The palace exam was imminent, and Hua Liuli returned home with a large and small bag.
Seeing the servants carry out several large boxes from his sister's carriage, Hua Changkong couldn't help but tease: "Every time you enter the palace, are you going to empty the Queen Mother's private treasury?"
"How did you say it? There is a saying that the elder bestows it on me. Don't dare to say no. The empress dowager gave it to me. Of course, I will take it back." Hua Liuli instructed her servant to carry a suitcase into Hua Changkong's yard, "This is The congratulatory gift that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave you in the entrance examination, I brought it back with you."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Hua Changkong bowed his hands in the direction of the palace, "It seems that you and His Royal Highness get along quite well, and even the congratulations that His Highness gave me, I asked you to bring them back."
"Eating and drinking in the East Palace recently, my face has gained a little weight." Hua Liuli rubbed her cheeks and rubbed red marks on her white and tender face, "Don't call me for lunch later, I'll go out to eat."
"What did you do when you just came back?" Hua Changkong was instructing the people to carry things while caring about his sister, "Aren't you in poor health, you are not afraid of getting sick when you go out and walk around?"
Hua Liuli gave Hua Changkong a faint glance: "Third brother, you better read the book."
"Little girl, go out and have fun." Hua Changkong reached out and poked Hua Liuli's forehead, "Have you made an appointment with someone?"
"Jiamin County is mainly going to visit Miss Du. I also have some friendship with Miss Du, so let's go to see it together." Hua Liuli asked Iris and other maids to bring the gift that had been prepared, "I heard that Miss Du has Mrs. Du. She was raised by a teacher, and when Du Taishi is so ill, she must be very sad."
Hua Changkong nodded: "Then be careful on the road."
Hua Liuli went back to the house and changed into some clean clothes. When she went out, she saw that Jiamin was already waiting outside the gate of Hua's house: "Why are you so fast?"
"Is it fast?" Jiamin pulled Hua Liuli onto the carriage, "Let's go."
During these days when the two were alone in Shoukang Palace, they often discussed which words would look good together, and they also went to the Royal Garden to fly butterflies and fish, and they had a good relationship.
"Can't you get along with Miss Du?" Hua Liuli asked, "I didn't expect you to offer to visit her."
"I don't have a hatred for personality differences." Jiamin said, "My cousin, I read books when I was three or four years old, and when I get older, I don't leave the book in my hands. She also has a special sense of morality and justice. When we were young, who were we? If she does something wrong, she can stare at us and talk about it for half an hour, who can stand this."
"But apart from this, what she does usually will make us cousins and cousins. We are annoying her, but we don't want her to be trapped in a sad mood and can't get out." Jiamin frowned, "Cousin Du and I Aunt and uncle are not close, and if Master Du really leaves, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear it."
Hua Liuli fell silent. Her grandfather died very early because she was seriously injured on the battlefield in her early years, and her grandmother also died early. She doesn't know how her grandchildren and grandparents get along, but she can understand that important people are about to die. , the feeling of being powerless.
Seeing that she was silent, Jiamin instead comforted: "We are both juniors and girls, and we will not enter Du Grand Master's room."
"That's not what I thought." Hua Liuli reluctantly smiled and shook her head, "I just remembered a little bit of the old days."
Jiamin saw Hua Liuli's gloomy expression, her mouth was faster than her brain: "What's the matter?"
After asking, I regretted it. This is obviously not a good thing. Why can't she control her mouth
"A few years ago, there was an uncle in the military camp who sang very well. Whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival or New Year's Eve, when everyone got together, he would coax him to sing twice." Hua Liuli said, "Uncle said, they The sons in my hometown can sing, and when they meet a girl they like, they will use their singing to ask for their marriage.”
"Then he... has he met the girl he likes now?"
"Before he joined the military camp, he already had a girl he liked. The girl said that when the army repelled the Jinper thieves, he would marry him." Hua Liuli turned her head and looked at the gems inlaid on the carriage, "We are big brothers. Jin won, but the girl didn't wait for him to go back."
"he… "
"He was shot to death by Jinpo archers in order to cover the escape of several children. When the Hua family army found his body, there was no good ground on him." Hua Liuli sighed, "Many things in the world can be repeated, only There is only one life."
"When you die, there really is nothing left."
Jiamin fell silent, her throat choked with discomfort, she looked at Hua Liuli and didn't dare to ask her, how many stories like this would happen every day in the military camp
She seemed to be able to understand why Dad, who only knew extravagance and enjoyment, had saved a lot of money after escorting Qinghan Province once.
Some scenes, you can only know how shocking you are when you see them with your own eyes.
When they arrived at Du's house, Jiamin couldn't help herself. She walked in front of her sullenly and handed the salutation to the concierge. Soon, a maid bowed down to invite the two of them in.
As soon as she stepped into the Du's house, Hua Liuli felt a little dull, the air seemed to be filled with a faint bitter medicinal smell, and the servants and servants all looked solemn, but there was no smile at all.
The haggard Mrs. Du received them. I heard that the two county masters came to visit her daughter. Mrs. Du smiled bitterly: "Thank you for the concern of the two county masters. The little girl was infected with the cold two days ago and has been bedridden, please. The two princesses will come back later."
"Auntie, Sister Du has always been in good health, how could she be so ill?" Jiamin stood up and said, "I'll go see her."
"Jiamin County Master." Mrs. Du Yaoshi called out to Jiamin, "You can go when Xiuying is better. I'm afraid she will get sick and give you a chance."
Jiamin was stunned, turned her head to look at Dazzling Liuli, and instantly understood what her aunt was worried about.
Hua Liuli's frail body is well known in the capital, and if something goes wrong, the Du family can't afford it. She pursed her lips and said to Madam Du, "Aunt, I'll come back when I go in and take a look."
Seeing that Hua Liuli did not intend to accompany her in, Madam Du breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Hua Liuli with a gentle expression: "When General Wei came over last time, he also talked to me about you. Are you used to everything these days in the capital?"
"Everything is fine." Hua Liuli asked a few more words about Du Xiuying's condition, and she felt relieved when she learned that it was a common cold.
Mrs. Du is a mild-mannered person. Although she is not familiar with Hua Liuli, she has always been able to find topics and did not let the atmosphere in the room cool down.
"Madam." A maid in a blue skirt walked in and said blessedly, "The expert you invited has arrived."
Mrs. Du glanced at Hua Liuli, and Hua Liuli immediately said: "There is a distinguished guest here, the junior and Miss Du are friends, please feel free to Mrs."
"I'm sorry." Madam Du smiled apologetically at Hua Liuli and stood up to greet her.
Soon Mrs. Du came in to meet a Taoist, and behind the Taoist were two Taoist boys. They didn't seem to be in the mundane world, but they had the taste of a master.
"Fu Shou County Master." The Taoist saw Hua Liuli and gave her a Taoist salute.
"Hello." Hua Liuli bowed back.
"The real person knows the master of Fushou County?" Mrs. Du did not expect that Hua Liuli knew the most famous Qinghui real person in the capital.
"Pin Dao and Fushou County Master have a relationship in the Taoist temple." Qing Hui sat down on the chair and turned to Madam Du and said, "Madam, Pin Dao is a person outside the square, and he has no ability to revive the dead, let alone cure diseases and save people. The method, Madam is too flattering to the poor."
I've heard that Taoists make fake pills to deceive people to live forever, and I've seen Taoists say that they can be considered a half-immortal if they can pinch them. A Taoist priest like Qinghui is so direct and honest, he didn't know what to do for a while. Just do it.
Hua Liuli glanced at Madam Du and felt that the expression on her face was stiff.
"Life and death are destiny, wealth and honor are in the sky." Qinghui Zhenren shook his head and said, "Du Taishi is a person who has learned a lot, and has always agreed with the poor way."
Madam Du was stunned for a while before she said, "Really, is there really no way?"
Qinghui Zhenren shook his head: "Madam, although Pindao doesn't know how to prolong life, he knows a little bit about gossip and Feng Shui. If you don't mind, Pindao can take a look at your house."
"Then there will be Master Lao." Probably because Master Qinghui is too honest, Mrs. Du trusts him even more.
"Then start now?" Qing Hui tilted his head to look at Hua Liuli, "County Lord, please come with us too."
"Really, I'm an outsider, isn't there something wrong?" Although Hua Liuli didn't believe in these things, she also knew that outsiders would be inconvenient for these things.
"If it's someone else, it's not right, but the county owner is different from others." Qing Hui smiled, got up and made a gesture of invitation to Hua Liuli.
"Shenzhen, please forgive me for being rude, why is Fushou County Master different from others?" Although Mrs. Du was very tired these days, her curiosity was still there.
"Because the county master has a relationship with me." Qing Hui smiled mysteriously.
Hua Liuli: "..."
Thank you, excuse me, goodbye.
Seeing Hua Liuli's face full of rejection, Qing Hui chuckled softly, and the large sleeve robe was automatically windless, like a fairy falling from the sky: "Pindao is joking, the county master doesn't have to take it to heart, please."
Hua Liuli pulled the corners of her mouth and said, "The real person is really humorous."
Qing Hui didn't walk around the Du house, but took the architectural plan of the Du house and gave some pointers.
The main idea is what kind of trees are planted here, flowers there can't be wanted, and two more windows should be added there. Hua Liuli held her chin and listened boredly, waiting for Jiamin to come out.
I don't know what the servant said to Mrs. Du, but Mrs. Du said apologetically: "Please sit down with the county master for a while, I will come when I go."
"Madam, please feel free." Qing Hui picked up the teacup and took a sip. After Mrs. Du lifted the curtain and left, he said to Hua Liuli, who was sitting in the guest seat opposite, "Can the county master be trusted?"
"Really, what do you mean by this?" Hua Liuli asked with a smile.
"Everyone's destiny is destined after birth. Only the county owner is different. Your destiny is not fixed, and it can even affect other people around you." Qing Hui smiled, "A person like the county owner, if he devotes himself to Cultivation of the Dao must have great achievements.”
"Really, when I heard that a person is lying, he always uses small gestures to cover up." Hua Liuli smiled, "Just a few words, the real person scratched the tea noodles five or six times with the lid of the teacup."
Qing Hui was stunned, and then laughed lightly: "The county master is worthy of being the daughter of the two generals, with good eyesight."
After being dismantled by Hua Liuli, Qinghui no longer pretended to be mysterious. He put down the teacup and smiled at Hua Liuli: "Pindao thought that the county master would like others to praise you for your extraordinary origin."
"If a good person doesn't do it, why am I pretending to be inhuman?" Hua Liuli restrained the smile on her face, "The Daoist uses such words to spy on me, what exactly do you want to do?"
Qing Hui stood up with a smile, saluted Hua Liuli and said, "I also ask the county master to forgive his sins. Pindao has no malicious intentions."
Hua Liuli was silent, and when she heard footsteps coming from the corridor outside, she took out a handkerchief and covered the corner of her mouth and coughed a few times. She saw Mrs. Du walking in with a box in her hand. Looking at her posture, it seemed that this was for Qing Hui. A specially prepared gift.
Hua Liuli stood up and said apologetically to Madam Du: "Madam, when I just came in, it was interesting for this junior to see a pomegranate tree in the yard. I want to go out and have a look, please forgive me for being rude."
"Your Majesty is very polite, your mother and I are old acquaintances, you just treat it like your own home here." Mrs. Du smiled and asked the maid to take Hua Liuli out.
She also knew in her heart that there was nothing to see in the pomegranate tree, and Hua Liuli was just looking for a reason to go out and let her have a detailed discussion with the real person Qinghui.
The sky was getting warmer, and it was a little hot to stand in the sun wearing a spring shirt. Hua Liuli stretched out her hand to cover the sun above her head and moved herself to the shade of a tree.
In her opinion, the Du family is very interesting. Grand Master Du has been upright all his life, and the granddaughter he raised also has his legacy. On the other hand, Mrs. Du believed in praying to God and worshipping Buddha, and even invited Taoist priests to treat Taishi Du.
Fortunately, Qinghui is not the kind of fake Taoist who only cares about cheating money, otherwise he can make a lot of troubles.
After a while, Jiamin came back, her eyes were red, and she looked like she had cried.
"Are you all right?" Hua Liuli walked over.
"It's alright." Jiamin sniffed, "I told Sister Du that you were here too, and she kept chasing me away and asked me to come back to you after a while in the sun, so as not to get sick. I gave it to you."
Speaking of this, she glanced at Hua Liuli faintly: "Fortunately, you are a woman, otherwise I would suspect that Sister Du is interested in you."
In the past, when she went out to play with other sisters, Du Xiuying always criticized them together. The last time she saw her with Hua Liuli outside the music hall, Du Xiuying felt that she was bringing Hua Liuli bad.
She was obviously sick, but when she heard that Hua Liuli was with her, she sat up abruptly from the bed. The reason for this was that Hua Liuli was weak and young, so she should not bully others.
Who is bullying whom
Who is bullying whom? !
Jiamin didn't know whether she was crying in sadness or crying in anger.
Staying with Hua Liuli left and right, she never took advantage. She did all the bad things, only Hua Liuli was a slowly blooming, innocent, pitiful, helpless and needy little white lotus, or the kind with fragrance.
Qinghui and Jiamin came to the yard almost on their backs and feet. He still looked like an expert, but Daotong had a wooden box in his hand. Seeing Hua Liuli standing under the shade of a tree, he stopped, turned and walked towards Hua Liuli: "Fu Shou County Master, there will be a puja tomorrow, and the County Master is cordially invited to attend."
"Real Qing Hui?!" Jiamin was a little shocked to see Qing Hui, "Really good."
"Hello, girl." Qing Hui replied with a salute.
"I don't know tomorrow's puja, can I come?" Jiamin was excited.
Qing Hui glanced at Hua Liuli: "The girl is a friend of the Fushou County Lord. If the Fushou County Lord is willing to come, the girl can go with the County Lord."
Hua Liuli: "..."
Daoist, how much obsession do you have for me joining the Daomen
"Please don't worry, we will come on time." Jiamin sent away the real Qinghui and said to Hua Liuli, "That is the real Qinghui, our most famous Taoist priest in Dajin, and he only invites people who are destined for the ceremonies he presides. , you must go tomorrow, or I will tie it up if you don't."
"Are you sure?" Hua Liuli raised her eyebrows.
"You go." Jiamin grabbed Hua Liuli's sleeve, "You are the moon, you are the flower, you are the number one beauty in our Dajin, I called you sister, you take me there, okay?"
After many days of getting along, Jiamin has forgotten the fear when Hua Liuli raised his sword and slashed people.
"Okay." Hua Liuli sighed, "You will pick me up tomorrow."
"Okay, okay." Jiamin took Hua Liuli to say goodbye to Mrs. Du. After the two got into the carriage, she continued to tell Hua Liuli about the awesomeness of Qinghui Zhenren.
"Even if the princess invites him, he doesn't necessarily show up. This time, if he can personally invite you to the puja, you can have fun."
"When my mother and I went to the Taoist Temple of Qinghui to offer incense, there were no other pilgrims in the temple, and there were no people on the road to the Taoist temple." Hua Liuli doubted whether Jiamin was bragging on purpose to promote the Taoist temple. status.
"Didn't you go there on the 16th day of the first lunar month?" Jiamin looked at Hua Liuli suspiciously, she suddenly remembered that there had been rumors about the prince and Hua Liuli in the womb for two days, but the rumors soon disappeared. Disappeared, she almost forgot about it.
Seeing Hua Liuli nodding, Jiamin was stunned and said, "Dare to go to the Taoist temple to offer incense on the 16th day of the first lunar month. As expected of General Wei, he is different from other lay people."
Hua Liuli thinks this is a bit inappropriate, doesn't she also go
"You grew up at the border gate, and you don't know these taboos in the capital. Do you know when Queen Gonghui's memorial day is?"
Hua Liuli shook her head.
"The sixteenth day of the first month." Jiamin sighed, "When Empress Gonghui passed away, the third prince was still very young, and His Majesty had not named him a prince. Later, the third prince was established as a prince, and His Majesty named the prince's biological mother, Concubine Hui, as Empress Gonghui. Over the years, in order to commemorate the birth mother, the prince will light a blessing lamp for her in the Taoist temple every year on the 16th day of the first lunar month, praying for her to be free from disasters in the next life and to live a happy life."
"After the prince turned fifteen, officials or girls often pretended to meet the prince by chance, which made the prince furious, and even His Majesty issued a decree. the moldy head."
"You mean that the lanterns in the Taoist temple were ordered by His Royal Highness for the late Empress Gonghui?" Hua Liuli's expression became very strange.
"Otherwise, who else could it be for?" Jiamin rolled her eyes, "His Royal Highness usually does not believe in gods and Buddhas, but in respecting the Queen, he broke his usual habit. Don't go out and talk about these words. When the prince knows that I am gossiping about him behind his back, I am finished."
"Don't worry, I won't mention this to others." Hua Liuli couldn't help but retort, "But His Royal Highness is not a vengeful person, even if he knows what you said, what can you do? Don't talk to His Highness like that. Devilish."
Jiamin: "I..."
Looking at Shang Hua Liuli's serious eyes, Jiamin swallowed her displeasure, but she really wanted to roar, why is the prince not like a devil
The biggest joke in the world is that His Royal Highness does not hold grudges.
It was him, he never took these things to heart, because he remembered them all in a small book.
"Okay." Jiamin took a deep breath, "You look good, whatever you say is right. As long as you take me to the Fa conference tomorrow, everything will be fine."
She Yao Jiamin, under the mental torture of Hua Liuli, finally learned to bend and stretch.
In Chenyang Palace, Emperor Changlong looked at his son in front of him: "Tell me, why don't you go to court tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, there is a puja in the Taoist temple of Qinghui Zhenren, and I want to light a longevity lamp for you." The prince cupped his hands and said, "I pray that the gods in the sky will bless the father and emperor, long live, long live."
"Tell me the truth." Emperor Changlong sternly threw down his pen, facing these uneasy sons every day, and he still had to live ten thousand years.
"My son just wants to go out and have a look. I heard that your future daughter-in-law will also go." The prince said brazenly, "As the saying goes, get married first and then start a career. You always have to let your son become a family."
If he can't marry the girl he likes, he has no intention of doing things.
Emperor Changlong stared at the prince for several breaths before he gritted his teeth and said, "When you have the ability to pursue other girls, let's talk about daughter-in-law."
Back then, he only teased Wei Mingyue verbally, and she patted off a stone bench in front of her. Now her son is eyeing her daughter, and she wonders if she will stop the imperial case on the spot
Children are all debts.
Emperor Changlong waved his hand in annoyance: "God, don't bother me."
"My son retire." The prince smiled and exited Chenyang Palace, and by the way, he took a few silver notes from Emperor Changlong's private vault.
It is not perfect without a son to chew on an old emperor.
"Little sister, what's the matter with you?" Hua Changkong came out of the study and saw her sister sitting in the yard, looking up at the moon in the sky in a daze, and worried, "Have you been wronged when you went out today?"
Hua Liuli turned her head to look at him in a daze: "Third brother, you were right before, reading too many words is not good for your brain."
"What's wrong?" Hua Changkong was startled when Hua Liuli said it so seriously, he walked over to Hua Liuli and sat down, "Come on, tell the third brother."
"Alas." Hua Liuli sighed, but did not speak.
She thought of the night of the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, and of the depressed prince in the Taoist temple the next day.
Maybe there is no favorite girl, only a child who lost his mother at a young age, holding his nostalgia for his mother, in the crowded night, standing on the high observation floor, blowing the cold night wind, watching lonely The joy and reunion of others.
Hua Liuli felt distressed when she thought of the little prince, wrapped in thick clothes, standing on the observation floor where the cold wind was howling, and desperately tiptoed to watch the lights and hustle and bustle outside the palace.
She sighed and said to Hua Changkong: "Third brother, you can take care of those scriptures in my house for me."
After reading too many stories, I think I have seen through the grudges, the separation of life and death, but in fact there is no logic.
The joys and sorrows of the world are not the same, and the trajectories of life are also different.
"In the past, when you were punished for copying books, you had to secretly read them, but how did you figure it out now?" Hua Changkong was even more frightened.
"I think I should treat the prince a little better." Hua Liuli nodded, "I should be better."
"Huh?" Hua Changkong looked blank, what does this have to do with the prince
He looked at the serious little sister and asked tremblingly, "Little sister, don't you plan to raise your face?"