The dust stirred up by the wind gradually settled, and the night was silent.
After a long time, the young emperor turned around.
"I'm going to see her."
The young monk dusted off his robes and didn't seem to intend to follow.
"There are still many things waiting for me to deal with in the temple, so I won't see your Majesty off. But there is something..."
The figure in front paused, then turned around and faced the copper bowl with gold and green colors.
"This bowl and robe have been enshrined in the temple for many years. Last month, when Mr. Qu came to the temple to ask for incense, he saw it and said that leaving the bowl there would be detrimental to the feng shui. Your Majesty, as a true dragon, will not be bothered by such things. I will give it to Your Majesty as a token of my contemplation."
The man touched the bump on his forehead, smiled rarely in front of the monk, and took it readily.
"In that case, thank you very much, Senior Brother."
The young monk put his hands together and regained his humble appearance.
"The road ahead is long, take care, Junior Brother."
******************
There is a golden camellia tree planted in the west courtyard of Yongye Temple next to the kitchen.
This is a sickly seedling that gets little sunlight and has weak branches and leaves. All its leaves fell off as winter began.
But this is the last golden camellia in Yongye Temple.
The young eunuch was standing in front of the plum tree. He looked at the figure standing in front of the side room door, and suddenly felt a little sad before parting.
Flowers bloom on the branches year after year, but spring always comes again.
But who knows, when spring comes again, those branches that have experienced the cold winter will be able to bloom again?
The young emperor changed into clean and soft black casual clothes and stood quietly outside the gauze curtain in the inner room for a while. It was unknown how long it took before he took that step.
The female medical officers waiting by the bed heard the sound and hurriedly turned forward to salute.
A gust of wind blew in, and the thin gauze curtains were twirled and fluttered in the air. His eyes passed through the gauze curtains and caught a glimpse of her for a moment.
She lay there quietly, as if asleep. Perhaps she really was just asleep, having entered a dream that was too real and beautiful, so she didn't want to wake up.
The couch she was lying on was brought from the Qinghuaihou Mansion by his men, along with the curtains above her head and the mattress embroidered with lotus flowers and azaleas.
He thought, maybe she just couldn't get used to the cold, hard bed in the temple, so she was deliberately staying awake. He also wondered, if she woke up and saw everything familiar instead of the bare beams, would she smile and say something to him?
The wind died away, the gauze curtain fell, and she disappeared from sight again.
The young emperor remained silent, saying nothing and doing nothing.
Perhaps because they heard what happened in the hall, the palace maids kneeling on the ground were all worried and terrified. Their bodies began to tremble, and their suppressed breathing echoed in the room.
Finally, the man spoke, his voice as calm as ever.
"Everyone has worked hard, please step back and rest for a while."
The palace servants stood there in a daze, until the eunuch standing at the door urged them in a low voice, then they moved their stiff bodies and hurriedly retreated.
The room fell silent, and he walked forward step by step, through the gauze curtain, and came to her side.
Her hair was loose, and she was wearing only a middle garment. She looked the same as when he saw her in the hall, except that she seemed too quiet. She was always lively, bright, and warm. When she spoke, her emotions always danced with her eyebrows, and when she was silent, her thoughts were written on her face.
He wanted to take another look at the situation, but she copied his demeanor, as calm as a lake, without any trace of ripples.
"Xiao Nanhui, you promised me something, but have you forgotten?"
She didn't speak, and even her eyelashes were motionless.
He leaned down and placed his lips gently between her eyebrows.
"Why are you so lazy that you would rather stay in bed than come to see me?"
She still didn't speak, her lips slightly pursed, and even when she was asleep she still retained a bit of stubbornness.
He sighed and kissed her lips again.
"No problem. Since you didn't come looking for me, I'll come looking for you this time. From today on, we won't be apart for a single moment. What do you say?"
She didn't answer.
He took silence as her answer. His final kiss fell on her forehead, gentle and cherishing, and they parted for a long time.
He stood up, leaned against the bed, and closed his eyes gently.
"Have you finished the booklet I asked you to prepare?"
Outside the gauze curtain, Shan Jiangfei was silent for a moment, and finally nodded in response.
"Your Majesty. I drafted it this morning and have it with me all the time."
"Bring it here when you've finished it, and attach some words. You can write it for me."
Not long after, the eunuch's voice sounded again.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
The emperor's deep voice echoed in the room word by word.
"I have been solitary and heartless, unable to understand the suffering of others. In my ten-plus years on the throne, I have never shared the joys of the people, nor have I felt a single moment of satisfaction or admiration for the land beneath my throne. Called a king, I am in reality a prisoner. Year after year, loneliness and widowhood have become my destiny. The world of mortals is hard to navigate, and medicine and stones are of no use. Now, a spring breeze has entered my heart, removing the decay and giving birth to flesh and blood. Whenever I travel with you, I am moved and empathized, and only then do I feel my ailments healed..."
The sky before dawn was bluish, making the room look cold and dark.
The candles in the room went out, and no one relit them. Thus, separated by a curtain of gauze, the eunuch and the emperor he had served his entire life watched from dusk till dawn.
The sun gradually rose, and the sounds inside the gauze curtain finally stopped. The book with the three-sided seal on it had three or four more folds of densely packed small characters.
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