Everyone who serves the prince knows that every few days of the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, the prince is not in a good mood, and even stays up all night.
Only when he came back from outside the palace last night, His Highness actually slept in the palace for a few hours, and most of the people who were serving him were relieved.
Every year on the 16th day of the first lunar month, His Royal Highness would come to this Taoist temple in the suburbs of Beijing to light a lamp for Queen Gonghui, who was in Xianqu. In the past, people who used to go the wrong way wanted to please, and wanted to come and meet His Highness the Prince by chance. After the crime was committed, rumors spread gradually, so that no one dared to go here every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Hearing voices coming from outside the Taoist temple, the servants of the East Palace secretly wondered, who is so courageous
But after seeing who was coming, the attendants retreated one after another.
"General Wei, the county master." The prince's eyes moved on Hua Liuli, and he invited the two to come up: "The two of you will also come to incense?"
also
Hua Liuli was a little surprised. I didn't expect that the prince, who dared to eat when offering sacrifices to the heavens, was superstitious.
"I will bring my daughter here to repay the vow." Wei Mingyue still remembered the expression on the prince's face when he left Beijing when he carefully touched her belly, worried that the baby in her belly would be afraid.
When the prince was young, he trusted his husband and wife quite a bit, so even after many years, she was still somewhat close to the prince: "At the end of the year, when I was pregnant and led the army, I made a wish in this Taoist temple, if the child can If you survive safely, you must come to repay your vows in person.”
The prince noticed that the servants of the Hua family were carrying a lot of things for repaying their vows, and he knew that what General Wei said was true: "General, the Taoist priest in Guanzhong has changed several times, and you are not familiar with them, so Gulai will lead the way for you. The prince turned around and walked into the Taoist temple.
"Actually, it's not bad. Although the border is a bit more difficult, it also has a different style from the capital." General Wei turned to look at Hua Liuli, "It's only this child who has suffered, and has lived with us in a bitter cold place since birth."
"Mother, Qinghanzhou is pretty good." Hua Liuli smiled and said, "I didn't suffer much."
The prince looked away from Hua Liuli. He stepped into the gate of the Taoist temple. When he saw a female guest coming, two Kun Dao came out from the temple to greet him.
Hua Liuli took the incense, worshipped in front of the statue of Sanqing, and inserted the incense into the incense altar.
She didn't know anything about Taoism and Buddhism. Seeing that her mother seemed to be discussing Taoism with the Taoist priests, she simply retreated from the side door of the temple.
Outside the Taoist temple, there is a courtyard covered with bluestone slabs. The ancient trees on both sides of the courtyard add a bit of fairy air to this Taoist temple hidden in the mountains.
The early spring afternoon sun shines on the leaves, leaving dappled light spots on the ground.
"The county master." The prince came out, "there are tables and chairs next to us, we can sit here and wait for a while."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Going around the flowers, Hua Liuli saw the stone table and bench hidden behind the tree. As soon as the two sat down, a Taoist priest brought tea and fruits.
There is a faint smell of incense in the air, and occasionally there will be a long road passing by, and the atmosphere is very peaceful.
"The climate in Qinghan Prefecture is harsh and it is not suitable for crops to grow. The county owner has been there for all these years, and he should have suffered a lot."
I don't know which Taoist priest is chanting the scriptures.
"Although it can't be compared with the capital, the ministers and daughters have not suffered much from childhood to adulthood." Hua Liuli shook her head, "Every year, His Majesty will send people to deliver military rations on time, and there are many rewards. I am the eldest in the family. People are used to me, and the people in the city are very close to me because of the daughters of my two generals."
Amused by Hua Liuli's sincerity, the prince shook his head and sighed: "The princess, Gu is the prince, you should complain to Gu at this time, how hard Qinghan Prefecture is, and how sad your days have been since you were young, so Gu can admire Hua even more. family's dedication."
"Is it so particular?" Hua Liuli held her cheek with one hand, "Is it too late to say it again?"
"Gu has a good memory since childhood. It's not easy to forget what you said just now." The prince took the tea to drink, but was stopped by Hua Liuli: "His Royal Highness, wait."
The prince raised an eyebrow at him.
"Although this is the outskirts of Beijing, it's not the palace." Hua Liuli pointed to the teacup in his hand, "There's nothing wrong with paying more attention to the things at the entrance."
"Thank you for the reminder." The prince smiled, and he put down the tea cup, "I'm just being careless."
"I just remembered this all of a sudden, so I just talked a lot." Hua Liuli looked up at the Taoist temple, "But this Taoist temple does have some differences. Why did His Highness come here?"
"Let's just walk around and light a lamp for the deceased, may she have a happy afterlife." The smile on the prince's face gradually disappeared, he lowered his eyelids, his thick eyelashes trembled gently: "What Gu Neng did for her, That's all there is to it."
Seeing that the prince's expression was so low, Hua Liuli thought to himself, could it be that the person whom the prince liked had unfortunately passed away prematurely? She wisely did not ask much, and was a quiet listener.
It's no wonder that King Ying and King Ning have already begun their engagement, and the future crown princess is still silent.
Three years ago, when a soldier died on the battlefield, his fiancée came from thousands of miles away just to bring his bones home.
The woman was dry and thin, her eyes were numb, and she held the bone box tightly, as if she was holding the last hope. She followed behind the woman and kept sending her out of the city until her back was no longer visible.
From the beginning to the end, the woman hadn't shed a single tear, but Hua Liuli felt that she had cried a thousand times in her heart.
The love that is cut off by life and death is too bitter.
Hua Liuli looked at the prince with pity unconsciously. But what a caring person she is, she will never let the prince see anything wrong.
"Your condolences, the old man has gone, you are still alive and well." Hua Liuli advised, "I think she also wants you to live well."
"Thank you." The prince said, "I know."
In the face of life and death, any language is pale and powerless. Hua Liuli got up and picked a few dry grasses, flipped her fingers quickly, and quickly made a butterfly out.
"Your Highness, stretch out your hand."
When the prince spread his hand on the stone table, Hua Liuli put the straw-woven butterfly in his palm: "His Royal Highness, the minister heard a story told by an old man in Qinghan Province. It is said that there is a butterfly in the underworld, which can carry the lost souls with them. Going back to the underworld can also help living people bring their thoughts to important people."
"Tonight you put the butterfly under the pillow, maybe your thoughts will be heard by her." Hua Liuli smiled and winked at the prince, "So you have to rest early tonight and can't stay up late."
This butterfly is really not beautiful, the wings on both sides are asymmetrical in size, and the belly looks a little fat. He had some doubts that such a butterfly could not fly at all because its belly was too fat.
He closed his palm and put away the butterfly: "Thank you."
"Liu Li." Wei Mingyue stood outside the flower bushes, I don't know how long she stood there, but the expression on her face seemed normal, she didn't seem to see the scene just now, "The abbot wants to see you, you can follow I come."
"His Royal Highness, you sit here for a while, and the ministers and daughters will come when they go." Hua Liuli got up and walked towards Wei Mingyue.
When Hua Liuli came to her side, Wei Mingyue bowed her hands to the prince before turning around and leaving.
"His Royal Highness." The prince's trusted attendant whispered, "Why don't you tell the county master that this Taoist temple is raised by you, and there will be no problem with the tea."
"Good intentions are rare." The prince took a sip from the teacup and put it down slowly. Suddenly I felt that the position of the teacup was different from when Hua Liuli left, so I stretched out my hand to adjust the position and made it back to its original state.
Hua Liuli thought that the abbot of the Taoist Temple was an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard, but she didn't expect to meet and found out that the other party was actually a young man with beautiful eyebrows.
"Benevolent believers, please take a seat." The abbot asked the mother and daughter to sit down and poured tea for them.
The place where they were sitting was a pavilion. The pavilion was built on the rocks, and they could see the scenery under the mountain when they lifted their eyes.
"Thank you real man."
"Pin Dao Qinghui, the two good believers call the name of Pindao directly." Qing Hui put the tea in front of Hualiu Li, "This tea is made from four seasons of flowers, and it has the effect of nourishing the face and calming the mind. The infirm can also enter."
Hua Liuli noticed his hands, which were neatly trimmed and fair-skinned.
"Pin Dao practiced with his master since he was a child. After the master drove a crane to the west, he became the abbot of this Taoist temple." Qing Hui's eyes are very good-looking, and he did not get the slightest bit of red dust: "When the general came to contempt, Pin Dao was still young. Young, there is no chance to talk to the general. After all these years, the general is still so brave."
"Qinghui Daoist is very praised." Wei Mingyue sighed, "I haven't returned for many years, and I never thought that I didn't even see the real person for the last time."
"Master once told Pindao that the general is a battle star and is born with the destiny of protecting the family and defending the country."
Wei Mingyue smiled when she heard the words, she couldn't tell whether she believed or disbelieved this statement.
"Knowing that the county master is returning to Beijing, Pindao has the intention to visit your mansion, but Pindao usually guards this Taoist temple and rarely has the opportunity to go out." Qing Hui looked at Hua Liuli, "Fortunately, Sanqing God blesses you today. , Pindao finally got to see the true face of the county master."
"Why does the Taoist priest insist on seeing me?" Hua Liuli asked curiously.
"Because before the general left, the tutor forgot to give a signature to the general." Qing Hui took out a signature from the sleeve.
Wei Mingyue suddenly remembered that when she made a wish at the Taoist temple, she waved a lottery sign. But the sign accidentally fell under the crevice of the offering table. She didn't take it to heart and left that day.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, this Taoist temple still retains the sign that fell into the gap back then.
Wei Mingyue took a look at the signature, and it was blank: "What does this mean?"
"This is a white sign." Qing Hui looked at Hua Liuli, "It means that there is no sign to solve."
Wei Mingyue's face was a little unsightly. She asked for this sign for the fetus in her womb. What does it mean to be blank? It's not going to be a good connotation at all.
With a firm grip on his hand, the sign snapped off immediately. She said with a cold face: "It's up to people, I won't believe this."
"There are always surprises in everything." Qing Hui looked at the signature and smiled slightly: "Cultivation of the Tao is against the sky, and the poor Tao also thinks that you don't need to believe this too much, but..."
Qing Hui's smile became more tolerant and gentle: "The county master of Pindaoguan has a relationship with my Tao. Would you like to know about the county master?"
Hua Liuli: "Huh?"
"If the county master is unwilling, Pindao will ask again next time." Qing Hui smiled more gently, "Maybe next time the county master will be interested in cultivating Taoism."
Hua Liuli shook her head in her heart, no, no, I'm sorry.
"The capital is like a deep sea. It seems calm and calm, but in fact there are hidden waves. General Wei and General Hua are loyal ministers and good generals of the Great Jin Dynasty. Poor Dao can't bear the two of them falling into the quagmire." Mountain scenery, "Please take care of the two generals."
"Thank you for the reminder." Wei Mingyue said, "Your Majesty is the Mingjun of the world, and the waves are rough. As long as His Majesty is there, the boat will not be submerged by the waves."
Qinghui performed a Taoist gift: "Good faith protects the country and protects the family, and has great merit. Whenever, there will be immortals to bless and turn bad luck into good luck."
"Chengdao Changji's words." Wei Mingyue returned a salute.
"County Lord, please take care." Qing Hui seemed to be here just to give a blank sign. He took a deep look at Hua Liuli, turned and disappeared behind the stone bridge.
Wei Mingyue stared at the sign that was broken in two on the table, her expression still a little ugly.
"Mother, a blank sign is a good sign." Hua Liuli picked up the broken sign, "It's like His Majesty gave me a blank imperial decree with the seal of the jade seal, and let me fill in whatever I want, how wonderful. ."
She threw the broken sign down the cliff, and cupped her hands to the sky without looking at it: "Thank you, God."
Amused by her actions, Wei Mingyue got up and said, "I made a wish back then, and now I come to repay the wish, the debt between me and the immortals will be cleared."
"My debt has been cleared, so don't owe it outside." Wei Mingyue already pointed.
"What debt?" Hua Liuli took a sip of the scented tea and looked at the stone table with her slender fingers.
"Love debt." Wei Mingyue raised his eyebrows, "Did you make up animals for the prince just now?"
Hua Liuli nodded.
"Your father likes to use this little trick to coax me. Your eldest brother and second brother also like to make up some rabbits, dogs and other things to coax your sister-in-law and second-in-law. I didn't expect you to be more capable, not only making up things but also making up stories." Wei Mingyue Reaching out and poking Hua Liuli's forehead, "You haven't learned the other skills of the Hua family, but the tricks to coax people are one set after another."
"Mother." Hua Liuli covered her forehead and said, "I just want to make the prince happy, not to plot against him. Besides, the prince has an irreplaceable character in his heart, so how can he easily fall in love with others because of a trivial matter."
If she didn't like it, how could she come to this Taoist temple in the mountain in person, just to light a lamp for her.
What a tragic and tragic love this is.
"Forget it, if you really like the royal family..."
"Mother." Hua Liuli held Wei Mingyue's hand, "Daughter is not suitable for royal children, and the royal family will not let a weak and sick person be the concubine, that's the best."
Wei Mingyue looked at her daughter: "My son, you have to remember that the Hua family will not go to glory or decline because of a marriage, you don't have to worry about us."
"My daughter knows." Hua Liuli smiled, "What's so good about being a perfect woman? It's good to be weak and weak, and I also want to be a famous sick and weak beauty in the world."
"Maybe after thousands of years, there will still be literati and scholars who will write poems for me. What are the words to describe the beauty of later generations
"Come on, go home."
"go home?"
"Go back to bed early, there is everything in your dreams."
When the mother and daughter went back, the prince was still waiting for them.
"General, county master, the mountain road is rugged, let's go back together." The prince smiled and looked at them.
"His Royal Highness, please." Wei Mingyue nodded and agreed without any hesitation.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Marquis of Zhongyong Mansion, Hua Liuli stood at the door, turned her head to look at the prince who was riding on horseback, and looked at the lonely prince, and said, "His Royal Highness, why don't you go back after having dinner in the palace?"
The host said, "Let's go after dinner", and the guest said "No need", which is basically the standard configuration of civil courtesy.
"The solitary bastard disturbed me." The prince got off the horse with a smile on his face.
Obviously, the prince, who had lived in the palace since childhood, did not understand the hypocritical politeness of the people.
Seeing that his wife and daughter came back with the prince, although Hua Yingting was a little surprised, he was not afraid. He asked the servants to prepare a large table of dishes and greeted the prince to take a seat.
"The last time I ate at the same table with His Highness was fifteen years and four months ago." Hua Yingting held up the teacup and said, "My wife won't let me drink alcohol, I can only toast you with tea instead of wine."
"Thank you General."
Taking advantage of Wei Mingyue's inattentiveness, Hua Yingting winked at the prince and whispered, "I'm not afraid of her, it's just that we are men, how can we make the lady angry, right?"
"Yeah." Hua Liuli leaned over and whispered, "If mother is angry, don't sleep tonight."
"Cough." Hua Yingting coughed dryly, "The prince is here, save some face for the father."
The prince held back a smile and said, "Gu Fang didn't hear clearly, what did the county master say?"
Hua Liuli raised her eyebrows with a smile, did not expect the prince to speak like this
The prince looked back with a gentle smile.
"How is Your Highness's boxing skills now?" Hua Yingting separated her daughter and said to the Prince, "At the end of the year, the general only taught His Highness a few months of swordsmanship and went outside the pass. I wonder if His Highness has fallen behind?"
"After the general left, the father asked other people to teach Gu's swordsmanship, but those people are not as good as the general." The prince said, "The general is back now, would you like to continue teaching students?"
"Thanks, Your Highness looks down on the last general, but it's a pity that the last general injured his bones on the battlefield. Now he can't even touch the drink, let alone carry a knife and fire a gun." Hua Yingting sighed regretfully, as if he could no longer go to the battlefield. And sad.
A maid came in with a bowl of soup medicine, Hua Liuli took it, raised her head and drank it in one breath.
The rest of the Hua family seem to have become accustomed to Hua Liuli taking medicine, and their expressions have not changed. The prince frowned, but he didn't have the position to say anything.
After dinner, Hua Yingting stopped the prince and asked him to bring a box of things into the palace.
"These are the interesting things that the last commander received in Qinghan Province. His Majesty was interested in these things when he was young. After so many years, I don't know if His Majesty's hobbies have changed." Hua Yingting scratched his head, "The commander does not If you are embarrassed to give it to Your Majesty, I will ask the Crown Prince to help the last commander into the palace. Your Majesty has always loved you, and even if you don’t like it, you will accept it for your sake.”
"The emperor will like what the general sends." Hua Yingting, the attendant behind the prince, took the wooden box, and the prince said, "Although the general is not in the capital, the letters between you and the emperor over the years have never been written. Once broken, this friendship is different from others."
When he was a child, he was ignorant and secretly read the letter from General Hua to his father. Everything is written in the letter, such as how cute and well-behaved the daughter is, how good General Wei is to him, or what kind of frontier delicacies have been eaten, but unfortunately I can't bring a copy of this to His Majesty, which is much more interesting than those cookie-cutter invitations to An Zhezi.
When the father found him peeping, he simply showed him the letter generously, and said that General Hua was a good minister and a good friend. He later learned that every year General Hua would write a letter back to Beijing, his words were simple and witty, which made people who read the letter couldn't help laughing.
General Hua loves to mention his daughter. In his letter, even if the baby girl sneezes, she looks much better than other little girls.
The baby girl's hair is better than other girls' hair, her eyes are better than other girls' girls, her skin is whiter than other girls' girls...
So when he met Hua Liuli for the first time, he deliberately opened the sedan curtain and glanced at the little girl standing by the palace wall.
With big eyes and small lips, as General Hua said in the letter, she is prettier than other girls.
"His Royal Highness." Hua Liuli, who was standing behind Hua Yingting, stuck her head out and smiled at the prince: "Send Your Highness, be careful on the road."
"Farewell." The prince smiled at Hua Liuli and turned to leave Hua's house.
Leaving the warm and cozy house, the prince looked at the street shrouded in darkness, and his mood was not too bad. He returned to the palace and presented the box that Hua Yingting had given him to his father.
Emperor Changlong opened the wooden box and found some strange stones, wood carvings, pottery figures and other objects inside. There are also some copies of calligraphy, and some of them are imitations and fakes.
"This is the court." Emperor Changlong recalled that a few decades ago, the news that His Majesty was going to re-establish the crown prince came from the palace.
After Hua Yingting and Wei Mingyue found out, they found a bunch of gadgets to make him happy. They also told him that if the previous emperor wanted to abolish his prince, they would take him to escape together, and would never let him be killed by the new prince.
Unexpectedly, decades later, their children have grown so big.
"I heard that you went out to play with Fushou County Master last night?" Emperor Changlong played with a pottery man and looked at the prince with a half-smile.
"The little girl has been outside the gate all the year round. She has never seen the liveliness of the capital, so Erchen will accompany her to walk around the city."
"Yeah." Emperor Changlong nodded, "You should treat her as a younger sister, and you should accompany her to walk around the capital in your spare time and see more."
The prince stared at the candlestick on the wall without speaking.
Emperor Changlong put the pottery man in the hands of the prince: "Go back to sleep, and remember to go to court tomorrow."
The prince returned to the East Palace with the ugly pottery man in his hand, and placed the pottery man on the table, only to find a few words carved under the pottery man.
In the spring of the 23rd year of Changlong, the little girl made it.
Rubbing these words, the prince smiled lightly.
No wonder the pottery is so ugly, it turned out to be made by children.
When washing and changing clothes, an item comes out of the clothes. The eunuch who was serving picked it up and took a look. This is... a mass of grass
"Your Highness, do you want to keep this thing?" the eunuch asked in a low voice.
The prince took the things from him and watched for a while: "You all retreat."
"Yes." The palace attendants all withdrew.
The prince easily pressed the straw-woven butterfly under the pillow.
When the child grows up, the butterfly we make is still ugly.
Hua Liuli had a dream in which she dreamed that she made up bunnies for a group of little beauties, but she didn't know why, she couldn't make it up well, and then the Princess Jiamin suddenly appeared and laughed at her.
After waking up, Hua Liuli felt that the dream was very unlucky.
Hua Liuli looked at the sunlight outside the window with a sad look: "The weather is getting warmer, and I will go to a party with Princess Jiamin."
The author has something to say: Jiamin: ? ? What did I do wrong that you are doing this to me? !