A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

Jiuzhu waited and waited at the window every day, and finally waited until the peach blossoms were in full bloom.

Early in the morning, she changed into the new clothes sent by the Shangyi Bureau, lay on the bed and poked King Chen with her hands: "Your Highness, ?? Your Highness, ?? It's dawn."

King Chen opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at the window where only a faint ray of morning light climbed in, and laid his face on the quilt.

"His Royal Highness, get up." Jiuzhu looked at him eagerly, the peach blossoms were blooming in spring, and it was time to go to paint.

King Chen pointed to his cheek: "I can't get up, so I need a little pig to kiss me before I get up."

Jiuzhu threw himself on top of him and slapped his face: "Now I can get up."

King Chen rolled over and got up from the bed.

Why get out of bed, why stay in bed?? After marrying Jiuzhu, he has all changed.

Seeing this scene, the eunuchs and maids serving in the house all smiled and turned away, waiting for the prince and princess to clean up.

There is a peach forest in the palace,?? But other people in the palace dare not go here at will, because there is a rumor circulating in the palace that this peach forest is specially planted by His Majesty for Empress Su.

King Chen remembered that when he was very young, there was this peach forest in the palace, and he didn't know where this rumor came from.

The palace maid and eunuch arranged the tables, chairs, benches, pen, ink, paper and inkstone in the peach forest. King Chen glanced at Jiuzhu and asked all the palace maids and eunuchs to retreat: "This king and the princess are painting here, and I don't like being disturbed by others, so you all stay away."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Why do scholars think that peach blossoms are frivolous and beautiful?" Jiuzhu reached out and caught a few falling peach petals: "They are obviously gorgeous and not vulgar, and the fruit is still sweet and delicious."

"Some people dislike the lack of lotus flowers, some people dislike the charming fragrance of osmanthus flowers, and naturally there are also people who dislike the beauty of peach blossoms." King Chen adjusted the ink color: "People are similar to flowers, and those who don't like them can pick out thousands of mistakes. , even if it is a disadvantage, it can be exaggerated as an advantage.”

"The flowers are just blooming there, why would they ever care about what others say about them?" King Chen did not paint peach blossoms, but painted a girl with only a few strokes. Although the girl has no facial features, his love for this girl, already on the paper.

"People in the world are always high above the ground, and even fictional flowers, birds, insects and fish are transformed into adults, and they are infatuated with them." King Chen smiled and looked up at Jiuzhu, and drew a peach blossom on the girl's hand: "It's a human being or a flower, if you don't understand Change your sincerity for your sincerity, what you can get from the top is only..."

He drew a picture of himself beside the girl, and the two stood hand in hand.

"There is nothing but nothingness." Jiu Zhu added the last sentence. She put down the pen in her hand and squeezed to his side: "Your Highness, are you painting us?"

"Yes, you and me." King Chen traced the peach blossoms and handed her the pen: "Come on, come and paint."

Jiu Zhu took the pen, looked at the painting carefully, and said earnestly, "His Royal Highness's painting today is exceptionally good."

"Huh?" King Chen asked with a smile, "How do you say it?"

"More... vivid." Jiuzhu carefully painted and colored: "I don't know how to describe it, but it just feels very good."

King Chen smiled, and then the smile was stunned. He looked at himself and Jiuzhu on the painting, and immediately understood.

Jiuzhu's judgment on the quality of painting may be different from that of many people.

Through the paintings, she saw the emotions of the painters.

When he painted Jiuzhu, he didn't think about anything, he just thought that such a beautiful scenery would be a beautiful scenery with her. She was already on the painting, how could he not be by his side, so he added himself.

Painting with love.

Was it the same with the few paintings she gave herself in the past? She painted the most beautiful scenery and best wishes in her heart and gave them to him.

At this moment, King Chen realized that he was no different from any layman in the world. Flowers and plants don't care what the world thinks of them, but he feels high above that, the thousands of beautiful flowers in the world are not as good as Ming Xiaozhu's brows and smiles at him.

"I didn't know that the prince and the princess were painting here, but the old man disturbed them."

Jiuzhu put the pen aside and turned to look at the person who came: "Taifei Niangniang."

"Drawing under the rain of peach blossoms, this peach blossom forest is not as beautiful as the two of them side by side." Concubine Zhao touched the cat in her arms and looked at the peach forest with nostalgia: "I haven't been to this peach blossom forest for a long time. "

"Concubine Zhao knows the origin of this peach forest?" King Chen took the stool and put it next to Concubine Zhao, and Jiu Zhu helped her to sit down slowly.

"Of course I do." Concubine Zhao smiled: "Before the old man entered the palace, his ancestors were brewers, and the best brewer was Peach Blossom Drunken. Because of his looks, he was taken into the palace by the emperor and was brought into the palace. In order to coax I am happy, the late emperor planted a peach blossom here."

Jiuzhu's eyes widened: "This peach forest was actually planted by the late emperor for you?"

"Yeah." Speaking of the late emperor, Concubine Zhao's tone was a little cold: "But there is no shortage of women in the harem. The late emperor can plant a peach forest for me, as well as pear forests, apricot forests, and chrysanthemum gardens for other women."

In her eyes, Jiuzhu didn't see any happiness, maybe even entering the palace was not what she wanted.

"Come." Concubine Zhao handed the cat to King Chen, and gently held Jiuzhu's hand: "I'll show you something good."

"One, two...eight." Concubine Zhao took Jiuzhu and walked slowly in the peach forest, until she reached the eighth peach tree. She bent down tremblingly, ready to dig the things below.

"Tiffany, what do you want to dig, let me come." Jiuzhu quickly supported her: "I am strong."

"Okay." Concubine Zhao smiled.

King Chen asked the palace servant to bring a shovel and put the cat in Jiuzhu: "Don't let the soil dirty you.

shoes and socks, here I come. "

Concubine Zhao looked at this scene with a smile, with infinite love in her eyes.

Soon, King Chen dug out two jars from it.

"Wine?" King Chen took the jar out of the pit and turned to look at Concubine Zhao: "Is this wine brewed by Concubine Zhao?"

The concubine squatted down on her knees and brushed the soil off the jar with her hands: "I entered the palace at the age of fifteen, and these two jars of wine were brewed when I was eighteen. This year, I'm already sixty-eight, so I won't dig them up any more. Come out, I'm afraid that these two jars of wine will have no chance of being unearthed again."

There were faint tears in her turbid and old eyes: "Many, many years ago, I promised a person that I would brew two jars of wine for him myself."

"Unfortunately, when I was eighteen, he died."

He and she were childhood sweethearts, and when they were married, she promised to make two jars of peach blossom for him, and drink it together when they got married.

But she was forced into the palace by the late emperor, and he was so sad that he died of illness in just three years.

He died, her family died, and in the end even her family was gone. She was left alone, and they fought in this world. In the end, there was only one cat to accompany.

If King Chen and Princess Chen hadn't sent the cat back to her, maybe she would have lost the cat too.

"Meow." The fat cat rubbed on Jiuzhu and jumped into the arms of Concubine Zhao.

When Jiuzhu saw that Concubine Zhao was holding the cat and trying to stand up, she quickly went to help her.

"There is Princess Lao." Concubine Zhao smiled at Jiuzhu: "If Your Highness and Princess don't dislike it, then take these two jars of wine back to drink."

"May the two white heads stay together." Concubine Zhao looked at King Chen: "Don't give up."

"Taifei." Jiuzhu said: "In a few days, it will be Qingming, I..."

"Princess." Concubine Zhao interrupted Jiuzhu with a smile: "In this palace, there have been many sad stories of women, and my old age is only the insignificant one. When I am old, it doesn't matter whether I worship or not."

She couldn't even remember the appearance of the young man, but only remembered that he smiled very nicely, and his voice was always soft when calling her name.

"In the past year, my memory has been getting worse and worse. I'm afraid that if I don't talk to anyone about him, I'll forget him." Zhao Taifei stroked the cat's head: "Princess, please remember what I said. "

"Don't sympathize with the women in the palace easily." Concubine Zhao looked back at King Chen, who was bending over to fill the pit: "Especially young and beautiful women."

Jiuzhu chuckled and shook her head: "Tiffany, I don't care."

Concubine Zhao looked at her.

"Young and beautiful women are not scary, what is scary is that men can't be single-minded." Jiuzhu picked a peach blossom and pinned it on Zhao Taifei's silver hair: "Today's Taifei Empress is still in her 18th good years."

Concubine Zhao smiled, with a particularly relieved smile: "I have lived for nearly seventy years, but I am not as good as you."

Walking to the painting table, Concubine Zhao looked at the painting on the table and said with emotion: "This painting is really beautiful. I remember that the current owner of the Du family, Du Qingke, once painted peach blossoms on the spot at the palace banquet held by the late emperor."

"You may not be familiar with this person." Concubine Zhao picked up the pen and wrote the words Du Qingke on the paper: "He is the uncle of Princess Jing, and he was very fond of the late emperor because of his good painting skills when he was young."

"I never read a book when I was young, so the words are ugly." Zhao Taifei put down her pen and said to King Chen, who came over, "I made the prince and princess laugh."

"The concubine's words have been written very well." King Chen looked at the three words Du Qingke on the paper, and bowed to her: "Thank you, the concubine, for the wine."

"When people are old, they don't like to move. Today, I sent the wine out, and I have a problem with my old body." Concubine Zhao made a mess of the three words Du Qingke: "I spent fifty years in this palace. Over the years, I have seen the ups and downs of life and death, and I have long developed a temperament that does not care about things. The lord drank the peach blossom drunk, and if the taste is still good, he will come to Laoshen and get the recipe of the peach blossom drunk."

"Thank you Concubine."

"No need to say thank you." Concubine Zhao smiled: "Although the old man is confused, but I have taken care of your mother and son for more than ten years, and you can't forget your roots. When you are old, people get tired easily, and it is time for the old man to go back."

"Taifei, I will send you." Jiuzhu carefully supported Zhao Taifei.

"How can you disturb the princess and the prince's painting?"

"The peach blossoms will not be exhausted in one day. If you don't paint today, there will be tomorrow." Jiuzhu smiled: "I can rest assured when I accompany you back to the palace."

"Then there is Princess Lao." Concubine Zhao patted Jiuzhu's hand supporting her arm, and the warmth in her eyes was even stronger.

"Meow." The fat cat seemed to be afraid of pressing the old concubine, so he jumped into Jiuzhu's arms again, picked a comfortable position, and lay down lazily.

The old lady touched its head: "It knows who can hold it firmly."

"As expected of a cat raised by a concubine, it's really smart."

Lingzhou.

The messenger ran away several horses, climbed several mountains, and walked along the sheep intestines path for a long time, and finally found the small Taoist temple in the old forest deep in the mountains, which was more than half hidden by the trees.

It seems that the Taoist temple has not been visited for a long time. Weeds grow all around, and the walls are mottled and peeled. Some weeds are firmly rooted on the rubble and dance in the mountain wind.

The messenger couldn't help but wonder, is such a broken Taoist view really able to live?

What did the Ming family think, to send their biological daughter to such a place?

Even if you don't starve to death, you're not afraid that the jackal, tiger and leopard will take the child away?

"I am under the order of the princess to send a letter to the master. May I ask if the master is available?"

"who?"

The shabby wooden door of the Taoist temple opened, and a woman in a green robe walked out. The woman was neither fat nor thin.

She is amiable, but for some reason, no one can guess her age.

"On the order of the princess, I will deliver the letter." The messenger stepped on the weeds, walked to the woman, and handed the thick envelope to the woman.

The woman looked at the letter in his hand, glanced over the word "Ming Jiuzhu", and reached out to receive the letter: "What else did Miss Ming say?"

"The princess said that you will understand after reading the letter." The messenger bowed: "Wait at the foot of the mountain for two days, and come to visit in two days."

The woman looked at him: "It seems that the person sent by the Ming family to deliver the letter in the past is not you."

"I'm not someone from Mingfu, because the princess is kind to me, so I sent this letter for the princess."

The messenger knows that monks are the most simple and easy to deceive, especially such monks who are in the mountains and forests and do not have contact with outsiders.

"So it is." The woman nodded: "I understand."

When the messenger left, another woman in a gray robe flew down from the tree, and without even opening the letter, she sneered: "Although the words are a bit like nine beads, when will she send us a letter, it's not a big bag. Pack a bunch of stuff back in the small bag?"

The woman in green robe opened the letter, and a picture fell out of the letter.

The woman in the painting is in a deep palace, with tears streaming down her face but unable to escape. The whole painting is expressing the meaning of asking for help to them.

"Just this broken painting... The liar is too embarrassed to say that it was painted by us Jiuzhu?" The green-robed woman was shocked.