The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 29 The scorching sun in July, gorgeous clothes

It was just after Chen hour, and the Tianjie facing the Zhuque Gate of Taiji Palace was still busy with traffic. The trucks coming in from outside the city were mixed with the pedestrians and horses pouring out of the streets. Among the people, there were Chang'an locals wearing hooded hats and Hufu, as well as Hu people who spoke fluent Chang'an dialect, and they were shouting at each other. The greeting was joking, and another complaint was that the heat this summer is really ridiculous.

This summer in the fourth year of Yonghui's reign was indeed ridiculously hot. It seems that after the bustle of Lin Yi Guo Xiang Xiang stall at the end of April, the temperature started to get hotter, and it didn’t even rain a decent amount until July. At this time, the bright sun shone on this surprisingly wide sky street, making it difficult for people to open their eyes, and the locust trees on both sides of the road became more and more listless.

The carriage Liuli was riding in turned eastward at the north side of Kaihuafang. She lifted the curtain and looked at the Suzaku Gate disappearing behind the wall of the square. She suddenly felt a little frustrated: She had been in Chang'an for three and a half years, and she didn't even know the appearance of Taiji Palace. Haven't seen it clearly. If Mrs. Wu hadn't insisted that she go to Wu's house to look at the newly made dresses, she probably wouldn't have even been able to catch a glimpse of them.

In the past two months, her life has finally become stable. In addition to enduring two critical glances and harsh words from Liu's maid, she doesn't even need to see outsiders. She usually doesn't paint patterns or embroider in the studio. He spent time at home with his aunt Shi and Qiniang, and even learned a few tricks of female red from Qiniang. Although the An family is also a large family, the sons have separated into households and are independent, and the mistress has a very high status. The concubines are no different from the maids and rarely appear in the house, so daily life is very simple and quiet. Liuli was enjoying herself, but occasionally she remembered the screen from "Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night" and wondered whether it had entered the palace.

I remember that two months ago, Mrs. Wu was overjoyed when she saw the painting. She was also quite shocked when she heard that the beautiful calligraphy was by Pei Xingjian. Fortunately, she was not unhappy, but asked about it with great interest. Fan Bian sighed: "She came from a well-known family, but she became what she is now. This good word is really buried." This made Liuli's impression of her a little better.

It’s just that this lady seems to have become busy recently. She only met Liuli once half a month ago. Liuli noticed that she seemed to want to say something but kept silent several times. Liuli was so puzzled that she felt a little bit uncomfortable about this meeting. Get excited.

The carriage she was riding in quickly drove into Xuanyangfang, which is close to Dongshi City. After passing through the intersection, it slowed down in front of a rather large mansion. Liuli glanced outside and saw the aconite head. The door was closed tightly, and the slaves on both sides stood a little listlessly. The carriage did not stop, but followed the outer wall to a small door in the northeast. The driver stopped the horse, and the maid who brought the carriage to pick up Liuli smiled sarcastically and said: "From this door to my wife's house." The yard is closer and more convenient.”

Liuli nodded hurriedly: "That's great. Walking far in this weather is really painful."

The maid also laughed, and walked in with Liuli affectionately. Not far after entering the door, there is a lake in front of you, with blue stone banks and low hanging willows. The east side of the lake is full of white lotus flowers, which are graceful and graceful, with a pleasant fragrance. When the maid saw Liuli looking at it a few more times, she smiled and said, "This white lotus is extremely rare. Not many people outside the palace can have it."

Isn’t it just white lotus? Is it also a tribute-level rarity at this time? Liuli didn't feel comfortable asking, so she just gave a few compliments. Walking west along the bluestone path beside the pond, she turned south in front of a pavilion. After walking about a stone's throw, she saw an inconspicuous courtyard. Walking into the door, I saw that the layout of the courtyard was ordinary. There were wing rooms on both sides, and in the middle were five small main rooms with double eaves and carved pillars, which were quite exquisite.

The maid made an announcement and took Liuli directly into the west room of the upper room. In the middle of the room was a floor-to-ceiling Chinese couch with screens on three sides and several layers of pink gauze curtains as soft as smoke. , it looked like a gauze pavilion. Mrs. Wu only wore a chest-length skirt, revealing a large area of ​​snow-white skin, and a gauze shirt outside. She was lazily leaning on the couch. When she saw Liuli, she waved and smiled and said, "Come here and sit down." ”

Liuli couldn't help but secretly praise it, what a picture of Begonia sleeping in spring! He walked over with a smile and found a place not far or near her to sit down with his legs spread out. Looking carefully, I saw that the couch was covered with a thin bamboo mat made of green silk, which was refreshing and cool. There was also a jade basin carved into lotus leaves in the corner, filled with ice cubes. The life inside the tent was better than outside. Two degrees lower.

Mrs. Wu smiled and said: "I originally wanted to go to the West Market to find you, but I am most afraid of the heat. It has been really hot these days, so I can only bother you to make this trip. Is it too hot on the way? Fortunately, I am not here now. It's convenient for you to live in Helan Mansion."

Liuli shook her head and smiled: "It's okay." In fact, when it comes to hotness, Chang'an a thousand years ago was not too hot. I think she survived the 40-degree high temperature every summer. Now this so-called " What does the heat mean? Moreover, her current physique is not afraid of heat. As long as she stays indoors, she will hardly even sweat.

When Mrs. Wu saw that Liuli was still wearing a plain long skirt with a tightly buttoned collar and no traces of sweat on her face, she sighed with envy. Then she thought of the topic of the day and hurriedly asked someone to get those new shirts. Come over.

 Seeing those pieces of clothing, Liuli couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth. After agreeing to design clothes and embroidery samples for Wu Zetian, she suddenly discovered that this was actually a good opportunity to make those legendary dresses according to her own imagination. And now, these famous Tang Dynasty costumes and neon clothes appeared vividly in front of her eyes: the six pieces of green silk were cut into lotus leaf skirts, the ones with red brocade and gold threads were heavily embroidered with Baidie pomegranate skirt, the Yuezhou skirts The looming silver cloud pattern in the silk damask is a moonlight skirt, and the light apricot-colored Luo shirt with gold phoenix embroidered on the left breast and silver goose embroidered on the right breast is "The Luo shirt is heavily embroidered with leaves, gold phoenix and silver goose." A bunch of”…

Liuli gently caressed these exquisite dresses that emerged from her own design sketches, and she felt the joy of a dream come true. Fashion design in the dyeing and weaving department is a required course. Naturally, she once had the dream of becoming a fashion designer. These clothes, which are as beautiful as works of art, are her true design products - not to mention that they will be worn by such an unparalleled figure. On a female model!

Mrs. Wu also sighed: "It's really hard for you to figure it out. Those pictures you drew are really beautiful, but I don't know how they will look like. Is there anything that needs to be changed?"

Liuli shook her head and smiled: "It's better than I thought." The embroidery tailoring of this era has a kind of sophistication that later generations can't match, so that the final product surprised her as a designer. Mrs. Wu smiled and said: "That's good. I'll give it to my sister in two days. If she doesn't wear it, she won't be able to wear it anymore!" Then she said with a slightly apologetic smile: "I never told you about it. , my sister, she is a noble person in the palace. "

 Can't wear these clothes... Could it be that Wu Zetian is pregnant with dragon seed again? Liuli thought secretly, with a hint of surprise on his face. He exclaimed a few words casually, then smiled bitterly as if he was remembering something: "It's strange that Madam Wei would come to her door! If so, Madam must keep it a secret for Liuli." , If that person knew that these clothes were made by Liuli, Liuli would not be killed by her finger! "

Liuli had solemnly mentioned this matter twice before starting to draw the clothes. After hearing what she said was pitiful, Mrs. Wu naturally agreed. She also said some gossip about not being rigid in the future, and suddenly whispered: "Do you know Who was that screen given to last time?" Liuli's heart moved, and she raised her eyes and looked at Mrs. Wu blankly, waiting for her next words. As expected, she smiled and whispered: "It's for the current Holy One!"

Liuli exclaimed in unison and stood up, "Why didn't you tell me earlier, madam? How could my little skills have caught the eye of a saint?"

Mrs. Wu hurriedly said: "Why are you panicking? He... The Holy One likes you very much. He originally said that he would reward you. I heard that you are not an official, so that's all. But Pei Xingjian is actually a good man, and the Holy One took a fancy to him at a glance. After hearing about his handwriting and his life experience, he sighed and asked someone to reward him with some pieces of plain silk and let him copy the "Selected Works". It only took Pei Xingjian more than a month to copy it. The whole "Selected Works" was presented to him, and the Holy One couldn't put it down. He summoned him to see him again, and I heard that the response was very appropriate. Now he has been promoted to the rank of Julang, and he has really reached the sky in one step!"

That screen really worked! Liuli's eyes suddenly lit up, just... "Qi Julang?"

Mrs. Wu smiled and said: "It is the sixth-grade official who follows the Holy One to record the Holy One's words and deeds in daily life. The most noble one is. Chu Xiang held this position during the reign of the late Emperor. The Holy One also said that he finally found a Mo Shu who could communicate with Chu. Comparable to ministers."

Having been promoted, and being an official next to the emperor, Liuli couldn't help but smile, "It shows that good intentions are rewarded in this world, and it was because of his enthusiasm and willingness to help others that he had this opportunity."

Mrs. Wu was a little worried that she would feel resentful, but seeing her smiling calmly, she couldn't help but sigh: "Everyone has their own fate, it would be great if you were an official, but I'm afraid this reward is not Pei Xingjian alone, with your talent and appearance, it is reasonable to invite you into the palace. "

 Enter the palace? What a joke! Liuli said hurriedly: "Madam, I'm so grateful. What does Liuli's skill mean? Besides, I have the most lazy temperament. I feel uncomfortable in places with more rules. Let alone the palace, I feel flustered just thinking about it."

Mrs. Wu covered her mouth and laughed, and then said after a while: "How come your temper is exactly the same as mine? In fact, the palace is not as bluffing as you think. Seriously, the etiquette in the palace is more lax than those of the Wang family and the Cui family today. "The emperor is very kind-hearted now, but the queen is very well-behaved."

Liuli nodded hurriedly and said: "Liuli has experienced the style of Mrs. Wei, so she can imagine a little bit."

Mrs. Wu couldn't help but laughed again, and pointed at Liuli's forehead and said: "So you are also dishonest." When she laughed, her expression was exceptionally innocent and bright, but the waves in her chest were so tempting that Liuli couldn't bear it in her heart. She sighed secretly, "You are such a beauty, no wonder Gaozong wanted to steal it!"

The two were talking and laughing when they heard the sound of soft footsteps. A maid came in through the curtain, bowed respectfully and said: "I have met Madam. The old lady heard that Madam Kudi is here and wants to invite Madam to meet her. "

 (End of this chapter)