Da Afu chuckled softly, "Little Eighth Sister. (The corner of her mouth...)"
Fragments of the clay figure were scattered all over the ground, with a few scattered under Chu Yening's gold-threaded black boots.
He bent down and picked up the fragments one by one.
He had seen this big Afu before.
Years ago, when Chu Yening accompanied his father on a military expedition, they reached the shore of Haizi Lake, where an old coachman, sweating profusely, blocked his way.
The young girl disembarked from the carriage, panting, and said to him, holding a vermilion wooden box in her hand, "Fourth Brother, may you return victorious with red flags flying high!"
When Chu Yening opened it, she saw a chubby clay doll.
He wore a peace lock on his chest, held a lucky charm in his hand, and had an endearing smile.
The girl said it was called Da Afu, which represents peace, good fortune, and freedom from worry.
The cloud patterns carved on the box were unusually smooth and rounded, and the mottled vermilion lacquer showed signs of being repainted. Clearly, someone had frequently handled and polished it, smoothing out the originally angular cloud patterns.
The girl smiled sweetly: "When Fourth Brother comes back, let's go to Little Penglai for a drink."
Chu Yening laughed heartily at the time, his face beaming with joy.
The girl suddenly opened her hands and said, "It's only fair to reciprocate. Fourth Brother, what will you give me?"
The pavilions, towers, and the two-story restaurants and taverns lining the streets were filled with commoners who had come to see off General Chu Lanzhe, including noble ladies from aristocratic families who had once expressed their admiration and hoped to one day marry into the Jingning Marquis's household. They came with several servants and maids, all wearing veils, to bid him farewell.
Chu Yening, clad in black armor, a sword at his waist, and a golden crown binding his hair, smiled slyly from horseback.
He glanced at everyone in the attic, then looked at the girl, revealing a very "sweet and friendly smile," and said lazily, "I came out in a hurry, so I don't have anything to offer." As he spoke, like an old man performing a street acrobatics, he conjured up two strings of small, hollowed-out sachets from who-knows-where and spread them out in his palm.
"Break it in two. Here, I'll give you one."
The girl took the small, fragrant ball, but before she could examine it closely, the armored boy bent down slightly, stretched out an arm, and lifted her onto his horse.
The young girl gasped in surprise! This action also drew admiration from the noble ladies of the upper room.
The boy laughed heartily, gripped the reins tightly with one hand, and gently supported her arm with the other, before spurring the horse forward at breakneck speed.
"Give me a ride."
However, the Chu family army and all the court soldiers who went to the border did not return victorious as expected. Far away at the border, the more than 10,000 soldiers who followed General Chu Lanzhe to Huangtupo that year were almost completely wiped out, and Chu Lanzhe also died in a foreign land.
Jiang Yuanfu stood there dumbfounded, staring at the shattered mud figure lying on the ground, and stammered, "This... what is this?"
Baozhu busied herself instructing the palace maids outside to clean up.
Jiang Yuanfu immediately squatted down to examine the fragments, and after a long silence, said, "Did Seventh Sister give these to you?"
The Empress Dowager chuckled again: "It's alright. We'll find a craftsman another day to see if it can still be pieced together. If not, we'll find a box and put it away properly. What did Xi'er say when she gave this chubby boy to me back then?"
Baozhu said, "I wish that you, Ancestor, would have no worries."
The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.
Qin Weixi held the Empress Dowager's hand and looked down at the clay figurine fragments that Chu Yening had picked up one by one.
Tao Qingyun said at the right moment, "Out with the old, in with the new. Grandmother Zhao, I will ask someone to buy you a few more when I go down the mountain another day."
Luo Ling also said, "Grandmother, do not worry."
"Very well, very well." The Empress Dowager nodded with a smile. She used her empty eyes to carefully search for the girl who was holding her hands tightly in front of her.
"Xing'er, these years..." The Empress Dowager's hand paused suddenly, but she smiled kindly again in an instant.
She murmured, "Is it snowing outside?"
Jiang Yuanjun choked up and replied, "Grandmother, there is no snow. It is springtime now."
The Empress Dowager continued, "Good, good, good, you are all well. My grandson is naturally very well too." She held Qin Weixi with one hand and beckoned to Chu Yening, who was standing nearby, with the other.
"A-Ling, Qing-Yun, Ye-Ning, A-Jun, A-Fu, Xiao-Xing, and..."
Qin Weixi's body trembled slightly uncontrollably.
Baozhu stepped forward at the opportune moment and brought out a bowl of herbal soup, saying, "Grandmother, it's time to take your medicine!"
"The children came in the morning chill, running all the way. Why don't you let them rest and change their clothes? You can have them come to pay their respects to you later when you are more energetic."
The Empress Dowager hurriedly said, "I'm confused. Did you prepare almond tea for me?"
Baozhu smiled and said, "It's been prepared for a while! It's just the right temperature to drink right now."
Qin Weixi turned his head and glanced seemingly casually at the outer room, where Cui Lu was still kneeling in front of the open palace door.
Meanwhile, Cui Lu was weeping softly outside the door.
As Baozhu stepped out the door, a faint, soft scolding sound soon came from the outside through the door.
Tao Qingyun suddenly laughed and said, "I knew Grandmother was in good health! When we came in just now, I noticed that the person kneeling outside looked familiar. Aunt Baozhu, who is that?"
Because of Tao Qingyun's words, the group remembered the palace eunuchs they had seen outside Wansong Pavilion.
Cui Lu.
Several of them knew Cui Lu.
Back then, the current emperor's chief eunuch, Sun Shaopu, was a notorious troublemaker at court, often beating and scolding the eunuchs below him. Cui Lü entered the palace because of his family's poverty. He was short and thin, and was often ostracized by the older eunuchs. During the annual banquet in the first year of the Kang Le reign, he was locked outside a wooden shed and left to freeze for nearly an hour when he happened to encounter Chief Eunuch Sun suddenly appearing there.
It was pitch black outside the annex at the time, and Sun Daban tripped over it and fell, getting a mouthful of snow. He was dragged into the annex and ordered the people inside to beat him.
Finally, just when Cui Lu thought he was about to die, the Empress's nephew, the heir of the Marquis of Jingning, the daughter of the Duke of Dingguo, and Princess Zhenhui appeared before him.
As fate would have it, during the New Year's banquet that day, Tao Qingyun had once again secretly drunk some of the officials' wine. His breath reeked of alcohol, prompting Jiang Yuanfu to send him outside for a walk. Jiang Yuanfu, too, was gazing longingly at the snow, dreaming of building a snow lion. Qin Weixi, having no desire to linger at this sycophantic banquet among officials, left the palace with Jiang Yuanfu and Zhao Shuhan, the Empress Dowager's grand-niece. Unbeknownst to them, they found themselves in the Imperial Garden, where they encountered Chu Yening acting suspiciously ahead of them.
Luo Jiaxiaoxing was unable to attend that year due to illness.
Tao Qingyun's eyes lit up, and with the cold wind blowing, all traces of her drunkenness from before the palace were gone. She whispered to the two of them, "Why is he here? This is unusual. This man is cunning; why didn't I see him come out just now? No, I have to go and see him."
At that time, most of the palace staff were serving at a banquet in front of the palace, and apart from the vast expanse of snow, there was no one else in the Imperial Garden.
Jiang Yuanfu immediately rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
Tao Qingyun rubbed her eyes and asked again, "Huh? Why is there another person there?"
"The figure looks familiar, somewhat like Eunuch Sun?" Jiang Yuanfu whispered, following the direction he pointed.
This area of the side rooms was mostly the residence of low-ranking eunuchs in the palace; the eunuchs who served the emperor and empress usually lived in another residence. The fact that Grand Eunuch Sun appeared here at this inopportune time, avoiding everyone and moving stealthily, was definitely suspicious.
Ultimately, this led to the scene where Cui Lu was brutally beaten, and the others immediately came to his rescue.
At that time, several people were confused about whether Cui Lu should stay or leave, as they felt that the side room could not be kept any longer.
Qin Weixi, Jiang Yuanfu, and Zhao Shuhan stood behind a wall. The two looked at Cui Lu, who was about the same age as A Bao. Finally, Qin Weixi suggested that they send him to Cining Palace, where Grandmother Zhao was the kindest.
Because of Tao Qingyun's mention, the Empress Dowager remembered the little eunuch who had come to report the news from outside and asked, "Is that Cui Lu outside the door?"
Cui Lu shouted hoarsely from outside, "Your Majesty, it is this servant."
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, then summoned Baozhu and said, "It's hard on him. He's the same age as the children. Don't let him go back; let him stay with me!"
Baozhu must be right. A short while later, Cui Lu's voice came from outside, "Your Majesty, this servant kowtows to you!"
Qin Weixi remained calm as the Empress Dowager pulled him along, but his thoughts drifted to Baozhu.
She felt that Aunt Baozhu was quite different from what she had been ten years ago.
The Empress Dowager looked listless and tired. Luo Ling noticed her unusual expression and said to them, "Grandmother, you've just been upset, so please rest early. We won't go down the mountain today, so we'll stay here. Please take us juniors in."
His relaxed tone and smiling face instantly dispelled the heavy atmosphere in the room.
In the past, when the group of them came to visit Grandmother Zhao at Xiaguang Peak, she would always chase them away and refuse to let them stay overnight at Xiaguang Peak.
The Empress Dowager only said things like, "You're making such a racket that I can't even hear myself!" "Those mischievous monkeys are chattering away!" and "The little sparrows in the trees have all been scared away."
They all withdrew one by one, but later Baozhu came to report that the Empress Dowager had taken her medicine and rested, and was now sleeping soundly.
Not wanting to disturb them, they ate hot pot in the back garden of Xiaguangding.
Baozhu and her maids presented them with a variety of food, and the group gathered around a round sandalwood table.
Several plates of thinly sliced mutton, several plates of tender green lettuce and water spinach, and many other cooked dishes they often ate in their childhood, such as fried fish and stir-fried shrimp. Baozhu also took out the lychee wine she had kept.
Tao Qingyun seemed somewhat disheartened and asked, "Does Aunt have any Osmanthus wine? If not, Zhuyeqing will do."
Baozhu laughed: "Young Master Yun no longer enjoys drinking lychee wine?"
Tao Qingyun smiled but remained silent. Just then, another group of palace maids filed in carrying food platters. Tao Qingyun's eyes lit up when she saw the first plate, filled with desserts, presented with a peony pattern.
Jiang Yuanfu chuckled: "My eldest cousin loves this osmanthus taro milk the most." She immediately got up and instructed the palace maid to put it on the table, while she herself took small bowls to share it.
Seeing this, Qin Weixi, who had been silent all along, also got up and went with her.
Jiang Yuanfu looked up and saw the person who came, and smiled, "Xiao Xing, did you see Sister-in-law Zhu Ruo when you went to Chengxin Nunnery the other day?"
Qin Weixi shook his head.
Jiang Yuanfu sighed and first served Jiang Yuanjun and Luo Ling a full bowl.
Seeing this, Qin Weixi gave the two bowls in her hands to Tao Qingyun and Chu Yening.
Tao Qingyun took a bite with satisfaction, feeling instantly refreshed. He looked up and, in the steam rising from the hot pot, saw Chu Yening standing beside him, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
He chuckled, "Chu Jiayou, do you want some taro milk? If not, you can give it to your older brother. I seem to remember you used to refuse two things: meat dumplings with gravy and this tooth-splittingly sweet stuff..."
"You fatso. Stop talking nonsense." Chu Yening raised his eyelids and suddenly said.
The people at the table, some eating meat and others drinking wine, all stopped what they were doing and looked at the two of them.
The two used to argue every three days and have a fight every two days, so it wasn't surprising. But that was the old days, and now that ten years have passed, hearing this out of the blue is quite unexpected.
Tao Qingyun was speechless for a moment, then flew into a rage.
"Chu Yening!" He stood up and walked around to Luo Ling. "He said I'm fat? A-Ling. He said I'm fat? I am the dignified Hanqing Hermit, with elegant demeanor and unparalleled figure. I just ate two extra bowls of sweet cheese, didn't I?"
He then looked at Jiang Yuanjun, who was pursing her lips and suppressing a smile: "Speaking of being fat, I'm reminded of someone. Your fourth great-uncle, Prince Jing. He eats lavishly every day in his mansion. When I saw him in the palace before the New Year, he had to be carried out of the palace in a palanquin by several eunuchs. Those eunuchs were panting heavily from exhaustion. He's really well-off. How wonderful!"
Luo Ling chuckled, "You're already drunk before you've even had a drink? How dare you speak so casually about members of the royal family." She then gestured for him to sit back down and eat properly.
Tao Qingyun listened to him and gritted her teeth, wanting to go back to her original position. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl in green beside Luo Ling eating taro milk with her head down. Upon closer inspection, she could clearly see a faint smile on her lips.
OK!
He narrowed his eyes: "Little...Eighth Sister!"
Qin Weixi immediately raised his head.
He glared at Chu Yening, who had finished a large bowl of taro milk right in front of him and was sitting there casually. Then he said to Qin Weixi, "Go, go sit over there. I'll switch seats with you. This young master doesn't sit with a brat!" Without saying another word, he took all the bowls and chopsticks from in front of her.
Chu Yening raised his eyelids to look at the streak of sky blue that had gracefully appeared before him. After a slight hesitation, he picked up a plain white handkerchief that was placed in front of him and waved it in front of Qin Weixi. He chuckled softly and said, "Little Eighth Sister. There's some osmanthus on your lips. Didn't you notice? Should you wipe it yourself, or should Fourth Brother wipe it for you?"
Luo Ling was holding a cup, taking a sip of tea. Upon hearing this, she choked and coughed softly.
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