8 How to describe him...
The wind suddenly blew the fine hair on her temples. Xiao Tingyun raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she smiled and turned to Song and said, "Mother, would you like to have lotus soup tonight?"
That smile was like a sea of flowers. Song was stunned for a moment, then she couldn't help but laugh. She looked quite helpless, "Okay! When did your mother not agree to your request?"
"Then my daughter will take her leave." Xiao Tingyun bowed respectfully.
"Go ahead." Song nodded.
Xiao Tingyun turned around and left with the maids. The light-colored dress seemed to be stained with mist and rain as it flowed, hazy and elegant.
"One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi. The true meaning of the world lies in flowers and trees. This is the first time I have heard such an interpretation. It is really fresh."
A lady with an elegant figure heard the conversation between Song and Xiao Tingyun, mother and daughter, and became quite interested.
"Madam, where is this girl from? I seem to have never seen her before." The nanny Liu Mama beside her asked the woman.
The woman saw how Song and Xiao Tingyun got along, and after thinking for a while, she said, "I heard that Minister Xiao and his wife had a daughter who had been weak since childhood. I think she must be the one."
Aunt Liu felt a little regretful when she heard this, "What a pity, such a perceptive person is in bad health."
The woman smiled slightly. "Her talent, temperament, and status are enough to make people look up to her. Her frailty is not her fault. Just take good care of her. She was raised in a pampered family, so this is not a big problem."
Aunt Liu was a little surprised after hearing this. The lady never liked to praise people, so why did she speak so highly of a strange girl today?
The woman seemed to know what Liu Ma was wondering, and she only said softly, "Let's go, we'll know the answer when the time comes..."
Xiao Tingyun arrived at the backyard, but he hadn't seen the lotus pond yet. He saw a few people walking by, but they were all uninterested and said that the lotus was really hard to get. Xiao Tingyun couldn't help but wonder, and when he met a monk on the way, he stepped forward and asked, "Little Master!"
The monk was only about eleven or twelve years old. Seeing such a pretty girl, he couldn't help but feel shy. He quickly took two steps back and put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist name, "Amitabha, what can I do for this donor?"
Xiao Tingyun found it funny that the monk pretended to be mature despite his young age, and he couldn't help laughing. Unexpectedly, the laughter made the little monk look up and see Xiao Tingyun, his face turned red and he took two steps back.
Xiao Tingyun: ...
"Donor, what's the matter?" the young master stuttered.
The maids behind him couldn't help laughing. Xiao Tingyun pretended to scold the maids, "Don't blame me, little master. I heard that the lotus flowers in the backyard lotus pond are blooming very beautifully. I want to pick two to make lotus soup. I wonder if there is any taboo in the temple?"
When the young master heard this, he immediately explained, "Donor, the lotus pond is not owned by the temple. There are fences around the lotus pond so that everyone can enjoy it. However, it is not easy to pick lotus. Therefore, during the lotus blooming season, a special person will pick ten lotus flowers by boat every few days and give them to those who are destined to see them in front of the lotus pond. Today happens to be the lotus picking day, and you can go and have a look."
Xiao Tingyun was a little confused after hearing this, "This lotus pond is located in Guanghua Temple, why is it not owned by the temple?"
"Donor, you may not know that this lotus pond was originally owned by Guanghua Temple, but..."
The young monk was a little embarrassed when talking about this. "But later, due to the continuous war, the temple took in many refugees. The incense was not enough to sustain it, so the lotus pond was transferred. After Emperor Gaozu pacified the war, he heard about this and took the lotus pond back to the royal family, built a fence, and gave lotus flowers to those who were predestined to see it as a token of merit."
The little monk felt ashamed when he openly said that he had sold the lotus pond because he had no money. Everyone in the capital knew about this, so few people asked about this question. It was the first time that the little monk talked about this matter, so he inevitably felt embarrassed.
"So that's how it is." Xiao Tingyun thought that this lotus pond was also equivalent to a memorial.
"So, the lotus pond is now owned by the royal family?"
"Yes, Guanghua Temple is a royal temple."
"Thank you very much, little master. We want to walk around and find a place with few people. Do you know which place has better scenery?" Xiao Tingyun felt that the gift of lotus was a matter of luck, so he decided not to join in the fun.
"You're welcome. If you want to enjoy the lotus in peace, you can go through that door." The young master said this with his head down, pointed to an inconspicuous small door, and hurried away with hurried steps, as if there was a female ghost chasing people behind him.
Xiao Tingyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he turned around and asked Lanzhi, "Does your young lady look scary?"
Lanzhi looked at her young lady's pretty face and couldn't help but smile. She said excitedly, "If the young lady looked scary, I'm afraid few girls in the capital would dare to go out."
"You're talking nonsense, you deserve a beating!" Xiao Tingyun tapped Lanzhi's forehead with his fingertips.
“Hehehe… That’s how it is~”
A few people smiled and went towards the door that the young master mentioned. They found that there was no one in the lotus pond and there were a few vines wrapped around the door.
After entering for a while, Xiao Tingyun couldn't help but sigh, "It's really extraordinary."
“How beautiful!”
"It blooms so beautifully." Lanzhi couldn't help but look at it carefully.
Xiao Tingyun walked to a place and suddenly found a pond full of lotus flowers with lotus leaves. The lotus flowers were floating on the water and swaying slightly.
A red koi carp jumped out of the water and pecked at a lotus flower, causing the entire lotus to tremble and create layer upon layer of ripples.
"Lotus can be picked in the south of the Yangtze River, and the lotus leaves are so lush..." This poem emerged in Xiao Tingyun's mind and he blurted out.
The clear voice of the girl was transmitted to the other end covered by the tall lotus leaves. It was not far from Xiao Tingyun, but Xiao Tingyun's words could be clearly heard.
"Your Majesty," Zhang Quanfu was about to shout, but Pei Yuning gave him a warning look and he immediately changed his words, "Sir, did I ask someone to leave?"
Pei Yuning was sitting on a small boat. Zhang Quanfu and an attendant were standing on the shore. Pei Yuning said indifferently, "No need."
This place is hidden, and I think it can only be found with the guidance of someone, so I won’t disturb other people’s interest.
"Yes." Zhang Quanfu had no choice but to respond awkwardly, thinking: What's wrong with His Majesty today? In the past, weren’t you the one who couldn’t stand having your peace disturbed?
Pei Yuning simply stretched out his hand and plucked a lotus that was in full bloom. His bony hands carried a bit of the aura of someone who was in command of a strategic plan, and sitting there he looked as if he was commanding the entire world.
Slowly, Zhang Quanfu heard the footsteps of those people approaching.
Xiao Tingyun was enjoying the scenery with great interest, but suddenly stopped.
The girl behind him also stopped.
Xiao Tingyun saw two people waiting on the shore and a person sitting on a boat in the pond.
How should she describe that person...
He had black hair tied in a crown and wore a green gown. Although his attire was very simple, he possessed unforgettable abilities.
Perhaps it was the man's unusual temperament, like a book or a scroll, like a piece of jade or an artifact, and yet with a sense of oppression that should not be underestimated.
Pei Yuning also noticed the person coming, and their eyes met unimpeded, but after only a moment, they looked away again.
The woman's skirt swayed in the wind, like lotus leaves, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, her fair face had a hint of sickness, and her lips became more and more rosy.
Just a quiet glance, it seemed like ten thousand years had passed...
She was the first to be defeated, Xiao Tingyun thought.
Xiao Tingyun remembered the lotus picking day that his young master had mentioned, and when he saw the lotus in his hand, he suddenly felt blessed. It turned out that he was the one picking lotus.
Are the lotus pickers so beautiful?
But isn't it said that there are few people here? How come I met someone picking lotus just after walking a short distance? Could it be that they went in the wrong direction?
Although he had many questions in his mind, Xiao Tingyun still walked forward slowly.
Zhang Quanfu, who was standing behind her, took a look at her secretly and guessed which family in the capital this daughter was from. He had never seen her before and she was so beautiful. Even the concubine Shu, who was proud of her appearance in the palace, could not compare with her.
I couldn't help but be shocked and my eyes brightened.
"How are you, young master?" Xiao Tingyun stepped forward and bowed, neither fast nor slow, like a gentle breeze.
Pei Yuning nodded slightly.
Zhang Quanfu understood what his Majesty meant, so he took the initiative to speak, "What do you want, young lady?"
Xiao Tingyun thought about it and decided that since he had come across it by chance, why not give it a try?
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