It was a forgotten past and an unknown emotion buried in the dust.
Xiao Min told him, "I am not a palace maid."
"Then who are you?"
She was someone who had lost her way in this Daxing Palace. Along with her love, like fallen petals buried in water, she lost her way throughout her life, unable to find her direction.
Long Life and Peace / By Innocent
Between day and night, ghosts and demons would roam the city. Palace maids who knew the lunar calendar always loved to play tricks: "Little princess, this is the day when ghosts visit their relatives, and this Daming Palace is where they rest when they are tired and exhausted." I was so frightened that I trembled all over. Changming, who was floating in mid-air, could not get close to the living beings in the mortal world, so he could only comfort me repeatedly, "Don't be afraid, Taiping. It's just that God sneezed."
May you enjoy peace and happiness, and live a long and worry-free life.
My name is Taiping, and his name is Changming.
He said that the reason why people live long lives is because they are in a state of peace, joy, and health, and do not experience worries.
one,
When my mother, Empress Wu, gave birth to me, she did not foresee that I would bring nearly fifty years of prosperity to the Tang Dynasty. The name "Taiping" (meaning "peace and tranquility") she gave me was merely to highlight my irreplaceable position in her heart. She rejected any warm presence that might prevent me from learning ruthlessness, making me cold-hearted and eventually devoid of emotion.
Her mother often said, "You must learn to use all royal power to get everything you want, including love." And it was through this intriguing method that she seized the throne of the Tang Dynasty thirty years later and lived nearly half her life as an emperor.
Changming said, "Your mother is just afraid. She is afraid that the Wu family's empire will fall back into the Li family's hands. So she would rather have a princess as a queen than let her fourth son become emperor."
I opened my eyes wide, expressing disbelief: "But I also have the surname Li, and besides, there is no precedent for a woman to ascend the throne."
Changming gradually fell silent, only glancing at me with a fleeting look of sorrow—the most familiar expression I had ever seen in him since we met, a look somewhere between melancholy and grief. When he first drifted into my bedchamber in the Cold Palace like a wisp of smoke, unexpectedly finding me weeping under the covers, startled by the thunder, he wore the same expression on his face.
Under my intense gaze, Changming turned her face away, and after a long while, she managed a smile: "Taiping, you're overthinking things. Life has many regrets; if you don't think about them, life will be perfect."
I drew closer to him, embracing a shadow cast by his ethereal spirit. I whispered, "Will you stay by my side forever, accompanying me through all the regrets of my life?"
He wanted to smile, but hesitated for a moment when his gaze met my earnest expression: "Yes, Taiping, I will stay with you."
He said, "I will repay you for everything your mother never gave you, protect you from all displacement, all suffering, and all sorrow, and bless you with peace, joy, and a long and worry-free life."
I will watch you grow up until you willingly leave my sight.
two,
Unfortunately, all these vows came to an abrupt end due to my mother's obstinate idea. Without my knowledge, she betrothed me to a nephew of the Wu family, a boy named Wu Chengsi.
A man whose name is vague and who has no connection to me whatsoever.
I asked Changming, "What kind of person was Wu Chengsi?"
Changming clearly didn't want to comment too much on that person. He simply told me, "Someone you can't entrust your life to."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
He looked at me and continued, "Wu Chengsi is already married, and for a long time, he greeted you with resentment."
Not to be outdone, I raised my head and stared at him clearly, saying, "I will use all my royal power to win my love."
Changming fell silent, staring blankly at me as if traversing the mortal world to see the afterlife. As if not wanting me to see the excessive emotion in his eyes, he turned his head and said softly, "Taiping, don't fall in love with Wu Chengsi. And," he lowered his gaze, "don't let him fall in love with you either."
But Changming didn't know that human love never has a fixed cause.
I met Wu Chengsi.
From then on, apart from him, only he remained.
Our first meeting was at the horse farm, where I accompanied my mother on the side of the imperial carriage on the high platform. In truth, I did not like this royal activity, but it carried not only immense prestige but also my mother's impeccable and earnest hopes for me. She longed for me to marry into the samurai family, thus ensuring the continuation of the samurai dynasty for a thousand years.
Wu Chengsi was undoubtedly the most promising man among the descendants of the Wu family.
The dust billowed up from beneath the horse's hooves. I remember it clearly: Wu Chengsi, riding in against the backdrop of the sickly sunset. That handsome and aloof man possessed a face that made even the heavens hold their breath in awe.
Unlike other sons of noble families who relied on brute force to charge ahead and display their exceptional horsemanship and ball skills in hopes of catching their mother's eye for a moment, he never even had a chance to look up and notice me, or perhaps he simply didn't see me at all.
And then I saw him.
The unconscious smile on my lips lingered until my mother turned her head to look at me. She was slightly surprised, but when I saw the person as expected at the end of my gaze, she smiled slightly and said casually, "Nephew Xue is a talent in both martial arts and strategy. Taiping," she looked at me deeply for a few moments and smiled, "don't miss him."
three,
Everything went smoothly and to my liking. Wu Chengsi was not only the ideal son-in-law chosen by my mother, but also the husband I approved of. He was handsome and refined, standing out among the crowd. Without saying a word, he made those scions of noble families look as stupid as bulls.
Besides living a long life.
I continued with the smile I'd come up with from the horse farm, slowly describing what I'd seen that day: "It was terribly cold that day, yet Wu Chengsi was only wearing a blue, straight-cut jacket. I've never seen anyone look as good in blue as him. You all say Brother Dan is handsome, but that's because he's a prince. If you were to see Wu Chengsi..." I only realized the inappropriateness of the topic later, especially noticing Changming's unusually gentle, smiling eyes. I turned my head and lightly spat, "Who told you to eavesdrop on me?"
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