A huge fire broke out in Duke Xian's Mansion, and then the entire capital city seemed to be enveloped in the dead silence after the smoke.
The first snow was not heavy, tiny snowflakes fell slowly from the sky. Before they touched the flames, they were melted into steam and evaporated.
Half of the city's Jinwu Guards rushed to put out the fire, but they still couldn't save the house.
The century-old general's mansion was burned down overnight, leaving only broken walls and ruins.
The fire burned all night, and the next day a man came to Ningxuan Prince's Mansion.
Rong Tang was woken up early in the morning. After washing up, he walked to the main hall, then walked out of the mansion with Wang Xiuyu and stood at the door waiting. Su Huaijing stood beside him, looking down at the ground.
The snowflakes didn't even cover the ground, as if the pure white first snow was just a farewell elegy for the Duke Xianguo's Mansion.
Rong Mingyu and Rong Mingli both took leave and did not go to court. Rong Tang stood at the gate of the palace and waited for a long time. The winter sun slowly moved overhead, and finally a few carriages and horses drove up to the street, along with a ceremonial guard that was so long that it was almost invisible.
Duke Xian's Mansion happened to be located opposite Princess Duanyi's Mansion. The fire burned all night, inevitably producing burnt smoke and flames.
The eldest princess was over sixty years old. Worried about her health, Rong Mingyu and Rong Mingli stayed up almost all night. They ordered the servants to clean the yard in the palace that had been reserved for the eldest princess, and then left the palace at dawn to welcome her home.
Rong Tang looked at the grand and noble procession, then looked back at the descendants who were waiting respectfully in front of the Ningxuan Palace. For a moment, he couldn't figure out whether these filial piety was true or false
Is it because she is her grandmother, so she naturally has deep affection for her, or is it because as long as Duan Yi is in this world, everyone in Ningxuan Palace has a superficial kinship with the royal family that is so slight that it can almost be ignored
He couldn't see it, but when he looked around, everyone's face was full of respect.
They couldn't possibly treat someone who even the emperor and empress had to respect badly.
The carriage stopped in front of the mansion gate. The maid recited words and the ceremonial guard played drums and gongs. The noise lasted for half a cup of tea before the eldest princess was finally welcomed back to the mansion.
Wang Xiuyu and the second wife stepped forward, with their grandchildren beside them. They bowed and the rest of the grandchildren, led by Rong Tang, knelt down to greet them.
Rong Tang was distracted and thought that this was the first time he had knelt in his life.
He had no resistance, mainly because he had seen Emperor Renshou many times in his previous two lives, and he had to kowtow and kneel on important occasions. So he knelt very naturally, his eyebrows and eyes fell, staring at the crack on the stone brick in front of him in a daze, and did not notice that when Su Huaijing knelt down with him, his eyes stopped on his knees and he looked unhappy for a moment.
Duan Yi was helped down from the carriage by the nanny and stood at the door to talk to the two wives. Rong Mingyu walked over, bent down and lowered his head to make sure that his voice could reach her ears without any obstruction. He said in a respectful and filial manner, "Please come into the house, mother."
As he said that, he stretched out his hand, wanting to help Duan Yi go in.
The princess stood still, her eyes swept down and she called out, "Tang'er, Huaijing, get up."
Rong Tang was stunned, he looked up at the princess in confusion, he saw that her face was gentle, her whole body was still simple and peaceful, influenced by sandalwood and scriptures. It seemed that the fire yesterday had no effect on her at all.
Seeing that Rong Tang didn't move, Duan Yi said again: "Help me in."
Rong Yuan couldn't help but raise his head and glanced at Rong Tang with surprise and jealousy; on the other hand, Rong Zheng had a bit of confusion and loss on his face, but he was still happy for his brother at heart.
Rong Tang didn't quite understand Duan Yi's sudden kindness and care. He was just stunned for a moment, then responded respectfully: "Yes."
Then stand up.
Before he moved, Su Huaijing was kneeling straight, but as soon as Rong Tang slightly bent down and stretched out his hand to support himself to stand up, Su Huaijing's patience had reached the limit. Without thinking, he stood up, took a step forward, took Rong Tang's arm and helped him up. After the other stood firm, he bent down and brushed off the dust on his robe.
The whole set of movements was performed as naturally as flowing water. No one could find any mistakes or disguise. The eldest princess' eyes trembled for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.
Rong Mingyu had a unhappy expression on his face, as if he wanted to blame his daughter-in-law for being ignorant of etiquette. The elders were right beside her, so how could she turn her back to them and start patting the dust
But the princess not only had no grudges, she once again interrupted Rong Mingyu before he could speak, stretched out her arm, and whispered, "Tang'er."
Rong Tang agreed and hurriedly stepped forward to support the eldest princess' arm. He bent down slightly and lowered his body, and slowly walked towards Ning Xuan Palace in line with Duan Yi's pace. Su Huaijing followed behind them, keeping a step distance away.
It was not until the three of them and Rong Mingyu's brothers entered the mansion that people kneeling in front of the door, such as Rong Zheng and Rong Yuan, gradually stood up.
In order to welcome Duan Yi, Prince Ning Xuan's mansion was cleaned inside and out, as if to make his mother feel at ease.
But Duanyi walked all the way to his yard without looking around. After looking at the Buddhist temple, he placed the incense stick of Bodhisattva he carried with him on the table, knelt down and lit three incense sticks.
Duan Yi asked Rong Tang: "Have you copied scriptures these days?"
Rong Tang felt a little puzzled from the moment she called him in front of the palace gate. He didn't know whether it was because he woke up too early and was not sober, or because he didn't sleep well at all. The eldest princess's questions were so unconventional that he didn't know how to answer them.
He had only given Buddhist scriptures to the eldest princess once in his life, and that was to welcome Su Huaijing into the family.
There were also days for copying scriptures after that, most of which were from before the wedding to the flower-folding party, and very rarely after that.
It’s not that I can’t remember, but there are other more meaningful things to do besides copying scriptures.
During the months he lived in Suzhou Garden, Rong Tang almost forgot about this matter.
Hearing this, he shook his head and said frankly, "My grandson is stupid. He only copied scriptures to resolve the confusion in his heart. He is not as sincere and determined as grandma. He has not copied scriptures much these days."
Others knew that the eldest princess worshipped Buddha, and they all hoped that everything they said and did would be in accordance with her wishes. Rong Tang had done the same thing before, but now he realized that if he told her the truth directly, he couldn't tell whether the eldest princess would lose face or not.
But to his surprise, the princess not only did not blame him, but nodded: "Not bad."
Rong Tang: “?”
He was confused for a moment and asked, "What is grandma praising?"
Rong Tang: "Grandma taught me a lot, and I remember it in my heart. One of them is 'Just do good things and don't worry about the future.'"
"Did you do it?" Duan Yi asked him.
Rong Tang paused, subconsciously turned his head to look at Su Huaijing, and then nodded: "I'm doing it."
Duan Yi smiled and fiddled with a string of prayer beads in her hand: "The princess's mansion was affected by the fire and needs to be repaired for a while. I may stay in the palace until after the New Year. During this period, you can come to me directly if you have any questions."
You, not you.
Rong Tang frowned thoughtfully.
The eldest princess waved her hand, ordered them to leave, turned around and knelt on the cushion, as if she was going to start chanting.
Rong Tang bowed to her back and was about to leave, but Su Huaijing stood still and asked softly, "I'm curious about something, may I ask Your Highness to enlighten me?"
The eldest princess' back was a little hunched, and even if she stood straighter, there were still traces of time on her body.
She paused as she fiddled with the beads: "You say."
Su Huaijing stared at her back and asked, "How was the fire last night?"
Princess Duanyi turned her back to them, raised her head slightly, and looked directly at the golden statue of Buddha.
Outside the courtyard, servants and maids were constantly carrying luggage back and forth. When the sky cleared after the snow, sparrows jumped from the treetops to the ground, and then flew from the ground to the eaves.
Duan Yi was silent for a while, so long that Rong Tang almost thought she would not answer, then she smiled softly: "Very good."
The old voice fell in the quiet and solemn Buddhist temple, and the Buddha statue's eyes fell, looking at his believers with compassion.
Duan Yi said: "I haven't seen such a big fire in many years. Almost everything was burned out."
Clean and tidy, she knelt in the Buddhist temple and chanted sutras all night. She heard the sound of footsteps and water splashing back and forth outside the courtyard wall. The stone that had been weighing on her heart for many years suddenly fell to the ground.
It was getting light in the sky. Duan Yi walked out of the Buddhist temple under the lingering moonlight, and walked out step by step from the gate of the mansion that had trapped her all her life, looking across the street.
The stone lion was still in tatters, with half of its head missing and one of its eyes missing. Its front paws, which should have been playing with the pearl, had long gone missing. It was hit by the carriages and horses brought by the Jinwu Guards, and the last stone pearl in its mouth fell to the ground, rolled across the street, and finally rolled to the feet of the eldest princess.
She bent down to pick up the bead, and when she looked up again it seemed as if a lifetime had passed.
At the beginning, we met from a distance at a palace banquet, chatting across a tree. You praised my amazing talent, and I respected your patriotism.
So they got to know each other and became friends.
At the beginning, no one had ever talked about marriage. You regarded me as your confidant and I as your friend. Within the square palace walls and under the towering imperial city, it was a great fortune to meet a confidant.
Later, perhaps His Majesty saw the mutual feelings between them, and he smiled and granted the marriage, and asked the mighty general who had fought for him all his life: "My dear, would you like to marry my daughter to your family as your daughter-in-law?"
For a princess to marry in the capital was an unimaginable honor, not to mention that she was an illegitimate princess.
Thus, everything went smoothly, and the daughter's mind began to be moved, and she began to yearn for the romantic affairs beyond the political strategy and frontier wars.
Unfortunately, something unexpected happened later and His Majesty passed away. All the love between the young man and the woman could not compare to the stability of the family and the country, so he took back the step that was about to be taken.
From now on, we will be close friends. You will be the general guarding the country on the battlefield, and I will be the female prime minister with great power in the court.
There are no men in the Wei Mansion all year round. Apart from the respect of the emperor, the Princess's Mansion across the street is the support of the women in the family.
Duanyi himself can't remember clearly.
At first, he was a confidant of General Wei, then he became a close friend of Madam Wei, and finally he treated Wei Zhun as his own grandson.
She and the Duke Xianguo's Mansion had long since shed the naive love they had in their youth, and were now more dependent on and trusted with each other through the years, like family members.
The Duke of Xian's Mansion had been deserted for many years, and she had been fasting and chanting sutras in front of the compassionate Buddha statue in the magnificent Princess' Mansion across the street for many years.
Holding the ball in the stone lion's mouth in his hand, Duan Yi stood up, and a turbid tear fell uncontrollably to the ground, along with the collapsed and charred houses.
And outside the dim morning light, her two sons who held high positions but were devoted and filial came to take her away from this mansion and cage filled with dust and hustle and bustle.
Duan Yi pulled himself away from his memories, looked at the ancient Buddha, and said softly, "It was burned very well and very cleanly."
All the shadows of the past many years have been burned away.
She couldn't help but wonder where the next fire would start.
Can she see it
There is always retribution in this world.
(End of this chapter)