81 Skirt
◎It seems like I've never seen Yuanle wearing a skirt before.◎
Before anyone came closer, Lu Jing had already stood up.
He looked at Yuan Le, who was walking towards him as he climbed the jade steps. "Why did you leave?"
Gu Ningxi said honestly: "It's already lost value."
She had been busy all day, and Lu Jing controlled his temper and didn't go to look for her, just waiting for her free time.
But after waiting for a long time, she actually followed Huaicheng and left.
"You won't even come and say goodbye to me, or say a word?"
Gu Ningxi was silent for a moment: "...didn't we just see each other yesterday?"
"That's different. Today is today."
The sunset glowed brilliantly, casting the figures of the two together.
Even from a distance, Sun Jing could still vaguely discern the affection flowing between her eyes and brows.
He looked up at the sky, at the ground, and then at his servants who were even further away and could not see anything clearly.
He didn't even dare to breathe. We are both men, is this right?
He sneaked another peek and felt more and more that something was amiss.
Could it be that the reason His Majesty and Lord Gu argued a while ago was because...
Sun Jing's eyes darkened. Without the Emperor in the palace, no one could control His Majesty.
He didn't need to guess too much. Between His Majesty and Lord Gu, it must have been His Majesty who had the idea and took the first action.
In a daze, Sun Jing heard the emperor's order to serve the meal. He agreed. Having served for many years, his first instinct was to ask the kitchen to add two dishes that Lord Gu liked.
Lu Jing took Gu Ningxi to the side hall and said, "I'll take you back after dinner."
On her usual duty days, Gu Ningxi would usually stay in the small courtyard of Xingningfang. This was the room her family had allocated to her after she was appointed an official, making it much more convenient for her to report to the six ministries.
She had not told her mother that she was going back home for dinner when she got up in the morning, so it was okay for her to come back a little later.
As the sky gradually darkened, bright candles were lit in the side hall.
The dishes were ready. Lu Jing ordered that no one should serve them and told the servants to leave.
Sun Jing was waiting outside the palace gate, but he couldn't figure out what was going on.
Tonight's dishes were just as good as Gu Ningxi's always, but she had no appetite when she thought of the prophecy in her dream at dusk.
She raised her eyes to look at the person opposite her. His appearance inherited all the advantages of Empress Yiwen and the Supreme Emperor. He was bright and handsome, and always the most dazzling one in the crowd, showing the demeanor of a noble family.
In the candlelight, he looked much more relaxed and at ease than in his dream.
In his previous life, there was a palace coup and the Crown Prince was defeated and committed suicide. He ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother.
There were always some old ministers loyal to the deposed crown prince who fled abroad, unwilling to submit to the new court. They made a big fuss outside the temple, attacking the new emperor for his illegitimate access to the throne.
They had their own rhetoric, for example, the former crown prince was already the legitimate heir to the throne and had participated in politics for many years, so why would he take the risk of rebellion?
After all the verbal and written criticism, it must be that the current emperor framed the prince in order to seize the throne, and used his power to force the historians to change history and cover up the bloody incident of his accession to the throne.
Such remarks could have resulted in death, but he did not resort to severe punishment.
Gu Ningxi understood his intention. Since he ascended the throne, people have said that the new emperor has unified the world, worked hard day and night, governed with benevolence and benefited his people, reduced taxes and levies, and achieved both civil and military achievements.
He wanted to use his achievements as emperor to silence the people of the world and make it clear who was the true destiny.
Three to five years later, when the prosperous times began to take shape, no one mentioned the quarrel among brothers before he ascended the throne.
The ministers sang praises of his achievements and the people praised him, but the hard work involved was never forgotten.
In the past, he fought in all directions, and later he ruled the world alone. It seemed that he had never had a chance to rest in peace.
"Why aren't you talking?"
Lu Jing picked up a piece of cherry meat with chopsticks and put it on Gu Ningxi's plate. He saw that the man was just looking at him and not eating.
Gu Ningxi came back to her senses and saw the smile in his eyes, which reflected her appearance.
After dinner, it was already dark when I returned home.
Gu Ningxi originally thought that he would just send her to the palace gate, but after the carriage passed Chengtian Gate, he showed no intention of turning back.
She looked at the person next to her with amusement. He really didn't mind the trouble.
"I'm leaving."
The carriage stopped in front of the familiar courtyard, and the two lights were particularly eye-catching in the night.
It was not until Gu Ningxi entered the mansion and his figure completely disappeared in the night that Lu Jingfang turned around and ordered the carriage to return to the palace.
Then, he saw Manager Sun, who had watched him grow up since he was a child, standing beside the carriage, with an expression that looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
…
On April 11, Empress Yiwen was celebrated for her birthday, and the palace began preparations in advance.
When the retired emperor was still alive and Lu Jing ascended the throne, he added the four characters "Renqing Huimin" to his mother's posthumous title, making her the Empress Yiwen Zhenhe Renqing Huimin.
In the Lizheng Hall, Lu Jing knelt in front of his mother's portrait, holding three incense sticks in his hands.
At today's memorial service, he has something very important to tell his mother.
His sweetheart was a girl. Thinking of his previous struggles, hesitations and restlessness, Lu Jing now only hated himself for not being sharp-eyed and sharp-eared.
I don’t know what my mother felt when she saw those scenes.
Lu Jing inserted the incense into the incense burner, and when he was about to marry Yuan Le, he would formally bring her to meet his mother.
No longer a friend, but his only queen.
Lu Jing looked at the people in the painting and saw his mother's gentle smile, which must have approved of this marriage.
After the sacrificial ceremony, Lu Jing left the main hall and thought of something else.
Most of his mother's wedding dowry was left to him, filling up the three storerooms in the rear hall. There was also a separate storeroom that his mother had prepared specifically for his marriage, as a gift to her future daughter-in-law.
After being kept for many years, it finally has a place to go.
Following His Majesty's orders, Sun Jing immediately had the steward bring the key. Ever since he learned from His Majesty that Lady Gu was a girl, he had been grinning from ear to ear for the past few days.
After all, Lord Gu and Your Majesty were destined to be together. Your Majesty had protected Lord Gu since childhood, attending school together and learning archery together. Who could have imagined that they were childhood sweethearts, growing up together? This was truly a destined marriage.
If the Queen is still alive in heaven, she would surely be happy too.
The three copper locks were removed one by one, Lu Jing pushed open the warehouse door, and the manager presented two account books.
He didn't know much about women's jewelry, so he just asked someone to tell him a little bit about it.
The steward in charge of the storehouse brought out several brocade boxes for Your Majesty to examine. They contained sets of bright jade headpieces, red gold headpieces inlaid with gems, mutton-fat jade necklaces, pink jade necklaces, and pomegranate bracelets, all of which were made of top-notch materials and craftsmanship.
Even after nearly ten years, the well-cared-for gold and jade jewelry still shines as brightly as before, and many styles are still popular in Kyoto.
Lu Jing casually picked up a Hetian jade hairpin and played with it, wondering if Yuan Le would like it.
As the hairpin swayed lightly and the brilliant light flowed, Lu Jing suddenly remembered something.
In all these years, he seemed... seemed to have never seen Yuan Le wearing a skirt.
He fell into deep thought while looking at the jade hairpin, and formed a general impression based entirely on his imagination.
He called the person over and said, "I remember that Jiangnan just sent a batch of Yunjin as tribute."
Sun Jing said "yes", and 70% of the tribute satin from Jiangnan was kept in the palace, and 30% was sent to Renzhi Palace.
Your Majesty rarely cares about such trivial matters, so he followed the usual practice and asked the embroidery workshop to select some snow-blue and purple brocades for Your Majesty to make daily clothes, and the rest were stored in the warehouse.
Lu Jing was very interested: "Bring them all over here and have a look."
Yunjin is made of fine materials and is finely woven. It is named after its brilliance like clouds and is known as the "crown of brocades" and is exclusively used by the royal family.
Even if the sunlight is not strong enough, you can easily see the gorgeous and exquisite patterns on it, which is worthy of its reputation.
Lu Jing glanced at them one by one and picked out a piece of sky-blue brocade first.
He had the material, but he didn't know Yuan Le's size.
Although the court's weaving and dyeing department would keep a set of measurements when making official uniforms for Yuan Le, but it should be... Lu Jing thought again and again, there should be some difference in the size before and after the chest binding, right?
…
Gu Ningxi was unaware of His Majesty's confusion; she was only focused on the task at hand.
After being promoted from the Ministry of Works to the Secretariat, the affairs he handled were much wider.
Gu Ningxi picked up the skill of writing essays for the imperial examinations. She had spent two years in the Hanlin Academy and was very familiar with writing essays and fu.
The first three months were mainly for training, and Gu Ningxi had not yet taken over any important official duties alone.
Before he knew it, the sun had set. After reading another document that was to be kept on file, Gu Ningxi remembered that he had promised to have dinner with him tonight.
She hurriedly cleaned up the table and arrived at Ruihe Hall half a quarter of an hour late.
Lu Jing was waiting for her in front of the palace gate. Gu Ningxi gave him a guilty smile and let him hold her hand and lead her into the palace.
Anyway, we are in the inner court, so there is no need to worry about meeting any familiar colleagues.
"Are you hungry?" Lu Jing held the man's palm.
Gu Ningxi shook her head. Her mother would bring people to prepare different snacks for her every day, and she would just put one or two pieces in her mouth around noon.
When she said this, Lu Jing gave Sun Jing a slight glance, and he went to call the two embroiderers who were waiting in the side hall.
He said, "The local government has provided a lot of satin. Let's have someone measure you and make you a few summer clothes."
Gu Ningxi didn't want to go through so much trouble: "I'll write to them later."
Lu Jing said: "There are many styles, so there will be deviations."
How could Gu Ningxi not know what he was up to? "My mother made me a skirt, so I know what he was up to."
Lu Jing nodded, then immediately asked cautiously, "Have you shown it to others?"
"No," Gu Ningxi laughed, "I just tried to show it to my mother on my birthday."
"Birthday two years ago?"
Gu Ningxi was completely unprepared: "Yes."
By the time she finished speaking, it was too late to react.
Lu Jing's lips curved up and he spoke in a slow voice, "No wonder I didn't see you that day at the Marquis Xuanping's mansion."
It turned out that she had changed into a dress that prevented her from seeing him, and she made up an excuse, saying that she went out to buy a book for her sister.
Gu Ningxi said quietly, "How come your Majesty has such a good memory?"
There was a look in his eyes that seemed to demand an explanation. Gu Ningxi coughed lightly and said, "Can I wear it for Your Majesty to see someday?"
"Tomorrow," Lu Jing negotiated with her, "Tomorrow."
Gu Ningxi was supposed to be on duty in the Imperial Study tomorrow, so he said in a long voice, "Okay..."
Only then was Lu Jing reluctantly satisfied and temporarily put aside the past.
Gu Ningxi, who always kept his word, went back to the Xuanping Marquis Mansion in the evening and asked Yinlan to find the most valuable dress from the cabinet.
This skirt was made of cloud silk satin. This material had just become popular at the time and was very expensive. In addition to the embroidery and the pearls and jade embellishments, it cost my mother a lot of money.
Gu Ningxi had only worn the clothes once in over a year, and they were carefully preserved and looked as good as new.
As Yin Lan wrapped up Gu Ningxi's dress, she asked, "Sir, would you like another box of jewelry?"
Previously, in preparation for Gu Ningxi's marriage, the mansion had already prepared her dowry.
Although the marriage was shelved, some of the belongings remained in Leyouyuan. Mrs. Meng wanted to take a peek, hoping that the accumulation of dowry would speed up the arrival of her daughter's true love.
Gu Ningxi nodded and instructed, "Don't tell mother."
"It's saved for me."
Yinlan is very sensible in doing things and will never ask or say anything that she shouldn't ask or say.
Ever since Yin Yue's incident, Gu Ningxi has paid more attention to the supervision of the people in the courtyard.
The baggage has been packed and she will take it into the palace tomorrow.
It was getting late. Gu Ningxi had been busy in the duty room during the day, so he extinguished the candle and went to bed early.
…
The sky was boundless and blue, the breeze was gentle, and the two doors of the side hall of Ruihe Hall were closed.
In front of the window of the main hall, Lu Jing held a book in his hands. However, upon closer inspection, the pages had not been turned in a long time.
Sun Jing smiled and said, "Girls always have to dress up carefully. Your Majesty might have to wait for a while."
He thought that Master Gu might not be good at dressing up, so he specially invited Madam Sun from Lizheng Palace. She was the madam who used to comb the Empress' hair, and her skills were unparalleled in the palace.
"Your Majesty, would you like me to send someone to ask?"
Only after Sun Jing spoke did Lu Jing remember to turn a page of the book.
He said, "No need."
Finally, Lu Jing felt that the book was really boring, so he asked Sun Jing to change it.
His eyes unconsciously turned towards the side hall.
Spots of sunlight sprinkled on the rosewood and jade-inlaid dressing table as Nanny Sun carefully combed Gu Ningxi's black hair.
She was delighted from the bottom of her heart. Her queen was a famous beauty in the capital, and the young girl in front of her was no less beautiful than her queen.
Hearing that she was His Majesty's sweetheart, Nanny Sun smiled and sighed, saying that His Majesty was so lucky.
She had not been able to use her skills in the palace for a long time, so today she naturally had to show her skills and instructed the maids to open the makeup box one by one.
Before coming here, she had thought of several hairstyles, finally settling on the nine-braid flying fairy bun. As her hair was combed out, Gu Ningxi watched intently at first, hoping to learn a thing or two. But as she continued, she grew increasingly sleepy, unable to straighten her hair anymore.
Aunt Sun was in high spirits. The girl had thick hair, which was black and shiny, like fine silk, and she could do whatever she wanted with it.
She took a pearl hairpin to fix her black hair, and occasionally adjusted her hairstyle according to Gu Ningxi's face.
It was unknown how long it took, but when the bun was completed, it was stunning just by looking at it. Gu Ningxi was amazed and praised, "Auntie has such a skillful hand."
Nanny Sun smiled and then matched the girl with suitable hairpins and rings, and added a seven-treasure necklace.
The makeup was done by another Aunt Zhao, surrounded by maids, who occasionally handed her different rouge and powder with a pleasant fragrance.
It took more than half an hour before everything was done.
The maids cleared the table, carried the things and left one after another, and someone went to the main hall to deliver a message.
Gu Ningxi sat alone in front of the bronze mirror, first sighing at the time of dressing, and then admiring her own appearance.
Through the bronze mirror, Gu Ningxi saw a figure appear at the door of the hall, and she turned to look at the person.
One of them was standing and the other was sitting, and Lu Jing paused at the door.
The girl at the dressing table was wearing a bright red, chest-length skirt. The vibrant color made the large area of skin exposed at her neck appear as white and delicate as jade.
Her dark hair was piled high in a bun, and the pearl hairpins she wore, no matter how precious and dazzling, were merely the icing on the cake. The crystals adorning her skirt sparkled, and she sat beneath the bright window, looking like a fairy.
The makeup was done in an exquisite and flawless manner. Aunt Zhao, who was in charge of the makeup, had a brilliant touch and painted a peony on Gu Ningxi's forehead, dotted it with pearls, jade and gold powder, and her eyes were almost captivating.
The hairpins beside her temples swayed gently, and Gu Ningxi asked the person at the door confidently, "Does it look good?"
【Author’s words】
Rolling fast (Gulu)
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