to the mountains
Before he could think deeply, his body actually began to change because Huayang was sticking too close to him.
The princess, who had just been extremely dependent on him, suddenly punched him in the chest and ran away angrily.
Chen Jingzong: …
He chased after her, pressed her down and said, "Kiss her for a while, and you won't be afraid after a kiss."
Chen Jingzong, holding the beautiful princess in his arms, fell asleep half-satisfied after serving her. When it was dawn, seeing that Huayang no longer took the dream seriously, he also put it out of his mind.
Unexpectedly, after another day, the sky over Shiqiao Town seemed to have a big hole in it, and it started to rain heavily.
Chen Jingzong put on a straw raincoat and ran to the small garden at the back, and started to cover several clumps of peonies with wooden boards to protect them from the rain, so that the peonies that had only been planted for a month would not be killed by the rain.
After all, it was planted with his own hard work and she liked it, so Chen Jingzong was reluctant to let his hard work go to waste.
After packing up the peonies, Chen Jingzong hurried back to Siyi Hall. When he entered the yard, he saw a carved window in the inner room of the upper house. Huayang was standing by the window in a daze. The cold rain made the beautiful face look even paler and a little sad.
Their eyes met and Huayang waved at him.
Chen Jingzong ran to the door of the main hall on foot, stood under the eaves and took off his dripping raincoat. As for his trouser legs and shoes, they were already soaked.
After handing the straw raincoat to Chaoyun, Chen Jingzong walked into the inner room.
Huayang was still standing by the window. She turned to look at him and noticed his wet trouser legs. She asked in confusion, "They are just a few peony bushes. If they die, we can transplant new ones. Why are you going out in the rain to do that?"
Chen Jingzong: "A peony costs only a few coins, why waste it? You are not afraid of catching a cold standing there."
In Chen Jingzong's eyes, Huayang is a peony that has beauty but cannot withstand strong winds and heavy rains, and is delicate to the core.
He walked over to Huayang and wanted to carry her to the bed.
Huayang, however, held his arm and pointed at the dark clouds in the sky and said, "It's just like what I dreamed of, no wind, heavy rain."
Chen Jingzong finally understood why there was worry in her expression.
"Are you afraid that dream will become true?"
Huayang nodded: "What a coincidence, I just had such a dream, and then it rained like this. Do you think the old lady heard what I said and deliberately sent a dream to warn us?"
After her rebirth, Huayang has a lot of things to change, and it is difficult for her to handle everything by herself, so she needs Chen Jingzong's help.
But she couldn't tell Chen Jingzong about her rebirth.
She was afraid that Chen Jingzong would be frightened by the fact that he died on the battlefield in his previous life, and she was even more afraid that Chen Jingzong would resent his brother for punishing the Chen family.
After all, she was still a daughter of the royal family. She wanted everyone in the Chen family to have a good ending, and she also wanted her father-in-law and others to continue to serve the court loyally.
She hopes that in this life, her brother and father-in-law can be loyal to each other and work together to create a peaceful and prosperous era!
She had great ambitions, but Chen Jingzong's teasing could be heard above her head: "If the old lady really needs to be alert, she should alert me, her own grandson. Why don't you send me a dream?"
Huayang glared at him: "I am the one who wants to burn incense, I am the one who repents, and I am the one who begs the old lady for blessings. What does it have to do with you?"
Chen Jingzong wanted to refute, but Huayang said, "Besides, if the old lady wants to reveal the secret, how can ordinary people bear it? Maybe the old lady failed to find you first, so she turned to me, the princess, in a dream."
Although it is nonsense, it does make some sense. If someone who believes in ghosts and gods were to listen to it, Huayang might really convince him.
But Chen Jingzong did not believe in ghosts and gods, and would not admit that Huayang's blood was truly more noble than his.
What dragon sons and grandsons? The founding emperors of any dynasty were ordinary people or officials at first, and they were able to wear the dragon robe only after their hard work in the later period.
Huayang was just lucky to be born in the queen's womb. From then on, she was pampered and everyone around her flattered her.
To Chen Jingzong, Huayang's beauty and figure were far more important than her status as a princess. If she didn't look to his liking, Chen Jingzong would not bother to serve her.
He pulled the worried princess into his arms, looked out the window and said, "It's too mysterious to dream. Maybe it's just a coincidence. The rain will stop tomorrow."
Hua Yang did not expect to convince him today, so he responded, "I hope so."
At noon, the rain stopped in Huayang and Chen Jingzong quietly went out.
He was wearing a straw raincoat and a straw hat, and it was pouring rain, so even if a neighbor passed by him, he would not have recognized him.
Chen Jingzong walked all the way to the river section south of the town.
The heavy rain caused the river level to rise, and the water became muddy and turbid with rapids.
Even if it wasn't for her dream, the town should have taken precautions against such heavy rain.
Just when Chen Jingzong was thinking about going back to warn the old man, the voice of the town head suddenly came from behind him: "Be careful, elder, there is a mud pit here."
Chen Jingzong turned sideways.
Through the dense rain lines that were like curtains, Chen Jingzong saw several hurried figures. The leader was wearing a straw raincoat. He strode into the puddle in the middle of the dirt road and walked towards the river bank with a determined face.
Chen Jingzong withdrew his gaze and deliberately walked a few steps away.
In addition to the village head, Chen Tingjian was also accompanied by Chen Bochong and Chen Xiaozong.
After observing the river, Chen Tingjian touched his long beard wet by the rain and told the head of the village: "From now on, send two people to monitor the river at all times. If there is a flood, one will report to you and me, and the other will notify the people living near the river to evacuate first."
“Are there any orphans, widows, elderly, infirm, or disabled people living alone in this town? Register them immediately. If a flood occurs, we will send people to help these families evacuate.”
"Notify the night watchmen to beat the watch and remind the people to move their food to higher places to avoid moisture."
"We also need to arrange for a few people to notify other villages and towns along the river to be on guard."
The rain was pouring down, but the sound was sonorous and powerful.
The village head agreed to all the requests.
Chen Tingjian continued to stand by the river, his eyes swept across a tall figure covered by a straw raincoat a few feet away, and then looked away in an instant.
(End of this chapter)