We are all princes, who doesn't have a fighting spirit?
Prince Huai turned his head to look at Prince An who was laughing foolishly, then withdrew his gaze expressionlessly. This was an exception.
Because the prince's previous behavior was too absurd, many of the officials accompanying him were worried that he would fail at the critical moment.
Prayers
If I can memorize the "Nong Sang Ji", I should have no problem reciting the entire prayer, right?
When the dragon chariot arrived at the Circular Mound, everyone felt relieved when they saw the solemn expression of the King, who was graceful in every move and steady in every gesture. Holding incense in his hands, he slowly ascended the jade steps.
The four princes stood in the front row, looking up at Yun Duqing's back as he stepped step by step to the highest point, with different feelings.
Perhaps what he stepped on was not the jade steps of the Circular Mound, but their restless hearts.
"Miss, are you planning to leave the palace?" Chunfen saw Jiuzhu change out of her luxurious palace dress and put on a narrow-sleeved plain skirt.
"Yes, I have already informed my mother." Jiuzhu nodded, took off the jade bracelet and gold ring on her wrist, took off her Feixian bun, and combed her hair into a simple Yuanbao bun: "I will be back before dark."
Chunfen then noticed that there were several female guards in tight-sleeved clothes standing outside the door. These women had firm expressions and sharp eyes, and it was obvious that they were not ordinary people.
"I'll go with you." Chunfen was a little worried.
"It's okay. You don't have to worry with these powerful girls by your side." Jiuzhu said with a smile, "There are many things to do in Qilin Palace now, and you can't do it without me."
"Then you must be careful." Chunfen helped Jiuzhu tie the purse: "Go early and come back early."
"Don't worry, Sister Chunfen." Jiuzhu picked up the wine altar on the table, walked out the door and said to the female guards, "Thank you for your help, ladies."
"I dare not. Princess, you are too polite." The leading female guard took the wine pot from Jiuzhu and said, "Please."
The rain had not stopped yet, and Jiuzhu took a carriage to the suburbs. Large areas of dead grass covered the top of the mountain, and tender green grass leaves squeezed out from the gaps in the dead grass. When the wind blew, the leaves swayed left and right.
"Princess, we've arrived." The guard checked the surroundings and confirmed that there were no assassins hiding nearby before walking to the carriage and letting Jiuzhu get off.
Not far from the carriage, there was an isolated grave. If it weren't for the weeds that showed signs of being mowed, people would have thought it was just a small mound of earth.
Jiuzhu held up the umbrella, picked up the wine altar with one hand, walked to the grave, and carefully read the words on the tombstone. The words carved on the tombstone were already weathered and mottled, and he could barely recognize his date of birth and death and his name.
The owner of the tomb is named Changsheng.
His name was Changsheng, but he died at the age of nineteen.
Jiuzhu looked at the lonely grave and placed the wine jar filled with peach blossom wine in front of the tombstone.
The rain fell on the wine jar, slid down to the ground, and left a long water mark on the jar, like human tears.
"Master said that meeting is destiny. I heard the story of Concubine Zhao and got her wine, so I came to see you on her behalf." Jiuzhu handed the umbrella to the guard, bent down to pull out the dead grass beside, lit some incense, and hung a string of paper money on the grave.
There were no offerings in front of the grave, and almost no ashes from burning paper money. It seemed that few people came to worship him.
"Doctor Yu said that Concubine Zhao's health was very bad and she had no desire to live." Jiuzhu squatted in front of the tomb, looking at the word "eternal life", and lit paper money and gold ingots: "Don't blame her, she had no choice under the power of the tyrant."
"It's a great thing to be able to persevere for what your heart desires." Jiuzhu threw the prepared paper money into the burning fire little by little: "You and the Concubine Queen are both great people. You died of sadness for her, and she persisted in living for you. Sometimes, dying is easy, but living is difficult."
"There are so many beautiful things in this world. If there is an afterlife..." Jiuzhu chuckled and said, "I hope you can become husband and wife, love each other forever, and grow old together."
Although it was a rainy day, the paper money burned very vigorously, just like Changsheng's deep love for Concubine Zhao.
The master said that her personality was not suitable for practicing Taoism because her heart was in the mortal world and could not be freed. That was why she had been praying for her benefactors in front of the statues of the gods all these years and would never learn to let go.
The paper money and gold ingots burned out. Jiuzhu looked at the ashes and couldn't help thinking that if someone in the world hurt Her Highness, she would rather die with him than let him be proud.
She rubbed her face, threw away the messy thoughts in her mind, and sighed deeply. The master was right, her character was indeed not suitable for cultivation.
"Princess, someone is coming this way."
Jiuzhu stood up and looked sideways, and saw a woman holding a little girl in her left hand, carrying a basket in her right hand, and walking towards them with difficulty while holding a somewhat worn oil-paper umbrella.
"Don't hold me back. I've seen her before. She's the storyteller in the teahouse."
The storyteller was holding her daughter and saw a carriage that only nobles could ride in the wilderness, along with a group of female guards wearing armor and carrying swords. She was so scared that she held her daughter in her arms and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Could it be that something she said about the book made the listeners dissatisfied?
If you don't like the book, you can just choose not to listen to it, or pay her more money to change the content. But bringing your subordinates to attack her is too much.
A storyteller’s life is also a life.
"Madam." Jiuzhu saw that the madam and the child in her arms were frightened, so she walked up to her and asked, "Do you still recognize me?"
Of course the female teacher recognized Jiuzhu. If she had not taken money from this young lady to tell the story of the Domineering Prince, the Domineering Prince series would not have become so popular throughout the capital.
Who can forget his God of Wealth?
"You're joking, young lady. How could I not remember you?" Seeing the familiar person, the lady's nervousness subsided a lot. She secretly looked at the other people around her and asked carefully, "Are these people brought by young lady?"
"They were sent by the elders in my family to protect me. They never hurt innocent people. Don't be afraid, sir."
The female teacher loosened her daughter's hand, which was tightly held, and said, "So that's how it is. I wonder why you came here, young lady?"
She saw that in front of her great-uncle's tomb there were not only incense, candles, paper money, but also a pot of wine.
"Girl, are you an old acquaintance of my great-uncle?" The female teacher looked at Jiuzhu in surprise, wondering why she came to clean her great-uncle's grave.
"He is your great uncle?" Jiuzhu saw that the lady did not look hypocritical, so she followed her back to the tomb.
"Yes." The storyteller placed the offerings in the basket, hung paper flowers on the grave, unwrapped the pile of paper money, and lit them in front of the grave: "My uncle passed away very early, and I never met him. Grandpa said that my uncle had promised to be with a winemaker for life, and even set a date for the wedding, but the winemaker was taken away by a nobleman. Since then, my uncle has been ill and was still chanting the winemaker's name before he died."
"My uncle died before he was 20, leaving us with nothing to do. He never married and had no children, so he couldn't be buried in the ancestral tomb." The storyteller sighed, "In order to let my uncle be buried in the ancestral tomb, my great-grandfather originally planned to let my eldest uncle adopt a child under my uncle's name. But that night, my uncle appeared in my great-grandfather's dream and said that he only wanted to have children with the brewer, and begged my great-grandfather not to adopt other children to him."
"After my great-grandfather and great-grandmother passed away, no one came to burn incense for them." The storyteller took out a sickle from her basket and skillfully cut the newly grown grass on the grave cleanly. Her daughter followed her mother and carried the cut grass aside.
"I'm a storyteller, and I often make up stories of life and death for my guests. I know that there are true love and hate separations among the elders. I can't just watch him lying here alone." The storyteller walked to the tombstone and glanced at the wine pot: "My husband is dead anyway. My husband's family said it's unlucky for a widow to go to the grave. My wife's family said that if a married woman returns to her parents' home to worship her ancestors, it will affect the fortunes of her brothers. I'm here to burn incense for him, and no one will say anything bad."
"He has no descendants to worship him, and I cannot burn incense for other elders, so no one can dislike anyone." The storyteller saw Jiuzhu holding an umbrella to protect her daughter from the wind and rain, and smiled at her: "Thank you, young lady."
"An elder in my family is an old acquaintance of the old gentleman." Jiuzhu handed the umbrella to the little girl and bent down to open the seal on the wine jar: "This wine was brewed by the elder specially for the old gentleman. It was buried under the peach tree for decades and only saw the light of day a few days ago. I took the initiative to bring it here to fulfill the elder's intention."
The wine was poured out of the jar onto the mottled tombstone, and the entire tomb was enveloped in the aroma of wine.
"Mom, it smells like peach blossoms." The little girl sniffed and looked curiously at the wine pot in Jiuzhu's hand.
The female storyteller said nothing, but just watched Jiuzhu pour out the entire pot of wine.
After Jiuzhu placed the wine altar next to the tombstone, the storyteller spoke: "Miss, if it is convenient, can you give us a ride on the way back to the city?"
The guards looked at the storyteller and did not say anything to stop her.
"Okay." Jiuzhu smiled. "The roads are slippery on rainy days. I'm worried about you and your daughter going back alone."
"Thank you, young lady." The storyteller bowed deeply to Jiuzhu.
After Jiuzhu and the storyteller's mother and daughter got into the carriage, two female guards followed and got into the carriage, just separating the mother and daughter from Jiuzhu.
Along the way, the storyteller did not ask Jiuzhu about her identity until she got off the carriage. She suddenly said, "Miss, please wait for a moment. I have something left by my great uncle. Please give it to your elder."
Jiuzhu nodded: "Okay."
After the storyteller and his daughter got off the carriage, the guard bowed to Jiuzhu and said, "I entered the carriage without the princess's permission. Please punish me."
"You entered the carriage to protect me, what's wrong with that?" Jiuzhu smiled sweetly at the two of them: "I'm sorry for the trouble."
The two female guards blushed when they saw the princess' sweet and lovely smile: "This is our duty."
No wonder the prince and the queen both like the princess. Who wouldn’t like such a lovely and considerate girl?
The storyteller came back soon, holding an old wooden box with peeling paint in her hand.
She handed the old wooden box to Jiuzhu and said, "My uncle left nothing behind except this. Take it back with you, girl."
"Thank you, sir." Jiuzhu took the old wooden box but did not open it.
"What is there to thank for?" The storyteller laughed at herself. "For someone like me who is used to telling stories about separation and death, I actually hate separation and death the most. Sometimes I really hope that lovers can finally get married, that people who promised to be together forever will never change their hearts, and that kind people will never encounter hardship. But life is full of ups and downs. A hundred years is both long and short. No matter good or bad, let's just live."
"In three days I will be telling the story of the overbearing prince and the pretty daughter in the teahouse. If there is any plot you like, I will make it up for you." The storyteller regained his usual warm and hospitable smile.
"Sorry, I can't come in three days." Jiuzhu opened the purse on her waist, took out a silver ingot from it, and put it in the storyteller's hand: "Let the prince and the beautiful lady finally get married and never change their hearts. Let the kind people in the story have a happy ending."
"Okay." The storyteller put the silver into her purse and said, "Everything will be as you wish, young lady."
Listeners are supreme nobles. As long as the money is right, any story will do.
Jiuzhu returned to the palace, changed out of her plain skirt, took the wooden box and went to the West Palace.
When she arrived at the courtyard where Concubine Zhao lived, Jiuzhu saw several old concubines wiping their tears. When they saw Jiuzhu coming, they quickly wiped their tears and forced a smile.
In the palace, crying is also taboo.
"Hello, Concubines." Jiuzhu bowed and pretended not to notice that they were crying. "How is Concubine Zhao?"
A concubine of the highest rank shook her head slowly: "Doctor Yu said that it will only take a few days."
Jiuzhu's heart sank. She looked down at the wooden box in her hand, lifted her skirt and walked quickly into the house.
Concubine Zhao, who was lying on the bed, heard footsteps and said, "But Princess Chen is here?"
"Your Highness, it's none other than Princess Chen." The nanny was too busy to greet Jiuzhu. She put down the medicine bowl in her hand and said, "The princess is here to see you."
"Help me sit up." Concubine Zhao handed her hand to the nanny. The nanny hesitated for a moment, but still followed Concubine Zhao's instructions and helped her sit against the head of the bed.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu walked to the window and sat down. As if she didn't notice the sick look on her face, she described the scenery outside the palace in a vivid voice. She then took out the storybook and read it to her.
Concubine Zhao listened quietly with a smile on her face. After Jiuzhu finished telling the story in the book, she turned her head and looked out the window: "Is it getting dark soon?"
"It's still early." Jiuzhu smiled: "Please keep me for a while. Your Highness is not in the palace today. It will be boring for me to stay in Qilin Palace alone."
"Okay, okay, you can stay as long as you want." After hearing Jiuzhu say that she would not leave immediately, Concubine Zhao's smile became more obvious. She even asked the palace maid to bring some snacks to Jiuzhu. She did not look like a person who was seriously ill and difficult to treat.
Her eyes were clear, she was in particularly good spirits, and she spoke with more force than in recent days.
"What's that box on your knees?" When she saw the paint-less wooden box on Jiuzhu's knees, a look of nostalgia appeared on her face. A long time ago, a young man she liked made a wooden box like this for her, saying that it was used to hold her jewelry.
[I will give you a piece of jewelry every year. When we have children and grandchildren, this box will be full.]
Jiuzhu stood up and put the old, paint-less wooden box in her hands: "Open it and take a look."
Concubine Zhao stared at the wooden box in a daze. She stretched out her trembling hand and stroked the mottled lacquer surface. She was speechless for a long time.
She did not rush to open the shabby box, but instead stroked the patterns on it over and over again with her hands until she touched every part of it, and then she opened the wooden box that no longer had a lock.
Inside the box, there was only a strand of hair tied with a red rope and a dusty wooden hairpin.
The red ropes had faded and were worn by the owner, who had used them to wrap her hair around and around, so even though they had faded, they had not come undone.
"May your hair last forever..." Concubine Zhao touched the red rope lightly with her fingertips. She was afraid that if she used a little force, the hair would come loose.
Her young man, her young man.
The tears dripping from her eyes, which she thought had dried up long ago, wet the hairpin. She wiped the tears off the hairpin lovingly, put it on her gray hair, and asked Jiuzhu, "Does it look good?"
"It looks good." Jiuzhu leaned over to help Concubine Zhao tidy up her hair and nodded heavily: "It looks good."
"This wooden hairpin was made by Changsheng himself." Concubine Zhao smiled and said, "That year I told him that I wanted a peach blossom hairpin. I didn't want to buy one from a store. I wanted him to make it for me personally."
"He said I was coquettish." Concubine Zhao touched her temples and said, "I didn't see the peach blossom hairpin until I entered the palace. It turns out that he hid it here."
The nanny covered her mouth and cried, and was afraid of being discovered by the concubine, so she secretly retreated to the outside.
"Before entering the palace, I cut off a lock of my hair and told him that cutting off my hair was like cutting off my love, and that I wanted him to find a girl he loved and live a good life with her." Concubine Zhao smiled, but tears kept flowing from her eyes: "This fool cut off his own hair and put it together with mine."
On the wedding night, the man and woman will each cut a strand of hair and combine them into one strand, which means they will be tied together forever.
"Is there anyone paying homage in front of his grave?" Concubine Zhao looked at Jiuzhu with clear eyes.
"Yes." Jiuzhu nodded: "There is a younger generation who goes to worship him every year."
"That's good." Concubine Zhao murmured to herself, "That's good."
Her life was ordinary and dull, but in Changsheng's eyes, she possessed the most beautiful light.
"I took the peach blossom wine you brewed to him." Jiuzhu said softly, "He must like it very much."
"Jiuzhu, thank you." Concubine Zhao gently held her hand and looked at her deeply. After a long time, she let go of her hand: "Go back, your highness, you have to go home too."
"As for me, I want to spend some quiet time with Changsheng."
"Okay." Jiuzhu stood up, bowed to Concubine Zhao again, turned around and walked slowly towards the door.
"Jiuzhu." Concubine Zhao called her.
Jiuzhu quickly turned around to look at her.
"In the royal family tree, I am only surnamed Zhao." She laughed, "Before entering the palace, I had a name, Taohua."
The peach tree is young and thriving, and its flowers are bright and beautiful.
Prince Chen returned to Qilin Palace, but did not find Jiuzhu in the yard, so he went straight to the bedroom.
There was a candlestick lit in the bedroom, but his little pig Ming was sitting by the lamp, hugging his knees with his hands, like a little puppy who had been caught in the rain and felt wronged.
At this glance, all kinds of thoughts came to his mind, and he hurriedly walked up to her: "Jiuzhu, what's wrong with you?"
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes.
"What happened? Who made you unhappy?" He reached out to wipe away the tears from her eyes, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. He held her in his arms and patted her back gently: "Tell me, I'll help you vent your anger."
He couldn't bear to say a harsh word to his little pig.
"I feel bad." Jiuzhu shook her head, her voice soft and listless: "No one bothered me."
Prince Chen sat on the stool and put her on his knees: "Okay, then tell me why you feel bad, and I will cheer you up."
Jiuzhu leaned in his arms, shaking her head and not wanting to speak.
If the late emperor had not committed any evil, how could so many innocent women have been forced into the palace?
She didn't say anything, and the Prince didn't ask any more questions. He just patted her back again and again, and rocked her knees gently, as if he was coaxing an unhappy child.
He, who had always been impatient, was infinitely gentle in front of her.
"Prince, Princess." Yang Yiduo stood outside the door and whispered, "News came from the Dowager Concubine's Palace in the west. Dowager Concubine Zhao passed away."
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