As usual, the banquet was held in Linde Hall.
When Yaoying entered the palace, it was already evening.
There are cold stars floating in the sky, and the vast sky in the west is full of sunset, and the blazing hot rays of light are trapped under it. The pavilions and pavilions overlooking the pool are bathed in a dazzling golden light, casting a magnificent silhouette, row upon row of corridors and flying pavilions surround the arches.
The breeze blew through, sending a wisp of coolness.
Standing under the long steps, you can vaguely see the lively banquet in the hall. The lobby is full of people, laughing and cheering. The towering balconies are surrounded by green beads behind the half-rolled bead curtains, and their temples are fragrant.
Under the stage, a group of musicians with pipa, 筚篥, Konghou, huqin, Jiegu, toothpai, and golden bells sat on the felt carpet on the west side of the platform, singing and singing.
On the stage, maikos in colorful clothes danced to the music.
Yaoying got off the carriage, stood in front of the steps, looked up at the pavilion standing on the high platform, her clothes were flying, and her face was bright.
The young man who had been waiting on the platform for a long time stared at her in a daze, and after a while, he came back to his senses, rushed down the long steps, and stood in front of her, panting, his face pale, and his expression cramped.
Yaoying smiled and said, "Sanlang."
Zheng Jing looked at her silently, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist: "Princess... come with me."
Yaoying was startled.
Zheng Jing blushed to the base of his neck, and stammered: "There's something I haven't mentioned to the princess... The reason why the Zheng family proposed marriage to King Qin was not because my father valued family, but because... because I love the princess."
When the words came out, he blushed even more, his head drooped low, his body was hot, and a few wisps of smoke could almost emerge from the top of his head.
"The Zheng family is begging for a kiss... Before the begging, I... I have seen... the princess."
The Seventh Princess may not remember it for a long time, but Zheng Jing is engraved in his heart.
The first time I saw the Seventh Princess was the spring of Taoli Zhengyan. Wei Jun Erlang and the little lady made an appointment to go out of the city to enjoy the spring. Zheng Jing and his concubine eldest brother got angry and fell off the horse, covered in mud.
The brothers and sisters sat on horseback, condescendingly, mocking him for being useless.
Zheng Jing was covered in mud, his legs were entangled in the reins, and he couldn't get up. The eldest brother was watching from afar, waiting for him to cry out for help. He was humiliated and unwilling to open his mouth.
Several playful teenagers drove their horses around him, deliberately lifting their robes and taking off their belts, in a gesture to humiliate him.
Suddenly, the sound of a whip came from the sky, the seven princesses wearing a silver red shirt and a pomegranate skirt drove their horses down the hillside with their hair in double conch buns, and a whip beat back the leading playboy.
The young men were furious and were about to tease the Seventh Princess for a few words, when they saw Li Zhongqian, who stopped by the apricot forest and looked nonchalantly, was so frightened that he immediately dispersed.
The seventh princess picked up the whip and gently lifted Zheng Jing's right leg that was entangled in it, leaving a servant to take care of him, turning the horse and running towards Li Zhongqian.
Zheng Jing fell into a pool of mud, raised his face, and watched the girl go away.
The smile on her face eclipsed the luxuriant Shili Xinglin.
Later, Zheng Jing saw the well-known young lady of the Li family again at the private banquet of the Li family, and found that she was very different from the girl he had met for the first time. She was demure, gentle, and dignified. A girl who gallops freely in the spring breeze.
The third time Zheng Jing saw the Seventh Princess was in the autumn when the ginkgo was full of gold.
That night, Li Zhongqian held a banquet in the palace. He was invited to the banquet. During the banquet, he was teased by his eldest brother's friends. He ate too much wine and strayed into the backyard of the palace.
He walked to a pavilion, and when he was drunk, he vaguely heard the woman's delicate chatter and laughter.
In the pavilion, the gauze curtain is high, the colorful candles are brilliant, the dishes on the table are plentiful, and the dishes are full of delicacies from the mountains and seas. More than a dozen concubines of the royal palace with heavy makeup and beaded heads are sitting, lying, or standing, watching a scene in the courtyard with a smile. woman dancing.
Shaoqing, the music stopped, the woman smiled and bowed to the main seat, the concubines laughed: "Aliu's dance is not as good as Qiniang's!"
The Liu family refused, and the concubines urged Qiniang to compete with her.
A charming girl with a double bun stood out, took off her shoes, stood on the round blanket, raised the golden bell in her hand, looked around with a smile, slowly twisted her waist, her robes flew up, The snow-white skin is looming under the lights.
Zheng Jing's face flushed, he didn't dare to look at it, but he couldn't bear to look away.
He had never seen such a beautiful dance in his life, charming and graceful, yet soft with firmness.
The wind on the waist swings the willows, and the waves are like spring water.
The girl jumped halfway, Zheng Jing was pulled out of the peony bush by a tall guard, and was punched several times in the face.
The lady in the pavilion scolded him for being a disciple, and he stammered to explain.
The girl walked under the porch, dripping with perspiration, and her skin was plump like snow under her robe. She glanced at Zheng Jing, smiled and said to the guard, "Aqing, he is my brother's guest. Yes, send him out."
The guard responded, sent Zheng Jing back to the table, confirmed that he was the Saburo of the Zheng family, and then let him leave.
After Zheng Jing woke up, he quietly inquired and learned that Li Yaoying danced the Tuozhi dance that night.
The fourth time he saw the Seventh Princess, he was in Pingkangfang watching Orchid dance the twig dance.
Embarrassed every time.
It was these embarrassing meetings that let Zheng Jing know that the Seventh Princess was not the noble lord who was high above and who didn't eat the fireworks in Chang'an's mouth.
She is so beautiful, so bright, so vivid and real.
She would rescue the boy who was ridiculed and humiliated with justice, play coquettish with her brother playfully, dance proudly with the concubine of the palace, drive the scoundrel boy coldly, and deal with the noble lady of the family well.
She would also be afraid and helpless.
The sunset glow is burning, and the long steps are covered with brilliant sunset light.
Zheng Jing held Yaoying's hand, raised his head, his face was still flushed, and said solemnly: "I admire the princess, my heart is full of the sun and the moon, the king of Qin is gone, I will take good care of the princess like the king of Qin, and respect the princess, The princess can ride a horse if she wants, dance if she wants..."
He paused for a long time, "I really can't bear to see the princess step onto the high platform."
When the Seventh Princess goes, it is a sheep entering the tiger's mouth!
Yaoying looked at Zheng Jing, and a slight smile slowly appeared on her face: "Sanlang, thank you."
The young man's love is sincere and shy, even if it may be just his impulsiveness, he deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.
"My brother has never liked scholars. I was wondering before, how could he choose you..." Yaoying smiled, "He didn't see the wrong person, Saburo, you are a person worthy of trust for life."
Zheng Jing's throat rolled a few times, and he said ashamedly: "I'm really incompetent, I can't protect the princess, and I can't save King Qin... I..."
Yaoying interrupted him: "You have helped me a lot, and I will keep it in my heart."
"Princess, leave with me..." Zheng Jing murmured.
Yaoying shook her head, "Sanlang, when I was five years old, I was thrown on the battlefield. Everyone said that I was dead. My brother ignored the obstruction of his loyal servant and went across the battlefield to save me. During the war, my brother digged in the dead pile for a few days before he found me. The rebels had not gone far. We could not reveal the identity of the young lady of the Li family. Brother took me to flee north. hold me, carry me..."
…
Li Zhongqian was only eleven years old at the time, hiding in Tibet with Yao Yingdong on his back.
Without food, Li Zhongqian went to dig grass roots, to catch snakes and mice in the cave, to beg for begging, and to snatch any food that could feed his stomach with other refugees.
Without shoes to wear, Li Zhongqian tore off her clothes to cover her feet, but he climbed over the mountains with bare feet, and the soles of his feet were worn out.
Encountered by rioting soldiers, burning, killing, and looting, Li Zhongqian ran for his life with Yaoying on his back. He hadn't practiced martial arts for a few years, and he was still a child.
Once Yaoying fell off his back.
The sound of horse hooves rang in her ears, Yaoying lay on the grass without making a sound.
Li Zhongqian, who was fleeing, quickly found out that she was gone. When he turned around, he saw her surrounded by the chaotic army, his eyes were splitting.
The other refugees who fled together shouted at Li Zhongqian: "Silly boy! Run! Run!"
Yaoying was lying on the ground, screaming in her heart: run, brother, run!
Li Zhongqian did not run.
Without even a moment's hesitation, he resolutely turned around and ran towards her, ignoring the gleaming spear, and threw himself on her, protecting her under him.
They narrowly escaped, and Li Zhongqian was only slightly injured.
The refugees scolded Li Zhongqian for being stupid: "This time you are lucky, you will die sooner or later with this sick child on your back!"
Li Zhongqian did not speak with a sullen face, hugged Yaoying, and fed her the only piece of cake on his body.
Yaoying refused to eat, she knew that she was a burden to her brother, who hadn't eaten for several days.
Li Zhongqian's face was gloomy, he opened Yaoying's mouth, broke the cake a little and fed it into her mouth: "Xiao Qi, be good, brother won't leave you."
Yaoying cried and shook her head.
Li Zhongqian pinched her chin, his long and narrow phoenix eyes stared at her without blinking, his eyes gloomy: "Xiao Qi, listen carefully, you are not a burden to brother, brother will definitely take you home. You are alive. , brother will take you back, if you die, brother will carry you back. So you have to live well, understand?"
The five-year-old Yaoying was moved and a little scared. She wiped away her tears and took a few bites of the cake. The remaining half was passed on to Li Zhongqian: "Brother, eat too."
Li Zhongqian took the cake, but still didn't eat it, and hid it in his sleeve.
That small piece of cake was left to Yaoying in the end.
…
After so many years, Yaoying's eyes were still red when she recalled all the things she had done when she ran for her life.
"Sanlang, if you have a brother who treats you like this, will you sacrifice yourself to save him when he is in danger?"
Zheng Jing's eyes were slightly red, and he nodded.
Yaoying smiled: "Back then, my brother thought about taking me and my mother away... But he was only eleven years old, and my mother needed meticulous care, and I was very sick. When I was living abroad, I stopped taking medicine, so I couldn't go to the ground. , brother every time he passed a square market, he went to ask Langzhong to help me see a doctor. We didn't have the diagnosis fee, and we couldn't afford the medicine. Those people naturally wouldn't treat me, and brother was very self-blame..."
Eleven-year-old Li Zhongqian understood that he could not give Yao Ying a stable life by himself.
Just like what Li De's staff said after they returned to Wei County: Erlang, only by staying in Wei County, can the wife and the daughter-in-law be safe and smooth in the turbulent times, and can they have a steady stream of expensive medicinal herbs to recuperate their bodies.
Yao Ying lowered her head and gently pulled Zheng Jing's hand away: "Brother is afraid that he won't be able to protect me and A-Niang, so he doesn't dare to keep a low profile and put on a shirt to lead the troops in battle, but his identity is a taboo among saints, and he can't be like others. The prince is free to emerge like that, he is not going in, he is not going to retreat, he just let go of the waves and go with the flow, even so, he still made my mother and I feel comfortable all these years."
She is not Li De's favorite princess, but who dares to bully her in Beijing
Yaoying raised her head and her eyes were firm: "Brother is in trouble now, I want to save him, no matter what the price is."
"I won't go with you."
Zheng Jing was speechless and lowered his hands in despair.
After a long while, he raised his trembling hand: "I will send the princess to the balcony."
Yaoying smiled at him and shook her head: "No, this road, I will go by myself."
Zheng Jing opened his mouth and said nothing. He stood there and watched the woman he admired as he stepped onto the long steps. The slender figure gradually disappeared into the boundless twilight.
On the terrace and the high pavilion, Gongchou staggered, laughter and laughter.
The twilight is gradually sinking, and hundreds of candles have been lit in the pavilion. The lamp trees are scattered, and the candles are brilliant, like a sky full of stars falling to the ground, and the Milky Way is brilliant.
However, when Yaoying walked into the curtained pavilion with her head in a high bun and dressed in fancy clothes, the candlelight that filled the room was instantly eclipsed.
Everyone at the table stopped talking and stared at her blankly.
The leaders of the Zhuhu tribes on the side of the main seat even knocked over the wine bowl, stunned.
Yao Ying rushed to her line of sight in the face of countless tides, her eyes were quiet, and she walked to the front of the seat step by step.